1. his trailer axle threw one wheel’s studs
2. he forgot his code to buy more minutes on his cell phone
3. his bank declined his attempt to withdraw funds (first time in 20+ years at that bank)
4. so, his parts won’t be ordered ’til his wife gets there in another hour!

UPDATE: $500 bucks later (hub, wheels, hotel…), he made it down when we discovered his starter was dying on him. I didn’t wanna-make-a big deal of it, but David really hooked us up in a 24 hr squeeze – thanks again!

From the Shem Creek blog.

What’s a guy gotta do to go fishin around here?

Tournament dates and contacts for the 2011 S.C. Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series:

1. May 11-14, Bohicket Marina Invitational Billfish Tournament
   Contact: Bryan Richardson, 1880 Andell Bluff Blvd, Johns Island, SC, 29455
   (843) 768-1280, fax (843) 768-3481, Dockmaster@bohicket.com
2. May 25-28, 44th Annual Georgetown Blue Marlin Tournament
   Contact: John Horton, P.O. Box 1704, Georgetown, SC 2944
   (843) 546-1776, fax (843) 546-7832, jhorton@georgetownlandingmarina.com
3. June 22-25, Carolina Billfish Classic
   Contact: Deidre Menefee, 1625 Savannah Hwy., Charleston, SC 29407
   (843) 345-0369, fax (888) 758-3950, dm@fishCBC.com
4. July 6-9, HMY/Viking MEGADOCK Billfishing Tournament
   Contact: McKenzie Hutaff, P.O. Box 759, Charleston, SC, 29402
   (843) 278-4920, fax (843) 577-7704, mestes@megadock.com
5. July 27-30, Edisto Marina Billfish Tournament
   Contact: Becca Smith, 3702 Docksite Road Edisto Beach, SC, 29438
   (407) 463-2082, fax (843) 869-3738, smithbeccae@gmail.com

Learn more about the South Carolina Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series by contacting DNR’s, Jenkins at (843) 953-9835, or Amy Dukes at dukesa@dnr.sc.gov or (843) 953-9365.

From the Shem Creek blog.

2011 SC Governor’s Cup Billfishing Series

Bench Mark’s Blue Marlin and 5 Sailfish releases toppled Reel Passion’s 2nd place spot of 2 Blue Marlin and 1 Sailfish release, but everybody involved had a great time no doubt!

“The interesting thing is that for the first time in years, a large number of blue marlin were encountered, with 14 actually being caught and released. This is more than the total number of blue’s that have been caught this year in the three previous tournaments combined. Further, in recent years, July has been a slow month for encountering blue marlin. The reason for the surge is unknown.” – SCDNR biologist Wallace Jenkins.

Congratulations to the ‘Bench Mark’ crew. So, what’s the split on $105,184 amongst y’all anyway?

From the Shem Creek blog.

‘Bench Mark’, winners of the 2010 MegaDock Tournament

From the Shem Creek blog.

Some mid-week fishing bloopers

It is the 4th event on the Governor’s Cup schedule for this year, and weather permitting, should be a great turnout.

Categories include:

• Billfish – (Blue Marlin = 600 pts; White Marlin = 300 pts; Sailfish = 100 pts)
• Dolphin
• Tuna
• Wahoo
• Lady Anglers
• Youth

The first weigh-in begins 5:00pm this Thursday. Good luck everybody!

From the Shem Creek blog.

The 8th Annual HMY-Viking MegaDock Tournament starts tomorrow

That’s fine, but I consider it a waste of gas on their part. If all the fish are gone, what would they do then? Once there’s proof things are okay, the government will loosen their restrictions, and we’ll all be able to enjoy fishing again.

Legare Smith, captain of a private sport fishing boat, says “What if they come back and say dolphin or wahoo numbers are down?” I’m assuming it’s because their population numbers are too low to sustain themselves – surely they’re not trying to drive away our tourism dollars…

Don’t forget: NOAA declared four fish stocks fully rebuilt as a result of international fishing pressure, so they’re on the right track with their regulations.

Overfishing is going to be the death of the fishing industry unless steps are taken to curb our ferocious appetites for seafood, and I for one, am 100% behind the government regulations, because I love seafood so much and want it to always be here – if you do, you should be encouraging their sustainability efforts.

For more information on new fishing regulations, visit South Atlantic Fishery Management Council website, where you can read the current Snapper Grouper Recreational Regulations Summary.

That ‘United We Fish’ rally will be held Feb. 24, from noon to 3 p.m. in Washington. For more information, go to unitedwefish.blogspot.com.

From the Shem Creek blog.

Gee, lets keep fishing ’til there are no more out there!

In 5 of 10 well-studied regions — Iceland, Newfoundland-Labrador, the Northeast U.S., Southeast Australia, and the California Current — fishing pressures have on average become less intense. 1/3 of all fish populations have been steered away from imminent doom, and appear to be recovering. Their ecosystems are no longer fast-tracked for collapse.

The solutions were relatively simple: abandon destructive fishing techniques like longlining and bottom trawling, reduce catches, put some waters off-limits, and give fishermen an economic reason to not overfish.

As this passage from Science suggests, new solutions didn’t need to be invented:

“After a long history of overexploitation, increasing efforts to restore marine ecosystems and rebuild fisheries are under way… Yet 63% of assessed fish stocks worldwide still require rebuilding, and even lower exploitation rates are needed to reverse the collapse of vulnerable species.

Combined fisheries and conservation objectives can be achieved by merging diverse management actions, including catch restrictions, gear modification, and closed areas, depending on local context.

Impacts of international fleets and the lack of alternatives to fishing complicate prospects for rebuilding fisheries in many poorer regions, highlighting the need for a global perspective on rebuilding marine resources.” – Science Magazine

A side-product of trawling for shrimp – a bunch of unwanted fish.
Credit: Wired

From the Shem Creek blog.

Proper fishing habits bring renewed fish populations

The new record beats the previous state record by 10 ounces, set by Jason Edgerton of Mt. Pleasant back in March of 2008.

Congratulations Paul!

From the Shem Creek blog.

Angler breaks S.C. white grunt state record

In the case of both fish stocks, U.S. fishermen have not been able to catch the U.S. quotas designed to ensure that the stocks are fished sustainably. While these species are managed internationally, the United States manages the domestic part of these fisheries by taking into account the ecosystem and working to reduce bycatch of turtles and other species. This approach increases expenses for U.S. fishermen and makes it more difficult for them to compete in the marketplace with cheaper imports from fishing nations that subsidize their fleets and do not use an ecosystem approach.

“Swordfish are nearly rebuilt, yet our fishermen are only catching 54 percent of the U.S.
quota. Bluefin tuna are a more complicated story. U.S. fishermen have followed quotas based on scientific recommendations designed to end overfishing. There may be ways to fish more of the U.S. quotas for both stocks in a sustainable manner.” – Jim Balsiger, acting NOAA Assistant Admin. for NOAA’s Fisheries Service

The public process will also be a chance to examine using “catch shares,” which would allocate a portion of the total catch to a person, company, community or sector, to better manage these fisheries. NOAA will examine novel ways to limit the bycatch of sea turtles, marine mammals, or undersized, prohibited and spawning fish in the bluefin and swordfish fisheries.

Jim Balsiger says they’ve “heard a number of ideas from constituents and we want to broaden the conversation to include recreational fishermen, environmental organizations and the general public on how best to manage these valuable highly migratory fish species.”

This effort to involve the public comes as NOAA’s Fisheries Service announces this season’s bluefin tuna quota for U.S. commercial and recreational fishermen. The rule puts in place reductions in overall quota that were adopted at the November 2008 meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, the international body that manages tuna, swordfish and other species that cross international boundaries.

The rule, which published on June 1, raises the daily catch limit from one to two bluefin tunas for recreational fishermen. NOAA had originally proposed a daily limit of one but raised the limit to two per day after reviewing comments from the fishing industry and analyzing the change for consistency with the bluefin tuna rebuilding program. The new rule maintains the three-fish per day limit for commercial fishermen.

NOAA received many comments and suggestions during the recent bluefin tuna rule making on ways to improve long-term management of bluefin and swordfish. These proposals will now be part of this summer’s public process.

In addition to considering catch shares and by-catch reduction, some of the proposals that will be discussed include:

• • an industry request to lower the commercial minimum size for bluefin tuna from 73 to 65 inches
• • an industry request to allow more bluefin tuna to be landed that have been incidentally caught in longline fishing gear
• • a proposal to allow approximately 5,000 commercial tuna fishermen who use rod and reel to land swordfish at low catch levels

Public comments on bluefin tuna fishery issues will close June 30, while comments on all other issues, including swordfish, will remain open until Aug. 31.

All meetings will begin with an opportunity for people to view information on the issues raised in the public process and ask questions at 5 p.m., followed by a presentation and opportunity for public comment beginning at 6 p.m.

The closest public meeting to us here on Shem Creek will be held next Thursday from 5 to 9 p.m. on June 25 at:

Roanoke Island Festival Park
1 Festival Park
Manteo, N.C. 27954

You can learn more about the public comment process or the bluefin tuna quota at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/

From the Shem Creek blog.

NOAA seeks our input on governing Swordfish, Bluefin Tuna fishing

Robby Maroudas of Hilton Head Island was fishing just offshore on the Betsy Ross artificial reef in 90 feet of water when he hooked into and caught the 92-pound, 10-ounce cobia to claim the new state record.

Congratulations Robby!

Photos courtesy of SCDNR.

From the Shem Creek blog.

Cobia state record claimed by Hilton Head angler