From the Shem Creek blog.

SUPing with Sharks

Stephen said the female lemon shark put up a good fight, and that it took him over 30 minutes to get it to the boat, leaving him exhausted. He used a 6.5′ Shakespeare Ugly Stik rod paired with a Shimano Tiagra reel, probably similar to the one pictured below, and had cut barracuda fillets for bait.

From the Shem Creek blog.

380lb. lemon shark sets new game fish record

Sharks have been around for millions of years, but like all things at the top of the food chain that we consume, our insatiable appetites will get the best of us in the end if we don’t practice some good conservation techniques.

We already know from the WWF that bluefin tuna will be extinct by 2012. Now we have another big problem: sharks are being killed by the millions — 100 million a year according to the NYT!

Click on those piles of shark fins. Notice the guy in the back hiding his face? Yea, he knows scalping sharks just for their fins is wrong, but one way or another, the industry flourishes.

Their specialty: Double Boiled Superior Shark’s Fin w/Seawhelk 响蜾炖鸡鲍翅

As a matter of fact, American owned Citibank has been using shark fins for marketing; their website is currently advertising a 15% discount at Singapore’s Imperial Court Shark’s Fin Restaurant.

Thanks to public awareness from conservationists though – most notably Hong Kong’s Shark Saver’s campaign – the word is finally getting out. Maybe now, sharks will be left alone and allowed to continue their important job as a top-level predator.

Here’s a short teaser of Shark Saver’s Hong Kong campaign highlighting several people taking a stand, vowing not to eat shark fin soup, and asking others to join in. It’s the first in a series of several films from their Hong Kong filming project launched in conjunction with the “Pledge Not to Eat Shark Fin Soup” campaign and Shark Savers Hong Kong. Take the pledge now!

From the Shem Creek blog.

Sharks, poised for extinction?

The proposal covers 3 shark species:

1. It promotes the live release of shortfin mako sharks by commercial and recreational fishermen to help rebuild the species population in the Atlantic Ocean. The U.S. contributes less than 10% to the overall catch in the Atlantic. NOAA’s Fisheries Service has proposed to take action at the international level to develop measures to end overfishing of shortfin mako sharks.
2. A stock assessment determined that reducing the annual mortality of blacknose sharks by approximately 78% across all fisheries could result in rebuilding by 2027.
3. Finally, the proposal would also add smooth dogfish to the species managed by the NOAA’s Fisheries Service – requiring a federal fishing permit and proposes an annual commercial quota of 645.8 metric tons dressed weight.

Here is the info for the Charleston meeting:

For more information on the proposed action, the Federal Register notice, and for the list of public hearings, see http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms.

(Credit: NOAA)

(Credit: NOAA)

(Credit: NOAA)

 

From the Shem Creek blog.

NOAA proposes measures to rebuild shark populations

1. Atlantic bluefish,
2. Gulf of Mexico king mackerel, and
3. two different stocks of monkfish in the Atlantic

While that of course is good news for long-range fishing and our marine habitat, four others appear to be overfished at the same time:

1. thorny skate,
2. Atlantic blacknose shark, and
3. Atlantic shortfin mako shark

These were added to the list of those being fished unsustainably just this year, and a fourth stock, Gulf of Mexico pink shrimp, was also listed as subject to overfishing but it’s still being reviewed.

With these fish being replenished, it proves NOAA officials are doing the best they can for all of us – the fish, the fisherman, and all my fellow seafood lovers out there.

From the Shem Creek blog.

NOAA declares four fish stocks fully rebuilt

Turbot? Huh? Exactly. That’s what a fish broker just got arrested for after an investigation by NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement. Turns out he was selling turbot – a flatfish native to marine or brackish waters of the North Atlantic – as halibut.

I haven’t tried turbot myself, but fortunately for us here on the East coast, most of his sales took place in Utah and Texas, so it’s a pretty safe bet you’re getting what you pay for here on Shem Creek – and I’ve never heard otherwise.

But I’m gonna go out on a limb and assume that the buyer was getting packaged fish, because as soon as I saw what turbot looked like, I knew I’d never confuse it with halibut, but flounder? Now that’s a different story!

Hi-Res Halibut
(Credit: Wikipedia)

Turbot
(Credit: Wikipedia)

Flounder
(Credit: Wikipedia)

 

From the Shem Creek blog.

How well do you know the fish you just paid for?

She caught it aboard her & her husband’s 21′ Sea Chaser boat when they went out Saturday before last. They had trekked 55 miles offshore from Murrells Inlet to fish near the Winyah Scarp when she caught it.

This smart angler knew immediately that her Sharpnose was a keeper, so she contacted DNR and had it weighed in when they returned to shore. David Player, a fisheries biologist with the Marine Resources Division in Charleston, met Lori at Seven Sea Seafood in Murrells Inlet to verify and certify the catch, and now she’s in the gamefish record books.

Congratulations Lori!

From the Shem Creek blog.

Lori gets the new Atlantic Sharpnose shark record

_{DNR scientist Josh Loefer took this photo of the dead great white shark on Morris Island along with his fellow DNR scientist, Jon Geddings.}

From the Shem Creek blog.

13′ Great White Shark On Shore

The subject of mercury levels in seafood came up again this morning while watching an episode on the Today Show. The guest was a doctor specializing in food & health. She mentioned that predator-type fish (shark, tuna, swordfish, etc.) are the ones that contain the highest levels of mercury. She also said that eating seafood in moderation is key.

The inspiration for their story was published by the NYT two days ago: High Mercury Levels Are Found in Tuna Sushi, one that immediately caught flak from the National Fisheries Institute.

From the Shem Creek blog.

Seafood mercury levels make headlines