Industry supports current efforts to address Florida’s water quality issues

WASHINGTON, D.C. – February 18, 2016 – The American Sportfishing Association (ASA) supports efforts being made on the federal and state levels to address Florida’s water quality issues that can have an impact on fisheries habitat and management. A record-breaking amount of rainfall this past January required that a large amount of water be released from Lake Okeechobee by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, sending fresh water both west and east to coastal areas that are adversely impacted by such an action.

On Monday, February 15, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers acted on an emergency request from the Governor’s office, in coordination with other state agencies, to allow the water to move south on its historic path through Everglades National Park into Florida Bay. Read more

Michigan Department of Natural Resources officials announced the 2016 Black Lake sturgeon harvest season ended after one hour Saturday, Feb. 6, with seven fish being harvested. The fishing season, which included spearing or hook-and-line fishing, was scheduled to run Feb. 6-10, or until the harvest quota had been reached. The allocation of sturgeon for Black Lake anglers this year was seven fish, although DNR officials set a quota of six fish.

There were 261 registered anglers on the ice Saturday, down from 303 the year before. Most anglers preregistered Friday, Feb. 5, which allowed for a much more streamlined process. Anglers of all ages and genders participated, including a good number of supervised youth. Read more

The Marine Industry’s first sub-$600 thermal camera helps increase nighttime awareness

WILSONVILLE, OR – – FLIR Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: FLIR) announced the FLIR Ocean Scout TK thermal camera at the 2016 Miami International Boat Show. A sub-$600, pocket-sized thermal vision monocular, the Ocean Scout TK features FLIR’s revolutionary low-cost Lepton micro camera core, making thermal imaging technology even more accessible to boaters.

The smallest and most affordable model in the FLIR Ocean Scout series, Ocean Scout TK creates high-contrast images using heat, rather than visible light. As a result, Ocean Scout TK makes it possible to see the differences in temperature and heat emitted by boats, buoys, and landmarks in total darkness. Ocean Scout TK also reveals people overboard and marine mammals breaking the surface of the water. Read more

  Michigan’s Free Fishing Weekends: An annual tradition

• Two days twice a year, families and friends can enjoy one of Michigan’s premiere outdoor activities, Michigan Fishing, for FREE!

  The 2016 Free Fishing Weekends are scheduled for this winter: February 13 & 14 and this summer: June 11 & 12.

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New legislation has been introduced in the Michigan House of Representatives by Rep. Jon Bumstead (R-Newago) to ban commercial net-pen fish farms in the Great Lakes, which poses disease, escapement and effluent risks to Great Lakes fisheries. House Bill 5255 would ban commercial cage culture operations from Michigan-controlled waters of the Great Lakes

Call your representatives on the House Natural Resources and Agriculture committees and tell them to protect Great Lakes fisheries!

“This is just common sense,” said Bumstead. “The Great Lakes support a $7 billion sport fishery. Why would the state authorize an unnecessary risk to the Great Lakes economy? This legislation will ensure that it doesn’t.”

This legislation comes in the midst of competing legislation to specifically authorize commercial net-pen fish farms – also called cage culture – in the Great Lakes following two proposals for siting in Lake Huron and Lake Michigan.

“Commercial cage culture poses serious risks to wild fisheries,” said Dr. Bryan Burroughs, executive director of the Michigan Council of Trout Unlimited. “These risks include escapement and breeding with wild fish, making them less genetically fit to survive in the wild, passing disease from immune domestic fish to wild fish which are not immune to the diseases, and, especially, the effluent deposited by concentrated populations of domestic fish into lakes.” Read more