Already the world’s largest shark species, male whale sharks can swim around the ocean for up to 130 years, according to a recently published study by scientists at Nova Southeastern University‘s (NSU) …
New Research Confirms Benefits of Circle Hooks
26 Oct 20109:26 PM
Still not sure if you should be using circle hooks? Well, you should be – because new scientific research backs up the claims (again) that billfish are much more likely to survive a catch-and-release encounter when caught on circle hooks compared to traditional J hooks.
Dr. John Graves of the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences (and Chairman of the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation Scientific Advisory Board) has published new data which shows blue marlin, white marlin and sailfish derive substantial conservation benefits from the use of circle hooks.
Read the full report here. And, if you haven’t already, please make the switch to circle hooks today.
NOTE: Dr. Graves and others will take the circle hook debate one step further this May when the 2011 International Circle Hook Symposium is held in Miami (the event is sponsored in part by the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation and the Guy Harvey Research Institute). The symposium will provide a forum for the review and discussion of relevant research concerning the viability of using circle hooks in recreational and commercial fisheries.
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![](mailto:?subject=New Research Confirms Benefits of Circle Hooks&body=Still not sure if you should be using circle hooks? Well, you should be - because <a title="Link to Dr. Graves study on Circl Hooks" href="http://www.inthebite.com/news/story.php?id=136" target="_blank">new scientific research</a> backs up the claims (again) that billfish are much more likely to survive a catch-and-release encounter when caught on circle hooks compared to traditional J hooks.
<a title="Bio for Dr. John Graves" href="http://www.vims.edu/people/graves_je/index.php" target="_blank">Dr. John Graves</a> of the <a title="VIMS web site" href="http://www.vims.edu/">Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences</a> (and Chairman of the <a title="GHOF Board of Directors" href="http://www.guyharveyoceanfoundation.org/board_of_directors.html" target="_blank">Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation Scientific Advisory Board</a>) has published new data which shows blue marlin, white marlin and sailfish derive substantial conservation benefits from the use of circle hooks.
<a title="Full report from Dr. John Graves" href="http://www.inthebite.com/news/story.php?id=136" target="_blank">Read the full report here</a>. And, if you haven't already, please make the switch to circle hooks today.
<a href="http://www.circlehooksymposium.org/"><img class="aligncenter size-medium wp-image-199" title="2011 International Circle Hook Symposium" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/10/circlehooksymposiumlogo.jpg?w=300" alt="" width="216" height="208" /></a>
NOTE: Dr. Graves and others will take the circle hook debate one step further this May when the <a title="Circle Hook Symposium web site" href="http://www.circlehooksymposium.org/" target="_blank">2011 International Circle Hook Symposium</a> is held in Miami (the event is sponsored in part by the <a title="GHOF web site" href="http://www.guyharveyoceanfoundation.org" target="_blank">Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation</a> and the <a title="GHRI web site" href="http://www.nova.edu/ocean/ghri/" target="_blank">Guy Harvey Research Institute</a>). The symposium will provide a forum for the review and discussion of relevant research concerning the viability of using circle hooks in recreational and commercial fisheries. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/new-research-confirms-benefits-of-circle-hooks/){kind=link}
 <a href="https://cnso.nova.edu/ghri/index.html">Guy Harvey Research Institute</a> (GHRI) and collaborators from the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme.
The research on whale shark aging growth dynamics, published in the Marine and Freshwater Research Journal, was conducted in the Republic of Maldives using a unique approach.
According to Cameron Perry, the first author of the scientific paper, and at the time a graduate student at NSU’s GHRI, “What makes this a novel approach is that we took repeated noninvasive underwater measurements of live sharks over the course of a decade.
“Up to now, such aging and growth research has required obtaining vertebrae from dead whale sharks and counting growth rings, analogous to counting tree rings, to determine age. Our work shows that we can obtain age and growth information without relying on dead sharks captured in fisheries. That is a big deal.”
You can read the full study <a href="https://www.publish.csiro.au/MF/MF17393">ONLINE</a>.
According to the research study, “Comparing length-measurement methods and estimating growth parameters of free-swimming whale sharks (Rhincodon typus) near the South Ari Atoll, Maldives,” taking repeated measurement of the same sharks over many years was possible because many of these sharks came back to the same place every one to two years, and individuals could be recognized by their unique spot patterns. The researchers then modeled their measurement results and found that:
• male whale sharks can live as long as 130 years (that means some whale sharks swimming the world’s oceans today were born when Grover Cleveland was President of the United States);
• whale sharks may grow as large as 61.7 feet on average, which is longer and bigger than previously believed (nearly 17 feet longer than a school bus.)
<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/WhaleSharks__2-Zozi-2017_02_16-20_46_24-UTC.jpg"><img class="wp-image-5122 size-medium" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/WhaleSharks__2-Zozi-2017_02_16-20_46_24-UTC-300x169.jpg" alt="" width="300" height="169" /></a>Photo by George Schellenger
“Growth and reproduction of whale sharks, which are endangered in many places, are poorly understood,” said Mahmood Shivji, Ph.D., director of NSU’s GHRI. “When you couple this lack of knowledge with the fact that whale shark products such as fins, meat and oil are highly valuable – they are harvested in many countries – one can quickly see the urgency in learning as much as possible in order to help save these majestic creatures.”
Perry agreed.
“The more we learn about these animals, their growth dynamics, where they go, what areas may be their nurseries, it can lead to a better understanding of their life history, which is imperative to guide conservation efforts,” he said.
Primarily funded by the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, NSU’s GHRI works on initiatives and studies to provide the necessary information to better understand, conserve, monitor and effectively manage shark populations.
About NSU’s Guy Harvey Research Institute: Established in 1999, the Guy Harvey Research Institute (GHRI) is a collaboration between the renowned marine artist, scientist and explorer, Dr. Guy Harvey, and Nova Southeastern University. The mission of NSU’s GHRI is to provide the scientific information necessary to understand, conserve, and effectively manage the world’s marine fishes and their ecosystems. The institute is one of only a handful of private organizations dedicated exclusively to the science-based conservation of marine fish populations and biodiversity. The research, education and outreach activities of NSU’s GHRI are supported by the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation, AFTCO Inc., extramural research grants, philanthropic donations by private businesses and individuals, and NSU. Please visit http://cnso.nova.edu/ghri for more information.
About the Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation: The Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation (GHOF) conducts scientific research and hosts educational programs aimed at conserving the marine environment. The GHOF also funds affiliated researchers working to better understand our ocean ecosystem and educators helping to foster the next era of marine conservationists. The GHOF will help ensure that future generations can enjoy and benefit from a properly balanced ocean ecosystem. Please visit www.GHOF.org for more information.
PHOTO CREDITS: Daniel Bruehlmann (Laser measurement); George Schellenger (Whale Shark opens mouth) https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/novel-approach-studies-whale-shark-ages-the-best-way-while-they-are-swimming/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Guy Harvey, Sir Richard Branson Discuss Marine Conservation Issues&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/branson1.jpg"><img class=" wp-image-1487 " title="Meeting with Sir Richard Branson" alt="" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/branson1.jpg" height="446" width="495" /></a>Left to right: Michael Ryan, Guy Harvey, Madeleine Ryan, Jessica Harvey and Sir Richard Branson.
I recently had an opportunity to meet with <a title="About Sir Richard Branson" href="http://www.virgin.com/richard-branson" target="_blank">Sir Richard Branson</a>, founder and chairman of the <a title="Virgin Group web site" href="http://www.virgin.com/" target="_blank">Virgin Group</a>. Sir Richard was in Grand Cayman to deliver the keynote speech at the recent "Alternative Investment Conference", which was held at the Ritz Carlton Hotel on Grand Cayman. The event was organized and hosted by Michael Ryan and also featured such notables as former U.S. President George W. Bush and former world's number one golfer Greg Norman.
After the conference, I was able to meet with Sir Richard for a few minutes to discuss the potential for collaborating with the <a title="GHOF web site" href="http://www.guyharveyoceanfoundation.org" target="_blank">Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation</a>. I gave Sir Richard a quick overview of the GHOF and briefed him on several of the projects the Foundation has supported, with specific details on studies involving tiger sharks, mako sharks, bluefin tuna and billfish.
I elaborated on the role that GHOF research has played in highlighting the importance of the Bahamas archipelago to many species of sharks. In a collaborative effort with the <a title="BNT web site" href="http://www.bnt.bs/" target="_blank">Bahamas National Trust</a> and the <a title="Pew web site" href="http://www.pewenvironment.org/" target="_blank">Pew Environmental Group</a>, we convinced the government of the Bahamas to protect all sharks from commercial exploitation within their 200 mile EEZ.
Here in the Cayman Islands, the GHOF in involved in a multitude of research projects that includes Nassau grouper conservation, lionfish eradication and recruitment, and climate change studies at <a title="CCMI web site" href="http://www.reefresearch.org/ccmi_website/home.htm" target="_blank">CCMI</a> in Little Cayman. We are also actively engaged in shark research and blue marlin migration studies.
Documentary film making has also been a priority, so during the last year the Guy Harvey Expeditions team of producer George Schellenger, Jessica Harvey and myself have been on location nine times to conduct shoots in Panama, Nova Scotia, Little Cayman, Cocos Island (Costa Rica), the Bahamas and Isla Mujeres (Mexico). Our group made three trips to Isla Mujeres in 2012, teaming up with Captain Anthony Mendillo and crew to complete shoots on sailfish, mako sharks and whale sharks. Sir Richard was particularly interested in the sailfish and whale shark work as he has visited Isla Mujeres on several occasions, also guided by Captain Anthony. We discussed the limited research done on sailfish and whale sharks and the opportunity to collaborate with the <a title="GA web site" href="http://www.georgiaaquarium.org/" target="_blank">Georgia Aquarium</a> research team in future research and conservation efforts.
I went to some length explaining the value of catch and release sport fishing to Caribbean island and Central American economies. I emphasized the need for a regional approach as many of the large pelagic species cover great distances that cross several jurisdictions. This requires a coordinated effort in management and conservation as one country’s regulations may not be the same as its neighbors.
I also discussed the need for research work on all the species mentioned, as without the scientific data one cannot make management decisions and thus achieve sustainability and conservation. Fishing is the method by which we access many of these creatures for study, underwater photography, tagging and genetic work. Sir Richard was not keen on fishing but acknowledged it is a useful tool in this arena.
We moved on to some more local issues, the hot topics being the condition of the <a title="Cayman Turtle Farm web site" href="http://www.turtle.ky/" target="_blank">Cayman Turtle Farm</a> and the issue regarding stingray conservation through law. Sir Richard was concerned that turtles could still be fished by local licensed fishermen, given that turtles are protected world-wide. I pointed out that none of the current license holders have continued with this activity. The turtle farm itself needed to be divested I said, and turned into a better marine attraction whose focus was more on turtle replenishment, research and husbandry than on the consumption of the turtle meat. Our belief is that there are hundreds of thousands of turtle lovers who would be willing to donate $5 or $10 towards a satellite tagging program that would allow the turtles to be set free so that they can provide information about migrations and long distance journeys.
The treatment of the stingrays in the Caymans is another sore point for many locals. The resident stingray populations have been sabotaged and removed by unknown persons for at least the last two years, and our census studies have shown a 50% reduction in the population during that time (a decade of research by the GHOF and the Dept of Environment has provided the base line information about this population). Four tagged stingrays were recently discovered in the Dolphin Discovery tourist attraction. Though the four tagged rays were released, the owners of the attraction have refused to release six untagged rays. Sir Richard said it should be very simple to change the law and have stingrays enjoy full protection from poaching given their ecological importance and their value to the island. After all the people of the Cayman Islands and millions of visitors have an enjoyed and benefited from this unique experience for the last 30 years.
The proposed expansion of marine parks by the Dept of Environment was a good move and Sir Richard commented that fishing has been known to improve in areas adjacent to marine parks. He said there are models out now that show countries need to protect 40 – 50 % of their shallow reef areas to ensure long term survivability. I commented that the Cayman Islands were a world leader in the formation of marine parks and in the protection of the spawning sites of the iconic Nassau grouper.
Sir Richard was very gracious and listened to many of our comments and suggestions. The meeting was much appreciated by all involved and the GHOF look forward to collaborating with Sir Richard and his foundation on several projects. It is our collective responsibility to conserve the marine environment and maintain the biodiversity of the planet.
Fish responsibly, dive safely. Guy Harvey PhD. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/guy-harvey-sir-richard-branson-discuss-marine-conservation-issues/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Guy Harvey Talks Fisheries Symposium & Guy Harvey Outpost Grand Opening with Fishing Florida Radio&body=<a href="http://www.fishingfloridaradio.com/mp3/guy_harvey_ffr_interview.mp3"><img class="size-full wp-image-1446 alignleft" title="Guy Harvey Interview with Fishing Florida Radio" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/fishing-florida-radiologo11.jpg" alt="" width="130" height="88" /></a>Guy recently spoke with BooDreaux, Steve and Capt. Mike of <a title="FFR web site" href="http://www.fishingfloridaradio.com/" target="_blank">Fishing Florida Radio</a> to discuss the upcoming <a title="Fisheries Symposium web site" href="http://www.gulffisheriessymposium.com/" target="_blank">Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Symposium</a>, which is being held this week in conjunction with the Grand Opening of the new <a title="GHO on Facebook" href="https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.297039977030459.74495.238365306231260&type=3" target="_blank">Guy Harvey Outpost on St. Pete Beach</a>. Click <a title="Guy Harvey Interview with FFR" href="http://www.fishingfloridaradio.com/mp3/guy_harvey_ffr_interview.mp3" target="_blank">here</a> to listen to the interview. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/guy-harvey-talks-fisheries-symposium-guy-harvey-outpost-grand-opening-with-fishing-florida-radio/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Bimini Big Game Club Now Serving Guy Harvey re:newal Spring Water in 100% Compostable Bottle&body=<a href="http://renewal-water.com/renewal-and-guy-harvey-team-up/"><img class="aligncenter" title="Guy Harvey re:newal Water" src="http://guyharvey.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/banner.png" alt="" width="450" height="102" /></a>
<a title="Guy Harvey Inc. web site" href="http://www.guyharvey.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Guy Harvey</a> and <a title="re:newal web site" href="http://renewal-water.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">re:newal premium spring water</a> are proud to offer a U.S. sourced premium spring water that uses <a title="About the 100% compostable bottle" href="https://renewellwater.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">a 100% plant-based compostable bottle</a>.
Launched in February 2011, the Guy Harvey special edition re:newal premium spring water product will raise funds for ocean conservation programs by donating 10% of the proceeds from each bottle sold directly to the <a title="GHOF web site" href="http://www.guyharveyoceanfoundation.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation</a>. The GHOF funds inspired scientific research and innovative educational programs to help ensure that future generations will enjoy and benefit from a naturally balanced ocean ecosystem where fish and other marine wildlife flourish.
<a href="newal and Guy Harvey Team Up"><img title="100% compostable bottle from re:newal water" src="http://guyharvey.files.wordpress.com/2011/04/renewalwater.jpg" alt="" width="365" height="301" /></a>Guy Harvey re:newal spring water is proudly served at the Bimini Big Game Club, a Guy Harvey Outpost Resort & Marina.
re:newal premium spring water packages pure spring water in a bottle made from plants, not petroleum. Most importantly, re:newal bottles offer more end-of-life options for consumers, who now have the ability to recycle, compost, incinerate or re-use their bottles.
To learn more about how traditional plastics are damaging the marine environment, read the special feature "Plastics: One Word/One World" in the brand new issue of <a title="GHM web site" href="http://www.guyharveymagazine.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Guy Harvey Magazine</a>. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/guy-harvey-and-renewal-team-up-to-promote-100-compostable-water-bottle/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Wayne Nelson: An Everglades Warrior Lays Down His Shield&body=The following editorial about <a title="Everglades National Park web site" href="http://www.nps.gov/ever/index.htm" target="_blank">Everglades</a> activist Wayne Nelson was posted to the blog "<a title="Eye on Miami blog" href="http://eyeonmiami.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Eye on Miami</a>" after Nelson's <a title="Wayne Nelson's Obituary" href="http://www.tributes.com/show/Wayne-L.-Nelson-93742562" target="_blank">death</a> last week. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that memorial contributions may be made to the <a title="GHOF web site" href="http://www.guyharveyoceanfoundation.org" target="_blank">Guy Harvey Ocean Foundation</a>, 10408 West SR 84, Suite 104, Davie, FL 33324.
<a href="http://guyharvey.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/wayne.jpg"><img title="Wayne Nelson Photo courtesy of the Sun-Sentinel)" src="http://guyharvey.files.wordpress.com/2012/05/wayne.jpg" alt="" width="428" height="286" /></a>
By gimleteye:
When Wayne Nelson, 88, died this week, the liquid heart of Florida - <a title="About Lake Okeechobee" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Okeechobee" target="_blank">Lake Okeechobeee</a> - lost a fierce and knowledgeable advocate. Wayne was of a generation of modern-day Everglades activists; including, recently, the late Johnie Jones and his wife, Mariana, who were young in the 1940's and 1950's and experienced the Everglades firing on all cylinders.
Wayne was Korea War veteran and a retired air conditioning contractor whose advocacy for Lake Okeechobee led <a title="Nelson's Supreme Court Case" href="http://www.eswr.com/docs/courts/ussc/01-196/FOEpetition.pdf" target="_blank">all the way to the US Supreme Court</a>. He began fishing in West Palm Beach and Lake Okeechobee in the 1960's. He organized one of the first bass fishing clubs in Florida and was the organizer of the small group, Fishermen Against the Destruction of the Environment (FADE) that was a co-plaintiff in federal Clean Water Act litigation challenging the South Florida Water Management District and Big Sugar. Wayne was at the first meeting of the Everglades Coalition at Port of the Islands in 1984 and was once a member of the board of <a title="Friends of the Everglades web site" href="http://everglades.org" target="_blank">Friends of the Everglades</a> <> (of which I am now president).
Friends of the Everglades, Nelson's FADE, and other conservation groups brought citizen suits under the Clean Water Act against the US Environmental Protection Agency to require the South Florida Water Management District to obtain permits in order to discharge polluted canal water into Lake Okeechobee. (FADE and Friends of the Everglades have been involved in several federal CWA lawsuits, with important implications for the nation's water policies, not just the Everglades.)
This practice is known as "back-pumping" and its purpose is to make sure that the 700,000 acres of the Everglades Agricultural Area -- dominated by Big Sugar-- are never too wet in rainy season. Back-pumping controls water levels on sugar land and through the extensive canal system, forcing water uphill as it were, against gravity, into Lake Okeechobee.
At the same time, the water management practices that deliver immense benefits and profits to sugar barons like the billionaire Fanjuls also deprive the natural system of the rainfall cycle that nourished the Everglades and Florida Bay with clean, fresh water at the right time of year.
He launched his boat in Belle Glade and would fish through the weekend. "To get to the Lake," Nelson testified in a Friends' affidavit filed with federal court in 2011, "you have to cross the rim canal and enter the Lake through one of the cuts. I would typically see the pumping while I was going out to fish or coming back in from fishing and was traveling in the rim canal to the boat ramp. You can see the turbulence and tinged color of pumped water all the way across the rim canal and into the Lake."
Wayne Nelson was a fierce supporter of grass roots environmentalism. His friend, Jim Harvey, says, "If people were classified like naval ships, Wayne Nelson would be the Warrior Class. He never faltered to say it like he saw it. He believed in watching the ass not the lips to ascertain where things were going. You didn't go fishing with Wayne. He went, listening to him. He loved Lake Okeechobee and held no quarter or gave no quarter when it came to saving the Lake."
Wayne didn't seek out the spotlight. He could be cantankerous and prickly. But anyone who loved the Everglades, fought battles against industry pressure, endured endless delays by government, obfuscation, and false declarations of progress while the liquid heart of Florida turned into a sewer would be spewing comets and fury at the misdirection.
"Water transfers of polluted, nutrient-rich water to Lake Okeechobee results in increased nutrient pollution in the Everglades system,"
Nelson said in his affidavit. "Nutrient pollution is one of the biggest threats to the Everglades today. Nitrogen and phosphorous from the canal waters feeds algae growth that chokes out sea grasses and other native plants. Algae also depletes oxygen, resulting in "dead zones" below the the surface where few native Everglades species survive. Invasive flora and fauna are increasingly taking over the niches created by the degredation of the water quality in the Everglades."
It has been nearly forty years since the historic agreement between the federal government and state of Florida to end the pollution of the Everglades, and its results keep a permanent incumbency in place; from local county commissions, to the state legislature -- that still refuses to hold Big Sugar accountable for the costs of its pollution and won't even impose the most rudimentary system to honestly account for polluting farming practices -- to Congress and the White House.
"We don`t need any more studies of Lake Okeechobee or the Everglades,"
Nelson told the Sun Sentinel in 1988. "We know what the problems are and we know what the solutions are. We need action. The farmers are hiding behind (government agencies they control)." ("Lake Okeechobee Scientific Group Back In Business", Orlando Sentinel, July 14, 1988)
Wayne knew that the environmental warriors were badly outmatched by the Great Destroyers, and he understood the clock was ticking. He didn't stand for niceties; he wanted environmentalists to do more and he had no tolerance for waving banners. He strongly believed that grass roots organizations were the key. Jim Harvey says, "He was pure passion and "old school" on freedom of speech. He hated equivocation and figured political correctness was being accurate. Period. He was in the truest sense, an egalitarian warrior with little regard for large national environmental groups that danced around to keep the Everglades ball in play."
Wayne Nelson just wanted to go fishing, and it made him angry that pollution deprived him, Florida and the nation of that opportunity.
Nelson told the Sun Sentinel in 1990: "Reagan missed the boat when he called Russia the Evil Empire". Thrusting a finger toward the sugar cane farms ringing Lake Okeechobee, he said, "I'll tell you where the goddamn Evil Empire is... it's out there!" (A Sweet Deal Has Become The Source Of A Bitter Poison, The Sugar Dynasty, Sept. 16, 1990) And it still is. https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wayne-nelson-an-everglades-warrior-lays-down-his-shield/){kind=link}
![](mailto:?subject=Save the Billfish, Stop Longlining&body=<a href="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/tbf-no-longlines-200131.png"><img class="size-full wp-image" id="i-1743" alt="Image" src="https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/tbf-no-longlines-200131.png?w=650" /></a>Keep the Longlines Out of the Current Closed Zones!The closed areas along Florida's East Coast (FEC) and the DeSoto Canyons in the Gulf of Mexico were established to reduce the bycatch and discards of juvenile swordfish, billfish and other marine life. The benefits of these longline closed zones have been instrumental for the recreational fishing community with great numbers of billfish and swordfish caught in recent years. NMFS is proposing to allow access for longline vessels into these closed zones and must be stopped! If NMFS allows longline fishing in these areas, it could not only have large ecological impacts but tremendous socio-economic impacts on the sportfishing community.The Longline Closure Established in 2000 Have Resulted in a Beneficial Reduction of Billfish Bycatch Between 2001 and 2003, the years immediately after the longline closures were established, a 49.7% reduction in blue marlin bycatch, a 47.0% reduction in white marlin bycatch, and a 74.6% reduction in bycatch of sailfish resulted compared to the years preceding the longline closures.Between 2005 and 2011, blue marlin, white marlin, and sailfish bycatch reduced by 61.6%, 59.8%, and 66.9%, respectively compared to when longlining was permitted<a href="http://takeaction.billfish.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=12127&tag=eblast">Stop Longlining, Take Action NOW!</a> Support New Gear Restricted Areas (GRA) in the Gulf of MexicoNMFS is proposing the use of Gear Restricted Areas (GRAs) in the Gulf of Mexico which would prohibit the use of longlines, but still allow the use of alternative gear like buoy gear or greenstick gear. The most favorable of the proposed alternatives, a 3-month Gulf of Mexico Closure (March-May), would reduce for bluefin harvested by 12% and a reduce the discards of bluefin tuna by 10%. Billfish will also benefit in the Gulf of Mexico with a 3-month GRA and is estimated to reduce bycatch of blue marlin, white marlin, and sailfish by 8%, 4%, and 10% respectively. A 3-month Gulf of Mexico GRA would also result in an additional 12% reduction of under-sized swordfish discards.<img alt="" src="http://takeaction.billfish.org/images/Fish%20Photos/bft_tonyludovico_500_high.jpg" width="400" height="276" />TBF's Suggestion for Gulf of Mexico GRAsTo further increase the conservation benefits associated with the Gear Restricted Areas (GRA) in the Gulf of Mexico, TBF suggests a 4-month Gulf of Mexico GRA (March-June). If implemented, a further reduction of reduce the bluefin tuna bycatch and discards as well as double the conservation benefits for blue marlin, white marlin, and sailfish.<a href="http://takeaction.billfish.org/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=12127&tag=eblast">Stop Longlining, Take Action NOW!</a> https://guyharveyoutpostblog.com/save-the-billfish-stop-longlining/){kind=link}
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