Reel Therapy Fly & Light Tackle Fishing charters

  Recently, legislation was introduced in Louisiana to stop the menhaden reduction fishing industry from damaging fragile nearshore habitat, the lifeblood of the Louisiana Coast. This bill would keep the pogy boats at least one-half mile from land where the water is shallow, and the risk of ecosystem damage is high. While this is a good idea, the legislation does not go nearly far enough. The Gulf menhaden reduction fishery is the largest fishery in the Gulf of Mexico and the second largest fishery in the United States. This industry uses spotter planes and massive mother ships to scoop up whole schools of fish, which they “reduce” to fish oil and fish meal for use as pet food and feed for fish farms. Every year, the industry removes more than two billion fish from the Gulf. 85% of the catch is in Louisiana waters. Gulf menhaden are a critical part of the Gulf ecosystem, serving as forage for many predator species, including gamefish like redfish and speckled trout, marine ma...

  I was recently invited to participate in an offshore wind simulator up in Middletown, Rhode Island. Marine operations modeling and simulation. The United states maritime resource center (USMRI) is a not-for-profit 501C3 that is open to all stakeholders, commercial, recreational fisherman, or anyone wishing to experience this firsthand as  well as for US Coast guard training. For the program, offshore wind developer Orsted’s Revolution wind farm was selected to model. They used actual wind farm survey data, as well as manufacturing data to create the towers, turbines, and related structures. The turbines themselves are slated to be Siemens Gamesa 11 megawatt turbines atop a monopile tower and the blades were about 95 feet off the sea surface. There were also substations built into the model. The turbines are set up there at 1nm x 1nm, but please note that the wind farms further south is to be set a bit closer at .08nm x 1nm. Additionally, they threw in a few sailboats...

Jan Lovy, Ph.D. Research Scientist in Aquatic Animal Health  Jan.Lovy@dep.nj.gov  Atlantic Menhaden mortality- Liberty State Park, 05 JAN 2021: This is an updated report on results from an ongoing Atlantic Menhaden mortality investigation in New Jersey.  This report has been updated on 15 Mar 2021.  Summary: Chronic mortality of Atlantic Menhaden, occurring in November and December 2020, was investigated off the coast of New Jersey. Fish exhibited abnormal swimming behavior that included swimming in tight circles near the water surface, cork-screw swimming, and more rarely lethargy at the water surface. Moribund fish were collected and examined by gross necropsy, histopathologic evaluation, virus isolation using cell culture assays, and genetic evaluation for bacteria. No viruses were isolated from the samples. Consistent histopathologic lesions occurred in the fish that suggest significant disorders in the kidney, spleen, liver, and brain. A common finding includ...

The ASMFC Striped Bass Management Board is considering major revisions to the striped bass management plan and one issue is not getting much airtime. New Jersey recreational fishermen need to pay close attention to this issue, as it could have a cascading impact on many of the species we target For decades New Jersey anglers have fought to conserve the favorite food of striped bass: Atlantic menhaden (aka BUNKER).  We banned reduction fishing here in NJ and so did every other state--except Virginia. Two years ago, when Omega’s reduction fleet couldn't find any fish in Virginia waters, the motherships motored all the way up to the NY/NJ bight where they caught millions of fish just outside of state lines, to the great frustration of local fishermen and whale watchers. Somehow, this one company continues to exploit hundreds of millions of forage fish every year, despite being universally hated by recreational fishermen and conservationists. Is Omega Protein Inc. using Striped bass re...

  The Ocean is Talking, is anybody listening? Reposted from Anglers Conservation Network January 2013 In my last blog, I wrote about Hurricane Sandy and how it slammed into and opened up Wreck pond to the sea on October 29, 2012. Barely two months later, on December 27, 2012, a Noreaster hits and opens up a new inlet at Lake Takanassee in the same way (Above image), just a few miles to the North.  Local residents of the surrounding towns are not happy about the floods that came with this event, but they are happy because the new opening allows the floodwaters to rapidly retreat out to sea. Local Striper fishermen look at this destructive event from an entirely different perspective and see a long-awaited ray of hope. Finally, the vital species of forage fish that feed our striped bass and other gamefish will be able to enter these waters like they used to and spawn and multiply. I visited LakeTak, as locals call it, right after Sandy hit to...

  NJBPU announced this week that all offshore wind developers building projects for New Jersey must invest directly in fisheries research as a condition of their power contracts. The state is inviting bids for up to 2,400 MW of offshore wind power and if all are awarded it will generate $24 million in research funding which could be directed toward efforts to study recreational gamefish, related habitat, and other subjects vital to the health of New Jersey's recreational fishing economy. Jersey Coast Anglers Association (JCAA) has been striving for a decision like this since we got behind increased usage of renewable energy and the related potential of improving our fishery and waters by burning less fossil fuels. New York State finalized a similar requirement for its next round (2,500 MW) of contracts earlier this summer, so together this creates nearly $50 M of new resources for critical fisheries and wildlife research needed to advance our understanding of potential offshore win...

Recently I witnessed a fast-moving, fully involved house fire a block away from my home in the Park Place development in Tinton Falls. There was a young man inside the house at the time, and if it weren’t for a passerby running into the house and getting him out just in time, this would be a very different and tragic story. We need to seize this moment to learn from this experience and possibly prevent catastrophe and property loss in the future. In talking with my neighbors, it is obvious that many homeowners remain unaware of a potentially lethal fire hazard that could be lurking inside many of our homes. Regardless of the cause of this latest fire (which started in the garage area, the official cause of origin has not been stated yet), this incident demands attention to the original electrical panels that were used when our homes were first built.   Pretty simple, you need to go out to your garage, or wherever your electrical panel is located and open the small metal d...