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CCA Gulf Fisheries
Consultant
Dr. Russell Nelson
Dr. Russell Nelson, CCA's consultant to the Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management
Council, is a 25-year veteran of marine fisheries
management and research.
His background in fish population dynamics gives CCA an expert capable
of working in the management process from the initial stock assessment through
final regulatory action by the Council.
Nelson has a doctorate in Marine Fisheries Ecology from North Carolina State
University and served as a research biologist for the National Marine Fisheries
Service until he became the chief scientist and then executive director of
Florida's fledgling Marine Fisheries Commission in 1986. During his tenure,
tough legal and political battles with commercial interests did not keep Florida
from enacting sweeping conservation-based regulations to protect and restore
previously overfished stocks of red drum, Spanish mackerel, king mackerel,
spotted seatrout, snook, tarpon, snappers, groupers, and bonefish. In the 1990s,
Florida led the nation in implementing requirements for sea turtle and finfish
bycatch reduction devices in shrimp trawls.
Nelson spent 14 years as a member of both the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic
Fisheries Management Councils and has more than 15 years of experience with the
U.S. Advisory Council and delegation to the International Committee for the
Conservation of Atlantic Tunas. He has worked on the development of management
plans for more than 300 species of marine life at the state, national and
international levels.
In 2000, Nelson founded an international fisheries consulting group specializing
in conservation science and advocacy for recreational fishing interests. In
addition to his work with CCA, he has led conservation efforts for The Billfish
Foundation and organizations on the U.S. West Coast as well as in Mexico,
Central America and Australia.
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CCA created the CCA Gulf
Fisheries Committee as a subcommittee of the National Government Relations
Committee. It is comprised of dedicated CCA volunteers working within the
federal council system for better fisheries management in the Gulf of
Mexico.
Representatives from the committee attend management board meetings and
technical committee meetings. Attendance in this meeting process is
critical to fully understand the biology and management of each particular
species. The CCA Gulf Fisheries Committee then formulates goals for each
species and works within the council system to implement them through
state organizations and agencies.
Tim Strickland of Texas is the CCA Gulf Fisheries Committee
Chairman. Dr. Russell Nelson serves as the CCA Gulf Fisheries Director for
the committee.
CCA News
Legislators act to protect Gulf from catch share
schemes - Nov. 9, 2011
Elected officials from the Gulf Coast and beyond are promoting a move to
restrict funds for the development of new catch share programs for any
fishery under the jurisdiction of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management
Council. In a letter to the leadership of the House Appropriations
Committee this week, U.S. Representative Steve Southerland II (R-Fla.) and
24 co-signers are calling on Congress to continue to protect the Gulf of
Mexico from “job-destroying” catch share programs.
Click
HERE for a copy of Rep. Southerland's
letter
CCA rejects Gulf Council advisory
panel recommendations - Oct. 27, 2011
In a letter to the chairman of the Gulf of Mexico Fishery
Management Council, Coastal Conservation Association is asking the Council
to reject the recommendations of the Limited Access Privilege Program
Advisory Panel (LAPP AP) and abandon consideration of sector separation
and catch share experiments in Gulf reef fish fisheries.
“The recreational anglers who participated in
this panel have been greatly frustrated with Council-generated directives
and LAPP AP agenda templates that were predetermined to achieve a
particular outcome,” wrote Chester Brewer, chairman of CCA’s National
Government Relations Committee. “In the end, the panel has come up with a
result that is opposed by almost the entire Gulf of Mexico for-hire
sector, as well as the private boat angling sector.”
Click
HERE for a copy of CCA's letter
asking the Gulf Council to reject the recommendations of the LAPP Advisory
Panel
CCA applauds Louisiana senator for effort to
avert rig removals - Sept. 14, 2011
Coastal Conservation Association is applauding Sen. David Vitter (R-La)
for legislation filed today that will prevent rigs and other structures
from being summarily removed from the Gulf of Mexico.
In a knee-jerk response to the Gulf oil spill, the U.S. Department of
Interior issued a directive in October of 2010 ordering that all
non-producing rigs be plugged and any remaining structure removed within
five years of the issuance of that directive. Sen. Vitter’s Rigs to Reefs
Enhancement Act seeks to allow those structures to remain in the Gulf as
vibrant artificial reefs.
“More than ever we need to create habitat for marine life in the Gulf,
not dispose of it,” said Sen. Vitter. “These idle rigs are serving a
valuable purpose by supporting our fisheries, and it just doesn’t make
sense to remove them. I appreciate the Coastal Conservation Association
for bringing this issue to my attention so we can reach a reasonable
outcome that benefits the fish and the fishermen.”
The Rigs to Reefs Habitat
Protection Act of 2011
Help protect vital habitat in the Gulf of Mexico - contact your
legislators to support the Rigs to Reefs Habitat Protection Act of 2011
(S.1555)
Save the Blue Gala -
Sept. 30, 2011
Aquarium of the Americas
New Orleans, Louisiana
Rocky road?
S.1555 has been referred to the
Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources,
which currently has a single Senator from the Gulf Coast.
CCA Testimony on Sector Separation to Gulf Council
- August 18, 2011
The primary concern that CCA has with
sector separation is that taking fish from private boat anglers does not
seem to provide any benefit for recreational anglers, the states, or for
state budgets. I'd like to stress that we have no quarrel with the
charter/for-hire sector - we see them as our partners and allies in
recreational angling. We are concerned about pitting one group of anglers
against another. We don't want to stand here and fight the
charter/for-hire guys for days on the water down the road.
Gov. Jindal Unveils “Louisiana
Plan” For Restoring Damaged Coastal Areas, Fisheries & Oyster Seed Grounds
From Oil Spill - July 11,
2011
Today,
Governor Bobby Jindal unveiled the “Louisiana Plan” to start restoring the
state’s coastal areas, fisheries and oyster seed grounds from the
devastating impact of the BP oil spill. The state will be submitting a
list of projects to BP, the Department of Interior and NOAA, and the
funding will come from a $1 billion agreement announced in April 2011 for
early restoration of damaged natural resources resulting from the oil
spill.
The
“Louisiana Plan” of early restoration projects totals around $530 million.
The state expects to receive a large portion of the $1 billion in early
restoration funds because
Louisiana sustained the
brunt of oil spill damage along the Gulf.
CCA Comments on Black Grouper Allocation
- May 31, 2011
Coastal Conservation Association objects to the measure included in the
proposed Generic Annual Catch Limit/Accountability Measures Amendment that
purports to establish commercial and recreational allocations for black
grouper. In short, the Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that before such an
allocation can be made, analyses of the impacts of the alternatives to the
recreational sector of this fishery must be conducted. To my knowledge, no
such analyses have been conducted for black grouper in the Gulf of Mexico.
CCA Comments on Amendment 32 and the Generic ACL/AM
Amendment - May 26, 2011
CCA believes that the comment process for Amendment 32 and the ACL/AM
Amendment was seriously flawed. We understand the legal requirements that
are at work and are forcing the Council to operate this way to meet
looming deadlines. However, the angling public has been put into a
difficult position as the final hearing documents on this amendment and
the even more complex Annual Catch Limit/Accountability Measures were not
posted until just a few days before the public hearings were scheduled to
begin.
This process, which as you know involves hundreds and hundreds of pages of
documents on these issues, is not conducive to allowing stakeholders to
develop informed decisions on the options presented here, options that
could have serious implications on the public’s ability to access these
public resources in the future. This process threatens to damage any faith
that the recreational angling community may have that the Council is
sincere in its efforts to gather and utilize meaningful input from us.
Federal insistence on catch shares for headboats
outrages anglers
- May 23, 2011
In spite of opposition from governors, Congress and the vast majority of
recreational anglers, NOAA Fisheries has unveiled a proposal for the Gulf
of Mexico Fishery Management Council to take red snapper from the private
boat angling sector and give them away in a catch share program. This
latest affront to anglers is outlined as an item on the Gulf Council’s
June agenda calling for a closed-door session to appoint an advisory panel
to make recommendations on a new headboat Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ)
program.
Anglers demand reallocation after NOAA Fisheries
announces shortest red snapper season ever -
April 29, 2011
The long history of upside-down federal management of Gulf red
snapper continued this week with NOAA Fisheries announcing more good news
about the health of the fishery contrasted against the shortest
recreational season on record: just 48 days. Coastal Conservation
Association has warned that such absurd measures are inevitable until the
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council conducts a reallocation of the
fishery based on modern criteria.
Governors Go
to Bat for Longer Red Snapper Season - April 14, 2011
Red snapper season in the Gulf is just around the corner, and if
Gov. Rick Perry and other Gulf state governors have their way, it will be
a bit longer than anyone expected. In the wake of the Deepwater Horizon
spill last summer, the recreational angling sector fell short of catching
its quota of red snapper by almost one-third. Gov. Perry, Louisiana Gov.
Bobby Jindal, and Florida Gov. Rick Scott have all presented letters to
the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council urging that more than one
million pounds of red snapper uncaught in 2010 be added to the 2011
season.
Despite CCA opposition, advisory panel takes step
toward catch shares - April 7, 2011
“The days-at-sea program is being sold as a benefit for
conservation, data collection and management, but all of those things can
be achieved by means other than catch shares and sector separation,” said
Bird. “Additionally, the Council could help the entire recreational sector
and not just the charter and headboat operators by reallocating the red
snapper fishery properly in the first place. In fact, the Council just
decided at its February 2011 meeting to finally begin reviewing red
snapper allocation and the existing red snapper IFQ program. To make this
recommendation before that review has even started doesn’t make a lot of
sense.”
CCA Texas announces new artificial reef off Port
Mansfield - March 31, 2011
The CCA Texas Habitat Today for Fish Tomorrow (HTFT) program
continues to pursue its aggressive goal to develop reefing projects in
state waters all along the coast and has announced plans to drop 4,000
concrete culverts in a designated 160-acre reefing site off Port Mansfield
this summer. This latest habitat project, set to begin in June 2011, has
been funded with $50,000 from the CCA Texas HTFT program and is being done
in partnership with the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Artificial
Reef Program and Alamo Concrete.
CCA Comments on
Proposed Rule to Increase the Red Snapper Quotas in
the Gulf of Mexico - March 24,
2011
Reallocation of this fishery should be pursued as a priority to achieving
the greatest benefit to the country. In the meantime, with an eye toward
continued increases in total allowable catch, CCA strongly encourages the
Council to hold the commercial sector harvest at its current level and
immediately direct any increases in overall harvest to the recreational
sector. We believe that it is the responsibility of federal fisheries
managers to conserve these resources for all the people of this nation and
manage them in a manner that maximizes the benefits to the nation. We look
forward to a future where the recovering red snapper stock is made much
more accessible to the recreational fishing community in the Gulf of
Mexico.
CCA habitat program targets Texas mid-coast
- March 3, 2011
Coastal Conservation Association has announced plans for a $100,000
reef project off the Texas mid-coast, funded by CCA Texas, CCA National’s
Building Conservation Habitat Program and Shimano, in partnership with the
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department Artificial Reef Program. This latest
step in CCA’s reefing program will bring valuable reef fish habitat and
angling opportunities in the heart of the Texas coast at a time when it is
needed most.
Gulf Council begins to act on call for reallocation
- Feb. 11, 2011
The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council has taken a long-awaited
first step toward addressing outdated allocations between the commercial
and recreational sectors in the grouper and red snapper fisheries. During
its meeting this week in Gulfport, the Council voted to begin an amendment
on grouper allocations, and to review red snapper allocations and
transferability options at its next meeting in April.
“This is something that Coastal Conservation Association has been working
on for a long time, and it is a significant development for recreational
anglers,” said Chester Brewer, chairman of CCA’s National Government
Relations Committee.
Anglers concerned
over Gulf rig removals - Feb. 9, 2011
STATEMENT OF COASTAL CONSERVATION ASSOCIATION AT THE FEBRUARY
2011 MEETING OF THE GULF OF MEXICO FISHERY MANAGEMENT COUNCIL:
The oil and gas production rigs and structures of the Gulf of Mexico are
generally regarded as one of the largest man-made artificial reef in the
world, providing habitat to dozens of species of finfish and other marine
life, many of which are highly structure dependent. After years in the
marine environment, the structures support a significant and important
biomass. The current effort by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management,
Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) and the Rigs to Reefs Addendum
threaten this vital structure and is certain to have a negative impact on
the marine environment and its ability to support fisheries greatly valued
by recreational anglers. There is no doubt that any additional structure
provided in the Gulf will benefit offshore habitat to support the reef
fish complex, and any efforts to deny such defies logic. CCA is urging the
federal government to work with the Gulf states and the operating
companies to find a reasonable solution that will prove beneficial to all
parties, particularly the marine resources of the Gulf of Mexico.
Gulf Council Focuses on Sector Separation
- Feb. 9, 2011
The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council is meeting in Mississippi
this week and the issue of sector separation is again in the spotlight as
the Sustainable Fisheries/Ecosystems Committee voted to remove it from the
Annual Catch Limit/Accountability Measure Amendment and re-frame it either
as a stand-alone issue or attached to another amendment.
Fishing for Irony - Feb. 7, 2011
They say that fishing is the world’s second oldest occupation, so it is
likely there have been more ironic events in its long, storied history,
but the recent letter from Massachusetts’s Governor Deval Patrick to
President Obama must rank near the top of the list.
For those of you who missed it, Gov. Patrick expressed his “extraordinary
frustration” with the lack of responsiveness the Commonwealth has
experienced with the U.S. Department of Commerce and its agencies on the
challenges facing commercial fishermen in Massachusetts. The Governor is
upset with the severe regulations that have been placed on his
hard-working commercial fishing community and the effect it is having on
the state’s economy.
CCA calls for halt on gag grouper rules
- Dec. 2, 2010
Bycatch reduction regulations working in the Gulf
- Nov. 12, 2010
Gag grouper
rules leave anglers at a loss - Sept.
10, 2010
CCA statement on
extended red snapper season - Aug. 31, 2010
Gulf anglers finally catch
a break - Aug. 24, 2010
Council appointments a step forward for anglers
- June 24, 2010
Gulf Council clears way for extension of red snapper
season - June 17, 2010
Reallocation Is
the Answer - April 26, 2010
CCA
Comments on Proposed Gulf Red Snapper Management Measures
- April 14, 2010
CCA Comments to
NOAA Fisheries Service Opposing Haugen Exempted Fishing Permit
- March 8, 2010
Council
action on Gulf red snapper signals need for reallocation
- Feb.
10, 2010
Fish trap proposal
rejected by Gulf Council
- Feb. 4, 2010
CCA
Comments on the Gulf of
Mexico Fishery Management Council Gag/Red Grouper Amendment Scoping
Document (Reef Fish Amendment 32)
- Scoping meetings Jan
11-19.
Fish trap proposal turns back the
clock on conservation
CCA
Comments on Draft EIS for Amendment 31 to the Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Fishery
Management Plan
CCA urges states to resist
flawed federal policies in Gulf
Federal
managers shut down another Gulf fishery
Gulf Governors Stand Up for Recreational
Angling
Letter from
the Gulf Governors to Secretary Locke.
CCA Files Lawsuit to Stop Gulf Grouper Giveaway
Study reveals economic reality for Gulf grouper
- Jan. 28, 2009
In an important development in the debate over the proper
management of gag and red grouper in the Gulf of Mexico, a newly released
economic study of the fishery finds that a 100 percent allocation to the
recreational sector would yield maximum economic value to society.
Economic study of Gulf grouper
Bioeconomic Analysis of the Red Snapper Rebuilding
Plan and Transferable Rights Policies in the Gulf of Mexico
- Aug. 27, 2009
Click
HERE
to see all CCA press releases.
Click
HERE to tune into live Gulf Council
meetings when they occur or view footage from previous meetings.
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ACTION ALERTS!
Help protect vital habitat in the Gulf of Mexico - contact your
legislators to support the Rigs to Reefs Habitat Protection Act of 2011
(S.1555)
Submit comments to the
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council against sector separation.
Gulf Fisheries News
Spotted seatrout caught in middle of regulations debate
Tampabay.com
Nov. 11, 2011
Gretna fisherman pleads guilty to illegal fishing and could face five
years in prison
NOLA.com
Nov. 10, 2011
Why is trout fishing so good? Not exactly sure
SunHerald.com
Nov. 5, 2011
Seine-netting proposal for spotted sea trout causing concern
Florida Times-Union
Nov. 5, 2011
New trout rules proposed
TCPalm
Nov. 2, 2011
Red grouper catch quota increases after lower than predicted 2010 landings
NOLA.com
Oct. 31, 2011
Artificial reefs returning to pre-Katrina levels
SunHerald.com
Oct. 29, 2011
Seventy-eight fish tagged during Louisiana Saltwater Series
Louisiana Sportsman
Oct. 26, 2011
It's back to the drawing board on red snapper (editorial)
Press-Register - al.com (blog)
Oct. 23, 2011
After 20 years, Gulf Cook Off still brings exciting
dishes to the table
The Wetumpka Herald
Oct. 22, 2011
Lawton Receives National Honor for Promoting
Recreational Fishing
Outdoor Newswire
Oct. 19, 2011
Drought causing unusual aquatic behavior in bay
Houston Chronicle
Oct. 17, 2011
Work on pier is going swimmingly
News Banner
Oct. 16, 2011
Feds underestimate snapper recovery, key scientist says
al.com
Oct. 16, 2011
Red tide enters Corpus Christi bay
Corpus Christi Caller Times
Oct. 13, 2011
Anglers catch big fish and bigger prizes at CCA tournament
Your Houston News
Oct. 12, 2011
Safeguarding Our Sport
SaltWater Sportsman
Oct. 3, 2011
Trout released in Bay St. Louis
WLOX
Sept. 27, 2011
NOAA report: Gulf shrimpers top killer of sea turtles in US in 2005
SunHerald.com
Sept. 27, 2011
3000 sharks found dead off Texas coast
ToTheCenter.com
Sept. 27, 2011
New trout rules could be game changers
TCPalm
Sept,. 23, 2011
Red Lobster, Publix back effort to replenish gulf grouper, red snapper
stocks
Tampabay.com
Sept. 22, 2011
Calcasieu Lake oyster permit applications starting
Houston Chronicle
Sept. 24, 2011
Seatrout plan irks fishermen
Florida Today
Sept. 18, 2011
La. senator cited for effort to avert rig removals
SunHerald.com
Sept. 17, 2011
Red Grouper Rising
Florida Sportsman Magazine
Sept. 16, 2011
Stop the Plan to Destroy Our Gulf’s Living Coral
Reefs!
Sport Fishing
Sept. 18, 2011
Outdoors: Snapper biting too well; season may shorten in 2012
Montgomery Advertiser
Sept. 4, 2011
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