NEWSLETTER
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CAMPAIGN UPDATES
Shark Campaign
Annual Brits vs Yanks Tournament: For the second year in a row, The Fisheries Conservation Foundation was a leading sponsor of the Annual Brits vs Yanks Catch & Release Shark Fishing Tournament, held June 18-22, 2007, at Montauk Point, Long Island, New York. The tournament is an international, IGFA-sanctioned, catch-and-release only tournament promoting the conversion of existing traditional tournaments to total no-kill events. The anglers in this tournament participate in an international shark-tagging program for research. A total of 166 sharks were tagged during the three-day event. The tournament, which is in its fifth year, was created by the late Stephen Sloan (a past member of the FCF Board of Directors and a dedicated fisheries conservationist) to promote both catch-and-release angling and shark conservation.
FCF Meets with Save Our Seas: Representatives from FCF's Shark Conservation Campaign (Dave Philipp and Bob Heuter) held an organizational meeting with a group from the Save Our Seas Foundation (SOSF), including their Executive Director Chris Clarke, Advisory Committee member Rupert Ormond, and the SOSF underwater film crew. The meeting was hosted by Andy Danylchuk, Edd Brooks, and Aaron Shultz of the Cape Eleuthera Institute in the Bahamas. Two major accomplishments were achieved: 1) plans were initiated to establish a partnership between the two foundations to work on the conservation of sharks and other marine resources and 2) the expert SOSF film crew assessed the potential for the Cape Eleuthera area to serve as a future site for filming documentaries and producing other educational materials.
Rivers of Success
Riverwebs Documentary Update: Together with the National Science Foundation, the Japan-US Friendship Commission, the US Environmental Protection Agency, the Japan Foundation, and the US Forest Service, FCF has assisted scientist and filmmaker Jeremy Monroe of Freshwater Illustrated, and Dr. Kurt Fausch of Colorado State University in making a unique and exceptional film. The documentary weaves the story of groundbreaking science, a personal tragedy, and the value of the stream ecosystems to both aquatic and terrestrial organisms. A screening of the film will be help at the American Fisheries Society meeting on Sept 4th. The film has been submitted as part of the PBS series POV. Check back soon for more updates on Riverwebs.
Coastal 2100
Envisioning the Future of Coastal Management: The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Coastal States Organization (CSO) want to improve the way the United States manages its coasts. To do that, these two organizations are hosting a series of meetings that engage the broader coastal community (including state, local, and federal government agencies; industry; academia; and recreational and non-governmental interests) to hear about success stories, best management practices, and innovative solutions for how coastal management can be better. The primary outcome of these meetings will be a set of core principles and specific options to consider in drafting a proposal for reauthorizing the Coastal Zone Management Act.
FCF Advisory Council member Julie Claussen attended the May 21st meeting in Chicago, IL as an FCF representative. The Chicago meeting was the second in a series of five nation-wide meetings being conducted under the initiative titled Envisioning the Future of Coastal Management. After the opening presentation, the participants broke into small groups to address the following topics: land use; boating, commerce, and waterfront issues; intergovernmental coordination; hazards and climate change; water quality; and habitat. The participants then spent most of the day generating creative solutions for managing the coasts and shorelines and/or improving the Coastal Zone Management Act. Stakeholder meetings were also held in Boston, San Francisco, Atlanta, and Hawaii. A summary of each meeting, including a list of obstacles and possible solutions for each meeting are summarized on the coastal management website: http://coastalmanagement.noaa.gov/