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Our Fragile Coastal Fisheries

by Don Phillips

256 pages; quality trade paperback (softcover); catalogue #03-2189; ISBN 1-4120-1812-9; US$24.95, C$32.00, EUR20.80, £14.41

An in-depth review of the problems facing our coastal fish populations due to overharvesting, pollution, and habitat destruction. Includes over 300 tables and charts showing why hundreds of important marine species are at risk.

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about the book      about the author      sample excerpts or Table of Contents      catalogue info

About the Book Don Phillips takes the reader on a broad tour of all the issues that are threatening the long-term survival of our coastal fisheries. Don's three years of research for this book have included dozens of interviews with fishery managers and biologists around the country in order to provide a balanced perspective on the health of our marine fish populations. Our Fragile Coastal Fisheries Reviewer Comments: Dan Blanton - Morgan Hill CA - Author and Fishing Consultant "Whether you're an amateur conservationist or a hard-core degreed marine biologist, Our Fragile Coastal Fisheries by Don Phillips is a must read. It details in 10 chapters- ranging from The Ocean Environment to The Road to Recovery - volumes of useful information on the state of our coastal fisheries; where they've been, where they are and what their future holds. The book is a wonderful resource of detailed charts and statistics regarding both recreational and commercial fishing and their impacts upon our coastal fisheries. This book will leave you enlightened, but also with an ominous feeling that we need to change the way we humans are doing things, if our wondrous ocean fisheries are to survive mankind." Chico Fernandez - Miami FL - Author and Fishing Consultant "Don Phillips' Our Fragile Coastal Fisheries exposes us to a huge amount of neat and interesting information on the multi-dimensional problems of our coastal marine fisheries. A must-read for the angler who is truly concerned, and hopefully an inspiration for all of us to lend a hand in any way we can, before it's too late." Ken Hanley - Fremont, CA - Author & Environmental Educator "Education is the key to making good decisions. Don's impressive effort has given the public a valuable tool, to better understand our collective impact on coastal habitat and fisheries. His book showcases the issues everyone needs to address if we're to be effective stewards. It's not about pointing fingers....but, rather about building alliances and taking personal responsibility to achieve a common goal." Ken Hinman - Leesburg VA - Author and President, National Coalition For Marine Conservation "Don Phillips' new book rewards the reader with a wealth of knowledge and understanding of the coastal ecosystems that fish inhabit, and the profound ways in which man's activities affect them. It is a call for a broader approach to the way we manage our fisheries and for a deeper involvement from every one of us. Ultimately, Our Fragile Coastal Fisheries is about how the ocean gives us life, and how we must return the favor." Lefty Kreh - Hunt Valley, MD - Author & Fishing Consultant "Our Fragile Coastal Fisheries" is not a quick read. This book is crammed with incredibly detailed information concerning our threatened coastal fisheries. Everyone who fishes the inshore waters should read this book. But, more important, this is an astonishing tool for anyone who wants to understand the distressed condition of our inshore fisheries --- and how to combat many of the problems. Don Phillips has performed a real service for this resource and those who use or enjoy it." Dr. Carl Safina - Amagansett NY - Author and President of the Blue Ocean Institute "This book is much more than its title suggests. It is really an almanac that puts fishing in big-picture perspective. Its wide-ranging, context-setting information will make anglers smarter - and the fishing experience richer." Lou Tabory - Ridgefield, CT - Author and Fishing Consultant "This book contains a tremendous amount of information pertaining to the condition of our troubled fisheries. Phillips covers all the various effects that have altered the quality of our fishing. The book is a must-read for anglers that want to learn how and why the quality of their fishing has diminished; and some good solutions on how to improve our fishing and the declining saltwater environment." R. P. Van Gytenbeek - Seattle, WA - Publisher & Fisherman "For over 50 years, I've read everything I could about my passion --- fishing and the ecosystems that support it. From dusty tomes to the popular media, nothing much of note has escaped my attention. Now comes Don Phillips' new book, Our Fragile Coastal Fisheries. Good enough to be a college text, yet written in a clear concise style that would do credit to our best editors. Marine diversity, water quality, habitat, climate, commercial/recreational harvest and a hopeful discussion of the road to recovery; it's all here, along with excellent appendices. So read this one book, you gluttons for marine fisheries knowledge. You will find all that you seek, and enjoy the process." Ted Williams - Grafton, MA - Conservation Editor & Fisherman "It's not good enough to be passionate about marine fish; you also need to know what you're talking about. Our Fragile Coastal Fisheries provides you with all the data you'll need to back up your arguments. Phillips is a tireless, meticulous researcher, and he writes clearly and powerfully. This is a source that no serious advocate of the sea can afford to be without."

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About the Author Don Phillips was born in Tennessee, lived most of his life in New England, and is now retired in Southwest Florida. He graduated from the University of Massachusetts with a Mechanical Engineering degree in 1955 and received his Masters Degree in Business Management from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute's Hartford Graduate Center in 1970. Don has been an active saltwater sport fishermen for over 50 years and currently divides his time between fishing, golfing, traveling, and writing. Phillips has written 23 fishing articles, published in various magazines, journals and newspapers. His two earlier books, The Technology of Fly Rods and Saltwater Fly Fishing from Maine to Texas, were published in 2000 and 2001, respectively. Also visit Don Phillip's web site at www.cyberisle.com/tropical/angler.htm.

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Excerpts from the book

PREFACE

In 1987, pop singer Sting wrote and introduced "Fragile", a song whose haunting lyrics included a repeating phrase "how fragile we are". The song laments the death of an American volunteer while working overseas in a third world country, but "how fragile we are" could just as easily be a collective cry of help from our coastal marine fishes. It's an established fact that our coastal fisheries are in trouble, due to a combination of lost or degraded habitat, water pollution and excessive harvest; all fueled by continuous world population growth.

Many books, reports and articles have been written on this subject, but all focus on just parts of the problem and/or omit much of the persuasive data that clarifies the seriousness of the plight of our marine fisheries. Because of the broad scope of the subject, I have written this book as an overview, with extensive references to supporting charts, reports, books, etc. With this approach I am attempting to keep the material readable and understandable, while still retaining a trail to more detailed facts and figures for those readers who wish to dig deeper.

It's frankly hard for me to remember any periods of my life when I have not been involved with fishing. As a youngster, I often accompanied my father and grandfather when they went fishing. At first, I just tagged along, watching and wishing that I could rig a rod and cast a worm or a fly. And yet I still enjoyed those outings, releasing discarded chubs back into the water and exploring the mysteries of woods and water. By the time that I was nine or ten years old I was actually fishing, neither very serious nor very successful, but still enjoying the surprises and excitement of it all. While living in Springfield Massachusetts we fished for trout in the Deerfield and Westfield Rivers in Massachusetts and in the Scantic River in Connecticut. We also fished for smallmouth bass in some of the many ponds around Springfield.

Fishing for trout in our local streams gradually deteriorated to a feast or famine proposition. When the hatchery truck came, dozens of those imitation trout seemed anxious to impale themselves on my barbed hook. A week or so later of course they were all gone, caught by other fishermen or other predators. And when the dog days of summer came, the streams weren't even stocked, since the low, warm water couldn't support trout. This cycle of put-and-take was not what I enjoyed during my childhood memories and was most inconsistent with the images produced in my mind while reading some of the trout fishing classics. The hatchery trout didn't even taste very good, which started my habit of catch-and-release fishing at an early age. After graduating from college, my fishing trips took me to Montana, Idaho, Wyoming and many other states, satisfying a natural wanderlust as well as a desire to get away from the crowds and to enjoy the special pleasures of fishing for wild trout.

As a teenager I was also introduced to the pleasures of saltwater fishing. Our family often went out on party boats from various ports in Massachusetts, Connecticut or Rhode Island and would almost always return with a substantial catch of cod, pollock and other tasty fish. Like everybody else, we believed that the Atlantic Ocean was filled with a never-ending supply of fish that could never be depleted. Over the years of course I learned that marine fish populations did indeed have finite limits, and my ocean trips were progressively less frequent as my catch declined. For me, the end of this type of fishing came in the late 1980's.

My wife and I were on a week's vacation in the scenic town of Bar Harbor, Maine and we decided to go out fishing the day before we were to drive back home to Connecticut. The thought of taking home a fish or two in our cooler was quite appealing. When we went to the dock to sign up for a charter for the following morning a pleasant lady behind the counter said that they did indeed have space for the next morning's trip. She added however that we should expect to enjoy just a boat trip and perhaps the sighting of a whale or two. Apparently the Gulf of Maine groundfish were "gone". Since my wife is prone to seasickness, we respectfully declined. It was at this point in my life that I realized my motivation for fishing in the ocean was to catch fish for the table. On the other hand, my reasons for fishing for wild trout were the pristine environment, the scenes of nature and of course the stalking and catching of a quarry who was visible, wary and blessed with the sharpest of instincts.

For the past 15 years I have concentrated most of my fishing in the shallow saltwater environs of Florida, where I retired, and the Caribbean. In these tropical settings I'm able to replicate the visual benefits and the mental challenges of trout fishing. An added bonus is the raw excitement of tussling with some relatively large and fast snook, redfish, tarpon, crevalle jack, bonefish and many other formidable species. My wife and I eat fish three or four times a week; always bought at a local seafood market. This catch-and-release ethic isn't elitism; it's simply an expression of concern over dwindling marine fish populations. Over the past decade, the decline and changes in our shallow saltwater species are unmistakable and I'd frankly like to catch some of these fish more than once and minimize the number that are extracted from the sea.

Ocean fish lead a tough life. When humans are uncomfortable we turn on the air conditioning. When we feel threatened we dial 911 and when we get sick we go to a doctor. Fish don't have these options and they are exposed to many different dangers that threaten their existence. The first chapter of this book contains an overview of many of the processes of ocean food webs. I have elected to cover this area so as to give the reader a basic understanding of what's going on in the ocean. This level of understanding is necessary to appreciate the effect of pollution and habitat loss on the health of our coastal fisheries.

The preceding illustration shows the eight principal elements of nature that affect the health and ultimate survivability of fish. These are the basic topics that will be covered in this book. Even these natural elements can periodically disrupt the health and life of fish populations. Unfortunately, a common denominator of these eight factors is that man's activities can be and is involved in all of them. Man is most visibly involved as a major predator of fish; a predator who can be tenacious, intelligent and armed with all sorts of technical aids. Man is further involved in the health of fish populations by destroying fish habitat and by discarding his personal and business wastes in careless ways. Even the climate and the fish's food supply are not free from man's impact.

Perhaps our level of involvement one hundred years ago was insufficient to seriously threaten fish populations. Today's level is however having noticeable detrimental effects and the thought of what will happen in the next century is scary. Population growth coupled with increasing affluence and expectations will require extraordinary changes in our way of life to avoid a worldwide fisheries disaster.

On the bright side, there are events now taking place that may offer hope for mitigating the negative activities that are threatening the very existence of our coastal fisheries. First and probably foremost, the science of fisheries biology has advanced significantly over the past several decades and our fisheries managers are in a better position to assess the status of the health of fisheries stocks and to recommend sensible management strategies. Nevertheless, significant improvements are needed in the ways that our fisheries are managed. Instead of attempting to harvest the maximum sustainable yield for individual fish species, we need to manage on an ecosystem basis with a long-term view, so that the ocean will be sufficiently healthy to meet our future needs.

Similarly, the state of the art of aquaculture and wild stock enhancement also is advancing and may help to satisfy our insatiable craving for table fare and sport. However, attempts to supplement nature's production are fraught with risks of pollution and other problems, and these endeavors must be conducted with the greatest of caution. Effort is also being expended toward habitat improvement and restoration, now that the importance of healthy ecosystems has been established. Finally, the awareness level of the general public has risen and activist groups are beginning to have success in deflecting some of the more harmful initiatives of commercial enterprise and government agencies. These trends and others are discussed in more detail in this book.

It would be impractical to cover all fish species in this book because of their sheer numbers. Worldwide, there are thousands of different marine fish species, many of which have yet to be discovered or even named. In this book, I will be covering those saltwater species that inhabit or often visit the shores of the continental United States. Accordingly, I have excluded freshwater species except for those anadromous fishes that spend a significant portion of their life in the sea. Also excluded are the pelagic and shark species, though I may discuss them from time to time as important predators of coastal fish. Many marine species also are ignored because of our lack of knowledge about them.

The National Marine Fisheries Service has identified nearly 1000 marine fish stocks that are pursued by American commercial or recreational fishermen, but they are able to monitor the harvest data for less than half of these stocks. The Service conducts an impressive array of research programs to improve our understanding of the health of our fish populations, but thus far they have been able to gain adequate assessment knowledge on only a few hundred stocks. In this book, I have focused my attentions toward those species and stocks that are most important to the economy, to the environment or to recreational or commercial fishermen.

The reader will soon note that some of the information contained in this book relates to very different types of food and prey upon which fish depend for their survival. Baitfish, shellfish, mollusks, squid, sponge, seaweed etc. are discussed herein because either they are all "consumed" by us and are therefore the targets of commercial fishing operations, or because they are important food or habitat for coastal fisheries.

I hope that the reader will find this book to be informative with regard to the health of our fragile coastal fisheries. Most important, I hope that the reader will join me in helping to save our coastal marine environment, and its occupants, for future generations.

Don Phillips Marco Island, Florida September 30, 2003

EXCERPT FROM PAGE 138

The summer flounder or fluke, Paralichthys dentatus, concentrate in bays and estuaries from late summer until early fall. In the fall they migrate toward deeper water for spawning. The summer flounder is highly prized for its eating quality. Some females may weigh in excess of 20 pounds and be three feet in length, but the average size of landed fish is two to five pounds. Males may live up to seven years, but the female life span may be up to 20 years. As shown on Figure 8.5, current recreational harvest levels are of the same order of magnitude as the commercial harvest. This species ranges from Maine to the Carolinas, but is most abundant from south of Cape Cod, Massachusetts to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. Summer flounder have been overfished for many years, but this has improved somewhat in recent years. Stock abundance since 1994 has remained reasonably stable, though still below the target established by the species' fishery management plan.

The winter flounder or lemon sole, Pseudopleuronectes americanus, is smaller than the summer flounder, seldom reaching lengths of more than two feet. In contrast to the summer flounder, winter flounder spend the warmer months of the year in deeper waters, migrating in to the bays and estuaries in the winter to spawn. This species can be found from Labrador to Georgia, but their abundance is highest from the Gulf of St. Lawrence to Chesapeake Bay. Recreational catches are especially significant in the southern segments of their range. The northern stock on Georges Bank has been overfished for many years, primarily because of excessive commercial harvest. The southern stock from southern New England to the Middle Atlantic was fished heavily in the early 1980's, and current sport harvests are very low relative to historic levels.

The historical sport and commercial harvest for winter flounder is shown on Figure 8.6. Surveys have shown that the stock is rebuilding to abundance levels approximately twice that of 1995, and that current levels of fishing should not hamper the rebuilding effort. There is some evidence that pollution and global warming may be especially harmful to winter flounder stock abundance. Unlike many other species, winter flounder eggs sink to the bottom after spawning, resting for some time before hatching and then being able to avoid predators. Polluted sediments and the early arrival of warmer-water predators may have a significant effect upon egg, larvae and juvenile mortality.

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