CNMI coral reef protection advocates have launched a campaign urging fishermen to measure their catch.
Titled “Size Matters,” the campaign aims to promote sustainable fishing by catching or eating fish only after they have reached their L50 size, or the size at which they begin to reproduce.
Division of Environmental Quality coral management fellow Aric Bickel said this is one way to ensure there will be enough fish for all “tomorrow.”
L50 is the length at which 50 percent of the females of a particular species have reached reproductive size.
This means that once a fish has reached its L50 size it most likely has had a chance to spawn or make babies.
Bickel said catching only fish that have grown to L50 size is one way to help ensure more fish on the reefs.
“We are hoping that these tools will provide fishermen and fish consumers with an opportunity to become familiar with these sizes,” Bickel said.
In an interview yesterday, Bickel said the list of sizes for fish species is not a new law or regulation. They are recommendations based on the best available life-history data with input from local and regional agencies and scientific journals.
“We just want to provide fishermen with the best information as scientifically as possible,” Bickel said.
Lisa Huynh Eller, federal programs coordinator of DEQ’s CNMI Coral Reef Initiative Outreach and Publications, said the primary goals for their outreach campaign are to:
• Increase awareness among recreational fishermen and media of the L50 term.
• Increase use of L50 rulers and posters, which were recently developed by fisheries managers in the Marianas.
“Through the use of these tools we are hoping to encourage the voluntary practice of size-selective recreational fishing,” she said.
Why measure?
By catching fish after they have reproduced, people can make sure that the fish they catch had a chance to replace themselves on the reef before they are harvested.
“More fish on the reef means more fish now, the assurance of fishing for our children and grandchildren, and healthier corals,” Bickel said.
Bickel and Eller have come up with a poster that shows some of the most commonly caught reef fish in the CNMI in their L50 size. There is also a two-sided, water proof brochure that shows 22 of the most commonly caught reef fish in the CNMI, again, in their L50 size in inches as indicated under each fish species.
It also includes directions on how to measure the fish using the built-in ruler, and demarcates CNMI marine protected areas and details other relevant fishing laws in the commonwealth.
