North Carolina Wildlife Federation’s Post

Distressing news: Despite record low demand for whale meat in both countries, Japan and Iceland have endorsed fin whale hunting this season. Today, Japan’s Fisheries Policy Council announced it will adopt recommendations from pro-whaling advocates to allow Kyodo Senpaku—the country’s last remaining whaling company—to kill as many as 59 fin whales a year in the North Pacific, on top of the company’s existing annual whaling quota. In Iceland, the Minister of Food, Agriculture and Fisheries issued a commercial whaling permit to Hvalur hf, the country’s last remaining whaling company, to kill up to 128 fin whales. Read AWI’s statement: https://lnkd.in/eqh34pJM

The saddest news 😭😢 The article is subscriber only, but essentially it says that the last breeding female hoiho from Sandfly Bay died in a setnet off Otago. The female was one of four hoiho bycaught by inshore fisheries since on-board cameras on commercial fishing vessels were introduced on October 31 last year. 🎥⛴️ This is a catastrophic blow not only for the Sandfly Bay colony (which is now gone), but to the dwindling and struggling hoiho population, with only around 160 pairs left on mainland Aotearoa (that includes Rakiura). 🐧🪺 We need tighter inshore fishing regulation (night setting of nets should be mandatory to avoid hoiho, other penguin & marine mammal foraging times), and we MUST get the promised South-East marine protected area in place - they are/were meant to be officially brought in by mid this year. 🌊🐬 #marineconservation #penguins #marineprotectedareas #saveourseas https://lnkd.in/gVBaf3Dz

🚨 NEWS: Special Fishing Regulations Set at Lake La Su An Wildlife Area 🎣 Fisheries biologists have set the special fishing regulations for this year at La Su An Wildlife Area in Williams County. The area is open to fishing until Monday, Sept. 2, 2024. ⏺️ WHEN: Fishing is permitted on Mondays, Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays from sunrise to sunset during the open season. Lake La Su An Wildlife Area is closed to fishing at all other times. Reservations are not needed to fish the lakes on Lake La Su An Wildlife Area. All vehicles are required to park in a designated parking space. ⏺️ LIMITS: The sunfish daily limit is 15, with no more than five fish of 8 inches or longer. Largemouth bass have an 18-inch minimum length requirement and a five fish daily limit. Channel catfish have a two fish daily bag limit. Daily limits are posted on site and are in effect area wide. Anglers may only catch up to one daily limit for a species regardless of how many lakes are fished. All other statewide fishing regulations apply to the area’s lakes. Anglers are also reminded that no fish may be used as bait on the area. ⏺️ WHY: These regulations have been designed by our fisheries biologists to continue the tradition of quality bluegill fishing on the Lake La Su An Wildlife Area lakes. The Division of Wildlife accomplishes this by limiting the number of days the lakes are open to fishing and the number of sunfish that anglers take home each day. 🔗 https://ow.ly/tzFe50REOVI

Have just read the article in the Daily Maverick (14 March 2024) about new proposed wildlife legislation with the detail “The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE) has released a 48-page planto create integrated “mega landscapes” on land and sea encompassing extensive areas where hunting, bioprospecting and tourism would monetise wild animals and plants for “consumptive use””. This information arrived at the same time I finished reading An Elephant in My Kitchen: What the Herd Taught Me About Love, Courage and Survival by Francoise Malby-Anthony. Remember, she was the wife of the late Lawrence Anthony, the original Elephant Whisperer. With the current debates on animal killing for trophies or for muti, the above books demonstrate ways of better handling our wild life and the amazing efforts to help the orphans left after their parents are killed. The stories are about love, courage and heartbreak. I wonder if members of the DFFE have read these books? Is their purpose to generate more income for their masters for “consumptive use”? Are the outcomes to merely support the rich who kill animals for pleasure? What are the social and practical implications for ‘Mega areas for hunting’? As an elephant lover, I am horrified. Why isn’t the focus on protecting and supporting our wildlife? Our cruel, heartless, disgusting ANC GOVERNMENT.

The California Fish and Game Commission recently proposed the classification of white sturgeon under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA). While recent assessments of white sturgeon have shown the lack of a robust population, this data may be misleading due to the species’ long life spans, delayed maturity, and episodic recruitment tendencies making short-term projections difficult to project. ASA estimates that recreational fishing for white sturgeon in California provides at least $11 – 38 million a year in economic impact. A CESA listing for white sturgeon directly threatens the state’s recreational fishing economy while providing little benefit for species recovery. What limited data exists on white sturgeon indicates the population may be in decline, however, ASA believes the stock can rebound through improved fisheries management, resource allocation, and addressing pollution. Instead of listing white sturgeon, ASA recommends investments in adaptive, science-based management that addresses specific challenges such as habitat restoration and water use policies that benefit fish and wildlife. Read ASA's letter here: https://lnkd.in/edaNkdYs 📸 Rick Swart/ODFW

🌲🌲Welcome to the jungle, creating new and diverse rec fishing opportunities 🎣 Bravo to the Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (Queensland) team who are releasing up to 10,000 jungle perch fingerlings into Lake Kurwongbah and Enoggera Reservoir as part of a 3-year trial to boost recreational fishing opportunities and tourism. 🎣🌞 The iconic native Queensland species, which occurs from Cape York down to Tallebudgera Creek on the Gold Coast, is prized by anglers for its hard-fighting and elusive nature, but has never been approved as an impoundment species in Australia. 🏆 Recreational anglers nominated jungle perch, which can grow up to 50 centimetres long and weigh up to 3.5 kilograms, as the species they most wanted to be added to Queensland's Stocked Impoundment Permit Scheme (SIPS). The joint Department of Agriculture and Fisheries (DAF) and City of Moreton Bay project is the result of more than a decade of DAF research, which included the world’s first successful captive breeding program at our Bribie Island Research Centre. 🧫 If the stocking trial is a success, jungle perch will be added to the permitted species list for stocking impoundments along the state's east coast and likely be introduced to other dams, helping to restore the species’ place in the southern Queensland landscape for future generations. 🌍 Learn more about fishing in stocked impoundments 👉 https://lnkd.in/gdwd_Qaw FRDC - Fisheries Research and Development Corporation City of Moreton Bay #fishing #jungleperch #stocking #habitat #science

Juniper encroachment throughout the Great Plains also reduces habitat for Greater Prairie-Chickens, Lesser Prairie-Chickens, Sharp-tailed Grouse, Northern Bobwhite and several other grassland-dependant bird species. In Oklahoma alone, junipers (primarily eastern red cedar) are spreading at an estimated rate of 300,000 acres per year, or about 470 square miles a year. In addition to reducing the available habitat, junipers also consume a massive amount of water, reducing grass and forb production, including forage for livestock. Junipers in Oklahoma currently use an average of 15,000,000,000 gallon of water per day. https://ow.ly/cz0Y50R5axk

🐾 We seem to be one step closer to ending the cruel commercial big cat trade and I feel incredibly proud of the tireless work that FOUR PAWS and others have done on this topic over the past decade and more. The fact is, South Africa’s big cat industry is out of control. Some are saying that there are approximately 12,000 captive lions in the country – this makes it the largest number of captive lions in the world! 😯 The South African government Cabinet has recently approved the revised Policy Position on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Elephant, Lion, Leopard and Rhinoceros for implementation. This is another step in the right direction 🎉 I see a future where the commercial trade in big cats, and other wildlife, does not exist.   For now, along with FOUR PAWS, I am continuing the fight to ban the commercial trade of ALL big cats in South Africa. I urge you to help by signing the petition ➡️ https://brnw.ch/21wIdLD And I urge the #DFFE to develop a comprehensive roadmap with clear time-bound targets for ending all big cat exploitation within the industry, ensuring a future where these magnificent animals are respected and protected. Along with FOUR PAWS, I urge the South African, Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment to: ➡ Publish a government implementation plan, including time-bound specific goals to follow up on Cabinet approved policy position to end the captive keeping of lions for commercial purposes and close captive lion facilities. ➡ Include all big cat species in the implementation plan. Due to a global convergence in the legal commercial trade and illegal trade of big cats and their parts, the rationale for closing the lion industry applies to all big cat species. Read more here: https://lnkd.in/g9WMqdr7 #BreakTheViciousCycle #FOURPAWS #AnimalWelfare #BigCats #Lions #Tigers

The Massachusetts Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission has approved proposals toward horseshoe crab protection made by Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. Items approved include: closures during spawning season from harvest, retention, or possession; a reduction in the daily hand harvest limit; and state enforcement of harvest closures at Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge and Cape Cod National Seashore, through the ability to issue citations for non-compliance. "Protecting horseshoe crabs during spawning season is incredibly important to getting this keystone species back to historic population levels that are critical to the health of coastal ecosystems, including the migratory birds that rely on them," stated David O'Neill, president of Coalition member Mass Audubon. The regulations need final approval by Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, expected in the coming months. The coalition views this as a first step toward safeguarding horseshoe crabs in Massachusetts, and will continue working to secure more comprehensive protections going forward. Follow the link to read more: https://lnkd.in/eMu4CUhK

Calling all of those working in conservation grazing! Did you know we run a Stockman Safari with our wonderful Stockman, Patrick Toe? Patrick has been managing our livestock for 15 years. This event is targeted at people working in conservation and land management who would like to learn more about naturalistic grazing and managing livestock in an open system. Our free-roaming grazing animals are really the managers of our rewilding project. Their disturbance creates a mosaic of dynamic, shifting habitats that is rocket-fuel for wildlife. Without grazing animals, the scrub emerging from our post-agricultural fields would soon turn into closed-canopy woodland, which is a poor habitat for most wildlife. Disturbance from grazing, browsing, rootling, rubbing and trampling, provides a check on galloping scrub; and the battle between these two processes – animal disturbance versus vegetation succession – creates all sorts of vegetation structures which contribute to a dynamic, ever-shifting mosaic of valuable habitats. After a short presentation over coffee and biscuits, you will head out to look for Knepp’s herds of old English longhorn cattle, Tamworth pigs, and red and fallow deer. You will learn primarily about cattle management, health checks, how to round up cattle over large areas using the Bud Williams technique, as well some detail about pigs in an open system. We have three dates booked in with Pat this year: 14 June, 19 July and 20 September. Take a look here for more details and opportunity to book: https://lnkd.in/emkyrsKD