The Census of Marine life, a multinational scientific census of the oceans commissioned to find new species, is shedding some light on migration patterns of some of our traditional gamefish.

It appears sea turtles may be in a circular orbit of the Atlantic, a life they describe as “perpetual motion,” and California Sturgeon may summer in Canadian waters.

The overall decline of ocean gamefish still dominates the news; over harvest, global warming, all are suspects in this enfolding drama.

I can’t help but assume that with the decline of ocean fisheries, a similar but less newsworthy decline must be happening on the freshwater side as well. The decline in sportfishing licenses may be masking a broader issue, that fishing is suffering regardless of locale.

I stumbled on a picture on the New South Wales blog that may be premature but may also be a glimpse of our fate.

Daily fishing licenses and beat restrictions have been common in European countries for some time.

Privately held water manicured by riverkeepers may be our destiny, as are the “angling associations” that gain the right of trespass. I recognize that the idea is repugnant to us colonials, but it has been working for some time “across the Pond.”

Technorati Tags: declining fish stocks, Ocean census, fishing