Florida anglers now are no longer required to have and use a venting tool when fishing for reef fish such as snapper and grouper in Gulf of Mexico state waters. Removal of this rule means anglers will have the freedom to determine how to best maximize survival of released reef fish using devices they feel are appropriate, depending on the circumstances.

Maximizing post-release survival of fish is important in marine fisheries management, because it means more fish survive to potentially reproduce and be harvested in the future.

Venting tools are hollow, sharpened instruments (see picture) that provide one way to treat barotrauma, a condition that occurs when fish are brought quickly to the surface from deep water. The change in pressure from depth to surface can cause gases within the fish’s swim bladder to expand, which can damage internal organs and reduce the likelihood a fish will survive when returned to the water.

Venting allows gases to escape from a fish’s body cavity so the fish can swim back down to depth. While they are still a useful way to increase chances of fish survival after release, fish do not always need to be vented to survive upon release.

Descending devices, which send fish back down to deeper waters, are another, more recently developed alternative to venting that also can be used now to increase survival rates among fish with barotrauma.

The requirement to have a venting tool was removed during the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s (FWC) Nov. 21 meeting, making state regulations consistent with rules in federal waters.

Venting tools are not required in Atlantic state or federal waters.

The use of non-stainless steel, non-offset circle hooks and dehooking devices are still required in state and federal Gulf waters when fishing for reef fish. These tools minimize handling time for reef fish, which aids in survival of the fish upon release.

To learn more about recognizing barotrauma and venting tools, and what to do if a fish is suffering from barotrauma, go to the FWC website and click on “Saltwater Fishing,” “Recreational Regulations” and “Fish Handling” and look under “Tackle.” Information about reef fish gear rules is available under “Recreational Regulations.”

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Anglers have more options to maximize released fish survival rates

CRESTVIEW — One of the community's top prize-winning home chefs has fared so well in nationwide competitions that she quit her job to make cooking her main focus.

"I wanted to concentrate on my cooking adventures," Sherri Williams said. "I'm an actual homemaker right now and I enjoy it."

Recently, she defeated hundreds of competitors from across the nation to win "Good Morning America's" Game Day Grub Contest with her Barbecue Pulled Pork Pepper Poppers.

"They are so good and they are so easy," Williams said. "You can make them the day before. Even if you don't eat pork you can use any kind of protein in them. You can use veggie crumbles or veggie cheese and they will still be just as good."

When area residents learned that a Crestview cook was a finalist in the contest, Williams' Facebook page, Cooking With Love and Passion, was swamped with "friend" requests.

"They were excited when they saw someone from Crestview was on 'Good Morning America,'" Williams said. "I've met a lot of friends from my cooking."

They can look forward to Williams' next nationwide appearance later this spring when she appears on the A&E network's World Food Championship, taped a couple months ago in Las Vegas.

Stymied by ice

An ice storm that struck the area closed Northwest Florida Regional Airport and precluded her being in ABC's Times Square TV studios for her moment of triumph.

"I didn't even get to go! It was crazy," Williams said. "I was looking forward to going. And of course, the show was pre-empted here. I got the link later on to see it on Facebook."

After her victory was announced, heralded by a squad of school-age cheerleaders running through the GMA set, Williams appeared on the show via a Skype link from her Crestview kitchen.

Williams joins her "foodie friends" in Cooking Contest Central, an Internet group that follows recipe contest opportunities. In fact, she competed against a friend on the GMA contest.

"We have a lot of the same friends in common," Williams said. "We were up against hundreds of people in the nation but we were against each other too. That was kind of hard."

Williams said she'll keep submitting recipes as cooking contests that tickle her fancy are announced, using Roy, her husband of 32 years, as her chief taste-tester and food critic.

"I'm at that age when I can do what I love to do, and that's cooking and sharing it with everybody else," Williams said.

Email News Bulletin Staff Writer Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview woman quits job, focuses on cooking

Swordfish management is a success story. Overfished in the 1980s and ’90s, the swordfish stock has since been fully rebuilt, thanks to domestic and international conservation measures.

Recently, NOAA Fisheries Highly Migratory Species Division created a new open-access commercial swordfish fishery in federal waters to provide additional commercial swordfish harvest opportunities using gears that minimize bycatch.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) approved several changes to state rules recently, many of which will allow fishermen who participate in this new commercial fishery to land and sell their catch in Florida. Recently adopted changes will go into effect Feb. 13.

Several changes to state rules are also consistent with existing federal rules, including a change to the cleithrum-to-keel (see image below) minimum size limit for recreational and commercial swordfish harvest.

Changes affecting commercial harvest include:

•Designating swordfish as a restricted species.

•Exempting commercial harvesters who possess a Swordfish General Commercial permit or a Highly Migratory Species Charter/Headboat permit (when not on a for-hire trip) from the recreational bag and vessel limits. Permit holders must abide by HMS regional vessel limits.

•Allowing the sale of commercially caught swordfish under these permits.

•Closing state waters to commercial harvest if adjacent federal waters are closed.

•Requiring wholesale dealers purchasing swordfish to possess a valid federal Atlantic Swordfish Dealer permit. This change affects wholesale dealers in both the Atlantic and Gulf.

•Allowing transit of swordfish through state waters when harvested in federal waters with gear that is legal to use in federal waters.

Changes that affect commercial and recreational harvest:

•Modifying the minimum cleithrum-to-keel (CK) limit from 29 to 25 inches for all harvesters. The cleithrum is the bony area right behind the gill slit, and the keel is the horizontal ridge right before the tail fin (see photo). There is no change to the lower jaw fork length measurement also used when measuring swordfish.

 •Restricting gear to hook and line in state waters.

•Clarifying federal rule references.

Learn more about swordfish and other highly migratory species by visiting MyFWC.com/Fishing and click on “Saltwater,” “Recreational Regulations” and “Highly Migratory Species.”

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Swordfish management expands fishing opportunities Feb. 13

Beginning today, the Northwest Florida Ballet premieres "The New Works Project," ballets by three local choreographers, in a specially created black box theatre. Tickets for the Fort Walton Beach studio venue are limited.

An Okaloosa Public Arts exhibit — featuring artists' interpretations of the Northwest Florida Ballet's 2013 productions "A Midsummer Night's Dream" and "Afterglow" — accompanies the performances.

"The Northwest Florida Ballet has long been known for its stunning classical repertoire," the company's marketing assistant Megan Fontaine said. "What many may not realize, however, is that the ballet is also a center for creation and innovation."

The new works display three of the ballet school faculty members' choreography talents.

Jazz Rozer's "hi-er-ar-chy" "tells the story of human aspiration from birth and maturation, leading towards awareness, self-actualization and potential," Fontaine said. Rozer teaches jazz and hip hop at the NFB.

Kelly Murdock's "Super Mario MG" explores what happens when Shigeru Miyamoto’s Super Mario Brothers combine with renowned choreographer Martha Graham’s trademark technique.

"Life's Rich Experience," NFB associate director Sharon Allen's first composition, "explores thoughtful emotions and lyrical expressions of dance movement with the human connection to the essence of our earth, wind and water."

"Atomic Trio," another dance by Allen, is choreographed to music from Radiohead lead vocalist Thom Yorke's "Atoms for Peace," and explores the repetitive cycles of life.

Want to go?

WHAT: The New Works Project

WHO: Northwest Florida Ballet premiere of works by three local choreographers

WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Feb. 21; 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Feb. 22; 2:30 Feb. 23

WHERE: NWF Ballet Studio, 310 Perry Ave., Fort Walton Beach.

DETAILS: Tickets $28 adult, $14 children 12 and under. Tickets are limited and available at the ballet organization's website, or by phone at 664-7787.

Email News Bulletin Staff Arts and Entertainment Editor Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 'New Works,' local artists: Northwest Florida Ballet premieres works by local choreographers

CRESTVIEW — Film historians may differ on the best film ever made — art being a matter of personal taste — but they generally agree that 1939 was the best year in American cinema.

Multiple factors made the year such an important one for movies, film historian Judy DeBolt said.

Among them, America was climbing out of the Great Depression, Hollywood resolved union disputes, and technological advances — including three-strip Technicolor and high fidelity sound — enhanced American films' quality.

In addition, the rise of Nazi Germany forced an exodus of top European stars, film composers and directors who settled in Hollywood.

Topping the year in box office receipts and audience popularity, and DeBolt's personal favorite, was "Gone With the Wind," followed closely by "The Wizard of Oz," a commercial failure when first released, she said.

DeBolt said she intended to share her personal top 10 best films of '39 list, "but I actually have 14. I couldn't stop at 10."

For resident Virginia Kemp, DeBolt's Feb. 4 presentation, "The Films of 1939" at the Crestview Public Library brought back a flood of memories of walking to neighborhood cinemas in her native Philadelphia.

"I was 13 years old in 1939 and I saw a lot of those movies," Kemp said. "I went to Saturday afternoon matinees. "

Kemp said her favorite film of the year was also "Gone With the Wind," but "Young Mr. Lincoln," No. 9 on DeBolt's list, generated a special memory.

Her mother, who disapproved of movies, gave Kemp money to see the Henry Fonda film about Lincoln's early career as an Illinois attorney.

"She thought it was educational and she was all for that. It was the only time I ever lied to my mother," Kemp said. "I walked to another (cinema) and saw 'One Million B.C.' I went home and made up a story about seeing the Lincoln movie."

The Rev. Harry Tipton, a retired Air Force and prison chaplain, also had fond memories of the epic Civil War classic that topped historians' lists.

"The first movie I ever saw was 'Gone With the Wind,'" he said. "I saw it when I was a small child in Knoxville, Tenn."

DeBolt's "behind the scenes" stories about the films made the presentation intriguing, Kemp and Tipton said.  

"The program was delightful," Kemp said. "She talked for almost an hour and a half and nobody was getting antsy. She held our attention."

"I thought the lady had an amazing knowledge of those movies," Tipton said. "It makes me want to see some of the top ones again."

Judy's Top 10 14

Film historian Judy DeBolt said she "couldn't stop at just 10" when compiling her list of 1939's top films. Here's her countdown.

14. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (Mickey Rooney, Rex

13. Drums Along the Mohawk (Claudette Colbert, Henry Fonda)

12. Rose of Washington Square (Tyrone Power, Alice Faye)

11. Babes in Arms (Mickey Rooney, Judy Garland)

10. Love Affair (Irene Dunn, Charles Boyer)

9. Young Mr. Lincoln (Henry Fonda, Alice Brady)

8. Ninotchka (Greta Garbo, Melvyn Douglas)

7. The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Charles Laughton, Maureen O'Hara)

6. Wuthering Heights (Laurence Olivier, Merle Oberon)

5. Goodbye Mr. Chips (Robert Donat, Greer Garson)

4. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (James Stewart, Jean Arthur)

3. Stagecoach (Claire Trevor, John Wayne)

2. The Wizard of Oz (Judy Garland, Frank Bolger)

1. Gone With the Wind (Clark Gable, Vivian Leigh)

Email News Bulletin Staff Arts and Entertainment Editor Brian Hughes, follow him on Twitter or call 850-682-6524.

This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: 'The best year in American cinema' sparks moviegoers' memories