Daily Archives: December 28, 2012

Study looks at balancing fishing for and preserving menhaden – Population at lowest point in 50 years? hmm

Fisheries scientists are conducting a study on Atlantic menhaden that will help identify the balance between harvesting and preserving the species. Atlantic menhaden, described as “small, oily fish” that migrate along the East Coast, are the “favorite menu item of prized rockfish,” and have a high commercial value, according to a statement the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science. Currently, the menhaden population is at its lowest point in more than 50 years due to harvesting and predation, the statement says. But fisheries scientists from UMCES are investigating the balance between fishing for Atlantic menhaden and the value the fish has in the ecosystem, thanks to a grant from the Lenfest Ocean Program. The Lenfest Ocean Program “funds scientific research on policy-relevant topics concerning the world’s oceans and communicates the results of the supported research to decision makers and other interested audiences,” according to its website. Read More

‘Founder of New Bedford scalloping’ dies at 91- Myron Marder – accountant turned fleet owner helped jump-start the industry in the 1960s.

NEW BEDFORD — Myron Marder was a scalloper before shellfish was the city’s biggest industry.

Friends of Marder, who died Dec. 24 at the age of 91, remember how the accountant turned fleet owner helped jump-start the industry in the 1960s.

“He was really one of the founders of the scalloping industry in New Bedford,” Robert Mitchell, of R.A. Mitchell, said Thursday. Mitchell said both he and his father have been friends with Marder since the 1950s.

Marder got his start in the fishing industry when he opened an accounting office on the New Bedford waterfront in 1946 after serving in the Army during World War II.

From there, he built a fleet of up to six wooden-hulled scallop vessels which led the city’s scalloping industry.

“Myron would always have the best captains on his boats because he got to know them when he was doing the books for their boats,” Mitchell said.  Read More

Upbeat NOAA fishery report challenged

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NEW BEDFORD — To say that Richard Canastra didn’t quite believe an upbeat NOAA report on the state of the Northeast groundfish industry is to understate it.

“It’s a crock,” said Canastra, who co-owns the BASE seafood display auction. Only a few days ago he was telling regulators that this year might be the fleet’s “last hurrah.”

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration painted a sunny picture in a Dec. 26 report, saying that even with a smaller fleet, the catch was up, profits were up and total catch was up.

Canastra replied: “The headline looks great but when you look at it it’s just like the science. Everything NOAA does they try to cover up.”

There was also unanimous suspicion about the timing of the report, which was released the morning after Christmas, usually not a big news day. Read More

Local waters were a passion for fisherman who died on the Broad River – Tragedy

Martin Luther Stewart Sr. felt “blessed” to make his living on the river.

He died there Wednesday after the 19-foot skiff he was on with fellow fisherman Vincent Chaplin capsized.

Sea Eagle Market owner Craig Reaves, who hired Stewart a few months ago, recalled gathering oysters with him last Sunday.

“He looked at me and said ‘you know most people go to work because they have to. Me and you are blessed because we get to do something we love.'”

“He’d been in the river his whole life,” Reaves said. “That’s what he loved and that was his passion.” Read More

Cape fishermen dubious of latest catch report –

CHATHAM — A report released earlier this week by the National Marine Fisheries Service shows landings of bottom-dwelling fish were up for the 2011-2012 fishing season in the Northeast, but Cape fishermen say the numbers don’t reflect the current scarcity of fish in New England waters. The report, issued Wednesday, compared the fishing year that ended April 2012 to the two prior. The combination of rising prices paid to fishermen for catching groundfish, which include cod, haddock and flounder, and increased landings meant that revenue was also higher than in the past three years, the report states. Read More

Fishing aid faces Senate floor fight – $336 million for AMTRAK !!

Republican Sens. John McCain and Tom Coburn have signaled an effort to strip from a $60.4 billion Hurricane Sandy disaster relief bill today the $150 million targeted for fisheries disaster funding — the bulk of which would go to tmanatthewheelhe five coastal New England states and New York whose fishermen work the Atlantic for groundfish. Read More

Commercial shad fishing season opens two weeks early in Georgetown area

The American shad commercial fishing season will open Jan. 15, 2013 in the  Georgetown area. This is two weeks earlier than the traditional opening in early  February. This change keeps the commercial shad season in compliance with the  Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) American shad sustainable  fishing plan for South Carolina and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)  mandate to reduce by-catch of Atlantic and shortnose sturgeon.
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