Daily Archives: April 8, 2013

The DeArruda Tapes: Environmental Defense Fund speaks about local sustainable fish species, catch shares

Editorial Page Editor Jim DeArruda holds an informal discussion with members of the ocean team at the Environmental Defense Fund. Discussed were efforts to bring local, sustainable fish into local institutions, ocean health, cod psct logoopulations and catch shares. In attendance were Johanna Thomas and Timothy Fitzgerald of EDF, Jeremy Crockford, a media consultant for EDF, and DeArruda. The audio tapes

The EDF ocean team affirms they are absolutely clueless.

West Coast fisheries to see ecosystem approach

The Pacific Fishery Management Council is meeting in Portland this week. On Tuesday, it’s expected to adopt a new ecosystem management approach to managing  the catch off Oregon, Washington and California. continued

Maine Fishermen want to land lobsters they pull in with their catch, Maine lobstermen say nope. Video

AUGUSTA, Maine (NEWS CENTER) – Maine’s Ground Fishermen are once again pushing to keep and sell the lobsters they pull in with their fishing catch at sea. continued

National Marine Fisheries Service expanding dolphin-safe tuna certification requirements

When the World Trade Organization found last year that U.S. labeling requirements for dolphin-safe tuna put Mexican tuna fishermen at a trade disadvantage, marine advocates worried that the federal government would weaken its dolphin-safe standards. Instead, a proposed rule published Friday by the National Marine Fisheries Service would expand the certification requirements. continued

A Proposed Rule by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 04/05/2013

Gulf Fishermen advocating for no tax on BP settlement money

The Plaquemines Gazette – At a meeting last week of the St. Bernard Parish Council, life-long shrimper George Barisich, President of the United Commercial Fishermen Association urged the council to pass a resolution that supports the untitledbp deathexemption of commercial fishermen from paying taxes on BP settlement money. continued

Pallone to introduce $193M federal bill to help Sandy-battered fishing industry

 U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. (D-6th Dist.) plans to urge federal lawmakers to give $193 million to New York and New Jersey for damages Hurricane Sandy inflicted on the fishing industry. The fishing industry contributed $2.4 billion to New Jersey’s gross state product in 2011, Pallone said. continued

Maine Offshore wind pilot project advances, decision eyed in 2014

As a test site for more extensive development of offshore wind energy production, Statoil North America proposes to moor four floating turbines in federal waters off the coast of Maine to generate 12 megawatts of energy. The Maine Public Utilities Commission voted 2-1 in January to accept Statoil’s revised terms to sell electricity generated by the project, called Hywind Maine, to Central Maine Power Co. The next phase of project planning includes environmental impact studies and conversations about potential impacts with Maine’s fishing community. continued

N.H. man caught with 41 pounds of elvers eels!

NEWPORT — The Maine Marine Patrol on April 3 issued a summons to Phillip Parker, 41 of Candia, N.H., in the largest case of illegal possession of elvers in the history of the fishery, according to a maine Marine Patrol news release. Marine Patrol Sgt. Rene Cloutier along with Officer John Luellen apprehended Parker in Newport after an investigation revealed that the New Hampshire man intended to sell 41 pounds of elvers, potentially worth more than $80,000, without a Maine elver-harvesting license. continued

Forum eyes solutions as key fishing date nears

A community forum billed by organizers as “Coming together to support our fishermen and the port of Gloucester” planned for Wednesday is aimed at developing a “comprehensive” solution for holding off or effectively dealing with a series of dire May 1 cod limit cuts that many see as sounding a virtual death knell for Gloucester’s and the Northeast’s groundfishing industry. continued

David Goethel – member of the New England Fishery Management Council pushes for change, current management program will guarantee the destruction of the groundfishing fleet

A scientist and member of the New England Fishery Management Council, citing multiple failures within the current system, is asked his colleagues to consider a series of radical and controversial changes in fisheries management that he asserts is in line with advanced scientific research papers and essential to the survival of the region’s fishing fleet. ”Overall,” council member David Goethel wrote in a March 3 letter to the panel’s chairman, Rip Cunningham, “these papers demonstrate that the current management program will guarantee the destruction of the groundfishing fleet with negligible benefits to the fish.” continued

Create a culture of safety, not tragedy, in fishing industry – Stewart Franck, Executive Director of the Fisheries Association of Nova Scotia.

Last year on May 9, we marked with great sadness the 20th anniversary of the Westray Mine disaster. On that day back in 1992, 26 men lost their lives while at work. It’s a day, a moment in time, that left an entire province blanketed with grief, and each year that passes we are haunted with the memory of lives so needlessly lost. We think about the wives and children on that day in ’92, waiting anxiously for their husbands and dads to walk through the door. We think of the aging parents of the miners, looking forward to the day they would welcome grandkids into their lives, a day that would now never come. continued

A Fishermans Son

Lobstermen mull changes – Alterations to season, new work week for crews among association’s plans

YARMOUTH — A grassroots organization for lobster fishermen has a new president and a new plan. The lobster fishery “is the backbone of the economy of our area,” John Crandall Nickerson, the newly elected president of the 1688 Professional Lobster Fishermen Association, said Thursday. He takes up the post from founder James Mood, who got the organization going in 2012, when lobster prices were so low the group called for captains to tie up their boats and demand a better wage. continued

Think you’re eating tuna? Think again – Food experts surprised at lack of concern over mislabelled fish in Canada

While controversy over horsemeat in the European beef and pork supply has captivated people around the world, food experts say Canadian consumers are blasé about mislabelled seafood in North America. continued

It’s time Delaware forbid the selling of shark fins. (guess they should just throw them away!) Another shark fin nut.

delawareonline.com. – Legislation has been introduced in the General Assembly that would prohibit the possession, sale and distribution of shark fins, but not sharks themselves, in Delaware. 11th District State Rep. Jeff Spiegelman, Clayton. continued

Trump La Jolla’s swanky beach neighbors seeks relief from bird stench – “We’re kind of a victim of our own success,” NMFS!

SAN DIEGO (AP) – La Jolla’s jagged coastline is strictly protected by environmental laws to ensure the San Diego community remains the kind of seaside jewel that has attracted swanky restaurants, top-flight hotels and some of the nation’s rich and famous, including billionaire businessman Irwin Jacobs and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Tourists flock to the place. So do birds. Lots of birds. And with those birds comes lots of poop. continued