Monthly Archives: April 2013
Mariner’s Day in works for Nova Scotia
The work and sacrifices of Nova Scotians who make a living at sea will be commemorated annually as the province sets aside a special day to honour them. Each year, the second Sunday in August will be known as Mariner’s Day in Nova Scotia. While speaking at the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic, Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Sterling Belliveau announced on April 29, that he is introducing legislation to create the Mariner’s Day Act. “The recent tragic loss of five young men aboard the Miss Ally serves as a reminder of the dangers fishers face while supporting their families and communities,” said Belliveau. continued
California commercial salmon fishing season opens May 1
heraldonline.com – SACRAMENTO, Calif. — May 1 marks the opening day of the California commercial salmon fishing season, which continues through October 15. “2013 is predicted to be a good year for California Kings,” says Aaron Newman, Chairman of the California Salmon Council. He adds, “California has traditionally been the leading producing state for troll-caught (hook-and-line) wild king salmon along the Pacific Coast. We’re projected to catch 3 million pounds this season, which is an increase over last year’s 2.5 million pounds.” continued
Joe Romm Predicts “…All But Certain Ruin for Modern Civilization…” from a NOAA Fisheries Press Release
You can’t make this stuff up. The April 25, 2013 NOAA press release Sea Surface Temperatures Reach Highest Level in 150 Years on Northeast Continental Shelf has been getting coverage by the mainstream media, including alarmist websites like Climate Progress. Sea surface temperatures may be the warmest in 150 years in specific regions of the Northeast Continental Shelf, but NOAA advised that they’re comparable to sea surface temperatures experienced in the late 1940s and early 1950s: continued
Boston rally urges 11th-hour reprieve for fishermen (conflicting number of attendee’s)
Barring the extraordinary, draconian cuts in landings for the (New England) 2013 fishing season will take effect on Wednesday — May 1, the start of the new fishing year. It was Attorney General Martha Coakley, a leading advocate for the
fishing industry along with Gov. Deval Patrick who put it directly to NOAA’s Gloucester-based Northeast regional administrator while addressing the 300-400 fishermen present as well.Boston rally urges 11th-hour reprieve. John Bullard who stood in the audience that numbered about 250 people, told the Times moments later he has heard nothing from higher authorities, NOAA, however, has still not posted on the Federal Register the catch limits for groundfish for the 2013 fishing year. continued
EU spars with Canada, Norway at WTO over seal ban
GlobalPost – The European Union locked horns Monday with Canada and Norway at the World Trade Organisation over its hotly contested ban on the import and sale of seal products. The EU was hauled before the WTO’s dispute settlement body by Ottawa and Oslo after imposing a ban in 2010 due to what it says are inhumane hunting methods. continued
Seal in Veal Reduction with Sour Cherries: recipe – video
Toronto Star – Food reporter Michele Henry follows the seal hunt from ice floe to plate in the April 20, Toronto Star Life section. Watch online for the soon-to-be-published ebook.Searing seals in seal’s flavor, continued
Imports and Rising Costs Concerns For Seafood Board’s Keith Watts
Competition from imports and the rising costs of doing business are just two of the pressures facing Louisiana crabbers, said Keith Watts as he prepares to represent the state’s crabbing industry on the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and 
ahh,,, what the Hell. Saving Seafood ALERT – PRESS RELEASE: Federal, State, & Local Officials, Industry Leaders to Speak at Groundfish Industry Rally Today at Boston Fish Pier
10:50 AM (4 minutes ago) 
WHAT: Groundfish Industry Rally
WHEN: Monday, April 29, 2013
Program begins at 11:00 a.m.
WHERE: Boston Fish Pier
Rally event will take place alongside 212 Northern Avenue, Boston, MA 02210
Cortez in running for “Ultimate Fishing Town” title
Bradenton.com – CORTEZ — Manatee County’s historic fishing village is a contender to be voted the “Ultimate Fishing Town.” Cortez was nominated for World Fishing Networks’ Ultimate Fishing Town contest, 
putting the community in contention for a regional prize of $3,500 or grand prize of $25,000. “I just think Cortez is coming into its own,” Karen Bell said. “People are learning to appreciate commercial fishing.” continued
Shad make a run up the Hudson River
Poughkeepsie Journal – One of the Hudson River’s signature species has begun its annual spring run up the river. American shad come back to the Hudson each year to spawn. Shad were the basis of a commercial fishery that was closed in 2010 by the state Department of Environmental Conservation due to declining numbers. continued
American Dynasty Update. Power failure followed by an unexpected engine restart, Driving her right into HMCS Winnipeg
Looks like she’s smiling!
A power failure followed by an unexpected engine restart aboard an American fishing trawler occurred moments before it rammed a Canadian navy frigate in Esquimalt Harbour, near Victoria. continued
Man dies after fall from fishing boat near Richmond, Vancouver, BC
CBCNews – A 36-year-old man has died after he fell off a fishing boat in the waters off Richmond last night, Vancouver police said on Sunday. The Coast Guard was called to the boat around 8:40 p.m. PT on Saturday. Two crewmates had pulled the man back on board by the time the rescue hovercraft arrived. continued
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Prince Edward Island: Malpeque fishermen worry sandbar will block boats
CBCNews – Lobster fishermen in Malpeque are worried their season could get off to a dangerous start Monday because of a large sandbar that is blocking the entrance to Malpeque Harbour. continued
Dartmouth budget amendment calls for School for Marine Science and Technology fisheries research with the state Division of Marine Fisheries
The earmark, if passed, would send the money to the School for Marine Science and Technology at the UMass Dartmouth in collaboration with the state Division of Marine Fisheries to assess the number of groundfish, including co
d and yellowtail. continued
Illegalities stoke California squid fishing war – Brail-fleet members allege Canadian-built purse seiners are grabbing all the catch
Monterey County Herald – A David and Goliath battle is brewing in the commercial squid fishery, with “scoop” fishermen alleging larger purse seiners are robbing them of their livelihoods, sometimes illegally. Based mostly in Southern California, members of the smaller brail, or scoop net, fleet say they have not been allowed to fish for three years because larger purse seiners, many of them built in Canada, have pulled in the quota of 118,000 tons before the brail season becomes ripe. continued
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Letter to theEditor: Catch share aid corporations, not fishermen – Meredith Moore, Senior Policy Analyst, Food & Water Watch, Washington, D.C.
Once again, representatives in Congress are being attacked for suggesting common-sense precautions to slow the spread of catch shares management in our nation’s federal fisheries. And once again, those attacks are based in,
at best, deep misunderstandings and, at worst, deliberate obfuscations, about the effects of catch shares. continued
NEFMC to ask Congress in its rewrite of the Magnuson-Stevens Act to establish a certification program for seafood
The council voted 16-0 at the end of its three day meeting in Mystic, Conn., to ask Congress to include in its rewrite of the Magnuson-Stevens Act language establishing a certification program for seafood — similar to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s stamp of approval for meat, according to the debate at the council. continued
Coast Guard responds to F/V Kalyn D boat fire and grounding
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Station Gloucester were notified by Rockport Harbormaster reporting that the 40-foot lobster fishing vessel Kalyn D. was on fire with two persons aboard, Saturday at approximately 1:15 p.m. continued
Portsmouth Fire Capt. Mike Hogan: Overturned boaters rescued by lobstermen
NEW CASTLE – The flipped boat and pair of wet occupants were reported Sunday at about 6 p.m. to emergency crews in New Castle and Portsmouth. The boat reportedly overturned in the waters off the causeway connecting Portsmouth and New Castle on Route 1B. The tide was out at the time. continued
Brilliant Doesn’t Begin To Describe The Genius That is The Chum Cutter – Video – GoodMorningGloucester
Our buddy Stevie Corbett designed something so simple, so efficient so time saving for ANYONE that does ANY amount of fishing. Unless of course you’d rather spend your time chopping up bait for hours instead of getting your lines in the water. continued
Alewife fish run through former site of Hopewell Mills Dam in Taunton
Elver eel price dips from 2012 high but poaching persists
ELLSWORTH, Maine — Maine’s 2013 elver fishing season is not playing out as a repeat of 2012. For one, the penalties now are higher, thanks to a new law that went into effect on Tuesday. Anyone who fishes or possesses the young American eels without a license now can be taken to jail for a first offense. Plenty of issues. continued
Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board could become Louisiana’s newest agency
BATON ROUGE — With lawmakers debating this session where to place the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board and who should oversee it, a new proposal has emerged to give it full autonomy and transform it into a standalone political subdivision. continued
BREAKING : Governor Patrick takes New England fishery case to White House – furious,11th-hour effort(a rare Sunday gdt post!)
I asked that the White House do everything it can to ensure that all federal resources are made available to our fishing industry,” Patrick also wrote.
The furious, 11th-hour effort to obtain some relief from the unprecedented cuts in allowed landings of many key stocks — most in the 40-50 percent range — comes as the Gloucester-based Northeast Seafood Coalition prepares for a rally Monday at 11 a.m. on the Boston Fish Pier, with Coakley, U.S. Rep. John Tierney, Sens. Elizabeth Warren and William “Mo” Cowan, and other officials, including Mayor Carolyn Kirk, scheduled to be among the speakers. Patrick will be represented by his secretary of energy and environmental affairs, Rick Sullivan. continued
NMFS Proposed rule to amend hired master regulations IFQ program fixed-gear commercial Pacific halibut and sablefish fisheries in the BSAI.
Proposed rule to amend the hired master regulations of the IFQ program for the fixed-gear commercial Pacific halibut and sablefish fisheries in the BSAI. Comment period through May 28, 2013. View pdf
Alaska-Journal-of-Commerce EDITORIAL: Shame to share for scallop shenanigans – ANDREW JENSEN, MANAGING EDITOR
Alaska’s rural communities will lose out after a backdoor move to preserve the status quo in the state scallop fishery backfired in the closing days of the legislative session. The stage for the standoff between Rep. Paul Seaton of Homer and Sen. Donny Olson of Nome was set when Olson attempted to bypass Seaton’s Fisheries Committee by attaching an unrelated permit program onto an uncontroversial House bill to extend the 25-year-old Alaska Regional Development Organization. continued
Reasons to Reject the Law of the Sea Treaty
Oceans cover 71 percent of Earth’s surface. As the new focal point of the environmental agenda, oceans are the subject of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea Treaty, called LOST. With Secretary of State John Kerry recently outlining the importance of oceanic conservation, continued
Puget Sound can’t heal itself – We can no longer put off the work needed to restore valuable waters, By Dave Somers
On a nice day, looking out from Everett across Port Gardner toward the Olympic Mountains, it is excusable to think all is well. The water is blue, the seagulls soar, and the boats cut back and forth. Do not be lulled by this vision. Past generations can be forgiven for not understanding the negative effects of their actions. We cannot claim the same excuse. continued
Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance Weekly Update APRIL 28, 2013
“The Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance is dedicated to its mission of continuing to help create sustainable fisheries without putting licensed fishermen out of business.” Read the update
