Daily Archives: May 10, 2013

Driftnetter Bangun Perkasa to be cut up, not used for target practice

thebristolbaytimes.com – The high seas driftnetter Bangun Perkasa will never fish or float again, and it won’t be going down in a blaze of gunfire. “We’re going to cut it up and make it go away,” said Dan Magone, whose company was awarded a federal contract last month to destroy the vessel seized by the Coast Guard in September 2012 for violating an international ban on driftnet fishing. continued

Maritime fishermen remain in port to protest rock-bottom lobster prices – “It’s a dysfunctional system,”

The Tyee – Peter Dowd of the Gulf Nova Scotia Bonafide Fishermen’s Association said fishermen need to be invited to the table to discuss how they can secure a fair price. He says people in some parts of Nova Scotia were hearing that the price would be as high as $6 a pound early in the season and then dropped to about $3. “The protest is about how is it possible that the market has changed so drastically,” he said from Antigonish, where fishermen met again to discuss the way forward. “It doesn’t make sense that to most of the fishermen how the market could fluctuate so much.” continued   [Tyee]

Awright guy’s. The hot news is the ongoing Lobster Strike. Some include video.

PEI – Lobster blockade faces court injunction link PEI – Boats blockade 2nd P.E.I. lobster plant link – They brung the boat’s with ‘m! NB – Lobster protest continues over low prices link

Serge Shipley, one of the protesting fishermen, said it’s difficult to see some of his peers decide head out onto the water while others are trying to hold out for a better price. “Well it’s not too nice really because we are all in the same hole,” he said.”Everybody should stick together as fishermen, it’s unfortunate. But there are meetings going on after this to talk to them guys to see what their point of view will be after today.” Shipley puts the blame for the low prices squarely on one group. “It’s not the processors’ fault, they’re not making money, the fishermen are not making money. It’s the brokers that are making all the money,” he said.

BULLARD, SHELLEY, and COD: or Fish Being and Nothingness – Dick Grachek

“Returning Our New England Fisheries to Profitability”: “You’re doin’ a great job, Brownie” aka, Janie, Johnny, Petey.  You should be proud.  Mission Accomplished?

In her resignation email Lubchenco made the gravity-defying claim that she had made “notable progress” in “ending overfishing, rebuilding depleted stocks, and returning fishing to profitability”; but soon after, John Bullard “In an interview at the Times, Bullard said the telling figure was that the fleet caught only 54 percent of the allowed catch in 2012, and reasoned from that statistic that there is a dearth of inshore cod, a situation that warrants serious action to reverse.”  Richard Gaines March 8, 2013 Gloucester Daily Times, “NOAA head explains stock stand”  continued

“If the choice has to be between fish and mining, we choose the fish. Our challenge is to prove that the two can coexist.” Pebble Partnership CEO John Shively

TheHuffingtonPost. Alaska Pebble Mine Clash Heats Up – Kevin McCambly was born and raised in Dillingham, Alaska, just downstream from the proposed Pebble Mine, a massive copper and gold mining project that is pitting corporate interests against commercial fisherman, conservationists and local residents. Last week, he and many others demanded answers from Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) at a town hall meeting in Anchorage. continued

Big skate retention prohibited for Prince William Sound, Cook Inlet, central Gulf of Alaska

Fishermen in Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound targeting halibut and  groundfish may not retain incidentally-caught big skates as of noon today. Skates cannot be retained for the rest of the year. Instead, they must be  released with minimum injury. continued

Record-breaking Norton Sound winter king crab fishery to end May 15

The winter Norton Sound commercial king crab fishery is coming to a close  after a record-breaking season. The winter commercial king crab fishery in Norton Sound will end May 15. continued

Researchers test bycatch reduction device for groundfish trawling – tested a new “flexible sorting grid excluder”

statesmanjournal.com. – In a series of tests that included 30 tows off the Washington coast, commercial fishermen were able to reduce the number of halibut taken as bycatch by 57 percent, while retaining 84 percent of the targeted groundfishes, according to Mark Lomeli of the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, a multistate agency charged with sustainably managing Pacific Ocean resources. continued

The Gulf of Mexico commercial shrimp season for both Texas and federal waters closing May 23

The Texas closure applies to gulf waters from the coast out to nine nautical miles. The National Marine Fisheries Service has announced federal waters out to 200 nautical miles also will be closed to conform to the Texas closure. continued

1,000 lobster boats tie up to protest low prices

thechronicalherald – “We’ve got to stick together,” Dan MacDougall, president of the Gulf Nova Scotia Bonafide Fishermen’s Association, told the crowd. continued

West Coast fisheries to see ecosystem approach – Pacific Council to adopt ecosystem approach to managing West Coast fisheries

GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) — Federal fisheries managers for the West Coast are poised for a major change in the way they make sure that plenty of fish remain in the sea. continued

UPDATE: P.E.I. lobster fishermen on strike – Photos – The Guardian

Photos of the strike at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans office in Charlottetown. here

DFO ends in stalemate – 800 fishermen protested at DFO offices Thursday – Video

CBC_News_logoA meeting about lobster prices between P.E.I. fishermen and the seafood processors association ended in a stalemate Thursday afternoon, just a few hours after about 800 people gathered at the Department of Fisheries and Oceans office in Charlottetown demanding a higher price. continued

It’s OK to be crabby

DURHAM — They’ve got blue blood, more than four eyes, have been around since the time of the dinosaurs, and could save your life. It’s no wonder University of New Hampshire graduate student Helen Cheng is so passionate about horseshoe crabs. continued