Daily Archives: August 5, 2013

Maine and Canadian Lobster Industries Seek to Balance Competition and Cooperation – What about Collaboration?!!!

“The biggest, two-clawed lobster resource in the world – we’ve got an amazing opportunity together to market,” said Geoff Irvine, who runs the Lobster Council of Canada.  Irvine quickly revised that idea:  “maybe not together, but at least be mindful of how we’re both marketing.” Irvine’s marketing counterpart from Maine, Marianne Lacroix, sat listening a few feet away. When it was her turn, Lacroix, who heads the Maine Lobster Promotion Council, chose her words carefully. “There’s no benefit, from a branding standpoint, in pitting Maine against Canadian lobster because it doesn’t benefit either of us in the end,” she said. “The products are very intertwined. The businesses are very intertwined.” @mpbn

Ayotte wants to see Magnuson-Stevens revised in a way that ensures any call for mandated reductions can be backed up by sound scientific data

Last week New Hampshire U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte recommended changes to the mid-Atlantic Magnuson-Stevens Fishery and Conservation Act — the 37-year-old federal law that is meant to maintain stock and habitat at sustainable levels. In recent years that’s meant strict catch limits for Atlantic cod and haddock. @fosters.com

13 dead dolphins found in Va. this weekend bringing the total to 100 for the calendar year.

Virginia isn’t the only state dealing with the increase in dolphin strandings. New Jersey is also reporting a higher than usual number of dead dolphins washing up on shore. @cbs6

Experts Find Reason for Decrease in Oyster Population in Apalachicola Bay

In essence, the report say there’s not enough fresh water coming down the Apalachicola River, which mans the higher salt content in the bay is killing the oysters. Governor Rick Scott is hoping this report will lead the US Commerce Secretary to declare a commercial fishery failure and provide relief aid to help restore the oyster beds and help oystering families. @wjhg.com

Two Metairie residents have been charged with stealing crabs out of Lake Pontchartrain.

Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) Enforcement Division agents set up surveillance from the shoreline of Lake Pontchartrain after receiving complaints about stolen crabs from crab traps in the area. @fox8

Coast Guard Air Station Sitka MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew medevaced an injured fisherman from F/V Jerilyn 92 miles southeast of Sitka,

uscg-logoCoast Guard 17th District Command Center watchstanders received a request for the medevac from the master of the Jerilyn Monday morning stating the fisherman had been injured while using a winch aboard the vessel. The watchstanders consulted the duty flight surgeon who recommended the medevac and then directed the launch of the Jayhawk crew. @uscgnews

The Army Corps of Engineers created a “pollution crisis” on the Columbia River – Greens Call Bonneville Dam Cancerous Polluter

“The Columbia River is one of the West’s great river systems. This river supports rich fishing traditions, provides water for communities and agriculture, recreation opportunities, and power for hydroelectric dams. The river is also severely degraded by pollution. Toxic pollution threatens the health of people that eat local fish and jeopardizes the public’s right to eat fish caught locally. Rising water temperatures also threaten the health of salmon and other aquatic life that relies on cool water for survival,” the complaint states. @courthousenews

VCU Receives NOAA Grant to Study Biology and Ecology of Iconic Fish The Atlantic Sturgeon

The  and VCU Center for Environmental Studies have received a research grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to understand the biology and ecology of the Atlantic sturgeon, an iconic fish found in the Chesapeake Bay region. @vcuedu.org

Shrimp is Still King – Trawlers turn out in protest; committees recommend denial of the trawl ban petition.

Members of four Marine Fisheries Advisory /Groups voted unanimously last week to recommend denial of a petition to designate inland waters of North Carolina as primary secondary nursery areas – thus keeping local shrimp on tables and commercial trawlers in business.In a symbolic protest of solidarity, at least two dozen trawl boats steamed up the Neuse River and anchored up in the waters in front of the New Bern Riverfront Convention center on Tuesday, July 30.  @ocracokecurrent

Bristol Bay Fisheries Report for Saturday, August 3

radio-microphoneThe Bristol Bay Fisheries Report for Saturday, August 3 includes an update on the effort to certify Alaska’s salmon fisheries as sustainable under the MSC label. The report also features a story about new research to track the migration of Nushagak River kings salmon. All of that and more in the Bristol Bay Fisheries Report for Saturday, August 3. @kdlg with Mike Mason

Massachusetts Commercial Striped Bass Fishery to Close Wednesday, August 7, 2013

The Commonwealth’s 2013 commercial striped bass quota of 997,869 pounds is projected to be taken by the end of the day on Tuesday, August 6, 2013.  The fishery will close at 00:01 hours on Wednesday, August 7, 2013. [email protected]

CSI: cod stomach investigations

CFER is redefining ‘CSI’ to include both cod stomach investigations and commercial stock investigations. This new information on the food web relationships and spatial distributions of fisheries stocks is derived from CFER’s latest research mission aboard the research vessel Celtic Explorer to the south and northeast coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador Shelf waters, where thousands of samples were collected from multiple species.  CFER’s data and ongoing analyses contribute to the assessment and management of fisheries resources in this province.  @thecoaster

A Blast From the Past from Richard Gaines – Green ‘activists’ gaining control of fisheries – It’s only gotten worse!

GLOUCESTER, Mass. —  Two fishermen were hanged in effigy at a protest by a crowd of 300 outside the regional office of the federal fisheries service last October in Gloucester, Mass., the oldest commercial fishing port in America. The mannequins clad in foul weather gear weren’t the object of the protesters’ anger. The target was the black-hooded dummy off to the side presiding over the hanging. That figure represented Jane Lubchenco,,,Link

They REELY were THAT big back then: Fishermen of 1900s Florida pose up alongside their impressive monster fish

Some of the greatest catches of the 20th  century are on display in this collection of images that documents Florida’s  long and illustrious fishing history. @dailymail.com

‘Whale-trained’ Provincetown lobsterman worries about more restrictive fishing regs

PROVINCETOWN —As David Young is steering the Sea Skipper out of Provincetown Harbor toward  Race Point, he fondly recalls curious whales coming up to his boat and spitting  on him. He’s in awe every time it happens. @wickedlocalptown

Greenpeace Report provides route to transforming Pacific tuna fisheries

A new report, launched today, Monday, by Greenpeace Australia Pacific, aims to provide a blueprint on how Pacific Island governments and regional bodies can promote a more sustainable and locally owned and operated tuna fishery in the region. @fishupdate.com

The Fisheries Broadcast with Jamie Baker

radio-microphoneThousands of dollars worth of halibut are being discarded at sea. Halibut abundance is closing down other fisheries. West coast harvesters say enough is enough, and they want answers.CBC_News_logo

Is government too relaxed in regulating salmon farms? Is aquaculture really taking priority over wild fisheries? We’ll ask the province’s Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister, Derrick Dalley.

Much more @ thefisheriesbroadcast

Block Island Maritime Institute Lecture Series – 7pm on Tuesday August 6th

The Block Island Maritime Institute (BIMI), will host the seventh of it’s summer lecture series at 7pm on Tuesday August 6th, at Smuggler’s Cove on Ocean Avenue. Dr. Jose Pereira, a NOAA fisheries biologist, will talk about juvenile fish that inhabit and survive in shallow waters in the urban harbor of New Haven, CT info@blockislandtimes   Block Island Maritime Institute website

Law on menhaden snags Delaware Bay crabbers – video

MIDDLE TOWNSHIP – Jimmy Layton fishes 300 crab pots in the Delaware Bay and fills each with about 2 pounds of menhaden that he catches himself. But a state law regulating menhaden approved in June somehow left out the Delaware Bay crab fishermen. Permits, called a landing license, are now needed to harvest menhaden. They were given out to fishermen catching menhaden in the ocean, but the Catch-22 of sorts for Delaware Bay fishermen is that to get a permit, they have to show a history of menhaden catches over the years. @pressofatlanticcity

Gloucester Daily Times Editorial: Fishing aid package far short of even basic needs

warrenBut as Gloucester fishermen Joe DiMaio put it, “there is no time.” And when it comes to Gloucester and New England fishermen’s true needs, there remains no money either. So to hear  Sen. Elizabeth Warren and others proclaiming this NOAA gesture “an excellent chance for our ports” is disappointing, to say the least. @GDT

Read the Senators letter at southcoasttoday.

Mussel farming reaching new depths in Notre Dame Bay

CBC_News_logoDr. Harold Murray, the project leader, said researchers are trying to find out if it will be possible to farm viable mussels in the deeper water rather than shallow areas. “Deep water offers a much more stable environment,” Murray said. @cbcnews

Director of environmental grants at Heinz Endowments is forced out, reasons unclear

The Heinz Endowments has suddenly dismissed its longtime head of environmental grant making, signaling that changes are coming to one of the leading charity’s priorities. @washingtonpost

Compass: Setnetters share burden, stake in sustaining Kenai kings

Dan Coffey’s recent compass piece, “Act now or we will lose the Kenai River kings (July 24)” once again illustrates this former Alaska Board of Fisheries chairman’s bias toward  he commercialized sport fisheries on the Kenai River, as well as his willingness to twist/omit facts in pursuit of marginalizing the historic setnet fishery on the Kenai Peninsula to maximize in-river participation. Coffey lists: ocean survival, high-seas trawlers, setnetters, marginal productivity, and “there may be others” as reasons for the decline of Kenai River kings. @adn.com

Guest View: Tide begins turning fishermen’s way By Elizabeth Warren

sct logoFor the past two years, I have made many visits to Massachusetts fishing communities in New Bedford, Gloucester and the South Shore to hear about the challenges facing the industry. continued@southcoasttoday

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NEFMC Chairman C.M. “Rip” Cunningham rips Bullard monitor stand

gdt icon“Little, if any, justification is provided other than general statements that without higher coverage rates, ‘discard rates would be difficult to estimate because there is little catch history in these areas’ and the higher coverage would ‘allow (the National Marine Fisheries Service) to monitor whether vessels are interacting with protected species,’” Cunningham wrote. “Neither argument is convincing …” @GDT