Daily Archives: August 9, 2013

Sea life relocating fast in response to climate change – Extinctions possible as predators move into new areas

Many fish and plankton are relocating towards the North and South poles at an astonishing rate of hundreds of kilometres per decade in response to climate change, a new study has found. That is shaking up ecosystems and forcing the fishing industry to adjust. more@cbcnews

Ottawa plans to spend $62.8 million for construction and repair work at fishing harbours across Canada.

863a4ac9dc_64635696_o2Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced the funding in Miramichi, N.B., today, where he said the money this year would go to more than 100 projects that include maintenance and dredging. more@cbcnews

Family and friends gathered at a Cape Breton church on Friday to say their goodbyes to Philip Boudreau

Petit-de-Grat says goodbye to missing fisherman Philip Boudreau, the man presumed dead after his overturned boat was found floating in the Petit-de-Grat harbour earlier this summer. “Philip was like a brother you didn’t have. He was always there to help anyone he could,” said friend Thomas Richard. more@cbcnews

Newly discovered shark patrols SC waters – The “Carolina hammerhead”

COLUMBIA, SC —  Scientists have discovered a new species of shark in the ocean off South Carolina and have named it for the region where it was found. The “Carolina hammerhead,” thought to reach 11 feet long and weigh about 400 pounds, has been identified cruising the waters at Bull’s Bay north of Charleston, St. Helena Sound near Beaufort and in the Charleston harbor. more@thestate

It’s no mystery why most Alaskans in Bristol Bay oppose the Pebble mine

It’s a sure sign of desperation when the CEO of the consortium of foreign mining  companies that want to build one of the largest open pit mines in North America  claims to be defending the National Environmental Policy Act (“NEPA”) from  “attack.” According to the Pebble Partnership’s John Shively, environmental groups and  “politically motivated groups” are running a “campaign to subvert and evade  NEPA” by mobilizing in support of EPA’s review of the proposed Pebble Mine – a  reckless scheme to build a massive open pit mine in the headwaters of the  world’s greatest wild salmon fishery in Bristol Bay, Alaska.    [email protected]

BP Bashes Oil Spill Victims to Distract From Own Criminal Behavior

In recent corporate public relations attempts, BP has tried to shift the public’s focus from its corporate wrongdoing and outright criminal behavior to criticizing BP’s victims and their legal representatives. According to a privileged, plaintiff’s attorney work document, BP has dumped more than $500 million into PR, attacking “judges, special masters and claimants’ lawyers—trying to change the focus from its tragic track record of ignoring safety and deepwater despair.” more@ecowatch       NOAA Inaction in the Gulf  of Mexico

Dear Senator Warren,,,Captain Paul Cohan of Gloucester responds to the Senator’s op-ed

Dear Senator Warren, I personally do not share your optimism about our individual, yet collective futures. Every day fishermen are sinking deeper into debt. Every day more fishermen are forced to come to the conclusion that they will have to sell the boat just so they can come up for air. The point that seems to escape those who feel that “you guys can just go pound nails for awhile until things rebound” is that our hammer is our boat, and a boat can’t support itself in any other manner than that for which it was built – fishing Read more here  op-ed here

Low Skeena River sockeye numbers shut down First Nations food fishery, recreational fishery

863a4ac9dc_64635696_o2The reason for the closure is due to the extremely low number of salmon returning to the system. The DFO estimates that only 408,000 fish have returned, well below initial estimates of between 600,000 and 800,000. Kotyk said this is the first time these steps have been implemented on the river. more@thenorthernview

Soft-shell lobsters seem like hard sell in Maine – Low prices frustrate lobstermen as supply continues to exceed demand.

This lobster season has progressed more calmly than  last year’s, with soft-shell lobsters appearing more slowly, rather than  all at once. That has allowed Maine’s largest and most lucrative  fishery to absorb the harvest over time, instead of having to handle it  all at once, as happened last year. That glut led to a crash in lobster  prices. more@portlandpressherald

Great Lakes research vessel Muskie docks at Canalside for two-day visit

Lake Erie’s newest ally in the fight against invasive species and habitat endangerment is making its first public appearance in Buffalo. The research vessel Muskie, a $4.1 million “floating laboratory” stationed in Ohio and operated by the Great Lakes Science Center, debuted as Lake Erie’s principal research vessel last summer, replacing a 50-year-old craft with outdated technology. more@thebuffalonews

LI fisherman’s death inspires change to permit law

Assemb. Fred Thiele on Thursday said he introduced legislation that would end a technicality barring commercial fishing licenses from being passed to family members who don’t live at the home of the original permit holder. more@longislandnewsday

NIOSH’s commercial fishing safety arm was slated for the chopping block in a proposed fiscal year 2013 budget

23523_354387901211_7651997_aUltimately, NIOSH must wait for a budget to pass to know what the funding level will be, said Public Affairs Officer Christy Spring. The Alaska Pacific Office is responsible for fishing vessel safety nationwide, despite its Alaska location. more@alasksjournalofcommerce

Study offers view of what turbines may look like off Sunset Beach, NC – Video

cape-wind-power-farm-b1The Federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has been looking into adding wind turbines off the coast of Brunswick County. But before any decisions are made, planners wanted to consider the visual impact the structures would have, so they did a visual simulation study to show how the turbines will look. more@wway

Saugatuck charter boat captain seeks jury trial on 8 charges

Undercover operation lead to charges of fishing without license, no inspection certificate for Gregg John Mariuz.  The charges are five counts of fishing without a license, each of which has a  fine of $225; advertising a charter boat for passengers without a certificate,  which has a penalty of up to one year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine; commercial  fishing without a license, which has a penalty of 60 days in jail and/or a fine  of $25 to $100; no certificate of inspection/non-licensed pilot of a charter  boat, a penalty of a year in jail and/or a $1,000 fine and possible forfeiture  of the vessel. more@hollindsentinal

Bristol RI to consider boater’s insurance mandate

To the dismay of commercial fishermen who attended Monday night’s meeting of the Bristol Harbor Commission, Dom Franco, commission chairman, opened debate as to whether the town should mandate that all vessels carry insurance. Currently, there is no requirement that boaters have insurance. [email protected]

The Canso Lions Club Service to honour fishermen lost at sea on Sunday at 2 p.m.

Canso will remember this province’s lost fishermen during a ceremony on Sunday at 2 p.m. The Canso Lions Club has hosted the service at its Seamen’s Memorial, in this four-century-old Guysborough County fishing community, since 1989. Wreaths will be laid in memory of fishermen lost at sea and coast guard and Canadian Forces rescue personnel who died during a training exercise near Canso in 2006. The wreaths will be carried out to sea and laid in the North Atlantic by area fishermen the following the Sunday. chronicleherald

sonofabi,,,a Monterey Bay Aquarium article that never mention’s over fishing! Monterey Bay affected by climate change – State study points to fish declines, ocean acidification

From rising sea levels and ocean acidity to declining populations of chinook salmon and sea lion pups, global warming is here, it said in a 258-page report, “Indicators of Climate Change in California.” more@montereyherald

78-foot trawler Lady Gertrude arrives in Point Pleasant Beach

bildeathearnBlowing salutes from their ship’s horn, the crew of the Lady Gertrude steamed into Manasquan Inlet this week, bringing in a newly purchased and renovated 78-foot steel trawler that might be just the first adoptee from New England’s troubled fishing industry. Boat broker Bill Rocha at the Athearn Marine Agency in Fairhaven, Mass., alerted  Captain Hans Myklebust the boat might be available. more@asburyparkpress