Daily Archives: August 16, 2013

Shark tale: 12-foot Arctic predator caught in warm Gulf of Mexico

Greenland sharks are cold-water swimmers, and usually live in the northern Atlantic, near the Arctic Circle. When they swim south, as they often do, they swim deeper, at depths below 3,000 feet where the water is a bracing 40 degrees Fahrenheit. It’s quite a contrast to the Gulf of Mexico’s waters, more than 80 degrees Fahrenheit the day the shark was caught. more@nbc

Panama City Fishermen going where the ice is

 Necessities in the commercial fishing world are few. Beyond a fueled boat, a vessel’s captain only needs the gear, the men, bait and ice to preserve the day’s catch. But on Aug. 9, the ice house departed the Panama City Marina via barge and has not yet been set up at its new home at St. Andrews Marina. After 26 years of pumping out about 50 tons of ice per day at its former location, the 41-by-74-foot Ice Systems International ice house owned by Steve Darden now sits dormant on the St. Andrews Marina. The lack of ice in the abundance needed by Bay County fishermen has caused a migration of sorts. more@newsherald

Second Ragfish Washes Up in Juneau

An unusual creature from the deep sea has made another appearance in Juneau. The Juneau Empire reports a resident this month spotted a dead ragfish on Lena Beach. Another was found in May. more@ktuu

Gang Green Canada misleads the public claiming DFO Response Misleads Public – Bows to Corporations

The video is very misleading, but, hey. When you want to mold public opinion, what the Hell! Show a few dead fish floating, and that’s all they showed was a few, and describe fishermen in a manner that tells the story the way you see it! Words like slamming, kicking, back breaking, mishandling, all seem to work in the video for causing public outrage by people that don’t have a clue about industrial food  production. These nut’s want the salmon handled like Uncle Fred handles them on the stream. Watch the video. What do you think? DFO Response Misleads Public: Bows to Corporations

P.E.I. lobster fishermen, who started the fall season last weekend, are dreading a replay of a familiar story

While they have been fishing almost a week, processors have not yet announced a price for what they have been collecting at the wharf. Prices in New Brunswick are $ 2.50 a pound for canners and $3.00 a pound for markets, $0.60 less than in that province last fall. more@cbcnews

Haaay. This is GREAT News.The level of cancer causing pollutants left in the waters of the Gulf by BP was greater than reported by NOAA, who said they were safe!

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That report questions whether some waters should have been opened to fishermen during the three-month spill, citing the unsafe levels of toxic chemicals to which fish and other sea life would have been exposed. The scientists determined that the levels of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, a cancer-causing pollutant, was up to 3,800 times greater than levels considered safe for human consumption! SWEET! more@thedailycomet

NOAA Inaction in the Gulf  of Mexicohttp://www.fishnet-usa.com/NOAA_Inaction.htm

The Alaska Fisheries Report

radio-microphoneComing up this week, two boats go down in Southeast in separate incidents just hours apart this week; Skagway is seeing a good king run, but that doesn’t help the Canadians, and pink salmon just keep rolling in. We aired stories this week from KTOO’s  Matt Miller in Juneau, KUAC’s  Dan Bross in Fairbanks, KHNS’ Margaret Friedenauer in Haines, KFSK’s  Joe Viechnicki in Petersburg and KDLG’s  Mike Mason in Dillingham. [email protected]

In the Guest Writer Column – The Massachusetts commercial striped bass fishery. Poster child for an abused resource – John Rice, Director, CIIFA

The Massachusetts commercial striped bass fishery. This fishery is the poster child for an abused resource. The MA DMF policies and regulations for the striper fishery are directly responsible for 2013 being the shortest season ever recorded since the fishery  re-opened.  Read more by John Rice in the Guest Writer Column

Tossing out the National Marine Fisheries Service’s “opinion” based on flawed scientific data- U.S. District Judge Morrison C. England in Sacramento – My New Hero

A federal agency will have to start from scratch on a new biological opinion on  Yuba River fish restoration following a court ruling that effectively scrapped  the report. The opinion, put forth by the federal Fisheries Service on how to restore  endangered fish runs on the Yuba River, included options of removing Englebright  and Daguerre Point dams. But Water Agency officials maintained the opinion was based on flawed scientific  data. A Fisheries Service spokesman could not be reached Thursday for comment. [email protected]

Pink harvest could be record number

Alaska’s preliminary commercial salmon harvest reached 186,202,000 fish on Aug. 13, leaving the preseason forecast of 178.8 million salmon in the dust, as the humpy catch alone soared to over 139 million and appeared heading for a record. more@thecordobatimes

Van Peer’s newest creation launched – F/V Anita

20130815__loc01~p1A crowd of about 50 people gathered along Highway 20 at Van Peer Boatworks Tuesday morning to watch the 56-foot boat, Anita, eased down South Harbor Drive to the boat ramp. According to the boat’s owner, Jay Gillman, the boat was constructed in about 11 months and will be used to fish in Washington and Alaska. more@fortbraggadvocatenews  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Van-Peer-Boatworks/406399709440155

Iles-de-la-Madeleine lobster fishery achieves MSC certification

The fishery is located in Lobster Fishing Area (LFA) 22 surrounding the Magdalen Islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence off the east coast of Canada. Lobsters harvested by 325 registered vessels in the fishery by baited trap are now eligible to display the blue MSC ecolabel. more@coaster

“The Coolest Guys in Town” Cape Pond Ice seeks Designated Port Area relief

gdt iconThe Cape Pond Ice property looks out onto Gloucester Harbor in two directions, affording owner Scott Memhard a panoramic view of the melting away of the Gloucester commercial fishing fleet during the past decade. Still, beyond the erosion of the city’s seminal industry, Memhard also sees the opportunity to recast his property into something more sustainable as the city and its shoreside marine businesses strive to transform the waterfront. more@GDT

Bad Deal Scrutinized – OCI was granted government approval to ship out all of its redfish and 75 per cent of its yellowtail flounder unprocessed.

[ST. JOHN’S, NL] – Liberal fisheries critic, MHA Jim Bennett, is still putting pressure on the provincial government to release details on the progression of a deal with Ocean Choice International (OCI) which granted the company an export exemption to ship out unprocessed fish. more@dailybusinessbuzz

Deadly Sea Lion Mystery Draws Biologists to Remote San Miguel Island, Calif in Search of Clues

It’s late June, and San Miguel Island’s white sand beaches are filled with barking sea lions. More than 100,000 of them. The marine mammals have come to this windy, remote island to breed and give birth – a rowdy, stinky summer extravaganza that last year, enigmatically, ended in disaster. Sardine and anchovy, which normally cycle in abundance, are both low now, a combination that strains the food resources available to predators like sea lions. Though the cause of the decline is still unknown, it doesn’t seem to be the result of overfishing. [email protected]

North Star Marine Insurance Services LLC is a new sponsor of Fisherynation.com

NorthStar2We are proud to announce that the Fairhaven Ma. branch of  North Star Marine Insurance Services LLC is a new sponsor of Fisherynation.comBradford Bowen  brings a “hands on” service approach to his clients and their crew. Call Brad @ 508 272 1245 for all of your insurance needs with confidence knowing that he understands the industry, and your business.

 

Shaheen joins Portsmouth, NH fishermen to highlight their challenges

PORTSMOUTH — Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-NH, was at the commercial fishing pier on Thursday to hear about the many challenges the local fishing industry faces, how Congress can help, and what the fishermen are doing to try and save themselves. more@nhunionleader   Video here@wmur

‘Few bad actors’ should not tarnish entire fleet: Rob Morley, vice-president of fishing company Canfisco – ENGO video footage is “very selective

863a4ac9dc_64635696_o2A video released by environmentalists to highlight wastage in the pink salmon fishery is not representative of the commercial seine fleet and contains inaccuracies and exaggeration, a senior official with the B.C. commercial fishery industry said Thursday. [email protected]

FINALLY!! They Caught One.

The team of scientists and fishermen on the OCEARCH expedition caught and tagged this summer trip’s first great white shark on Thursday afternoon. The team had been anchored off Chatham’s Monomoy Island for 17 days and fished for great whites for 12 of those days with the intention of catching and tagging as many as 20. They have a state permit allowing them to catch great whites within three miles of shore throughout the month of August. more@capecodonline

Survey may eventually help NOAA’s reputation

sct logoThanks to NOAA Fisheries, two New England trawlers have something to do this summer instead of being tied up at the dock because there’s no fishing quota left. NOAA spokeswoman Teri Frady said the Mary K out of New Bedford and the Yankee Pride out of Point Judith, R.I. were to leave Thursday on a 12-day yellowtail flounder stock assessment mission, set up by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. more@southcoasttoday

A recent government ruling confirms that Miami-based Sea Delight LLC can continue to import frozen tuna fillets duty-free?

A recent government ruling confirms that Miami-based Sea Delight LLC can continue to import frozen tuna fillets duty-free. While the ruling is specific to certain frozen tuna fillets, experts believe that other seafood importers will benefit from the decision along with, less directly, importers of meat, vegetables and fruit. more@prnewswire

Funding announced today by the provincial government will support ongoing research into the characteristics of cod, crab and lobster populations.

863a4ac9dc_64635696_o2Derrick Dalley, Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, announced a total of $125,000 to assist projects led by the Fish, Food and Allied Workers’ (FFAW) Union. “Engaging in fisheries science initiatives is key to maintaining a sustainable fishing industry,” Dalley said. more@thetelrgram