Daily Archives: January 8, 2014

Boat of the Week from the Athearn Marine Agency: 68′ Steel Trawler – Clammer/Scalloper

cl3430_01Specifications and information here  22:10

Commercial fisherman nets 15 months for illegal fishing

Thomas Zachary Breeding, 29, of Panama City, pleaded guilty in October to obstruction of justice and lying to federal investigators. Judge Richard Smoak heard testimony from a federal agent that Breeding had been cited and fined for fishing in restricted areas during the sentencing hearing. Breeding was captain of “The Wolf,” Read [email protected]  18:48

Andrea Hance of San Benito takes helm of Texas Shrimp Association as Gulf shrimp revives

Andrea Hance of San Benito picked a good time to take over as executive director of the Texas Shrimp Association, with Gulf shrimp prices at historic highs and nearly everyone with a trawler clambering for a piece of the action. In contrast, the timing of her entry into the shrimping business itself was less than stellar. Hance and her husband, Preston, bought their first shrimp boat in 2007 — just in time for the industry, beset by foreign imports, to hit rock bottom. Read more@brownsvilleherald  17:39

John Ivison: EU stand against Canadian seal hunt is both illegal and hypocritical

The EU failed to make a prima facie case that the seal ban was justified under WTO rules “necessary to protect … animal … life or health.” Yet, while the WTO said the ban undermines international trade obligations, it said it was justified under “public moral concerns” over animal welfare. Canada is set to appeal that decision this month, for all the good it is likely to do. It is apparent that the facts don’t matter. They have been replaced by popular delusion and the madness of crowds. Read more@nationalpost  16:09

The Dangerous Side of Fishing for Squid

Our cover story this past weekend about John Aldridge, a Montauk-based lobsterman who fell off his boat and was rescued by the Coast Guard after nearly 12 hours in the water, mentioned a man whose death last year served as another example of the perils of commercial fishing. Donald Alversa who was also a Montauk resident, was photographed last January by a local photographer, Lindsay Morris, whose photography has appeared in the magazine. She sent us the picture above and this remembrance: Read more@nyt  14:48

Maurice Noonan, a fisherman from Bay de Verde, was fined $40,500 last month for snow crab fishing violations committed during the 2008 and 2010 fishing seasons.

A news release by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) states that, in both years, Noonan misreported information in his fishing logbooks and exceeded his maximum allowable catch for snow crab. In addition to the fine, the judge placed Noonan on probation for two years and prohibited him from fishing during the first month of the 2014 snow crab fishery.  Read more@thetelegram  14:04

2014 Gulf P.Cod Fisheries Are Looking Up – This is Fish Radio. I’m Stephanie Mangini.

FISH-With-Mic-Logo-GRAPHIC-303-x-400-e1360148757522Pacific cod makes up 11% of Alaska’s total fish deliveries. It marks the start of a new fishing season as it opens January 1 of each New Year. The Federal water fishery is first with a bumped up quota this year. Listen, and Read more@fishradio  13:56

It’s fisherman, bitches.

There’s a woman in Stonington, Maine who is trying to find another gear option for women in the commercial fishing industry. A couple of months ago she asked women who fish for pictures of themselves in their gear or fishing to illustrate how many women are working in the industry. Last I checked, which was just a couple of seconds ago, she had over 250 pictures of some amazing women clad in loose oil-pants, too-long-sleeved jackets, and poor-fitting gloves. Now, when Genevieve (that’s the fisherman of whom I was speaking) first asked for these pictures, I’m not gonna lie, I hesitated. My oil-pants fit OK. Read more@lobstersonthefly  13:04

There’s Whale Meat in the Beer! – Icelandic ‘whale beer’ condemned by conservationists

The brewery’s website claims people who drink it become “true Vikings”.  Conservationists have criticised the sale in Iceland of a beer which its makers claim contains dead whale.  Icelandic brewery Steðji has teamed up with whaling company Hvalur to launch the beer, which is said to contain whale meal. (bore say’s, “draw one!”) Read [email protected]  12:27

KEATING, TIERNEY URGE ONCE AGAIN FOR FISHERIES DISASTER ASSISTANCE

130724-Al_Cattone_244x183“Once again I join with my colleagues to strongly urge for the inclusion of fisheries disaster assistance in the FY2014 Omnibus Appropriations bill. The letter we sent adds to the verbal request I recently made to the Chairman. It is unacceptable that businesses declared to be in a state of economic disaster have been waiting for nearly 15 months for assistance. I call on House Leadership to follow the lead of Senate appropriators and secure $150 million in disaster assistance to provide relief to fishermen throughout the country,” said Rep. Tierney. Read [email protected]  11:38

New record: regulators and bureaucrats issued 56 regs for every new law, 3,659 in 2013

fisherman-obamaThe Obama administration made up for the lack of laws passed in Congress last year, issuing a whopping 3,659 rules regulations, crushing claims that Washington isn’t doing anything. Only 65 public laws were signed by President Obama in 2013, meaning that his government issued an average of 56 new regulations for every one, a record high ratio, according to the annual analysis by the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Read more@washingtonexaminer  10:53

Canadian seafood imports targeted by U.S. environmental group

A prominent U.S. environmental group is targeting seafood imports from countries that don’t follow American fishing standards — and Canada is on its hit list. The criticism is in a report released Tuesday by the Natural Resources Defence Council, which is lobbying the U.S. administration to start enforcing a domestic law that bans imports from countries that fail to apply American sea-mammal protection rules. Read more@bcnews  10:21

Tests show China banned Puget Sound geoduck clams safe to eat

SEATTLE — Washington state health officials said Tuesday that their arsenic testing has confirmed that geoduck clams harvested from a bay in Puget Sound are safe to eat, following toxicity concerns that prompted China to ban imports of West Coast shellfish. Read more@thecolumbian  08:51

Just Now! F/V Osprey sails out of New Bedford across a skim of ice.

unnamed osprey leaving NB08:06