Daily Archives: June 29, 2014

What’s killing off starfish along the entire West Coast? – Video

Called Sea Star Wasting Syndrome, the outbreak hitting the coast from Alaska to Mexico was first reported from Olympic National Park in Washington last summer, and has continued to take out sea stars, also known as starfish, with merciless efficiency. Read more here  19:36

Read more here: http://www.mercedsunstar.com/2014/06/29/3723964/whats-killing-off-starfish-along.html?sp=/99/215/734#storylink=cp

 

Kasilof red salmon at record-breaking levels

An emergency-order opening commercial set and drift gillnet fisheries in the Cook Inlet on Saturday was issued by Alaska Department of Fish and Game managers attempting to slow escapement of Kasilof River sockeye salmon. Read more here 14:50

Yolo County Jury Convicts Sturgeon Poachers

A Yolo County jury convicted a repeat sturgeon poacher and his accomplice of multiple felonies and poaching charges stemming from a 2010 poaching investigation. They were convicted June 19, with sentencing scheduled for Aug. 1. Read more here 14:40

Blue crab threatened by high-dollar harvest?

The crabs used to be caught commercially a dozen or more per trap. Now crabbers are lucky to pull up three or four at a time. Yet there are more crabbers and crab traps out there than long-timers have seen before, they say. The reason is simple: $100 per bushel. That’s the price for the best of the crabs because the fishery is declining all along the East Coast – partly from overfishing.  Read more here 14:24

Who knew? Rhode Island is King of squid; More pounds are brought to shore than any other seafood

seafreeze vesselsSquid is to Rhode Island what lobster is to Maine; cod is to Massachusetts. “Fifteen years ago, you didn’t see calamari on the menu,” says Glenn Goodwin, co-owner of Seafreeze in North Kingstown, a seafood freezing facility. “Now you see it everywhere. It was a low-cost item that was plentiful. It took some time for people to try it.” Read more here 14:02

More Maine fishermen finding success, supplementing incomes by offering tourist cruises

Robertson’s boat already was at the pier, and he was getting his vessel ready to go out into Narraguagus Bay and beyond. Unlike Perry’s work boat, the Captain Cole, Robertson’s gleaming, spotless Kandi Leigh would not be hauling any lobster traps. Robertson was getting his boat ready to take out a small group of tourists on an excursion. Read more here 13:22

Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance Weekly Update June 29, 2014

rifa2“The Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance is dedicated to its mission of continuing to help create sustainable fisheries without putting licensed fishermen out of business.” Read more here 13:09

Further protection for Louisiana shrimpers and crawfishermen

A USD 3 million fund will be granted to collect anti-dumping duties from countries that illegally dump shrimp, crawfish and other seafood into US markets. This was announced by the Chair of the Senate Appropriations Homeland Security Subcommittee, Senator Mary L. Landrieu. Read more here 09:08

Sockeye run at halfway point double 10-year average, over 20,000 a day crossing Bonneville Dam

With summer Chinook adult spawner counts on track to achieve preseason return estimates, and sockeye salmon numbers looking even better than advertised, Oregon and Washington fisheries officials this week gave their go-ahead for two more weeks of commercial fishing for treaty tribes on the Columbia River mainstem reservoirs above Bonneville Dam. Read more here 08:32

Lobstermen in Maine are not happy about this’: Feds finalize whale-safe rules for lobster buoy lines

ELLSWORTH, Maine — Federal fisheries officials have issued the final version of a new rule aimed at protecting whales from getting entangled in fishing lines that connect surface buoys to traps on the ocean bottom. Read more here 06:06

Massive sockeye run expected, with reservations

VANCOUVER – Predictions for this year’s salmon fishery on British Columbia’s Fraser River are so massive there’s no historical data to use to forecast the many millions of sockeye expected to return. Read more here 05:59

Smart Trawling prototype to protect the seabed

Prototype technology unveiled by Sealord is being developed to provide skippers with a real-time view of the ocean floor and equipment while fishing, resulting in smart trawling and a reduction in the impacts of fishing on the seabed. Read more here 05:51