Daily Archives: May 3, 2015

Skipper missing, 3 rescued as fishing boat from Neah Bay overturned before dawn off LaPush

uscg-logoThree fishermen were rescued and one remained missing Sunday afternoon after a Neah Bay-registered commercial fishing vessel overturned before dawn in the ocean 14 miles off LaPush. Coast Guard boat and air crews continued searching Sunday evening for the unidentified master of the 52-foot commercial fishing boat Sea Beast, which capsized after 3 a.m. Sunday, said Petty Officer Jonathan Klingenberg, spokesman for the Coast Guard in Seattle. Read the rest here 22:35

ASMFC Spring Meeting – May 4-7, 2015 Alexandria, Virginia

ASMFC SidebarBoard/Section meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning at 12:45 PM on May 4th, continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be Noon) on May 7th. Read the Agenda and all information here  Register for the webinar here to listen live! 16:48

NOAA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service – Guam Green Sea Turtles may need more protection.

When Peter Perez, 55, was a child, he used to swim with sea turtles. His father, and grandfather, he said, used to eat sea turtles before they became a threatened species, protected by federal law. Perez questioned the rationale for changing the status of the green sea turtle, saying people have reported seeing plenty of turtles around Guam. He also disagrees with the decision by the federal government to hold a public hearing for the proposal in Hawaii and not in this region. Read the rest here 16:03

Russia furthers Arctic dreams while America sleeps

John Kerry MunsterMurkowski’s starting point in her presentation was that the United States should have prepared for assuming the chairmanship of the Arctic Council but did not. The United States took over the two-year position from Canada last Friday. Obama and, I imagine, his predecessors would never admit any such failure. Why, last Friday, Secretary of State John Kerry, the Arctic Council’s new chairman, stated the president’s Arctic policy. It is coping with climate change, period. Read the rest here 13:35

Looming cost of at-sea monitors could put N.E. fishermen out of business

Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service said the money it had been using to pay for the monitors — trained workers who collect data on fishing trips — will be needed for other obligations. That means groundfishermen who catch fish like cod, haddock and pollock in New England waters will likely have to start paying the cost around August. The new expense is coming at a time when it could cripple the fishery, fishermen said. Read the rest here 13:08

Mr. Governor, Don’t Build That Wall

Governor Lepage joined a coalition of governors in February who support offshore oil drilling. Lepage became the first Northeast governor to join the Outer Continental Shelf Governors Coalition. The coalition is funded by the Consumer Energy Alliance, a non-profit based in Houston. The CEA represents corporate interests including Shell and BP, and its funding is supplied by petroleum and petrochemical manufacturers associations. “A governor saying yes to drilling is rolling out the red carpet in the eyes of congress,”Read the rest here 11:43

Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance Weekly Update, May 3, 2015

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 the update hererifa2  To read all the updates, click here 11:17

Farmed Atlantic salmon for sale in Juneau – what’s up with that?

Costco Wholesale Corporation is an important part of the business community in Juneau. Thanks to their efforts, many families and restaurants in Juneau, not to mention the visitors to our community, have access to high-quality food and goods at reasonable prices. The company, based out of Kirkland, Washington, is also a responsible employer providing a living wage for many in our community. However, we are left scratching our heads after Costco management has chosen (once again) to stock frozen farmed Atlantic salmon on freezer shelves in the Juneau store. Read the rest here  10:10

Mathematicians and Blue Crabs

Scientists in the Chesapeake Bay area have been playing a real-life version of Valentine’s game, with blue crabs instead of grouse. Each spring, they wait for the results of the baywide Blue Crab Winter Dredge Survey, the most recent of which were announced Monday. The estimate of the crab population gives scientists another data point to work with, and anxious watermen a sense of whether this will be a good or bad year for the most valuable commodity in the Chesapeake. Read the rest here 09:29

West Coast sardine decline: Science vs. politics, By D.B. Pleschner

The federal Pacific Fishery Management Council has shut down the remainder of the current sardine season and has canceled the 2015-16 fishing season altogether. Fishermen supported this action. Why the closure? According to environmental groups like Oceana, it was to stop overfishing and save starving sea lions deprived of essential sardines. Neither reason is true, but many in the media have trumpeted this hyperbole put forth by groups whose political agenda is to shut down fishing completely. Read the rest here 08:40