Daily Archives: January 6, 2016
‘Huge’ Atlantic lobster washed up in Vancouver likely set free by animal-lovers
It’s certainly not a typical sight on Vancouver beaches — or anywhere on the West Coast, in fact. The carcass of a large lobster, native to the Atlantic ocean, with claws almost as big as a man’s size 11 shoe. “I saw it from far away, and thought wow, that’s a lobster,” said Damon Gudaitis, who spotted a dog walker pick it from the surf while walking in New Brighton Park in East Vancouver last week. Gudaitis snapped a picture and sent it to Fisheries and Oceans Canada, curious what the alien crustacean was doing there. He didn’t hear back, but local biologists have offered a likely explanation. Read the article here 21:57
Off the Arctic Coast of Alaska: Remains of Lost 1800s Whaling Fleet Found
NOAA archaeologists have discovered the battered hulls of two 1800s whaling ships nearly 144 years after they and 31 others sank off the Arctic coast of Alaska in one of the planet’s most unexplored ocean regions. The shipwrecks, and parts of other ships, that were found are most likely the remains of 33 ships trapped by pack ice close to the Alaskan Arctic shore in September 1871. The whaling captains had counted on a wind shift from the east to drive the ice out to sea as it had always done in years past. Read the article here 17:30Gulf Fishermen Sue Feds Over Red Snapper Quota Rule
In anticipation of clawing back red snapper quotas from Gulf Coast commercial fishers, feds have “frozen” red snapper fishing altogether, a group of fishermen claim in court. Following the proposal of a Republican-supported bill last fall with strong support from recreational fishermen that would have wrested control of red snapper regulations from the feds and placed it in the hands of individual states, the federal agencies in charge of regulation moved instead to grant recreational fishermen higher quotas for fish they are allowed to catch. Read the article here 15:40
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for January 4, 2016
Click here to read the Weekly Update, to read all the updates, Click here 14:59
A full range of emotions regarding sea lions was on display Tuesday at the Port of Astoria!
Port of Astoria Commissioner Bill Hunsinger marshaled his fellow commercial fishermen Tuesday to talk about what the agency can do to stop sea lions from ruining fishing on the Columbia River. Hunsinger added the Sea Lion Committee to he Port Commission agenda for the meeting Tuesday, which was packed to the gills with commercial and guide fishermen who largely feel the river’s endangered salmon runs, and by extension their livelihoods, are threatened by pinnipeds. In the front row was a small contingent from the Sea Lion Defense Brigade,,, Read the article here 13:47
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 40′ Steel Stern Trawler, 6 Cylinder Cummins 855 Diesel
Specifications, information and 6 photo’s click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 13:07
Nova Scotia young lobster population shows no sign of decline
Federal fisheries scientists say their most recent sampling of juvenile lobster in southwest Nova Scotia indicate a decade-long trend of abundant populations is holding steady. “It’s closer to the long-term average. Not the extreme high or low. Somewhere along the middle of what we’ve seen,” said Adam Cook, a federal research scientist. Canada’s Fisheries and Oceans department has three sites in southwest Nova Scotia where it captures juvenile lobsters after they settle to the ocean floor. Read the article here 10:54
Marine Resources Committee schedules hearing on elver legislation
The Legislature’s Marine Resources Committee has scheduled a public hearing on a bill introduced by Rep. Walter Kumiega (D-Deer Isle) that would give the Department of Marine Resources more flexibility in managing the elver fishery. The hearing is scheduled for 10 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 13, in Room 206 of the Cross Building in Augusta. Kumiega has also offered a bill that, he said, would improve the state’s lobster licensing procedures and reduce the waiting time for fishermen trying to enter the fishery. Read the article here 09:55
Early morning boat fire in Harbour Grace
Harbour Grace Ocean Enterprises general manager Paul Lannon was startled to receive a phone call that a boat at the wharf was engulfed in flames. The Abigail Grace, an almost 26-metre fishing vessel owned by Quinlan Brothers, had caught on fire earlier in the morning and crews from the Harbour Grace Volunteer Fire Department were on scene. Read the article here Abigail Grace will fish again, says Robin Quinlan Read the article here 09:33
U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter to Secretary of State John Kerry: Help save US tuna jobs
U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter wants the U.S. State Department to step in to assist American tuna boats — many with ties to San Diego — that are shut out of a large area of the Pacific Ocean for the first time in nearly 30 years. In a letter to Secretary of State John Kerry, Hunter writes that the U.S. government must act fast to help the tuna fleet. Last week, administrators of the South Pacific Tuna Treaty — a 27-year-old accord among 17 nations governing waters in the western Pacific — refused to issue 2016 licenses on Jan. 1. It said American boats must pay millions of dollars in fees, they agreed to in August, to fish international waters. Read the article here 08:42
State of Alaska fishery spending analyzed
Most of the benefit from the commercial fishing industry goes to local government, while the state overspends itself, according to a new analysis. A study conducted by Bob Loeffler and Steve Colt of the University of Alaska Anchorage’s Institute of Social and Economic Research found that the state spends about $27.2 million more on commercial fishing than it receives in revenue from the industry. This includes regulation, operations and capital projects. Read the article here 08:04
