Daily Archives: March 8, 2016
President Obama just gave $500 million of Your Money to the UN Green Fund
Guest essay by Eric Worrall- Tyrants and dictators, shady international arms dealers, brutal leaders of broken, basket case nations like President for Life Robert Mugabe, will be celebrating today; President Obama just transferred $500 million of US Taxpayer’s money into the new UN Climate Fund. According to The Guardian; The first chunk of a $3bn commitment made at the Paris climate talks ‘shows the US stands squarely behind climate commitments’, the State Department said The Obama administration has made a first installment on its $3bn pledge to help poor countries fight climate change – defying Republican opposition to the president’s environmental plan. A Video of the “People of the Bureaucracy” , Read the rest here 21:17
The Goodness of People – Fish fry raises $16,000 for out-of-work crab fishermen
A fish fry for out of work crabbers struggling to get by netted more than $16,000 Saturday and donations are still pouring in. Three short weeks after deciding to host a benefit dinner, the Crescent City Commercial Fishermen’s Association served up more than 500 fish and chip baskets featuring red snapper fresh from the ocean. Much of the fish came from Pacific Choice Seafoods as well as from local fishermen, said association Vice President John Beardon. We were expecting 300 people we sold way more tickets than that,” Beardon said, adding that roughly 25 volunteers helped cook and serve the fish dinners. “We had so many volunteers show up, it’s been phenomenal. The support has been just amazing.” Read the rest here 17:23
Scotland’s fishermen look forward to EU referendum
When it comes to the EU referendum, one industry where you’ll find very strong views is fishing. Paul Moss went to the main Scottish fishing port of Peterhead to canvass opinion. Charles Buchan, a member of Aberdeenshire Council, explained to me why he supported Britain’s membership of the European Union, and why in particular he thought it was good for the local fishing industry here in Peterhead. “Fishermen are allowed to land their catches in Germany, in Denmark… we’ve got longstanding ties with Europe and it would be terrible to break them,” he says. Jimmy Buchan’s position is typical (he’s no relation of Charles Buchan). He achieved national fame as the star of a BBC TV series, Trawlerman. When we meet on the dockside in Peterhead, he greets me with a cheerful grin, and friendly, avuncular manner. Yet he makes no attempt to hide his contempt for the regulations that the European Union enforces. Read the rest here 17:03
FishNet USA/NOAA Enforcement, media bias, and what’s fact checking?
Much attention has been directed towards a recent IRS/NOAA investigation of alleged criminal activity of New Bedford (MA) fleet owner/seafood wholesaler and retailer Carlos Rafael. Particularly considering the fact that NOAA is trying to force New England fishermen to shoulder the onerous burden of paying for on-board observers to make sure that they aren’t “cheating” on federal fishing regulations, some industry observers have called into question the timing of the actions surrounding Mr. Rafael’s business dealings, and I’ll bet dollars to donuts that the anti-fishing activists are going to leap on this opportunity to clamor for even more – and even more expensive policing of fishermen (it’s been estimated that the costs of the existing level of observer coverage, if passed on to fishermen, will force on the order of 25% of New England’s groundfish fleet out of business).Read the rest of this intro, and, Who really “destroyed a decade of law enforcement?” FishNet USA/December 28, 2011 Nils E. Stolpe Click here16:12
Pacific Fishery Management Council Meeting in Sacramento, California March 8-14, 2016 Listen Live
The Pacific Fishery Management Council and its advisory bodies will meet June 10-16, 2015 in Spokane, Washington, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Sacramento. Download the June 2015 Meeting Notice WITH Agenda (includes full logistics for public comment deadlines). Listen to the Live Audio Stream March 9-14. 12:51
Coldwater Lobster Association wants more members, says many issues facing Nova Scotia industry
Coldwater Lobster Association, covering Lobster Fishing Area 34 in southwestern Nova Scotia, says there are issues that could have dire outcomes on the lobster industry. The association has around 80 members but says it would have more clout at the table with DFO and other groups if it was speaking for a larger percentage of the industry. One issue is a pending decision on whether to list cusk under the Species at Risk Act. COSEWIC(Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada) is collecting opinion online and through consultations until March 18. The committee says the mature portion of the cusk population has declined by 85 per cent over three generations. Read the rest here 11:29
Judge James Sullivan sworn in as Plymouth District Court’s first justice
He first came to Plymouth as a deck hand on a commercial fishing vessel out of Woods Hole. Today, he presides over one of the busiest and most progressive courts in the state. Judge James Michael Sullivan was formally sworn in last Friday as first justice of Plymouth District Court. He succeeds Judge Rosemary Minehan, who retired late last year. A former prosecutor, Sullivan served as acting first justice for both the Attleboro and Hingham district courts before his appointment in Plymouth in November. Read the rest here 10:06
Creepy deepwater fish surprises Nova Scotia fisherman
A fishing trawler off the coast of Newfoundland recently hauled up a creature from the depths of the ocean that made even experienced fishermen do a double take. Scott Tanner was on board when crews pulled up the fish — which looks somewhat like a bird, with a long, pointy snout, bright neon green eyes, and ribbed fins that resemble feathered wings. “All the production stopped and everything so everybody could check it out,” he said. “Even the older guys that are 50, 60 years old, they’ve seen maybe one in their lifetime so they thought it was pretty neat and I snapped a couple pictures.” Read the rest here 09:14
Five Years After Fukushima, Ocean Radiation Poses Little Risk to U.S.
March 11 marks the fifth anniversary of the Fukushima Daichi nuclear power plant explosion in Japan. More than 80 percent of the radioactive material from the explosion leaked into the Pacific Ocean, released via groundwater. Dr. Ken Buesseler, an oceanographer, has spent the five years since Fukushima investigating the effects of the disaster on ocean radioactivity, through research funded by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. He and his team have also sampled water near the West Coast to see if the effects of the disaster have been felt in the U.S. Read the rest here 07:51
3 fishermen rescued from sinking boat off Galveston South Jetty
A Coast Guard boat crew rescued three fisherman after their boat began sinking early Sunday morning near the jetty off Galveston. Crewmembers of the shrimp boat Jana Lynn called Sector Houston-Galveston watchstanders via VHF-FM channel 16 at around 3 a.m., reporting their boat was taking on water. Watchstanders launched a Station Galveston 45-foot response boat crew, who quickly retrieved the men before the situation got worse. They reported that their dewatering pumps lost power and they maneuvered the boat on the jetty to keep it from sinking. Read the rest here 07:18
