Daily Archives: March 25, 2016
New manual outlines steps for fishermen, communities to take in crisis
The concept first began to crystallize in Angela Sanfilippo’s mind about four years ago, when the president of the Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association realized she needed to start putting some things down on paper. Sanfilippo, both in her roles with fishing-based community groups and her own experience as a wife, daughter and sister of fishermen, had helped develop a series of protocols to help fishermen avoid calamities on the water and help the Gloucester fishing community deal with fishing tragedies when they occur. “I just thought that we should start putting these things in writing because we’re not going to be around forever,” Sanfilippo said. Thus was born the idea that burst into reality yesterday when the Fishing Partnership Support Services unveiled its RESCUES manual in an event at the U.S. Coast Guard’s Station Gloucester. Read the rest here 22:50
The Saga continues on ‘Deadliest Catch’ “It’s official: Elliott’s out, Jake’s in!
Capt. Elliott Neese is officially off “Deadliest Catch” season 12 and Capt. Jake Anderson will take over the Saga. According to a tweet by Discovery, Neese won’t be on this season. The network wrote on Twitter Thursday: “It’s official: Elliott’s out, Jake’s in: 5 days til #DeadliestCatch”. In an interview Elliott gave recently, he said he wasn’t going to be on “Deadliest Catch” so he could focus on himself after his stint in rehab. Last year he battled serious alcohol and drug problems and it affected his work aboard the F/V Saga. He was seen throwing temper tantrums and taking his frustrations out on the crew. Video, Read the rest here 19:24
Nunavut fisheries casting a net for federal infrastructure money
Nunavut fisheries say the Liberal budget is giving them renewed hope for much needed money and infrastructure to stimulate their growing industry. The budget offered some good news and some bad news for the territory’s fisheries including money for development, training and research although Inuit fisheries are still not included in some programs aimed at First Nations fisheries. “Firstly the strengthening of the Northern Economic Development — that’s good news from a Nunavut perspective,” said Jerry Ward, chair of the Nunavut Offshore Allocation Holders Association, which represents Nunavut’s offshore fishing industry. Read the rest here 15:42
Environmentalists Wield Powerful Endangered Species Act to Kill Jobs
Think fish when you read this. From the article: The Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) is a radical environmental legal action group that’s known for frequently suing to block commercial, industrial, and personal activities in an effort to “save the environment,” regardless of who gets hurt. One of the group’s leaders and co-founders, Kieran Suckling, was a well-known activist in the 1980s and has been linked to vandalism and sabotage group Earth First! From its inception, CBD has sought ways to permanently stop natural resource use, and with the help of environmental attorneys, CBD has successfully weaponized the Endangered Species Act (ESA) against ranchers, loggers, miners, (fishermen) and human activity in general. Read the rest here 13:51
BREAKING – Cashes Ledge dropped from National Marine Monument plan
The proposal to place a National Marine Monument around the area of Cashes Ledge about 80 miles off of Cape Ann has been “taken off the table,” members of the White House’s Council on Environmental Quality told fishing stakeholders Thursday at a meeting in Boston. The Obama administration’s decision not to use the Antiquities Act to designate the area of Cashes Ledge as a Marine National Monument is a victory for fishing stakeholders and others who characterized the proposal — pushed largely by environmentalists and conservationists — as an end-run around the existing fisheries management system and wholly unnecessary given the existing protections already afforded the area that currently is closed to commercial fishing. Read the rest here 11:31
Halibut season opens; SE fleet already lands 260,000 lbs.
A little more than three days into the 2016 halibut season, Area 2C, Southeast Alaska, has had the fleet hitting it the hardest. Nearly 260,000 pounds had been landed in Southeast, compared to less than 50,000 in Area 3A, Central Gulf of Alaska, and no activity in other areas of the state. The state-wide directed commercial halibut quota is just over 17 million pounds. Prices have started about where they left off last year, with Kodiak reportedly at $6.25 for fish under 20 pounds, $6.50 for fish 20 to 40 pounds, and $6.85 for fish 40 pounds and up. Read the rest here 10:06
‘A slap in the face’: Ferry’s inability to haul commercial trucks gets negative reactions
The announcement of the new high-speed ferry service between Yarmouth and Portland, Maine, now expected to restart in mid-June, is not the cat’s meow to some. No commercial trucks will be allowed on board, said Bay Ferries president and CEO Mark MacDonald at a briefing in Halifax. “It’s disappointing,” said Nathan Blades of Sable Fish Packers of Shelburne, who is also president of the Nova Scotia Fish Packers Association. “That link has traditionally been considered a valuable one for the seafood industry and getting fresh fish to U.S. markets is extremely important to securing that market. It’s a slap in the face to Nova Scotia business.” Read the rest here 09:17
Bay Area crab fishermen prepare for Saturday’s long overdue season opener
The crab pots were piled eight high along the Santa Cruz Small Craft Harbor dock Wednesday afternoon as Dungeness crab fisherman loaded boats in preparation for Saturday’s long overdue commercial crab fishery opener. After a five-month delay due to the presence of domoic acid, a potentially deadly neurotoxin that had been found in crabs, state health officials determined the crabs “no longer pose a significant human health risk.” Some have decided it’s not worth the effort this late in the season. As others loaded crab pots onto boats in the Santa Cruz Harbor, longtime crab fisherman Stan Bruno of Santa Cruz was packing up his gear to store it for the summer. Read the rest here 08:26
Dogfish Neck? Cape Skate? Pollock Peninsula? – Cape fishermen anticipated cod collapse
Can this still be Cape Cod without the cod? There still is cod, and they’re still being caught, but the stocks have collapsed and that was further underlined this week when a Georges Bank quota cut of 62 percent to 762 metric tons was proposed by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Management Council on Monday. That follows an earlier massive cut during the last three-year management period – totaling a 95-percent reduction over the last four years. Outer Cape fishermen are ahead of the curve – most have already abandoned cod. Read the rest here 07:53
