Daily Archives: June 26, 2016
Cameron Henderson, Tin Can Bay Chamber of Commerce is a reasonable man
With the most important federal election in many years due in just a week, I thought that it may be beneficial to share some information learnt recently. Whilst a chamber of commerce remains “apolitical”, it sometimes becomes hard to remain impartial. I have had several discussions with the ALP candidate for the Wide Bay, Lucy Stanton. Her plans for this region are to shut down commercial net fishing and have the area World Heritage listed. Ms Stanton argues that fish stocks have declined due to commercial fishing alone; I have been informed that there are many factors as to why fish stocks fluctuate over the years. Commercial fishing is not the sole reason. The commercial fishing industry is heavily regulated and licence holders are held accountable. Evidence recently circulated claiming otherwise is outdated and inconclusive in my mind. Graphs and charts can be manipulated to suit an agenda. Read this letter here 20:41
Wisconsin DNR ponders commercial whitefish regulation changes, Sport fishers concerned
A leading Wisconsin sportfishing advocate is urging anglers to provide input as the Department of Natural Resources considers changes to rules in Green Bay and Lake Michigan. Based on shifts in whitefish abundance, the DNR is mulling changes to its commercial fishing framework for the species. Although the agency has yet to release a proposed rules change, commercial interests have been seeking higher whitefish quotas in southern Green Bay or the ability to use unfilled quotas from other zones in the lower bay. And some commercial fishers would like to be able to sell walleye taken as “bycatch.” Walleye currently are protected from commercial fishing in Wisconsin. Read the rest here 16:39
Brexit – Entering uncharted territory,turbulent waters, with challenges and perhaps also opportunities.
Two things can be said with certainty: 1. At this stage there are more questions than answers 2. In this new world, fishermen will need a strong, cohesive, national organisation to defend their interests during the upcoming transition It is not difficult to understand the strong anti-EU sentiments within the UK fishing industry. The European Commission has too often behaved with arrogance, and the EU Parliament with ignorance, to escape their share of the blame. To understand this, you need to go no further that the Commission’s proposed EU ban on small-scale drift nets – to solve an enforcement problem in Italy but which if adopted would have extinguished many sustainable, viable small-scale fisheries in the UK. This is but one example which just illustrates the roots of the frustration that has built over many years. Read the rest here 14:41
Fading fishermen: A historic industry faces a warming world
The cod isn’t just a fish to David Goethel. It’s his identity, his ticket to middle-class life, his link to a historic industry. Robert Bradfield was one of the East Coast’s most endangered species, a Rhode Island lobsterman, until he pulled his traps out of the water for the last time about a decade ago. Michael Mohr harvested surf clams for almost 30 of his 55 years, and his desire to stay in the business takes him far from his family. For the fishermen of the northeastern U.S., whether to stick with fishing, adapt to the changing ocean or leave the business is a constant worry. Read the story here 13:56
Coast Guard medevacs injured fisherman near Kodiak, Alaska
The Coast Guard medevaced a 26-year-old fisherman from the 79-foot fishing vessel Pacific Star approximately 74 miles southeast of the city of Kodiak, Alaska, Saturday. A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew hoisted the injured fisherman and transported him to awaiting emergency medical services personnel at the Kodiak Airport. Coast Guard Sector Anchorage watchstanders received the call for assistance at approximately 11:03 a.m. from the operator of the Pacific Star that a deckhand had been struck in the head by deck rigging and needed medical attention. Watchstanders consulted the duty flight surgeon who recommended the medevac. The Jayhawk helicopter crew was dispatched to the scene. Click here to watch the video 12:03
Emmonak comes to life with summer fish plant jobs and commercial dipnetting
At the Yukon River’s fish central, the warning on the door to the buzzing office of the big boss, whom everyone calls “Jack,” says “Danger. Earache Area.”It’s the nerve center for Kwikpak Fisheries — a small dockside processor with an outsized role in a region where jobs are scarce, the salmon are ultra-rich, and a unique commercial dipnet fishery provides early season jobs and money. Kwikpak operations manager Jack Schultheis is buying summer chums from, as he put it, the only commercial dipnet operation “in the world.” It’s a novel setup intended to help rebuild crashed king salmon runs, but still allow fishing. During scheduled dipnet openings, residents with commercial permits from Emmonak and nearby Southwestern Alaska villages head out in open skiffs. Read the story here 10:25
Carlos “The Codfather” Rafael’s trial could have huge stakes
Indicted fishing magnate Carlos Rafael controls nearly one-fifth of the harbor’s commercial fleet and had permits worth about $80 million last year, according to public records and local interviews. The size and scope of Rafael’s fishing business indicate a significant chunk of New Bedford’s waterfront economy could be at stake should Rafael stand trial in January 2017. He faces federal charges tied to an alleged, multi-year scheme involving illegally caught fish, bags of cash from a wholesale buyer in New York City and a smuggling operation to Portugal, via Logan International Airport in Boston. An initial survey of Rafael’s fishing permits, vessels and the corporations behind them, along with local data and interviews, provides a glimpse into an operation that has become a flashpoint for broader debates about industry regulation and oversight. Read the article here 09:08
