Daily Archives: August 16, 2016
Coast Guard terminates voyages of 3 commercial fishing vessels for safety violations off Oahu
The crew of the USCGC Galveston Island (WPB-1349) terminated the voyages of the 79-foot Lady Jackie, the 62-foot commercial fishing vessel Blue Sky and the 82-foot Jennifer Lynn for hazardous conditions and safety violations during a boardings off Honolulu since Aug. 8. All three vessels were escorted by the Galveston Island crew to the pier in Honolulu. Coast Guard Sector Honolulu personnel are attending the vessels to ensure all discrepancies are rectified prior to any new voyages. The boarding team from the cutter found discrepancies aboard the vessels including inoperable high water alarms, inoperable and/or expired survival craft, expired distress signals, an expired emergency position indicating radio beacon, a lack of or unserviceable life jackets, crews untrained in first aid or emergency procedures and a failure to conduct regular drills. In one case there was excessive fuel in the bilge and in another the vessel’s commercial fishing vessel safety decal and their registration are both expired. More images, read the rest here 18:54
B.C. Commercial Crab Harvester Fined $20,000 for Fishing in a Closed Contaminated Area
On July 20, 2016, Burnaby resident Danny My Ho pleaded guilty to four violations of the Fisheries Act in Sechelt Provincial Court. The Honourable Judge Steven Merrick fined Mr. Ho $20,000 for fishing for Dungeness crab in an area closed to commercial crab harvesting due to dioxin contamination. The charges stem from Mr. Ho’s fishing activities in Howe Sound during August 2015, as skipper of the commercial crabbing vessel the New Star. On October 9, 2015, a DFO resource management biologist requested that Conservation and Protection fishery officers investigate the fishing records of the New Star. A subsequent inspection of the vessel’s electronic monitoring data and logbook revealed that Mr. Ho was harvesting commercial crab between August 15 and 26 up to one kilometer inside an area closed due to dioxin contamination near Roberts Creek and the Trail Islands on the Sunshine Coast. Read the rest here 17:06
Ancient fishing vessel Reaper will sail south to Arbroath for repairs following salvage operation
The Reaper is upright again following a salvage operation after it keeled over on to its side in Johnshaven harbour on August 6. Canvas patches have been applied to the damaged side of the Fraserburgh-built vessel to keep the water out for her journey to Arbroath. John Firn, vice-chairman of the Anstruther-based Scottish Fisheries Museum, which owns the boat, said the Reaper will be out of commission for the rest of the year. He said: “It has been made waterproof and brought back to normality. The 70-foot Reaper, which dates back to 1902, keeled over with members of the public onboard at the Johnshaven Fish Festival. The strong gust of wind caught the sails and threw one of the six crew overboard on to the harbour floor. Read the rest here 16:30
Blue Harvest Fisheries will acquire the assets of High Liner’s scallop business along with its facility in New Bedford
Canada-listed High Liner Foods has agreed to sell its scallop business to US group Blue Harvest Fisheries. Under the terms of the deal, Blue Harvest will acquire the assets of High Liner’s scallop business, along with its facility in New Bedford, Massachusetts. High Liner will receive cash proceeds of US$8m for the business and facility, plus additional amounts for scallop inventories. High Liner said it will continue to offer scallops to its customers through a supply agreement with Blue Harvest. The transaction is expected to close within the next several weeks. High Liner had announced in February it would stop value-added fish operations at the New Bedford facility to reduce excess capacity across its production network in North America. Blue Harvest was formed last year with the acquisition of eight Virginia-based scallop vessels and related shore assets from US scallop fishing firm Peabody Corporation. Its acquisition of the High Liner asset is the third Bue Harvest has made in 2016. Read the rest here 14:20
Menhaden aren’t being ‘decimated’ – Ronnie Sheldon, Pascagoula
Lately, I’ve read several opinion articles about the menhaden fishery and problems with Omega Protein. I’m a lifelong resident of Pascagoula and a sport fisherman. I have no connections or interests in Omega Protein, but most of my spare time is spent fishing for trout and redfish, and I typically fish the same area (Round Island) where Omega Protein fishes for menhaden. I have no issue with menhaden fishing. Their industry provides hundreds of jobs and pumps millions of dollars into our local economy. Indirectly, their product helps provide food for many as animal feed. Their bycatch is closely regulated and very small. I’ve never personally seen evidence of any bycatch dumped overboard. Read the letter here 13:19
Fishermen warned against fishing in Lake Victoria while drunk
Fishermen in Bondo, Siaya County have been warned against going to fish in Lake Victoria while drunk. Speaking in Bondo Town on Monday, Bondo Beach Management Unit (BMU) Network secretary Mr Joseph Ogwel advised fishermen to observe safety precautions while going about their business to avert accidents on the lake, adding that they will arrest and prosecute any fisherman who will be found on the lake drunk or lacking proper protective gear. The BMU Network secretary regretted the high number of fishermen who have died on the lake due to the lack of proper protective gear, and impressed upon them to always put on life jackets while on the lake. (and lay off the sauce!) Read the rest here 11:22
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for August 15, 2016
Click here to read the Weekly Update, to read all the updates, Click here 11:03
Sweden is not backing down on ‘invasive species’ ban of Canada-U.S. lobster
Sweden is not backing away from its campaign to ban the import of live lobsters into the European Union arguing a “precautionary approach” justifies its claim that the presence of North American lobsters in European waters constitutes an invasive species risk. In late July, the Swedish agency issued its rebuttal to Canadian and U.S. scientists who have dismissed its risk assessment as unscientific, unjustified and in one instance “absurd.” “Prevention is generally more environmentally desirable and cost-effective than reaction after the fact,” the Swedish Agency for Marine and Water Management said in its July 29 response. Sweden says 32 American lobsters were captured in its waters between 2008 and 2015. Between 1999 and 2015, 29 were captured off the coast of Norway, including two females carrying hybrid eggs. In Britain, 26 lobsters were caught between 1988 and 2011. In 2015, 361 live American lobsters were released off Britain as the result of Buddhist faith based acts, 133 have been recaptured, according to the Swedes. Read the rest here 10:10
I dream of a federal government that doesn’t overreach
Most people associate Cape Canaveral with NASA and the Kennedy Space Center, but many licensed commercial fishermen and crabbers in Merritt Island rely on the waters of Florida’s “Space Coast” to earn a living and to support their way of life. Our friendly federal government has decided to threaten that way of life, for reasons that leave much to be desired. A trip down memory lane to the “Space Age” provides background for this ongoing story of government overreach. In 1961, NASA announced its plan to acquire Florida land for the “Space Race” with the Soviet Union, and NASA received a great deal of submerged land in the Space Coast area from the state, including a well-known fishing spot known as “Mosquito Lagoon.” The took charge, and the government then created Merritt Island National Refuge and Canaveral National Seashore. At that time, the federal government respected the right to earn a living and it did not interfere with those making a living fishing the waters in those parks. Not so anymore, of course. Read the rest here 09:11
OffshoreMW enlists New Bedford’s Jim Kendall as fishing industry rep
An offshore wind developer hired a longtime local fisherman as its fisheries representative Friday, and another developer’s survey boat could arrive at the Marine Commerce Terminal on Saturday, as the offshore wind industry continues to ramp up on SouthCoast after Monday’s signing of landmark energy legislation in Boston. Erich Stephens, executive vice president of New Jersey-based wind power developer OffshoreMW, said longtime local fisherman and industry advocate Jim Kendall will be OffshoreMW’s fisheries representative. Kendall, now executive director of New Bedford Seafood Consulting, is a former scalloper with more than 50 years of experience in the industry. “His job is to make sure we’re hearing from the fishing industry,” Stephens said. Stephens said OffshoreMW previously hired Kendall several years ago, to provide guidance as the company looked at potential lease areas for turbine development in federal waters south of Martha’s Vineyard. OffshoreMW now is one of three companies with leases in that region of ocean waters. Kendall said the new, contract agreement was finalized Friday. “My main concern is trying to minimize any impacts on the fishing industry, and anything that’s going to either disrupt their work or endanger them,” Kendall said. Read the rest here 08:49
Bait Relief! Maine Pogy fishery reopens with strict new rules
Maine made bait fishermen and lobstermen happy Monday when it reopened its pogy fishery after concluding there is still enough menhaden left in the Gulf of Maine to keep the population healthy. Those who hunt for nearshore schools of the flat, oily-fleshed silver fish – the second most popular lobster bait in Maine after herring – must follow strict new rules to prevent unusual damage or imminent depletion of the Atlantic menhaden. If they limit their fishing days to three and their catch to no more than 120,000 pounds a week, Maine fishermen can use up the remaining 2.3 million-pound quota allotted to Maine, Rhode Island and New York during a so-called “episodic” fishing event, when pogies are deemed unusually plentiful in New England waters. Read the rest here 08:08
