Daily Archives: September 15, 2017

Bi-Partisan Opposition: East Coast Republicans join Democrats to lobby Trump against Atlantic oil exploration

State and federal lawmakers from both parties have joined East Coast business interests to convince the Trump administration to halt its plan for fossil fuel development in the Atlantic Ocean. It’s a surprisingly diverse collection of power players: members of Congress, dozens of lawmakers from both red and blue states, nine attorneys general, six governors and thousands of business owners from Florida through the Carolinas and up to New Jersey. They hope that mix and their economic, not environmental, argument will sway President Donald Trump’s Interior Department as it nears a decision on testing that could open the door to oil and gas exploration, and eventually drilling, off the coast. click here to read the story 18:14

Thousands of lobsters found dumped as demonstrations continue in Digby

Thousands of lobster carcasses were found freshly dumped in various areas in and around Weymouth September 15 as fishermen continued demonstrating outside the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Fishermen confirmed many of the lobsters – whose smell and current infestation with insects and maggots show are newly dumped – are below legal harvesting size, and others are female, in addition to having been fished off-season, all of which is illegal at the commercial level. click here to read the story 15:51

Crew abandons F/V Akutan in Unalaska’s Captains Bay

The F/V Akutan no longer has a crew and the ship’s 130,000 pounds of salmon has been offloaded. The processor has been anchored in Unalaska’s Captains Bay since late August and there’s no indication the boat will be leaving soon. “The reality of it is, there’s just a huge legal ball that needs to be worked through before any real decision can be made,” Unalaska Ports Director Peggy McLaughlin said. After a disastrous fishing season as a processor in Bristol Bay, the vessel’s owner went broke, the crew went unpaid. and now the ship is disabled and unable to move. click here to read the story 14:57

Lobsterman tagged for fishing untagged traps, faces 10 year suspension

The Marine Patrol has charged a Hancock County lobsterman, William Haas, 55, of Lamoine, with fishing more lobster traps than authorized, fishing untagged gear and fishing more traps on a trawl than allowed. Under legislation adopted earlier this year, Haas faces a suspension of his license of three to 10 years for fishing 44 more traps than the 800 allowed by law. The new law, LD 575, changed the penalty for fishing over the trap limit from a possible one-year suspension to a mandatory minimum three-year suspension with the possibility of a 10-year suspension. “The law change this past legislative session puts teeth in the penalties,” Department of Marine Resource Commissioner Patrick Keliher said in a statement announcing the charges against Haas last week. click here to read the story 14:31

Coast Guard medevacs injured fisherman in Pamlico Sound

The Coast Guard medevaced an injured fisherman in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina, Thursday. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector North Carolina in Wilmington received a call on VHF-FM channel 16 at about 5:55 p.m., reporting that a 53-year-old deckhand aboard the 83-foot fishing vessel Chasity Brooke injured his hand about 10 miles east of Hobucken, North Carolina. Sector North Carolina watchstanders issued an urgent marine information broadcast and launched a Coast Guard 24-foot Special Purpose Craft-Shallow Water boat crew from Station Hobucken to assist. –USCG

Smuggled North Korea Clams Show China’s Struggle to Stop Kim

In the fishing grounds where the Yalu River opens up to the Yellow Sea, Chinese and North Korean trawlers intermingle as they search for crabs, conch and yellow clams. Drifting among them are Chinese boats called “mother ships” that act as floating middlemen, offering dollars, renminbi and even goods like cigarettes for the latest catch, according to traders who have been aboard the vessels. One of them, who called himself Mr. Du, said the seafood is then taken ashore to China and sold in wholesale markets, where it all gets mixed together. The practice is just one form of smuggling along China’s 1,350-kilometer (840-mile) border with North Korea, roughly the distance from Paris to Rome. Locals use boats, cars, trucks and several rail lines to carry everything from diesel fuel to silkworms to cell phones back and forth across the Yalu. click here to read the story 12:32

FFAW-Unifor upset with DFO decision to draft inadequate northern shrimp plan

The Fish, Food and Allied Workers (FFAW-Unifor) union is criticizing a decision to move forward with drafting a rebuilding plan for northern shrimp that it calls “unachievable.” According to a news release from the union, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) announced the decision at a meeting in Montreal today. While FFAW-Unifor supports the need for a rebuilding plan for northern shrimp, the union argues the current method is unrealistic and needs to be changed. click here to read the story 12:08

Man overboard safety drills catch several participants at Digby Wharf

Get ready, be prepared, do some drills, and know your tools. Those are the words of safety drill facilitator Tommy Harper who, along with executive director Amanda Dedrick, safety advisor Matthew Duffy and demo diver Brandon Fitzgerald, conducted a man overboard safety drill at Digby Wharf September 14. These four work with the Fisheries Safety Association of Nova Scotia to promote safe practices for commercial fishermen through their program, Are You Ready. “We work to ensure safety is a priority on the water, and want to spread that message across the province,” said Harper. click here to read the story 11:31

Trade groups want 10-year requirement removed from Magnuson-Stevens Act

As Congress gets ready to address reauthorizing the Magnuson-Stevens Act, representatives from commercial fishing interests are urging lawmakers to revisit some of the current law’s regulations they feel have hindered the industry. In particular, they’re urging officials to do away with language that caps rebuilding plans for overfished species to 10 years. It’s an arbitrary figure that has too rigidly applied across all federally managed species, said Lori Steele, the executive director of the West Coast Seafood Processors Association, at a hearing Tuesday of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation’s Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard. click here to read the story 10:50

The Magnuson Stevens Act and its Ten Year Rebuilding Timeline: Science or Fiction? By Meghan Lapp – click here to read the article

Small scale NZ commercial fishers worried new video surveillance will give away their best spots

New regulations to digitally monitor commercial fishing boats are worrying some small-scale operators, who suspect constant video surveillance may give away their best fishing locations. But the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) argues controls are necessary to guard against overfishing. Hayley and Carey are cod and tuna fishers, who feel MPI’s constant new electronic monitoring and reporting regulations are too intrusive and expensive. “The thought of that actually is abhorrent to me, we live on this vessel a lot while we are at sea,” Carey Nelson says. Video, click here to read the story 08:55