Daily Archives: December 3, 2017

Inland Fisheries: Native Fish Keepers – Picking up the tab for conservation

Conservation isn’t cheap. Under a cloudless sky on waters as smooth as glass, a crew of four men clad in bright orange rain gear splattered with fish scales and slime was doing its part last week to pay for the tab of conserving native trout in the largest freshwater lake west of the Mississippi.,, Last spring, the Tribal Council approved the incorporation of the nonprofit, tribally owned Native Fish Keepers Inc. business that has begun selling some of the lake trout and whitefish caught in both netting operations and during the spring and fall Mack Days fishing contests hosted by the tribes. “Our overall objective in putting this all together is conservation,” said CSKT fisheries biologist Barry Hansen. “From the very beginning, we’ve been focused on reducing the number of lake trout to benefit both bull trout and cutthroats. We realized early on this would be an expensive operation.” click here to read the story 17:51

Inland Fisheries: DNR proposes a study on the effect of commercial gill nets on Lake Michigan

The Department of Natural Resources has proposed a study of the impacts of commercial gill netting on non-target sport fish such as chinook salmon and brown trout in the Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan. Commercial fishers in Zone 3 have lobbied the agency for the ability to use large mesh gill nets to catch lake whitefish. The gear has been prohibited in the zone, which covers the Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan south of Bailey’s Harbor, to prevent bycatch and mortality of sport fish as well as user conflicts. However, large mesh gill nets are allowed for commercial fishing in northern Lake Michigan and part of Green Bay. Commercial fishers have requested the same opportunity in Zone 3. click here to read the story 15:11

How Newfoundland is grappling with the return of cod fishing

Tony Cobb is seated at his usual table at the Chester Fried Superstop, a roadside gas station and convenience store that serves some of the best fish and chips on Fogo Island.,, His ritual is interrupted every few bites by the coverall-clad fishermen who approach the table after paying for their gas. In baymen’s accents and with hands held chest high, they tell Mr. Cobb, whose new fish business offers the best price for top-quality northern cod in Newfoundland, about the huge, gleaming fish they’ve been catching. The late fall yields the best cod of the year, from “foxy” reddish ones to black-backed hulks. These are not fish tales, and Mr. Cobb is happy to banter. But when the fishermen turn away, his eyes darken: His mind has wandered out of the diner and into the bleak murk of fishery politics. click here to read the story 14:06

South Atlantic Fishery Management Council meeting Dec 4-8, 2017 in Atlantic Beach NC

The public is invited to attend the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council to be held at the DoubleTree by Hilton Atlantic Beach Oceanfront 2717 W. Fort Macon Road, Atlantic Beach, NC 28512 Complete (revised) Agenda Click here for details Webinar Registration: Listen Live, Click here To visit the SAFMC click here 11:54

Fresh evidence that could have cleared the ‘Cocaine Crew’ of £53m smuggling plot is REJECTED

Five men serving prison terms of up to 24 years for a £53 million drug smuggling plot have lost their bid to appeal – despite fresh scientific evidence suggesting the version of events presented by the prosecution at the trial was ‘impossible’. Almost four years after The Mail on Sunday published the first of three investigations casting doubt on the convictions, the Criminal Cases Review Commission (CCRC), which has the power to refer possible miscarriages of justice to the Court of Appeal, has decided to take no action. In doing so, it is rejecting expert evidence that the fishing boat reputedly used to pick up holdalls packed with cocaine from the English Channel never actually reached the spot where the bags might have been dumped. click here to read the story 10:31

B.C. fish farms: a tangled net

Industrial fish farming began in British Columbia with a few small experiments in the 1970s. By the 1990s, it was operating like a well-oiled machine: Smaller farms had been swallowed by large conglomerates, and imported Atlantic salmon had become the preferred breed — the Herefords of aquaculture.,,, So, are fish farms bad? Federal research scientist Kristi Miller says she understands the frustration of not having a definitive answer. click here to read the story 09:43

Update: Coast Guard suspends search for unconfirmed person in the water

The Coast Guard suspended the search for an unconfirmed person in the water, Saturday. After searching for eight hours over 5 1/2 nautical square miles Coast Guard Sector New Orleans suspended the search at 5:47 p.m. At approximately 4:20 a.m. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans received a report of a 30-foot shrimp vessel on fire in Long Bay near Buras, Louisiana. It was reported that the vessel later sank in approximately 4-feet of water approximately one mile from Joshua Marina. A portion of the super structure is visible above water. –USCG