Daily Archives: January 7, 2018

John Bullard: SectorIX board’s failure to act stopped its fishing

For New Englanders, Atlantic cod is not just another fish. The Sacred Cod that hangs in the Massachusetts State House is a testament to the cod’s place in our culture and history. For centuries, we fished for cod, as we watched the stock decline, we tried various ways to protect the resource this is considered as much a birthright as a commodity. In 2009, the New England Fishery Management Council under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, agreed to try a system called “catch shares” which worked well on the West Coast. click here to read the op-ed 20:52 

The Mystery of the Third Man

Allow me to set the scene. Location: The frigid and stormy Wendell Sea, close to the Antarctic continent. The year: 1915 Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew are reaching their 400th day living in a makeshift camp on the ice while their now-abandoned ship Endurance is slowly crushed by sea ice. The crew described the groaning and creaking of the splintering ship as sounding like the death cries of something half-alive. By November of that year, the last of the ship finally sank beneath the waves, and Shackleton and his crew had no choice but attempt the harrowing journey in their recovered life boats to the barren, inhospitable shores of Elephant Island. click here to read the story 18:00

Nova Scotia: Storm damage to fish farm pens alarms Shelburne County fisherman

In addition to ice and snow, remnants of Nova Scotia’s first major winter storm are all over the shore of Jordan Bay, N.S. in the form of buoys and plastic pipes. The debris, which came from the Cooke Aquaculture fish farm, is concerning to commercial lobster fisherman Ricky Hallett. He suspects many of the fish died. “Seventeen out of 20 of the pens have the tops off them and most of them have the sides smashed down,” Hallett said. “I live just adjacent to the site and I can look right out on it.” click here to read the story 15:56

Hearings set for changes to black sea bass fishing

Interstate fishing managers are holding hearings in East Coast states about a plan to change the rules about one of the Atlantic Ocean’s most popular recreational fisheries. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is considering changing the way it manages the recreational black sea bass fishery. The commission says the proposed changes could alter the way it allocates harvesting limits for the fish. The hearings began on Wednesday in Lewes, Delaware. click here to read the story 13:31

Annual ‘Bay Barometer’ shows improvement in the Chesapeake

An annual Chesapeake Bay report card indicates ongoing restoration efforts are paying off, as animal and plant populations are up. The Chesapeake Bay Program, an organizing body for federal, state and local environmental advocates, released its annual Bay Barometer, a report measuring progress in cleaning up the bay and restoring native species and habitats. Of a number of sustainability goals set to achieve by 2025, the bay met marks for blue crab abundance and fish passage. click here to read the story 13:08

Wall Township NJ Hearing on Lobster Draft Addendum XXVI/Jonah Crab Draft Addendum III – January 8, 2018 6:00 pm

Lobster Draft Addendum XXVI/Jonah Crab Draft Addendum III hearings. (public comment accepted until 5 PM EST on January 22, 2018; send comments to [email protected] – Subject line: Lobster Draft Addendum XXVI) NJ Hearing – January 8, 2018 6:00 pm, Wall Township Municipal Building, Lower Level Community Room, 2700 Allaire Road, Wall Township, NJ, On the schedule, East Setauket, New York, on Tuesday; Scarborough, Maine, on Wednesday; Ellsworth, Maine, on Thursday; Portsmouth, New Hampshire, on Jan. 16; Narragansett, Rhode Island, on Jan. 17; Old Lyme, Connecticut, on Jan. 18; and Hyannis, Massachusetts, on Jan. 19 click here 11:40

Marine Patrol suspends search for missing Thomaston clammer Paul Benner

Maine Marine Patrol officers suspended the search Saturday evening for a Thomaston clammer missing since Thursday’s severe winter storm. Officers and divers were hampered by ice and slush Saturday as they searched the area of Long Cove in the vicinity of footprints believed to have been left by Paul Benner, who has not been seen since he went out clamming Thursday evening. In a statement, the marine patrol said the search “will resume in the coming days, depending on the weather.” click here to read the story 09:43