Daily Archives: February 1, 2018

Indians in the Hamptons Stake Claim to a Tiny Eel With a Big Payday

Shinnecock Indians have fished the local waters here on the East End of Long Island since before European settlers first appeared in the 1600s, up through its evolution into the wealthy summer playground known as the Hamptons. So David Taobi Silva, 42, a tribal member who lives on the reservation just outside of Southampton village, says that when he harvests fish locally, he needs no commercial license from New York State’s Department of Environmental Conservation and is exempt from its strict regulations to protect fish populations. But that is not how the state sees it,,, >click to read< 20:40

Signs of more small shrimp good news – Research shrimper: Trawls better every week

There are days when Joe Jurek must feel the loneliness of the long-distance shrimper, a solitary figure in the Gulf of Maine as the only Massachusetts commercial fisherman allowed to harvest coveted northern shrimp from a fishery just entering its fifth year of closure. Jurek, a Gloucester-based groundfisherman and the captain of the 42-foot FV Mystique Lady,,, Jurek is the Massachusetts representative in a two-state research set-aside program and is doing most of his fishing in the inshore vicinity of Cape Ann, Ipswich Bay and nearby Scantum Basin. >click to read< 19:38 

McNeill Fishing Ltd., not former president, charged with fishing violations

A story in the Jan. 19 Observer incorrectly reported a recent conviction against McNeill Fishing Ltd. While the company pled guilty and paid $33,598 for some prawn fishing violations on Dec. 18, the story wrongly stated that Michael Stanley McNeill was also convicted personally. The Observer regrets the error. In fact, McNeill was not on either boat, the Mega Bite and the Zomby Woof, when the violations occurred last May near Haida Gwaii and Prince Rupert. He had also stepped down as president of McNeill Fishing Ltd. over a month before. >click to read< 16:36

2017-2018 Minke Whale Unusual Mortality Event along the Atlantic Coast

Since January 2017, elevated minke whale (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) mortalities have occurred along the Atlantic coast from Maine through South Carolina. A table of stranding numbers by state is below. While minke whales are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the species is not listed as endangered or threatened under the Endangered Species Act. This event has been declared an Unusual Mortality Event (UME). >click here to read< 13:22

McDonald announces candidacy for House District 134 – Commercial fishing issues ‘significant part’ of platform

Island resident Genevieve McDonald seeks to join the Maine House of Representatives as legislator for District 134, she recently announced. She filed papers in 2017 as a Democratic nominee for the district that covers Stonington, Deer Isle, Isle au Haut, Southwest Harbor, Swan’s Island, North Haven, Tremont, Vinalhaven, Cranberry Isles, Frenchboro, and the unorganized territory of Marshall Island Township.,, McDonald, a commercial lobsterman, is also the Downeast Region Representative to the Maine Lobster Advisory Council, and said issues surrounding the commercial fishing industry are “a significant part of my platform.” >click here to read< 12:47

Clammers, wormers can coexist with Acadia’s conservation mission

A recent BDN OpEd criticized Rep. Bruce Poliquin’s legislation to clarify the status of clamming and worming on the flats in Acadia National Park. The bill in question and companion legislation in the U.S. Senate are supported by all four members of Maine’s congressional delegation. It permits traditional harvesting while protecting the park against expansion of other harvesting activity or the use of mechanized harvesting equipment. Clammers and wormers have worked the flats around the park for ages. Only two years ago, when enforcement actions were taken against harvesters, did the practice come into question. >click here to read< 12:12

‘Nothing will be safe’: Fears after 20,000 ‘ravenous’ fish escape fish farm in Australia

There are fears thousands of “ravenous” kingfish that escaped a government jointly run fish farm in Australia will devastate a marine park’s wild fish population. Up to 17,000 predatory yellowtail kingfish, used to being fed automatically, are now hunting in marine park waters off Port Stephens, NSW. Last week, 20,000 of the fish escaped from a fish-farm sea cage, described as a “fortress pen”, that was destroyed in rough seas. About 3000 fish have been recaptured. >click here to read< 10:26 

Federal Court dismisses Barry Group application for judicial review of 2016 DFO mackerel decision

Deciding in 2016 to wait until the fall of that year to go fishing for mackerel off the province’s west coast cost the over 65-foot fishing fleet there between $3 million and $4 million, according to information in a recent Federal Court decision. Mackerel is of higher quality at that time of the fishing season but for vessels fishing for the Barry Group Inc. there was nothing left for them to catch — the Total Allowable Catch (TAC) for 2016 had already been taken during the summer months by the smaller boats in the under 65-foot fishing fleet. >click here to read< 09:48

View to a Kill: Galápagos Sea Lions Team Up to Capture Huge Tuna

In the Pacific, off the Galápagos Islands’ coast, a clever ploy leads to a hearty feast. Sea lions cannot typically catch massive yellowfin tuna—which can swim at speeds of around 40 miles per hour. But a few fishermen recently reported a peculiar hunting behavior among the Galápagos dwellers: Using teamwork, the sea lions have been chasing and trapping the tuna in coves along the archipelago’s ragged coast. Photographer Tui De Roy, a Galápagos resident, recently captured this behavior in a series of striking images. >photo’s, click to read<09:22