Daily Archives: July 14, 2018

HR-200 – Gloucester fishermen ‘desperate’ for federal bill to ease catch limits

A bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this week is being cheered by fishermen in Gloucester who are hoping for a lifeline for the struggling industry. “It’s desperate. We are in a desperate situation. We need a change,” said Angela Sanfilippo, president of the Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association. “It’s a good start.” The new law would allow more flexibility for fish populations to be rebuilt, and give more authority to the regional fishery management councils, which may be more in touch with the local industry.,,, Fishermen in Gloucester say the industry is in danger of disappearing without changes. “We’re down to about 60 fishermen, and every day it gets worse,” Sam Parisi said. >click to read<13:14

Set netting is a ‘mud experience’ and these fishermen can’t get enough of it

Mud is the tie that binds all set netters together, but some are better than others at traipsing through the gloop. We found three fishermen who couldn’t stop gushing about it. Alana Kansaku-Sarmiento has left set netting (somewhat reluctantly, it seems) to drift with the fishing vessel Marion-Ruth.,,  I love, for some reason, the mud. And that’s a very personal reason that I would love Nushagak Point and set netting, but I happen to be one of those people who just loves walking in it, picking fish in it, dragging s**t — stuff — through it. I don’t know what it is. >click to read<12:20

Chile fishermen race to recapture escaped salmon that could pose risk

Chilean fishermen were working yesterday to recover hundreds of thousands of salmon that escaped from a fish farm as environmentalists warned of possible risks if they are eaten by humans, the government said. A storm on July 6 damaged nine enclosures at Marine Harvest’s Punta Redonda Center near the southern city of Calbuco, freeing at least 600,000 salmon into the wild, the company said.,,, Some of the salmon had been injected with a course of antibiotics that was incomplete at the time of their escape, making them unfit for human consumption and prompting concern by environmental groups that the fish will make it into the food chain too early. >click to read<11:15

Premier Horgan sends letter to federal Fisheries Minister urging discussions over fisheries closure

B.C. premier John Horgan is urging the Federal Fisheries Minister to meet to discuss problems with using fishing bans to boost Chinook salmon stocks to protect the 75 remaining Southern Resident orcas. The closure of salmon fisheries in areas including parts of Juan De Fuca Strait from Sooke to Port Renfrew, the southern Gulf Islands and the mouth of the Fraser River took effect on June 1st. Details vary for each area, but in many cases, recreational fin fishing is completely banned in the areas until Sept. 30, while commercial fishing for all salmon is banned. It is possible the fisheries closures could be extended to more coastal areas on Vancouver Island. >click to read<10:22

Moulton votes no on H.R. 200

U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton voted against the House bill to reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Act on Wednesday because the bill undermines efforts to improve the science used to generate stock assessments and pits fishing stakeholders against each other, the congressman said in a statement Friday.,,, “Over the past three years and through numerous conversations with fishermen, scientists and environmental groups, one thing has been made abundantly clear: We need to improve the science behind our federal stock assessments,” Moulton stated. “The reauthorization of Magnuson-Stevens undermines our efforts. We need everyone on the same page. We all want sustainable fisheries for today and future generations and we shouldn’t have to pit one group of fishermen against another to achieve that.”>click to read<09:04