Daily Archives: September 13, 2018

For Chesapeake watermen, storm is another challenge in a tough year

Pasadena waterman C.J. Canby and his crew of three pulled up their crab pots early Wednesday and for the most part found a healthy catch. “Oh boy,” Canby exclaimed as they hoisted one of the wire cages out of the Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Patapsco River. “That’s a $100-a-dozen crab.” It measured 8¼ inches across. Every so often, a trap came up empty. Canby assumes it’s because recent rain, wind and waves knocked the crab pot on its side, preventing crustaceans from sidestepping their way inside. Ahead of Hurricane Florence, he’s working to put more of his pots in deeper waters and on muddy terrain, where they’re less likely to be disturbed. >click to read<19:21

“Recipe For Disaster” – Filmmaker documents ravages of green crabs

More than a year ago, Gloucester filmmaker Nubar Alexanian laid out his airtight case against the rapacious European green crabs for Bruce Tarr and the incredulous state lawmaker had a suitable response: “There’s a horror movie happening in my district and I didn’t even know about it,” Tarr told Alexanian. As Alexanian’s new documentary short film, “Recipe For Disaster,” makes clear, the call is coming from inside the Great Marsh, which stretches from Gloucester to the New Hampshire border. “In the film, we say there are millions and millions of the green crabs here already,” Alexanian said. “Now I would say it’s billions and billions.” Watch the video trailer. >click to read<17:44

Is a soft-shell green crab industry viable in New England? NOAA Fisheries awards Manomet $267,440 to investigate

Manomet has been awarded a grant of $267,440 by the NOAA Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant Program to expand work to develop a lucrative green crab fishery in New England and provide a new source of economic opportunity for fishers and coastal communities. The grant will be used to implement long-term green crab population monitoring, explore new pathways to developing the soft-shell green crab fishery, increase marketing and outreach efforts, and begin to determine the economic viability of a soft-shell fishery. >click to read<16:12

NWS National Hurricane Center – Hurricane Florence Advisory Update 200 PM EDT

Hurricane Florence Intermediate Advisory – NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL LOCATION…33.6N 76.0W ABOUT 110 MI…180 KM ESE OF WILMINGTON NORTH CAROLINA, ABOUT 165 MI…270 KM E OF MYRTLE BEACH SOUTH CAROLINA, MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS…105 MPH…165 KM/H, PRESENT MOVEMENT…NW OR 315 DEGREES AT 10 MPH…17 KM/H MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE…955 MB…28.20 INCHES >click to read<14:13

FISH-NL calls on DFO to halt FFAW fishery for northern cod, leave fish for fishermen

The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) is calling on Fisheries and Oceans to immediately cancel this year’s northern cod quality project, and leave the fish for struggling inshore harvesters to catch. “Inshore harvesters are fit to be tied that while the northern cod stewardship fishery is temporarily closed to them, cod is still being landed through the FFAW-Unifor’s cod quality fishery — which will reduce the overall amount of quota available to harvesters,” says Ryan Cleary, President of FISH-NL. “The cod quality projects are seen by most inshore harvesters as yet another FFAW money-making scheme,” he added. “When it comes to quality and inshore harvesters getting the most money for their fish, the No. 1 action that can be taken is to grade the fish at the wharf — not the plant.”>click to read<12:49

Local Fisheries Biologist Pleads Not Guilty to Molestation Charges

A well-known fish biologist and river-restoration expert pleaded not guilty today to charges that he molested a young girl in 2014 and 2015. Public Defender Marek Reavis entered the pleas on behalf of 43-year-old Dr. Joshua Seth Strange, charged with two felony counts of oral copulation or sexual penetration of a child under 10 years old and two felony counts of lewd and/or lascivious acts on a child under age 14. Strange was arrested on a warrant on Aug. 31 at a residence on Highway 96. Deputies reportedly found him hiding in a closet. He is being held on bail of $1.4 million. >click to read<11:32

Harvesters worry their efforts in producing a quality catch will be lost due to delays in grading

With hefty nets, healthy livers and plump fish, harvesters across the central region are seeing signs of a healthy and rebounding cod fishery this summer. But fishers and union representatives agree, the most pivotal mark to grow this future fishery is not in quantity but in producing a quality grade codfish. “The only thing that’s going to do it for us is quality,” Salvage harvester Gordon Janes said. “Norway and Iceland got it down to a science, and the fish we put out in comparison to them is very little. In recent years, harvesters have been encouraged in a variety of techniques for producing a fresher and higher-quality fish. These techniques include an emphasis on more fish caught through hook and line, decreasing the amount of time harvesters leave out gillnets, pulling out the fish’s gills to drain the blood from its fillets, and gutting the fish and putting it in ice immediately after it’s caught. >click to read<11:09

Scallop wars: French fishermen pull plug on talks with UK rivals

French fishermen have broken off talks with British rivals for a new deal on access to scallop-rich waters in the English Channel, a long-simmering conflict that flared into a high-seas confrontation last month. Representatives from both sides had been meeting in London since last week to hammer out an accord that would stop smaller British boats from scooping up the prized mollusks outside the official fishing season. “It’s game over,” Hubert Carre, the head of France’s CNPMEM national fishing committee, told AFP. >click to read<10:30