Daily Archives: December 26, 2018
Catch Shares – Costs rise while values fall; season starts uncertain during shutdown
Fishermen in Alaska who own catch shares of halibut, sablefish and Bering Sea crab will pay more to the federal government to cover 2018 management and enforcement costs for those fisheries. ,, “The value of the halibut fishery was down 24 percent year over year, while sablefish was down 21 percent,” Greene said, adding that the decreases stemmed primarily from lower dock prices. ,,, Fish shutdown shaft-Hundreds of boats that are gearing up for the January start of some of Alaska’s largest fisheries could be stuck at the docks due to the government shutdown battle between President Donald Trump and Senate Democrats. >click to read<14:40
Swiss lobster stunning device awaited
Many people like to eat lobster over Christmas, but a Swiss-developed machine to stun the animal before boiling and thus meet new regulations is not yet ready. A law was introduced in March this year that aims to prevent cruelty to crustaceans by banning live boiling, among other things. It says the lobster must be stunned before plunging it into boiling water. The Swiss government based the regulation on studies that show lobsters feel pain. Equipment has been developed by Swiss firm Rund um Fisch to electrocute the lobster before cooking. >click to read<12:42
Japan to start whaling again
Japan has announced it will resume commercial whaling next year and withdraw from the International Whaling Commission. A government spokesman made the announcement on Wednesday in a move expected to spark international criticism. The decision was made at a cabinet meeting on Tuesday after the government decided it would be difficult to resume commercial whaling while a member of the international body. “We have decided to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission in order to resume commercial whaling in July next year,” top government spokesman Yoshihide Suga told reporters. Mr Suga said whaling would be limited to Japan’s territorial waters and exclusive economic zones. >click to read<11:56
Work ramps up on Western Flyer
Sitting in the pilot house of the Western Flyer, the fishing boat that John Steinbeck and Ed Ricketts took down to the Sea of Cortez, shipwright Pete Rust is surrounded by history. He also is surrounded by a quandary. “The difficult thing I’m doing right now is trying to figure out how to remove the house from the boat without damaging it and without losing the original shape,” said Rust, a member of the Port Townsend Shipwrights Co-op, which is restoring the historic boat. The goal is to take the house off the boat and frame it on the floor to rebuild and restore it. But Rust has to figure out how to do that without the structure collapsing in on itself. >click to read<11:05
Washington State replaces nearly half of 6.2 million chinook salmon fry killed at Gig Harbor hatchery
The state will be able to replace nearly half of the 6.2 million chinook salmon fry that died earlier this month when a windstorm knocked out power at a Gig Harbor hatchery. Up to 2.75 million fall chinook fry will be taken from six other state hatcheries for release from Minter Creek and Tumwater Falls in May and June. “This won’t fully replace the salmon lost last week, but it will allow us to put a significant number of fish into these waters next year,” said Kelly Susewind, director of the Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife. >click to read<10:06
