Daily Archives: July 10, 2019
Vineyard Wind suffers cable defeat
The Edgartown conservation commission, in a 5-1 vote, has denied a permit for cables that would pass through the Muskeget Channel.,,, The cables had been approved by the Martha’s Vineyard Commission, but at the Edgartown hearings fishermen pushed back strongly against them saying that the cables might have detrimental marine effects. Vineyard Wind and their consultants, Epsilon, appeared stunned after the vote. No one from the contingent would comment on the decision. >click to read< 22:06
How the blackbelly rosefish from South America could help Maine lobstermen who are short on bait
The state for the first time has approved using fish raised off the coast of Uruguay as lobster bait to help offset a bait shortage that could increase lobster prices. Cook e Aquaculture USA of Machiasport announced the Maine Department of Marine Resources’ decision on Wednesday, saying it could help lobstermen weather a drop in the population of their primary bait source, herring, off the Maine coast. The New England Fishery Management Council in June cut the amount of herring fishermen can catch off the New England coast in 2020 and 2021. >click to read< 21:44
Crab fishermen cashing in during windfall harvest in Northern B.C.
Crab fishermen in Northern British Columbia are pinching themselves to make sure they aren’t dreaming this season. Dungeness crab in the Hecate Strait, a shallow body of water between Haida Gwaii and the mainland, are bountiful this year and ship crews are crabbing around the clock to cash in. For many working on the water, it is the most rewarding harvest in recent memory. Paul Edwards, captain of the Sea Harvest, has been fishing for Dungeness since the 1990s and says it is the best haul he has seen in 25 years. Awesome!!! >click to read< 19:47
Consultant: State should not renew licenses if commercial fishermen can’t show minimum income
New York commercial fishermen would be barred from renewing their licences if they could not prove three years income at $15,000 a year under a recommendation by a state consultant. About three dozen fishermen attended the meeting at Stoney Brook University Tuesday night, where response to the recommendations, one of a series of proposals by consultant George Lapointe, was mixed and sometimes heated,,, >click to read<
Nantucket group protests draft authorization for Vineyard Wind
ACK Residents Against Turbines, a group of more than 100 citizens, claims that federal regulators favor offshore wind over commercial fishing and intend to allow serious harm to endangered North Atlantic right whales. “This process is moving too fast, and everyone needs to slow down and make sure we aren’t creating problems for the North Atlantic right whale that can’t be reversed,” Vallorie Oliver of ACK Residents Against Turbines said Tuesday. “This particular animal is clearly struggling, yet it appears that the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries, in their rush to clear the path for Vineyard Wind, are forgetting their obligation to protect the whale.” >click to read< 16:42
Cook Inlet salmon fisheries into full swing after rough 2018
Upper Cook Inlet salmon fisheries are now in full swing, with promising sockeye returns finally showing up. East Side setnetters in the sections north of Kasilof opened for their first period July 8, and the personal-use dipnet fishery on the Kenai River opened July 10. They join the drift gillnet fleet and other Upper Cook Inlet setnetters as well as the inriver sportfishery and the Kasilof River personal-use fishery. As of July 8, nearly 80,000 sockeye salmon had passed the sonar in the Kenai River. That’s more than double the number that had passed through on the previous date in 2018, when only 37,513 had passed, according to the Alaska Departm,,, >click to read< 15:31
California chinook returns a ‘game-changer’ – California’s chinook may explain why Southern Resident Killer Whales haven’t shown up in BC
Last week, when southern resident killer whales failed to show up in B.C. coastal waters by the end of June, as they usually do, it caused some hand-wringing among whale watchers and Washington conservationists. But if the orcas are late showing up for dinner in B.C., it may be because they were still at the buffet in California, which is reported to be experiencing one of the best chinook returns in about a decade. “I think the California return was a game-changer this year,” >click to read< 13:24
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 44′ Wedgeport Novi Longliner/Federal Permits, Kubota – 10 KW Genset
Specifications, information and 8 photo’s >click here<. To see all the boats in this series, >click here< 12:20
San Diego-based tuna company selling boats, blames U.S. regulations
A large San Diego-based tuna fishing operation, responsible for a sizable chunk of the tuna eaten by U.S. consumers, says it is slashing the size of its fleet by more than half. South Pacific Tuna Corp. says it is selling eight of its 14 boats to foreign companies, eliminating more than 200 jobs, because of stifling U.S. regulations that it says make it difficult to earn a profit..,, The sale of the boats would mean a reduction of 70,000 tons of tuna from a U.S. company, meaning more Americans would be eating tuna caught by foreign operators, who are often criticized for poor labor practices. >click to read< 10:31
Alaska up to 22 dead gray whales this season with 7 reported over holiday weekend
The state of Alaska is up to 22 confirmed gray whale deaths this season, according to NOAA spokesperson Julie Speegle. Seven additional sightings were confirmed over the long holiday weekend, Speegle said, with one necropsy having been completed.,,, As of June 27, the site reported 14 Alaska whales, and 85 total for the U.S. The total for the U.S., Canada and Mexico this season was reported at 171 by that date. >click to read< 09:03
