Daily Archives: October 2, 2019

Time to rethink halibut bycatch regulations

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) is meeting in Homer, A major item up for discussion is Bering Sea/Aleutian Island Halibut Abundance Based Management (BSAI Halibut ABM).,, Directed halibut users are often small-scale fishermen harvesting halibut one hook at a time. Many operations are family owned and contribute to the livelihoods of captains, crews, vessel owners, and communities throughout Alaska. Therefore, if we want small boat fisheries to remain viable and to support sustainable fishing practices and economic opportunities for Bering Sea and Aleutian Island fishing communities, we need to design management plans to do that. By Josh Wisniewski >click to read< 22:32

Pink liquid flows in Fortune Bay, Area fishermen want more information on whether cleanup will affect them

A cleanup operation is underway in Fortune Bay, where Northern Harvest Sea Farms is emptying out its salmon pens following a massive fish die-off. The company, owned by aquaculture giant Mowi, has been cleaning out its salmon farming equipment since September.,, The company is using divers and has hired large purse seiner vessels from Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick to clean out their pens. On Wednesday morning, gallons of pink liquid flowed from the side of two large vessels at one cleanup site in Fortune Bay. >click to read< 18:58

You Can Learn A Lot by Towing Two Nets at Once

Scientists and fishermen boarded the F/V Karen Elizabeth on September 12 with a joint mission: conduct a study of the NOAA Ship Henry Bigelow’s trawl net used for the twice-yearly scientific survey of the Northeast shelf. The Karen Elizabeth can tow two nets at once, making it the perfect platform for examining net performance under different conditions. The study is focused on how the net performs at different spreads, and what differences in catch can be attributed to that spread. Photos, >click to read<  17:15

FISH-NL launches ‘Full-Steam Ahead’ crowdfunding campaign

FISH-NL launched the “Full-Steam Ahead” public crowdfunding campaign today to raise $40,000 to support the ongoing province-wide membership drive. “Every time FISH-NL has put out a call for support, inshore harvesters, their families and our supporters in rural Newfoundland and Labrador have answered,” says Cleary. “We need you once again to push this movement over the top.” >click to read< 16:12

Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 1997 42′ Provincial High Sheer Lobster boat, 500HP John Deere

Specifications, information and 12 photos >click here< To see all the boats in this series, >click here< 13:01

Survival of kiack fishery threatened, say Yarmouth County fishermen

A fishery that provides lobster fishermen with a favourite bait for their catch is struggling with a declining population. Gaspereau, also known as alewife and locally as kiack, swim up rivers in the spring to spawn in the still waters of lakes and return to sea in the fall. George Emin has been fishing kiack for 25 years, He blames Nova Scotia Power,,, Another huge issue impacting the kiack fishery is the massive influx of cormorant >click to read< 12:06

Alaska canned pink salmon purchased for food assistance programs

Millions of pounds of Alaska’s 2019 harvest of pink salmon is now earmarked for child nutrition and related domestic food assistance programs, thanks to a U.S. Department of Agriculture purchase of over $25 million in canned product from four processors. USDA officials announced on Sept. 20 the purchase of 442.3 million cases of one-pound tall cans of pink salmon for the federal agency’s food assistance programs,,, >click to read< 10:36

Fishing vessel on fire capsized in port docked at Manzanillo, Mexico

Fire erupted on board of purse seiner (tuna fishing) Maria Veronica, docked at Manzanillo, Mexico, readying to depart for fishing, on Oct 1. Fire quickly spread into major, engulfing vessel in flames and billowing heavy smoke with toxic fumes. Some 1200 people, mainly port personnel, were evacuated. Vessel capsized and sank portside along the berth, similar to recent major fire accident in Norway,,, Video, >click to read< 09:55

From grief to gratitude – April McCarthy’s husband was lost at sea

April McCarthy walks down a gravel path in the cemetery in Tors Cove, a small community on Newfoundland’s Southern Shore, towards her husband’s grave. She picks at some of the weeds that have crept into the site, that’s boxed in with a wooden frame, filled with white stones. Flowers and ornaments line the base of Chris McCarthy’s black tombstone. But his body is not buried here.,,, Sept. 12, 2009, It was a Saturday morning, and the Sea Gypsy was heading in with a full load of shrimp. Around 11 a.m., the boat started to slow. It was taking on water. >click to read< 08:19

10 years after lives lost in Sea Gypsy sinking, safety regulation still not enacted>click to read<