FISH-NL questions whether DFO setting up harvesters to fail; department doubled fall cod quota, but didn’t increase amount of gear

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Sept. 26th, 2017

The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) says the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans should increase the amount of gear inshore harvesters can use in the fall commercial cod fishery.

Earlier this year, DFO gave harvesters two options for fishing northern cod off Newfoundland’s east coast and Labrador for 2017: 1) fish the entire season at the weekly limit; or 2) fish only from Sept. 17th-Nov. 30th at double the weekly limit.

Harvesters who choose option one, and have one cod IQ (individual quota), can fish with six gill nets.

Harvesters who choose option 2, and who have three combined IQs (and many harvesters do), are essentially fishing six times the weekly limit, but are still limited to six gill nets.

“Why did DFO offer us the option of fishing more cod quota in the fall if they weren’t going to increase our gear limits?” asks Jason Sullivan, Captain of FISH-NL’s Under 40-foot fleet, and an inshore harvester from Bay Bulls.

“Why is DFO setting us up to fail?” he asked. “It seems like some sort of sick joke that’s being played on inshore harvesters.”

FISH-NL is calling on DFO to clarify the amount of gear harvesters are permitted to use in the fall fishery.

The weekly northern cod limit for most of September, October, and November has been set at 5,000 pounds.

Contact: Ryan Cleary 682 4862

Ocean Resource Privatization

Articles Posted by Date
April 2024

M T W T F S S

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

29 30

« Mar

April 2024
M	T	W	T	F	S	S
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30

The New England groundfish debacle (Part III): who or what is at fault? Nils E. Stolpe/FishNet

It took me a while to decide how to most accurately describe the situation that has been visited upon the New England fishing communities that are and since colonial times have been dependent on the groundfish fisheries.

NILS STOLPE: The New England groundfish debacle (Part IV): Is cutting back harvest really the answer?

While it’s a fact that’s hardly ever acknowledged, the assumption in fisheries management is that if the population of a stock of fish isn’t at some arbitrary level, it’s because of too much fishing. Hence the term “overfished.” Hence the mandated knee jerk reaction of the fisheries managers to not enough fish; cut back on fishing. What of other factors? They don’t count. It’s all about fishing, because fishing is all that the managers can control; it’s their Maslow’s Hammer. When it comes to the oceans it seems as if it’s about all that the industry connected mega-foundations that support the anti-fishing ENGOs with hundreds of millions of dollars a year in “donations” are interested in controlling. Read the article here

Recent Posts
- Shrimp season in Mississippi to open on May 22
  
  The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (MDMR) has set the opening date for the 2023-2024 shrimp season in state territorial waters for Monday, May 22 at Read More »
- Lake Superior Herring Are Thriving for the First Time in Decades
  
  It’s an historic boom year for herring in Lake Superior, as a record number of the crucial fish appear to have survived to age one — Read More »
- Right whale protection measures to return ahead of migration into Canada
  
  The federal government has announced its fishery and vessel management measures for the 2022 season to protect North Atlantic right whales as the endangered animals migrate Read More »
- SSE’s choice of guard boats ‘a kick in the teeth’ for local fishing crews
  
  A local fishing body has questioned the “community spirit” of SSE (Renewables) after guard work was handed to two vessels “masquerading” as local fishing boats. Shetland Read More »
- Three New Zealand Fishermen sentenced to prison in the Falklands
  
  Three New Zealanders were this week handed custodial sentences at the Falklands’ Magistrate’s Court after pleading guilty to violent disorder. Samuel Goldsworthy, Sonny Ball, and Chassy Read More »
- Mayor Mitchell advocates for scallopers
  
  Mayor Jon Mitchell is advocating for the New England Fishery Management Council to open the Northern edge scallop grounds to New Bedford commercial fishermen. In a Read More »
- Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 47′ Steel Trawler – C-18 CAT engine new 2013
  
  Specifications, information and 23 photo’s click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 11:47 Read More »
- Fisherman medevac’d from shrimp boat 15 miles off Baffin Bay, Texas
  
  The Coast Guard medevac’d a 58-year-old male from a fishing vessel 15 miles off Baffin Bay, Texas, Thursday evening. Coast Guard Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi watchstanders received Read More »
- Breaking News: Fishing boat crew rescued after boat runs aground off Rockaway Beach
  
  All seven crew members have been rescued from a fishing boat that ran aground off Rockaway Beach in Queens Thursday morning. They were taken off the Read More »
- Fishery policy should by guided by existing managing bodies, not back-door lobbying campaigns
  
  These groups include fishermen’s organisations and representatives from other bodies including marine compliance, science and environmental agencies. The RIFGs are designed to enable all interested parties Read More »
- North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for Sept 13 , 2019
  
  HAPPY FRIDAY THE 13th! May today be your very lucky day! – Legislative updates, Bill updates, Calendar, >Click here to read the Weekly Update<, to read Read More »
- Hurricane Dorian Public Advisory, Fri Sep 06 2019 Eye of Dorian near Cape Hatteras,,,
  
  At 800 AM EDT (1200 UTC), the center of Hurricane Dorian was located near latitude 35.2 North, longitude 75.7 West. Dorian is moving toward the northeast Read More »
- At the Ropeless Consortium’s second annual meeting
  
  Scientists, fishermen and policy makers met on Wednesday in Maine to discuss this issue at the Ropeless Consortium’s second annual meeting. The North Atlantic Right Whale Read More »
- Gas pipeline would ‘rip up the clam beds’ in N.J. for New Yorkers’ sake, foes say
  
  Richard Isaksen has been clamming and crabbing in Raritan Bay and fishing lower New York Bay for 50 of his 63 years. It’s a hard life, Read More »
- Additional Details of the Response to the Sinking of the Lone Star
  
  A large response effort is underway to deal with a fishing tender that sank Sunday morning near the mouth of one of the major salmon producing Read More »
- West Coast fishery managers (PFMC) days away from landmark decision on forage fish
  
  West coast fishery managers are poised to make a decision next week that could alter the future of fishing in federal waters off the Pacific Coast, Read More »
- Bristol RI to consider boater’s insurance mandate
  
  To the dismay of commercial fishermen who attended Monday night’s meeting of the Bristol Harbor Commission, Dom Franco, commission chairman, opened debate as to whether the Read More »
- Wasteful Regulation: British fisherman throw two TONS of sea bass worth £20,000 back into the sea due to strict EU fishing quotas
  
  This is the extraordinary moment a fisherman was forced to throw two tons of sea bass worth £20,000 back into the sea due to strict European Read More »
- Heiltsuk will risk arrest to blockade herring boats, warns chief councillor
  
  The herring battle on the central B.C. coast heated up Thursday with warnings from Heiltsuk tribal leaders that further commercial herring boats will be physically blockaded Read More »
- Maine lobster rules should be based on real-world data – the government needs more than guesswork
  
  The people involved in the Maine lobster fishery got a reprieve from new federal whale protection rules last week. U.S. District Court Judge Lance Walker ruled Saturday Read More »
- BP asked a US appeals court on Monday to scuttle a “feeding frenzy” trial lawyers attempting to secure money for themselves and their clients
  
  “Not only is the claims administrator’s misinterpretation contrary to the plain language of the settlement agreement and the intent of the parties, but it has ignited Read More »
- Video: Spring lobster season officially underway on P.E.I.
  
  The spring lobster season on P.E.I. officially got underway Tuesday after a four-day delay due to weather. Boats in Lobster Fishing Area 26A, the southeast, left Read More »
- Western rock lobster price falls due to a drop in China demand, cheaper American exports
  
  The value of premium species of lobster sourced from Western Australia has plummeted, causing the lucrative industry to grind to a near halt. The western rock Read More »
- BP Declares Total War on Trial Judge in Gulf Spill Case
  
  The assault on U.S District Judge Carl Barbier concerns one particular battle in a larger legal war, and the oil company’s aggressive strategy could come back Read More »
- Minister Murray Shirks Responsibility in Setting Gulf Shrimp Quotas
  
  A group representing Indigenous shrimp harvesters as well as shrimp harvesters in Newfoundland and Labrador, Quebec and New Brunswick are calling on the Minister of Fisheries Read More »