Willapa gillnetters losing grip

November 30, 2016 Pacific

It’s been a tough two years for gillnetters on Willapa Bay. Battered by increasing costs, stifled by stricter regulation and furious over fewer fishing days, commercial gillnetters have been gritting their teeth since 2015 when a new management plan was instituted by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. As some in the industry were forced to sell their boats and find new work, others remain steadfast and galvanized in their resolve in calling for change in what they say has been mismanagement by WDFW officials in Olympia. Over the past three years, the commercial gillnetting industry on Willapa Bay has gone through a gauntlet of highs and lows. Record catches were celebrated during 2014 only to be followed by the devastating 2015 season that was largely stifled under new regulation. Read the story here 08:56

gillnetters, management plan, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, Willapa Bay

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Ocean Resource Privatization

Articles Posted by Date
December 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 31

« Nov

December 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	31

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
- Charting a course toward seafood independence for Alaska’s vulnerable food systems
  
  As a commercial fisherman based in Sitka and the executive director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA), I’ve spent decades navigating Alaska’s challenging waters and Read More »
- Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 65′ DMR Trawler/Scalloper/Lobster, CAT 3408
  
  This vessel had extensive rebuild and is presently used as a herring carrier. Specifications, and information and photos, Click here To see all the boats in this Read More »
- Press Release: Minister LeBlanc Accepts Key Recommendation of Advisory Panel on LIFO
  
  Today, the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, issued the following statement: “After a thorough review of the Ministerial Read More »
- Fairhaven Fire Department and Harbormaster responds to diesel fuel spill in harbor
  
  The fishing vessel F/V Jack M reported an equipment malfunction that spilled an unknown quantity of diesel fuel into the harbor. The spill located at Union Read More »
- North Coast Fishermen Hopeful for a Good Dungeness Crab Season
  
  For the first time in years, the North Coast Commercial Crab Season will open on December 1st. In 2020, issues with domoic acid levels, migrating whales Read More »
- Expect salmon quotas near 2012 levels
  
  Overall, the pink forecast of 6.23 million fish is up from 5.98 million in 2011. “We can’t tell you why we have so many pinks. Let’s Read More »
- YEAR IN REVIEW: Federal agenda dominated by halibut bycatch concerns
  
  Halibut dominated the federal fisheries process in 2015, with each sector fighting over reduced allocations. Directed halibut fishermen in the North Pacific have watched their quotas Read More »
- “Anecdotal Information” is what the professional fisheries people call it, usually dismissively
  
  First off, A Mia Culpa. In the last FishNet, which was distributed in early October, I referred to “ (or actually an almost-assessment).” It was pointed Read More »
- IRS Provides Penalty Relief to Farmers and Fishermen
  
  The Internal Revenue Service announced today (Jan. 18, 2013) that it will issue guidance in the near future to provide relief from the estimated tax penalty Read More »
- New Data Casts Doubt On Johnson’s Offshore Wind Scheme – industry has overestimated the technically accessible wind resource
  
  The Global Warming Policy Foundation (GWPF) has written to the chairman of the Treasury Committee of the House of Commons providing new evidence for their inquiry Read More »
- Avoiding ship strikes – Robotic buoys developed to keep Atlantic right whales safe
  
  A Cape Cod science center and one of the world’s largest shipping businesses are collaborating on a project to use robotic buoys to protect a vanishing Read More »
- Markey, Warren seek answers from NOAA on stock assessment and interim cod measures
  
  Massachusetts’ two U.S. senators didn’t waste much time in the New Year before demanding answers from NOAA on the unscheduled stock assessment last summer that led Read More »
- The hunt for B.C.’s most notorious fisherman
  
  Every year, officers in the DFO’s Pacific region collar a handful of serious rulebreakers, some more brazen than others. Scott Steer is in a class of Read More »
- Cox’s Cove fisherman selling cod to outside markets
  
  Rick Crane was back home Friday after a solo four-day road trip, less than a hour of which was spent selling high-grade catch dockside in Quebec. Read More »
- Advance notice of proposed rulemaking; request for comments; American Lobster Fishery; Control Date for Lobster Conservation Management Areas
  
  At the request of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, this notice announces a control date that may be applicable, but not limited to, limiting the Read More »
- Pushing Propaganda: Underwater video shows marine life growing at wind farm
  
  Offshore wind proponents are touting new undersea footage that suggests a vibrant marine habitat is growing around the nation’s first offshore wind farm — a five-turbine Read More »
- For B.C.’s salmon, floods represent another challenge to survival
  
  James Reinheller stared down his flooded street in Clayburn on Monday, he said he saw a bizarre sight: a salmon making its way up the water-logged Read More »
- Fishers suffering from seal boom, Senate committee hears in Newfoundland and Labrador
  
  The Canadian sealing and fishing industries have been left to sink or swim while booming seal populations on the Atlantic Canada coast deplete fish stocks and Read More »
- Florida Keys Maritime business back after Hurricane Irma
  
  Editor’s note: It’s been 542 days since Hurricane Irma swept the Keys. By in large, the Keys have recovered. But there are still some pockets that Read More »
- Crew School provides a reality sea trial for commercial fishing wanabees
  
  Along Gig Harbor’s waterfront, this vocational trend is gently materializing in the form of a newly organized Crew School for potential commercial fishermen — and women. Read More »
- Bottom Trawl Survey of the Maine Research Array Wind Energy Area Postponed to Allow for Testing of Survey Method
  
  This notice is to inform you that the bottom trawl survey of the Maine Research Array Wind Energy (MeRA) Area previously scheduled to begin on October Read More »
- Increase in TAC for Arctic surf clam on the Banquereau Bank and Grand Bank
  
  An increase in the total allowable catch (TAC) of Arctic surf clam on the Banquereau Bank and Grand Bank is being applauded by Ocean Choice International. (I’ll Read More »
- Oregon men caught setting stolen crab traps await trial
  
  “Don’t say another word,” he told his friend. “I’ll be right there. Don’t go anywhere and don’t tell anyone.” Two men caught setting stolen crab traps Read More »
- The Rise and Fall of Pacific American Fisheries: Fairhaven’s Historic Salmon Cannery
  
  Before becoming part of Bellingham, Fairhaven grew up along railway lines. The town boomed with the region’s industries — fishing, lumber, and mining — into the Read More »
- Expect more clashes like the Nova Scotia lobster dispute as Canadians’ rights collide
  
  The ongoing dispute between a Mi’kmaq community and non-Indigenous lobster fishers in Nova Scotia seems like a throwback to a darker and more racist time. We Read More »