Category Archives: South Atlantic
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for February 22, 2019
>Click here to read the Weekly Update<, to read all the updates >click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here< 18:52
Lucky number 7: Seventh right whale calf spotted off Atlantic coast
One by one, the critically endangered right whales here for this winter’s calving season are delivering new babies that raise optimism among whale researchers. A seventh North Atlantic right whale calf was confirmed this weekend off the Georgia coast, according to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries. “Every calf that gets us closer to 10 or a dozen is very encouraging,” said Jim Hain, senior scientist and project coordinator for the Marineland Right Whale Project. The newest mom is Pico, or No. 3270. She’s a 17-year-old whale whose last known calf was born in 2011. >click to read<20:48
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for February 15, 2019
>Click here to read the Weekly Update<, to read all the updates >click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here<16:50
Two N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission Committees are accepting proposals
The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission Commercial Resource Fund Committee and the Funding Committee for the N.C. Commercial Fishing Resource Fund are accepting proposals for the 2018-19 funding cycle from the N.C. Commercial Fishing Resource Fund. Proposals submitted for this funding cycle must fall under one of two programmatic areas: Economic Impact Study – Public Relations Campaign – >click to read<12:34
North Carolina Rep. Walter Jones has died
Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.) has died at the age of 76. He had been in hospice care for the past several weeks. Jones’ office released this statement Sunday evening: After faithfully representing the people of Eastern North Carolina in Congress and the state legislature for over 34 years, Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3) passed away this afternoon in Greenville, North Carolina. He was 76. Congressman Jones will long be remembered for his honesty, faith and integrity. He was never afraid to take a principled stand. He was known for his independence, and widely admired across the political spectrum. Some may not have agreed with him, but all recognized that he did what he thought was right. >click to read<18:58
Fishermen say ‘hurt’ from hurricane hard to measure
Millis Seafood owner Tim Millis has been working in the commercial fishing industry for more the 60 years and remembers the devastation of Hurricane Hazel. Hazel left a path of destruction from wind and storm surge that residents weren’t prepared for in the days before the warning systems that are in place today. Hurricane Florence, he said, was different.“Others came in and were gone. This one stayed longer, pouring all that rain,” Millis said.
>click to read<11:21
County commercial fishermen get $460K in hurricane relief
The first round of state hurricane relief funds for commercial fishermen has been released, with Carteret County watermen receiving the most checks out of all the coastal counties. Gov. Roy Cooper’s office issued a press release Feb. 1 announcing that the first round of checks from the $11.6 million Hurricane Florence Commercial Fishing Assistance Program have been issued from the N.C. Department of Environmental Quality’s Division of Marine Fisheries. As of Feb. 1, the state has cut 664 checks, totaling $3.2 million to help compensate ,,, >click to read<22:56
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for February 8, 2019
>Click here to read the Weekly Update<, to read all the updates >click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here<12:57
Shrimp Boat Named ‘Big John’ Washes Ashore in OBX, 3-Man Crew Rescued
Three men were found alive after their shrimp boat named “Big John” washed ashore in the Outer Banks, the National Park Service said Monday. Just after 5 a.m., National Park Service Rangers were called out to assist the U.S. Coast Guard and Hatteras Island Rescue Squad in a search for an overturned vessel near Cape Point. >click to read<19:49
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for February 1, 2019
>Click here to read the Weekly Update<, to read all the updates >click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here<16:16
Reintroduced Shark Trade Bill Promotes Successful U.S. Conservation Policies at Policies at Global Level
The Sustainable Shark Fisheries and Trade Act of 2019 – A bipartisan bill introduced in the U.S. House advances global shark conservation by ensuring that all shark and ray products imported into the United States meet the same high ethical and sustainability standards required of American fishermen. The bill has broad support from conservation groups, zoos, aquariums and the fishing industry. >click to read<13:14
Lingering N.C. Fisheries Association issues persist into 2019
Captain George’s was the venue for the recent 2019 North Carolina Fisheries Association’s Annual Meeting, which addressed issues that included conflicts with special interest groups, shrimp trawl bans and aquaculture in the sounds. The NCFA is the primary organization promoting, providing education and, in recent years, defending North Carolina’s commercial fishing industry. NCFA board presided over an extensive agenda, discussing,,, >click to read<16:17
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for January 25, 2019
>Click here to read the Weekly Update<, to read all the updates >click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here<15:50
Coast Guard medevacs a fisherman 43 miles northwest of Key West
The Coast Guard medevaced a 42-year-old man from a fishing vessel approximately 43 miles northwest of Key West. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Key West received a call via VHF-FM channel 16 at approximately 1:20 a.m., from the 67-foot fishing vessel, Fortuna stating a crewmember was reportedly experiencing chest pains and difficulty breathing. > click to read< 16:23
Trawlers catching “unheard of” amounts of shrimp off Corolla
South of the Virginia border, the shores off Corolla have become an Outer Banks hot spot to catch winter shrimp. Trawlers have clustered there within 3 miles of shore in recent weeks, each bringing in as much as 20,000 pounds of the delicacy per trip. Last week, the “Capt. Ralph” hauled in 30,000 pounds, the most ever for the crew, said Ashley O’Neal, manager of O’Neal’s Sea Harvest. In the past, 12,000 pounds was a good catch no matter where it came from, he said. “This 30,000-pound stuff is unheard of,” O’Neal said. “We are seeing a lot of shrimp.” >click to read<17:04
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for January 11, 2019
>Click here to read the Weekly Update<, to read all the updates >click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here<20:49
Feds seize Miami fishing boat after owner poached lobster in Biscayne National Park
The owner of a 34-foot commercial fishing boat surrendered it to federal officials Monday after the captain was caught poaching nearly 300 spiny lobsters and stone crabs in Biscayne National Park last summer. In August, a park marine patrol officer stopped the Silvita for a routine inspection and discovered 231 illegally wrung tails stashed in an anchor locker, along with more than two dozen egg-bearing or undersized lobsters, said park marine patrol spokesman Robert MacKavich. >click to read<19:13
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for January 4, 2019
>Click here to read the Weekly Update<, to read all the updates >click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here<18:24
Rare North Atlantic right whale calf spotted off Florida
A North Atlantic right whale calf spotted Friday off Florida with its mother is the first of the calving season for the imperiled marine mammals, after last year’s season passed with no documented births. “Super excited, super excited,” said Christopher Slay, owner of Coastwise Consulting, the company that provided endangered species observers aboard a dredging vessel off Jacksonville Beach, near the mouth of the St. Johns River. >click to read<10:25
Fishermen report bluefin tuna season off to a slow start
The bluefin tuna season is underway in North Carolina, and more than 13 metric tons have already been landed, most of it in Carteret County. However, several local seafood dealers and commercial fishermen have said the season’s actually been rather poor so far, but there’s still time to catch more tuna. Morehead City seafood dealer Donald Diehl said the season has been “not really that good.” Mr. Diehl is a dealer that specializes in bluefin tuna, representing International Lobster and Maguro, a company based in Japan, where there’s a huge market for bluefin tuna. >click to read<17:40
Georgia: Shrimping season closes after record year
The end of the year also means the end of the current Georgia shrimping season, which is legally required to shut down at 6 p.m. Monday — that covers the traditional three miles from shore covered by state regulations. According to the state Department of Natural Resources’ Coastal Resources Division, activity has to cease on trawling, cast-netting and seining, and other food-shrimp harvesting efforts. However, “anglers and commercial bait-shrimp dealers may continue to harvest shrimp to use as bait.” >click to read<13:58
Gov. Cooper leads bipartisan effort to oppose East Coast seismic testing, offshore drilling
Following last month’s announcement that the Trump Administration authorized airgun use in waters off the East Coast, Governor Roy Cooper and a group of bipartisan governors urged Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross and Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to prohibit harmful seismic testing and offshore drilling in the Atlantic Ocean. “As the governors of states on the Atlantic seaboard, we write >click to read letter< to reiterate our strong opposition to seismic airgun surveys and oil and gas drilling off our coasts,”,, Along with Cooper, the letter was signed by Governor Charlie Baker of Massachusetts; Governor John Carney of Delaware; Governor Andrew Cuomo of New York; Governor Larry Hogan of Maryland; Governor Dannel Malloy of Connecticut; Governor Henry McMaster of South Carolina; Governor Phil Murphy of New Jersey; Governor Ralph Northam of Virginia; and Governor Gina Raimondo of Rhode Island. >click to read<15:44
Nine US States Seek to Stop Atlantic Seismic Testing
Attorneys general from nine U.S. states sued the Trump administration on Thursday to stop future seismic tests for oil and gas deposits off the East Coast, joining a lawsuit from environmentalists concerned the tests harm whales and dolphins. Seismic testing uses air gun blasts to map out what resources lie beneath the ocean. Conservationists say the testing, a precursor to oil drilling, can disorient marine animals that rely on fine-tuned hearing to navigate and find food. The tests lead to beachings of an endangered species, the North Atlantic right whale, they say. >click to read<11:09
Fall season a lifeline for SC shrimpers as NOAA issues glowing fishery report
That big and juicy fresh shrimp served in butter this fall was a tasty break. After a delayed season opening and a spotty summer catch, the fall crop has seemingly made up for what could have been another scraping-the-bottom year, officials report. “They started coming in big in September and they’re still coming in big,” said Rutledge Leland, of Carolina Seafoods at the McClellanville shrimp dock. Shrimpers continue to do really well even though both numbers and size should be dropping off with the colder weather, he said. The catch has been so consistently good that McClellanville shrimpers had to slow down this week because processors cut back for the holidays,,, >click to read<
‘The Worst I’ve Ever Seen It’: Lean Stone Crab Season Follows Red Tide in Florida
On a good day, in a good year, a captain fishing off the shores of the Florida Everglades might catch 400 pounds of one of the state’s unrivaled delicacies, the stone crab. These are not good days. As the sun began to set on a recent cloudless afternoon, the kind that makes it unthinkable to spend winters anywhere but in Florida, Rick Collins piloted the High Cotton to a dock in Everglades City, the fishing village where three generations of his family have made a living trapping stone crab. His crew offloaded the day’s haul onto a huge scale. Seventy-three pounds. “This is about the worst I’ve ever seen it,” said Mr. Collins, 69, a crabber for more than half a century. >click to read<13:37
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for December 14, 2018
>Click here to read the Weekly Update<, to read all the updates >click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here< Fishermen, for-hire boat captains, and others associated with North Carolina’s marine fishery may get a phone call from federal or state authorities asking about impacts from Hurricane Florence. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA-Fisheries) is working with the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries to evaluate fisheries damages from the storm.,,, 16:14
Offshore oil exploration: Can the average citizen make a difference?
To the average American it often seems that our elected leaders, once they get to Washington, D.C., can become somewhat hard-of-hearing to the wants and desires of the voters who sent them there. Such is the case with the recent approval of a permitting process by the National Marine Fisheries Service, which will allow seismic airgun exploration in the Atlantic Ocean off the East Coast of the United States – an activity, experts say, that is extremely hazardous for whales, dolphins, turtles, and other sea creatures. Hundreds of municipalities have already expressed formal opposition to both airgun exploration and offshore drilling, as have hundreds of state and local legislators. >click to read<13:43
Tomorrow’s fishery
While fisheries biologists in the north are hard at work crunching numbers in an effort to develop their best guess at how many salmon will return to Alaska next year, Atlantic Sapphire is getting ready to load it first 800,000 salmon eggs into a massive, onshore “Bluehouse” in Florida. A “successful 90-day, on site hatchery trial has validated water quality and local conditions,” the Norwegian company said in a report to shareholders in mid-November.,,, The implications for Alaska commercial salmon fisheries are significant, but those who suggest the growing competition warrants some serious discussion as to how the 49th state retains value in its salmon resources are generally vilified as commercial fishery haters. >click to read<12:27
NC Fisheries Hurricane Florence disaster declaration granted
US Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross granted Governor Roy Cooper’s request for a disaster declaration related to damage to North Carolina’s marine fishing industry in Hurricane Florence. Recreational and commercial fishing are important economic drivers for our state and families along North Carolina’s coast. I appreciate Secretary Ross’s recognition of the damage to these vital industries caused by Hurricane Florence. We must rebuild smarter and stronger than ever and I will continue to work with our federal, state and local partners to bring recovery funds to those who need them,” said Governor Cooper.>click to read<10:23
