Daily Archives: October 13, 2012

Coast Guard search suspended for crabber who fell overboard-Alaska Dispatch | Oct 12, 2012

“Suspending a search and rescue case is one of the hardest decisions that we have to make,” said Michael McNeil, a command duty officer at Coast Guard Sector Anchorage. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the missing fisherman’s family and the crew of the fishing vessel.” The Coast Guard was notified Thursday morning that a crewmember aboard the 87-foot fishing vessel Flying Ocean had fallen overboard while crab fishing.

http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/coast-guard-search-suspended-crabber-who-fell-overboard

Stone crab season to help commercial fishermen – MARATHON, Fla – WTSP.com

MARATHON, Fla. (AP) – Florida’s commercial fishermen are hoping winter visitors will flock to the Sunshine State for stone crab season. Gary Graves is vice president of Keys Fisheries, the largest processor of the crab’s tasty claws in the Florida Keys. He says a strong winter tourism season for the state normally translates into higher fiscal yields for the commercial fishing industry. Read More

http://www.wtsp.com/news/florida/article/278047/19/Stone-crab-season-to-help-commercial-fishermen

From Surf to Serfdom – By Kenneth Levin Frontpagemag.com

Unemployment in my home state of Massachusetts is less than the national average. In August, it stood at 6.3% compared to 8.1% nationally. 

The state benefits from very robust high-tech sectors. But, of course, low-tech industries also figure in its economy.

Particularly hard hit among the latter in the current downturn has been the state’s large fishing industry. Its problems, and the plight of workers dependent on fishing for their livelihood,

are illustrative both of the general difficulties of the economy across the country and of ways in which specific Obama administration policies have compounded the overall decline. ,,,Read More

http://frontpagemag.com/2012/kenneth-levin/from-surf-to-serfdom/

Economic hardship being imposed on fishermen’s families because of four turtles (Actually it is because of bureaucratic nonsense) The Beaufort Observer

Here’s the story. Somebody, typically a liberal group with a guilty conscience, decides the sky is going to fall unless the government “does something.” So they produce some evidence that things are falling from the sky and scream that we must have new laws and regulations to prevent a catastrophe. They ram through the laws and regulations and then the bureaucrats begin to enforce them, typically using some form of a permit system with stiff penalties for even minor violations. Depending on the disposition and attitude of the bureaucrats citizens begin to experience more and more difficulty getting permits, using their property or a public resource. The bureaucracy of tax-payer funded government regulators and enforcers grows and grows ,,,,,Read More http://www.beaufortobserver.net/Articles-NEWS-and-COMMENTARY-c-2012-10-02-263016.112112-Economic-hardship-being-imposed-on-fishermens-families-because-of-four-turtles.html

Fisherynation thanks Ray Lamont, Editor, Gloucester Daily Times

Ray, thank you for keeping this obscene issue in the mainstream in the persuit of justice.

October 13, 2012

Why Did My Newspaper Do That? Keeping up pressure — and coverage — of overdue report

Why Did My Newspaper Do That? Ray LamontGloucester Daily TimesThe Gloucester Daily TimesSat Oct 13, 2012, 12:00 AM EDT

Our front page today includes a story about the latest update regarding the so-called second Swartwood report — essentially the findings of an in-depth look by a special investigator into some 66 cases of alleged abuse and excessive enforcement by NOAA policing personnel against New England and other Northeast fishermen. By my count, and according to our archives, this is the 16th news story on the report, which was completed and submitted to the Department of Commerce in March. And there have been a handful of editorials about its status as well. Yet the basic core nugget of news is the same – that Commerce officials still have not released the report, and will not provide a time frame for when they will. So is it really news? If there is, on the most basic level, no hard news to update, is it even worth updating?  Why, you might ask, would your community’s newspaper keep doing that?,,,,,,,,,,,,Read More

http://www.gloucestertimes.com/opinion/x1684126225/Why-Did-My-Newspaper-Do-That-Keeping-up-pressure-and-coverage-of-overdue-report

 

Tierney pushes for shielded NOAA report- Kerry said he “has been assured” the administration is working to bring out Swartwood II. Yeah, right.

Congressman John Tierney Friday pressed Acting Commerce Secretary Rebecca Blank to release what is widely believed within industry and legal circles to be an explosive set of 66 case studies into possible law enforcement abuses of the fishing industry completed and delivered by a special judicial master nearly seven months ago……..A week ago, a spokeswoman for Sen. John Kerry said he “has been assured” the administration is working to bring out Swartwood II out at the earliest possible date” after making sure it is “comprehensive.”http://www.gloucestertimes.com/topstories/x1684126211/Tierney-pushes-for-shielded-NOAA-report

Northeast Seafood Coalition issues statement on Accumulation Caps, Fleet Diversity, and “Amendment 18” – savingseafood.org

NSC believes any and all groundfish management measures must be highly sensitive to the potential for unintended consequences to all segments of this fragile fishery.

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) October 12, 2012 — On Wednesday, October 10, the Gloucester Daily Times reported  that “NOAA’s regional administrator, joined by the Environmental Defense Fund,

the Pew Environment Group, the North Atlantic Marine Alliance and Food & Water Watch, is supporting a belated effort by the federal government to limit the accumulation of catch shares and thus provide

safeguards to smaller independent boats in the Northeast groundfishery…”

http://www.savingseafood.org/fishing-industry-alerts/northeast-seafood-coalition-issues-statement-on-accumulation-caps-fleet-diversity-and-amendmen-2.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SavingSeafoodRss+%28Saving+Seafood%29