Daily Archives: October 21, 2012
Get ready. More Secrets. NOAA Rule Would Restrict Access to Fisheries Data – NMFS Director Samuel Rauch declined an interview request through a spokesperson.
by Erik Stokstad on 19 October 2012,
Every year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) spends about $40 million to put independent observers on fishing vessels, where they collect data on what’s caught in U.S. waters. The information is crucial for evaluating how well fishery management plans are working. Now NOAA wants to limit public access to these data in order to protect confidential business information. While the fishing industry welcomes the proposal, scientists and environmental groups are anxious. “Our worry is that this will limit third-party involvement in fisheries management,” says Lee Crockett of the Pew Environment Group in Washington, D.C. Public comments are due by 21 October.
http://news.sciencemag.org/scienceinsider/2012/10/noaa-rule-would-restrict-access-.html?ref=hp
Commercial fishery for black sea bass ends after four months – Closed – Cape Hatteras to Key West, Fla.,
The year-long commercial fishery for black sea bass closed earlier this month after being open for just four months, a preemptive measure designed to protect recovering fish populations throughout the Atlantic Ocean. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the fishery’s 309,000-pound annual catch limit – the amount of fish that can be harvested each year without adversely affecting population levels, according to federal regulators – was reached early.
http://www.starnewsonline.com/article/20121021/ARTICLES/121029971/-1/news01?p=1&tc=pg
Northern Eagle, The Ultimate Factory Trawler
Built to suit a specific purpose, the Northern Eagle trawler is incomparable to any other fishing trawler of its like. Owned by the American Seafoods conglomerate, the vessel’s functionality extends to more than being only a trawling vessel for the Pollack specimen of fishes and encompasses the entire ambit of the fishes’ processing and further treatment for consumption, across the globe. The demand generated for the Pollack forms an important constituent of the fisheries sector worldwide. It is only through the operational commitment of fishing vessels like the Northern Eagle trawler vessel that there has been able to be maintained a steady tandem between the demand and supply of the Pollack specimen, found only in the freezing Arctic. http://maritimesecurity.asia/free-2/maritime-security-asia/northern-eagle-the-ultimate-factory-trawler/
Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance Weekly Update October 21, 2012
The Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance is dedicated to its mission of continuing to help create sustainable fisheries without putting licensed fishermen out of business.”
http://hosted.vresp.com/1181479/5174a2d2c8/545569281/ad93d20bca/
Coast Guard helps New Bedford vessel sinking off Nantucket
NEW BEDFORD — A New Bedford fishing vessel, in danger of sinking early Saturday morning, was saved following prompt action from Coast Guard crews. The 84-foot steel dragger Luzitano was around 40 miles southeast of Nantucket, when the crew discovered flooding in the engine room. Coast Guard watchstanders received a distress call from the Luzitano at approximately 4:18 a.m reporting that they were taking on water with seven people aboard. Although the Luzitano had three dewatering pumps onboard, they were not keeping up with the flooding. A Jayhawk helicopter crew and a Falcon Jet crew launched from to assist the fishermen and delivered two additional pumps to the Luzitano. With the additional pumps the crew was able to keep up with the flooding which resulted from a four-inch hole in the engine room. The Luzitano was making its way to Woods Hole on Saturday where a Coast Guard crew is scheduled to escort them to New Bedford. “This case is a good example on why it is important to contact the Coast Guard immediately,” said Scott Backholm, the command duty officer at Sector Southeastern New England. “The faster we have visibility on a situation the faster our rescue crews can respond.” The Luzitano, built in 1978, is owned by the Hope II, Inc. http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20121021/NEWS/210210356/-1/NEWS
Don Cuddy
SSC Meeting: October 23-25, 2012 North Charleston, SC
- SSC Meeting: October 23-25, 2012 North Charleston, SC
Crowne Plaza, 4831 Tanger Outlet Blvd., North Charleston, SC 29418; phone: 843/744-4422
Meeting Agenda Briefing Book Materials (posted 10/9; updated 10/17)
Socio-Economic Panel (SEP) Meeting : October 22, 2012 North Charleston, SC
Crowne Plaza, 4831 Tanger Outlet Blvd., North Charleston, SC 29418; phone: 843/744-4422
Meeting Agenda Briefing Book Materials (posted 10/9; updated 10/17)
Gulf fishery council to meet in Gulfport, Miss Oct. 29-Nov. 1
The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will meet Oct. 29-Nov. 1 in Gulfport.
Topics include restoration projects, electronic reporting requirements by for-hire vessels, shrimp, red snapper, gray triggerfish and gag grouper.
People who can’t get to Gulfport can watch public hearings online at http://www.youtube.com/user/gulfcouncil. Comments can be submitted online at the council website, http://gulfcouncil.org/
Online:
Comment submission:
http://gulfcouncil.org/fishery_management_plans/scoping-thru-implementation.php.
Oregon, Washington continue talks to ease gill-nets from lower Columbia River salmon migration lanes
In 2009, a legislator suggested a commercial fishery in the Portland harbor reach of the lower Willamette River. The same year, a highly placed official of the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) suggested to me we might both live to see the day when commercial fishermen harvest salmon alongside sport anglers in tributaries. Neither idea, of course, came to pass … or was even seriously considered. Until now. Both still remain far from reality following Thursday’s meeting of fish and wildlife commissioners and staffs from Oregon and Washington, but neither is as far-fetched as they seemed three years ago. Netting the lower Willamette is just one of several radical suggestions the beleaguered commercial community brought to Thursday’s meeting.http://www.oregonlive.com/sports/oregonian/bill_monroe/index.ssf/2012/10/post_48.html
