Monthly Archives: February 2013
Will calamari, RI’s superb squid, be the state’s official appetizer?
“Squid,” said a State House press release regarding the bill, “Is to Rhode Island what lobster is to Maine, or cod to Massachusetts.” Read more here
Federal fisheries official tells shrimpers that new turtle rules are coming
“I’m just being straightforward with you guys, candid, these new TED requirements are coming,” Michael Barnett, a fisheries biologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service, told the suddenly raucous crowd. “At this point, I think it’s safe to say it’s not a matter of if, it’s when.” Read more here
Protecting Fish from Antidepressants by Using New Wastewater Treatment Technique
Researchers at KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm have developed a new technique to prevent pharmaceutical residues from entering waterways and harming wildlife. Read more here
Pacific salmon named B.C.’s official fish
Three B.C. organizations working for the sustainability of BC’s watersheds are applauding a Bill introduced last week to designate Pacific salmon as an official B.C. emblem. Read more here
Small crabs, slow fishing reported in Bering Sea
Deckhands reporting back to Homer have told stories of fishing on a 30-crab-per-pot average, which would not even cover fuel expenses with crab that average less than one and a half pounds each. Read more here
Letter – Glosta Pride facing NOAA’s best shot – Stuart Diamond, Rockport, Ma
Once, there was a sturdy fraternity of brothers who traversed the watery part of the world in boats. Stuart Diamond, Rockport, Ma. Read more here
Maine Fishermen’s Forum starts today in Rockport
38th Annual Maine Fishermen’s Forum The 2013 Forum will be held on February 28, March 1st, & 2nd at the Samoset Resort. Read more here at the Forum Home Page
Your View: Bullard has a responsibility to the law – Meghan Lapp
In recent weeks, with utter destruction facing the New England groundfish fleet, newly appointed NOAA Regional Administrator John Bullard, whom it was hoped by many would be a responsive voice of reason in the midst of governmental and scientific uncertainty and chaos, has instead used it to further demean and dismantle this nation’s hardworking families. Read more here
Editorial: NOAA ‘Camelot’ confab cries out for accountability
It’s hard not to laugh at NOAA law enforcement’s role-playing workshop in which highly-paid and supposedly adult lawyers imagined themselves as “knights,” “merchants,” or “dreamer-minstrels” in the days of Camelot. Read more here
Bycatch alert system growing for fourth year
NEW BEDFORD — New fishing grounds are being added to the highly successful system developed by UMass to avoid catching yellowtail flounder in the Northeast, it was announced Wednesday. Dr. Brian Rothschild, dean emeritus of the UMass School for Marine Science and Technology, said the program “has reduced the ratio of yellowtail to scallops and because of that it has been an economic boon to the fishery.” Read more here
MSC certification for Atlantic spiny dogfish expands
Following the success of the certification of the US east coast North Atlantic fishery for spiny dogfish to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard as a sustainable and well-managed fishery in August, 2012, the fishery has expanded the scope of certification to cover the remaining offshore areas of five states in the region: Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Delaware and Maryland. Read more here
Two panel seats for the International Pacific Halibut Commision open
A call for nominations was originally put out early last year. However, the National Marine Fisheries Service decided to reissue the call for nominations in February. Read more here
Leatherback turtle sinking toward extinction says new study
NOAA Fisheries says it has worked with the U.S. shrimp trawling industry to implement Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs) and has instituted a number of regulations to help protect the leatherback from accidental,,,,,Read more here
18-year-old survives 28 days adrift
An 18-year-old who worked in a seaside hotel in Panama happily took up an offer by two friends to join them on a fishing trip and earn some extra cash. Read more here
New Protections for White Shark Effective March 1
White sharks off California’s coast will receive additional protection beginning March 1, the date it becomes a candidate species under the California Endangered Species Act (CESA). Read more here
Greater Federal, State Roles Sought to Help Develop Offshore Wind Potential
More than two years after the Interior Department launched an initiative to speed up and simplify its permitting process, there are still no commercial-scale wind projects up and running in federal waters. Read more here
Meghan Lapp, Jim Kendall, Speak about New England’s Ground Fish situation.
The New England fishing business has been hurting for years as catching limits continue to decrease sharply. Read more – video
Texas officials balk at shorter red snapper season
Texas Parks and Wildlife commissioners are displeased with a proposal by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council to limit recreational fishing season for red snapper in federal waters to somewhere between 11 and 27 days. Read more
California’s new no-fishing zones appear to be working, scientists say
“So far, so good,” said Mark Carr, a professor of marine biology at UC Santa Cruz. “There have been economic losses to fishermen,” said Zeke Grader, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations in San Francisco. “A lot of these were unnecessary. They could have been done more carefully.” Read more
Nova Scotia company ships live crab worldwide
Frozen snow crab harvested off the coast of Nova Scotia has fed the masses for decades, but shipping the product live has long been thought impossible due to low survival rates. That was until NovaCan Live Seafood Ltd. came along with an entirely new ship-to-shore-to-dinner table process that has put another Nova Scotia seafood product in stores worldwide. Read more
Catch shares tied to cod losses – State fisheries chief cites lack of controls under NOAA system
The 2010 catch share commodification of the Northeast groundfishery, hailed by advocates including NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco as a sure path to restoring overfished stocks and profitability for the fleet, has had the opposite effect on Gulf of Maine cod, according to the state’s director of marine fisheries.
The habit of bigger offshore boats to accumulate catch shares in Gulf of Maine cod and capitalize on pulses of the cod with landings far larger than 800 pounds has “significantly contributed to declines in local abundance” of the essential fish for the day boats, state fisheries chief Paul Diodati said in a memo sent Feb. 5 to the Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission and obtained by the Times. Read more here
Long Island, NY – LaValle Bill to Help Commercial Fishermen Unanimously Passes Senate (fuel saver!)
Sen. Ken LaValle said his bill (S.1762) allows fishermen, for example, to catch three times the daily catch limit on Monday and two times the limit on Wednesday and then stay off the water until the following Monday when a consecutive period of seven days is complete. The bill also allows individuals with different fishing licenses to go out and catch each of their daily limits from the same boat (currently prohibited). Read more here
John Furlong – cbc The Fisheries Broadcast discussing the EU’s seal ban based on “moral” grounds
Canada begins the long and challenging process of trying to get the European Union’s ban on seal products overturned. Listen
Also the story of the Tragedy of the Florizel, 95 years ago. The radio broadcast, with feedback from listeners. I now have the link to the show in my favorites.
Coast Guard: Budget cuts to limit flights, patrols
Adm. Robert J. Papp said Wednesday that emergencies will be a priority. He didn’t say how many patrol hours would be cut under what’s known as sequestration – Read more
Maintaining Maine’s scallop fishery By Robin Alden, Special to the BDN
Of course, it hasn’t been perfect. But after this year, some fishermen and some managers realize that this is, inevitably, the start of a process of fishermen and the state agency sharing information and managing this resource together for the long haul and to great benefit. Read more here
My Turn: Weigh in on Board of Fish Proposal 243 By MICHAEL BAINES
At its Statewide Finfish meeting in March, the Board of Fish (BoF) will consider the Board generated Proposal 243, which would add Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) to the State’s Forage Fish Management Plan (FFMP). Read more here
Proposed net pen legislation dies in committee
PORT TOWNSEND — Proposed legislation that would allow coastal counties to forbid marine aquaculture net-pen facilities died in committee last week, dashing hopes of Jefferson County commissioners who had wanted to ban the industry.
Coast Guard rescues three near Grays Harbor, Washington
Coast Guard Sector Columbia River recieved a distress call from the crew of the 58-foot crabbing vessel Persistence at 8:50 p.m. The crew reported they were taking on water approximately 5 miles northwest of the Grays Harbor bar and
were low on fuel for their dewatering pump. Read more here
Governor Scott pushes for Apalachicola Bay funding to aid oyster industry
Gov. Rick Scott traveled to Franklin County on Monday to tout $3 million in proposed funding to help restore the Apalachicola River system and the oyster industry that relies on it. Read more here
Regulatory, environmental changes on Maine fishermen’s forum agenda
ROCKPORT, Maine — The bizarre 2012 lobster fishing season may be over, but discussion of what happened and what might be done to prevent a repeat will figure prominently in the lineup of topics featured this week at the annual Maine Fishermen’s Forum. The forum, which organizers say typically attracts between 2,000 and 3,000 attendees each year, is scheduled from Thursday, Feb. 28, through Saturday, March 2, at the Samoset Resort in Rockport. Read more
