Daily Archives: February 16, 2013
My Turn: Growing sea otter population in Southeast Alaska focus of upcoming symposium
Sea otters,
which were hunted to extinction in Southeast Alaska during the 18th and 19th century fur trade, were reintroduced in the 1960s. In this region, 403 animals were transplanted to six sites, predominantly on the outer coast. The population is now estimated at about 25,000 and ranges continuously along the outer coast of Southeast Alaska and interior areas including Glacier Bay. Read more here
Delta Pumping Restrictions: It’s About Salmon – by Dan Bacher
The Golden Gate Salmon Association (GGSA), responding to a Brown administration announcement that water supplies from South Delta pumping facilities have been cut significantly to protect Delta smelt, reminded the public and government officials that pumping restrictions are just as much about salmon as they are about Delta smelt. As salmon go, so goes the water, the health of the Delta and salmon jobs up and down the state, according to GGSA. “While the immediate reason water diversions are reduced in the delta is due to delta smelt being killed at the diversion pumps, the juvenile salmon are also out migrating through the delta now and are being killed by the pumps,” said GGSA president Victor Gonella. Read more here
Two commercial fishermen face 1,300 fishing violations
Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commissionwere charged with a total of more than 1,300 conservation violations Tuesday after being found inside a no-take zone in the Dry Tortugas, marine law-enforcement officers report. Both men were cited for harvesting 664 yellowtail snapper — one misdemeanor count for each fish — seized from the commercial boat Candelaria, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Read more here
One year later: few violations reported in new marine protected areas, poaching a concern
COAST CITIES — Poaching. Lobster traps where they shouldn’t be. Spearfishing protected species. These are the kinds of violations Cyndy Pourroy, a warden with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, was on the lookout for as she gazed out over Swami’s marine protected area from a staircase near Tide Park beach. Read more here
Bluefin tuna a remarkable fish indeed
So, to set the record straight: the Atlantic bluefin tuna is a very large (often better than a thousand pounds) predatory species that roams the ocean from relatively inshore waters to the true pelagic regions of the open sea. They are essentially like other tunas in that they are school fish, boast multiple adaptations for high speed swimming efficiency and, pound-for-pound, are immense power houses. To further bear this out, just note how many of the recognised marine game fishes are tunas or are related to the tuna clan. Read more here
Feds see early signs of Pacific fishery recovery
HALF MOON BAY, Calif. (AP) – After one of the West Coast’s most valuable commercial fisheries was declared an economic disaster in 2000, California and other Pacific states saw more boats being sold and more fishermen looking for work. Read more here
Sea Ice Moves Toward Snow Crab Grounds – Unalaska Community Broadcasting
Another icy weekend is in store for the Bering Sea snow crab fleet. National Weather Service ice forecaster Kathleen Cole says winds will continue to blow ice into the crab grounds around the Pribilof Islands through the weekend. Read more here
American Samoa – Local fising boat owners plead for help
Port charges, clearance requirements, and the drop in the price of albacore are being cited by local boat owners as the reason most of American Samoa longliner fleet are not out fishing. Most of the boats are tied up at the harbor; some haven’t gone out fishing in months. The situation has led to 9 boat owners writing to the governor for help for the survival of the American Samoa longliner fleet. Read more here
Live Broadcast, Saturday, 2/16/13. Join Chris McCaffity and his guests on the freefish7 radio show
Please tune in at noon est on Saturday, 2/16/13 for a live Q&A episode of the freefish7 radio show. I will also have some good news to share about how public comments are helping to preserve our freedom to fish and eat American seafood. You can find a link to the live show and archives of others at the link provided. Call in if you have a question or comment about fishery issues. Please share this with your friends. Thank you! http://www.freefish7.com/
WATCH: Joaquin Pheonix PETA Ad Seems Too Fishy For ABC
In the ad, The Master star can be seen submerged in water when he slowly begins to lose air. As he flails, an ominous voice-over by the actor intones: “In water, humans drown just as fish suffocate on land. It’s slow and painful and frightening. And we do it to more than one trillion fish every year.” Watch it here
As Fisheries Struggle, Debate Heats Up Over How to Help
Russell Sherman stood at the wheel of his boat, the Lady Jane, as light faded and his crew prepared to dock for the night. He made $19,800 fishing last year, he said, and at 64 is afraid he will go into foreclosure. “People are on the hook for money, and they’re not going to be able to pay it off,” said Mr. Sherman, who is a founding member of the Northeast Seafood Coalition, an industry group that supports fishermen and has pushed against deep cuts to the industry. “Desperate situation.” Sadly, Read more here
Senators press for fish disaster aid – Northeast groundfishery, blue crab and oyster fishery of Mississippi, Chinnock salmon fishery of Alaska
”We believe that it is the responsibility of the administration, after declaring these disasters, to request the funding to respond to them,” the senators wrote. “Until funding is made available for these declarations, the affected fishermen will continue to struggle during a critical time of need. For those that are suffering and the fishing communities they live in, time is of the essence. They simply cannot wait for another funding cycle for help to arrive.”
Sens. Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Charles Schumer and Kirstin Gillibrand of New York, Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire and Mark Begich of Alaska,Elizabeth Warren and William Cowan, Susan Collins of Maine, Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker of Mississippi and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska., Independent Angus King.
In the House, Congressman John Tierney, whose district includes all of Cape Ann, announced Friday an agreement with a bipartisan group of lawmakers on a different solution the same problem. Joining him in the initiative were Congressmen Ed Markey, William Keating, and Stephen Lynch of Massachusetts, Walter Jones, a North Carolina Republican, and David Cicilline and Jim Langevin, Rhode Island Democrats.
Read more here
