Daily Archives: March 11, 2013
Northern Shrimp Shrimping hours expanded, season end date set for April 12, 2013
Due to low catches of northern shrimp, which officials say may be a result of relatively warm water temperatures in the Gulf of Maine, hours in the fishery are being expanded, according to officials. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission also set a season end date of April 12 and, for the trap fishery, decided to remove the daily limit of 500 pounds, the Maine Department of Marine Resources said. Read more
Gov. Dannel P. Malloy a friend of Long Island Sound
Despite the continued fiscal and economic challenges confronting the state, Gov. Dannel P. Malloy is making the right choice by continuing state investment in cleaning up Long Island Sound. The legislature should support his position. Read more
Marine Protection Area committee forming in La Jolla
In the MPAs found in La Jolla — one off the coast from Emerald Street to Palomar Avenue, and another near the Cove — fishing or the removal of any marine life is prohibited. Read more
Virginia Marine Police issue 500 citations for oyster poaching
Newport News, Va. – An ongoing Virginia Marine Police operation to protect a resurgent oyster population has resulted in 500 citations issued to commercial watermen over the past two years for violating oyster catch restrictions. “Oyster poaching now borders on an epidemic,” said Marine Resources Commissioner Jack Travelstead. Read more
The Pacific Fishery Management Council wants regulation of forage fish
VANCOUVER, Wash. — A draft of an ecological plan that applies to West Coast fisheries has emphasized the need for management of so-called forage fish to improve salmon runs. Advocates have welcomed the plan and its broad appr
oach to Northwest ecosystems. The Pew Charitable Trusts’ environmental arm has recently pushed to raise awareness of forage fish and their importance to the marine food web. Read more
Canadians at risk, Coast Guard closures could overload Halifax centre
A retired Coast Guard captain says the closure of two search and rescue centres is putting Canadians in danger and won’t save the federal government much money. Read more
Corporations may rule the sea – New Hampshire small boat operators say new regulations could be their demise
Seacoast fishermen are seeing the writing on the wall when it comes to the future of their industry. Fishermen say the small boat fleet is collapsing under the New England Fishery Management Council’s sector management plan of regulating fisheries. Read more
Clean Power Collateral Damage: Of Birds, Tortoises And The Transition From Fossil Fuels
Whether the relevant federal agencies erred in their analysis remains, obviously, a matter for the courts, but it’s worth pointing out that Cape Wind is also supported by virtually all of the major environmental organizations in the United States, including Greenpeace, the Sierra Club and the Natural Resources Defense Council. Presumably none of these groups would argue that Cape Wind — or any major infrastructure project, for that matter — is without impacts on local wildlife and the nearby environment. But in the case of the Nantucket wind farm, these groups seem to suggest, the trade-offs are reasonable. Read more
Coast Guard medevacs ill fisherman near Cold Bay, Alaska
The 47-year-old fisherman, who was reportedly suffering abdominal distress, was safely hoisted from the Sea Freeze Alaska and flown to Cold Bay where he was safely transferred to commercial medical services for further care. Read more
Small time fishermen fight for their survival
BREWSTER —Just as big eat the little fish in the sea, Cape Cod’s fishing fleet is being swallowed by larger pockets that are buying the available quota of cod and other catch. Can the small family-owned boats survive or will the remaining fishermen wind up as sharecroppers for someone else’s fleet? “It would be nice to think if we wanted to go fishing we didn’t have to work for anybody else but with consolidation it doesn’t seem to be going that way,” said Jason Amaru, who fishes ground fish put of Chatham. Read moreJohn Furlong | Finding connections at the Boston Seafood Show
I was surprised by the way I felt when I arrived here in Boston. Like a lot of other Newfoundlanders, I knew a little about the connection between Newfoundland and Boston and that many of us had relatives who went to “the Boston States” for work in the fishery and other industries. So perhaps it is natural that I feel a kinship to this city that goes well beyond my longstanding loyalty to the Boston Bruins. The people of Boston have roots that go back to the same reasons that planted many a Furlong and Malone and Fitzgerald in Newfoundland. Read more
Lobster tops list as Canada’s most valuable seafood export – New Brunswick was Canada’s largest exporter
The federal Fisheries Department says $4.1 billion worth of Canadian seafood landed on tables in more than 100 countries last year, with lobster remaining the most valuable export. Read more
Magnuson fishing mandates up for review – fourth 10-year revision and re-authorization
The process will highlight different perspectives on the need for writing flexibility into the law — which was the subject of two national rallies at the Capitol, one in 2010 and another in 2012 — from the team of Congressman John Tierney and former Congressman Barney Frank, advocates of the need for flexibility on the one hand, to Congressman and U.S. Senate candidate Ed Markey on the other, who does not share their view of the law as an inflexible impediment to a revitalized industry. Read more
NOAA Raises Northeast Monkfish Limits For Many, Not All
Thanks to a request by the New England Fishery Management Council, NOAA announced a proposal to relax regulations for monkfish in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank. The move could help fill the void left by sever cuts in cod, groundfish, and just about every other fish in New England waters. Read more
Fishermen weigh options, risks as dire limits near – Faces of fishing’s ‘disaster’
The desperation shows on their faces and in the risks they’re taking to keep their mom-and-pop businesses on a lifeline. If pulse fishing hadn’t occurred, our sector would have been able to catch our quota,” said Burgess. “It’s a tremendous oversight to let the big boats work in shore,” said Ed Smith, captain of the 40 foot Claudia Marie. “And it wasn’t as if (NOAA) weren’t told” what was going on. Read more
