Monthly Archives: May 2013
Jarvis Newman, early fiberglass trend-setter
BDN – Newman recalls meeting Irona’s owner, Frank Cram. He convinced Cram to let him take a mold from the classy yacht, which was Bunker and Ellis’ 42nd boat, launched in 1964.“I said, ‘Look, if I take your boat for the winter, I’ll br
ing it back to you in the spring and I’ll pay for the storage, and I’ll completely take all the paint off the hull and repaint it for nothing,’” recalls Newman. “It was a very big win-win for him. It was a scary thought, taking a mold off a boat like that, because if it ever stuck – oooh, that would be a disaster.” continued
House members blast Brown’s Bay Delta Conservation Plan – A real fish killer!
Five members of Congress (all Democrats) held a news conference in Sacramento this morning to renew their staunch opposition to the Bay Delta Conservation Plan proposed by 
Gov. Jerry Brown and the U.S. Department of the Interior. continued
RAY HILBORN: Magnuson Reauthorization must address food, jobs, and revenue, as well as fish
SEAFOOD.COM – Ray Hilborn (Guest Editorial) May 30, 2013 – Ray Hilborn is a Professor in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, University of Washington,May 30, 2013 — Some would argue that the current low fishing 
pressure is necessary to rebuild overfished stocks and once all stocks are rebuilt fishing pressure can rise again. Under the current management system this will never happen because some stocks are always going to be depleted due to natural fluctuations and climate change, and, as we add annual catch limits for more species, the problem will only get worse. continued
New Herring Regulations Proposed — Public Comments Accepted through July 18
Proposed Rule; Request for Comments; Amendment 5 to the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan link here
Judge: NMFS Erred in Beluga Whale Estimates, Maybe the 18 Beluga’s waiting for import permit approval would give them a benchmark!
JUNEAU- A federal judge says the National Marine Fisheries Service made mathematical errors in estimating how many endangered beluga whales in Cook Inlet could be harmed or harassed by seismic testing. continued The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), is the agency responsible for approving the beluga permit to import 18 Beluga’s from Russia, captured in Russia’s Sea of Okhotsk.
The biggest environmental decision facing Obama you’ve never heard of. Unless you are a Fisherynation follower!
Washington Post – If you want to get a sense of how contentious the decision is over whether the Obama administration is going to block a planned cooper and gold mine near Bristol Bay, consider this: the Environmental Protection Agency has just decided to allow the public another month to weigh in on a scientific review of the project they released a year ago. continued
Coakley Sues NOAA Over Catch Limits, Peter Baker Spews the Pew Poo, and Saving Seafood’s Bob Vanasse Takes a Stand
WBUR – Coakley Sues NOAA Over Catch Limits – Audio includes Pew Charitable Trust pampered poodle Peter Baker. Savingseafood.org’s Bob Vanasse set’s the record straight in the comment section. Nice work, Bob. link
This data base, The Big Green Money Machine, constructed by Nils Stolpe will be helpful in understanding the “connections”.
Mullet Fishermen from the Florida Panhandle Call ‘Foul’ Over Net Size – Video
WCTV – Ronald Crum with the Wakulla Fisherman Association says current limits on fishing nets kills small fish and prevents significant mullet catches. continued
Rising radioactive spills leave Fukushima fishermen floundering
We used to be so proud of our fish. They were famous across Japan and we made a decent living out of them,” said 80-year-old Yaoita, who survived the tsunami by taking on the waves and sailing the six-person True Prosperity out to sea. “Now the only thing for us is sampling.” continued
House bill would damage state’s commercial fishing – John Day, Saxapahaw, North Carolina
thetimesnews.com – One of the most beleaguered segments of the local food system is wild-caught seafood. It’s a story of cultural heritage and very healthy, tasty food running up against coastal developers, the sport fishing industry, imports and political agendas. continued
Atlantic Salmon Federation says Greenland catch may be key to declining salmon stocks
The Canadian Press – ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — The Atlantic Salmon Federation says a decline in wild salmon populations in North America raises questions about the number of fish caught in Greenland. Salmon returns dropped most in the southerly part of their range. In the Penobscot River in Maine, for example, the numbers fell to 614 from 3,092 — a decline of 80 per cent, according to the latest council estimates. continued
Outdoors: Commercial hoarding threatens to flatten winter flounder stocks
telegram.com – Jason Colby, a charter boat captain who specializes in flounder fishing there, has fished the harbor dozens of times this season, coming home disappointed, depressed and infuriated. A confrontation between recreational and commercial interests seems imminent. continued
Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission in for some heavy lifting at its June 6 and 7 meeting
The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission, which meets June 6 and 7 in Tigard, will have a long list of weighty topics from commercial and sport salmon fishing to big-game tags and future hunting seasons. Alaska Fishermen’s Fund Provides Up to $10,000 for Emergency Fishing Injuries
Injured fisherman can now receive up to 10 thousand dollars to cover emergency healthcare costs through the state’s Alaska Fishermen’s Fund. continued
Editorial: Attorney General’s suit captures root of NOAA wrongdoing
That’s the blatant disregard NOAA’s leadership has consistently shown for the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the law that governs all of America’s fisheries and lays out a suite of rules and guidelines that NOAA is charged with enforcing. Instead, the agency has been running roughshod over it and ignoring provisions that leaders like former administrator Jane Lubchenco and now general counsel Lois Schiffer simply don’t seem to like. continued
AG’s suit targets NOAA fishing actions – “We will take it all the way to the Supreme Court, if necessary,”
BOSTON — Representing the entire elected political leadership of Massachusetts, Attorney General Martha Coakley Thursday filed suit in U.S. District Court against the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to block NOAA’s month-old commercial fishing restrictions, describing them as a “death penalty” for an industry which has been fishing legally and responsibly for years while successive waves of resource protection dragged the industry into an economic “disaster.” continued
“The Attorney General is wrong on the law and she is wrong on the facts.” – Peter Shelley, Conservation Law Foundation
“The Attorney General is wrong on the law and she is wrong on the facts,” said Peter Shelley, senior counsel with CLF, who has been actively engaged in fisheries management for more than 20 years. “Political interference like this action by Attorney General Coakley has been a leading cause of the destruction of these fisheries over the past twenty years, harassing fishery managers to ignore the best science available.” continued , believe it or not.
New Brunswick: Record lobster season hurting fishermen – Some brokers have stopped buying, set quotas due to unprecedented catches
Lobster fishermen in northeastern New Brunswick are reporting record catches and are getting nervous no one will buy their product. It’s only halfway through the lobster season, but some brokers have already stopped buying and others have set daily quotas. continued
Ottawa breaching N.L.’s confidence in trade talks, says premier – N.L. and Ottawa at odds over fish processing requirements
Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Kathy Dunderdale says Ottawa has been trying to cut side deals with other provinces to build support for trade talks with the European Union, while excluding her province’s demands from the final terms of the deal. continued
National Marine Fisheries Service made mathematical errors??? No! estimating how many endangered beluga whales in Cook Inlet
and.com – This week’s decision by U.S. District Judge Sharon Gleason was a partial victory for conservation groups and the Alaska Native village of Chickaloon. They sued last year, claiming that seismic testing related to oil and g
as exploration in Cook Inlet in south-central Alaska would harm the belugas and that the fisheries service improperly issued exploration permits to Apache Alaska Corp. for high-intensity seismic work. continued
What happened to the crab pots in Wrightsville Beach NC?
WECT6 – David Inscore said he and his fellow fishermen found one missing pot after another Wednesday morning around Wrightsville Beach. Inscore lost almost 20, but some of his colleagues’ losses are double that. continued
Massachusetts State Attorney General Martha Coakley has filed suit against NOAA – Go Martha!
BOSTON — State Attorney General Martha Coakley has filed suit against the federal National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, charging that NOAA wrongly failed to consider the “devastating economic impact” on fishing communities when it set crippling new catch limits on Gloucester and other Massachusetts fishermen. continued
No-fishing zones proposed in New Jersey
Northjersey.com – New Jersey, like many other coastal states, has never considered adopting what several marine conservation groups call the most effective tool to aid coastal ocean habitat – “no-take” protected areas that prohibit fishing and other activity, such as exploratory drilling, in the designated zones. “There are already a lot of areas where we are limited through regulations on gear or what season we can fish in,” said Nils Stolpe, communications director for the Garden State Seafood Association. continued
Late breakup means late opening for dip-netters at Chitina – Alaska Department of Fish and Game delayed the opening
newsminer.com – FAIRBANKS — Dip-netters champing at the bit to scoop salmon out of the Copper River at Chitina are going to have to hold on to their hip boots. continued
David Suzuki sounds the alarm that the sky is falling, and there is no limit to his “endangered species” dogma
Suzuki: Downgrading endangered species legislation troubling – Despite the evidence that endangered species laws are effective, governments in Canada are proceeding with deregulation and abdicating their responsibi
lities for wildlife habitat protection, often quietly. After all, only a few environmental watchdogs such as the David Suzuki Foundation are looking out for creatures that otherwise have no voice. Read the article
A Washington ecologist’s wet dream: New Pacific herring populations
Crosscut.com – The Minnow, a NOAA research vessel, takes off across Elliott Bay. In less than five minutes it reaches its destination — the base of the cliffs that line Seattle’s Magnolia neighborhood — and puts down anchor. audio, and article here
FFAW President Earle McCurdy says EU issue of minimum processing requirements worth a look.
CBCnews -“We’re currently at a competitive disadvantage in terms of the tariffs, regulations, and so on,” said McCurdy. “So this may be a chance to strengthen the industry, stabilize jobs in our plants and on our fishing boats, and just improve our return from the market.” continued
Smart, innovative Maryland kids, Luke Andraka and Dana Lunkenheimer, build a better, or at least less problematic, crab trap
For years, environmentalists and watermen have been searching for a way to deal with the Chesapeake Bay’s “ghost pots” — continued
SC considers seafood origins truth-in-advertising bill
the state.com – If those tasty crustaceans smothered by grits in South Carolina restaurants are from Florida, the restaurant owner would be breaking the law by calling them “local” shrimp, under a change working its way through the Legislature. continued
Fish consumers may not notice cuts that are hurting New England’s fishermen
Associated Press – To the 79-year-old, the decline of the industry has stolen jobs, community spirit and opportunity. And it’s not over, Gilson said. This month , New England’s fishermen again saw a cut to the number of fish they can catch, this time so deep that the historic industry’s existence is threatened from Rhode Island to Maine,,, continued
