Daily Archives: May 14, 2013
La. State Sen. Bret Allain steadfast on Louisiana Red Snapper flame war with NOAA’s southeast region fisheries administrator Roy Crabtree
Tri-Parish Times – Sen. Bret Allain (R-Patterson) maintains that he will continue pressing passage of his bill, SB 157, which would prohibit the sale or possession of red snapper, dead or alive, on Louisiana’s waters or lands. Allain acknowledges that his intent is to use the spectra of a commercial fishing ban on the species to bring Roy Crabtree, NOAA’s southeast region fisheries administrator, before his committee to discuss changes in NOAA rules on recreational snapper fishing. continued
Low price for lobster stirs anger in Canada – But protests similar to the ones last year are not expected to target Maine.
Protests in Canada over low lobster prices are rekindling memories of last summer, when Canadian fishermen blocked truckloads of Maine-caught lobsters from being delivered to processing plants, but industry members in Maine don’t expect a repeat. continued
Program aims to boost La. seafood industry
The Advocate – A program to help the state’s seafood industry by establishing better ties between fishermen and consumers got a major boost Tuesday when one of the first products designated as “Certified Authentic Louisiana Wild Seafood” was unveiled. continued
South Atlantic Fishery Management Council Approves Increases for Black Sea Bass Annual Catch Limits
In a compromise vote, the Council approved an increase from the current limit of 847,000 pounds (all measures in whole weight) to 1,814,000 pounds. 
. continued
American Samoa-based fishing vessel “Pacific Princess” rescued 2 fishermen surviving almost four weeks adrift
Pacific Princess skipper Alfred Canepa said he found the men after spotting what appeared to be a small flock of birds on his radar. “I went to go check on my boat and luckily I turned that way to check them and we found this small boat w
ith two men adrift at sea, lost,” he said. continued
Tug-of-war grows over portion of Seattle’s fishing fleet – Video
KIRO 7 
– SEATTLE — A tug-of-war over a portion of the Seattle-based fishing fleet is heating up. Coastal Villages Region Fund, the largest Alaska-based seafood company, has moved four boats from Seattle to Seward for the off-season and hopes to someday relocate the rest of the fleet. It currently has about two dozen vessels. continued
The National Marine Fisheries Service announce proposed sea lion protections that could benefit fishermen
and.com – ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The National Marine Fisheries Service is taking public comment on proposed revisions to Steller sea lion protections in the western Aleutian Islands that could lead to more commercial fishing of Pacific cod, pollock and Atka mackerel. continued
Harper concerned by slumping lobster prices
Prime Minister Stephen Harper urged fishermen and seafood processors in the Maritimes to resolve a dispute over slumping lobster prices as some lobster fishermen headed back to work Tuesday after days of protests. “Obviously, we are concerned by what we’re seeing in the marketplace,” Harper said after an announcement in Summerside, P.E.I. Michael McGeoghegan of the P.E.I. Fisherman’s Association said the protest has highlighted the problematic pricing structure for consumers who buy lobster in grocery stores. “We’ve always known that amongst fishermen but the general public hasn’t known that,” he said. continued
South Jersey crabbers fishing old pots out of Great Bay
pressofAtlanticCity.com – Braving icy winds, choppy waters and frigid winter temperature, six teams of commercial crabbers have combed the muddy bottom of Great Bay the past few months in search of, well … trash. The idea of an underwater litter pickup developed about three years ago, when Richard Stockton College professor Peter Straub and his marine technology students began finding what they thought were hundreds of derelict crab pots in the Mullica River and Great Bay, a short boat ride from the college’s Nacote Creek marine field station. continued
Compass: Protect Bristol Bay and Bering Sea fisheries for keeps – Karen Gillis, Executive Director for Bering Sea Fishermen’s Association
adn.com – The question of offshore oil and gas development has hung over Bristol Bay and the southeast Bering Sea for 35 years. Lease sales have been scheduled, fought, sold and repurchased only to be scheduled again once temporary moratoriums expired or were lifted. Enough already. Sustainable fisheries and a healthy ecosystem have been economic engines for Southwest Alaska for more than 125 years and the foundation of traditional ways of life there for close to 10,000 years. These world-renowned fisheries deserve to be safeguarded in perpetuity, and the people who depend on them for their livelihoods deserve some certainty. continued
Lobster fishermen end protest – About a thousand boats from N.S. expected back in water today
ANTIGONISH — About a thousand lobster fishing boats from northern Nova Scotia were to return to the water this morning. “We went in this together and we ended it together.” But Heighton said the unity fishermen showed during the protest is more than he has seen during his 47 years fishing out of Cape John, Pictou County. An unplanned tie-up spread from harbour to harbour through marine radio traffic. “Nothing’s happened like this before,” Dan MacDougall, president of the Gulf Nova Scotia Bonafide Fishermen’s Association, said Monday. continued
A Fractured Lobster Fishery in the Canadian Maritimes
Nova Scotia Lobster fishermen return to sea after standoff Lobster fishermen in Nova Scotia will be back on the water at first light on Tuesday, after hundreds tied up their boats to fight for better prices from seafood processors. The protest is over, but the problem of low lobster prices at the wharf persists. The protesters said they’ve made their point and have enlisted the province’s fisheries minister as an ally. continued
P.E.I. lobster fishermen returning to water Some fishermen in Western P.E.I. are calling the protest a failure, because it did not pressure processors to raise prices. West Prince fisherman Scott McNeill still believes it 
was the right thing to do. continued
Lobster fishermen protest over prices ends in New Brunswick Fishermen in New Brunswick’s zone 23 were back on the water again, hauling up traps in the Escuminac and Caraquet areas. Alain-Paul Thériault was among them. They felt they had to go out, he said. continued
To the Editor – Salmon – Fred Boest, Red Bluff
Everybody seems to be upset over the situation with the salmon population in the Sacramento River. All sorts of special interest groups, from environmentalists, to fishing association members, to commercial fishermen, to the Department of Fish and (?) have put their two cents worth into the pot. continued
Fishing interests begin to map strategy with joint meeting of the Mayor’s Ocean and Fisheries Council / Federal Fishing Advisory Board.
NEW BEDFORD — When fisheries regulation gets a makeover in the next year or two, the New England fishery intends to get into the debate early to impress on regulators how badly served the region has been under existing rules.
That was the theme struck by Mayor Jon Mitchell Monday as he co-chaired a joint meeting of the Mayor’s Ocean and Fisheries Council with Rep. William Keating, D-Mass., representing the Federal Fishing Advisory Board. continued
Editorial: Feds must hold Commerce to law on fishery aid
Disappointing, embarrassing, offensive — all of those words can be applied to the fact that White House senior adviser Valerie Jarrett largely ignored Gov. Deval Patrick’s call for executive action to overturn the dire NOAA limit cuts now threatening the Northeast groundfishery. continued
