Daily Archives: May 20, 2013
Coast Guard responds to fishing vessel fire off Grays Harbor, Wash. 314-foot F/V Arctic Storm reported an uncontrollable engine room fire
ASTORIA, Ore. — The Coast Guard is responding to a fire aboard a vessel approximately 32 miles west of Grays Harbor, Wash., Monday. Coast Guard Sector Columbia River received a call from the 314-foot fishing vessel Arctic Storm at approximately 3:20 p.m. reporting an uncontrolled engine room fire with 120 people on board. continued Seattle Times coverage here
Mote Receives National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Grant Money to Bring Electronic Monitoring of Fisheries to Gulf (Way too intrusive)
Mote Marine Laboratory announced it has received a $150,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) to establish the first center for electronic monitoring of commercial fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico. Mote officials say it’s a first step toward gathering more scientifically sound data to inform fisheries management in the entire Gulf. continued
Do Iliamna Lake Seals Warrant an Endangered Species Listing? Video
ktuu.com – Last week, National Marine Fisheries Service officials made the decision to consider listing a harbor seal population in Lake Iliamna as endangered or threatened–yet another piece of wood on the controversial fire that is the Pebble Mine project.”It’s a small population of seals,” Center for Biological Diversity biologist Kiersten Lippmann said. “There are only 250 to 350 individuals in the lake and small variations in their environment can push the population towards extinction.” continued
Adak Seafood Processing Equipment to Be Sold at Auction
FARMINGTON HILLS, Mich.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Hilco Industrial, a world leader in industrial machinery and equipment auctions, will conduct the sale of over 500 lots of seafood processing equipment formerly owned by a very large seafood company. The equipment is located in a recently updated 250,000 sq. ft. state-of-the-art processing facility in Adak, Alaska. continued
Why We Need to Put the Fish Back Into Fisheries – (We know, but you have not included the unregulated fishing community!)
This is another article that is incomplete in assessing why the fish stock’s may not be what they should be. It’s obvious there is a predator issue that finds crustacean populations booming. The answer, it appears is to cut back on effort, but until they come to realize the unregulated fishing community that has exploded over forty years, with no effort controls, and fishes continuously, there will be only the regulated to be blamed. This report is typically short sighted.
The research, published today in the journal Fish and Fisheries, shows that traditional fisheries targeting large predators such as cod and haddock, have declined over the past hundred years. In their place, catches of shellfish such as prawns, scallops and lobsters have rocketed as they begin to thrive in unnaturally predator-low environments often degraded by the passage of trawls and dredges. continued
MAFMC PUBLIC MEETING – TOMORROW – May 22, 2013 – 10 am – @ Superior Trawl – 55 State St., Narragansett, RI 02882
The Council has scheduled two public meetings to talk with members of the fishing industry about options for improving management of the longfin and Illex squid fisheries. additional info here
Alberton PEI fishermen face lobster quota – processors imposed a daily quota of 500 pounds per boat
Lobster fishermen on Prince Edward Island say overwhelmed seafood processers are telling them limit their catch. Fishermen in Alberton said some processors imposed a daily quota of 500 pounds per boat over the weekend. continued
NEW YORK GOVERNOR ANNOUNCES $20 MILLION IN GRANTS TO SANDY-IMPACTED FISHING INDUSTRY
North Shore Crabber Sings the Pontchartrain Blues
Louisiana Seafood News – From Manchac to the Rigolets, the rows and rows of neatly stacked crab traps sitting unused on docks and piers tell a story that local crabbers hope will eventually have a happy ending. But for the time being, many are bracing and preparing for the worst. Among them is Manchac-based crabber Laramie Hill. continued
NOAA: Don’t take it out on monitors
Gloucester fisherman Joe Orlando, a 40-year veteran, said he doesn’t mind taking out observers, as long as the government pays, because he can’t afford it. He said it frustrates him that a kid who knows almost nothing about a fishing boat can climb on his and declare it unsafe. Orlando said he hasn’t heard about increasing confrontations between observers, captains or crew, but understands why they encounter resentment among fishermen facing ruin. continued
Tabusintac New Brunswick mourning three lost at sea – The tight-knit community is now “broken,”
Olive Ann Archibald of the Tabusintac Pastoral Church said the crowd at Sunday morning’s service was “sombre,” as search and rescue teams continued to comb the waters offshore for two missing fishermen. Later that day around 4 p.m., the bodies of the two men, a 35-year-old man from Tabusintac and a 32-year-old man from Brantville, were located in an area near where their boat hit a sandbar in rough seas and started taking on water Saturday morning. continued
The Blessing of the Fleet: Cape Breton fishermen pray as lobster season begins
Nova Scotia lobster fishermen and their families gathered on their boats in Main-a-Dieu on Sunday for the annual Blessing of the Fleet ceremony. “Protect our fishers during this fishing season and give them a bountiful catch,” Father Savarimuthu Rajasekar prayed. The ceremony is a tradition in many fishing communities. continued
Hampden firm pokes holes in traditional boat mooring, leaving room for lobsters, crabs and other sea life
BDNMAINE – The main purpose of most moorings is to provide mariners with a secure place to tie their boats when they go ashore, but Stewart Hardison thinks they should have a dual purpose. Hardison, the primary owner of Habitat Mooring Systems in Hampden, believes moorings also should double as microcosms of Maine’s coastal marine habitat. continued website
Gloucester Mayor Carolyn Kirk eyes plan for fishing ‘transition’
The fishing industry, its advocates in Congress, notably Rep John Tierney, whose district includes Gloucester. Attorney General Martha Coakley and Gov. Deval Patrick have carried out an escalating effort to obtain federal fisheries disaster relief for the fleet — at a price tag $100 million — but have been unable to win the support of President Obama. A direct appeal by the governor to Valeria Jarrett, a senior White House advisor to the president, fell on deaf ears. continued
Enviros putting big money, strong efforts behind Markey
He is, in fact, the only representative with coastal interests in the Massachusetts delegation to oppose creating more flexibility and other changes in the Magnuson-Stevens Act — changes industry leadser say are essential as the groundfishing industry faces a 78 percent in cod landings this year — and he has endorsed President Obama’s so-called “ocean zoning” proposal, which is strongly backed by the “greens” but would almost certainly bring new fishing area closures. continued