Monthly Archives: May 2013
Connecticut Senators push for Long Island Sound preservation
nhregister – Four U.S. Senators are pushing for increased funding for the preservation of the Long Island Sound. Senators Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Chris Murphy (D-Conn.), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), and Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) are asking Senate leaders of the Subcommittee on Interior, Environment and Related Agencies to fund at least $10 million for the Environmental Protection Agency’s Long Island Sound program, according to a press release from Blumenthal’s office. continued
Researchers think industrious oysters could clean up Chesapeake
WashingtonPost – Behold the tiny oyster. No, not on the half-shell, with a squirt of lemon, but in its watery habitat, the Choptank River. Out there on a reef with many other oysters, the bivalve is awesome, a janitor that helps remove pollution with incredible efficiency. continued
NW salmon threat still disputed
Like mariners scanning the horizon from the crow’s nest, scientists have for years been on the lookout for signs that a dreaded salmon-killing disease, scourge to farmed salmon in other parts of the world, has arrived in the Pacific Northwest, threatening some of the world’s richest wild-salmon habitats. Most say there is no evidence. continued
Bill Kelly, Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association, to lobby against annual catch limits at “Managing Our Nation’s Fisheries” Conference
keysnews.com – “I’m going to address annual catch limits, and their effects on the commercial fishing industry,” Kelly said. “We want to make sure fishery management is based on sound science.” continued
Fishermen challenge stats in limit cuts – calling out the number fudging opportunists!
NOAA Regional Administrator John Bullard and Peter Shelley, the senior counsel for the Conservation Law Foundation, point to the table from the NOAA Science Center showing participants in the Northeast groundfishery failed last year to catch anything close to their allocation in virtually every one of the 20 stocks as a sign that the ecosystem was so weak the fishermen could not find enough fish to catch. Both Bullard and Shelley ascribed special significance to the fact that fishermen were able to take about two thirds of the allocation in Gulf of Maine cod, the most important fish for the inshore fleet of day boats. continued
Monday evening (May 6th) Narragansett Town Council Meeting on Deepwater Wind
The AFL-CIO president for R.I. sent out a robocall today encouraging members to come to tomorrow night’s meeting in support of Deepwater’s request to make a landing on the mainland in Narragansett. My family received the robocall. I wanted to give you all a heads-up. I do not see why a national labor organization is getting involved in this project and it just looks like another example of the alliance of Big Government, Big Business (and now Big Labor) trying to shove this project down Narragansett’s (and Rhode Island’s) throats. It is now more important for you to reach out to ALL your local contacts to make sure they attend tomorrow night’s meeting.
SO, MY NEW FRIENDS: If you have friends or colleagues who can come to Narragansett, please encourage them to come to this meeting.
Deepwater and their connections in Providence need to know that we will not be intimidated.
Just for you information, the former CEO of DWW testified under oath at the PUC Docket 4111 hearing that this project will results in SIX permanent jobs.
Hundreds of millions of dollars, degradation of our ocean and our beaches, our fishing grounds, our way of life, so they can make buckets of money and give our economy and state SIX PERMANENT JOBS!!
Thanks for whatever you can do,
Maggie
5 fishing boats burn in Tabusintac, New Brunswick fire
A massive boat fire burned five fishermen’s boats early Saturday morning in Tabusintac, N.B. According to the RCMP, a call came in at around 3 a.m. with reports that five lobster boats on fire. continued
Seward harbor in need of more upgrading
ADN.com – The idea to use it for the CDQ fleet came up a couple of years ago, when Western Alaska’s Coastal Villages Region Fund, approached the city. CVRF is the largest of the CDQ groups, and it brings in an estimated 175 million pounds of groundfish and crab annually. Currently, the group’s fleet docks in Seattle.”And they’ve managed to leverage those initial shares into majority or outright ownership interest in twenty large vessels – crabbers, catcher processors trawlers, and over a quarter billion dollars in assets that they would like to bring home to Alaska.” continued
Bill Passed To Ban Shark Fin Trading in Texas. (Guess theres no sense in selling shark fins from legally caught sharks, huh?)
AUSTIN (CBSDFW.COM) – Texas could become the first Gulf Coast state to enact a ban, which protects shark species. Tens of millions of sharks are killed each year to supply the wasteful demand for shark fin soup. Shark populations can’t sustain current slaughter rates, according to The Humane Society of the United States. continued
Why Aren’t Environmental Groups Divesting from Fossil Fuels? Some of big green’s most powerful players still invest in energy companies.
THEY ARE STEALING OUR OCEAN. FOR PROFIT!!! SOME BUYING FISH QUOTA!!Why do some of the largest environmental organizations still invest in fossil fuels? As outlined in my new piece, Time for Big Green to go Fossil Free, organizations such as The Nature Conservancy and the Wildlife Conservation Society aren’t taking the simple step of divesting their large endowments and publicly traded investments from energy corporations. Below is a cheat sheet (not comprehensive) for how much money big green groups are investing and for who is—and who isn’t—getting their financial house in order. continued
Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance Weekly Update MAY 5, 2013
“The Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance is dedicated to its mission of continuing to help create sustainable fisheries without putting licensed fishermen out of business.” Read the update
North Carolina HB-983 – A bad, bad bill – Coastal Conservation Association is anti Commercial fishermen, anti consumer
North Carolina fishermen — commercial and recreational — will square off at 1:30 p.m. Monday in public forum in the Legislative Office Building, 300 N. Salisbury St. in Raleigh, as legislators consider HB-983. continued
South Atlantic Red rules under review by the NMFS (noaa fisheries is not an agency)
Miami Herald – NOAA proposes to develop an equation to determine the annual catch limit for both the commercial and recreational sectors if fishing is allowed. But first it plans to establish whether last summer’s mini-season resulted in too many landings and dead discards. continued
Cape Cod: Shark safety: How much is too much?
capecodonline.com TRURO — On July 30, 2012, Denver businessman Christopher Myers had no clue he was about to swim into the history books as the first person in 76 years to be bitten by a great white shark in Massachusetts. If Myers were to return to Ballston Beach this summer, he’d see that little had changed. continued
Mama’s Fish House is starting a new FAD making life easier for Maui’s fishermen ( a new series? Good Cook – Bad Cook?)
The Maui News – Yes, it’s true. The iconic 40-year-old Mama’s Fish House in Kuau is starting a new FAD. That is, “fishing aggregate device,” to assist local fishermen with an effective deep-sea helper. “We are funding a fishing buoy!” she continued. “There are so many reasons this is the right thing to do, including supporting the local fishermen on which our business relies.” continued
California’s Squid Fishing Fight Not ‘David Vs Goliath’ But More Like ‘Boy Who Cried Wolf’
Science 2.0 – 
Is a David and Goliath battle brewing in commercial squid fishery, with larger purse seiners robbing “scoop” fishermen of their livelihoods, sometimes illegally? That is what Virginia Hennessey wrote in the Monterey Herald. (posted here April 29) Hearing claims of three squid brail (smaller boat) fishermen, one might think that the larger seine vessel squid fishermen are illegally catching all of the allowable quota. continued
Crab glut could halt Newfoundland and Labrador fishery again
cbcnews.com – The Newfoundland and Labrador crab fishery may be brought to a halt for the second time this season because there’s now a glut of crab being landed at wharves around the province. continued
Alaska – Compass: Commercial, charter fishermen target trawl fleet’s bycatch
Commercial and sport fishing interests in Alaska are no strangers to allocation battles over the resources that fuel our businesses and ways of life. It’s a rare but important occasion when those of us usually on opposing sides can agree to get together to speak out for the conservation and health of the very resource we depend on. The current threat to our businesses and livelihoods we are united to address is bycatch. continued
Three Spend Hours Treading Water After Boat Sinks Off La Jolla – Plucked from the sea by F/V New Sea Forth
la jolla patch – A man and two teenage boys were hospitalized after being recovered by a commercial fishing vessel more than three hours after their fishing boat capsized and sank Saturday, the San Diego Coast Guard said. At 2:50 p.m. the New Sea Forth, a commercial fishing boat, discovered the three men treading water in the ocean about 1 1/2 to 2 miles off the coast of La Jolla Cove, U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Jarrad Pellerin said. continued
Restoration efforts put spotlight on once plentiful alewives (“river herring,”)
BDN – Despite alewives being the focus of sometimes contentious efforts to improve their access to Down East Maine freshwater spawning habitats, these migratory fish remain something of a mystery to many, while at the same time remaining a favorite food for wide variety of Maine wildlife. continued
King Cove F/ V Taurus Skipper Marvin H. Love Found Dead near Belkofski
KTUU-TV – ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A skipper of a King Cove fishing boat was found dead in the water near Belkofski Friday around noon, according to Alaska State Troopers. continued
Nova Scotia Lobster prices set to drop as volume increases
Chronicle Herald -The dock price for lobster is about to fall, a Nova Scotia broker predicts. Fishermen were getting $5 a pound Friday, but that won’t last long, said Stewart Lamont, the managing director of Tangier Lobster Co. Ltd. on the Eastern Shore. contined
Bluenose II on course to sail again next month
Halifax Herald – LUNENBURG — The restored Bluenose II is on track to sail again next month despite changes to the plans that have caused some holdups. continued
Can the small family-owned boats survive or will the remaining fishermen wind up as sharecroppers for someone else’s fleet?
continued
The Mayor’s Desk: Pressing forward for our fishermen – Gloucester Mayor Carolyn Kirk
There was an incredible lineup of political leaders from across Massachusetts at the fishing rally held this past Monday in Boston…What follows is the full text of my remarks on behalf of the city of Gloucester. continued
Cod quotas slashed on Cape Cod
As of Wednesday cod quotas for Cape Cod fishermen have been slashed 61 percent on Georges Bank and 77 percent in the Gulf of Maine (north of Provincetown). The bad news is they’ll hardly notice it. “The reality is we were at those levels the last fishing year. We’ve already taken the cuts. We can’t find codfish,” observed Tom Dempsey the Policy Director for the Cape Cod Commercial Hook-fishermen’s Association. continued
Department of Fisheries and Oceans gets F in free expression from journalism group
Although the federal government as a whole received a C-, Fisheries and Oceans Canada was singled out “for its zeal in muzzling scientists and keeping critical research findings from Canadians,” said a news release from Canadian Journalists for Free Expression Thursday. continued
Foreign workers needed at P.E.I. fish plant, says owner
A fish plant in western P.E.I. is operating at just 60 per cent capacity because it can’t get foreign workers approved, says one of the owners. Dewis Cooke of South Shore Seafoods told CBC News Friday he’s having a hard time finding local workers,,,, continued
