Monthly Archives: May 2013
Three lobster articles from Prince Edward Island
A pilot project next year will study the impact of moving the start of the fall lobster fishery in the Northumberland Strait between P.E.I. and New Brunswick. continued
The P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association is upset about a New Brunswick consultant’s doom-and-gloom comments about this year’s fall lobster fishery. continued
The Progressive Conservatives accused P.E.I.’s fisheries minister of wasting taxpayer money and failing to improve lobster prices during an intense session of the legislature Tuesday. continued
John Bullard Attends Fishermen’s Rally to Show His Support for the Groundfish Industry
On Monday, April 29, the Northeast Seafood Coalition held a rally in Boston, MA to mobilize support for efforts to help the groundfish industry weather what they have called “The Perfect Storm of Circumstances.” Northeast Region 
Administrator John Bullard attended the rally to show NOAA Fisheries support for fishermen, fishing families and fishing communities. continued
DFO scientist amazed by ‘extreme’ ocean temperatures
A federal scientist based in Nova Scotia says ocean temperatures off the East Coast of Canada were about two to four degrees above normal in 2012, setting record highs. “On average, it’s probably three to five times the normal variability. So it’s quite extreme,” said Dave Hebert, a Canadian scientist at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Halifax. continued
Proposal fails to reel in debate over Louisiana’s shortened snapper season
Earlier in the legislative session, Sen. Bret Allain, R-Franklin, got passage of a resolution requesting that federal officials address lawmakers in Baton Rouge to explain why Louisiana’s red snapper season has gone from 194 days in 2004 to just nine for 2013, but they declined. continued
Lusby man sentenced for trafficking illegally harvested striped bass
somdnews.com – A former Stoney’s Kingfishers Charters fishing boat captain was sentenced Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia for allegedly illegally harvesting and selling striped bass, in violation of the Lacey Act. continued
Letter To The Editor :An uphill challenge for commercial fishermen – Alison Tomlinson Willis, Harkers Island, N.C.
Carteret County News-Times – My name is Alison Tomlinson Willis. I am originally from Raleigh. I now live in Harkers Island, but until a few years ago, my family owned and operated Mayview Convalescent Center for over 50 years in Raleigh. Thus, I was not born into a commercial fishing family. I choose to join one. I have been welcomed into a unique way of life, filled with a dominating sense of community and filled with heritage and a love for the water. My husband, Eddie Willis, is a fourth generation commercial fisherman. continued
California commercial salmon fishing season opens
AP- SAN FRANCISCO—Commercial salmon fishermen are heading to sea from San Francisco and other area ports in what is expected to be a strong fishing season. continued
Editorial: Don’t forsake present in pressing for fishery’s dire needs – Gloucester Daily Times
The simple fact is that NOAA officials — right to the top and credibility-flawed General Counsel Lois Schiffer, while both NOAA and the Department of Commerce embarrassingly flounder without even acting chief administrators — have adopted the mantra of the agency’s bullying agents who, according to documentation, told workers at the former Gloucester Seafood Auction during an unauthorized, 2005 after-hours raid, that they were, in fact, “accountable to no one.” And all the municipal and state ideas in the world will be hard-pressed to break through that mentality until congressional lawmakers stand up and use NOAA and Commerce budgetary cuts and other actions to break up or into the agency itself. continued
Gloucester Marine Railways steps back for its future
The 158-year-old set of marine railways now known as the Gloucester Marine Railways Corp. has undergone a series of changes over the years, notably taking on at least three different names. But the newest alteration will not only increase efficiency at the railways, but will also restore the pier construction depicted in photos from the 1800s. continued
Must be tough for these guy’s when their progressive champions are on the “wrong” side! CLF: New rules could allow ‘full collapse’ of cod stocks
NSC’s policy director Vito Giacalone to appear on “Greater Boston” with Emily Rooney tonight on WGBH-TV
NSC’s policy director Vito Giacalone will appear on tonight’s episode of “Greater Boston” with Emily Rooney on WGBH-TV, Boston’s PBS television station. Giacalone will be discussing the reality of today’s groundfish fishing indust
ry: where are
we today and what got us to this point? Also to be discussed are the draconian reductions that went into effect today, and the short and long-term needs that will help sustain the industry. “Greater Boston” appears today on WGBH 44 at 6:00 pm, WGBH 2 at 7:00 pm, WGBH World at 11:30 pm, and WGBH 2 at 12:00 am on Thursday. link
Saving Seafood Responds to Eco Ocean Story, “Saving Seafood Offers Red Herring for Groundfish”
The following is an excerpt from the article “Saving Seafood Offers Red Herring for Groundfish,” originally published April 12 by Mike Misner on the blog Eco Ocean. Saving Seafood’s response to Mr. Misner’s article is below.
In favor of opening protected areas in New England, Saving Seafood has offered red herring. continued
Letter to the Editor: VIMS, VMRC caving to commercial interests – Dr. John B. Lapetina Sr., Port Haywood, Va.
Editor, Gazette-Journal: It is with great anguish that I write this letter. It is a letter that I feel in my heart I must write. The Chesapeake Bay is a great national treasure. It was named Chesapeake by the Indians, and it meant “Waters of Many Fish and Shellfish.” My generation and the next generation have just about over-harvested the bay until it is on the edge of its demise. continued
Bering Fisheries Experiments With Shipping Live Crab – Audio
Unalaska Community Broadcasting – It pays not to kill crab. Or at least that’s what Unalaska’s smallest fish processor is banking on for a new business venture. Bering Fisheries started shipping live crab across the globe earlier this month. As KUCB’s Stephanie Joyce reports, initial results have been mixed, but the processor isn’t giving up just yet. continued
Ground fish – Explaining the markets – The Fisheries Broadcast with John Furlong
An experienced fish plant operator explains the glut of cod on the world market, why the bottom has dropped out of our salt-fish markets and why it makes it so tough for us. An interview with Kevin Wadman in Arnold’s Cove, and a veteran voice on the seal hunt on where we go from here. continued
Shishmaref making bid to join CDQ club
Alaska Dispatch – Shishmaref, an impoverished Northwest Alaska village, is trying to elbow its way into a lucrative commercial fishing program that helps boost economic opportunity in much of rural Alaska. continued
Kenai fishermen jittery about upcoming season after 2012 disaster
Alaska Dispatch – And last summer, very few of those chinooks showed up. No one is exactly sure why. But in an effort to protect those precious kings — the largest and most prized of all of salmon — fisheries managers shut down the setnetters. Setnet disaster, driftnet boom. continued
Maine fishermen resist eel harvest quotas
PressHerald.com – The American eel, at all life stages, is considered a stock for which there is limited scientific and historical data. Taylor acknowledged considerable uncertainty in the stock evaluations from which the commission is drawing information for the management ruling that will cover the Gulf of Maine and other coastal areas. The amount and quality of scientific information on the American eel is “data-poor,” she said. continued
British Columbia Officials net alleged abalone thieves
Victorian fisheries officers have netted four suspected abalone thieves after uncovering more than 400 of the lucrative molluscs in raids. The four will be charged for offences including possession of a commercial quantity of abalone and taking more than twice the legal catch of abalone, the Department of Environment and Primary Industries says. Convicted abalone traffickers can spend up to 10 years in prison. continued
The failed swiftboating of US Commerce Inspector General Todd Zinser – Former commerce agents plead guilty to fraud against inspector general’s office
Commerce Department Inspector General Todd Zinser said Tuesday that the former agents waged a smear campaign against his office while they were under investigation. “In addition to the fraud perpetrated on the U.S. taxpayers, these now former employees also retaliated by carrying out a destructive campaign of disparagement and false allegations ag
ainst the Office of the Inspector General,” Zinser said in a statement. continued
Fisheries minister criticized over low lobster prices – Conservatives say $50K wasted promoting sales in China, Japan, Alberta
The Progressive Conservatives accused P.E.I.’s fisheries minister of wasting taxpayer money and failing to improve lobster prices during an intense session of the legislature Tuesday. “Why have you failed to improve lobster prices in P.E.I.?” asked Colin LaVie. continued
No surprises in search and rescue critique, locals say – Auditor general’s report shines light on existing concerns, say politicians, fishermen
CBCNews – 
In St. John’s, Stephen Ryan said he’s fully aware of the problems with search and rescue. He lost his father and uncle when their fishing vessel, the Ryan’s Commander, sank nearly nine years ago. “I don’t feel a bit comfortable, myself personally,” said Ryan. “If it wasn’t for the fellow fisherman around us and boats like that, that’s my comfort, in trusting the people that was fishing with you.” continued
Three years into catch shares, fishing industry faces ‘Day of Reckoning’
NEW BEDFORD — Sharp new cuts in fishing quotas mark the start today of the fourth year of fishing catch shares and sector management in the Northeast, NOAA’s prescription for rebuilding fish stocks and streamlining the fishing industry. But the fishermen who now see their quotas of some fish cut by more than 70 percent, who see their livelihood evaporating before their eyes, who are losing homes to foreclosure, insist, without contradiction, that they have done everything NOAA Fisheries has asked them to do in the past three years, and years before that. sadly, continued
Editorial: NOAA stand flaunts rogue agency’s lack of accountability – Gloucester Daily Times
Indeed, the most downright offensive aspect of NOAA’s stand amid all of this is the fact that Bullard and Schiffer refuse to release her “legal memorandum” purportedly saying the agency has no choice. And not far behind rests the downright insulting tone taken by the Department of Commerce and the rest of the fishery job-killing Obama administration by recognizing the Northeast fishery as the “economic disaster” it is — the economic disaster they’ve created — without extending a single red cent in aid to fix it. continued
“Today,NOAA has responded to a declared disaster by creating a crisis.” NOAA sticks to cuts in fish limits
“Want to buy a boat?” said Orlando, who fishes from the 70-foot vessel Padre Pio. “I put it up for sale. I have no choice.” “Rather than take the true advice of the New England Fisheries Management Council, the New England states and Congress and go forward with a second Interim Rule, NOAA instead to chose deliver a ‘death’ sentence to an industry, a way of life, and local economies and communities up and down the New England coast,” Ferrante wrote in an email. “I cannot say that I am surprised, but today, we dig in and fight harder.” Damned RIGHT! continued
