Monthly Archives: May 2013
Gloucester: Confronting a crisis – Fishermen shift focus; Tierney renews push for federal aid
Joe Orlando, captain of the mid-sized dragger Padre Pio and president of the 35-boat Gloucester trawl sector, was modifying his nets to keep them closer to the bottom as he shifts his fishing focus from the iconic cod and haddock to dabs — smallest of the flatfish, which burrow in the sand and mud of the Gulf of Maine. He and the rest of the day boat fishermen preparing for the bittersweet opening June 1 of hundreds of nautical miles of water that was closed to fishing through May. continued
Researchers declare success in 15-year quest for artificial bait – the scent of horseshoe crab!
For more than 15 years, University of Delaware researcher Nancy Targett has been on an odd and elusive quest to identify just what it is in the scent of a horseshoe crab that makes it such an alluring bait. Alas, she never succeeded.
She still doesn’t know what precisely constitutes eau de crab. continued
Commercial shrimp season opened today; Beaufort Co. shrimpers optimistic
The commercial trawling season for white roe shrimp opens today in South Carolina waters, according to the S.C. Department of Natural Resources. DNR decides when to open the season based on factors such as spawning, growth and weather.The past few months have been unusually cool, slowing shrimp growth, according to Mel Bell, director of the Office of Fisheries Management. But the shrimp, although slightly smaller than usual, are spawning on schedule, he said. continued
National Marine Fisheries Service wants to see at least four Southwest Washington streams identified as wild steelhead strongholds
theColumbian – 
The National Marine Fisheries Service wants to see at least four Southwest Washington streams identified as wild steelhead strongholds with no planting of hatchery fish beginning in 2014. Rob Jones, hatcheries and inland fisheries chief for NMFS in Portland, said determining which streams will be a joint effort between the federal fish agency and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. continued
Editorial: Mayor undercutting fishermen with bogus ‘bridge’ plan
It’s curious that, when Mayor Carolyn Kirk began touting a “bridge plan” purported to be a transition course for Gloucester’s fishing industry and waterfront, she didn’t bother discussing the approach with her own city fisheries commission — to whom she’s deferred in the past. And it’s troubling that she’s pushing this so-called plan without also speaking with leaders of the Gloucester-based Northeast Seafood Coalition,,,,continued
Fisherynation.com Editorial: The Great Atlantic Sturgeon Debacle
This Sturgeon debacle should serve as a pretty clear indication of how our fisheries “management” system works, or more to the point, how it doesn’t work.
How, by any stretch of regulation protocol, methodology, or just plain ol’ administrative integrity, can NOAA declare a species to be endangered without an assessment? Perhaps NOAA’s luminous legal department, Lois Schiffer, could give us the “legal” justification,,,continued
A Senate committee is recommending the federal and provincial governments continue a program aimed at retiring lobster fishing licences.
The Canadian Press – A Senate committee is recommending the federal and provincial governments continue a program aimed at retiring lobster fishing licences. continued
Lobster buyout extension welcomed by fishermen
cbcnews – The president of the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association says he welcomes a Senate committee report that recommends a program to buy out lobster fishermen continue past 2014. continued
Scientists from Canada find transgenic Atlantic salmon can cross-breed with a closely related species – the brown trout.
AquaBounty, which created the salmon, said any risks were negligible as the fish they were producing were all female, sterile and would be kept in tanks on land. (of course they do!) continued
VANCOUVER: After 200 court appearances winning an absolute discharge, Sto:Lo woman is free to fish again
Patricia Kelly’s long, hard road to justice began in the summer of 2004, when federal fisheries officers surrounded her outside a processing plant in the Fraser Valley. “I argued I had constitutional, protected rights. But the DFO officer said: 
‘Tell it to a judge,’” she said in recalling the incident. continued
Yellowtail Snapper harvest might increase – Allocation for the commercial segment would rise by nearly 460,000 pounds
keysnet.com – After it took an emergency rule to keep Florida’s commercial harvest of yellowtail snapper open through all of 2012, federal managers want to boost the allowable catch. The National Marine Fisheries Service now proposes to establish an annual catch limit of 3 million pounds of whole yellowtail, up from 2.2 million pounds. Allocation for the commercial segment would rise by nearly 460,000 pounds, to 1.59 million pounds of yellowtail. continued
Danny Williams says Harper needs to be pushed on trade – International trade minister denies link between hydro project and fish regulations
The federal government insists it is not forcing Newfoundland and Labrador to drop fish processing rules in return for financial support for Muskrat Falls, although former premier Danny Williams says his successor has a good reason to take the issue public. continued
2013 Marine Debris Cleanup Projects Announced
SitNews) Ketchikan, Alaska – The Alaska Marine Stewardship Foundation announced today that it will be conducting eight marine debris cleanup projects throughout Alaska this season with several of the cleanup projects located in southeast. continued
Fish at its freshest
ut sandiego – I’ve come to learn how to buy fish from Tommy Gomes, aka “the fish guy,” the son of a multigenerational Portuguese fishing family who settled in Point Loma in 1892 and whose grandfather founded Bumble Bee Tuna. Previously a 
commercial fisherman and boat captain for 18 years, Gomes has provided the public face for Catalina Offshore for the last decade. During my visit, a succession of top San Diego chefs stopped to banter with Gomes, who fills their orders based on middle-of-the-night texts. continued
NOAA concedes:sturgeon not endangered, after all
Without a stock assessment and to howls of outrage by industry and questions about the justification of the action by the New England Fishery Management Council, NOAA approved a petition by the Natural Resources Defense Council 15 months ago that granted Atlantic sturgeon protection under the Endangered Species Act. Now, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration decided that its Jan. 31, 2012 action — declaring the sturgeon endangered along the entire Atlantic Coast except in the Gulf of Maine, where it was only “threatened” — was premature and may not have been necessary. continued
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. fined $81.6 Million for dumping chemicals and fertilizers down the drain!
SAN FRANCISCO — Ending an environmental investigation that lasted nearly a decade, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. has pleaded guilty to improperly disposing of pesticides, fertilizer and other hazardous products and will pay a fine of $81.6 million.The company entered the guilty plea in federal court in San Francisco Tuesday to misdemeanor counts of violating the Clean Water Act and a law regulating pesticides. continued
N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries meeting May 29-30,
A report on seafood landings for 2012 will be given during the upcoming meeting of the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries. The commission will meet today and Thursday, May 29-30, at the Crystal Coast Civic Center in Morehead City. The meeting begins at 6 tonight, May 29 and 9 a.m. Thursday and is open to the public. A presentation of the 2012 commercial and recreational landings will be made. continued
Environmental group Oceana Inc. sues’ National Marine Fisheries Service for inadequate monitor coverage
Gib Brogan, Oceana’s representative in Boston, said fishermen fish differently when monitors are on board, yet only 22 percent of boats in the groundfish fleet have them. “Under sector management and catch shares, very high levels of
observers are generally necessary,” Brogan said. It accuses NOAA of changing the rules at mid-game, describing new guidelines that are different from the ones in Magnuson and in a previous settlement with Oceana. continued
Louisiana Seafood News: The Aristocratic Louisiana Oyster
A little over two years ago Jim Gossen gave a talk to a group of Louisiana oystermen gathered on Grand Isle. He had filled boxes with the prettiest oysters from both the east and west coast. Beausoleil oysters in one little box, and Island Creeks in another. Putting them on a table he told the group, “these oysters are three times better than yours, they must be because they are getting more than three times the price.” continued
Begich, Wicker, Schatz Introduce NOAA Corps Amendments Act
MarineLink.com – U.S. Senators Mark Begich, Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Brian Schatz (D-HI) introduced legislation to strengthen the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Commissioned Officer Corps as a national asset and improve its ability to recruit and retain talented candidates like other uniformed services. continued
Fishery resource status of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland to be assessed
During the next three months researchers and technicians of the Spanish Institute of Oceanography (IEO) will evaluate the state of exploitation of the fishery resources of the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. The research work will be carried out onboard the vessel Vizconde de Eza, belonging to the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Environment (Magrama). The ship left the port of Vigo on 25 May, toward the Regulatory Area of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) to develop three fisheries research surveys: Platuxa, Flemish Cap and Black Halibut 3L. continued
Federal minister says N.L. briefed on EU trade talks – “the EU is strongly pressuring Canada to abolish minimum processing requirements”
Canadian fish products are subject to high EU tariffs. (CBC)
International Trade Minister Ed Fast says he has been talking with Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Kathy Dunderdale about trade negotiations between Canada and the European Union, a day after Dunderdale revealed she has been under pressure from the Harper government to make a major trade concession. In a speech to the St. John’s Board of Trade on Monday, Dunderdale said the Muskrat Falls loan guarantee nearly fell apart when Ottawa suddenly demanded the province give up the requirement that fish landed in Newfoundland and Labrador be processed within the province. continued
Maine lawmakers divided over bill to end fines for lobster bycatch
AUGUSTA — Lawmakers are divided over a proposal to remove penalties for Maine-based groundfishing trawlers that catch lobsters in federally regulated waters. The proposal, L.D. 1549, is designed to ensure that the state’s dwindling groundfishing fleet can keep the lobsters that come up in trawl nets and sell them in states that allow such lobsters to be landed. continued
Methods to consider predators in Fishery Management according to Pew
Predator-prey relationships can have profound effects on fish populations, but they are generally not considered explicitly in fisheries management. Several methods are available today to incorporate predators, a practical step toward ecosystem-based management. continued
Alaska Fish Radio – Laine Welch – A grim outlook for sea otters versus Southeast Alaska fisheries.
Sea otters are cleaning out valuable commercial fisheries in Southeast Alaska – they have been at it for decades. A second report updates the financial hit the otters have caused to the region’s fisheries since 2005. continued
“The maggots screaming on the sidelines, they’re done. They can scream all they want. Nobody can save them,” Carlos Rafael
Carlos Rafael and His Fish Are the American Dream???
Rafael is currently railing against the lobbying effort of the smaller New England groundfishermen who he says are trying to put a cap on the amount of permits one individual can own. “They are like mosquitoes on the balls of an elephant,” he says of the smaller operations in the port. “Biting, biting, biting, until finally [the government] is going to say (edited) off, we got to do something.” They’re screaming anyway. Smaller fishermen want federal regulators to change the rules, saying it unfairly benefits the large operations like Rafael. This pisses him off. Why should he be punished for his business acumen, he asks? continued
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Ottawa pressing N.L. on fish processing, says premier – Kathy Dunderdale says PM has often raised idea of dropping processing requirements at Europe’s request
Provincial regulations dictate that fish landed in Newfoundland and Labrador must be processed in the province, in the interest of protecting jobs for local plant workers. But Dunderdale said those regulations are a sticking point in trade talks between Canada and Europe, because the Europeans want a free market on Canadian fish, no matter where the catch is landed. continued
4 fishing boats stuck on sandbar in Tabusintac freed up
At least four fishing boats that were stuck on a sandbar in Tabusintac for about five hours on Monday afternoon have now been freed up and are slowly making their way back to Wishart’s Wharf. .In light of the recent tragedy, Monday’s events had everyone scared, said Kevin Kelly, who was on one of the stranded boats. continued
Ocean Exploration: The drug for rich people. “There’s no doubt discovering things is an absolute drug in some ways.” Oil and Gas, anyone?
Wealthy backers support scientific efforts to explore deep seas –A small but growing number of wealthy patrons, enamored of the possibilities of undersea exploration, are donating the use of ships, submersibles and other resources to support missions that might otherwise be unaffordable…“I wanted to be sure to fund this enough so that they would have the people and resources to absorb this stuff, describe it and publish it, to have it available” said Cameron, He is also an adviser for Woods Hole’s new Center for Marine Robotics, which aims to speed development of advanced ocean technologies through partnerships with private companies in fields such as oil and gas exploration.washingtonpost.com continued
Louisiana Fishermen fight major river diversions – “We are being sacrificed in hopes that we can build land with these diversions,”
HoumaToday.com – Fishermen are protesting large Mississippi River diversion projects they fear could damage productive fisheries in the Barataria Basin and east of the river. But the diversions are necessary for saving the coast, state officials and environmentalists say. Clint Guidry, president of the Louisiana Shrimp Association, said a number of industry groups have joined forces to form The Save Louisiana Coalition, continued
