Monthly Archives: May 2013
Excellent Article: Fishing the Gulf of Maine: Tradition at a Crossroads By Michael Sanders
When most of us go down to the coast, whether to walk or swim or fish or sail, we take for granted what we see before us. We see the lobster boats and the colorful buoys marking the strings of traps, the bobbing green and red cans marking safe passage, the gulls and other seabirds. In the larger working harbors like Portland and Stonington and Port Clyde, there might be draggers tied up, unloading fish they’ve caught far out in the Gulf of Maine and on Georges Bank. What we don’t realize,,,,,,,,continued
Lessons Learned: Commercial prawn-fleet accidents prompt new best-practices recommendations – Fishing Vessel Stability
Vancouver Sun – The dramatic loss of two commercial prawn vessels last season has prompted the fishery — now in full swing on the B.C. coast — to adopt a set of best practices aimed at ensuring hundreds of traps per vessel are transported safely. The industry’s new best-practices document — in place for the current spot-prawn season — recommends, in part, that gear be stored low to maintain stability, that traps be stacked evenly and protected against shifting, and that crews realize that winds across a loaded deck can affect stability, as can low fuel levels. continued
Coast Guard continues response to Fishing Vessel Arctic Storm fire off Grays Harbor, Wash.
Commercial fishing vessel Arctic Storm experiences an engine room fire approximately 32 miles west of Grays Harbor, Wash., May 20, 2013. CoastGuard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crews and 47-foot motor lifeboat crews oversaw the evacuation of 78 crew members after Arctic Storm’s Halon firefighting system successfully extinguished the blaze. continued From komonews.com
Letter to the Editor: Mayor wrong to throw NOAA a ‘white flag’ – Paul Cohan, Captain, F/V Sasquatch, Gloucester
I am writing in response to the story regarding Mayor Kirk and her planning for “transition” on Gloucester’s waterfront (the Times, Page 1, Monday, May 20). One thing I’ve noted over the years is that “nicey nice” doesn’t work with the National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, the Department of Commerce, or any other federal agency. In D.C., it seems, diplomacy is seen as weakness and something to be exported overseas (where it clearly doesn’t work either). Domestically, it’s gloves off, bare knuckled, all out, do or die persistence that carries the day. continued
Editorial: Naive fishing ‘bridge’ plan wrongly lets NOAA off hook
But the idea of “redeploying” shut down fishing vessels for research, and a hope of “working with” NOAA leaders on that and other projects comes across as so naive that it’s virtually insulting to both fishermen and state and federal lawmakers who have pursued cooperative research with NOAA for years and basically told to take a hike. And that naivete is topped by city waterfront development director Sarah Garcia’s embarrassing comment that “before, it was characterized as handouts to fishermen; this is different, this is investing in a new marine environment.” continued
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!)
There’s something missing in this cartoon.
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
Watch Live – Oversight Hearing on data collection issues in relation to the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act – Tuesday, May 21, 2013 10:30AM
on and Management Act Tuesday, May 21, 2013 10:30AM 1334 Hearing Room in the Longworth House Office Building http://naturalresources.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=333644 Watch Live 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 Syste
ms 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
Police find 2 bodies near missing fishermen’s boat – 1 body recovered earlier near Tabusintac on Saturday
Two bodies have been found close to a submerged boat off the coast of New Brunswick, a day after a boat capsized with thre
e crew members on board. The body of one lobster fisherman was recovered on Saturday.continued
Fisherman Darren Porter fears gate closures killing fish – “Once you see enough of it, it’s hard to watch.”
The Hants Journal – Darren Porter fishes in the Avon River for gaspereau five days a week in April and May. He first approached the Hants Journal with concerns that the gatekeeping practices at the causeway were causing large numbers of fish to die in May 2011. 
Porter says smaller gate openings more often allow for the best possible fish passage into spawning grounds upstream, but that’s not what he’s been seeing this spring. “Once you see enough of it, it’s hard to watch.” continued
Fisheries policy will destroy the industry it set out to protect – Preserving the Independence of the Inshore Fleet in Canada’s Atlantic Fisheries
The plan was to prevent “corporations” from owning harvesting licences. Much to the surprise of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans and Canada Revenue Agency, most of the individual fishermen holding licences had already incorporated and took the revenue through a business while the licence was held by an individual. A blind eye here, a pen stroke there and the past was forgotten and the first concessions made — some corporations could hold licences. “One boat, one licence” is an idealistic perspective of fairness and independence. Fleet separation was to establish the rule that fishermen fish, and processors process. It is also one blurred by more concessions. continued
Another View: Bay Delta Conservation plan still evolving as more is learned – William Stelle Jr.,West Coast salmon coordinator , NMFS
sacbee.com – An April 25 Viewpoints article, “Twin tunnels water grab is doomed to fail,” noted a number of concerns with the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, citing the comments of the National Marine Fisheries Service on how to improve the current draft. The agency offers additional thoughts on the state’s plan for the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta. continued
Letter to the Editor: Writer’s rhetoric offensive to fishermen – Russell A. Sherman, Captain, F/V Lady Jane, Gloucester
I found the letter submitted by Mr. Smith of Manchester (the Times, Thursday, May 9) not only misinformed but offensive. Early on, Mr. Smith seems to tip his hand as an acolyte of the Conservation Law Foundation, quoting from the balderdash that this ersatz environmental group continually puts forth. continued
Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance Weekly Update MAY 19, 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
Congressional delegation battles to save Apalachicola Bay
News Service of Florida – This week, the U.S. Senate was the scene of the latest skirmish in a tri-state water dispute between Florida, Georgia and Alabama dating back to 1990. The Senate voted 83-14 to pass the 2013 Water Resources Development Act, after deleting a provision backed by Florida Sens. Bill Nelson and Marco Rubio that would have required Georgia to use less water from federal reservoirs for metro Atlanta’s drinking supply and release more to the other two states. Now the fight shifts to the U.S. House, as the seafood industry in Franklin County struggles to regroup after years of drought. continued
In case you missed it, Farmed Salmon Escaped and are on the run in Newfoundland!
Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada officials confirmed this week that farmed salmon escaped from an aquaculture site in the Fortune Bay area, and have turned up in the Garnish River. We told them it was going to happen, 
they told us that we shouldn’t fear about it, but there is no signs to say that we shouldn’t fear,” Hutchens said. “In fact, what we do know is everywhere there’s been a finfish farm agricultural site, wild Atlantic salmon populations have drastically declined,” continued
Penning some revisionist history about Kenai King Salmon
Let us all hope that the scholarship of Emilie Springer, in her doctoral studies of the culture and policy of state fisheries, is better than her research into the history of Kenai River salmon, because the woman posing behind the imprimatur of the National Science Foundation has a seriously flawed perspective on how that river came to be one of the most carefully monitored streams in the state. continued
