Daily Archives: June 21, 2013
Salmon season picks up in Southwest
Now well past the mid-June mark, Southwest salmon fisheries have begun to ramp up. Still a few weeks out from peak fishing, set and subsistence nets have begun to pull in steady pounds from early-run fish, as have commercial crews in various fisheries along the peninsula and in Bristol Bay. [email protected]
Lawyer accused of misconduct resigns from BP case
A lawyer working for the administrator overseeing a multibillion-dollar settlement from the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf resigned Friday after being accused of misconduct. Lionel H. Sutton III resigned Friday morning, Nick Gagliano, a spokesman for court-appointed administrator Patrick Juneau, told The Associated Press.Sutton has been accused of collecting portions of settlement payments from a New Orleans law firm to which he had once referred claims, a BP PLC official who reviewed a report outlining the allegations told the AP, which broke the story Thursday. continued@baynews9
IAGC Comments on Settlement Filed in Gulf of Mexico Seismic Survey Litigation
We are pleased that the parties to this litigation have come together and proposed a settlement to the Court,” said Chip Gill, President of IAGC. “NRDC and other environmental organizations have speculated that marine seismic surveys harm whales and dolphins, but the science and four decades of experience show that we do not,” continued Gill. As NOAA Fisheries, the agency charged by Congress to administer the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and which is the US authority on the science behind these matters, states in a public filing last year regarding a permit for a seismic survey, “To date, there is no evidence that serious injury, death or stranding by marine mammals can occur from exposure to airgun pulses, even in the case of large airgun arrays.2“continued@narketwired
Pew gears up for Blue Fin Tuna fight with ICCAT over Catch Quota’s with working group meeting in Montreal, June 26 to 28
This week, fisheries managers and scientists from around the world will meet in Canada and shape the fate of the western Atlantic bluefin tuna, signaling whether fishery managers will choose to follow sound science and let this tuna population recover or ignore precaution and return to crippling levels of overfishing. The latter could result in the collapse of the western Atlantic bluefin population. continued@pew
Kenai Kontencious. Kenai keeps 2011 salmon habitat law on the books
KENAI, Alaska — It boiled down to science vs. emotion and personal property rights vs. government encroachment as scores spoke about the future of salmon habitat regulation on the Kenai Peninsula; one man, a Russian immigrant, warned of eventual gulags. Following 315 minutes of commentary made by nearly 100 citizens, the most any sitting assembly member can remember, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly voted 6-3 to keep the current salmon habitat protection law on the books. Largely favored revisions to the law are expected to pass a July 2 vote. [email protected]
Lawyer working on BP settlement claims suspended
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — A lawyer working for the court-appointed administrator reviewing claims arising from BP’s Gulf oil spill has been accused of collecting portions of settlement payments from a New Orleans law firm to which he had once referred claims, a BP official with direct knowledge of the situation told The Associated [email protected]
Alaska: Impacts pondered for expanding state waters fisheries
JUNEAU — In an era of widespread anti-government sentiment, and Alaska’s particular anti-Washington bent, state and federal fisheries managers are beginning to address a range of issues that will further intertwine their regulatory activities and could risk coastal economic and chinook survival without high levels of cooperation. Early this year, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council began a new approach to “rationalization” of federal trawl fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska that would include establishment of comprehensive salmon, halibut and crab bycatch controls. continued@alaskajournal
Tierney fisheries bid shot down in House
An amendment submitted by Congressman John Tierney to give commercial fishermen access to a U.S. Agriculture emergency disaster loan program had died in the U.S. House, though Tierney hopes it may still find sufficient support throu
gh a House-Senate reconciliation. continued@gloucesterdailytimes
Fisheries Minister Keith Ashfield fights cancer – treatment has begun – has asked to be left out of the next cabinet
Federal Fisheries Minister Keith Ashfield has been diagnosed with Hodgkin’s lymphoma and has asked to be left out of the next cabinet so he can focus on his recovery. Ashfield announced his illness in a letter to constituents on Friday. “Over the past few weeks, I have not been feeling well and, while undergoing tests, doctors discovered that I have a form of cancer called Hodgkin’s lymphoma. continued@cbcnews
San Diego’s commercial fishing industry has some tenants concerned that Driscoll’s Wharf owner Tom Driscoll is trying to drive them out.
A landlord’s attempts to get the decaying Driscoll’s Wharf back into ship shape and revitalize San Diego’s commercial fishing industry has some tenants concerned that he is trying to drive them out. While they may disagree on many things, Tom Driscoll and the fishermen at his wharf in Point Loma agree on one point: The 128-slip marina is badly in need of renovation. continued@utsandiego
The San Clemente Dam – California’s biggest dam removal project in history begins in Carmel Valley
In a project that will be watched by engineers and biologists across the nation, construction crews today will begin a three-year, $84 million project to tear down the hulking landmark — California’s largest dam-removal project ever. The work will open up 25 miles of upstream tributaries and creeks so endangered steelhead trout can return to their historical spawning grounds. continued@thewilletnews
‘Those who are up top are the ones who are winning’
NEW BEDFORD — While not yet feeling the force of new regulations, fishermen in Southern New England are worried about the effects the new regulations will have on their livelihoods this year. For those working the high seas, the new rules are causing problems.“The problem is that for fishermen it’s a black and white issue,” said Dr. Brian Rothschild, former Dean of the UMass School for Marine Science and Technology. “The regulations are grayer than fishermen need them to be.” continued@ojournal
Fishing for answers – Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s fisheries divisions to finalize a $7 million suite of research and enhancement projects.
With salmon returns to the Northern District in such poor condition over the past several years and the resulting economic depression resulting from those weak runs (an estimated $50 million loss to the borough economy in 2012 alone), Fish and Game approached the borough to determine how the funding would be spent. continued@Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman,
The Crab Queen of Dulac, An Outspoken Love for Louisiana’s Seafood Community
She will tell you exactly what is on her mind, often whether you want to hear it or not. Luke is the energetic owner of Lukes Seafood in Dulac, one of the first to gain Authentic Louisiana Wild Seafood certification. She’s known for her outspoken style, constant motion and love for the Louisiana seafood community. Sitting on “Shrimpers Row” halfway between Houma and the Terrebonne Basin, one of the two areas where more than half of Louisiana blue crabs are harvested [email protected]
Measure to allow fishermen in loan program fails
BOSTON (AP) — The U.S. House of Representatives has rejected an amendment to the farm bill that would have made commercial fishermen eligible for the Department of Agriculture’s emergency disaster loan program.continued@elgloboe
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has ordered that approximately 800,000 fish at a Gray Aquaculture site in Goblin Bay be destroyed.
A statement released in the week of June 2 to June 8, by the CFIA read in part: ‘Given the similarity of the strain between the site and the other site where an Infectious Salmon Anemia (ISA) was detected in December 2012, the CFIA has issued an Order to Destroy and is working with the industry in order to start the depopulation process.’ continued@thecoaster
