Daily Archives: September 4, 2013
Green Party Leader Elizabeth May claims leaked documents show Department of Fisheries and Oceans used tax money to assist Northern Gateway Project
The documents — in condensed form — were to be released at 10 a.m. today at a press conference with Oak Bay-Gordon Head Green MLA Andrew Weaver at the Hotel Grand Pacific in Victoria. They are a “smoking gun” and will show that the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is running a so-called Northern Gateway Project for the purpose of researching what diluted bitumen does in an oil spill, essentially subsidizing research Enbridge failed to do to satisfy the province, said May. more@firstperspective 22:58
“Alaska Salmon Now!” – DEMAND THAT WALMART DO THE RIGHT THING – SIGN THE PETITION
The Petition 22:09
“Buy American? Start with Alaska Salmon” Alaska fishermen protest Wal-Mart decision
Nearly 40 Alaska fishermen protested Wednesday outside an Anchorage Wal-Mart store, upset with a decision by the company about how it buys seafood. Holding signs like “Buy American? Start with Alaska Salmon” and “Walmart should be WILD about sustainable ALASKA SALMON,” the protesters received honks from passing motorists in south Anchorage. The protest came a day before Alaska state and seafood industry officials were to meet with executives of Wal-Mart Stores Inc., at the company’s headquarters in Bentonville, Ark. more@newstribune 21:29
U S Coast Guard Goes the Extra Miles
Watchstanders at the Joint Rescue Coordination Center in Honolulu received a call from the vessel agent, Tri Marine Group, requesting assistance in transporting a crewmember to emergency medical services. A 36-year-old Panamanian man aboard the fishing vessel Cape Elizabeth III was reportedly suffering symptoms of appendicitis. At 2:05 p.m., JRCC launched an HC-130 Hercules aircrew from Air Station Barbers Point. After a six-hour flight of approximately 3,065 miles, the Hercules crew landed on Kanton Island where they met the patient. The patient was transferred by a helicopter from the Cape Elizabeth III’s sister ship, Cape Horn to Kanton Island. more@uscgnews 20:53
Demand, Prices Up for Succulent Yukon River Chums
Autumn has set in on Alaska’s Lower Yukon River, where the fall harvest of those oil-rich Yukon chum salmon is in progress, a fishery that feeds the regional economy with seafood sales in markets domestic and European. After a robust harvest of summer chum, enhanced by an innovative dip net fishery, the Yupik Eskimo harvesters who deliver to Kwik’Pak Fisheries, a subsidiary of the Yukon Delta Fisheries Development Association, were waiting out a lull, ready to begin harvesting more fall Yukon River chum salmon for markets awaiting Kwik’Pak’s fillets, gourmet smoked products and more. more@fishermensnews 17:07
UMaine keeps wind project details secret – proposal will shed light on what consumers can expect to pay
A business partnership led by the University of Maine has submitted a highly anticipated proposal for a demonstration offshore wind power project to state utility regulators. The proposal will shed light on what consumers can expect to pay for renewable wind energy generated off the coast of Maine – at least in its developmental stages. But initial assessments will be difficult because UMaine has chosen to keep the entire 100-page document from public view. more@portlandpress 15:10
I missed this one – Maine Voices: Closed areas a boon as fish fight warming
As fishermen around New England are the first to point out, this summer, much like the last, is in many ways abnormal. Ocean waters are warmer than ever. Fish are also less abundant, found in new and unexpected places and behaving in unusual ways. (yeah! like Canada?) more@portlandpress 15:01
P.E.I. lobstermen seek environmental tax stamp
The P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association is aiming to get Island lobster certified by the Marine Stewardship Council. MSC is an international body that evaluates whether fisheries are sustainable, from the water right through processing. The PEIFA says it has signed a contract to begin the final phase of assessment, along with the Seafood Processors Association of P.E.I. and First Nations groups. more@cbcnews
Feds add tough rules for West Coast swordfish boats
Federal regulators are enforcing tough new rules to protect sperm whales, saying the West Coast swordfish fishery will be shut down if even one more of the endangered species is caught. The emergency National Marine Fisheries Service rules will be in place through January 2014. The swordfish fishery has been underway since Aug. 15, though it is unclear if boats have been allowed to operate prior to the rule change. more@sanjosemercurynews 11:42
Remnants of Salizar: 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rules against the Drakes Bay Oyster Co.
The 9th Circuit ruled Tuesday that it lacked jurisdiction to review Interior Secretary Ken Salazar’s discretionary decision not to issue a new operational permit for Drakes Bay. In its ruling, the 9th circuit court ruled 2-1 against the oyster operation. But the fight is not necessarily over. Drakes Bay owner Kevin Lunny said he is absorbing the ruling and pondering his next move. [email protected] the nbcinterview 11:28
Western Pacific: Penalties for Purse Seine Fishing Violations Total More Than $1.5 Million
Decisions were issued the week of August 19, 2013, in two separate enforcement cases from the Pacific Islands involving U.S. purse seine vessels fishing in violation of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention Implementation Act (WCPFCIA)…. F/V American Triumph, F/V Ocean Encounter, F/V Ocean Conquest, F/V Sea Honor, F/V Sea Quest and F/V Pacific Ranger, the owners, operators and fishing masters were charged [email protected] 10:50
Deckboss – PROTEST ALERT: Alaska Fishermen Protest at Anchorage Walmart – 10:00AM (AKDT), Wednesday, September 4, 2013
PROTEST ALERT: Alaska Fishermen Protest at Anchorage Walmart “WALMART SWIMMING AGAINST THE TIDE ON ALASKA SALMON” SAY ALASKAFISHERMEN AT PLANNED PROTEST OF WALMART Demand change of Walmart policy that denies millions of Americans access to sustainable Alaskanseafood more@deckboss 10:26
Thanks for all the fish – Crosscut delves into the vital, sprawling, oft-forgotten heart of Seattle’s economy and character: commercial fishing
Editor’s Note: Seattle’s $5 billion commercial fishing industry has defined and sustained this city from its founding. For the next few weeks, Crosscut will explore the still-potent economic impact of the region’s fisheries, the surprising history behind them and the complex environmental equations that sustain them. What, you didn’t know this city was built on cod? By Eric Scigliano It’s easy to forget the gritty, all-too-real trade of fishing in a city and an era enthralled with digital distraction. more@crosscut 10:05
Wanted: captain for 172-year-old whaleship Charles W. Morgan
The Charles W. Morgan is about to get its first captain in 92 years. Mystic Seaport, which has been restoring the 172-year-old wooden whaleship for the past four years so it can sail to historic ports across New England next summer, is advertising for someone to captain the ship leading up to and during its 38th voyage. more@theday 08:42
Harbor Fish Market: A whopper of a story – Portland Me. monument to fishmongering, a 47-year-old family business, has had a remarkable life.
Nick Alfiero, one of the three brothers who own Portland’s Harbor Fish Market, says that whenever anybody talks about their 47-year-old family business these days, they always throw out the word “iconic.” How does that make him feel? Good, right? “Old,” he said with a wry smile. “Old, to tell you the truth.” more@portlandpress 08:28
Cove-based study eyes ‘juvenile’ bluefin tuna
The project, being coordinated by researchers and scientists at UMass’ Large Pelagics Research Center based in Gloucester’s Hodgkins Cove, will use the latest in electronic pop-up satellite tags to help develop enough data about these teenage tuna to potentially answer questions about migratory patterns, swimming depth, growth rate, breeding and the mixing of tuna from the western and eastern fishing grounds. more@GDT 08:16
Alaska senator Begich ‘wouldn’t be surprised’ if more companies left MSC
“I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that more companies are looking for alternatives to MSC certification,” Begich told Undercurrent News…However, according to Kerry Coughlin, regional director for the Americas for the MSC, there are many buyers that are not happy about the loss of MSC certified Alaska salmon on the market, which will not be available at all until 2014 at the earliest, if then. “They’re frustrated that their suppliers are pulling out of being part of the client group and therefore can’t provide them with MSC certified fish,” Coughlin said. more@undercurrent 08:07
$13.5 million hatchery south of Blackfoot in eastern Idaho to be dedicated Friday will be capable of producing up to 1 million juvenile sockeye annually
If everything goes right, Fish and Game could release the sockeye juveniles or smolts into the Sawtooth Valley by 2015, said Jeff Heindel, hatchery production coordinator for Fish and Game. F&G hopes to ramp up to 1 million smolt by 2017. That could translate into a return of 10,000 adult sockeye as early as 2019, he said. “This gets us on a road to recovery,” Heindel said. more@idahostatesman 07:29
Connecticut lobstermen are preparing for the start Sunday of the Long Island Sound fishery’s first-ever seasonal closure
Theiller, vice president of the Connecticut Lobstermen’s Association, and Stonington lobsterman Michael Grimshaw, president of the Southern New England Fishermen & Lobstermen’s Association, both said they understand that the closure is an attempt to help the Sound’s depleted lobster populations rebuild. They’re just not sure it will make any difference. more@theday 07:11
Illegal lobster landings spur charges
Igor Moochnick, 39, is facing 12 counts of illegally possessing small lobsters, while Pioter Epshtein, 42, is facing 18 counts of the same charge, with each illegal lobster amounting to a single charge. The incident started Monday — Labor Day — when divers on Old Garden Beach alerted a lifeguard of suspicious activity. The lifeguard then alerted police, as well as the shellfish constables and Harbormasters Scott Story and Rosemary Lesch. more@GDT 02:51
NEW BEDFORD: Mayor Jon Mitchell urges fisheries group to base yellowtail quota on reliable science
Mayor Jon Mitchell Tuesday urged the organization responsible for setting catch limits for fish species shared between the United States and Canada to negotiate a Georges Bank yellowtail flounder quota for the 2014 fishing year that does not result in further harm to the fishing industry. Mitchell, in the release, also urged the Transboundary Committee members to “work to ensure that future TRAC assessments are conducted in a manner that renders them sufficiently reliable for giving catch advice.” more@southcoasttoday 02:40
