Daily Archives: September 5, 2013
Coast Guard crew seizes lancha, 297 illegally caught fish, and detained Los Cuatro Ladrones de Pescado
20:37:41CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Crewmembers of the Coast Guard
Cutter Brant seized a lancha and detained Mexican nationals caught illegally fishing in U.S. waters, Wednesday, in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. more@uscgnews 20:37
Here they are in studio, doing their latest, “We Give Them Coasties a Hellufa Run!”
Fisheries Ministers Commit to Working Together to Protect Fisheries and Develop Canadian Fishing and Aquaculture Industry
“Today was a day of collaboration between federal, provincial and territorial partners,” said the Honourable Gail Shea, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Canada. “We want to see our fisheries and aquaculture industries grow and we remain committed to working together to protect our fisheries’ productivity and develop the fishing and aquaculture industries to ensure its sustainable future in Canadian waters.” more@marketwired 19:50
British Columbia: American skipper arrested Monday on suspicion of impaired operation of a vessel after his fishing boat ran aground near Kelsey Bay
The 58-foot American F/V Arline was heading south when it ran aground and the two remaining crew members apparently tried to abandon ship. Conditions may have been foggy at the time. The two remaining crew were safely evacuated and the captain was escorted to Campbell River while Coast Guard towed his boat. Awaiting the captain at the docks in Campbell River were Mounties, Canadian Border Services, Transport Canada, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Police arrested the captain on suspicion of impaired operation of a motor vessel and dangerous operation of a motor vessel. more@campbellrivermirror 18:00
Economic Performance of U.S. Catch Share Programs
This report provides basic information on the economic performance of U.S. catch share programs using a standard set of indicators that are uniformly applied across these highly diverse programs. The EDF swill [email protected] NMFS report 17:34
Alaska: As Stream Levels Drop, Salmon Die Before Spawning
Some rainfall over the weekend may have eased a looming crisis for pink salmon stocks in Southeast Alaska. The summer’s fine weather and record salmon runs have both made headlines – but they’re a recipe for trouble without enough water in rivers and streams for fish to spawn. [email protected] 17:07
National Research Council Report – Catch limits boost depleted fish stocks
WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal efforts to rebuild depleted fish populations have largely been successful, but pressure to overfish some species remains high, and some fish stocks have not rebounded as quickly as projected, according to a new report by a scientific panel. more@knoxnews 16:09
Heres a handy interactive doodadd to play with – Rebuilding Depleted Fish Stocks –
Rebuilding Depleted Fish Stocks To be considered sustainable, a population of fish must produce enough young to replace the fish that are lost each year due to natural causes and to fishing. However, when the rate of fishing exceeds the stock’s capacity to regenerate, the stock can become overfished. Rebuilding strategies help reduce fishing pressure on stocks and are designed to allow the stocks to grow and recover. This chart plots the trajectory, from 1980 to 2010, of 55 stocks that were declared overfished since 1997. more here 15:04
FAQ: Radiation from Fukushima – and Answers from Ken Buesseler, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Since mid-2011, I have worked with Japanese colleagues and scientists around the world to understand the scope and impact of events that continue to unfold today. In June 2011, I organized the first comprehensive, international expedition to study the spread of radionuclides from Fukushima into the Pacific, and I or members of my lab have participated in several other cruises and analyzed dozens of samples of water, sediment, and biota. In addition, I began my career in oceanography by studying the spread of radionuclides from Chernobyl in the Black Sea. These are a few of the most common questions that people have been asking me lately. more from Ken Buesseler 14:48
Headless Walrus wash ashore in Northwest Alaska; foul play not suspected
Over a dozen headless walrus carcasses washed ashore along dozens of miles of coastline in northwest Alaska last week. While the number of walruses is a bit surprising, the fact that they are lying out there — and without their heads — is not. more@alaskadispatch 14:35
New marketing efforts in Maine could benefit everyone in the industry by leading to increased demand, says Fisheries Minister Ron MacKinley.
MacKinley said he thinks what is happening in Maine could lead to higher prices for Island lobster fishermen. “The more lobsters that we can move, the more it should help the price,” he said. Lobster fishermen in the Atlantic region have marketing help through the Lobster Council of Canada, which was established to promote the product as part of efforts to get higher prices. more@theguardian 14:24
Discovery Channel’s ‘Lobstermen’ Star Captain Tim Handrigan Delivers Live, Fresh Lobsters to Doorsteps Nationwide
For over 30 years, Legendary New England Lobsterman Tim Handrigan of Discovery Channel’s “Lobstermen” series has been catching Live Maine Lobsters in the deep icy waters of the North Atlantic, and for the past 12 years he has been shipping fresh caught live lobsters right to customers’ doors, via LobsterGuy.com. more@marketwatch lobsterguy.com website 14:00
“They’ll eat anything.” Newfoundland – The green crab invasion
Port Saunders fisherman Eugene Caines has been monitoring the green crab invasion for the last few years. The European species was first detected in Newfoundland back in 2007, and has had a tremendous effect on the Placentia Bay ecosystem. Because of the crab’s invasive and aggressive nature, Caines feared they would move into Northern Peninsula waters. Now his concerns are a reality and he’s got the proof in a five-gallon bucket. more@thetelegram 12:09
Buckley Diversion Dam: Army Corps foot-dragging damming pink salmon to a cruel fate
To date, the Corps of Engineers has shamelessly dragged its feet despite the fact that NOAA’s Fisheries Service called in 2007 for Buckley Dam to be modernized to ensure that the dam — and the Corps — are in compliance with the Endangered Species Act. more@thenewstribune 11:45
Gloucester: Submitted to City Council today, prior to their attempting to quickly remove two more vital properties from the Designated Port Area
From the letter: State and City government, coordinated with media, developers and bureaucrats are being used to systematically destroy the fishing industry, working waterfront, ecosystems and community of Gloucester, Massachusetts, in support of corporate privatization and sale of our Ocean. Read the Letter
Gulf of Mexico menhaden purse seine fishery is close to perfect
Some biologists, though, have called the Gulf of Mexico menhaden fishery a near-perfect fishery. Factors of such a perfect commercial fishery would include: • Low bycatch.• A stable number of fishermen, without the big swings in numbers that often occur in commercial fisheries.• The fishery would not be in competition with recreational fishermen for the fish.• The number of fishermen in the fishery would be small enough to monitor their catch accurately.• All parts of the fish would be used, with no backbones, skin, shells or other waste to discard.• The fishery would be consistently profitable. more@louisianasportsman 09:41
Former Alaska Board of Fisheries Chairman Dan Coffey cited for violating fishing regulations
A state trooper on a boat patrol in the Peril Strait area, north of Sitka, found that crab traps belonging to Coffey had been baited with sport-caught king salmon, according to a written statement from the troopers. Under state fishing regulations, only salmon scraps can be used as bait, and “Coffey was using other than the head, tail, fins, closely trimmed skeleton, or viscera,” according to the troopers’ account. more@adn 09:05
Imported Iceland fresh cod fillet sales to US soar nearly tripling purchases to 936t, up from 355t a year ago
Overall fresh fillet exports from Iceland nearly doubled over first six months of the year, driven by huge increase in sales to the UK and US. The UK more than doubled its imports of Icelandic fresh fillets from January to the end of June 2013, importing 1,107 metric tons of finished products, compared to 490t at the same time last year, show figures from a Seafood Intelligence Report on Icelandic cod by the Icelandic consultancy, Marko Partners. more@undercurrent 08:54
Connecticut: Crustaceous canary? Prevailing lack of confidence that this sacrifice will do much of anything
The state’s lobstermen seem to be stoically and inexorably accepting the first-ever ban on lobster gathering in Long Island Sound. What is most distressing, however, is the prevailing lack of confidence that this sacrifice will do much of anything to restore the struggling fishery.,, A third theory is that lobsters are suffering because other species are flourishing. Striped bass, scup and other predatory fish like to make a meal of young lobsters. more@theday 07:43
The World’s Biggest Fishers Agree To Catch Less Tuna – Greenpeace immediately denounced the reduction
Asia-Pacific fishing nations and territories agreed on Thursday to cut catches of young bluefin tuna by 15 percent, with an agreement environmentalists said would not stop overfishing. Nine economies, including the United States, China, South Korea and Taiwan, concluded a four-day meeting of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) in Fukuoka, western Japan. more@businessleader 07:24
Bottom trawling may be good for fish, study suggests
“What we found is that the indirect effects or side-effects of trawling — namely, the sort of selective removal of certain types of bottom life — sort of makes the system more productive in terms of food for the fish that fishermen target,” said Tobias Van Kooten, one of three authors of the report, along with Daniel van Denderen and Adriaan Rijnsdorp. more@cbcnews 06:54
Read To fish or not to fish – By Colin Ricketts
An oceanographer at the University of Rhode Island has been appointed to a White House ocean science advisory post.
The university said Wednesday that S. Bradley Moran will serve as assistant director for ocean sciences in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy. He will work to implement federal ocean science policy. He will also serve as co-chairman of the National Science and Technology Council’s ocean science and technology subcommittee. more@bostonglobe 06:41
Gloucester Fishermen’s sea time spent on the docks – NOAA slashed groundfish quotas based on scientific data suspect to be purposefully inaccurate
“I haven’t been out (fishing) in a month,” Cottone said. “I’m like everyone else. Everyone is devastated.” It is a common lament throughout the harbor, as the city’s commercial fishing fleet struggles through one of the worst years in its long and vivid history, a year in which NOAA slashed groundfish quotas based on scientific data that fisherman not only question, but suspect to be purposefully inaccurate. more@GDT 00:54
