Daily Archives: September 20, 2013

Ayotte: ‘NOAA Is Not Balancing Its Own’ Fishing Standards – Presses for answers at Dr.Kathryn Sullivan Confirmation Hearing – Video

At a Commerce Committee hearing Thursday focusing on the nomination of Dr. Kathryn Sullivan to serve as the next NOAA administrator, Ayotte noted that NOAA guidelines stipulate that the agency must take into account the impact of federal catch share limits on fishing communities when it sets quotas – and she emphasized that NOAA needs to do a better job of adhering to its own standard. more@northhamptonpatch 23:03

Center for Biological Diversity criticize Coral protection plan delay – deal with it!

The National Marine Fisheries Service announced Friday a final decision on whether to protect 66 corals as endangered species would be delayed until June 7. That will allow scientists to consider a substantial amount of new information that arrived in response to the original proposal. Miyoko Sakashita, oceans director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “These corals desperately need the safety net that only the Endangered Species Act can provide.”  Prove it! more@sunsentinal 20:13

Crossing the Bar: Philip E. Houle, fisherman, New Bedford

Philip E. Houle of New Bedford, a fisherman, died Monday at St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford. He was 53. Born in New Bedford, Mr. Houle resided in Acushnet most of his life. more@bostonherald 19:31

Somethin’ ain’t adding up here – NSEDC fisheries dispute with long-time critic gets nasty

23523_354387901211_7651997_aA Sept. 30 Superior Court hearing in Nome could determine whether a protective order commonly sought to protect potential sexual assault victims was improperly employed to prevent an outspoken critic from speaking directly to the board of the Norton Sound Economic Development Corp. The order sought against Tim Smith, president of the Nome Fishermen’s Association, was requested by Kyan Olanna, the staff attorney for NSEDC. more@alaskajournal 16:48

2012 07 31 NSEDC fisheries development committee meeting – Published on Aug 13, 2012 On July 31, 2012 at the request of Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation, Tim Smith was ordered to leave a public meeting for openly recording the meeting. The policeman alleged that recording violated Alaska’s Eavesdropping law. NSEDC president and CEO Janis Ivanoff subsequently published a letter in the August 9, 2012 Nome Nugget newspaper accusing Mr. Smith of a variety of misdeeds leading to his expulsion. As you can see from this video clip, none of what Janis alleged actually happened and Alaska has no law prohibiting a person attending a public meeting from recording. you tube video

NOAA awarded 16 grants totaling nearly $2.4 million as part of its Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program.

The newly-awarded projects address a variety of species, including river herring, butterfish, summer flounder, halibut, coastal sharks, black sea bass, Atlantic sturgeon, monkfish, sea turtles, sablefish, West Coast groundfish, Pacific rockfish, baleen whales, Eulachon, and ocean shrimp. A list of grant recipients by region is listed below. For more details on each project, explore the project abstracts. [email protected] 14:08

EDF say’s Closed areas can decrease uncertainty in effects of climate change on New England Fisheries!

As fishermen around New England will be the first to point out, this summer, much like last year, has been abnormal. The ocean waters were warmer and cod, haddock, and flounders—the mainstay of our fishing industry for centuries—are increasingly elusive. There’s plenty of blame to go around, including decades of mismanagement and overfishing, inexact science and an overabundance of certain predatory species. more@edf 13:53

The Fisheries Broadcast with Jamie Baker

Protecting sensitive coral zonesSensitive coral zones in the offshore may be off-limits to fishing, but what about oil drilling?  We find out more about corals and sponges and how they may or may not be protected.  And a new study looks at ways to predict fishery declines long before they happen. An update from the Matthew Legacy Committee A pilot project was put in place on the south coast this year, allowing many harvesters to get access to extra cod quota. But with the depressed market conditions and nobody apparently buying cod in 3Ps, some of those harvesters are now left wondering what all the fuss was about. more@thefisherybroadcast

Former Springfield resident Lt. Brian Ward piloted a helicopter as part of a “textbook” response to sinking fishing vessel “Kellan A”

On Friday afternoon, Sept. 6, a garbled mayday call from a commercial fishing vessel roughly 40 miles off Cape Mendocino, Calif., meant Coast Guard Lt. Brian Ward would get a rare chance at a major rescue. more@connctionnews   video 12:31

Straight out of Frelard: Leaner, greener fishing boat engines

Erling Skaar started worrying about the way fishing boats burn dinosaur juice in 1973, when the Arab oil embargo drove prices up and supplies down. This choked off fuel to Dutch Harbor, the base camp and truck stop for Seattle’s Alaska fishing fleet. At the time, Skaar, who’d started out in the Norwegian merchant marine at age 15, was running a new crab boat, the Silver Dolphin, out of Dutch. He started wondering how fishermen might burn less fuel and be less vulnerable to shortages and price hikes. more@crosscut 11:30  http://www.gentechglobal.com/

Bill Nemitz: Lobsters feel pain? Let’s ask expert

Everyone has a routine for cooking lobster. For me and the missus, it goes like this: more@portlandpress  09:06

Cantwell questions NOAA nominee about ocean acidification

U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell on Thursday sought a commitment from the Obama administration’s nominee to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that she would make ocean acidification a significant priority. But the exchange briefly turned, albeit obliquely, to an issue at the heart of the debate about the U.S. response to ocean acidification: funding. more@seattletimes 08:53

Maine shrimping shutdown on horizon this winter – Scientists say the shrimp index is the lowest it’s been since the annual survey began in 1984.

This summer’s shrimp index was at its lowest  point since the annual trawl survey began in 1984, said Maggie Hunter, a  scientist with the Maine Department of Marine Resources who sits on a  three-state technical committee that analyzes the data and recommends  what the rules should be for the upcoming season. Regulators will  use the survey when they meet in November to decide the dates of this  winter’s shrimp-fishing season — or if there will be one at all. more@portlandpress 08:31

Commercial king mackerel season closes noontime Friday

The closure was set based on data gathered by state biologists and the National Marine Fisheries Service. The data shows that the annual quota for king mackerel of 1.07 million pounds for the western zone of the Gulf of Mexico would be met by that time. [email protected] 07:08

Blame Game Excuses – “You know what it’s like down here right now,” Warren on fisheries aid bill – SBA loans Better ‘n Nuthin’!

Elizabeth WarrenWarren also understands why the same fishermen and shore-side businesses might be underwhelmed by the offer, given the advanced state of the industry’s demise against the backdrop of the immutable equation: no fish, no money to pay back loans. Still, she said, any offer of help is better than no offer at all. Warren understands, She recognizes,  “The way I see it,,,,,,,, (yawnmore@GDT 06:42