Daily Archives: September 26, 2013
As someone said Another black eye for real fishermen – Man charged on warrants after raid on boat
Police, acting on a tip, arrested a Maine man on a boat Tuesday on warrants from his home state after a raid on two boats that did not turn up drugs, but signs that crew members had been using heroin. Police first responded to a report of a “brick” of heroin aboard the F/V Orion, which was tied up next to the vessel Capt. Joe at the Jodrey State Fish Pier around 10 p.m. unfortunately, more@GDT 23:58
Cooke Aquaculture’s escaped farmed salmon a major concern, says Opposition critic – Number of escapees estimated to be better than 50,000
Liberal fisheries critic Jim Bennett says a recent incident of Cooke Aquaculture’s farmed salmon escaping from into Hermitage Bay compounds concern over an earlier escape on the Garnish River. Bennett said in a news release, he’s been informed that the number is closer to 50,000 rather than the reported 20,000. more@thetelegram 16:36
Research reveals bottom feeding techniques of tagged humpback whales in Stellwagen Bank Sanctuary
The study further states that the observed feeding behavior also leads to vulnerability to entanglement in bottom set fishing gear, an issue which is a major mortality factor for the species. This finding reaffirms a NOAA Fisheries regulation that mandates the use of sinking line between fishing traps used in the lobster fishery as a way of reducing entanglements. [email protected] 16:21
New policies, and a court ruling, protect whales from ships in SF Bay and along the Pacific coast from the US Navy.
Whales, dolphins, and marine mammals in the San Francisco Bay and along the California coast could be better protected by a federal court ruling on US Navy exercises and new policies being put in place to prevent whales from being struck by ships. US District Court Judge Nandor Vadas issued a ruling late yesterday (Wed/25) finding that the National Marine Fisheries Service failed to protect thousands of whales, dolphins, sea lions, seals, and porpoises from Navy training exercises along the Pacific coast. It requires the agency to reconsider permits and whether they violated the Endangered Species Act. more@sfbg 16:13
The New Bedford Working Waterfront Festival Sept 28 and 29- a unique opportunity to see an underwater simulation of how fishing gear works.
GEARNET will be partnering with The Center for Sustainable Aquatic Resources (CSAR) at the Marine Institute at Memorial University, Newfoundland to display a model flume tank at the Festival. The 750 gallon flume tank circulates water through a complex system of propellers, pumps and pipes to mimic the flowing ocean. Local net designer Tor Bendiksen a member of GEARNET’s Technical Committee and a significant partner in GEARNET, has designed model nets for use in the tank and will be available to talk about trawl fishing and answer related questions. more@carriagetownnews 14:51
Salmon counters at Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River are seeing the biggest chinook run since 1938, but environmentalists still worry.
A record fall run of chinook salmon is heading up the Columbia River — more than any year since the Bonneville Lock and Dam was built in 1938, impeding natural access to the prized fish’s traditional spawning grounds and stirring a controversy that has yet to abate. “Is this something to celebrate? Absolutely. “But this is one population of salmon. There is still more work to do.” more@latimes 14:27
Peoria processing facility suggested as means to battle Asian carp
Perhaps the private sector can succeed where the government has failed. That seemed to be the theme following a summit-type meeting on Asian carp held at the Peoria County Courthouse Wednesday morning. more@thestreet 14:19
NMFS to open 2-week October recreational red snapper season, commercial boat owners will get their new individual fishing quotas
Statoil touts large oil discovery off Newfoundland, set for more drilling
Norwegian energy company Statoil says drilling works off the Canadian coast have uncovered a major oil field that could contain as much as 600 million barrels of recoverable crude. Statoil says the discovery is approximately 500 kilometers (300 miles) northeast of St. John’s, Newfoundland, and is the third large find made in the Flemish Pass region since June. more@wapo 12:09
New England sees rise in warm-water ocean species – When will the Regulators figure this out?
PORTLAND, Maine — Fish commonly found in warm ocean waters to the south have become more common in New England as ocean temperatures rise. Over the past two years, fishermen in southern New England have seen an increase in croaker, cobia and spot, species more commonly found in waters off the mid-Atlantic. Certain types of skates and blue crabs are also becoming more numerous, fishermen say. [email protected] 11:53
Fighting for Boston’s fishing history – “We are a world leader in the preparation of fish,” – Video
But in the heart of Boston’s Innovation District, a place where every week it seems you hear about another multimillion-dollar development plan, Boston’s Fish Pier and associated facilities are still landing a million pounds a month of fresh fish and lobster – 12 million pounds a year – and many fishing leaders are now wondering how much the underutilized pier complex could help save and grow the business locally. more@necn 11:26
Alaska has Pebble Mine, New England has it’s Pebble – offshore wind – Deepwater changes plan
The Providence-based company planning a five-turbine wind farm in waters near Block Island is working to secure an agreement with the state Department of Environmental Management that would allow it to bury the transmission cable under Scarborough State Beach and then connect it to the regional power grid. more@providencejournal 10:01
Seattle Times Editorial: Vigilance required at Alaska’s Bristol Bay
A major partner in the proposed Pebble mine project in Alaska has withdrawn, but do not assume the giant mine is dead or Bristol Bay is safe. OPPONENTS of a massive gold, copper and molybdenum mining operation proposed for the headwaters of Alaska’s salmon-rich Bristol Bay are not letting their guard down. more@seattletimes 09:39
Can Community Supported Fishing help independent fisheries survive?
It’s not easy making a living off the sea, but a community commitment can make all the difference — just like it has for family farmers. [email protected] 09:28
Uncovering a Nova Scotia Fisheries Trail, by Sadie Beaton
Is this province embarrassed about celebrating local small-scale fisheries? The majority of seafood caught in towns and villages in Nova Scotia is exported directly from the wharf into convoluted global supply chains. This has meant Nova Scotia’s fishermen and fish plant workers are insulated from those who love and appreciate good seafood, and miss out on the much-deserved credit for their hard work. This disconnect further erodes pride in our fishing communities as well as respect for their important work stewarding our shared aquatic resources. more@medacoop 09:20
Major salmon escape at a Cooke aquaculture site in Hermitage Bay – The Fisheries Broadcast with Jamie Baker
Cooke Aquaculture says it lost up to 20,000 salmon from a sea cage on the south coast last week. The company said high tide and unusually strong currents caused the upset of a cage in Hermitage Bay on Sept. 18. thefisheriesbroadcast 09:05
Cape Wind at our backs? We can only hope
The Cape Wind saga got a little more interesting — not to mention problematic — this week with the announcement of an alternative mega-deal involving the purchase of far lower cost wind energy by six Massachusetts utilities from wind developers in New Hampshire and Maine. more@bostonherald 08:47
US agency promises to drop references to MSC; Walmart, Sodexo voice support for ASMI – By John Sackton, Seafood News
The US federal agency GSA (General Services Administration) announced it is dropping guidelines for federal purchases of seafood that could have excluded Alaska salmon and other sustainable seafood from national parks and military bases. The GSA and other government procurement agencies also promised to use NOAA’s guidance in their sustainability requirements, and to avoid the use of third party certifications. By John Sackton, Seafood News more@undercurrent 08:36
Day 3 New England Fishery Management Council Meeting – Sign Up To Listen Live via Webinar
The public is invited to attend the September 24 – 26, 2013 New England Fishery Management Council meeting beginning at 8:30 a.m. at the Cape Codder Resort, 1225 Iyannough Road, Hyannis, MA. For further information about the location click http://www.capecodderresort.
I’ll be damned! An editorial about fishing from southcoasttoday! Our View: A bad day of fishing …
We don’t hear much from the newspaper in the highest money port in the nation, another New England port in serious trouble. Shamefully they rarely have any coverage of the issues facing the fishermen and businesses that are dependent on them. They do like those windfarm articles though, and are quite vocal about the “future” of Cape Wind and New Bedford’s anticipated roll in it, which is counter productive to the industry that has enriched New Bedford, the troubled fishing industry.
02:23Gloucester Daily Times Editorial: Fishing disaster’s unseen casualties – Are our lawmakers truly listening?
Everett Sawyer sadly noted that any federal or state aid to fishermen and related businesses might not even reach him, given the layoffs of crew members across the industry. But his plight, and the extended impact on many other residents and businesses across the city cries out for government aid. And that need is now — for aid and/or the lifting of NOAA’s arbitrary limits, not “low-interest loans” for which fishermen are likely not eligible, and which they cannot repay. more@GDT 01:47
