Monthly Archives: September 2013
Thanks for all the fish – Part III – ‘There’s fish in them thar waters!’
Today, we take it for granted that Seattle is homeport to a large Alaska fishing fleet and a related multi-billion dollar fish and maritime industry. TV shows like the Discovery Channel’s “Deadliest Catch” have made people more aware of what goes on in the Northern Pacific and the lucrative dangers of the Bering Sea fishery. But that industry wouldn’t have happened for us Americans if it weren’t for the purchase of Alaska from Russia in 1867 — and that transaction might not have occurred without a nudge from Washington’s own pioneers. It is little remembered today, but Seward’s Folly, as the Alaska annexation was called, happened when it did in part because of a prod from the legislature in Olympia. Yes, sometimes they get it right. more@crosscut 14:47
No-fishing zones can’t be justified, hurt coastal economy
Recreational and commercial fishermen and coastal business should be very concerned about an effort by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council to create more no-fishing zones off North and South Carolina, Georgia and east Florida in a misguided reaction to radical environmental groups that are pushing for extraordinary and unjustifiable protections for two deep-water grouper species. more@islandpacket 13:47
Fishermen host meeting about changes at Stellwagen Bank
Marshfield —Local fishermen are concerned about a Stellwagen Bank proposal that would eliminate a key fishing area from the region’s industry. According to the Stellwagen Bank Charter Boat Association (SBCBA), a proposed Sanctuary Environmental Research Area (SERA) would shut down all bottom fishing on 55 nautical square miles of Stellwagen Bank. more@marshfieldmariner 13:41
Gulf fishermen get 14-day fall red snapper season despite uncertainty surrounding the fishery
Federal scientist still don’t know for certain how many pounds of red snapper recreational fishermen caught this year, but the Gulf of Mexico’s chief fisheries manager announced Tuesday afternoon that he is authorizing a 14-day fall season opening at 12:01 a.m. Oct. 1. “We wanted to go ahead and announce the season so fishermen can begin planning trips,” Crabtree said Tuesday afternoon. [email protected] 13:33
Tiny number of Asian carp could be big problem for the Great Lakes
“This species will have a huge impact on the food web,” says Professor Cuddington. “Not only is it a fast-growing fish physically, but the population itself grows very quickly. A female can lay well over a million eggs a year, and with no known predators present in the Great Lakes, the Asian carp could dominate the waters and impact fisheries.” [email protected] 10:48
Scientists say radiation levels low to non-existent in BC-caught fish
As the Fukushima nuclear power plant continues to leak radioactive material, what does that mean for fish caught in the Pacific Ocean off the BC coast? Environment Canada says there’s nothing to worry about right now. more@news1130 10:41
Webinar: The Gulf of Mexico “Dead Zone”: Linking hypoxia to fish and fisheries 10:30 – 11:30 am EDT on Wednesday 25-September 2013
INFO: Dr. Kevin Craig is a Research Fishery Biologist at the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service in Beaufort NC. He studies how natural and anthropogenic processes influence the population and community dynamics of harvested species in coastal ecosystems. He is currently investigating linkages between coastal watersheds and habitat quality of estuarine and nearshore shelf ecosystems, in particular the effects of nutrient enrichment and hypoxia on juvenile fishes and invertebrates. Info @ public notices
Proposal to Protect Antarctic Waters Is Scaled Back – The Russians care diddly about Pew and your playmates, Andrea!
A proposal by the United States and New Zealand to create a huge ocean reserve in Antarctic waters has been sharply reduced in scale after opposition from Russia and other nations with large fishing industries. Environmentalists warned that the ambitious project was being badly undermined. (Environmental) Nongovernmental organizations have accused Washington and Wellington of caving in without a fight. more@NYT 08:21
Gloucester Daily Times Letter: Fishery time lines a recipe for failure – Captain Paul Cohan, F/V Sasquatch, Gloucester Ma.
The Magnuson Stevens Act, as it’s currently written and interpreted by NOAA, is a lot like watching a puppy dog trying to catch his docked tail. Although amusing to watch, the impossibility of the task makes it somewhat sad and ultimately pointless. Now, if the dog’s tail had not been lopped off and was still as nature intended, the poor pup could eventually catch it. Similarly, If Magnusson had sufficient flexibility in rebuilding time-frames, and the language that requires that all stocks be concurrently rebuilt to historic highs eliminated, we might stand a chance of catching our own tails, which we’ve been fruitlessly chasing around the ocean for 37 years. more@GDT 00:55
Gloucester Daily Times Editorial: Science report shows need for Magnuson changes
Last week’s report from the National Research Council — a wing of the U.S. National Academy of Sciences — is being spun by NOAA officials and the giant green nonprofits as showing that the agency’s steps toward rebuilding many fish stocks have proven successful. And the report indeed finds that 43 percent of the stocks initially categorized as being “overfished” are in full or partial recovery — thanks, of course, to the fact that Gloucester’s, New England’s and America’s fishermen have, for years now, abided by federal rules. more@GDT 00:41
Foreign vessels are catching lots of cod in NAFO areas next to us – Not everyone is happy!
The Fisheries Broadcast with Jamie Baker – Monday September 9, 2013 – listen 20:26
Unalaska Fisheries Committee Rejects Limits on Pacific Cod
Unalaska doesn’t want to close the door on new Pacific cod fisheries. The town’s Fish and Game Advisory Committee met Saturday. They voted 5-2 to reject a proposed moratorium on new Pacific cod fisheries in state waters until the state comes up with a new long-term management plan for the resource. more@kubc 20:17
Oversight Hearing on “Reauthorization: Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act” Wednesday, September 11, 2013 10:00 AM
PANEL I – Mr. Samuel Rauch National Marine Fisheries Service – Dr. Patrick J. Sullivan – Mr. Richard B. Robins PANEL II – Dr. Ray Hilborn – Mr. Rod Moore – Mr. Vito Giacalone – Mr. Jeff Deem – Dr. John Bruno – Mr. Chris Dorsett [email protected] 16:22
PEI Fishermen’s Association taking major steps at self promotion campaign called “Taste Wild PEI Lobster Campaign.”
As they await the work of a region-wide panel studying low prices in the lobster industry, the PEI Fishermen’s Association is mounting an aggressive campaign to sell the merits of Island lobster to consumers both at home and around the world. more@sou’wester 14:01
Tropical storm Gabrielle heading to N.S., N.L. – Heavy rain, wind forecasted to hit Friday and Saturday
A tropical storm that has reformed near Bermuda is on track to hit Nova Scotia and Newfoundland and Labrador Friday. Tropical storm Gabrielle reformed Monday night. It’s expected to hit Bermuda Tuesday before heading north towards the provinces. more@cbcnews 13:37
Nova Scotia Fish Packers Association says the pre – election loan to Blue Wave Seafoods is questionable
The NDP is being criticized for a $500,000 loan made in a key riding on August 29 – several days before the election was called. Blue Wave Seafoods is getting the money to restructure its plant in Port Mouton. The plant is in a new riding – one that the NDP’s last fisheries minister hopes to represent. more@cbcnews 13:23
“Fatigue continues to be a major problem in the commercial fishing fleet,” Capt. Bruce Jones, Commander Sector Columbia River
GRAYS HARBOR, Wash. — The U.S. Coast Guard, working closely with the Washington Department of Ecology, safely coordinated the refloating of the 44-foot fishing vessel Adrianna, which went aground approximately one-half mile south of the entrance to Grays Harbor, Wash., Friday morning. It was reported by the vessel master that a “crew member fell asleep at the wheel.” more@dailyastorian 11:29
Scientist study the potential of marine material typically tossed overboard by the Scallop Fishery
When you think about sea scallops you likely picture them either pan-seared or fried. But researchers at the University of Rhode Island may be changing the way we think about scallops, with new discoveries about their beneficial uses in medicines or as a tasty new ingredient in fish food. more@ecori 10:39
A new effort is being made in the James River to help save an endangered and prehistoric fish.
The stones are expected to create a 70-foot by 300-foot by 2-foot high rocky river bed, an ideal spawning location for the Atlantic sturgeon . The species spends most of their adult lives in the ocean but return to their home river to spawn in both the fall and spring. Their long life span makes them slow to reproduce. more@progressindex 10:26
High Standards: It’s not JUST 8 weeks
The Coast Guard is the most selective armed force in the nation, and of those selected to serve in the nation’s premiere maritime service, Coast Guard recruits are among the most qualified personnel of any of the military services. Coast Guard recruits have the highest ASVAB scores and the most education of any of our sister services. – more@dodlive 09:58
I wonder how much of this goes on? Maryland Natural Resources Police Seizes More Than 200 Undersized Bass
A Silver Spring man is scheduled to appear in Annapolis District Court on November 15 on charges he and three companions caught more than 200 undersized striped bass. [email protected] 09:47
Mississippi DMR fisheries director will retire
Dale Diaz, 51, has been director of the Office of Marine Fisheries, which has 47 employees, since February 2007. He has worked for DMR more than 26 years, starting as a marine patrol officer. He advanced to lieutenant in the patrol before he moved Marine Fisheries as a biologist in the shellfish bureau. more@sunherald 07:47
Self-employed fishing boat captain accused in international drug conspiracy
“The evidence appears to show that the Defendant (Robert Evon) was involved in a conspiracy involving importation of approximately seventy-seven (77) kilograms of cocaine through several states including California, New Jersey and Vermont, and Canada. The Government indicates that Defendant has ties to an international drug smuggling operation,” Dancks wrote in the order she issued Monday afternoon. more@portlandpress 07:20
Are there ecological merits to trawling the seabed?
Trawling the seabed for fish is an environmental disaster; it wrecks ecosystems, destroys fish stocks and leaves behind a marine desert. Right? Environment campaigners say so. But there is growing evidence that the effect is sometimes very different, with trawling increasing fish stocks from the North Sea to the California coast. A new modelling study may for the first time have demonstrated why. more@newscientist 06:44
Letter: Report shows flaws in NOAA, Pew stands by Carmine Gorga, Gloucester, Ma
I have heard it so many times, that I call it the Pew Mantra. What is the evidence that organization’s environmentalists offer to prove that family fishing vessels engage in overfishing? What are the “facts” on which they build their case? Well, this is what they tell us: At each passing, bottom trawlers scrape the floor of the ocean and, just like clear-cutting forests, make a desert out of it. Sounds so convincing doesn’t it? more@GDT 04:23
National Research Council’s Fisheries report boosts both sides
“As we continue to digest the report, we are very pleased to see a variety of third-party findings that mirror what our organization and our fishermen have been saying for a number of years,” Northeast Seafood Coalition executive director Jackie Odell said in a statement. Most specifically, according to Odell, the report trumpeted the coalition’s and fishermen’s long-held position that there is a greater need for management flexibility in the Northeast groundfish fishery to account for shifting environmental and ecological conditions, as well as “the inherent limitations of science and a mismatch between policymakers’ expectations for scientific precision and the complex dynamics of the ecosystem.” more@GDT 04:14
Lobster boat a total loss after fire off of Damon’s Point
MARSHFIELD Ma – A lobster boat fully engulfed in flames broke from its mooring on the North River late Sunday night, requiring a strategic attack by Marshfield and Scituate firefighters and harbormaster’s office that took more than six hours. more@marshfieldmariner 18:55
Regulator hopes Gulf mapping tool can defuse tension between drillers, fishermen
HOUSTON — The federal government is racing to roll out a new mapping tool that it hopes will lead to a truce between offshore drillers and fishing interests over the spike in rig decommissioning and tear-downs. more@eepublishing 18:23
Long Island Sound Lobster Season Closes For The First Time
Local lobsterman Michael Theiler said he’s dubious that closing the season will have the desired effect of rebuilding the lobster population but he thinks the local lobster industry can survive the fall closure. more@lymespatch 18:16
Begich calls farmed fish ‘corncob couch potatoes’ to ‘Hollywood health guru’
“It’s a disservice to point your clients and your fans toward farm fish, the corncob couch potatoes of the ocean, instead of encouraging them to eat fresh, healthy wild fish like Alaska salmon,” wrote Begich in his September 5, 2013 letter. “Alaska salmon is abundant, natural and sustainable. Our industry employs over 70,000 fishermen and processing workers and provides more than half the seafood produced in the U.S.” more@alaskafishradio 18:03
