Monthly Archives: September 2013
Bering Sea crab survey “road map,” Puny pinks, Cod market improves – Laine Welch
This is Fish Radio. I’m Laine Welch – Crab survey results – puny pink salmon – and cod prices tick up. More after this @fishradio 17:13
Mutant Lobster Lovers are Ga Ga for Lola!
Weighing in at 4 pounds, Lola would make for a mighty meal, but after being recently captured off the coast of Hyannis, Mass., her freakish looks earned her a reprieve. Often rare lobsters with blue or orange coloring get saved for display, but David Libby, a marine scientist with the Maine Department of Marine Resources told the Bangor Daily News, Lola is something else altogether. more@usnews 16:51
They’ve got a BIG Lineup for the Commercial Fishermen’s Festival September 14 – 15, 2013 Astoria, Oregon
We still have an exciting line-up of Deadliest Catch stars coming to the Festival include Captain Jonathan and Scott Hillstrand, Captain Rick and Donna Quashnick, Hiram Johnson, Nick McGlashan, Matt Bradley, Captain “Big Dad” Harry Lewis, Robert Perkey and Mike Vanderveldt among others! Info here 14:13
Coast Guard Investigating Montauk Fisherman’s Death
While Donald Alversa’s family make his funeral arrangements, the Coast Guard has launched an investigation into his death. Though the Coast Guard’s rescue mission is closed, Hill said the Coast Guard Sector North Carolina, based in Wilmington, is leading an investigation into the cause of his death. Hill said it is standard protocol following any fisherman’s death at sea. more@easthamptonpatch 11:56
UNH launches marine science and ocean engineering school
This school acknowledges the contributions that faculty here have made to the marine world and provides a better platform to attract students, federal funding and donors and, ultimately, to better serve the region and the world in managing and conserving marine resources.” more@seacoastonline 11:25
Canada: Nature’s Past: Part 5 – Fisheries, Regulation, and Science
Canada’s fisheries have been subjects of controversy and sites of tension for over 200 years. On this episode, we speak with five leading historians of Canadian fisheries, including Dean Bavington, Stephen Bocking, Douglas Harris, Will Knight, and Liza Piper. The length is 73 minutes podcast@canadahistoryca. 11:10
Suppose there was an important fishery that was the basis of a large part of the coastal economy as well as the cultural cement that held coastal communities together. – Towards rationality in fisheries management
Adding their interpretation to this, the people at NOAA/NMFS, with the enthusiastic support of the various and sundry anti-fishing activists who pull way too many of the strings in Washington, have added as an administrative guideline that “the most important limitation on the specification of OY (optimum yield) is that the choice of OY and the conservation and management measures proposed to achieve it must prevent overfishing.” More here
Dominion Virginia wins right to lease ocean tract for wind farm
Interior officials said they have worked with the Defense Department, maritime and fishing interests, and environmental groups to minimize or eliminate conflicts with wind turbines. Later in the development process, they likely will conduct a full environmental impact review to assess other potential problems. more@wapo 09:52
Climate Change Will Upset Vital Ocean Chemical Cycles, Research Shows
New research from the University of East Anglia shows that rising ocean temperatures will upset natural cycles of carbon dioxide, nitrogen and phosphorus. Plankton plays an important role in the ocean’s carbon cycle by removing half of all CO2 from the atmosphere during photosynthesis and storing it deep under the sea — isolated from the atmosphere for centuries. more@sciencedaily 09:34
National Marine Fisheries Service proposal targets near-shore habitats
The proposal notes certain possible threats to the sea turtles — including offshore structures, lights on land and water, oil spills and response, alternative offshore energy development, fishing gear, and dredging — that could require “special management consideration.” The NMFS proposal follows the companion U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service plans tomore@ designate critical habitat along 740 miles of shoreline from North Carolina to Mississippi. more@jdnnews 07:28
Fisheries trust helps local clammers
Eastham fisherman Scott Nolan, 57, mortgaged his home, used all his retirement savings and took out loans to buy the 80-foot New Bedford fish dragger and refit it with the massive apparatus needed to go sea clamming. He had been fishing it since only this spring. more@capecodtimes 05:18
Blue Crab catch dwindles in Indian River Lagoon
Add blue crabs and stone crabs to the list of wildlife plummeting in the Indian River Lagoon region. While crab harvests can vary widely year-to-year, the long-term trend has been a downward spiral. more@floridatoday 19:47
Parted Wire on F/V Jason & Danielle Kills Montauk Fisherman Donald Alversa Saturday Night off the coast of North Carolina
Donald Alversa, a 24-year-old Montauk man, died after a fishing accident aboard a dragger off the coast of North Carolina on Saturday night. He was pronounced dead at the hospital at about 10:30 p.m., his family said. Corinne Alversa said her family is devastated by the loss. He would have been 25 on December 23. more@easthamptonpress 12:07
Billy McIntire: A Maine fisherman’s life lived large ends in a sea of questions – Video
OGUNQUIT – In the life and times of Billy McIntire, it was hardly an unusual sight. Before midnight under a nearly full moon, McIntire — a consummate hard worker with a jovial reputation and a penchant for having a good time — was heading for his boat, three women and a friend in tow. In the days since his death that night, the few witnesses who know firsthand how McIntire was lost have largely remained silent or have all but left town, only fueling rumors and speculation about his final moments. more@portlandpress 11:30
Maine’s youngest lobster fisherman, stepbrother get early start on lobstering career
As the 32-foot Young Guns lobster boat made its way back into Cutler Harbor shortly after noon on Aug. 30, the crew made ready to unload their catch under a blue sky. There was barely a ripple in the harbor. more@bdn 11:05
Sept-Îles oil spill spreads as crews race against clock – Environment Quebec estimates 5 kilometres of coastline coated by slick
A week after a major oil spill in Sept-Îles, Que., crews are still scrambling to clean up kilometres of slick that have spread across the bay. About 450,000 litres of bunker oil — often used to power ships — spilled from a shipping operation owned by Cliffs Natural Resources overnight on Aug. 31. more@cbcnews 10:52
For Florida’s blue crab trappers, it’s been a good year; and that is excellent news for diners
As pre-dawn glowed fiery orange over the Caloosahatchee River, commercial fishermen Joe Williamson and Kevin Killian pulled their first blue crab trap of the day. Inside was a single, medium-size, No. 2 crab, worth $1 a pound — male crabs at least 6.5 inches from point to point across the shell are No. 1s, worth $2 a pound. “That’s not what we’re looking for, is it, Kev-o?” Williamson said. The second trap brought up a couple more No. 2s, but the third trap had eight No. 1s. “That’s a money trap,” Killian said. more@therepublic 10:16
Fishing: A Lifelong Love Flourishes
“Ever since I was a little boy, it was the only thing I wanted to do,” said Manhasset resident Nicholas Marchetti, on the sport that combines his passion and livelihood: fishing. Marchetti’s love affair began more than 15 years ago, when he and his father trawled Manhasset Bay in search of striped bass, bluefish and fluke. Since then, not much else captured his attention. “I wasn’t very into video games.,,,more@manhassetpress 10:03
DAVID G. SELLARS ON THE WATERFRONT: Longtime salt heading away from the water to the farm
While driving along Marine Drive in Port Angeles a couple of weeks ago, I saw that Sea Chest, a 42-foot Grand Banks Classic, was moored to the dock adjacent to the boat house where she is usually berthed. Seeing an opportunity to take a close look at the boat and chat with her owner, Mike Sabin, I walked down to the boat but was unable to roust anyone. more@peninsuladailynews 09:53
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission sinks Connecticut lobster industry
“We have been beaten to death around the clock,” said Frate at his seafood store on Darien’s Post Road last week. Since the die-off that began in September 1999 when lobstermen in the western Sound started pulling dead and dying lobsters up in their traps, Frate says the state’s lobstermen have been subjected to a series of gauge increases — continually increasing the size of legal lobsters — and gate size increases on the traps which have allowed bigger and bigger lobsters to escape capture. more@newstimes 09:37
Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance Weekly Update September 8, 2013
“The Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance is dedicated to its mission of continuing to help create sustainable fisheries without putting licensed fishermen out of business.” Read the Update 9:15
Eel fishery going swimmingly after rocky times
At times, the cramped confines of a 20-foot long and five-foot wide aluminum Dory boat can test the love of this eel fishing couple. But George Dowdle says even when outings from the New London wharf get a bit testy, he and his wife Marlene manage to “leave the office on the water.’’ Getting along with other commercial eel fishermen, however, has been a challenge in the past for Dowdle, a burly, bearded fisherman with a Grizzly Adams-like appearance. more@theguardian 07:03
MacKinley needs own own plan for marketing lobster, not Maine’s: LaVie
Fisheries Minister Ron MacKinley has abandoned Island Lobster fishermen entirely and has no plans of any kind to work with fishermen, says PC Fisheries Critic Colin LaVie. “The Governor of Maine is supporting his fishing industry. Why is Ron MacKinley not doing the same?” asked LaVie. more@dailybusiness 23:13
Can impact investing successfully cross from land to sea? Or better yet – Can Hedge Fund Powered ENGO’s Weasel Your Fishery Away from You?
As impact investors savvy about food and agriculture ventures seek their first ocean deals, here’s what they need to know. “We see tremendous opportunity because of issues and gaps in the marketplace,” said Taryn Goodman, director of impact investing at RSF Social Finance, during an ocean investing panel Wednesday at the Social Capital Markets conference in San Francisco. more@thguardian
Impact investing is one form of socially responsible investing and serves as a guide for various investment strategies.Impact investments are investments made into companies, organizations, and funds with the intention to generate measurable social and environmental impact alongside a financial return. Think EDF. more@wikipedia 13:26
AgriMarine Signs a Term Sheet to Acquire West Coast Fishculture – The British Columbia Speculators
Under the terms and conditions of the Term Sheet, AgriMarine Industries Inc., a subsidiary of AgriMarine Holdings Inc., would acquire all of the outstanding shares of West Coast Fishculture (Lois Lake) Ltd. and West Coast Fishculture Ltd. (jointly referred as “WCFC“) for cash…Forward-looking statements are statements that relate to future, not past, events. In this context, forward-looking statements often address a company’s expected future business and financial performance, and often contain words such as “anticipate”, “believe”, “plan”, “estimate”, “expect”, and “intend”, statements more@marketwired 11:02
Two companies race to be first in offshore wind that will encroach on our fishing areas. The politicians are just giddy about it!
“Cape Wind and Deepwater Wind are both ‘in the running’ for building America’s first offshore wind farm, we think we will be first and they think they will be first. It is a good-natured ‘competition.’ The reality is we both wish each other well because our success will help them and their success will help us,” Cape Wind spokesman Mark Rodgers said. “We are just in the early stages of launching the U.S. offshore wind industry and at this stage getting ‘steel in the water’ is incredibly important. So no, there is no concern at either company that the other’s moving forward would have any negative effect.” more@southcoasttoday 10:46
Not everyone happy about shark tagging off Chatham – “The methods they use appall me,” Skyler Thomas, “Stop OCEARCH” campaign.
We … are already failing to act in a responsible way to conserve sharks,” he said. “We have the data. It has simply been ignored. The best thing we can do for the sharks is get out of their way and leave them alone.”
Shark scientists already know nursery areas and migration patterns, Thomas added. more@wickedlocal 10:17
NOAA: Stay away from marine mammals
Incidents of humans sneaking too close to marine wildlife for that perfect photo or simply for a better look, is nothing new, but it seems people just haven’t learned, despite an increase in close calls. The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration recently distributed a release reminding locals and tourists alike, to back off. more@bristolbaytimes 07:37
Coast Guard responds to F/ V Adrianna aground near Grays Harbor, Wash.
At approximately 3:20 a.m., watchstanders at Sector Columbia River received a report over VHF marine radio channel 16, from the crew of the F/VAdrianna stating that they had run aground on the sandy beach just south of the Grays Harbor South Jetty. It was also reported by the vessel master that a “crewmember fell asleep at the wheel”. more@uscgmewv 03:07
Brown OKs fishing for 240 million to 280 million invasive Lake Tahoe crayfish – Announces Tax Credit Program for Fleet Build UP!
Officials estimate the lake holds 240 million to 280 million invasive crayfish, a freshwater crustacean that resembles a small lobster. They are a major food source for fish, but also excrete nitrogen and phosphorus, which stimulate algae production and reduce the lake’s clarity. (just joking about the expansion.) more@lasvegassun 23:07
