Monthly Archives: September 2013

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

More information is available here. Visit the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council website. 12:40

Statoil touts large oil discovery off Newfoundland, set for more drilling

863a4ac9dc_64635696_o2Norwegian 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?

blue crabPORTLAND, 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

CBC_News_logoCooke 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

nefmc logoThe 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.com/. (personally, I think motel 6 would be a little cheaper) Information about the meeting can be seen here  Register for the webinar here  08:00

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.

Our View: A bad day of fishing …Our congressional delegation continues to push for loans to help the struggling groundfishermen and for grants to help those for whom loans will be too little too late. But the best hope for the struggling sector may be found in this: “People are going to have to change.” That’s what John Bullard,,, more@southcoasttodaysct logo 02:23

Gloucester Daily Times Editorial: Fishing disaster’s unseen casualties – Are our lawmakers truly listening?

gdt iconEverett 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

Just wow, man. Walton Family Foundation and Darden Restaurants Announce New Fishery Improvement Partnership Fund at Clinton Global Initiative Meeting

by the Walton Family Foundation A new Fishery Improvement PartnershipFund that will help address overfishing – one of the largest threats to the global seafood supply – will leverage philanthropic, industry and government resources (?)  to help develop and advance Fishery Improvement Projects (FIPs) worldwide. The Walton Family Foundation (WFF), in collaboration with Darden Restaurants, plans to create the new fund as an investment model.  The fund, announced at the Clinton Global Initiative (CGI) annual meeting, is being developed as an official CGI Commitment to Action.  more here   more photos! 21:26

U.S. Coast Guard exercises option to acquire six more fast response cutters

sentinelexterior900WASHINGTON ­– The Coast Guard received approval here this week to move forward on the production and eventual deployment of up to 30 fast response cutters after the cutter class completed the initial operational test and evaluation phase this past month. more@uscgnews  More about the Sentinel Class Cutter here  18:46

This is Fish Radio. I’m Stephanie Mangini. No Effort, Bad Prices, and Low Fish Counts… Fall Cod is a Snooze

FISH-With-Mic-Logo-GRAPHIC-303-x-400-e1360148757522The fall Pacific cod B season  hasn’t made many waves since opening  on September 1st. The 9.6 million pound Central Gulf  harvest has hardly taken a hit. Only a few boats have shown effort in the pot cod fishery, compared to 2012 when around 35 vessels were actively fishing the 12 million pound quota. more@fishradio 17:58

Environmental Threat Turned Sustainable Business for the Gulf of California

Considered a threat to the biodiversity of marine ecosystems of the Gulf of California, the cannonball jellyfish Stomolophus meleagris is intended to be exploited commercially throughout the Mexican Pacific coast where it occurs, thanks to fishing potential discovered by producers of Sonora and researchers at the Biological Research Center of the Northeast (CIBNOR). more@sciencedaily 17:23

Closure Notice: Aggregated Large Coastal Shark, Hammerhead Shark, Blacknose Shark, and Non-Blackn​ose Small Coastal Shark Management Groups in the Atlantic Region

nmfs_logoThe National Marine Fisheries Service is closing the commercial aggregated large coastal shark, hammerhead shark, blacknose shark, and non-blacknose small coastal shark management groups in the Atlantic region as of 11:30pm local time September 30, 2013.  This inseason action filed in the Federal Register on September 25, 2013, will publish on September 30, 2013, and will become EFFECTIVE on MONDAY, September 30, 2013.  For more information, please see the attached notice or go to the HMS Division website here  17:09

This is Fish Radio. I’m Laine Welch – Gov. Parnell talks Chuitna/Pebble Mines, water rights, radiation testing

FISH-With-Mic-Logo-GRAPHIC-303-x-400-e1360148757522Governor Parnell took questions from Alaskans yesterday on APRN’s Talk of Alaska. Of fishing interest:   A set netter asked about his stance on the proposed Chuitna coal mine in Cook Inlet that would remove 11 miles of salmon streams  more@fishradio 16:57

If you’re looking for fresh fish, your best bet is to buy directly from the people who catch them.

On their 44-foot salmon boat, the Cash Flo II, Mike and Yvette Hudson are at sea year-round, catching salmon, albacore tuna, and California halibut by hook and line — no destructive trawling nets, which drag along the ocean floor. The fish are gutted and chilled down to 32 degrees within an hour of being caught, which means the company’s albacore tuna is sashimi-grade. In winter, Hudson offers Dungeness crab. more@eastbayexpress  16:05

Another Center for Biological Diversity lawsuit against NMFS? – Maybe they should be charged total cost if they lose

SAN FRANCISCO The Center for Biological Diversity  today filed notice of intent to sue the National Marine Fisheries Service for  the agency’s failure to act on a petition to protect the orange clownfish —  featured in the movie Finding Nemo —  and seven species of damselfish under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. These  reef fish face severe threats from climate change, ocean acidification and the  marine aquarium trade. more@treefrogland  15:25

Ready for this? Striper caught in Britain! A FISH native to North America has shocked British anglers

The striped bass- a relative of the European bass- was caught by fisherman Martin White at Dover, Kent. The 2lbs 7oz sea fish is the first of its kind ever to be hooked in Britain. The striped bass is usually a bit of a homebody, and rarely strays more than five miles from America’s east coast- so experts are baffled at its capture. Dr Gary Nelson from Massachusetts State Fisheries said: “It’s unheard of for a striped bass to travel all the way across the Atlantic. [email protected]  14:00

National Fisheries Institute: NOAA should lead US sustainable seafood debate

NFI’s Connelly said that he and NFI members are confused as to the singular focus of seafood sustainability. “NOAA’s fisheries management is generally excellent, that’s been a common theme throughout this morning,” he said. “Yet few in government or the public know this. more@seafoodsource 11:57

Plant owners taking fisherman John Dean to court over spilled crab – Video

A fisherman is being taken to court by the owners of a fish plant in Hickman’s Harbour where thousands of pounds of crab were dumped into the water by protesting fishers back in April. more@cbcnews  11:42

WWF, MSC owe explanation, apology to Alaska fishermen – Senator Mark Begich

kevinhearnAs chairman of the U.S. Senate’s Subcommittee on Oceans and Fisheries, I have the chance to brag about Alaska’s fisheries. That’s why I was offended by the recent “We don’t farm like this” video produced by World Wide Fund for Nature Canada (WWF) in support of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). The short animated video grossly misrepresents the harvesting methods of longline, purse seine, and trawl fisheries and smears them as unsustainable. more@juneauempire 11:19

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