Daily Archives: November 29, 2013

Rescued at sea – Turr hunters attribute CF/V White Star I crew to saving their lives

article_large Rescued at SeaThanks to the efforts of three Randell brothers – Ralph, Kevin and Keith – from Bide Arm, Graham Hancock and Tom Fillier are safely back on shore and able to share a few laughs about their experience on the water. But everyone involved certainly appreciated the seriousness of the situation, last Monday, when Hancock and Fillier failed to return to home after a day of turr hunting. To the rescue Ralph Randell had been keeping an eye out for Hancock’s boat from his window throughout the day. When darkness set in and Hancock’s boat wasn’t at the wharf it started playing on his mind. He was watching the evening news when his wife answered the phone, Hancock and Fillier hadn’t returned home. more@northernpenca  21:57

Possibly due to improving water quality a century later, Lake Michigan whitefish are turning up in Wisconsin rivers

Marinette — The venerable Lake Michigan whitefish — a favorite of ice anglers and commercial fishermen — is turning up on inland waters where it hasn’t been seen in a century. Adult fish populations are leaving Green Bay and have been found in at least four rivers in northeast Wisconsin, possibly due to improving water quality of those rivers, says the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. more@jsonline  20:23

Veteran fisheries biologist John Hilsinger Joins Aleutian King Crab Research Foundation as Science Advisor

Foundation president Rip Carlton, a veteran golden king crab fisherman from Bend, Oregon, said the harvesters want improved research and stock assessments of this fishery, which Carlton said is valued at $20 million to $30 million. Carlton said the foundation, which is self funded, met with members of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game during the recent Fish Expo in Seattle and hopes to work with ADF&G and the National Marine Fisheries Services to find out more about golden king crab in the Aleutians. more@fishermensnews  19:58

Arctic waters increasingly vulnerable to foreign species

When most people think of climate change, they picture polar bears, not zooplankton. Zooplankton are a huge group of water organisms which range from microscopic crustaceans to jellyfish and live in both fresh and salt water. Just about everything in the ocean eats zooplankton, from tiny fish to huge whales. In other words, they’re important to the Arctic food chain. But that food chain is about to change dramatically because of climate change and increased shipping traffic, according to some recent studies. more@nunatsiaqonline  18:00

Big week for AK fish meetings: IPHC/halibut catches, BOF & NPFMC

FISH-With-Mic-Logo-GRAPHIC-303-x-400-e1360148757522This is Fish Radio. I’m Laine Welch.    Halibut catches – Board of Fish and the Council.  It’s a big week for fish meetings. More@fishradio  16:26

Unalaska marine salvage expert Dan Magone, blast needed to free shipwrecked crabber F/V Arctic Hunter

Magone said Monday that removing the boat will start next week at the earliest. The vessel’s fishing career is over, he said. “It’s still shaped like a boat, but it’s just wreckage.” Blasting the rock away is actually a very small part of the job, he said. The biggest task involves pulling the boat from the shore with heavy cables, and then sinking it. Once secured underwater, the vessel will be lifted up and moved elsewhere, he said. more@bristolbaytimes  16:15

Books and papers cited most often by fisheries scientists by Trevor Branch

Books and papers cited most often by fisheries scientists – here Methods – I conducted an exhaustive search of potential references on Web of Science, Google Scholar, and through personal contacts, examining reference lists, looking through colleague’s libraries, etc. Based on discovery rates I estimate this list contains >90% of all highly cited references. Read more from Trevor Branch (scroll to bottom of page)  15:59

Tuna quota unchanged, PEI fishermen disappointed

CBC_News_logoTroy Bruce, who fishes out of Kingsboro, P.E.I., said from the perspective of fishermen on the Island the tuna stocks are very strong. “From what we see in our own area we would definitely feel there should be an increase,” said Bruce. more@cbcnews  15:40

2 men cited for catching undersized fish

Marine patrol officers met with Ronald Lamar Cole, 44, and Stuart Ray Middleton, 36, about 7:45 a.m. Monday. The men were aboard a docked commercial mullet skiff, culling fish from a seine net, according to the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office. Deputies noticed an undersize snook and small tarpon in another net on the boat. more@heraldtribune 15:36

USCB, DNR to study toxic effects of rainfall in coastal SC waters

USCB and DNR have purchased equipment that will be stationed at various spots throughout the waterways for a year. The devices, to be deployed in about a week, will let researchers measure rainfall amounts, water temperature, water salinity and chemicals, Montie said. The study comes in the wake of a massive die-off of the county’s oyster population in recent weeks. Environmental officials and fishermen have said that as much as 75 to 90 percent of the oysters are dead. [email protected] 10:59

Dishonest fisherman Scott Steer jailed, banned for 10 years

863a4ac9dc_64635696_o2A skilled fishing master who plundered the halibut and sablefish grounds off the west coast of Vancouver Island has been jailed and effectively banned from the waterfront for 10 years by the Provincial Court of B.C. In a decision handed down this week, Justice Ted Gouge convicted Scott Steer on eight counts for illegally turning off a camera system aboard the Pacific Titan (standard equipment on commercial boats to monitor catches) and for repeatedly landing and selling “thousands of pounds” of fish without recording or reporting it. more@globeandmail 10:45

Gloucester: Sam Novello straight up tell’s it like it is. It ain’t pretty.

gdt iconA TV news segment earlier this week showcased what’s happening in – or what’s happened to — our fishing industry at the hand of our own government. It showed Al Cottone had caught his yearly quota of cod, not within a year, but within a period of just five hours. That’s what he was allowed for the year, and filled it in one tow. The arrogant John Bullard, who doesn’t qualify to be called with a prefix of mister, was asked by the TV reporter if he was insinuating that fisherman were liars — and he had to think for a minute to cover himself and say he wasn’t saying that. more@GDT 06:15