Daily Archives: December 19, 2013
F/V Lydia and Maya fisherman Martin Gorham – Search has been suspended
BOSTON — The Coast Guard is searching for a fisherman who went overboard from the fishing vessel Lydia & Maya approximately 32 miles southeast of Cape Ann, Mass., Thursday. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Boston received a report at approximately 12:30 p.m. Thursday, from the 71-foot fishing vessel Lydia & Maya, homeported in Boston, stating that a 47-year-old male crewmember had gone overboard and they were unable to find him. more@uscgnews 18:28
I post this with regret – Coast Guard suspends search for missing fisherman east of Cape Ann – https://fisherynation.com/archives/18434
Report from the Portland Press Herald -Another man on deck jumped in after Martin Gorham, but couldn’t save him in cold, rough conditions. Read more @portlandpress 10:30
Southeast Alaska Geoduck Divers Not Yet Affected By China’s Shellfish Ban
An industry representative says Southeast geoduck clam divers have not been affected by China’s recent ban on West Coast shellfish import since they haven’t been fishing recently. According to Southeast Alaska Dive Fisheries Association Director Phil Doherty, other factors have been keeping divers off the grounds since early this month. more@alaskapublic 17:08
Senator Murkowski Calls on Walmart to Carry Products Made with Salmon from Alaska
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski is continuing to lobby the largest retailer on earth to carry products made with salmon from Alaska. On Wednesday Senator Lisa Murkowski sent a letter to the incoming CEO of Walmart outlining her concerns with the current purchasing practices of Walmart in regards to salmon from Alaska. more@kdlg 14:53
Chairman Hastings Seeks Public Input on Draft Plan to Strengthen and Improve our Nation’s Fisheries
WASHINGTON, D.C., December 19, 2013 – House Natural Resources Committee Chairman Doc Hastings (WA-04) today unveiled a draft proposal to reauthorize the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, which was last authorized by Congress in 2006 through fiscal year 2013. The draft proposal, H.R. ____ Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act, would renew and amend the Magnuson-Stevens Act – which governs the recreational and commercial harvest of fisheries in Federal waters – to implement common sense reforms that will promote increased flexibility and transparency, improve data collection, create jobs, and give predictability and certainty to the coastal communities that depend on stable fishing activities. Click here for a copy of the draft proposal. [email protected] 14:15
Coast Guard mourns Petty Officer Third Class Travis Obendorf injured in the Line of Duty in Alaska
ALAMEDA – Petty Officer Third Class Travis Obendorf died in a Seattle hospital Dec. 18 as a result of injuries he sustained during search and rescue operations near Amak Island, Alaska, Nov. 11, while serving aboard Coast Guard Cutter Waesche. Obendorf’s family was by his side when he passed away in Swedish Hospital following surgery. more@uscgnews 12:30
Fishermen focus on how ADFG sets, achieves escapement goals
Editor’s note: This is the eighth in the Morris Communications series, “The case for conserving the Kenai king salmon.” Each spring, as the early-run king salmon start returning to the Kenai River, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game begins a four-month effort to manage fishing effort in a way that ensures enough salmon swim past fishermen of all types to meet escapement goals. “’Escapement’ is actually what escapes fisheries and lives to spawn,” said ADFG biologist Tim McKinley, who helped draft the current king salmon escapement goals during the fall and winter of 2012 and 2013. more@alaskastar 12:15
Center for Biological Diversity Petition targets ‘rogue’ killings by Wildlife Services
They say U.S. critter assassins work in secret, quietly laying traps, lacing food with poison, sniping at targets from helicopters. Few people know exactly how the hits go down; the methods are largely hidden. more@wapo 10:32
Crab season: ‘It’s strange for them to be so full at the first of the season’
CHARLESTON, Ore. — With Dungeness crab season now in full swing, commercial fishermen are flooding Oregon’s coastal ports with thousand of pounds of crab. Scott Adams, plant manager for Hallmark Fisheries, said they have a use for every crab in the multiple catches a boat may make each day. If a crab is not up to par the meat is picked out in a labor-intensive process called backing. The crab is cooked then put on ice to be shipped out. Adams said the labor and the price of crab make it an extremely expensive (yet popular) product of the sea. [email protected] 10:07
Beaver – PETA Pamela’s next Pet Project! Beavers moved to make way for spawning salmon
Efforts to boost the numbers of wild Atlantic salmon in eastern P.E.I. are showing signs of success. Workers in the Souris area have been removing one of the major hurdles to saving the salmon, beavers. The wildlife federation works with local trappers to remove the beavers. Large rivers are cleared of all colonies and dams. “Salmon couldn’t jump the beaver dams. Fish couldn’t get to the habitat,” said Cheverie. more@cbcnews 09:22
Seal protests increase sales, says St. John’s fur seller
The owner of a St. John’s store which sells seal fur products says this week’s visit by celebrity anti-sealing activists Pamela Anderson and Sam Simon creates more demand for seal skin and fur fashions. Bernie Halloran who owns Always in Vogue, said seal products such as coats, boots and handbags fly off his stores racks and shelves whenever high profile anti-seal hunt protests happen. more@cbcnews 08:52
Sea scallops close to ‘sustainable’ MSC label ? Big ENGO deal. NOT!
NEW BEDFORD — An international environmental group is a step away from declaring the Atlantic scallop fishery as “sustainable,” properly managed and in no immediate danger of overfishing..Seafood consultant Jim Kendall, a former scalloper, said he had mixed feelings about the ruling and the association with the council. He noted that the council is an environmental group that collects fees to obtain its seal. Kendall said it is questionable to pay often adversarial environmental groups for their approval, when “government regulations in the U.S. are the official seal of sustainability”. more@southcoasttoday 08:35
F/V Caitlin & Mairead safe after taking on water, Coast Guard assists, towing to Montauk
On Wednesday night, the Coast Guard is towing a commercial fishing vessel back to Montauk that was taking on water about 30 miles south of Montauk Point. Petty Officer Alissa Flockerzi said the crew aboard Caitlin & Mairead reported the 65-foot boat was taking on water at about 2:25 p.m. At the time, the four-person crew had engaged pumps, which were keeping up with the water. The boat is registered to David Aripotch. more@easthamptonpatch 04:40
Coast Guard press release here 09:38
