Daily Archives: January 9, 2014
Fisheries and the Green lobby – what’s the real catch?
Kathryn Stack, Senior Political Advisor to Struan Stevenson MEP, Senior Vice-President of the European Parliament Fisheries Committee, writes on the influence of the Green lobby/NGOs in EU fisheries policy decision making. Somewhat surprisingly, dismay over the state of commercial fishing has been propelled to the forefront of middle class dinner party conversation across the country. Venting over the rapidly declining fish stocks seemingly on the brink of collapse has suddenly become “du jour”.Read [email protected] 22:48
Coast Guard medevaced a 50-year-old man from the 150-foot F/V Pavlof near Cold Bay, Wednesday night.
Watchstanders at the Coast Guard 17th District command center in Juneau were notified of the man’s injury by the crew of the Pavlof. It was reported he was suffering from a staph infection, and the watchstanders consulted the duty flight surgeon who recommended the medevac. Read more@uscgnews 20:53
Lawsuit prompts feds to act on species at risk
VANCOUVER – A federal government lawyer says the ministers responsible for protecting endangered species took action on four critically threatened species because they were facing court proceedings. The Wilderness Committee, Sierra Club, David Suzuki Foundation, Greenpeace and Wildsight are asking the court to order Ottawa to complete final recovery strategies for the four species, which are up to six years overdue. Read more@chroniclejournal 17:58
Friday, January 10, 2014 9:30 AM, Oversight Hearing on “The Science behind Discovery: Seismic Exploration and the Future of the Atlantic OCS”
This Subcommittee hearing will focus on the cutting edge technology currently used in the field of seismic research and the fundamentally important role seismic research plays in moving forward with future offshore energy development in the Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). Watch live 09:30 here 17:31
NRDC Seafood squall irks experts – Lobster and crab fisheries on Canada’s East Coast are unfairly maligned
The Canadians don’t seem to understand the shit storm the NRDC has started. This is not about the Right whales. It’s about ALL marine mammals under the US dysfunctional MMPA, and blocking imports of non compliant exporters. The Citizens of Canada appear to believe this action to be American Arrogance, rather than the continuous ENGO assault on fishermen on a global basis. BH
Lobster and crab fisheries on Canada’s East Coast are unfairly maligned in an American report condemning them for endangering the North Atlantic right whale, some industry observers in Halifax said Wednesday. “A call for a boycott of Canadian seafood is misplaced and would be ineffective if ever implemented,” said Robert Rangeley, a marine expert for the Atlantic region with World Wildlife Federation Canada. Read more@chronicleherald 17:06
Donald Clattenburg, a retired New Bedford fisherman, recalls the rescue of his fishing vessel, the Venture I, on Jan. 9, 1966.
NEW BEDFORD — The year was 1966, four years after the Cuban Missile Crisis, and Cold War tensions between the world’s superpowers — the Soviet Union and the United States — remained high. Against a backdrop of political gamesmanship, the Venture I found itself in troubled waters. The New Bedford fishing boat was floundering in the middle of the ocean, disabled by a wall of water that crashed into the vessel and caved in the pilothouse. The Venture I’s crew, which included Donald Clattenburg of New Bedford, feared for its safety. Read more@southcoasttoday 15:39
New Poll Finds Strong U.S. Consumer Support for Alaska Seafood, Disapproval for Marine Stewardship Council Policies
In addition to showing that Alaska remains the premium name in sustainable seafood, the poll found that that there is equal if not more consumer comfort with the UN FAO-based RFM certification program over MSC, whose policy of conditional certification of unsustainable fisheries was met with widespread disapproval. Read more@sacbee 15:22
Wildlife cops bust black market crab ring
BLAINE, Wash. – Washington State Fish and Wildlife officers and Lummi Tribal police teamed up this week to bust an alleged illegal seafood ring that involves distributors, commercial outlets and fishermen in three counties. Read [email protected] 15:06
Why is the Marine Stewardship Council honeymoon ending for Alaska salmon?
Despite recent re-certification of Alaska salmon to Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standards for the third time, Alaska Senators are begging large US grocery chains to stop using the MSC standard as a basis of their purchasing policies. Why has the MSC honeymoon ended for Alaska salmon? Read [email protected] 14:55
Hijinks on the high seas – Crab boats allegedly work extra pots
PACIFIC OCEAN — Looking out over the rolling swells of the Columbia Bar on the morning of Sunday, Dec. 9, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officer Dan Chadwick strained to find an orange and blue buoy that bobbed at the bottom of a trough of water. “It’s like finding a needle in a haystack,” Chadwick sighed. That buoy was just one of more than 400 such “needles” that Chadwick and his fellow Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife officers needed to find and count before the tide went out around mid-day. Read more@chinookobserver 14:38
Scituate Ma.fishermen pin hopes of cod-tagging project
The project is still in the beginning stages. Receivers were put in the water midway through mating season. As many as 130 fish have been tagged so far, with another 20 to be tagged in a future trip.,Scientists have already started collecting the transmitted data, and will go at the end of spawning season at the end of January to collect the information again. From there, data will be reviewed and a plan put in place to study cod locations next spawning season. Read more@bostonglobe 14:18
Norlantic Processors Ltd. plant in Pleasantview gets leading-edge certification
A mussel processing plant in Notre Dame Bay is the first processing operation in the world to receive the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) certification. The Norlantic Processors Ltd. plant in Pleasantview had gone through a rigorous process, and officially received the certification in late November, but it was only recently announced by the Global Aquaculture Alliance. Read more@cbcnews 11:09
Traditional Fishery News in 2013 from The Coaster
The Coaster included a number of stories related to the province’s traditional fishery in 2013. The following is a summary of some of those items covered in the past year. Read more@thecoaster 10:46
Canada’s Science Library Closures Mirror Bush’s Playbook
Reporting by The Tyee, prompted by tips from U.S. readers, found that a similar scenario unfolded in the United States during the administration of George W Bush Jr. Familiar claims To ostensibly save $2-million dollars a year (a drop in the bucket for the EPA’s $8-billion budget) the Bush administration closed five regional libraries serving 15 states and reduced access to libraries serving another 15 states in 2006. Read more@thetyee 10:18
