Daily Archives: January 13, 2014
Fisherman from F/V Bull Dog Coast Guard medevaced 60 miles east of Chatham, Mass. (video available)
At approximately 3:15 a.m. Monday, watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England received a report from the crew of the fishing vessel Bulldog, homeported in New Bedford, Mass., that a 51-year-old crewmember had partially severed a finger while conducting a repair of the vessel and was requesting assistance. The crewmember was reportedly repairing a steering mechanism when he was injured, and the Bulldog was adrift. His condition is unknown, and he Bulldog crew was able to complete steering repairs and is currently enroute to New Bedford. Read more@uscgnews 19:58
In dip net drama, there’s more than one side to the story
Too many Kenai River dip-netters are slobs, pigs, miscreants, call them what you want. There is no debating this. The evidence is obvious to anyone who visits the mouth of the river during the dip netting season in July. And many in the community of Kenai are once more upset. When the Kenai City Council held a hearing to discuss the dip net fishery at the start of themonth, “a parade of concerned citizens spoke on what issues need to be addressed,” The usual complaints were heard: Dip-netters litter, leave human waste on the beach, drive their boats like lunatics upriver from the mouth where dip netting is legal from boats, and seemingly worst of all, catch more fish than the limit allows Read more@alaskadispatch 17:29
Ninetieth Annual Meeting of the International Pacific Halibut Commission – Monday, January 13 through Friday, January 17, 2014
This year’s meeting is scheduled to open on Monday with presentations on the fishery, the 2013 stock assessment, and the harvest decision table, and conclude on Friday with Commission approval of catch limits and regulations. The changes which were made to the Annual Meeting schedule and format in 2013 to make its proceedings more open and transparent are being continued this year. All public sessions and administrative sessions will be open to the public. These open sessions will also be webcast (Register). More here 17:03
Halibut catches set this week by IPHC
This is Fish Radio. I’m Laine Welch … This year’s halibut catches, season start and end dates and much more will be decided this week at the Ninetieth Annual Meeting of the International Pacific Halibut Commission in Seattle. Read more@alaskafishradio 16:18
New England fishing industry blames government limits for downfall – They’re right, but citizens don’t “get it” in Knoxville!
As fishermen are sidelined, taking their boats out of service for lack of work, New England’s marine industry that repairs, stores and cleans boats is next in line to feel the hit. Wilcox, owner of Wilcox Marine Supply, blames the federal government and the fishing limits it’s imposed. In Stonington, he said, the number of draggers — fishermen who drag nets behind their boats —has dropped since the mid-1990s from 50 to two. His business, which employed 13 people in the early 1990s, has dwindled to just himself. Read more@knoxnews 15:27 Read the comments at the bottom.
Masifundise supports a fisheries allocation process that benefits those most in need
We ran this on Jan. 7th, Many small-scale fishermen are threatening to turn to organised crime in order to sustain their families. This is a follow up article from Masifundise – Masifundise supports a fisheries allocation process that benefits those most in need. The furore around the line fish allocations is still raging, even after government granted interim relief to previous rights holders. As an organisation that works with thousands of small-scale fishers around the country, we need to offer a few critical comments on this matter. Read [email protected] Special Thank’s to Carsten Pederson 12:54
California’s Pot Farms Could Leave Salmon Runs Truly Smoked
The problem? According to critics, marijuana plantations guzzle enormous amounts of water while also spilling pesticides, fertilizers and stream-clogging sediments into waterways, including the Eel and the Klamath rivers, that have historically produced large numbers of Chinook salmon and related species. Read more@npr 12:30
Seals and deals
It’s no secret that the annual seal harvest is a controversial topic. In our province, it’s blasphemy to speak against the hunt; anyone who does so would be committing political hari-kari with a hakapik. To even suggest re-evaluating the validity of our over-500 year practice will get you media attention that you don’t want. Just ask Ryan Cleary. Read [email protected] 12:19
Fishing vessel catches fire in Harbour Grace drydock
Crews were still at the scene of a fire Monday at a shipyard in Harbour Grace, dealing with a blaze that broke out Sunday night on a fishing vessel. A security guard noticed smoke coming from the Atlantic Navigator at 9:15. The 19-metre vessel had been in the yard for normal repairs and a paint job. Read more@cbcnews 10:53
N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission advisers don’t back reduction goal
To reduce bycatch in shrimp trawls, advisers to the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission recommend allowing more types of bycatch reduction devices and turtle excluder devices, but don’t support setting a specific reduction goal. Read [email protected] 10:36
On Bluefin, Let’s Take The Best We Can Get – Charter Captain John McMurray
So I’m reading another press release about how anglers are getting screwed on bluefin with HMS Amendment 7 (which seeks to address bluefin bycatch in the pelagic longline fishery), and feel compelled to respond, or at least set the record straight. Sure, there are a few things I’d like to see happen with this amendment that likely won’t, but if you are at all concerned about bluefin stocks, or rather bluefin abundance, Read [email protected] 10:22
Cod’s mysterious defence strategies
Low prices for wild-caught cod have kept cod farming profits minimal up to now. The additional challenges of expensive feeds, destructive diseases and high mortality have also proven difficult to solve. On the disease front, Norwegian researchers showed in 2011 that the cod immune system is very unlike that of other production fish such as salmon. Read [email protected] 10:06
‘Small Dredge Scallop Fleet’ Gained Permits Legally; Key Part to Fishery
In a story appearing on the front page of the December issue of the Southern New England Fishery News, review was made as to how and when the Maine small dredge fishery became a part of the main stream sea scallop fishery while still being restricted to its originally approved gear—the small 10 foot Maine scallop dredge. Read [email protected] 07:05
Chesapeake Bay Makes Progress, But Still Hindered By Illegal Discharge
EIP Attorney Tarah Heinzen said: “2012 progress reducing industrial and municipal pollution in key Chesapeake Bay states is encouraging, but we need to do more if we want to stay on track and meet 2017 goals. Nitrogen, phosphorus, and sediment pollution continues to degrade the water quality and fisheries of the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries each year. All of the Bay states must focus on reducing these discharges and get serious about stopping illegal discharges.” Read more@pollutiononline 06:37
