Daily Archives: January 17, 2014
Fishermen Down East upset over Department of Marine Resources pending plans to curtail scalloping
The meeting in the Whiting Community Center was standing room only, with about 100 fishermen present. They did not take the news well, and at times there were testy exchanges between fishermen and Patrick Keliher, commissioner of the state Department of Marine Resources. Read more@bdn 22:08
Link to comments
25-year-old fisherman hoisted from F/V Argo approximately 35 nautical miles south of Martha’s Vineyard
BOSTON − Coast Guard rescue crews from Air Station Cape Cod medically evacuated a 25-year-old fisherman approximately 35 nautical miles south of Martha’s Vineyard, Mass. Friday. Watchstanders at Sector Southeastern New England received notification via VHF channel 16 at approximately 8:12 a.m. Friday from the fishing vessel Argo that the man was suffering from epileptic seizures. Read more@uscgnews 18:40
Alltheway Trucking Inc, driver fined $75,000 for carrying live Asian carp
Alltheway Trucking Inc. and Yong-Sheng Zhang were each found guilty under the federal Fisheries Act for possessing live invasive fish. The company was fined $70,000 and the truck driver was fined $5,000. In addition, more than 3,000 kilograms of grass carp was forfeited to the Canadian government. Read [email protected] 17:56
USDA To Purchase $20M of Alaska Pink Salmon for Food Banks
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – The U.S. Department of Agriculture will purchase $20 million in canned Alaska pink salmon for nationwide distribution to hungry Americans, with a suggestion from Sen. Lisa Murkowski playing a part in the decision. Read more@ktuu 17:44
Congressman Walter B. Jones, R-N.C., leads effort to halt free trade agreement impact on U.S. fisheries
The agreement is widely expected to reduce or eliminate duties on imported fish products from countries such as Vietnam, Malaysia, and Japan. Among other things, this could significantly cut funding for the Saltonstall-Kennedy (S-K) Act grant program, a U.S. research and development program that benefits American fisheries. Since its passage nearly 70 years ago, the S-K Act has authorized allocation of 30 percent of duties on imported fish products toward competitively-awarded projects that improve U.S. fish stocks, reduce bycatch, and help fishing communities in every coastal region of America. Read more@islandfreepress 16:45
RI Delegation Applauds Relief Funding for Fisheries
U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline announced today that Rhode Island fishermen will be among the beneficiaries of $75 million in disaster relief funding included in the Fiscal Year 2014 omnibus appropriations bill. Read [email protected] 16:36
Illegal Immigrant Crew Member Accused of Identity Theft aboard Factory Trawler F/V Gordon Jensen
A crew member aboard a factory processor has been arrested in Unalaska and accused of stealing another man’s identity to get his commercial fishing license. KUCB’s Lauren Rosenthal reports. Listen @kubc 16:28
Some fishermen just should not drink alcohol. “you’re a danger to yourself, to your family and the community” when you are drunk, so get sober.”
American Samoa – Associate Justice John Ward yesterday asked the attorney representing the government to see if ASG has a policy on handling cases relating to fishermen who stay here longer than they should. A Panamanian fisherman made his initial appearance in District Court yesterday on a charge of public peace disturbance. It turns out the fisherman, Adonia Avila, is sponsored by the agent for the fishing vessel he works for and he has been living here for well over a decade. Read [email protected] 09:14
If you like fish video’s, check out 2014 ComFishFilmFest | Hopefuls
Published on Jan 17, 2014 – The Commercial Fishing Film Festival really shines in this category! We get to see fishermen in their element, doing various kinds of gear work from multiple fisheries. Tune in to see your fishy favorite. Watch @youtube 08:23
“Emergency” bill proposed by Deer Isle legislator would require state fishery officials to approve each individual tribal elver license in writing
The legislator who sponsored the bill, Walter Kumiega, a Democrat from Deer Isle, said the proposal is aimed at preventing a repeat of the 2013 elver season, during which DMR and the Passamaquoddy Tribe got into a heated dispute over the validity of licenses issued by the tribe. Read more@bdn 07:25
New Bedford man dies in shucking machine accident at Sea Watch International Seafood Co
NEW BEDFORD — A 35-year-old worker died after getting tangled in a shucking machine at a local fishery early Thursday. The New Bedford resident, identified as Victor Gerena, was pronounced dead at the scene, he said. “The victim was in the process of flushing out a shellfish shucking machine when the accident happened,” Vicente said in a email. “He became entangled in a rotary turbine engine and it took the Fire Department approximately an hour to free the man after dismantling parts of the machinery.” Read more@southcoast 04:55
Fishing aid gets Senate’s final OK – Editorial: Fishing aid still no long-term industry solution
The vote by the Senate, which followed Wednesday’s overwhelming victory in the House, means the federal government now will provide its first meaningful financial assistance to fishermen since the Department of Commerce declared an economic disaster in the Northeast groundfish fishery and elsewhere in 2012. Read more@gdt 04:44
Editorial: The ironic aspect of this disaster aid approval is that, at the start, fishermen and related waterfront businesses never wanted or reached out for government handouts in the first place. Their hands were simply forced by lopsided, heavy-handed fishing limits and enforcement tactics that were cited as excessive by the Department of Commerce’s own Inspector General’s office beginning in 2009, yet still haven’t been adequately addressed by either NOAA or its parental Commerce leadership. Read more@gdt 04:44
