Monthly Archives: January 2014
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
Boat of the Week from the Athearn Marine Agency: 68′ Steel Trawler – Clammer/Scalloper
Specifications and information here 22:10
Andrea Hance of San Benito takes helm of Texas Shrimp Association as Gulf shrimp revives
Andrea Hance of San Benito picked a good time to take over as executive director of the Texas Shrimp Association, with Gulf shrimp prices at historic highs and nearly everyone with a trawler clambering for a piece of the action. In contrast, the timing of her entry into the shrimping business itself was less than stellar. Hance and her husband, Preston, bought their first shrimp boat in 2007 — just in time for the industry, beset by foreign imports, to hit rock bottom. Read more@brownsvilleherald 17:39
John Ivison: EU stand against Canadian seal hunt is both illegal and hypocritical
The EU failed to make a prima facie case that the seal ban was justified under WTO rules “necessary to protect … animal … life or health.” Yet, while the WTO said the ban undermines international trade obligations, it said it was justified under “public moral concerns” over animal welfare. Canada is set to appeal that decision this month, for all the good it is likely to do. It is apparent that the facts don’t matter. They have been replaced by popular delusion and the madness of crowds. Read more@nationalpost 16:09
The Dangerous Side of Fishing for Squid
Our cover story this past weekend about John Aldridge, a Montauk-based lobsterman who fell off his boat and was rescued by the Coast Guard after nearly 12 hours in the water, mentioned a man whose death last year served as another example of the perils of commercial fishing. Donald Alversa who was also a Montauk resident, was photographed last January by a local photographer, Lindsay Morris, whose photography has appeared in the magazine. She sent us the picture above and this remembrance: Read more@nyt 14:48
Maurice Noonan, a fisherman from Bay de Verde, was fined $40,500 last month for snow crab fishing violations committed during the 2008 and 2010 fishing seasons.
A news release by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) states that, in both years, Noonan misreported information in his fishing logbooks and exceeded his maximum allowable catch for snow crab. In addition to the fine, the judge placed Noonan on probation for two years and prohibited him from fishing during the first month of the 2014 snow crab fishery. Read more@thetelegram 14:04
2014 Gulf P.Cod Fisheries Are Looking Up – This is Fish Radio. I’m Stephanie Mangini.
Pacific cod makes up 11% of Alaska’s total fish deliveries. It marks the start of a new fishing season as it opens January 1 of each New Year. The Federal water fishery is first with a bumped up quota this year. Listen, and Read more@fishradio 13:56
It’s fisherman, bitches.
There’s a woman in Stonington, Maine who is trying to find another gear option for women in the commercial fishing industry. A couple of months ago she asked women who fish for pictures of themselves in their gear or fishing to illustrate how many women are working in the industry. Last I checked, which was just a couple of seconds ago, she had over 250 pictures of some amazing women clad in loose oil-pants, too-long-sleeved jackets, and poor-fitting gloves. Now, when Genevieve (that’s the fisherman of whom I was speaking) first asked for these pictures, I’m not gonna lie, I hesitated. My oil-pants fit OK. Read more@lobstersonthefly 13:04
There’s Whale Meat in the Beer! – Icelandic ‘whale beer’ condemned by conservationists
The brewery’s website claims people who drink it become “true Vikings”. Conservationists have criticised the sale in Iceland of a beer which its makers claim contains dead whale. Icelandic brewery Steðji has teamed up with whaling company Hvalur to launch the beer, which is said to contain whale meal. (bore say’s, “draw one!”) Read [email protected] 12:27
KEATING, TIERNEY URGE ONCE AGAIN FOR FISHERIES DISASTER ASSISTANCE
“Once again I join with my colleagues to strongly urge for the inclusion of fisheries disaster assistance in the FY2014 Omnibus Appropriations bill. The letter we sent adds to the verbal request I recently made to the Chairman. It is unacceptable that businesses declared to be in a state of economic disaster have been waiting for nearly 15 months for assistance. I call on House Leadership to follow the lead of Senate appropriators and secure $150 million in disaster assistance to provide relief to fishermen throughout the country,” said Rep. Tierney. Read [email protected] 11:38
New record: regulators and bureaucrats issued 56 regs for every new law, 3,659 in 2013
The Obama administration made up for the lack of laws passed in Congress last year, issuing a whopping 3,659 rules regulations, crushing claims that Washington isn’t doing anything. Only 65 public laws were signed by President Obama in 2013, meaning that his government issued an average of 56 new regulations for every one, a record high ratio, according to the annual analysis by the Competitive Enterprise Institute. Read more@washingtonexaminer 10:53
Canadian seafood imports targeted by U.S. environmental group
A prominent U.S. environmental group is targeting seafood imports from countries that don’t follow American fishing standards — and Canada is on its hit list. The criticism is in a report released Tuesday by the Natural Resources Defence Council, which is lobbying the U.S. administration to start enforcing a domestic law that bans imports from countries that fail to apply American sea-mammal protection rules. Read more@bcnews 10:21
Tests show China banned Puget Sound geoduck clams safe to eat
SEATTLE — Washington state health officials said Tuesday that their arsenic testing has confirmed that geoduck clams harvested from a bay in Puget Sound are safe to eat, following toxicity concerns that prompted China to ban imports of West Coast shellfish. Read more@thecolumbian 08:51
Elver fishermen split on derby-vs-quota proposals to cut harvest
“You’re going to have people who just don’t reach their quota,” fisherman Billy Milliken of Jonesport told Keliher, which will mean money that legally could be made in the elver fishery won’t be. “The state needs this revenue. We need this revenue.” “I think the individual quota would protect my privilege [in having a license] the most,” Mark Fields of Indian Island said. “If the price was $50 per pound, we wouldn’t be here,” Keliher said Read more@bdn 20:24
Many small-scale fishermen are threatening to turn to organised crime in order to sustain their families
Public protector investigations of mismanagement of the fishing industry are mounting against Minister of Agriculture, Forestries and Fisheries Tina Joemat-Pettersson. Many small-scale fishermen are threatening to turn to organised crime in order to sustain their families after losing their long-term fishing rights. “Since there is absolutely nothing else I can do, I will have to join the army of illegal fishers,” said Charles America, one of the fishermen who have been declined a line-fishing licence. “I will have to run the gauntlet between legal and illegal fishing. It is sad, but there’s absolutely nothing else I can do.” Read more@timeslive 19:40
The facts on library consolidation at Fisheries and Oceans – The Honourable Gail Shea, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans
Serious misinformation was spread recently about the consolidation of Department of Fisheries and Oceans libraries. Let me correct the record. DFO owns one of the world’s most comprehensive collections of information on fisheries, aquatic sciences and nautical sciences. Our Government values these collections and will continue to strongly support it by continuing to add new material on an ongoing basis. Read more@dfo 19:05
We’re talking a little gurry fer cryin’ out loud – Seafood Company Fined for Wastewater Violations
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) has fined Ocean Crest Seafood Inc. $6,610 for violations at its fish-processing plant in Gloucester. During inspections on June 6 and 12, 2013 at its 88 Commercial St. plant, DEP determined the facility was allowing wash water from the operational area to be discharged into Gloucester Harbor. Read more@ecori 18:42
Alaska Fishermen to Walmart: “Why Didn’t You Keep Your Promise to Congress?”
Alaska fishermen are pledging to take further action to hold Walmart accountable for its ongoing failure to keep its promise to revise by the end of 2013 its outdated and misguided policy that is shutting out a large proportion of sustainable Alaska salmon from its stores. Read [email protected] 17:38
UPDATE: Quota-Based Elver Catch Under Consideration – TAC or IFQ
Patrick Keliher, commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources, says under the quota system being considered, the fishery would shut down after a predetermined quota has been reached. Read more and listen@MPBN 17:20
Canadian Fish is on the NRDC blacklist.
WASHINGTON – A prominent U.S. environmental group Enviro Law group is targeting seafood imports from countries that don’t follow American fishing standards — and Canada is on its blacklist. The criticism comes from the Natural Resources Defence Council, which is lobbying the U.S. to enforce a domestic law that bans imports from countries that fail to apply American rules for protecting sea mammals. Read more@montrealgazette 16:45
Did you know buying American seafood could save a whale? Read the NRDC report
American Samoa government unsure about helping fishing sector
PAGOPAGO, American Samoa — American Samoa’s Governor, Lolo Matalasi Moliga, says he is sympathetic and wants to help local fishing vessels but he says the canneries are the government’s main focus. Last week, for sale signs went up on longliner fishing boats anchored in the main dock and at the canneries. Read [email protected] 13:44
Why farmed fish need more veggies in their diet: Carnivorous fish are coaxed into accepting more plants in their daily diets
Consumer demand for sustainable farmed seafood is growing, but the food supply for the salmon in the pens is running thin – there are simply not enough fish in the sea. “Historically, fishmeal [ground-up wild fish] has been a relatively inexpensive and highly nutritious [fish food] source,” says Ian Forster, an aquatic animal nutrition scientist for Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Read more@cbcnews 13:34
