Monthly Archives: February 2014
ARDORs, hair crab limited entry revived –
JUNEAU — The bill to resurrect the Alaska Regional Development Organization program and the now-unique vessel-based limited entry system for the currently closed Korean hair crab fishery is on its way to Gov. Sean Parnell after a House floor debate as strange as the measure’s weird path through the Legislature. Read more here 23:10
Commercial Vessel Discharge Reform Act gains support Cordova District Fishermen United supports exemptions for commercial fishing vessels
Pending federal maritime legislation to exempt commercial fishing vessels from certain requirements of the Clean Water Act, which could otherwise result in substantial fines, is gaining widespread support with commercial fisheries groups.”Onerous,” was just one of the words John Renner, vice president of Cordova District Fishermen United, used to describe the situation facing commercial fishing vessel owners and operators who could otherwise be subject to fines for activities such as deck washing. Read more here 21:51 cordovatimes
Maine lobster landings value jumped $23 million in 2013 – overall value of Maine’s lobster landings in 2013 was $364.5 million
ROCKPORT, Maine — Thanks to a 20-cent increase in the average price lobstermen received for their catch, the landings value of Maine’s most lucrative commercial fishery jumped by more than $20 million in 2013. Read more here 21:33 BDN
One of the worst stone crab seasons on record in Southwest Florida – video
It’s shaping up to be one of the worst stone crab seasons on record in Southwest Florida. Fishermen say octopi are stealing the crabs right out of their traps. A crab trap is like a diner for an octopus. The crabs can’t go anywhere, so an octopus can go to town eating everything in the trap. Read more here 20:47
Marketing Maine Lobster: Effort Intensifies Amid Big Harvests
Maine’s lobster catch topped 100-million pounds again last year – proof that the surging supply of the state’s signature seafood shows no signs of dropping off. A shortage of markets for all that product Read more here 18:35
This is Fish Radio. I’m Stephanie Mangini. Halibut surveys do it deeper – and shallower – and need more boats
Plans to expand halibut surveys by 30% have been trimmed a bit but boats are still needed to help. Each summer halibut scientists survey 1,300 stations from Oregon to the Bering Sea. Read more here 16:12
EPA Moves to Protect Bristol Bay from Pebble Mine
The Environmental Protection Agency today announced that they are using section 404 C of the Clean Water Act to halt development of the Pebble Mine in Southwest Alaska. Section 404 C authorizes the EPA to prohibit or limit projects that would have an unacceptable adverse impact on the environment. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy made the announcement during a teleconference this morning. Read more here 15:43
Out in Left Field – “and their Senate leaders reward them with $33 million in fisheries welfare”???
“Our recreational sector was never looking at handouts to sit at home like the New England commercial sector, but we were just looking for an honest hand so that our folks can keep fishing,” Donofrio added. Ya Gotta read more here! 12:53
Process underway now to plan ahead for upcoming lobster seasons
If things go as planned, lobster fishermen in southwestern Nova Scotia won’t find themselves wondering at the 11th hour whether there will be any changes to their season in the weeks leading up to the opening of the 2014 fall fishery. Read more here 12:41
SHORT NOTICE: Full Committee Legislative Hearing on Magnuson Stevens at 9:30AM. Tune in here
Washington, D.C. – On Friday, the House Natural Resources Committee will hold a balanced hearing on the state of fisheries management in the United States. The hearing comes after Democrats used Rule XI of the Committee rules to force an additional day of testimony on a Republican proposal to gut the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Democrats pursued the Rule XI move earlier this month at the latest in a series of hearings Republicans have held on our nation’s primary law governing fisheries management. The Republican-led legislation, floated in December as a discussion draft with no input from Committee Democrats, would undermine protections that are critical to maintaining the healthy fish stocks and marine ecosystems vital to U.S. fishermen. LINK IN FROM HERE LIVE
Energy giant, BP, has failed in a judicial bid to stop payments from a fishing compensation fund.
The company claimed that some of the claimants did not suffer at all from the disastrous 2010 oil spill, and that in some cases names have being invented. Read more here 08:20
$11 million in federal fishery disaster money will help restore oyster and blue crab fisheries in Mississippi
Both were declared disasters following a 2011 season ruined by freshwater from the opening of the Bonnet Carre spillway. Read more here 07:53
N.H. fishermen wait for allotment of federal fish disaster funds
SEABROOK — Officials at Yankee Fisherman’s Cooperative are pleased about the nearly $33 million in fishery disaster relief funds allocated to those in the Northeast who make their livings on the sea, but they have yet to learn how much of the money will trickle down to New Hampshire’s commercial groundfishing fleet owners. Read more here 07:39
Fishermen to net millions: Federal funds help struggling industry Read more here seacoastonline.com
Editorial: Hail fishing aid when it reaches those who need it
But you should excuse fishermen and even federal and state lawmakers if all this good news didn’t exactly touch off celebrations along the docks, and in the halls of government, where people like Congressman John Tierney called it simply “the next critical step in the process.” That’s because it’s also clear that this money — desperately needed by front-line fishermen months ago — is still weeks, and likely months from reaching them. Read more here 03:19
Alaska’s record pink salmon harvest in 2013 could create a market glut that will drive prices down for several years.
Alaska fishing fleets caught 219 million pink salmon last year. That helped fill an estimated 4 million cases of tall pink cans and left companies with almost 5 million cases in inventory. Read more here 22:41 petersburgpilot
“Deadliest Catch” star meets with Maine fishermen – Video
ROCKPORT, Maine(NEWS CENTER) — Maine commercial fishermen had a chance to meet one of their industry celebrities on Thursday and found out he knows a little bit about Maine fishing. Captain Keith Colburn is owner and captain of the fishing vessel “Wizard,” and is one of the stars of the TV show, “The Deadliest Catch.” Read more here 22:34
‘Deadliest Catch’ reality TV star hauls in big audience at Rockport fishing talk – Read more here at BDN 08:46
Rayne man arrested for theft and selling shrimp illegally
A Rayne man has bonded out of jail after being accused of shrimp violations by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. 36-year-old Shannon J Roche was charged with 13 counts of selling shrimp without a retail seafood license, three counts of theft by fraudulent sales, and failing to maintain records. Read more here 22:14
Industry Says U.S. Fish Law Works Well in Alaska
The Magnuson-Stevens Act, the 1976 law that governs fishing in the Bering Sea, Gulf of Alaska and other federal waters, is up for reauthorization in Congress. Listen, Read more here 22:08
Canada agrees to work to prevent fishing in High Arctic until there’s more study
Canada and four other Arctic nations have agreed to work toward a deal to block commercial fishing in the central Arctic Ocean until more is known about the potential of the resource. The agreement with the United States, Russia, Denmark and Norway was reached late Wednesday in Nuuk, Greenland, after three days of talks Read more here 18:56
USF study: Diseased fish show dissolved oil from BP spill as far south as Sanibel
The study, published this week in a scientific journal called Deep-Sea Research II, is not good news for BP, which is battling the U.S. government and other claimants in federal court over how many billions of dollars in damages it owes for pollution caused by all the oil it spilled. Read more here 17:35 tampabay.com
Obama administration takes step toward allowing Atlantic Ocean drilling
The Obama administration forbids Atlantic Ocean drilling through 2017. An earlier version of President Obama’s five-year offshore drilling plan permitted such activity, but he excluded Atlantic drilling from the plan following the 2010 BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Read more here 16:50
Maine’s Elver Season Could be Delayed
Commissioner Patrick Keliher said today that’s there is a “50-50” chance the start of the season on March 22 will be pushed back. Read more here 16:27 mpbn
Hearing scheduled for setnet lawsuit
Oral argument in the Alaska Fisheries Conservation Alliance’s appeal of the Lieutenant Governor’s decision not to certify its proposed ballot initiative is scheduled for April 22 in Anchorage. The alliance, or AFCA, wants to ask voters whether to ban setnets in urban parts of the state. If the initiative made it on to the ballot and passed, it would eliminate setnetters in Cook Inlet. Read more here 15:42
NEFMC – Press Release – Draft Habitat Protection Rules Move Forward
Dear Stakeholders and Interested Parties: Please click here for a copy of the NEFMC Press Release Council Moves Draft Habitat Protection Rules Forward for Pubic Review The Press Release provides details about the Council’s February 25-26, 2014 Council meeting in Danvers, MA. Read the Press Release here 14:48
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management : Proposed US energy rules would shield whales
The so-called mitigation measures outlined by BOEM also call for visual observers to avoid vessel strikes with whales and other marine life; testing to detect and avoid other marine life, including dolphins; and protections for nesting sea turtles, dolphins and areas where right whales congregate. Read more here 14:37
Hearing – Feb 27 2014 10:30 AM North Pacific Perspectives on Magnuson-Stevens Act Reauthorization
WASHINGTON, D.C.— The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation’s Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard will hold a hearing on Thursday, February 27, 2014 at 10:30 a.m. titled, “North Pacific Perspectives on Magnuson-Stevens Act Reauthorization”. Please note the hearing will be webcast live via the Senate Commerce Committee website. Refresh the Commerce Committee homepage 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time to automatically begin streaming the webcast. Read more here 10:00
Alaska joins Hawaii to have central North Pacific humpbacks struck from endangered list
California Salmon forecasts favorable, despite drought uncertainty
Predictions for a robust king salmon haul buoyed California fishermen assembled Wednesday for a preseason meeting with state and federal regulators, even if forecasts fell short of last year’s projection. Read more here pressdemocrat.com 09:01
Fukushima radiation on B.C. coast measured by crowdfunding – Scientists from Woods Hole recruiting ‘citizen scientists’ to collect data
People along B.C.’s coast are being asked to step in where governments in Canada and the U.S. have not — to measure radiation from Japan’s crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in B.C.’s ocean waters. Scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Woods Hole, Maine, are calling on the public to collect data from B.C.’s oceans for a crowd-funded research project. Read more here 08:20
The crews of F/V Miss Jana and F/V Equinox rescue three persons from sinking vessel near Valdez Arm – Then it got sticky!
Sector Anchorage command center watchstanders received a mayday call on VHF radio channel 16 from the crew of the Belltech 5. Sector Anchorage issued an urgent marine information broadcast and the crew of the Miss Jana responded to the scene, rescuing the three men from the water. Shortly after embarking the men, the crew of the Miss Jana reported engine problems and transferred the men to the nearby fishing vessel Equinox. The Equinox took the Miss Jana in tow. Read more here uscgnews 07:27
