Daily Archives: February 1, 2014
Mat-Su seeks driftnet limits to save coho; drifters push back
Mat-Su officials say the commercial drift fleet is hammering formerly world-class sport coho fisheries on the Little Su and Susitna rivers as well as the Susitna’s sockeye salmon — with little of the attention that shines on the Kenai’s trophy king fishery. Read [email protected] 20:51
New seafood products to be showcased at the upcoming Symphony of Seafood galas in Seattle and Anchorage.
“Developing new products is really hard,” said Julie Decker, new executive director of the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation which hosts the event. (Decker replaces Jim Browning who retired,) “It costs a lot of money, takes a lot of time and attention, and sometimes the products are wonderful and sometimes they are not. So this event really helps companies determine how the market place is going to receive their product.” Read more@sitnews 15:11
A cautionary tale about ITQ fisheries
Individual transferable quotas (ITQs) are being promoted as a panacea for global fisheries. However, analysis of BC fisheries raises serious questions about this new economic approach. Read more@ecotrust 13:08
Pam Anderson: Don’t limit access to Gulf’s fishery
Many members of Congress, ours included, have realized this and are attempting to make positive changes in the Magnuson-Stevens Act of 2007. But those whose agenda is to reduce participation in the fishery, leadership in NOAA included, are more active than they have ever been in their attempts to prevent it. Read [email protected] 12:23
Judge agrees to short extension in Steller sea lion case
A federal district court judge agreed to allow extra time in the lawsuit over the National Marine Fisheries Service environmental impact statement about Steller sea lion protections in the Aleutian Islands. Read more@alaskajournal 11:48
BRIGHTON: It’s a hull of mess we’re looking at
Authenticity lies at the core of Nova Scotia’s tourism brand, so it’s important to get the story straight. Either the vessel carrying the Bluenose II name is the real thing or it isn’t. The province appears to want it both ways. Read more@chronicleherald 11:24
Baker: A DFO library gets checked out
We all learned this week that more than 50,000 files have been moved or discarded from the library at the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Centre in Newfoundland and Labrador as part of the federal government plan to consolidate the country’s fisheries libraries. Read more@cbcnews 10:17
Water Woes out West: Drought
MSA Reauthorization: Battle lines form over changes to primary national fishing law
Proposed changes to the nation’s primary fishing law will mean stocks take longer to rebuild and, in the long run, will hurt the marine environment and cost the fishing industry jobs. Or, the revisions will not hurt fish stocks, even as they take longer to rebuild; there is no harm to the environment; and immediate jobs will be created or in some cases saved.
Hastings calls it the “Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act.” It is widely supported by both the commercial and recreational fishing industries in southern New Jersey. But environmental groups, in a telephone press conference on Friday, called it the “Empty Oceans Act.” Read more@pressofatlanticcity 07:57
