Monthly Archives: February 2014
Fisherman try for new ideas to generate cleaner waters
BEAUFORT, CARTERET COUNTY – Commercial fishing generates more than 3,000 jobs and $50 million in income in our state each year, but local fishermen say it’s getting harder to make a living on the water. Now a grassroots effort is being made to fix the problems they frequently face. The effort is being led by commercial fisherman Chris McCaffity. “We can’t change the reality of what we have we just need to offer positive solutions right now,” says McCaffity Read more here 07:06
N.E. lands $33M in federal fishing aid
NOAA announced the first apportioning of the federal fishery disaster funds Wednesday, awarding $32,847,955 — or 43.8 percent of the appropriated $75 million — to New England’s five Atlantic fishing states and New York. Read more here 00:33
Where’s the fishing disaster aid going? N.J., N.Y. get $3.8 million; New England banks majority Pallone is HOT!
Rep. Frank Pallone @FrankPallone 39m Unacceptable that @NOAA is only allocating $3mil to NJ/NY fisheries out of $75mil w/ the extent of #Sandy devastation http://1.usa.gov/Ny1vDp
Industry advocates in New Jersey blamed the latest allocation on John Bullard, NOAA’s Northeast regional fisheries director based in Massachusetts — ground zero of the near-meltdown in New England’s fishing fleet for cod and other groundfish. “That $33 million goes to groundfish, which largely helps New Bedford, where he was the former mayor,” said Thomas P. Fote, legislative chairman for the Jersey Coast Anglers Association and a New Jersey representative to interstate fishery management groups. Read more here app.com 21:24
Three poachers plead guilty and sentenced for oyster theft
On Feb. 25, John Phillipe, 32, Patrick Sylve, 25, both of Port Sulphur, and Jean Taylor, 32, of Sparta, Tenn., pleaded guilty to numerous commercial oyster violations in Plaquemines Parish, according to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. Read more here kalb.com 20:19
25-30-year-old man Coast Guard medevaced from 680-foot fish processing vessel Ocean Phoenix
Watchstanders at the Coast Guard 17th District command center in Juneau received the request for medevac from the master of the Ocean Phoenix when a crewman suffered a severe injury to his left hand. Read more here 16:27
Boat of the Week from the Boat of the Week from the Athearn Marine Agency:: 2006 – 46′ Long Beach Lobster Boat, Fiberglass, 800HP, 8 Cylinder Scania D116
Specifications, and information here 15:25
Greater Atlantic Region fisheries to receive $36 million in disaster relief funds – (post- tropical cyclone Sandy?)
As part of the Fiscal Year 2014 federal budget, Congress approved $75 million in fishery disaster relief funds. Today, NOAA NMFS announced that the New England groundfish fishery will receive $33. Commercial and recreational fisheries in New Jersey and New York will receive $3 for relief effort to address the impacts following Hurricane/post-tropical cyclone Sandy. Read more here 14:41
R.I. fishermen to share in $32.84 million for New England disaster relief – Read more here Providence Journal 17:06
Chinook Fishermen to Get $20 million for 2012 Disaster – Read more here ktuu 17:20
NOAA Awards State $10.9 Million for Commercial Oyster & Blue Crab Fisheries Disasters – Read more here Senate.gov 17: 26
Sen. Murkowski scores ~ $21 million for AK regions hurt by low Chinook runs Read more here The Fluff ‘n Buff @ Fish Radio 22:29
P.E.I.’s North Shore lobstermen vote down trap reduction
Lobster fishermen on P.E.I.’s North Shore have once again voted down a proposal to reduce the number of traps they put in the water. The proposal was to cut the number of traps allowed from 300 to 270. Read more here 14:12
Alaska to get $20.8 million in fish disaster funds
Alaska communities will receive $20.8 million in aid for the disaster declarations on the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers and in Cook Inlet. The designations came in 2012, although it included 2010, 2011 and 2012 on the Yukon and 2011 and 2012 for the Kuskokwim. Congress included $75 million for fisheries disasters throughout the country, including New England, Alaska, and Lousiana, in its most recent appropriations bill. Read more here 13:27
Gulf Oystermen Harvest Support from D.C. Legislators and Organizations
Over the course of four days, the oystermen met with more than 20 Congressmen or staff, as well as with the House Transportation Committee, the Food and Drug Administration, the Senate Labor Appropriations Subcommittee, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration‘s new head of fisheries Eileen Sorbeck. Read more here 13:14
BREAKING: $33 Million to New England in Disaster Funding.
Bruce Tarr confirms officials expect NOAA to announce about $33 million in fish disaster aid for New England. More to follow. 11:36
Your View: Eric Hansen – Scallopers need access to Georges Bank
The scallop fishery has become the lifeblood of the New Bedford waterfront, a bright spot in a fishing industry encumbered by onerous regulations and heavy-handed management. It has helped make New Bedford, for the 13th year in a row, the most valuable port in the nation. But,,,Read more here 11:11
Pebble Mine Opponents Urge EPA To Kill Project
About 30 opponents of the proposed Pebble Mine met in Washington today with White House and high-ranking EPA staff. They came armed with a new EPA study that found a mine of Pebble’s size would pose a significant risk to Bristol Bay and its valuable salmon fisheries. Now they’re asking the Environment agency to take the next step and kill the project. They didn’t get a definite answer. Listen and Read more here 10:34
Deadline for Terminating Inshore Fishing Controlling Agreement Fast Approaching
OTTAWA, ONTARIO–(Marketwired – Feb. 24, 2014) – Inshore fishermen in Atlantic Canada and Québec are reminded that they have until April 12, 2014 to terminate or adjust their controlling agreements in order to comply with the policy on Preserving the Independence of the Inshore Fleet in Canada’s Atlantic Fisheries (PIIFCAF). “The objective of the PIIFCAF Policy was to strengthen the Owner-Operator and Fleet Separation policies. We remain fully committed to these policies and we will continue to work with the industry to ensure that the fishery remains economically prosperous for future generations.” Read more here 09:57
Millions of shellfish are dying off before they can be harvested at Island Scallops
The deteriorating health of B.C.’s oceans is impacting not only the province’s marine life, but also its economy. Millions of shellfish are dying off before they can be harvested at Island Scallops, near Parksville, B.C., due to increased acidity levels in the ocean. Read more here 07:23
Viewed as necessary for the betterment of the country? Newfoundland’s place in the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement
One of the more contentious issues related to CETA is the impact it may have on the province’s fish processing industry. CETA may reduce the 11 – 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian fish products creating the incentive to avoid value-added processing in the country. The agreement will not protect…Read more here. The Muse 06:56
Status quo reigns with New England Fisheries Management Council
DANVERS — Tuesday morning had morphed into afternoon and then on toward the evening — not that anybody attending the New England Fisheries Management Council meeting inside the artificial gloaming of the DoubleTree Hotel’s grand ballroom had the slightest idea of what time it was. Read more here 03:37
City port recovery plan touts $12M needs – GDT Editorial: Port recovery plan an important step for city’s future
Transitional aid to shoreside business and fishing crews, specific uses for Saltonstall-Kennedy Act money, and federal money to hire idled fishing boats to serve as research vessels. Read more here
GDT Editorial: It is headlined as a Gloucester Groundfish Port Recovery & Revitalization Plan. Read more here 03:31
Dock to Dish Cuts out Middlemen by Bringing Fish Directly to Restaurants
“The whole idea was to be a change in the marketplace,” he says, back to the way the fishermen out of Montauk have been doing things since the first hungry settler put a skiff in the water, when supply came before demand. Read more here 19:39
A Sustainable Natural Resource: Newfoundland launches seal-industry campaign as Ottawa appeals WTO ruling
Hutchings said there are now an estimated eight million seals in the region, taking an uncertain toll on cod and other fish stocks. “Just looking at one species like the animal welfare groups do, I’d certainly welcome a look at the whole ecosystem and how they can support us in supporting that ecosystem.” Read more here 19:16
Shaheen, Ayotte Ask Commerce to Waive State Matching Requirement on Behalf of New Hampshire Fisheries
(Washington, DC) – As part of their ongoing efforts to protect New Hampshire’s fishing industry and mitigate industry-wide economic losses, U.S. Senators Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) are calling on U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker to waive the state matching requirements for federally declared disaster relief funds for the Northeast Multispecies Groundfish Fishery. Read more here 17:21
Political solution sought for China geoduck ban
Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski and members of the Southeast Alaska Regional Dive Fisheries Association talked last week about the possibility of a political solution to China’s ban on Alaska and Washington State geoducks. Doherty noted that Canadian geoducks are not included in the ban, Listen and read more here krd.org 15:19
Just Now!! Mackerel as far as the eye can see
These mackerel are being frozen at the Norpel fish plant in New Bedford. With just over 4 percent of the quota for 2014 there is speculation that the fishery will be stopped on George’s Bank due to bycatch of the over-abundant haddock that are currently drastically under-fished due to regulatory problems in the New England ground fish fishery. 14:31:08
Penny a pound lobster levy gets initial approval – Levy could raise $250,000 for marketing Island lobster
In the test vote, fishermen in Lobster Fishing Area (LFA) 24, from Tignish to North Lake, gave overwhelming support. “This was just a test zone to identify some opinion,’’ said Mike McGeoghegan, president of the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association (PEIFA). “But based on these findings, we are now talking about an Island-wide vote to see what we get.” Read more here The Guardian 12:54
NC Fishermen: An Endangered Species
For years, the North Carolina commercial fishermen have been bearing the brunt of attempts from outside interests to seize control of North Carolina residents’ food supply. The industry is being fined and regulated out of existence for admitted personal gain. Read more here 12:38
Transcriptomics helps researchers trace origins of codfish decline
The mega-decline in cod and other fisheries across the North Atlantic Ocean threatens the livelihood of fishermen and communities in New England and Atlantic Canada. One suspect in the disappearance of cod and other groundfish is the food source for their young: a planktonic copepod crustacean, no larger than a grain of rice. Read more here 12:08
Reopen historic, lucrative Georges Bank scalloping grounds – Tim Healy
ROCKLAND — In a region where years of harsh, inflexible regulations have led to a dwindling fishing fleet and shrinking dockside revenues, the scallop fishery stands out as one of the few success stories, producing one of the most valuable and sought-after seafood products in the country. Read more here 11:48
Coast Guard medevacs 48-year-old man 272-foot F/V American Dynasty near Cold Bay, Alaska
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Kodiak, forward deployed to Cold Bay, medevaced a 48-year-old man from the 272-foot fishing vessel American Dynasty approximately 95 miles northwest of Cold Bay, Monday. Read more here 10:52
B.C. groups seek federal auditor’s help on salmon inquiry
Two British Columbia conservation groups are asking the federal auditor general to examine Ottawa’s response to a $26-million public inquiry into the collapse of West Coast salmon stocks. Read more here 10:29
