Daily Archives: March 13, 2014
A CFA or an RSDA for Community Benefit from the Fisheries
In the Magnuson – Stevens Act that was enacted to provide a framework to manage the fisheries in the 200 miles of fish rich waters around U.S. shores, there is an intent to protect the fishing communities themselves. Not just the fishermen, but the downtown businesses, the tax coffers that fund roads, schools, etc, and the airlines and everything else that makes a community viable. Later, ‘community fishing entities’ wording was inserted as an idea to help in this process. This is a look at a current proposal for a ‘community fishing entity’ which is untried and untested and then a look at an existing State of Alaska program that would do the same thing. Read more here alaskacafe 20:36
Finding clues to disappearing king crab – This is Fish Radio. I’m Laine Welch
Did you know that red king crab are cannibals and eat their babies, but blue king crab do not? Or that deep water golden king crabs are almost indestructible and appear to resist ocean acidification? Those are just a few of the things being studied at the nation’s top king crab lab at Kodiak. Read more here 17:25
VIMS professor links sea star die-off to blue crab, lobster diseases – Rising sea temperature, contaminants to blame
As dramatic videos of the West Coast sea star die-off make the rounds on social media, a Virginia Institute of Marine Science professor has been quietly studying similar catastrophes closer to home. (Jeffrey) Shields sees parallels between the “Sea Star Wasting Syndrome,” as the mysterious attack has come to be known, and his own research into similar infections in crabs and lobsters. Read more here virginiagazette 16:21
Oceana Challenge to Fishery Rules Defeated
– The government need not face claims that its amended guidelines for mid-Atlantic fisheries do not protect vulnerable species from overfishing, a federal judge ruled. Read more here 15:14
Eco Based Management Failure: Otter battleground – Fishermen lose lawsuit in battle against sea otter; supporters relieved
If you’re out surfing or walking along the beach, take a peek toward the Channel Islands. Among the seals, dolphins or rare whales, you might once again spot the California sea otter, due in part to the lifting of an artificial “no-otter zone” and a failed lawsuit to have it reinstated. Read more here vcreporter 12:18
Newfoundland Cod Fishery Announces Milestone Sustainability Assessment
ST. JOHN’S, NL–(Marketwired – March 13, 2014) – Newfoundland’s only commercial cod fishery is back on the map following an announcement that it has entered full assessment against the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard, the world’s best for sustainable and well-managed fisheries. Read more here 11:58
Geoduck Getdown? Chinese premier admits ‘friction’ with the United States
China is in the midst of a sovereignty dispute with U.S.-ally Japan over a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. China also has conflicting territorial claims with the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan, Malaysia and Brunei across a waterway in the South China Sea that provides 10 percent of the global fisheries catch and carries $5 trillion in ship-borne trade. For its part, Beijing has expressed concern over the U.S. military “pivot” towards Asia. Read more here the star.com 09:23
Actor Rhys Ifans brands seal hunt ‘inhumane’
The Amazing Spider-Man branded the killing of the marine mammals for their skins as “an off-season cash grab” for the Canadian fishing industry in a letter urging the Appellate Body of World Trade Organisation (WTO) to maintain the organisation’s decision to uphold the European Union’s ban against the practice ahead of their meeting in Geneva on March 17. Read more here timeslive 09:07
Seafood exporters hope EU tariff deal will provide much needed boost
OTTAWA — As a major free trade deal with Europe looms, seafood exports to the continent are reported to have plummeted in recent years. Annual Canadian seafood exports to the European Union fell by over $230 million from 2007 to 2012, according to government figures. The federal government says the industry will see a huge boon under the Canada-Europe free trade deal. About 95 per cent of European seafood tariffs will be removed from Canadian products. Read more here chronicleherald 08:24
Greenland telecom goes after Fisheries and Oceans Canada to get Trawler location information
The company wants to know which fishing trawler’s gear broke one of its underwater internet and phone cables. Subsea cables crisscross the ocean so people can make overseas phone calls or surf the web on the other side of the world. Read more here cbcnews 07:55
UK Fishermen – Storm Surges and Wind Farms – Economic Disaster
The government fund will allow people who make their living from the sea to receive up to £5,000 to replace lost or damaged fishing gear including crab and lobster pots. It comes as the Fishermen’s Mission also launched a nationwide appeal for emergency funds to aid people in coastal communities who have been unable to land any catches, as a result of the severe storms. Cromer crab fisherman John Lee, chairman of the North Norfolk Fisheries Local Action Group, said the major issues facing fishermen were offshore wind farms and the possibility of creating a Marine Conservation Zone (MCZ) off the north Norfolk coast. Read more here 07:40
Coast Guard medevaced an injured crewmember from F/V Shirley R. off Grays Harbor
The U.S. Coast Guard medically evacuated an injured crewmember from F/V Shirley R. The Jayhawk crew arrived on scene and began hoisting the man at approximately 8:30 p.m. The crewmember was taken to the Bowerman Airport in Hoquiam, Wash., where he was transferred to awaiting EMS. Read more here uscgnews 07:11
Lobster trap thief pleads guilty to receiving stolen property and molesting lobster gear.
Kyle Basoukas pleaded guilty to receiving stolen property and molesting lobster gear. He was sentenced to 90 days in the house of corrections, suspended, pending good behavior for one year. Basoukas also pleaded guilty to 133 separate violations, ranging from illegal escape panels on lobster traps to uncompliant whale entanglement gear. He will have to pay more than $11,000 in fines and has lost the privilege of obtaining a lobster license for up to five years.Read more here fostersdaily 06:48
Editorial: NOAA no longer has an excuse for grant delays
Six months ago, there was a glow of enthusiasm around the embattled Gloucester waterfront over the news that, while hardly meeting the full demands of the 1954 Saltonstall-Kennedy Act, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would kick in up to $11 million of its seafood tariff revenue to support innovative projects aimed at improving America’s embattled fisheries and dockside economies. Read more here 02:45
