Daily Archives: March 29, 2014
The End of the U.S. Shrimping Industry – Execution by Electrocution? Public comments end 3/31/14
In 2010, WildEarth Guardians petitioned the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to list the lesser electric ray (also commonly called the Caribbean electric ray) under the ESA, but that petition was denied in a 90-day finding in March 2011. If the lesser electric ray is listed under the ESA, it could mean the end of shrimp fishing as we know it throughout the ray’s range, which includes all the Gulf states, as well as states along the east coast from Florida to North Carolina. Read more here thegoodcatchblog 23:17
With the seal population increased to about 8 million, protestors of the hunt should spend time considering the impact on the ecosystem.
If indeed the sceptics have lessened their stance on the cruelty of the seal hunt, then it is on to the sustainability argument, says the provincial fisheries minister. Keith Hutchings was reacting to recent comments made by Sheryl Fink, the International Fund for Animal Welfare’s wildlife campaign director, as she made a visit to Corner Brook this week. Read more here @westernstar 21:48
Boost in B.C. Mining has Alaska Fishermen Nervous
British Columbia now has more than 20 major mines and expansions moving through the permitting process. The largest, known as the KSM mine, would be about 45 miles from Hyder, Alaska. Brian Lynch of the Petersburg Vessels Owners Association says his group isn’t anti-mine, but they’re wary of the KSM mine and at least four other proposed projects in B.C. that are upstream from Alaskan waters. Listen. Read more here 18:01
Film takes new approach to sealing disaster – “54 Hours,” Video
One of the most iconic, tragic, complicated and studied events in this province’s history, Crummey realized the challenges creating a narrative from the disaster would include. Express the gravity and significance of the tragedy in film — a short film — done in animation? Every voice in Crummey’s head screamed for him to say no. “Tell me more,” he heard himself utter. Read more here thetelegram 13:29
Sea Hawk Boats works to recover after fire
SEBRING – When fire damaged items inside the building where boats are built at Sea Hawk Boats this week, it wasn’t the first setback for the 15-year-old commercial boat manufacturer, owner Mike Wyatt said Friday. Read more here 13:06
Virginian-Pilot Editorial: Real risks to Virginia coast
The April 2010 blowout at BP’s Macondo well gushed for 87 days, a total of 4.9 million barrels of oil, coating beaches from Louisiana to Florida. About 40 percent of the Gulf was closed to fishing. Petroleum industry advocates desperately hope people will forget such things. Virginia leaders, including Gov. Terry McAuliffe and his predecessors – including Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine – have been pushing hard to open territory off Virginia Beach to drilling for oil and gas. Read more here 12:55
“Bullshit!” – Golden king crab fleet loses bid for quota increase
The Aleutian Islands golden king crab fleet came away empty-handed last week, after the Alaska Board of Fisheries decided against a quota increase, rejecting both the initial request of 15 percent, and the compromise proposal of 5 percent. The vote was loudly greeted with a barnyard epithet from a veteran fisheries lobbyist seated near the front of the audience. “Bullshit!” exclaimed Clem Tillion. “You just screwed the fleet for no reason whatsoever.” He said the decision means a “surplus” of crab will go unharvested. Read more here bristolbaytimes 12:24
How Asia’s abalone fever may drive gourmet mollusc extinct
HOUT BAY, South Africa – In broad daylight, groups of poachers hidden among the rocks of a South African marine conservation area wade slowly into the icy, shark-infested waters of the Atlantic Ocean in search of ‘white gold’. Read more here 10:48
The Poacher and the Dirty Dealer Caper – Cape Cod Oyster theft case unveiled
A West Yarmouth man has been indicted in the theft of more than $40,000 worth of oysters and equipment from beds off Dennis and Barnstable last summer. And a well-known Sandwich fish market owner pleaded guilty Friday to a charge of receiving stolen property in connection with the case. Read more here capecodonline.com 08:27
“If it comes in the bay, we’ve had it,” Port O’Connor Tx. Fishing community worries about oil spill (w/video)
It was late in the day, and nearly everyone had left Clark’s Shrimp House except Craig Lambright and the rest of the three-man shrimper crew. The sleepy fishing town, home to about 1,200 mostly retirement-age residents, anxiously watched as crews poured in from Corpus Christi and Lake Charles, La., setting the stage to clean up as much as 170,000 gallons of oil spilled after a ship collision in the Houston Ship Channel on Saturday. Read more here victoriaadvocate.com 07:52
RCMP to square off against aboriginals in a fight over an imminent commercial roe-herring fishery.
The federal government has chosen a remote stretch of B.C. coastline to square off against aboriginals in a fight over an imminent commercial roe-herring fishery. The Heiltsuk have issued a statement saying, “We will exercise our authority to stop any commercial herring activity in our territories. We will protect our aboriginal rights to the fullest extent possible should commercial fishers not abide by the ban.” It’s real,” he said of the prospect for confrontation. Read more here vancouversun 06:59
Gloucester Daily Times Editorial: Saltonstall-Kennedy grants should be just the beginning
The word that the Cape Ann Seafood Exchange has drawn NOAA’s recommendation to receive a grant of nearly $400,000 under Saltonstall-Kennedy Act certainly represents good news for the seafood auction — and, to an extent, for the city. Read more here 05:08
