Monthly Archives: April 2014
Louisiana Shrimpers wait idly for waters to reopen
South Louisianans may have felt a warm breeze sweeping in off the Gulf of Mexico earlier this week. Call it a godsend or a late arrival, shrimp fisherman are hoping that warm southerly wind is here to stay. One of the coldest winters on record has dampened the growth of Louisiana’s inland brown shrimp. Read more here 08:14
Kuterra brings first land-raised Atlantic salmon to market
Kuterra LP, located in Port McNeill on Vancouver Island, is bringing the first-ever land-raised Atlantic salmon to market, to be sold through Safeway stores in British Columbia and Alberta. “The effects of conventional farming on the marine environment are very real to us,” said ‘Namgis Chief Bill Cranmer. bic.com Read more here 07:54
Set Net Fishery’s Future in Superior Court Hands
ANCHORAGE – The Alaska Fisheries Conservation Alliance made its case in Superior Court this afternoon, in hopes of overturning a decision that would ban commercial set nets in several non-subsistence areas around the state. Read more here 07:41
Earth Day discussion stresses importance of two fish species to local environment
Since the country began industrializing, more and more dams have been built, halting the alewives’ fishways. About 4,000 dams span the small state of Connecticut, he said.”By building fishways or removing dams we can reconnect them with their natural habitat,” he said, stressing the important role local communities play in alewife preservation. the day.com Read more here 07:17
Skyrocketing shrimp prices put squeeze on restaurants, stores
The price of shrimp has skyrocketed in the last four years, with the price for the largest shrimp increasing from $6.40 per pound in 2010 to $10.05 per pound. chron.com Read more here 20:37
All in the ‘Deadliest Catch’ Family: Capt. Sig Hansen Explains Why His 18-Year-Old Daughter Is Joining the Northwestern Crew
Sig Hansen and his crab boat, the Northwestern, have been with “Deadliest Catch” since the beginning. His tough but caring style has made him a favorite with fans for the past nine seasons, but has also caused trouble. yahoo.com Read more here 19:27
Maine Baby Lobster Decline Could End High Catches
YARMOUTH, Maine (AP) _ Scientists say the number of baby lobsters settling off the rocky coast of Maine continues to steadily decline – possibly foreshadowing an end to the recent record catches that have boosted New England’s lobster fishery. mpbn Read more here 16:39
Morrissey, (who?) attacks Canada over seal hunt
In his own words: “Gail Shea, the Federal Fisheries Minister for Canada, says that baby seals are ‘killed humanely,’ and explains how the baby seals are shot by high-powered rifles.” (Note: A Rolling Stone piece points there that there is no record of Shea actually saying those words, although she has been quoted as supporting the seal hunt on several occasions.) globeandmail.com Read more here 16:17
In pictures: Florida fisherman catches 805lb Mako shark then barbecues and eats it with his friends
A DETERMINED fisherman caught a record-breaking 805lb Mako shark – and then barbecued and ate it with his friends. Joey Polk, 29, and his two cousins Earnie Polk, 43, and Kenny Peterson, 21, battled the 11ft predator for more than an hour before finally hauling it onto the beach. dailyrecordco.uk Read more here 16:04
60% of Japanese support whale hunt, 14% eats whale meat
The survey comes less than a month after the United Nations’ top court ruled the annual mission to the Southern Ocean by Japanese whaling vessels was a commercial hunt masquerading as science in a bid to skirt an international ban. Read more here 15:55
Fisherman’s Finest LLC Fishing Corporation Guilty of Illegal Fishing
(CORDOVA, Alaska) – Fisherman’s Finest LLC., a Washington based corporation and owner/operator of multiple commercial trawling vessels, pleaded guilty in a Cordova Court yesterday to illegal fishing with Non-Pelagic Trawl gear in state waters that were closed to the use of trawl gear. alaskanativenews.com Read more here 15:23
Maine elver dealer: Season starts late with lower prices, ‘saner’ system
PORTLAND, Maine — Maine’s short but lucrative elver fishing season has started slowly, by all accounts, and prices are down dramatically from the 2012 peak of more than $2,000 per pound. Read more here 15:01
The Magnuson Stevens Act and it’s Ten Year Rebuilding Timeline: Science or Fiction? By Meghan Lapp
The arbitrary nature of a ten year rebuilding requirement is not a new issue. No scientific basis or analysis was involved at all in choosing a period of ten years. The requirement was a purely political decision. In fact, there are no scientific grounds for justifying any specific value as a standard for a fish stock rebuilding time. For the past several years, scientists, fishermen and Congress have highlighted the need for reconsideration of this provision. Read more here 13:44
High Prices, Low Production; Gulf Oysters at Zero Population
From Texas to Florida, the number of oysters harvested in the Gulf is at one of the lowest on record. Three years after the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, oyster industry experts have no answers on the cause of the steep decline; especially on public grounds relied upon by commercial fishermen. gulfseafoodnews Read more here 12:51
Fish and Game Getting Ready for the Sockeye Fishery in Bristol Bay
The 2014 sockeye fishery in Bristol Bay is still a couple of months away but preparations for the fishery are already underway. KDLG’s Mike Mason reports about how the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is getting ready for the season. Listen at kdlg 12:07
Watchdog groups fear seismic testing ‘assault’
MIDDLETOWN — Dozens of area advocacy groups and officials are seeking to delay a seismic testing program they say could have drastic impacts along the Jersey Shore. “Every day, 24/7, for 30 days in a very concentrated area off the Jersey Shore. … It’s pretty clear there is going to be harm.” gmnews.com Read more here 11:38
New England Fishery Management Council Meeting April 22-24, 2014 Mystic, CT
Agenda information is here, LISTEN LIVE!!!! ( so they claim!, Webinar registration is here. 07:22
2 cited for 2 cited for trawling in closed season
BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Two Louisiana men have been cited for allegedly trawling for shrimp during a closed season in Terrebonne Parish. Read more here 07:08
Ecosystem-based management is focus of May 22 fisheries forum in Groton
The future of sustainable fisheries in New England and U.S. waters will be the topic from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. May 22 at a public forum at the Branford House on the University of Connecticut’s Avery Point campus. theday Read more here 20:30
The Coast Guard rescued two men from a grounded F/V Mirage near Sitka Monday
No injuries to the crew or damage to the vessel were reported. The vessel is reported to have approximately 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel aboard. The crew of the Mirage will attempt to refloat the vessel on the morning high tide Tuesday. The Coast Guard will continue to monitor the situation and is investigating the cause of the grounding. uscgnews Read more here 17:48
Is your seafood legit, or are you helping fisheries to flounder? – A Bogus Report?
“We do not agree with the statistics that are being highlighted in the report,” said an official with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, blaming insufficient data for skewing the numbers. oregonlive Read more here 17:03
North Carolina’s DMF curtailment of Red Drum season illustrates the absurdity of its fisheries management nonsense
The absurdity, and the warped politics, of North Carolina’s fisheries management scam was amply illustrated one again last week. Here’s how the Jacksonville Daily News reported it: beufortobserver.net Read more here 16:19
Chairman of the Board for Ocean Beauty Seafood’s Talks Sockeye in Dillingham By Mike Mason
This year’s sockeye fishery in Bristol Bay was a major topic of discussion Saturday during the first “Business of Fish” workshop of the season. kdlg Listen, and Read more here 15:20
Experts expect large herring run in Togiak
The largest herring fishery in Alaska waters is a few short weeks from getting underway. Two looming questions are whether the season will start earlier than predicted and what value the Togiak herring will fetch in the market. bristolbaytimes Read more here 15:00
Compensation battle rages four years after BP’s oil spill
Four years after the Deepwater Horizon spill, oil is still washing up on the long sandy beaches of Grand Isle, Louisiana, and some islanders are fed up with hearing from BP that the crisis is over. Jules Melancon, the last remaining oyster fisherman on an island,,, Read more here 11:22
Cape Wind’s unlucky 13 years
But Cape Wind’s impacts extend far beyond the environment. The controversial project would also jeopardize public safety, put fishermen’s livelihoods at risk and desecrate sacred tribal lands. capecodonline Read more here 11:11
Another Life: Seals thrive where tangle nets offer easy and meaty takeaways
Counting the netted, bitten fish along with those snatched from the meshes, an expert estimate of annual cost reaches up to more than €1 million – almost equal to the catch’s actual value at the quayside. irishtimes.com Read more here 11:01
Former NOAA Director Back at Oregon State University
“I’m immensely proud of what we were able to accomplish during the four years I was at NOAA. I return to OSU with new insights, contacts and energy to help strengthen our ability to be positioned for the challenges that lie ahead.” Read more here 10:39
Just Now!! A tight fit.
Gloucester – A tight fit. The lobster boat Dominatrix drives between the stern of the herring trawler Western Venture and the Coast Guard station’s large vessel pier. Captain Dean on Dominatrix loaded bait and drove away from the dock with no stern man on board. Hauling lobster gear alone is dangerous but happens often in the lobster industry when crew comes up short. 08:19
An Evolutionary Family Drama
Alewives are anadromous fish: Born in freshwater, they spend their lives in the ocean, returning annually to their birthplaces to spawn. Until colonial-era dams cut off their migration,,, Read more here NYT 08:05
