Monthly Archives: May 2014
Maine lobsterman Skip Werner devises “underwater lasso” for finding lost traps
My boss Skip Werner has been lobstering for over sixty years. In that time he’s picked up quite a few helpful tricks of the trade, but he’s still always trying to come up with clever ideas of his own to make life easier on the lobster boat. Last week he came up with an idea that he coined, “the underwater lasso.” Read more here, and a photo display of the innovation. 08:00
Schumer: Feds should renew permit to keep cormorants away from Oneida Lake
Schumer said. “For the thousands of New Yorkers who rely on Oneida Lake for their livelihood, for anglers, and for summer recreation, the return of the invasive and fish-devouring cormorant bird population is a troubling thought. These non-native birds damage the ecosystem and hurt tourism by .” Think about that for a minute. Chuck understands predator/prey! Adult double-crested cormorants are capable of eating more than a pound of fish per day, and in the past have decimated fish population in the eastern end of Lake Ontario Read more here 07:12
The Magnuson-Stevens Act is in Need of Congressional Attention
In a recent article titled, “The Magnuson Act: It’s a Keeper” and published in the media outlet Roll Call[1], Eric Schwaab and Bill Hogarth’s representation that the current fisheries management regime is a success and b
uilt on sound science is blatantly false and amounts to no more than agency based rhetoric rather than reality. At present, there are a total of 7 Economic Disasters that have been declared by the Secretary of Commerce throughout the United States. These economic disasters are not limited to one region of the country, they span from New England, down the East Coast, into the Gulf of Mexico, and along the Pacific Coast. Read more here 16:41
BP to ask Supreme Court to hear claims issue
NEW ORLEANS — BP PLC said Wednesday it will ask the U.S. Supreme Court to decide whether businesses must prove they were directly harmed by the 2010 Gulf Of Mexico oil spill to collect payments from a 2012 settlement. Read more here 16:13
Biologist Gets 10 Months for Yurok Grift
A judge today sentenced a local biologist to serve 10 months in prison for his role in conspiring to embezzle nearly $1 million in federal funds from the Yurok Tribe over a three-year period beginning in 2007, according to Yurok Tribal Chairman Thomas O’Rourke. As a part of their sentences, both Raymond and LeValley have been ordered to repay the $852,000 they stole from the tribe. Read more here 13:55
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week – 98.9′ Steel Stern Trawler,1985, Dragger Steel, CAT W/ Federal Permit(s)
Specifications, and information Click here 13:26
N.C. seafood tonnage down again, but values increase in 2013
For the third year in a row, commercial tonnage of seafood was down in 2013, partially due to shoaling at Oregon Inlet, while dockside values were up, the 
says. Commercial fishermen sold 50 million pounds of fish and shellfish at state docks in 2013, a 12 percent decrease from 2012 and 21 percent less than the five-year average, according to the division’s Trip Ticket Program. Read more here 11:07
Careers@Pew: Officer, Ending Overfishing in Northwestern Europe (Policy)
Position Overview: This position will be responsible for driving Pew’s European Union (EU) fisheries policy objectives in Europe, particularly for ensuring, as part of a team of senior specialists, the implementation of the recent reform of the Common Fisheries Policy in Northwest Europe. Read more here 10:58
Elyse Moore: ‘Flip dog’ in the shadhouse: Recalling the Connecticut River days when fish and rum ran freely
SOUTH HADLEY — In 1733, the first recorded retail purchase of 30 Connecticut River shad for a penny apiece in Northampton launched a fisheries industry that continued through the industrial development of the mid-19th century. Commercial fisheries along the Massachusetts reach of,,, Read more here 10:38
N.L. government halibut quota caught and landed in N.S.
A significant halibut quota owned by the provincial government is being harvested and landed in Nova Scotia by a Nova Scotia-based fish company, CBC Investigates has learned. But CBC Investigates has discovered that Icewater isn’t harvesting that quota at all. The Newfoundland company has instead been sub-leasing it to an unnamed harvesting entity outside the province. Read more here 10:24
Appeals Court ruling favors Mashpee oyster farmer
MASHPEE — The Massachusetts Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of a Mashpee oyster farmer whose proposed Popponesset Bay oyster farm has been continually challenged by neighboring homeowners. Read more here 07:50
Lobbyist: Mashpee homeowner behind move to block shellfisherman – Charles Clough, head of Clough Capital Partners, a $3 billion investment firm,,, Read more here
Mississippi Commission on Marine Resources adopts red snapper monitoring plan
The DMR is moving quickly to follow-up on the concerns of fishermen about this year’s red snapper season. Two weeks ago, more than 100 people attended the DMR’s first “Red Snapper Summit” to share ideas about how best to manage that popular fishery. The Commission on Marine Resources took action at its monthly meeting on Tuesday to address the issue. Read more here 22:29
Governor Rick Scott announced the bay scallop season will open three days early this year.
Opening the season early and on a weekend will create additional recreational opportunities for Florida residents and visitors while recognizing the importance of economic benefits to coastal communities where this activity occurs. Read more here 17:18
Compass: Alaska’s fisheries need real help from D.C., not meddling
Since my two GOP competitors for the U.S. Senate are skipping the Kodiak debate on fisheries, here’s what they’ll miss: my 40-year experience in the fight for Alaska’s fisheries has equipped me to take on Washington, D.C., to keep our fish abundant, our decision-making local, and our fishery industry vibrant. Mead Treadwell is a candidate in the Alaska Republican primary for U.S. Senate. Read more here 17:01
Illegal fish sales net Saskatchewan man fine, ban
Leon Morin, from Buffalo Narrows, was charged after a complaint was received by the Ministry of Environment in 2012 over the possible abuse of walleye stocks in the area. During the investigation, undercover officers were approached by a commercial fisherman who sold them fish after the commercial fishing season had ended. Morin was then charged with unlawfully marketing fish caught by both commercial fishing and subsistence fishing. Read more here 16:17
An oral history of the Newfoundland seal hunt
However, I had to pop them in the oven while my wife was at work. Sherry doesn’t like seal meat. Nor does she like moose, caribou or rabbit. About the latter delicacy, she says, “It reminds me of cat.” Of course, my first inclination is to ask, “And when did you last eat cat?” But that’s another story for another day. Read more here 15:57
Canada tangles up fisheries talks to score foreign-policy point
This situation began to change about five years ago when many governments and international agencies, began to recognize that small-scale fisheries are not a problem to be solved, but rather a solution to the pressing problems facing our oceans. Most important, this turning point was signalled by a major initiative led by the food agency of the United Nations, the Rome-based Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) — a set of international guidelines to support small-scale fisheries. Read more here 15:08
Maine Lobsterman Charged with ‘Egregious’ Harvest
PORTLAND, Maine (AP) _ The Maine Marine Patrol is charging a 34-year-old Stonington lobsterman with what it calls the most egregious case of harvesting undersized and protected lobsters in more than 25 years. The Maine Marine Patrol says Theodore Gray possessed 269 undersized lobsters and 123 known breeding lobsters. Read more here
Reidar’s Trawl Gear and Marine Supply – Their innovations boon to fishermen
A business that serves commercial fishermen has built-in challenges, among them weather, changing fish populations and federal regulations that substantially impact planning and development. To survive and thrive, a marine design and supply business has to be nimble, innovative and just plain determined. Read more here 14:11
Fisheries panel could limit rockfish catch in three year phase-in
Cutbacks would affect all sectors of the fishery — commercial, charter and recreational — and could include limiting the number of fish or pounds commercial fishermen could take, and jiggering the number or weight of individual fish taken by charter or recreational fishermen. Read more here 13:51
Baker: Fabian Manning shines a light on an uncomfortable truth
As recently as last Wednesday, I had compiled what I was only half-jokingly calling a “shrimp tastes like chicken” list. The list was a collection of all the folks who had either ducked interviews or denied them all together when it comes to the issue of the significant quota cuts recently dealt to the the inshore shrimp fleet. It’s quite a list, comprised mostly (but not exclusively) of people who get handsome paycheques directly from the same taxpayers they are choosing to ignore in this case. Read more here 13:37
Ed Markey, lawmakers rake in Cape Wind dollars “It just doesn’t smell right,”
Cape Wind executives and lobbyists have poured hundreds of thousands of dollars since last year into the campaign coffers of key lawmakers — including more than $50,000 to U.S. Sen. Edward J. Markey — as developers of the controversial offshore wind farm seek nearly $1.3 billion in federal cash and loan guarantees, a Herald review found. Read more here 09:29
Sweeping study aims to find why salmon stocks collapsed
With almost $10-million in funding raised from private donors, corporations and non-profits, the Pacific Salmon Foundation has started a salmon research project unlike anything the government ever attempted. Launched on the 20th anniversary of the collapse of coho and chinook salmon stocks in the Strait of Georgia,, Read more here 08:28
Where are the fishermen/fishers/fisherfolk in all this?
With the working title, “Discard ban can benefit fish and fishers, but sustainability must come first” here are the opening lines of an article written by Bryce Stewart – and you wonder why fishermen get a tad upset when they read this kind of thing! Read more here 22:29
AK sockeye salmon market faces wild card with Fraser River run
Salmon fishermen were back out on the Copper River yesterday/Monday hoping for a catch of 33-thousand sockeyes. The first 12-hour opener last Thursday was slow going – 510 landings yielded a total take of 27-thousand reds, down 16% from the forecast, and just 1,000 kings. Advance prices for the first fish dipped a bit to $3.50 a pound for sockeyes and $6.00 for kings. That compares to $4.00 and $6 to $7 last year. Read more here 22:01
This is Fish Radio. I’m Stephanie Mangini. Reality TV brings Alaska’s toughest longline fishermen to Greenland.
A new pilot featuring Alaska fisherman will take them half way across the world to the iceberg filled waters of Greenland. A recent ad in the local paper is seeking the best and bravest halibut longliners, stating “Crybabies need not apply.” “We are looking for Alaska halibut fisherman that have braved the waters of Alaska and are looking for the next great challenge.” Listen, and read more here 19:22
Garibaldi-based Crabbing Operation Hit With Multiple Charges
OSP Fish & Wildlife Division troopers started the investigation in December 2013 after a mandatory hold inspection noted the “Valkyrie” deployed commercial crab pots in the Pacific Ocean and did not conduct a landing within 14 days as required by law. The “Valkyrie” is owned and supervised by ARON STEINBACH, age 34, from Bay City, and was operated by two different captains. The first captain was THOMAS WHITE, age 30, from Nehalem, and the most recent captain was a 52-year old Garibaldi man. Read more here 18:00
Better science for better fisheries management.
In research published online last month in the journal Reviews in Fisheries Science & Aquaculture, Grabowski found that mobile fishing gear such as trawls and dredges that drag along the bottom cause more damage to areas inhabited by groundfish than stationary gear like traps and gillnets. Read more here 17:14
Pacific bluefin tuna deemed in danger – Centre for Biological Diversity
The Centre for Biological Diversity filed a legal petition urging the National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA) to prohibit fishing for Pacific bluefin tuna, which is reported to have suffered a 96 per cent decline since large-scale fishing began. Read more here 12:09
Early breakup on Yukon River could mean early king run
If the king run does arrive early, biologists want to be ready for it. This year’s chinook run is projected to be one of the worst ever and fisheries managers have already told villagers who live along the river that there likely will be no subsistence fishing for kings this year. The last thing they want to happen is for a bunch of kings to show up early and get caught by fishermen who are fishing for sheefish and whitefish. Read more here 11:47
