Monthly Archives: May 2014
Big mammals vs. big oil: New pipeline puts humpback whales at risk
In a deep fjord in British Columbia called the Douglas Channel, where the Kitimat River pours runs of Chinook salmon into the Pacific Ocean, fishermen see singing humpback whales fling themselves into the air. Now the humpbacks are the flashpoint of an environmental battle. Environmentalists cried foul last month when the Canadian government stripped the whales of protections,,Read more here 20:58
Virginia abided by menhaden catch limit for 2013
In late 2012, Virginia and other Atlantic states adopted the first coast-wide catch limit for menhaden in a historic effort to save the “most important fish in the sea” from years of overfishing. Read more here
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Montauk Commercial Fishermen Want Say on Wind Farm
The queer minded notions of Deepwater chief executive Jeffrey Grybowski
As a Rhode Island company navigates multiple regulatory agencies in order to construct the first offshore wind farms in the United States in the ocean east of Montauk, commercial fishermen are raising concerns about how such projects will impact their livelihood. “We’re trying to sustainably grow the fishing economy,” said Ms. Brady, who lives in Montauk. “You don’t destroy something in the name of green energy. To destroy a sustainable industry in the name of sustainability is insane.” Read more here 16:53
Togiak Sac Roe Herring Fishery Closed – This year’s fishery as a success
The 2014 Togiak sac-roe herring fishery is officially closed. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game ordered the closure on Wednesday after all of the processors stopped buying fish. Tim Sands is the Area Management Biologist for the Division of Commercial Fisheries. He characterized this year’s fishery as a success. Read more here 16:27
Congressman Walter B. Jones takes action to reform Endangered Species Act
Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3) is taking action to modernize the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in order to prevent the waste of taxpayer money and implementation of unnecessary, economically harmful regulations. This week, Congressman Jones is cosponsoring seven pieces of legislation that would bring transparency to ESA processes and reduce the law’s impact on economic growth. Read more here 16:19
Satellite Observations Show El Nino Coming — And It Could Be The Worst In Decades
Data from ocean-observing satellites and other ocean sensors indicate that El Niño conditions appear to be developing in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. Conditions in May 2014 Read more here 16:07
First Nation threatening fisheries blockade waits for DFO’s call
A B.C. First Nation threatening to block commercial fisheries in its traditional waters said it’s still waiting for a meaningful discussion with the federal government about a dispute over the geoduck harvest. Meanwhile, the Stz’uminus Nation is reaching out to commercial fishermen and other involved parties to try and reach an understanding so a blockade can be avoided. Read more here 15:53
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Contact our sales team today @ 401 295 2585 or 800 732 273 Click here for the complete price list from Seafreeze Ltd. where The Only Thing They Treat YOUR Fish is With Respect ! Visit our website 14:01
Three Men Charged with Illegal Fishing Causing Environmental Damage and Threatening Industry
.DA Rice said that on March 11 and 12, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Police Department witnessed Ferraro unloading baby Surf Clams from the boat he worked on, the “Day Star,” in Oceanside. Engels and Micolo were observed by DEC police on March 12 unloading baby clams at the same location. Read more here 11:47
NY State moves toward microbead ban, industry urges delay
State lawmakers are moving to ban the sale of some face soaps, shampoos and toothpastes that contain very tiny plastic spheres that flow straight through most municipal sewer systems to gather in the ocean, Lake Erie, and most probably, the Hudson River. Impossible to effectively remove from the water, the beads themselves can collect certain types of pollution, like toxic PCBs, and then can be eaten by fish and other wildlife, accumulated, and passed up the food chain possibly to humans. Read more here 10:57
Wording puts Canada at odds with UN fish plan – calls for the protection of fishermen “in situations of occupation,”
A United Nations-sponsored proposal to protect and promote small-scale fisheries has run into a problem, with Canada emerging as the lone dissenting voice in a dispute that may have a connection to policy on the Middle East. Read more here 10:37
“He makes well over $135,000, with credit card, Madame Speaker, and a car, Madame Speaker,”
The controversy over low lobster prices boiled over on the floor of the Legislature Tuesday with a shouting match between P.E.I. Fisheries Minister Ron MacKinley and fisheries critic Colin Lavie. “And he does nothing for the industry. Nothing!” Read more here 08:16
“Any port in a storm.” – Oregon, California Ports Offer Refuge, Commerce, Community
Often erroneously used by landlubbers as a metaphor for sailing past any situation, dangerous or not, this time-worn idiom can sometimes mean the difference between life or death for commercial fishermen and other seafarers. Fortunately, Oregon and California each offer a network of coastal ports that provide refuge from rough seas, as well as markets for commercial fishermen’s catches and a place to call home. Read more here 07:47
Jury acquits Cushing lobsterman of gun threat against two men
ROCKLAND, Maine — A Knox County jury deliberated for 20 minutes Wednesday morning before finding a Cushing lobsterman not guilty of criminally threatening two men in another boat. But during his testimony Tuesday, Jones said he has had to deal with harassment and threats from Yeaton family members for 15 years and claimed the state has not done anything to help. Read more here 23:39
This is Fish Radio. I’m Laine Welch – AK salmon season officially gets underway May 15; Cordova hopping!
Alaska’s 2014 (“Cordova hopping”) salmon season officially got underway at 7am today with the first 12 hour opener at the Copper River. Cordova is home base for the famous fishery. The town has doubled in size over the past few weeks, the weather is great, the feeling in the air is electric with everybody getting their boats ready to go and some have already headed out. Listen, and Read more here 20:59
Nets Mended, Boots Packed. Fish Boats Head For Alaska
Big factory ships are heading out to sea, and in coming weeks, 10,000 people from Washington state will head north to the Alaska fishing grounds. Half of all the seafood caught in the U.S. comes from the Alaska fishery. Seattle is its base, and the biggest players are the companies that own catcher-processor ships. They include Trident Seafoods, Glacier Fish Company and American Seafoods Group. Crews have spent the last few weeks getting the ships ready. At Interbay’s Pier 91 on Monday, the Northern Eagle, a ship owned by American Seafoods, prepared for its journey. Read more here 19:53:34
Trouble in Paradise? WPFMC Destroys Tape of Secret Meeting – Council Staff Limits Public’s Access to Documents
On Feb. 24, just a few days after learning of the existence of the recording, we filed a formal Freedom of Information Act request to obtain a copy of it. The response came on April 4. “The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council staff has advised that an audio recording of the subcommittee meeting was erased on February 22, 2014,” stated the letter signed by Samuel D. Rauch III, administrator of the National Marine Fisheries Service. “We are in the process of reviewing the circumstances of this action.” Read more here 16:05
Alaska Board of Fisheries will meet Friday – discuss possible emergency regulation change – Kuskokwim River subsistence fishers.
The Kuskokwim Salmon Management Working Group submitted an emergency petition asking the board to limit subsistence setnets to four-inch mesh or smaller as a way to protect king salmon while fishers are targeting other species. The working group has also asked Alaska Department of Fish and Game not to allow drift nets during times of king conservation, according to the emergency petition. Read more here 15:52
Coast Guard responds to vessel in distress, F/V Leslie Jane, near Golden Gate Bridge
The Coast Guard Sector San Francisco command center received a call at approximately 7:25 p.m. from a person aboard commercial fishing vessel Leslie Jane stating that the vessel was taking on water at an unknown rate. Read more here 14:58
Connecticut inches toward lucrative eel industry
Days after a deal by state lawmakers , a 15-state regional agency proposed to ease rules allowing broader access to the multimillion-dollar global eel market. “Why is it so overwhelmingly concentrated in one state? If we’re going to have fisheries, let’s talk about opening it more fairly,” Read more here 13:58
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week – 45′ Guimond Tuna,Lobster, Charter,Longliner Fiberglass, (2) Cummins 6CTA8.3L
Specifications, and information Click here 11:45
All Hail the King: Time to get some fresh chinook salmon from the Monterey Bay
Commercial salmon fishing season opened May 1, and for those of us who don’t sport fish or have a good, generous friend who does, that means we can finally enjoy fresh salmon at home. With commercial crews working out of Santa Cruz, Moss Landing and Monterey harbors, shoppers can purchase salmon just hours after it’s been pulled from the ocean. Late last week, however, the retail price for whole salmon was around $14 per pound, while fillets were fetching about $24 a pound. Read more here 11:03
What can ecosystem models add to the stock assessment process? May 14, 2014 1:30 – 3:30 p.m. Eastern
Dr. Cameron Ainsworth (Assistant Professor, College of Marine Science, University of South Florida) will provide a presentation on what ecosystem models can add to the stock assessment process. Ecosystem and multispecies models account for a in single species stock assessment Sign in for the Webinar presentation. 07:24
This is Fish Radio. I’m Laine Welch – Big plans for marketing all those pinks.
Selling last summer’s record catch of 226 million pink salmon has prompted lots of creative thinking. Recognizing that there is a whole lot of pink salmon out there from the record fun, ASMI has put forward $1.5 million additional to promote pink salmon, and canned pinks specifically, both domestically and overseas. 2 Listen to Laine here 21:26
Coast Guard units coordinate tow of disabled F/V Faith of Tonk near Yaquina Bay, Ore
SEATTLE — The U.S. Coast Guard towed a fishing vessel to safety after the two people aboard reported that the vessel had become disabled more than 15 miles northwest of Yaquina Bay, Oregon, Monday. Crewmembers aboard the fishing vessel contacted watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector North Bend, Oregon, via VHF-FM radio at 4:54 p.m. and requested assistance. Read more here 19:44
Bycatch symposium underway
The most common bycatch topics in Alaska — salmon caught by the Bering Sea boats targeting pollock, and halibut caught by Alaska trawlers — were on the table at a fisheries symposium today. Scientists, industry representatives and others interested in fisheries science, management and policy are discussing everything bycatch at the Lowell Wakefield Fisheries Symposium, which runs through Thursday at the Hilton Hotel in Downtown Anchorage. Read more here 17:52
Lobster season in eastern Cape Breton launches today
Setting day for about 540 fishermen was supposed to be Saturday, but because a lot of fishermen weren’t ready, it was decided to set a few days later. Some fishermen were still waiting to get their boats launched and others were digging traps out of ice and snow. Read more here 17:22
Letter: Lobster contracts remain a mystery. Lloyd Kerry, Charlottetown
Editor: April showers bring Mayflowers; the fisherman’s mood sours. OK, I never said I was a poet, but I think the sentiment is true. All winter we’ve heard about meetings between the lobster fishers, the processors and the government, trying to solve the yearly price dilemma. The fishers aren’t making any money with the recent prices, and the processors say they aren’t making any. Read more here 17:00
Meghan Lapp: Arbitrary regulation brutalizes the fishing industry
According to the Magnuson Stevens Act (MSA), the primary legislation governing U.S. fisheries, regional fishery management councils must develop a rebuilding plan for every overfished fishery, and must “specify a time period for rebuilding … that shall be as short as possible … and not exceed 10 years.” In other words, if a species of fish is deemed overfished, a plan must be implemented to rebuild the fishery within 10 years. Read more here 12:07
