Daily Archives: August 15, 2014

Crab season a bit pinched in Maryland, Delaware

When you look at $200 plus for a bushel of blue crabs, shake your head and say “no way,” there’s just one thing to do: Blame it on the weather. And we’re not talking about the chilly winter of 2014, either, at least not here in Delaware Bay. But in late summer of 2011 — the last banner year for blue crabs in the region — there were two back-to-back storms, Hurricane Irene in late August and Tropical Storm Lee a few weeks later. Read more here 16:50

Extreme Seafoods has rough entry into the Bristol Bay fishery

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Extreme Seafoods made waves as they entered the Bristol Bay fishery this year. The company, founded in 2013, purchased the Paug-Vik Corp facility in Naknek that most remember as the old Baywatch plant. A company email circulated around the fleet promised $2 per pound for sockeye, long before the season began, as well as a $5,000 signing bonus and up to a $10,000 advance. If that wasn’t enough to turn a few heads, the company was said to be in talks with several networks to produce a reality TV show! Read more here  16:38

Ocean Executive nets aid for online trading platform

863a4ac9dc_64635696_o2Our technology will help streamline the sales and marketing process for a wide range of seafood companies, not just locally, but across the globe,” Ocean Executive founder and president Mikel Budreski said in a news release Thursday. Read more here 16:08

Nove Scotia: Signs of sea change in fisheries safety

In the midst of some of this beautiful scenery, however, also stand large granite monuments, each providing a harsh reminder of the hardship that has long been a part of Nova Scotia’s fishing history. The long lists of names etched into the stones remind us of the ships, fishing vessels and people who have lost their lives at sea. Read more here 15:55

Mass. Coastal Caucus: NOAA’s lobster regulations ‘crippling’

We, the members of the Massachusetts Coastal Caucus, recently learned that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued new regulations for the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan. Recognizing that the regulations would unnecessarily impose significant, negative consequences on our lobster industry and lobstermen, we write to urge NOAA to reconsider the proposed regulations. Read more here  14:52

The need for real science in Magnuson by Carmine Gorga

If there are no fish at docks in Gloucester, it is not because there are no fish in the ocean.  It is because the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is virtually prohibiting fishermen to fish. The reason is that NOAA is expected by its empowering legislation, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, to prevent overfishing. But how can a dwindling family fishing fleet do the overfishing? Any open-minded observer is concluding that NOAA is applying an agenda-driven science. Read more here 14:29

Divers hammer thousands of urchins to save Palos Verdes Peninsula kelp forests

In one nine-hour day this week, longtime fishermen Terry Herzik and Gary Thompson smashed more than 10,000 purple sea urchins on the floor of a cove off the Palos Verdes Peninsula. But that’s just a drop in the bucket.  Read more here 11:49

Three Sites Under Study (Siege) As Marine Sanctuaries in Waters Off Vineyard

An Island-based group that includes fishermen ( a very loose term), a documentary filmmaker and a world-renowned oceanographer are leading an unprecedented effort to create three marine protected areas in waters south of the Vineyard. Read more here (boston globe photo) 09:40

Cod pot fishing method a hit with Fogo Island fishermen, chefs

An experimental method for catching cod is proving to be a big success, according to some fishermen in the Fogo Island area. The cod pot was developed locally at the Marine Institute in 2007, and while only a handful of fishermen are using them, the idea appears to be catching on. Read more here  09:04