Monthly Archives: August 2014
UPDATE: 24 hour commercial salmon fishery now underway on the Fraser River – Video
WATCH: Commercial gillnetters are taking full advantage of a 24 hour sockeye salmon opening in the province. Jill Bennett has the latest. It’s a busy day on the Fraser River today with the 24 hour opening of the commercial salmon fishery, Watch, and Read more here 02:08
The (Newest) Trouble With Chilean Sea Bass – MSC certification labels aren’t as trustworthy as they seem
Trouble seems to follow the Chilean sea bass, a prehistoric-looking, toothy beast that lives in the chilly waters off the coast of Antarctica and nearby countries.,, nearly a quarter of fish given the stamp of approval from the Marine Stewardship Council, a leading authority on seafood sustainability, did not originate from their designated fisheries, Read more here 19:55
Maine Can Kiss Cape Cod’s Ass With This “Rare” Blue Lobster!
Oh hey isn’t that cute, a blue lobster and they named it and everything. How amazing that only one in two million lobsters are blue like that, what a crazy story. Hey Maine, why don’t you suck on this one in 30 million calico lobster that’s here on The Cape. Read more here! 18:17
New Disaster Assistance Announced for Apalachicola Bay
U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) today welcomed the announcement made by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to disburse $6,310,216 of new disaster assistance funding aimed to restore the oyster fishery in Apalachicola Bay Florida. Read more here 17:31Vitter urges administration not to remove oil rig serving as artificial reef
U.S. Sen. David Vitter (R-La.), who sits on the Environment and Public Works Committee, sent a letter to Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell requesting that her department not remove a collapsed oil rig currently serving as an artificial reef in the Gulf of Mexico. Read more here 16:17
TradexFoods 3-Minute Market Insight – Pacific Hake Plugging Up West Coast, Upcoming Puget Sound Chum Salmon Run
A Major producer in the United States has reported that more than 1000 metric tonnes of Pacific Hake will be unable to ship to Russia due to the recent import bans. Washington Dept of F & W has forecast a return of about 1.1 Million Fish in the Fall Chum Run. Some vendors are predicting a poor chum season, claiming that it is an “off year”, unlike last year. 13:14
This fish net uses LED lights to save fish
Watson joins a growing number of innovators designing more selective fishing gear to reduce bycatch—the unwanted fish, dolphins, whales and birds that get scooped up by longlines, gillnets and trawlers each year and then discarded. Read more here 12:14
Steve Urbon: Fisherman finds his way through industry morass
Willis “Bill” Blount calls himself “the poster child for struggling fishermen” in the hyper-regulated Northeast fishery. Blount was the sole fishing permit holder to attend a three-hour help session in the city for those applying for a slice of the fisheries disaster money, according to Kevin Creighton, fiscal officer for the Mass. Division of Fisheries. Dozens of others have already filed their paperwork, he said. We ran this article on Aug, 6, 2014 Read more here 11:59
Details are sketchy, Collision Between a shrimper, and offshore supply vessel 18 miles south of Pascagoula Sunday evening
Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Mobile received a hailing mayday at 10:40 p.m. from a 74-foot shrimping vessel 18 miles south of Pascagoula, Mississippi. The vessel reported colliding with a 130-foot offshore supply vessel, the Gloria May. All three crew on board the shrimper successfully entered into their life raft and were subsequently picked up by the Gloria May. Read more here 11:32
Methane Is Discovered Seeping From Seafloor Off East Coast, Scientists Say
The methane is emanating from at least 570 locations, called seeps, from near Cape Hatteras, N.C., to the Georges Bank southeast of Nantucket, Mass. While the seepage is widespread, the researchers estimated that the amount of gas was tiny compared with the amount released from all sources each year. Read more here 11:15
Lobster trade may profit from Canada-EU trade deal, says Shea
“The lobster industry, it’s a market of supply and demand, so, we as a government are working on the demand side opening trade agreements around the world to create more markets, but the industry has to soon step up and do that marketing,” said Shea. Read more here 08:46
796 pound tuna largest bluefin landed in Wedgeport tournament
One thing organizers say they like most about the Wedegport Tuna Tournament and Festival is it is a family affair. That proved to be the case on the first night of the weigh-ins as two boats captained by brothers landed the biggest bluefins. Video, and Read more here 08:07
Spiny dogfish populations 2014 – Using satellites to reassess population estimates
As of August 2014, it is suspected that there are more spiny dogfish in the Gulf of Maine and perhaps the northeast than has been thought in the past. A new study written by University of New England professor James Sulikowski implies that known as spiny dogfish, a small shark, really, could be more of a threat to other species. Read more here 04:39
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council Meeting, Biloxi, MS. , August 25 – 28, 2014
View Council Agenda Tuna Gets Snagged in Food Safety Tug-of-War – “clearly out of step with mainstream published peer-reviewed science.”
Consumer alert: Pregnant women should avoid eating tuna, including tuna salad sandwiches, sushi, and grilled tuna steaks, a new study from Consumer Reports says. “We’re particularly concerned about canned tuna,,, Read more here 20:12
Joe Macinko spanks Eric Olson: Fishery council chair’s response to bycatch criticism snagged bottom
The outgoing chairman of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, Eric Olson, has responded to my commentary “Canada’s trawlers drastically cut bycatch, why can’t Alaska’s?” In his response, he says I have ignored all the good work done by the council in the way of bycatch reduction. Rather than refute my claims, several of the statements, misdirections and omissions he makes serve to illustrate my points. Read it here 14:46
‘Warm blob’ keeps possible record sockeye run away from U.S. waters
In a development that has left local fishermen scratching their heads, it appears an unusually warm section of ocean water is helping send nearly the entire sockeye salmon run into Canadian fishing waters this season. According to data from the Pacific Salmon Commission through Tuesday, Aug. 19, in recent weeks about 99 percent of the sockeye salmon has gone through the Johnstone Strait into Canadian waters. Read more here 14:00
EPA warns Ghana to protect whales
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has raised red flag over the increasing deaths of whales along the coast, saying Ghana risks oil sanctions if adequate measures are not instituted to curb the trend. Read more here 13:23
Gulf fishing authority says red-snapper fix is easy, as Recs turn on each other, Charters want a Piece of the Rock!
Dr. Bob Shipp is THE authority on Gulf of Mexico red snapper. He recently retired after serving the last 20 years as chairman of the Department of Marine Sciences at the University of South Alabama, and he also served two nine-year stints on the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council, the board responsible for making recommendations to NOAA Fisheries NMFS about how federal Gulf fisheries are to be managed. Read more here 11:03
Flourishing commercial chum fishery has Kotzebue fishermen breaking out the boats
KOTZEBUE — In an industry full of booms and busts, the Kotzebue commercial chum salmon fishery is exploding. The reasons for the banner year are twofold. One is that it’s turning out to be one of the best chum salmon runs in decades. The other is competition, with three fish buyers on the scene driving up the price per pound. Read more here 10:21
Killer Whale caught in net, Freed by Fishermen. High Drama for Whale Watchers
A young killer whale is trapped in a fisherman’s net. A pod of distressed whales cries out frantically as the youngster struggles to get free. Sightseers aboard a whale-watching boat that arrives to help are stunned at what they see. Read more here 09:44
Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance Weekly Update, August 24, 2014
“The Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance is dedicated to its mission of continuing to help create sustainable fisheries without putting licensed fishermen out of business.” Read the update here 09:11
Please give to the Galloway Family Fund in Memory of Captain Ronald Lynn Galloway
The Galloway family was struck by tragedy this week when his shrimp boat was over turned while returning to dock. This man sacrificed his life to save his daughter and sons life. He leaves behind a beautiful wife and 4 gorgeous kids. Please come together and help support this family in his time of need. Please donate here, gofundme.com https://fisherynation.com/archives/28230 22:13
Where Barnegat Bay’s pollution really comes from
Rapid growth in southern Ocean County in the last decade may be accelerating the marked decline of Barnegat Bay in the last few years —extending southward problems that are already severe in the county’s heavily developed north, data from a new government report show. Read more here 21:03
From Virginia, another idea for reversing crab decline
The latest idea for pulling Chesapeake blue crabs back from the brink of disaster — a fascinating and frustrating subject about which everyone seems to have an opinion — comes from the watermen who harvest and sell crabs in the Virginia end of the bay. Read more here 16:55
Updated: Reclamation reverses course on water for Klamath River
Water release from Trinity Reservoir will begin Saturday, Aug. 23, at 7 a.m.; Public urged to take safety precautions on or near the river while flows are high. The Bureau of Reclamation will release additional water from Trinity Reservoir to supplement flows in the lower Klamath River to help protect the Read more here 12:53
Plans weighed to bolster striped bass population – stock is not overfished and overfishing is not occurring
Fewer striped bass would be fished from local waters as soon as next year under a series of options being considered by federal fisheries regulators that seek to sustain a vital coastal species that has seen a 20 percent harvest decline since 2008. Read more here 10:14
Oakland couple fined, sentenced to jail for poaching dozens of Dungeness crabs in Half Moon Bay
A pair of poachers was sentenced to jail time and fined more than $20,000 Wednesday for smuggling dozens of Dungeness crabs in hidden compartments on their boat off the coast off Half Moon Bay. Read more here 10:03
Bristol Bay’s salmon fishery: Commercial fishing just about done for season
“I was really grateful for the late season buyers,” said Carolyn Smith of the F/V Sadie S, who fishes for Icicle Seafoods. She and her crew kept after the pinks, and were eventually on hand as some welcomed stormy weather blew a few big pushes of silvers through the district. Read more here 09:46
