Monthly Archives: November 2014
Peter Shelley (CLF) – Facing the Fishing Facts
For every fisherman who was willing to publicly admit that things were getting worse out on the water, there always seemed to be an orchestrated group of fishermen willing to claim that there were so many cod that they couldn’t get away from them. It was, of course, nonsense at least as far as the best available science is concerned. And so much more, Read the rest here 17:33
Hello Ms. Schiffer, Chief Counsel, NMFS – About that Document Shredding
Once again, I find it difficult to understand, as indicated by the attached article, how a poor working stiff fisherman is hauled all the way to the Supreme Court for discarding two fish. As I am sure you will recall, your Mr. Dale Jones (at the time, head of enforcement) admitted to Congress, on camera, that he routinely shredded documents, including those under scrutiny, and he appeared to be smiling when he admitted it. Mr. Jones apparently was confident that he was in safe hands. A short time later he was given a cushy reassignment and a raise. Crime pays when you work for the government! Read the rest here 15:56
Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting November 12-19, 2014, Costa Mesa, California – Listen Live!
The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and its advisory bodies will meet November 12-19, 2014 in Costa Mesa, California to address issues related to coastal pelagic species, groundfish, Pacific halibut, salmon, highly migratory species management, and habitat matters. Agenda and Meeting Notice here One-Way Live Stream webinar Available here Webinar ID, 430-417-591 More info here 15:11
Fishing crisis only follows NOAA’s failed policies – Paul Cohan, Gloucester
![environmental-watchdog[1]](https://fisherynation.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/09/environmental-watchdog1.jpg)
Weren’t NOAA’s “catch shares” and “sector management” strategies supposed to have been the panacea for the fishery? Weren’t they supposed to eliminate the widely acknowledged disparities between inshore and offshore, different gear types, big and little? Weren’t they supposed to eliminate the last vestiges of the failed Days At Sea management suite, with its associated trip limits, wasteful discards, and discriminatory spacial and temporal allocations? Read the rest here 13:49
Cod closures to sting Gloucester fleet
No one thought it was going to be good news for Gloucester. Turns out everyone was right. Bullard said the disproportionate suffering inflicted on Gloucester and other nearby groundfish ports is unavoidable to the mission of protecting the cod.“ We’re trying to absolutely shut down fishing where there are concentrations of cod, so that zero cod will be caught (in the Gulf of Maine),” Bullard said. Read the rest here 13:32
“Anecdotal Information” is what the professional fisheries people call it, usually dismissively
First off, A Mia Culpa. In the last FishNet, which was distributed in early October, I referred to “ (or actually an almost-assessment).” It was pointed out to me, and rightfully so, that this could have left readers with the impression that this was somewhat less accurate and/or reliable than a “real” assessment of the cod stock. I was assured that this wasn’t the case and,,, Plus, When you’re used to those big bucks you’ve gotta keep ‘em coming in, and,Great news on Atlantic bluefin tuna – Read the rest here 11:19:58
Intensive Study Finds British Columbia Salmon, Trout Free of ISA
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has completed a two-year intensive study of wild and enhanced anadromous salmonid in British Columbia (BC) and found no evidence of Infectious Salmon Anaemia (ISA) or Infectious Pancreatic Necrosis (IPN). Read the rest here 10:29
Lyons: Cortez fish-tossing case a whopper of a tale
There are “Gilligan’s Island” plots less far-fetched than the twists and turns it took to navigate a local commercial fishing boat skipper’s case to the U.S. Supreme Court. Judging by their questions, some of the high court’s justices think it fishy that federal prosecutors went after a fishing boat Captain John Yates of Cortez as if he had been hijacking ships like a Somali pirate. Read the rest here 08:37
Slow start to stone crab season
Fishermen are still awaiting the first real cold snap to get the stone crabs out of their hiding holes and into the traps. Conch Key fishermen Gary Nichols called the season “mediocre” so far. “It still has not been good, but the prices have been decent,” Nichols said. Read the rest here 08:29
Fukushima Radioactivity Detected Off West Coast
Monitoring efforts along the Pacific Coast of the U.S. and Canada have detected the presence of small amounts of radioactivity from the 2011 Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Plant accident 100 miles (150 km) due west of Eureka, California. Read the rest here 23:00
Juneau wants more AK researchers to be based in AK
Researchers at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center are tops at the work they do – the Center is the research arm of NOAA Fisheries. Their science forms the basis for setting Alaska fish quotas, running observer programs, tightening bycatch limits, to name a few. But … the Alaska Fisheries Science Center is located in Seattle. wants bring those science jobs closer to the resources they study. Listen and read the rest here 21:21
Click Here – Cod, Cod and more Cod! – Various articles from the region indexed in this post. More will be added
Feds reduce cod fishing, cite new evidence – Read it here Cod fishing in Gulf of Maine effectively banned for six months – Read it here Feds add fishing restrictions for Atlantic cod – Read it here 20:38 Regulators to place strict limits on cod catch in Gulf of Maine – Read it here 21:49 Cod ruling puts Gloucester fishermen on ice – Read it here 09:58 Cod closures to sting Gloucester fleet – Read it here 13:37 Regulators Ban Cod Fishing In New England As Stocks Dwindle – Read it here 18:06 New cod fish restrictions will hit Maine fishermen – Read it here 18:12 Feds Shut Down Cod Fishing Off New England Coast– Read it here 18:14
Feds Add Fishing Restrictions for Atlantic Cod – will have a significant economic impact on some fishermen
Regulators are closing areas where most of the cod catches have occurred over the last couple of years to protect the remaining stock. Most of those areas will be off the coast of Massachusetts and New Hampshire, impacting those who fish the inshore waters there. The emergency plan goes into effect Thursday, and will remain in place until May. ,,, Read the rest here 19:29
Life saving reunion
Randy Lovesin has finally had a chance to say “thank you” to a crew of American sailors who saved his life over 30 years ago. Back in the early 1970s, the then resident of Port Mouton took off with his two brothers for British Columbia to seek their fortune in the West Coast fishery. Read the rest here 19:01
Fish in American waters are experiencing population rebounds
Fish – at least in the waters off the United States – are making a comeback. Nearly two dozen species of Pacific groundfish, including snapper, Dover sole, and dogfish, have experienced population rebounds, according to the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program. And the 2004 commercial harvest of Atlantic haddock, which had all but disappeared two decades ago, was seven times as large as the 1995 Read the rest here 18:39
Gulf of Maine Cod – Here’s the dope
Statement by John Bullard, regional administrator, NOAA Fisheries – Gulf of Maine Haddock Emergency Management Measures – Gulf of Maine Cod Interim Management Measures – Q&As – Bulletin (letter to fishery permit holders) – Gulf of Maine Haddock Stock Assessment (2014) – Gulf of Maine Cod Stock Assessment Update (2014) – http://www.greateratlantic.fisheries.noaa.gov/stories/2014/gomcodandhaddock.html 13:57
Either there are two meetings one for us, and an earlier one for the Press @ 13:00 or they are lying.
Just intercepted a notice from NOAA Fish Media on twitter, that there is a media advisory from NOAA Whatever about the meeting being at 13:00 – 13:30! Well. Which is it, and why does the press get briefed before the meeting, if there really is a meeting, or just a press conference. READ IT HERE 11:30
Telephone Town Hall to Announce New Gulf of Maine Cod Measures: Monday at 2:30 pm
NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Administrator, John Bullard, will be hosting a Telephone Town Hall and webinar on Monday at 2:30 pm to announce new management measures for Gulf of Maine Cod.Event address for attendees: https://noaaevents.
Philip Boudreau murder trial to begin Monday
The first of four people charged in the death of Cape Breton fisherman Philip Boudreau last year goes to trial Monday. James Joseph Landry, 66, is charged with second-degree murder in a case that shook the small fishing village of Petit-de-Grat, on Isle Madame. Read the rest here 08:47
Letters signal preventative strike against NOAA fishing measures
NOAA Regional Administrator John K. Bullard has conceded the emergency measures, which will be announced around the middle of this month, likely will include quota cuts and area closures and will have a “disproportionate” negative impact on small-boat groundfish ports such as Gloucester and Portsmouth, N.H. Read the rest here 08:01
Expert says claims that war games will harm thousands of animals are ‘overblown’
That assessment was backed by Brandon Southall, a former fisheries service researcher who researches at the University of California at Santa Cruz. “I think the numbers” citing potential harm presented by the Navy and NMFS “are overestimates,” he said. “Overall, I think the concerns are being amplified because the conservation groups are interested in getting people’s attention, and they get it by saying these animals are all going to die,” Southall said. Read the rest here 06:03
Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance Weekly Update, November 9, 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 To read all the updates, click here 22:43
Opinion: The race to catch the last fish in the sea – WILL we ever get our fisheries management better than half right?
I guess it was as a result of being asked to write the Keep Australian Fishing report that I continue to keep a weather eye on developments in fisheries management around the globe. Well perhaps “globe” is something of an exaggeration. Given that I speak and read only two languages – English and Australian – perhaps it would be more accurate to say that my interests tend to centre on NZ, Oz, USA, Canada, Ireland and the UK. Read the rest here 22:04
At this year’s Stone Crab Festival, no pause in the claws – “It’s a way better start than we had last year,”
“I was frantically searching for crabs last year, and we came up short,” But at the start of the third annual Stone Crab Festival on Saturday, Banyas said running short on claws wasn’t a worry. In the past two weeks, his fleet of three stone crab boats harvested more than 1,000 pounds of claws for this year’s festival. Read the rest here 19:48
Fisheries experts (Pew) caution against raising western bluefin tuna quota – latest science indicates the stock “has grown substantially”
Member nations agreed to hold the shared quota at 1,750 tonnes for the last several years, with Canada drawing fire two years ago for being the sole country to ask for 250 more tonnes of quota. Rachel Hopkins of the Pew Charitable Trusts argues that the stock remains depleted compared to 1970s levels, adding that U.S. fishermen haven’t been able to catch their full quota since 2003. [An increase won’t matter then, will it?!!] Read the rest here 15:05
EDITORIAL: Net ban still galls, 20 years on
Okaloosa County got lucky with the net ban. When, in 1994, Florida voters approved a state constitutional amendment outlawing fishing nets larger than 500 square feet, critics warned it would wallop the fishing industry. It did, but commercial fishermen either persevered or found other ways to make a living. That says more about the resilience of fishermen, though, than it does about the wisdom of the net ban. Read the rest here 11:29
Video – Land & Sea archival moment – 1960s Schooners
Land & Sea is celebrating 50 years on the air this season. Schooners from the 1960s – Take a look back at what life was like on fishing schooners that fished on the Labrador every summer. In this 1960s Land & Sea archival footage, we get a sense of the lives of these hard working fishermen. Watch the video here 10:53
“Deadliest Catch” boat busted for possessing undersized crab
Location: Dutch Harbor, AK Incident number: AK14087000 Type: Possess Undersize Red King Crab Text: On November 6, 2014, Dutch Harbor Wildlife Troopers issued a citation to Elliott Nicadimas Neese, 32 years of age, of Homer, AK, for possessing undersize red king crab onboard his vessel the F/V Saga while he was the Master and permit holder of the vessel. Arraignment is scheduled for November 13, 2014, at 0930 hours, in the Unalaska District Court. Author: TWL9 10:21
Carlos Rafael , the “Don” of the New England Groundfishery, says he was cheated
Between endless phone calls and Winston cigarettes, Carlos Rafael fumed as he recounted the call early in October: The fisheries disaster relief headed his way would be just half the amount he was originally told was his. For the don of the North Atlantic groundfishing industry, it was the second time in six years he said he was cheated out of federal funds. Read the rest here 09:47
