Daily Archives: December 17, 2014

Feds sue owner of sunken ‘Bering Sea Gold’ ship that cost $1.6 million to recover

A gold dredge captain who appeared on Discovery’s “Bering Sea Gold” faces a federal lawsuit that claims it cost $1.6 million to recover his sunken landing craft from the Cordova harbor. The 117-foot Sound Developer sank in 2009 to the frustration of Cordova officials, who say it leaked fuel and was littered with debris. Federal prosecutors sued owner John Mehelich Monday, court records show. Read the rest here 23:26

Chevron shelves plans for Beaufort Sea drilling

Chevron Corp. has shelved plans to drill a multimillion-dollar deep-water well in Canada’s Beaufort Sea, blaming the sharp drop in oil prices that has forced deep spending cuts across the energy industry. California-based Chevron filed a notice with the National Energy Board on Wednesday withdrawing its application for an alternative to a same-season relief well. Read the rest here 20:11

Tilghman Island Man Sentenced in Fish Poaching Case – conspiring to violate the Lacey Act

U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett sentenced William J. Lednum, age 41, of Tilghman Island, today to a year and a day in prison, followed by six months of home detention as part of three years of supervised release, for conspiring to violate the Lacey Act and to defraud the United States through the illegal harvesting and sale of 185,925 pounds of striped bass. Read the rest here 19:39

House committee blasts Endangered Species Act peer review process

A United States House of Representatives committee issued a scathing report Monday on the United States Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Endangered Species Act listing process, alleging numerous issues with peer review and transparency protocols. “Under the microscope: An examination of the questionable science and lack of independent peer review in Endangered Species Act listing decisions”. Read the rest here 18:01

LIPA to pursue 11 solar arrays in Suffolk, reject offshore wind farm

Wind energy advocates came out in force to express dismay that the offshore project didn’t make the cut. Peter Gollon, chair of the local Sierra Club’s energy committee, gave LIPA an “F” for failing to make good on its plan to issue 280 megawatts of green energy. Heres an F for you Pete! Read the rest here 16:24

EU fishing quotas reaction

Fishermen in the south west may still be forced out of the industry despite the Government securing what it claimed was a “fair deal” at European talks to agree new quotas, Plymouth Fisheries manager, Pete Bromley, has warned. Read the rest here 15:03

Cooke Aquaculture’s $150M expansion delayed by years – blames New Democratic Party’s moratorium for delays

Atlantic Canada’s largest aquaculture company — Cooke Aquaculture — says it has been forced to delay key elements in a $150-million expansion planned for Nova Scotia by several years. New Brunswick-based Cooke blames a moratorium on new aquaculture sites imposed by the previous New Democratic government in 2013, when it ordered a study of aquaculture.  Read the rest here  14:01

Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 87′ Steel (Shrimpr Style) Trawler,1994, Dragger Steel, CAT 3412

DR3735

Specifications, and information and 20 photos click here  To see all the boats in this series, Click here 11:52

As the oceans warm, fish populations are on the move.

Few people see the effects of climate change as clearly as fishermen. As the climate changes and the oceans warm, fish are moving in search of cooler water, and this can have a big effect on fishermen’s livelihoods. For some, the evidence of climate change turns up in the net, such as when they catch longfin squid in the Gulf of Maine. Read the rest here 10:11

A fishing-permit buyback program has had an as-yet-undetermined effect on the health of California’s fisheries.

This month, Congress announced it would work to reduce the financial strain on commercial fishermen who participated in a federal buyback of permits and fishing boats, mostly draggers, in California back in 2003. There’s a bill in the House to refinance a buyback loan at a lower rate than the 5 percent set by the feds when the buyback was enacted. It’s welcome news for commercial fishermen—but what good did the original buyback do, if any? Read the rest here 08:47