Daily Archives: January 12, 2015
Ottawa, partners to spend $7-million on Arctic fisheries research
Much of the money is to be spent over the next two years on Nunavut’s turbot fishery, which is worth about $65-million a year. Scientists are to consider how existing turbot harvests can be expanded and whether new locations can be added. They will also do surveys to help with managing the stock. Read the rest here 22:31
NOAA disperses final $13M for 2012 king salmon disaster
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced on Jan. 12 the approval of a second round of disaster funds for research and to be distributed to fishermen who were negatively impacted by the chinook salmon fishery disasters in 2012; $13 million of the total $20.8 million will be paid out to a variety of sport and commercial users. Read the rest here 20:04
‘Where have all the cod gone?’ and the sustainability imperative – By Brian J. Rothschild
In “Where Have All the Cod Gone” (New York Times, Jan. 2) history professor W. Jeffrey Bolster claims that the “..recent ban on cod fishing in the Gulf of Maine (GOM) was an important step toward restoration.” ,,,But Bolster’s analysis is an oversimplification and a misunderstanding of this important conservation issue. And in a broader sense, it is symptomatic of how we misunderstand and oversimplify our conservation and sustainability issues, and how this limits our ability to develop efficient and cost-effective solutions. Read the rest here 18:03
Diabetes drug found in Lake Michigan could (?) harm fish, researchers say.
THERE is more than one way to measure prescription drug use. The most direct method is to count prescriptions filled by pharmacies. Or you could test the treated water coming out of sewage treatment plants. Other commonly found substances include caffeine; sulfamethoxazole, an antibiotic; and triclosan, an antibacterial and antifungal found in soap and other consumer products. Read the rest here 17:37
Seized vessel set for scrapyard
A seized vessel with a chequered history of illegal fishing practices and rodent and lice infestations, is set to leave its Dunedin berth to be dismantled in Asia. The Korean-flagged Melilla 201 was seized in May 2013 by the Ministry for Primary Industries, with three senior officers found guilty last year (here) of illegal fish dumping. Read the rest here 14:55
IUCN “Red Listing” Unwarranted- American Eel Sustainability Association Sets the Record Straight
Today, the American Eel Sustainability Association, an industry leader in the science and management of American eel, published their response to a misleading stock status designation about the species promulgated by an international environmental organization. According to the Association, American eel stock is stable and improving based on sustainable management and confirmed by decades of intensive monitoring. Read the rest here 14:21
Brewery which makes beer using smoked whale TESTICLES is slammed by conservationists
CONSERVATIONISTS have hit out at a brewery in Iceland which is making a beer using smoked whale testicles. Icelandic brewery Stedji, which is producing the beer in time for the country’s mid-winter festival, Thorri, said the Hvalur 2 beer was made with the testicles of fin whales – which are endangered (not true) – smoked in a “traditional way” with dried sheep dung. Read the rest here 12:24
Cortez fisherman cast out ideas to solve mullet problem – “They heard our side.”
Thirty local fisherman met Sunday with three Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission members to claim out-of-town anglers are discarding white roe mullet, which eventually wash up dead on Manatee County beaches. The disgruntled fishermen did not come away with a solution or game plan. They did air their gripes during a two-hour session at the Fisherman’s Hall in Cortez and got feedback from state officials. Read the rest here 11:58
How Portland’s lobstermen preserve the working waterfront
And that’s where that quintessential Maine stubbornness comes into play. 
, Peter Kelly, who has owned Widgery Wharf since the boom days of the 70′s, has been approached several times over the decades by prospective developers looking to convert the historic wharf into condos. “This wharf was built in 1777,” said Kelly, “so every time one of those developers asks me about selling, I tell them that this has always been a fishermen’s wharf, and as long as I’m around it’ll stay a fishermen’s wharf.” Read the rest here 08:10
Fishery may be in transition, but don’t bank on cod as a saviour
I love this idea that gets floated by political decision makers, that the fishing industry in this province is in transition. Well, of course it is. But from what to what? Shrimp and crab are clearly in serious decline in most commercial fishing areas.,, The cod fishery on the United States’ side of Georges Bank in the Gulf of Maine was shut down this past November when American scientists suggested stocks had plummeted to about three per cent of their historic level (although fishermen there argue the scientists are wrong — sound familiar?) Read the rest here 07:09
