Daily Archives: January 26, 2015
PEER Aleutian Sanctuary Ocean Grab Stalls Out
On Friday, the NOAA announced that the Aleutians won’t advance in the process to become a national marine sanctuary — mostly due to a lack of local support. Adak, King Cove, Akutan, and the Aleutians East Borough all came out against the nomination. Environmentalists (Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility) and research groups had been seeking permanent limits on oil and gas leasing and commercial fishing in federal waters around the Chain. Read the rest here 22:50
LDWF Announces 2015 Derelict Crab Trap Cleanup; Volunteers Needed
The 
was initiated by LDWF in 2004 to address removal of derelict and abandoned crab traps. In order to conduct the trap cleanups, licensed crab fishermen received a notice informing them that they must remove their crab traps from within the closure area during the closure period, and all remaining crab traps will be considered abandoned and may be removed by agency personnel or volunteers. For a map of the closure area click here. Read the rest here 19:42
2015 IPHC Annual Meeting – Monday, January 26 through Friday, January 30, 2015 – Listen via Webinar
The Ninety-First Annual Meeting of the 
will be held from Monday, January 26 through Friday, January 30, 2015 at the Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Downtown Hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia. This year’s meeting is scheduled to open on Monday with presentations on the fishery, the 2014 stock assessment, and the harvest decision table, and conclude on Friday with Commission approval of catch limits and regulations. All public sessions and administrative sessions will be open to the public. These open sessions will also be webcast. Read the rest here, webinar links. 17:30
Victoria’s Secret: Dumping Raw Sewage Like It’s 1915
When friends of mine recently got norovirus from eating foraged Gulf Island oysters, my first instinct was a strange one. I blamed Victoria. More specifically, I blamed Victoria’s raw sewage, which is pumped out to the Juan de Fuca Strait at a rate of 130 million litres per day. British Columbia’s capital is one of the last major cities north of San Diego to dump all of its untreated waste (including pesticides, street runoff and pharmaceuticals) into the ocean. Read the rest here 16:59
UPDATED!! NEFMC – Revised Council Meeting Agenda!
Dear Interested Parties: Because of the winter storm that is headed to New England, the Council leadership has reorganized the previously distributed agenda. The meeting will now be held in Portsmouth, NH from late afternoon on Wednesday, Jan. 28th, through Thursday, January 29th. Also, a number of items have been eliminated and will be addressed at a future date. Please see the new agenda REV.agenda_Jan2015 for details or check our website www.nefmc.org, under Council Meetings. 15:08
The American eel’s ‘endangered’ designation isn’t backed up by the science
Over the past decade, eel fishermen in Maine and all along the Atlantic coast have been part of a responsibly managed fishery, adhering to stringent regulations developed across state, provincial and international lines.,, Despite these notable management efforts, in late 2014, the environmental group International Union for the Conservation of Nature placed American eel on its “Red List” of endangered species. Read the rest here 14:55
I dunno about this one! Atlantic, Pacific Fish Face Mixing as Arctic Warms
“There will be an interchange of the fish communities between those two seas,” beginning as soon as 2050, said Mary Wisz, lead author on the report in Nature Climate Change and a senior ecosystem scientist at Aarhaus University in Denmark. “We know from historical examples that this kind of interchange, when biotas have been separated over long evolutionary time scales, can have huge consequences.” Read the rest here! 12:25
Elver Eel exporters may need new license
The Maine Department of Marine Resources is preparing legislation that would require individuals who ship the baby eels overseas to purchase a $5,000 exporter’s license. The state already licenses both elver fishermen and dealers, so DMR officials said the exporter license will ensure the state is monitoring every aspect of an industry that has drawn poachers and federal scrutiny in recent years. Read the rest here 10:45
Louisiana Fishing Industry Battles Big Oil over Coastline Erosion
Louisiana’s fishermen and the oil and gas extraction industry have co-existed for years. Some fishermen even work on the oil rigs to supplement their incomes. But some are now taking Big Oil to task for ruining fisheries and even the land on which the fishermen live. “We’re paying the price for their greed and irresponsible exploration,” lifelong commercial shrimper George Barisich, whose business and home were badly damaged by the double-whammy of Hurricane Katrina and the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Read the rest here 10:31
My Turn: Time to empower and employ the next generation of Alaska fishermen, by Rachel Donkersloot
The lack of young Alaskans entering commercial fisheries is compounded by another troubling trend, the rise in nonresident permit ownership in some fisheries. Together these concerning trends threaten the long-term viability of our coastal communities and state. As we work to better understand the problem, we must also work toward effective solutions. Our aging fleet means many of the rights to Alaska fisheries will change hands in the next decade. What will this transfer mean for the well-being of coastal Alaska and those who call it home? Read the rest here 10:07
The Snobby Neighbors of Beaufort County – Jellyfish Company Files Suit, Video
When jelly-fishers wanted to do business in Beaufort County, not all neighbors were supportive. Groups against the jelly-fishing are still speaking-out against an operation nearly a year later. The groups want to stop a company from unloading and rinsing cannonball jellyfish waste water into Jenkins Creek. However, that company is now suing Beaufort County over an ordinance that makes doing business harder. Video, and read the rest here 07:24
Roger the lobster saved after his date with a dinner plate falls through
A LEVIATHAN lobster has been saved from the cooking pot after fishery bosses took pity on him and gave the king-sized crustacean a last-minute reprieve. The marine monster weighs in at a whopping 12lb and was destined to end up on dinner plates at a swanky London restaurant. The lobster – nicknamed Roger – had been specially shipped from Canada,, Read the rest here 06:56
