Daily Archives: January 29, 2015
Fishing stakeholders rejoin the battle on Gulf of Maine cod
The NSC, in a statement of its opposition to retaining the original interim actions, said that rather than saving cod, the emergency measures will increase cod discards by almost 500 percent. “We’ve shut down the redfish fishery, crippled the pollock fishery, bankrupted the entire inshore fleet and knowingly implemented a management plan that increases discards from 2 percent to 500 percent in the hope we may conserve 200 metric tons of cod that are already accounted for in the recent cod assessment? All to benefit a nation?” the NSC said. Read the rest here 19:09
Marystown fish plant demolition hard to watch for former workers
Ocean Choice International is tearing down its plant in Marystown, which has been closed down since 2011, and some residents are sad to see the structure go. About 250 workers lost their jobs when OCI shut down its operations in the community. Phonse Rowlands worked at the plant for 40 years — his wife for 36. Read the rest here 14:33
ELLSWORTH, Me. As predicted, DMR will likely shorten the scallop season
When Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher took the advice of his Scallop Advisory Council last year and set a 70-day fishing season for this winter (just 50 days in Cobscook Bay) he warned fishermen that DMR was likely to cut the season short. At an SAC meeting in Ellsworth last Thursday, the chickens came home to roost, or at least they were visible from the coop. Read the rest here 13:30
Philippine tuna in 2015: Facing the new threat
Tuesday, January 27, was a lucky day for 40-year-old Wilson Manlunas. His fishing crew of five just landed 10 pieces of yellowfin tuna which, if the quality is good enough, could gross them P100,000 (US$2,250) after a 10-day fishing venture. Those kinds of days however are becoming few and far between. If things do not turn out well for them this year, Wilson fears more and more small tuna fishermen like him could lose their livelihood and their future. Read the rest here 13:15
Key West: Three admit to illegally taking lobster, fourth defendant still missing
A lobster-poaching investigation and legal case lasting more than five years hit its climax Monday when three Lower Keys commercial fishermen pleaded guilty in Key West federal court. A federal agent placed an electronic tracker aboard the men’s boat, the 32-foot Super Grouper, while it was docked in August 2009 at the Oceanside Marina on Stock Island. Information from the tracker was used by state and federal officers to follow the boat to several sites where illegal underwater structures, known as casitas, were placed to attract lobster. Read the rest here 12:36
UPDATED! Fisherman Joseph James Landry sentenced to 14 years in killing Phillip Boudreau in lobster dispute
A Cape Breton fisherman has been given a 14-year prison sentence for killing a man he said enraged him after cutting his lobster traps and threatening to burn his home. But the Nova Scotia Supreme Court gave Joseph James Landry about 2 1/2 years credit for time served in custody awaiting trial, meaning he would serve about 11 1/2 years. Landry was convicted by a jury in November of manslaughter in Phillip Boudreau’s death. Read the rest here 12:07
Editorial: Englund Marine is a community asset
Businesses like Englund Marine are a boon to a small town. Englund Marine’s health is directly related to the health of the coastwide fishing industry. When Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber stupidly and unilaterally curtailed gillnet fishing on the lower Columbia, Englund felt the pain of its longtime customers who ceased to invest in their boats. Kitzhaber’s ignorance reflects the myopic urban perspective on the natural resources economy. Read the rest here 11:01
Fishermen, lawmakers blast Atlantic Coast drilling plan – We’re against it
Many New Jersey Shore-area fishermen and lawmakers oppose the Obama administration’s controversial new proposal to open an area off the Atlantic Coast to oil and gas drilling. The areas being mulled are located more than 50 miles off the coast of Virginia, North and South Carolina and Georgia, which they said is too close to the swift Gulf Stream current. “If there is any kind of spill it’ll carry it up here. We’re against it,” said Roy Diehl, director of the Belford Seafood Cooperative and member of the Garden State Seafood Association’s board of directors. Read the rest here 08:40
Bullard: The 200-pound trip limit for cod bycatch in the Gulf of Maine will remain in force
NOAA fisheries will not modify or remove any of the restrictive emergency interim actions governing Gulf of Maine cod it instituted last November, NOAA Regional Administrator John K. Bullard said Wednesday. Bullard, speaking during a meeting of the New England Fisheries Management Council meeting in Portsmouth, N.H., told council members that: The 200-pound trip limit for cod bycatch in the Gulf of Maine will remain in force despite a variety of requests by fishing stakeholders for it to be increased or eliminated. Read the rest here 08:09
Fascinating new squid behaviour in nature
The squid is one creature that really needs technology to observe its incredible moods of colour and rapid movement. This is now firmly in place with a video camera that can be parcelled with the animal as it travels. The point of research in the case of this jumbo flying squid is to learn how it behaves naturally. Read the rest here 07:25
Public comment period open for Delaware aquaculture – fierce opposition from neighbors
The debate over aquaculture continues to grow in Sussex County over the future of the industry in the Inland Bays.,,There are eight locations proposed by DNREC, many of which have created . “We’re not going to be sharing,” he said. “Not sharing. When you’re going to put 118 acres-worth of aquaculture in this bay – that’s simply replacing the use of the bay and making it industrial rather than recreational.” Klinzing isn’t alone. Read the rest here 07:11
