Daily Archives: February 11, 2015
Big Rescue Operation in the Antarctic – Coast Guard Cutter Polar Star In Route To Australian-flagged F/V Antarctic Chieftain
A U.S. Coast Guard cutter is responding to a 207-foot fishing vessel with 27 people aboard beset in ice approximately 900 miles northeast of McMurdo Sound, Antarctica, Tuesday at 9:15 p.m. The Australian-flagged fishing vessel, Antarctic Chieftain, contacted Rescue Coordination Centre New Zealand after becoming beset in ice. The vessel suffered damage to three of its four propellers when it became stuck in the ice and has lost its ability to maneuver. Read the rest here 20:34
NPFMC to review 50 percent cut on halibut bycatch
Halibut harvests have been on the decline in the Bering Sea for several years. But the amount that trawlers and catcher-processors are allowed to take incidentally has stayed the same. Now, fishery regulators have agreed to consider stiffer limits on halibut bycatch. Read the rest here 16:08
“Wicked Tuna: North Vs. South” Show up in the air, The Question Is, Will increased bluefin tuna quota benefit local fishermen — or not?
A new management rule that went into effect Jan. 1 effectively gives twice the general quota for bluefin over previous years for North Carolina through March 31. Although the quota change might lessen some of the longstanding regional conflict over bluefin that fanned last year’s “Wicked Tuna: North Vs. South” reality TV show, it still does nothing to change the overall share of the pie. Read the rest here 15:48
Always Top Quality! Your Seafreeze Ltd. Preferred Price List for February 12, 2015
Contact our sales team today @ 401 295 2585 or 800 732 273 Click here for the complete price list from Seafreeze Ltd. We are Direct to the Source-We are Fishermen-We are Seafreeze Ltd! Visit our website! 14:56
Coast Guard tows 2 boats in tandem 98 miles northwest of Tampa Bay, Fla.
At approximately 11:30 p.m. Tuesday, watchstanders from Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg received a radio call, via VHF-FM channel 16, from the captain of the commercial fishing vessel, Christie Sea, stating the boat was disabled, taking on water and also towing an unmanned boat, the Shamrock. Read the rest here 14:10
Young Introduces Legislation to Combat Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing
Alaskan Congressman Don Young has joined Congresswoman Madeleine Bordallo (D-GU) in introducing H.R. 774, the Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing Enforcement Act of 2015, which would enhance the enforcement authority of the U.S. Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to regulate and combat IUU fishing. Read the rest here 14:00
Swedish MSC fishery accused of illegal fishing – Still carry’s the ENGO Tax Stamp!
Trawlers in an Marine Stewardship Council-certified ‘sustainable’ lobster fishery have been caught using illegally modified nets to target valuable cod, reports the Ecologist, citing Dutch environmental group The Black Fish. The MSC was notified, but considered the evidence insufficient to act, so the lobsters still carry the, it said. Read the rest here 13:10
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 75′ Steel Scalloper,1979, 650HP, 12 Cylinder CAT 3412
Specifications, and information and 13 photos click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 12:24
Fishermen suspensions trigger Maine elver quota changes
Because some elver fishermen are expected to have their licenses suspended this year due to outstanding fines, fishermen with active licenses will not have 5 percent of their quotas set aside as a buffer to prevent overfishing. All licensed elver fishermen, whether or not they are members of Maine’s federally recognized Indian tribes, are facing a reduction in individual quotas for the 2015 elver season because of a decision made last fall by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. Read the rest here 11:39
Gloucester featured in fishing documentary in the works – “Fish & Men”
The filmmakers estimate they have interviewed more than 45 people, including many familiar Gloucester players like NOAA Regional Administrator John K. Bullard, Angela Sanfilippo of the Fishermen’s Wives Association, Jackie Odell of the Northeast Seafood Coalition, former Mayor Carolyn Kirk and fishermen Richard Sherman, Richard Burgess, Ron Gilson and others. “We feel like we’ve covered the gamut,” Duffin said. Read the rest here 10:56
NoRigs 3 calls on Harper government to extend Georges Bank drilling moratorium
For the third time in three decades a coalition of fisheries groups and environmentalists is campaigning to prevent oil and gas drilling on Nova Scotia’s lucrative Georges Bank fishing grounds. The group, known as NoRigs 3, is calling on the Harper Government to extend a federal moratorium that expires at the end of 2015. Nova Scotia legislature unanimously passed a law in 2010 extending a provincial moratorium until 2022. Read the rest here 10:37
Fighting Over Herring – the Little Fish That Feeds Multitudes
But for the second straight year, the Canadian government has ignited a skirmish in British Columbia by moving to let fishing nets scoop up spawning herring, despite objections from scientists, Native people, and even commercial fishing groups. “Last year it almost got to a war—locals were geared up to block fishing boats in port,” said Tony Pitcher, a fisheries scientist with the University of British Columbia. “There were more police on the dock than there were local people.” Read the rest here 08:47
Key West: Lobster traps limits not well received
The idea of reducing the number of spiny lobster traps as a way to ease fishing pressure on the Florida Keys’ most lucrative commercial fishery did not go over well at a meeting of state federal fishery managers Monday in Key West. The group discussed three possible actions: closing the season early; embarking on a more aggressive trap reduction program; and exempting the spiny lobster fishery from annual quotas. The proposal that received the most vocal opposition was more aggressively reducing the number of traps. Read the rest here 08:09
