Daily Archives: February 16, 2015
Video: Frozen Lake Erie – Record temps keep commercial fishermen off lake
The winter months are normally slow times for those at Euclid Fish Company when it comes to expecting fresh water fish, such as yellow perch, to fill their freezers. This winter’s haul has hit a wall of ice. All winter Euclid Fish Company’s suppliers from Canada truck in boxes of frozen stock caught by commercial fishermen meeting quotas on Lake Erie. Often they can fish somewhere on the lake that hasn’t iced up, still meeting commercial demands. That isn’t the case this year and in 2013. Read the rest here 21:45
F/V Savannah Ray Run Aground in Chiniak Bay, Coast Guard Hoist’s Four Fishermen to Safety
A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew rescued four fishermen from the fishing vessel Savannah Ray after they ran aground in Chiniak Bay near Kodiak Island, Alaska, Monday morning. The helicopter crew hoisted the four fishermen from their grounded vessel and transferred them to awaiting emergency medical services in Kodiak. The weather at the time of the rescue was reported as 51 mph winds with 11-foot seas. Video, Read the rest here 19:28
Are the oceans really dying?
Whenever environmental doomsayers run out of arguments, they turn to the sea for hope – or rather, fear. Fish stocks are collapsing, and if climate change doesn’t get us, ocean acidification will. But how true are these claims? Environmentalists are not immune to using hyperbole, lies of omission, red herrings, and appeals to sentiment, fear, guilt, reward or empathy. These are the exact same techniques that a corporate spin doctor would use in advertising. Read the rest here 18:18
Columbia River Gillnet Killer Kitzhaber and the Greedy Greens
Oregon governor John Kitzhaber may have announced that he will resign, but a sweeping FBI investigation of him and his fiancée, Cylvia Hayes, is only getting started. While the story involves personal failings, the green-energy lobbying scandal that brought them down has national lessons and implications. ( Lots of names, lots of connections. Lotss of Gr$$n) Read the rest here, Related articles 16:41
Sixteen year old skipper’s heart-break over lost trawler
THE PEMBROKESHIRE HERALD has spoken exclusively to the skipper of the a Milford-registered fishing boat, who was dramatically rescued along with the rest of his crew last week. Sixteen-year-old Jake Bowman-Davies, the youngest fully-qualified skipper in the British Isles, talked of his efforts to save the boat after she started taking on water on passage from Milford Haven to grounds off Conwy. Read the rest here 15:11
Rules Aimed at Protecting Striped Bass Will Hold
DMF director Paul Diodati is expected to recommend a final plan to the state marine fisheries advisory council on Tuesday. He said one concern during the public hearings this year and at the winter meeting was that widely varying regulations would reduce the likelihood of achieving the reduction goal. Read the rest here 12:45
Mexican fishing vessels in Gulf generate growing concern
On a crisp winter morning in the Gulf of Mexico, a 33-foot U.S. Coast Guard special-purpose craft bounced across white-tipped swells in pursuit of a rickety boat that was fishing illegally in U.S. waters. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimates more than 7.7 million pounds of red and yellow snapper are imported from Mexico annually. While it’s almost impossible to know how much of it is illegally caught, it isn’t difficult to identify fish caught by U.S. fishing businesses that participate in a program that uses sustainable practices. Read the rest here 12:01
Dilemmas – Consider the lobsterman, By Emma Goldberg
In the 1990s, Fair Haven Lobster employed close to 50 people. Now they’re down to six. They used to fish up to 1,000 pounds of lobster daily, but because of the pesticides in the river they now get 20 pounds on a good day. Business has dropped precipitously over the years, and Mike has been forced to sell some of the boats and lay off many workers. In six months, Mike may have to close up shop. It’s getting impossible to make a living in the industry. So what’s next? I ask. He shrugs. “Can’t even really get myself to think about it.” Read the rest here
Captain reconnects with dock workers for book on Naples nautical history
A two-man band played out back as piles of chicken breast and pork sizzled in a semicircle of grills and barbecue pits. Filtering under the tents and shady palms in the spacious backyard were Naples ship captains, longtime marina owners and dozens of men and women who have spent decades working in the various trades of the Naples waterfront. Many hadn’t seen each other in years. Read the rest here 09:26
Canadian Fishing Vessel Miss Ally crew remembered as porch lights left on in Nova Scotia
Mary Hopkins left her porch light on last night in memory of all fishers who’ve lost their lives at sea — including her son Joel and the rest of the Miss Ally crew. It’s been two years since that day, when five Nova Scotia fishermen didn’t come home after their vessel ran into trouble during a storm. They’d left from the wharf five days earlier to fish for halibut. “Of course this is the time of the year that … it comes back full force,” Hopkins said. Read the rest here 08:34
New Critical Habitat Proposed for North Atlantic Right Whales
The proposed critical habitat, which you can see in the maps below, greatly expands the previous designation. The key benefit of designating critical habitat is that other Federal agencies are put on notice that they must consult with NOAA Fisheries if they intend to authorize, fund, or carry out an action that may affect right whale critical habitat. This activity does not include any new restrictions for commercial fishing operations or shipping lanes. (yet!) Read the rest here 08:01
Story off base in characterization of Alaska fisheries board appointee
I have concerns about the recent article of Feb. 4 in the Alaska Dispatch News, “Did Alaska Fish Board appointee really discover an endangered species?” I am Professor James Butler from the University of Alberta, and I was quoted in this article that is critical of the recent appointment by Gov. Bill Walker of Dr. Roland Maw to the state of Alaska Board of Fisheries. Read the rest here 07:33
