Daily Archives: February 20, 2015
Alabama U.S. Rep Bradley Byrne wants red snapper quotas repealed, their management brought home to Gulf Coast
The Red Snapper Regulatory Reform Act is back on the table in the U.S. Congress. Its sponsor, U.S. Rep. Bradley Byrne (AL-01) and long-time observers of management of the popular reef fish in the Gulf of Mexico say its passage is necessary to open the fishery to alternatives to the current restrictive quota system as created under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. Read the rest here 22:20
Despite drought, Bay Area salmon fishermen see hope for 2015 season
Bay Area commercial salmon fisherman got a jolt of good news this week in the form of population data that could bode well for the upcoming season. The Pacific Fisheries Management Council released estimates for the number of chinook salmon that returned from the Pacific Ocean in the fall to spawn in rivers where they were born or released from hatcheries. The estimate for the Sacramento River, the top spawning ground in California, was relatively robust, considering the state’s three-year drought. Read the rest here 19:03
Controversial Fish Board nominee Roland Maw, withdraws
A Kenai Peninsula commercial fishing advocate that Gov. Bill Walker had hoped to see appointed to the Alaska Board of Fisheries has withdrawn his name from consideration after his nomination became increasingly controversial. Grace Jang, press secretary for Walker, said Maw sent a letter to the governor’s chief of staff, Jim Whitaker, withdrawing his name from consideration. Maw’s confirmation hearing for Friday afternoon was canceled. Read the rest here 17:21
Fish and Men – Documentary Web Trailer
As scientists struggle to count fish, and conservationists attempt to save them, America’s oldest fishing community – Gloucester, Massachusetts is dying. Fishermen are losing their livelihood and even their homes. Last year, NOAA imposed a historic cut to the cod quota — a 78% catch reduction. Then, on Nov. 10, 2014 — the U.S. government closed the Gulf of Maine. Watch, and read the rest here 16:47
Nova Scotia looks for alternatives to unpopular lobster levy
A levy on lobster catches in Nova Scotia is not the only way to raise money for promoting the industry, says the province’s fisheries and aquaculture minister The recommendation comes from the Maritime Lobster Panel report, issued in response to ballooning catches and plunging prices several years ago. Although there has been support in New Brunswick, Prince Edward Island and many parts of this province, fishermen and buyers on the South Shore — the most lucrative fishing area of all and one whose residents are known for their fierce independence , Read the rest here 15:20
James Landry sentenced in ‘murder for lobster’ case to appeal
A Cape Breton fisherman convicted in the so-called “murder for lobster” case is appealing his sentence. Joseph James Landry, 67, of Little Anse, was sentenced in January to 14 years in prison. His lawyer called that sentence “excessive.” Landry was one of three men on board the fishing boat Twin Maggies on June 1, 2013. Read the rest here 15:04
Florida Supreme Court Upholds Net Ban
Florida’s Supreme Court this week denied a petition by commercial fishermen to overturn the state’s Constitutional amendment banning gillnets. The ruling from the state’s highest court puts an end to the latest challenge brought by commercial fishermen who won a sympathetic circuit court ruling in 2013 allowing them to briefly reintroduce gill nets into Florida waters. Read the rest here 14:53
Not Screwing Around! Seal Fisherman Fined $1,000 for Fishing Seals with Full Metal Jacket Ammunition
Hank Clarke of Cottrell’s Cove has been convicted for fishing seals with full metal jacket ammunition. Mr. Clark was convicted in Grand Falls- Windsor Provincial Court on January 6, 2015 and fined $1,000 to be paid within six months. The offence is a violation under the Marine Mammal Regulations. Read the rest here 12:00
NOAA to reconsider emergency Gulf of Maine cod measures
The fishing sector-based proposal to remove some of the most restrictive emergency cod measures in the Gulf of Maine, initially rejected by NOAA Fisheries, is back in play. NOAA Regional Administrator John K. Bullard rejected the sector-based proposal and all other suggested modifications to the emergency cod measures at the New England Fishery Management Council’s January meeting in Portsmouth, N.H., saying the agency had not had enough time to fully study the implications and possible benefits of the sector-based proposal. Read the rest here 10:17
Maine Shrimp Sampling Project haul fetches a record price at the Portland auction.
Buyers snatched up 1,200 pounds of Maine shrimp at the Portland Fish Exchange on Thursday, paying an average $4.02 per pound, a record price and more than twice what shrimp fetched in 2013. The record price stems from scarcity. The shrimp that sold at auction Thursday were caught by one of the three Maine fishermen involved in a sampling project to help state biologists track the timing of egg hatch, size, gender and developmental stages of the shrimp. Read the rest here 09:53
New Zealand: Dead fish ‘leakage’ not dumping, company says
One of New Zealand’s largest fishing companies has defended its loss of 
into the Tasman Sea off Auckland this week saying there was only a “leakage” of between 40 and 45 kilograms of fish. But the man who went on social media to expose what he said was a major fish dumping says there was much more than that. The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) says it accepts the loss was accidental and will take no further action. Coromandel based trawler Eight Bells, operating for Moana Pacific Fisheries,, Video, Read the rest here 09:05
Man accused of shooting at whales with World War II rifle
A tuna fisherman has been accused of shooting at pilot whales from his vessel with a World War II-era rifle. Daniel Archibald surrendered Thursday to face the charges and was released on a $10,000 unsecured bond. Archibald, who’s from Cape May, widely considered America’s oldest seaside resort, used a Mosin-Nagant rifle to shoot at pilot whales from the vessel Capt. Bob, the U.S. attorney’s office for New Jersey said. Read the rest here 08:38
