Monthly Archives: February 2015
Cape Breton fish processor seeks new products from waste
A fish processor is spending $3 million and teaming up with researchers at Cape Breton University to turn its waste into new products. Kennedy Group of Companies, which owns Louisbourg Seafoods Ltd. and several other plants, wants to know if its fish wastewater can be transformed into something marketable. “Like the pieces of shell from the shrimp, the shrimp meat, the by-products of the proteins, all these oils, salts, that are flushed out into the harbour.” Read the rest here 10:04
Sea scallop surveys under scrutiny during upcoming NOAA conference
Three intensive days of meetings to evaluate ways of 
have been scheduled for mid-March in New Bedford, NOAA Fisheries NMFS announced. Among those participating will be Dr. Kevin Stokesbury, who developed the drop-camera method of directly counting scallops on the sea floor. The method upended assumptions about scallop populations and transformed the industry into the success it has been for many years. Read the rest here Review of Sea Scallop Survey Methodologies and Their Integration for Stock Assessment and Fishery Management Read the notice here 09:27
Individual, commercial fishing interests clash in Alaska Board of Fisheries testimony
Many of the players and stakeholders in Southeast Alaska’s salmon and herring fisheries laid out their positions Tuesday morning (2-24-15), as the 
opened its spring meeting to public testimony. Although the board had already received detailed, written comments on the 107 management proposals, it is in the oral testimony that most people’s concerns and frustrations really emerge. Audio Read the rest here 22:18
Southeast Alaska King Salmon Head North In Search Of Cooler Waters
Some king salmon reared in Southeast Alaska are traveling farther north as 
. The king salmon hatched in Southeast’s four top-producing river systems, the Alsek, Situk, Taku, and Stikine, are going very far afield. “All four of these stocks are considered outside-rearing, or what we term the far-north migrators. This means that shortly after the juveniles enter the marine environment to rear, they essentially take a right and head out to the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea.” Audio, Read the rest here 20:01
SW Boatworks builds big boat for big-time tuna hunter, by Stephen Rappaport
For the past several years, Carraro has fished aboard Duffy 38 Tuna.com. This spring, he will move his operations to a new Calvin Beal 44 that will have the same name, but is a much larger boat. The new boat is 44 feet long and has a beam of 17 feet 6 inches — 16 feet 2 inches at the transom — and will weigh close to 35,000 pounds ready to go. The Duffy, now sold, was 38 feet 6 inches long — 35 feet on the waterline — with a beam of 14 feet and a displacement closer to 28,000 pounds — all big differences at sea. Read the rest here 17:59
Fishermen happy with their jobs; Don’t like privatized fisheries
Alaska fishermen are happy with their career choice, but not so pleased with programs that carve up the catch. That pretty much sums up the findings in a multi-year study that aimed to gauge how Kodiak fishermen feel about privatizing the resource through things like catch shares and IFQs. Courtney Carothers, “I was trying to understand also how people thought about privatization compared to other kinds changes in the community and then also looking at how people thought about privatization in terms of its affects on individual and community well being.” Read the rest here 16:31
Coast Guard terminates fishing vessel voyage off central Oregon Coast
The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Cuttyhunk while on patrol off of Winchester Bay, terminated the voyage of a fishing vessel for safety gear concerns found during an at-sea boarding Monday. The three member crew, fishing for crab, aboard the 39-foot vessel Dusky was safely escorted to Winchester Bay, where the vessel was ordered to remain until the crew fixed the especially hazardous safety condition of an expired life raft and replace the expired flares which were found on board,,, Read the rest here 15:32
‘Worst of all possible times’ to gut fish commission, chair says
The three-member commission that oversees Alaska’s lucrative limited-entry commercial fisheries is urging lawmakers not to pursue proposals for elimination for at least another year. The state Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission is under fire as a more than $3.5 billion budget shortfall looms. A critical report by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game makes a case for overhaul, citing permit processing delays and relatively high payroll costs. Proposed legislation, House Bill 112, would repeal the commission and move its duties to Fish and Game. Read the rest here 14:59
Cecil waterman gives up the catch after nearly 60 years
Henry “Pip” Pratt has been a fisherman since he was a junior in high school in 1956. “I went fishing one night on the Susquehanna Flats and caught a mess of shad and sold them for $108,” he recalled. “From that moment on, I knew I wanted to be a fisherman.” Pratt is retiring this year after nearly 60 years fishing the Chesapeake Bay. Read the rest here 14:29
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 39′ BHM Tuna/Towing, 750HP, 6 Cylinder Iveco, Phasor – 8 KW Genset
Specifications, and information and 11 photos of the vessel, click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 13:58
Florida Fisherman John L. Yates Wins Supreme Court Case, is off the hook in grouper-tossing case
A Florida fisherman convicted of tossing undersized grouper off his boat is off the hook after a divided Supreme Court ruled Wednesday that he should not have been prosecuted under a law targeting accounting fraud. In a 5-4 opinion, the justices threw out the conviction of commercial fishing boat captain John Yates, who was prosecuted under a law passed in the wake of the Enron scandal. Read the rest here 11:02
Two letters from Salvatore Novello, Gloucester, Mass
NOAA HAS TO CHANGE THEIR WAYS AS OUR OCEANS ARE CHANGING!!!, and IN PUT, AS A STAKE HOLDER, IN GULF OF MAINE FISHERIES. Read the letters here 10:52
Former CCA Executive Director Rep. Liz Pike, R-Camas Ignores The Fact That Commercial Fishermen Harvest Fish For The People
Liz Pike has written an op ed piece regarding the benefit of turning the fishery of the Lower Columbia river into a “World Class” sports fishing Mecca. Her view is that recreational fishermen are being short changed by commercial fishermen, and the “special treatment” allowed by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife should be driven by economics, and the revenue generation contribution of the sport fishing industry. Commercial fishermen provide that resource to the people that own it. Its only right that they get the largest allocation. Commercial fishing ain’t a hobby. Read her Op-ed here 10:00
Fishing bills in Olympia fail the smell test
Yet another volley has been fired in the decades-old conflict between sport and commercial fishing. HB 1660 would change state law so that the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife would have to give sport angling precedence over commercial fishing. Under current law, the agency is supposed to “enhance and maximize” both kinds of fishing. The current bill is another example of sport fishing interests blaming commercials, rather than the Columbia River dams and loss of habitat that are also factors, for a lack of fish. Read the rest here 07:50
Fishery fund benefits big players, few fishermen – Only 7 harvesters among 261 project approvals
Lost crab pots still catching king crab in Kodiak Island bay
Derelict crab pots lost on the bottom of a Kodiak Island bay are capturing significant numbers of its king crab, according to scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Abandoned pots, the traps used by fishermen to catch crab, could be killing 16 to 37 percent of the red king crab with shells longer than 40 millimeters in Womens Bay, they concluded in a study. Pots likely were lost when lines were cut by boat propellers, commercial barge towing bridals or ice, the researchers concluded. They also could be lost if floats tied to the pots sank. Read the rest here 20:51
Ron Littlepage: Thanks to Obama, our coast is in danger
With the blessing of President Barack Obama, plans are proceeding to allow seismic airgun testing in the Atlantic off of Florida’s coast in the search for oil and gas. For those concerned about the environment, there was some good news last month when the federal government released its five-year plan for offshore drilling leases in the Atlantic and didn’t include Florida. With the memory of the devastating impact of the BP disaster on Florida’s Gulf Coast still fresh, that provided some relief. Read the rest here 19:51
Rockfish poaching: It’s more than just a few fish
It’s just fish. That, according to reporting by The Sun’s Catherine Rentz, is the attitude of many on Tilghman Island about the jail sentences handed down to some of those involved in a massive 2011 poaching operation. Everybody’s doing it, the local thinking goes, so what’s the big deal? Given the historic distrust many Maryland watermen have displayed toward government regulation of their livelihood — and in particular, given the insular nature of Tilghman Island — the willingness of so many to forgive and even laud those,,, Read the rest here 18:36
Rhode Island commercial fishing license applications now being accepted thru March 2nd
Applications are now being accepted for commercial fishing licenses. The Department of Environmental Management is taking the requests for new and renewed commercial fishing licenses for 2015. You only have until March 2. The application period has been extended from the February 28th deadline set forth in commercial fishing regulations because that date falls on a Saturday. Read the details here 18:16
Asian carp chili or carp burgers, anyone?
Although Asian carp filets are too bony for most U.S. consumers, boneless minced carp can be used as healthy stand-in for ground beef in some recipes. A recent University of Missouri blind taste test found that Asian carp rated higher than catfish. Asian carp chili, anyone? It may not sound appealing at first, but Dr. Mark Morgan at the University of Missouri has received rave reviews for his unique chili on several occasions. Read the rest here 17:17
Why are the Green Energy Projects pushed by the Enviro’s, kill wildlife and fish, Destroy Bio Diversity, and it’s acceptable to them?
The Green Energy projects that the enviro’s push, wind farms that chop up bird’s, and are sited in the paths of migratory species, tidal power projects that close off entire bay’s, and install turbines that chop up fish. These same groups ride herd over fishermen, and cry about by catch, degrade working people, calling them careless, and greedy, and then have the audacity to allow and support this destruction? All the while, they lobby OUR representatives, fill them with agenda driven BS, and they then have the nerve to show up for photo op’s, smiling, and claiming they are here to help fishermen. Help them out of business? 16:02
Montana investigating Walker’s former Alaska Fish Board appointee
Jim Kropp, the director of law enforcement for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said in a phone interview Monday that Roland Maw was under an active criminal investigation. Kropp wouldn’t answer questions about the subject or scope of the investigation beyond confirming that it was related to Maw. But a spokesman for the Montana agency, Ron Aasheim, said the matter involved the possession of Montana resident licenses by Maw. Read the rest here 11:09
Get On Board with #CatchOfTheDay!
Members of the UK fishing industry are being encouraged to get on board with a forthcoming campaign designed to champion the diversity and sustainability of many species landed by the UK fishing fleet in a week-long Twitter campaign set to take place in March. Running from Monday 16 March until Friday 20 March 2015, the campaign will encourage people to share photos and videos which either represent their involvement in the industry or celebrate the fantastic variety of sustainable fish now available to UK consumers. Read the rest here 09:52
Green crab parasite may be death of lobsters
Results of a study published last week show a parasite is being transferred from green crab bait to lobsters, and more results on another parasite, a bacterium and a virus are expected in the next few months. The scientists found the Profilicollis botulus parasite in lobsters taken from traps that used green crab as bait, said Stewart-Clarke. They looked at more than 700 lobsters and found, in some cases, 70 per cent of lobsters were infected. In lobsters caught using other bait, none of the parasites were found. Read the rest here 08:42
Coast Guard boat crew medevacs Fisherman near Wachapreague Inlet, Va
The Coast Guard medevaced a man Monday who experienced chest pains while on a fishing boat approximately 10 miles northeast of Wachapreague. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Hampton Roads in Portsmouth received a report at about 3:50 p.m. of a 42-year-old male crewmember experiencing chest pains aboard the 81-foot fishing boat Southern Crusader II approximately five miles northeast of Wachapreague Inlet. Read the rest here 23:19:02
Owners of Kodiak’s Wild Alaskan floating strip club charged with improper disposal of human waste
Kimberly Christina Reidel-Byler, 46, and Darren K. Byler, 54, both of Kodiak, face charges that they piped waste from bathrooms on the Wild Alaskan directly into the harbor, then lied about it to investigators with the U.S. Coast Guard. “Indeed, waste from the Wild Alaskan was being piped from the customer and employee bathrooms directly overboard and into St. Herman Harbor,” according to a Monday release from the U.S. Attorney’s office. Read the shitty details here 22:20
Poggy Lapham – This Boat Supports Five Family’s
On the water for 280 days a year, the crew of the 
earns a good wage. “It can be tough, you never wake up to the same conditions, but this boat supports five families,” points out Poggy. Generally it’s six weeks on and two weeks off for the crewmembers. “They’re family-oriented guys who are hardworking, humble and take pride in the boat,” he explains. Just as his father did, Poggy encourages his crew to share some of the catch with their families and friends. “It helps us feel good about what we do.” Read the rest here 21:49
Upping their groundfish game – ADFG opens experimental pollock fishery in Cook Inlet
Nelson’s net hangs at about 180 feet deep and fishes at about 150. It isn’t deep enough to go out in the middle of the bay, where he thinks the largest concentrations of pollock might be. If the fishery receives an allocation and becomes a regular fixture in the bay, he’ll consider investing in a new net, he said. It would have to be specially-made for catching pollock, and could cost up to $100,000, he said. It’s a large investment, but just the next step in a long fishing career for Nelson. Read the rest here 21:07
First Nations fight feds over decision to open herring-roe fisheries
The goal for all three first nations is to convince the federal government to look at the evidence and keep the herring fisheries closed in their areas — herring remain abundant in the Strait of Georgia and Prince Rupert — until there are enough fish to support commercial fishing. They would also like to work with the government to manage the fisheries, which they believe have been badly managed thus far. Read the rest here 20:43
MAFMC meeting Wednesday to consider emergency action on blueline tilefish, may include harvest reductions
Yet those involved in the fishery say no emergency exists and it’s just another instance of poor data and faulty management at work. One reason behind the emergency action was that the MAFMC became aware that a commercial long-liner out of North Carolina was planning on targeting blueline tilefish within the council’s jurisdiction and landing the fish in New Jersey. The long-liner picked New Jersey because there are no landing limits, whereas states further south have limits on blueline tilefish. Read the rest here 20:19
