Daily Archives: March 3, 2015
Bureaucratic Run Around – Fishing crews still playing waiting game for disaster aid
“It’s just not right that these guys are having to wait as long as they have,” said longtime Gloucester boat owner Joe Orlando said. Peter Lorenz, spokesman for the state Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, which oversees the Division of Marine Fisheries, said DMF hopes to begin supplying applications for the crew and shore-side portions of the financial assistance by the end of March.”The crews were told they would have money for Christmas,” said Manchester captain and boat owner Richard Burgess. Read the rest here 20:41
New technique improves forecasts for Canada’s prized salmon fishery
A method for analyzing and predicting nature’s dynamic and interconnected systems has improved forecasts of populations of Fraser River Sockeye Salmon, a highly prized fishery in British Columbia, has been developed by scientists. Read the rest here 18:12BOSTON: Fisheries summit a rallying cry
The fishermen, scientists, fishery regulators and environmentalists who slogged through slushy streets and half-cleared sidewalks below could only wish that the summit they were attending Monday had a similar sunny prospect. But this was not a meeting to announce some dramatic turnaround for the beleaguered New England fishing industry. This was a rallying of the troops in advance of a new fishing year in May that promised deeper gloom than the one just past. Read the rest here 16:56
Young Kodiak Fisherman Found Dead in Bunk
Though Troopers are still awaiting autopsy results from the state medical examiner, their investigation revealed nothing suspicious aboard a Kodiak fishing vessel where a crewman was found dead Saturday morning. A little after 11 a.m. On Saturday, Troopers were notified by the skipper of the fishing vessel Alaskan Dream that 29-year-old Sean O’Callahan was found dead in his bunk. (Fred Wahl photo) Read the rest here 14:32
Enviros Petition for Immediate and Permanent Rule Making to Prohibit Fishing for Gulf of Maine Cod
Today’s petition, filed under the Administrative Procedure Act, urges the Fisheries Service to follow the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act requirement to rebuild overfished species. The called for the Fisheries Service to prohibit fishing for Gulf of Maine cod, allowing catch only incidental to other targeted fish, and reduce such bycatch to levels that allow the cod population to rebuild. Read the rest here 13:33
NH Public Hearing on Northern Shrimp – Public Hearings this week to discuss limited entry fishery
Starts March 3, 2015 7:00 pm Ends March 3, 2015 9:00 pm Location Urban Forestry Center, 45 Elwyn Road, Portsmouth, New Hampshire Information:Email: [email protected] Northern Shrimp Draft Amendment 3 Public Information Document (public comment accepted until 5 PM EST April 15, 2015; send public comments to [email protected] – Subject line: Shrimp PID) Also, March 4, in Mass, March 7 in Maine 10:43
Auditor says Louisiana is charging too little for oysters
The state could generate $1.29 million in additional revenue by increasing the oyster lease rate from $2 an acre to the $5.20 per acre average of five other states that harvest Eastern oysters. In 1980, the Wildlife and Fisheries Commission, which manages the state’s water bottoms, put the lease rate at $2 per acre. Auditors also found that 36 people — using different corporations and partnerships — were able to circumvent state limitations of 2,500 acres leased to control more than half of the available water bottoms. Read the rest here 10:16:
Seafood Wholesaler and Company Fined and Owner Sentenced to 26 Months in Prison for Illegally Trafficking in Oysters
Mark Bryan, 59, of New Market, Maryland, and his Delaware-based seafood wholesale business, Harbor House Seafood, were sentenced on Friday in federal court in Camden, New Jersey, for trafficking in illegally possessed oysters, creating false health and safety records, and conspiracy charges. “Today’s sentence underscores the value that state partnerships add to ability to complete its mission,” said Assistant Director Logan Gregory for NOAA Fisheries Office of Law Enforcement Read the rest here 09:34
Drilling group unlikely to tap Gulf of Maine for oil and gas
A coalition of U.S. governors pushing for more offshore oil and gas drilling turned heads in Maine last month when it announced that Gov. Paul LePage had become a member. But LePage’s participation doesn’t foreshadow oil rigs off the Maine coast – the latest federal research suggests that the Gulf of Maine lacks the right geology to hold commercial deposits of oil or natural gas. Read the rest here 08:42
