Daily Archives: March 17, 2015
5 Houma residents cited for oyster refrigeration regulation violations
Department of Wildlife and Fisheries agents cited Houma residents Leonardo F. Vega, 36, Jose Cardenas-Arrendondo, 32, Antonio C. Aguado, 59, Antonio C. Aguado Jr., 32, and Ricardo C. Rodriguez, 39, for violating oyster refrigeration requirements on March 8, according to a release.Violating oyster brings a $400 to $950 fine and up to 120 days in jail. Violating oyster sanitation regulations and failing to maintain oyster harvesting logbook each bring a $25 fine and up to 10 days in jail. Read the rest here 20:42
NOAA, states and fishing industry reconsider buyout or buyback plans
Even as Massachusetts pushes to get the second phase of federal disaster funding to eligible Bay State beneficiaries, the fate of the federal buyout or industry buyback plan initially included in the third and final phase of funding could be in jeopardy. Participants in a meeting Friday between NOAA, New England state fishery directors and fishing industry stakeholders confirmed today that the remaining $10 million slotted for either a federally funded vessel buyout or an industry-funded permit buyback now could be shifted to provide other forms of assistance Read the rest here 19:48
No NOAA Confidence! 5 Gulf States Propose Gulf State Red Snapper Management Authority
ast week, marine fishery directors from all five states bordering the Gulf of Mexico — the first time all of the states have collaborated — sent out a proposal to Congress to develop an independent body, Gulf State Red Snapper Management Authority. The group would approve each state’s management plan, coordinate population assessments, provide consistent accountability measures and distribute federal funding for research, assessment and management. Read the rest here 18:50
3Ps Inshore fishermen want draggers stopped from fishing during cod spawning time
There’s nothing that irks Lamaline fisherman Alfred Fitzpatrick more than reports of cod being dumped by offshore draggers — large boats he and other south coast fishermen say shouldn’t be permitted to fish while the cod stock has gathered to spawn. “We’ve been told of all the little fish, belly up, floating away behind the boat. Don’t that paint a picture?” Fitzpatrick said. “That’s the future, that’s my livelihood floating away. It’s the same thing that happened back in the 1980s.” Those reports of high-grading,,, Read the rest here 12:17
Wind farms are making the North Sea one of the world’s most overcrowded bodies of water
The report noted that the installation of cables, pipelines, and other energy-related structures can impact marine life. Dolphins, it said, “can be seriously affected by the noise of pile driving new structures into the seabed.” Ships have to navigate around turbines and oil platforms. Cables can present problems for fishermen. And the precious waters already are becoming degraded. The report cites a study in which 98% of Norwegian seabirds were found to have plastic particles in their stomachs. Read the rest here 11:54
West Coast waters shifting to lower-productivity regime, new NOAA report finds
Large-scale climate patterns that affect the Pacific Ocean indicate that waters off the West Coast have shifted toward warmer, less productive conditions that may affect marine species from seabirds to salmon, according to the delivered to the Pacific Fishery Management Council. Read the rest here 11:41
Too much competition in Maritime lobster fishery, says Shea
The Maritime provinces need to stop competing against each other, says federal 
, and proceed with a lobster levy to promote Canadian lobster internationally. “It became abundantly clear to me in travelling internationally that the industry has been doing way too much competing against each other instead of working together to get products to market,” said Shea Read the rest here 11:27
Where have all the ice smelt gone? N.H. ice shanties are empty, the catch in Maine is down, environmentalists struggle for answers
The fishermen are gone now because the smelt are gone. Catches of 60, 70, 100 smelt on a tide — the six-hour period between low and high tides — were routine. What happened? Some say it’s just a cycle, though the decline has been steady since the state began smelt surveying in the early 1980s. Studies blame the high levels of nitrogen washing into the bay from septic systems, lawn fertilizer and sewage treatment plants. The nitrogen prompts algae blooms that smother the grass and quite possibly smelt eggs clinging to the bottom in tidal headwaters. Read the rest here 09:48
Two more sentences handed down for Deepwater Horizon fraud, claimants falsely alleged commercial fishing ties
Study finds some West Coast fish can survive in low-oxygen ocean dead zones while others leave
Scientists say they have found that some fish can survive in low-oxygen dead zones that are expanding in deep waters off the West Coast as the climate changes. The study focused on catches from 2008 through 2010 of four species of deepwater groundfish — Dover sole, petrale sole, spotted ratfish and greenstriped rockfish. Oregon State University oceanographer Jack Barth, a co-author, says commercial fishermen will likely start taking oxygen levels into account as they decide where to tow their nets. Read the rest here 08:17
Federal fisheries minister expresses fish export optimism
Shea joined industry representatives on a conference call Monday from Seafood Expo North America in Boston to share her optimism for the industry. The free trade deal with South Korea, Shea said, is projected to increase Canadian exports by 32 per cent and boost the Canadian economy by $1.7 billion annually. Read the rest here 08:08
