Daily Archives: March 18, 2015
Bids for Icicle Seafood lining up
The hope from Icicle’s owner Paine and Partners, which recently closed another fund that it intends to focus partly on seafood investments, is for the sale process to be closed soon,sources told Undercurrent News. There are US companies interested in buying the whole thing, as well as foreign players, sources said. A big talking point at the Boston show was how foreign companies would structure a deal for the pollock quota-owning part of Icicle, but that does not seem to be stopping interest. Foreign companies can only own 25% of US quota holders. Read the rest here 20:15
Rising tide of America’s sustainable seafood by Ray Hilborn
This year marks 40 years since the passage of landmark Congressional legislation that fundamentally overhauled how the $90 billion U.S. commercial fisheries industry is managed. It established a unique public-private partnership in which the industry, working with scientists and both federal and local authorities, would regulate fishing according to agreed-upon scientific standards for environmental sustainability, even as the industry stretched to meet skyrocketing demand for seafood. Read the rest here 17:19
Alaska Market Fresh: Waiting for halibut? You may have to wait a bit longer
The halibut season opened last weekend. But the blustery weather may make those hankering for halibut to be a bit patient. “This is the first week of the big halibut opener and wouldn’t you know the whole winter the weather has been nice and warm and this weekend a blizzard happens,” says John Jackson of New Sagaya Markets. “I saw a total of about 1,076 pounds landed over the weekend, and that is nothing. Thanks to the weather, it is what it is. I am hoping that we hear better news in the next few days.” Read the rest here 15:28
It’s all in the data – Advocates use mapping to save Newport Coast Guard helicopter
Last year, the Coast Guard wanted to withdraw a MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Newport because of budget constraints. Search and rescue operations would have been handled by crews at Air Station North Bend to the south and Air Station Astoria to the north, roughly 45 minutes to an hour in flight time from Newport. While the Coast Guard maintained that emergency response times would still have fallen within its two-hour national standard, countered,,, Read the rest here 12:31
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 40ft. Holland Crab,Lobster, 410HP, 6 Cylinder Sisu 645B5BM Diesel
Specifications, and information and 21 photos of the vessel, click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 12:14
Fish aid plans may leave out buybacks, buyouts
Bullard, however, said that the re-aligned philosophy of how to best spend the remaining $10 million would not necessarily spell the end of planning a buyout or buyback program to help the fishery over the long haul. “We don’t want to give up on the (the buyback or buyout) and want to keep thinking about how it may work,” Bullard said. “But there is more of a feeling now that perhaps we should use the majority of those funds for other purposes.” Read the rest here 11:42
My Turn: Magnuson-Stevens reauthorization moves forward – Rep Don Young
Almost 40 years ago, without regard for the conservation of our fisheries or the needs of the Alaskan people, foreign fishing fleets dominated the waters off Alaska’s shores and took anything and everything in their reach. Ask anyone familiar with the times. Deck lights of foreign vessels – dozens if not more – could be seen just miles off the coast of Kodiak and other coastal communities. Recognizing the need for change, countless Alaskan fishermen came to Congress to ask for help in pushing the foreign fleets out. Read the rest here 10:35
Public meeting on commercial red snapper catch share program Wednesday 6 PM
The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will hold a scoping workshop in Panama City Wednesday night to discuss and collect comment on potential changes to the red snapper commercial individual fishing quota (IFQ) program, also known as a catch share program. Read the rest here 10:24
Extreme winter puts $100M Great Lakes fishing industry behind schedule
The commercial fishing season is weeks behind schedule because boats remain lodged in ice formed over the course of the second consecutive extremely cold winter on the Great Lakes. Greater ice coverage last year delayed the 2014 commercial fishing season by nearly six weeks. Once fishing started, it was so good that 2014 went down as one of the strongest years in recent memory. Read the rest here 09:17
Ecology Action Centre: Harpooned swordfish more sustainable
Nova Scotians can do their bit to protect the swordfish fishery by purchasing product caught only by harpoon, says the Ecology Action Centre’s marine policy and certification co-ordinator. “With a harpoon, the swordfish is targeted directly, and this is a sustainable model,” Catharine Grant said Tuesday. The alternative in the province is the longliner fishery, much of it centred on the Scotian Shelf.However, last week, the prestigious Monterey Bay Aquarium, through its Seafood Watch program, condemned this style of catching swordfish for its lack of sustainability. Read the rest here
What’s Killing the Baby Sea Lions? Environmentalists say the overfishing of sardines. Fishermen say that’s a crock.
The sardine decline has pitted environmentalists against fishermen. The conservation group Oceana argues that commercial fishermen are taking too many sardines. Ben Enticknap, a senior scientist with Oceana, said sardine numbers routinely swing up and down based on ocean cycles and seasonal productivity. But, according to the sardine fishing industry, blaming overfishing for the sea lion collapse is a stretch. Diane Pleschner-Steele, director of the California Wetfish Producers Association,,, Read the rest here 08:00
