Daily Archives: March 24, 2015
Mandatory Humane Harvesting Training for the Seal Fishery
DFO reminds all commercial Sealers that Humane Harvesting Training on the three-step process is mandatory for all commercial Seal licence holders prior to participating in the 2015 season and in any future Sealing seasons. In order to renew a Sealing licence for the 2015 Seal harvesting season, all Sealers must have renewed their 2014 licence and also must have successfully completed the mandatory Humane Harvesting Training on the three-step process. Read the rest here19:56
Gov. Walker makes another unorthodox pick for Fish Board, Meanwhile in Montana, former Fish Board appointee charged!
Gov. Bill Walker has made a second try at filling a vacant seat on the Alaska Board of Fisheries, this time picking Robert Ruffner, the director of a Kenai Peninsula conservation group for a position traditionally held by members sympathetic to sportfishing interests. Read the rest here Meanwhile, Montana law enforcement officials have charged Gov. Bill Walker’s one-time fish board appointee, Roland Maw, with seven misdemeanor counts of applying for and buying Montana resident licenses while he was not a resident of the state. Read the rest here 15:54
Heiltsuk heartbroken by herring fishery’s re-start, with RCMP protection
It’s come to this. The police protection of the controversial herring fishing, on B.C.’s central coast. Heiltsuk Nation had opposed the return of the large fishing boats for weeks, warning federal fishery officials, that the fishing could wipe out the fragile herring stocks in their traditional waters.,, harsh words for the fishermen. “One of them told his captain to tell us to ‘f-off’ — and I told him to ‘f-off’ and gave him the one finger salute,” said Humchitt. “After that we toned down, and we asked how much quota they were taking and they just turned their backs on us.” Read the rest here 15:17
Michigan officials weigh idea of Great Lakes fish farming
The state Department of Environmental Quality has heard from two operators interested in raising rainbow trout in netted enclosures, spokesman Brad Wurfel told The Associated Press. “We’re going to put the absolute best minds available around the table and give it due consideration,” he said. “But we haven’t forgotten that job one is protecting Michigan’s waters. We’ve been trying to be very clear that the bar here would be incredibly high.” Read the rest here 15:04
Winchester Bay, Thar be sardines here
“In our minds,” he said, “fish buyers, fishermen in the sardine industry … we get a quota and it keeps getting reduced. We don’t think NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) does a very good job doing their science. In fact, we use airplanes to see our fish. “We may not get a July 1 season this year,” he explained, “because they say there’s no fish in the ocean. So, we happened to be down here buying live crab from the local guys, here, and they’ve been telling me ‘we’re seeing sardines.’ I’m saying ‘no you aren’t. They’re not here.’ ‘No, we’re seeing sardines.’” Read the rest here 12:46
RCMP tell onlookers to stay away from Bonavista boat fire
Firefighters are battling a blaze aboard a boat at the Bonavista Marina that’s been burning since 6 a.m. According to the RCMP, the Trinity Bay North and Bonavista fire departments are trying to extinguish the “large” boat fire. Photos and video quickly began showing up on social media of the fire, including this video posted on YouTube by Barry Langdon. Read the rest here 11:40
Three Louisiana men cited for commercial shark-fishing violations
Agents with the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries cited three Louisiana men this weekend for alleged commercial shark-fishing violations off the coast of Grand Isle. According to a press release, Daie Minh Le, 42, of Buras, Hung Van Le, 38, of New Orleans and Thanh Van Le, 52, of Buras, were ticketed for being over the limit of large coastal sharks. Agents on patrol found the men still actively fishing and already in possession of 74 large coastal sharks, the release states. Most of the sharks were black tip sharks, as well as one hammerhead. Read the rest here 10:52
New distribution model helps Skipper Otto’s expand beyond B.C. borders
Just over a year ago, Sonia and Shaun Strobel decided to expand their community supported fisheries business, Skipper Otto’s, beyond British Columbia’s borders. Unofficially, they were already there. The business had ballooned from 40 people buying fish from a locker on Granville Island to more than 1,000 members, buying thousands of pounds of seafood, across Western Canada. Read the rest here 08:47
Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission Chief Reacts To Being On Chopping Block
The Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission is defending itself against a recent state report pointing out inefficiencies and legislation that could dissolve the agency. Since its creation in 1973, Twomley says the commission has been going through a deluge of thousands of applications to limited entry fisheries and is now down to the last 28 cases. The report recommends those be complete by the end of June. A more reasonable time frame, says Twomley, is by the end of 2016. Audio, Read the rest here 08:35
