Daily Archives: March 30, 2015
Corps sending two dredges to reopen clogged Oregon Inlet – three days left in the lucrative commercial bluefin tuna season
Two dredges are steaming to Oregon Inlet to start clearing out the closed channel starting as early as Wednesday. On Saturday, the U.S. Coast Guard enacted its emergency power to prohibit boats drawing more than 2 feet from motoring within 100 yards of the Bonner Bridge. Charter boats need 3 to 5 feet and cannot head to sea through the inlet as Easter weekend approaches. There are also only three days left in the lucrative commercial bluefin tuna season. Read the rest here 20:38
Troubled Swan’s Island fisherman guilty of more scallop offenses
A local fisherman who just earlier this month was charged with committing multiple scallop fishing violations was found guilty in court last week of committing prior scallop violations more than a year ago. Justice Robert Murray decided March 25 that Lucas Lemoine had committed the civil violations of fishing in a closed area and fishing without a valid license in January 2014, according to court documents. Read the rest here 20:25
DFO bends to pressure, resumes herring talks with Heiltsuk – Marilyn Slett remains locked inside the federal fisheries office
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) Pacific Regional Director resumed negotiations this afternoon with Heiltsuk First Nations over the controversial herring fishery as protests at DFO offices in Vancouver and Bella Bella grew. Top DFO boss, Sue Farlinger, landed on Denny Island this afternoon near Bella Bella off the Northern B.C. coast to meet with First Nations leaders there. Read the rest here 20:10
Group studying ways to keep more fish out of shrimp nets
A meeting being held this week in New Bern will kick off an effort to study new methods and potential gear for reducing the bycatch of finfish in shrimp trawls. A work group established by the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission will hold its first meeting on Tuesday, a day-long workshop that will include presentations by experts from North Carolina and other coastal states on the latest technology in and experiences. Read the rest here 19:40
Minister Shea Announces TAC Increase And Rollovers For Northern Shrimp Fishery
Honourable Gail Shea, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, today announced the 2015/2016 Northern shrimp fishery management decisions for Shrimp Fishing Areas 0, 4, 5 and 6. The Government of Canada is committed to ensure the sustainability and the financial stability of the Northern shrimp fishery while maximizing economic opportunities for fishermen. In keeping with this commitment, the management decision for Northern shrimp is as follows: Read the rest here 16:11
Meet One of Canada’s Last Great Lakes Fishermen
Fish purveyors Kendall Dewey and his wife Joanne do everything: fish, gut, filet, weigh, and package the fish that nearby restaurants like the Drake Devonshire can’t get enough of. But at 62 and 55, they want to slow down and no one is interested in taking the reigns of their business in a county that prides itself on farm-to-table cooking. Trying to find someone young that’s interested in commercial fishing is very, very difficult. (because its real work!) Read the rest here 15:45
Huge ice cap on Lake Erie puts arrival of spring on hold
The large ice cap still encrusting most of Lake Erie would cover all of Long Island, Connecticut and Rhode Island combined. It’s two feet thick in many places, and melting oh-so-slowly. Last year, it wasn’t completely gone until May. The lake ice is the biggest, whitest sign that spring’s arrival is again delayed. And the temperature is not going to warm up any time soon. This will be the longest it has taken to reach 60 degrees since 1980. Read the rest here 15:24
Coast Guard conducts medevac near Cold Bay, Alaska
A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew medevaced a mariner experiencing abdominal complications from the fishing vessel U.S. Intrepid 30 miles south of Cold Bay Sunday. The helicopter crew safely hoisted the 19-year-old man and transported him to Cold Bay, where an Air Station Kodiak HC-130 Hercules aircraft crew landed to transfer him to a higher level of care in Kodiak. Read the rest here 14:28
Embracing the Success of Responsible U.S Fisheries Management
Seafood choices used to be simple, as they should be. But over the last twenty years or so we have been bombarded with more information and advice about seafood than ever before and all of a sudden seafood choices started to get very complicated. What used to be a simple choice now requires research on our part, and for some folks the confusion and guilt associated with seafood choices is enough to ruin their appetite, but not me. Read the rest here 14:05
UPDATE **** Coast Guard locates unresponsive fisherman overboard near Nantucket
The Coast Guard located the body of a missing fisherman about 37 miles southeast of Nantucket, Massachusetts at approximately 1 a.m., Monday. The crew of the fishing vessel Hear No Evil, homeported in New Bedford, Massachusetts, recovered the body and positively identified the missing crewman. We send our deepest condolences. Read the rest here 13:18
Louisiana shrimping: Lower prices this year and rise in imported shrimp
Louisiana State University researchers say Louisiana shrimpers face lower prices this year with an expected rise in imported shrimp. The Daily World reports that imports last year were hit by a virus called Early Mortality Syndrome, or EMS. But this year imports are re-entering the market and that is expected to drive prices down. Julie Anderson-Lively, assistant professor at Louisiana State University’s AgCenter, said a lot of imports were killed off last year and never entered the market. Read the rest here 13:00
Feds receive thousands of comments on Atlantic drilling
CHARLESTON, S.C. — The federal government has received thousands of comments on the contentious issue of drilling for oil and gas off the Atlantic coast. The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is seeking comment on what should be included in an environmental impact statement on offshore drilling which for the first time could include Atlantic drilling. The agency in recent weeks held a series of public meetings along the coast. The deadline for comments is Monday night. Read the rest here 12:52
Coast Guard searching for Fisherman overboard southeast of Nantucket
BOSTON — The Coast Guard is searching for a person in the water approximately 35 miles southeast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, Sunday. At about 8:30 p.m., the crew of the 85-foot scalloping vessel Hear No Evil notified watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England via VHF channel 16 that a 54-year-old male was missing from the vessel and may have fallen overboard. Read the rest here 08:52
“Hands Up” – Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (D Tex.), Wants Obama to Fire Commerce IG Todd Zinser
A top Democrat this week will ask President Obama to fire the Commerce Department’s inspector general after a congressional probe uncovered a pattern of alleged misconduct, including retaliation against whistleblowers and the hiring of a suspected girlfriend. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson (Tex.), the ranking Democrat on the House Science, Space and Technology Committee, called for Todd Zinser’s ouster during floor remarks Thursday. Read the rest here 08:24
