Monthly Archives: March 2015
Maine Elver fishery value plunges 74%
After two years of runaway catches and explosive value, Maine’s elver fishery fell substantially back toward Earth in 2014, according to state officials. But despite a near 75 percent reduction in the value of the volatile fishery, elver fishermen in Maine still did pretty well last year, bringing in the third-most valuable annual elver harvest in the past two decades. With the fishery’s reduced value, elvers became the fourth-most valuable commercially harvested species in Maine in 2014, behind lobster, softshell clams and herring, in that order. Read the rest here 10:07
NOAA should extend fishermen’s input to new year’s rules, too
The announcement that 
Fisheries has agreed to pull back elements of last November’s emergency Gulf of Maine cod protective measures represents good news on several fronts. Now, it’s important that this cooperation be extended when it comes to setting regulations for the next fishing year, which is due to start May 1 — or in just eight weeks. Read the rest here 07:53
Trawling has “negligible” effect on soft-bottom seafloor
Trawling is continually criticised by environmental advocates for the damage it causes to rocky marine habitats and the long-lived animals that occur in them. However, important questions remain about the extent of any damage to sandy and muddy environments. During the three-year study, fishermen trawled patches of the ocean floor off Morro Bay. Those areas were analysed by underwater photos and video and compared with nearby areas that were untouched. Read more here 07:37
AMSEA: Free safety workshop for commercial fishermen
The Alaska Marine Safety Education Association will offer a Fishing Vessel Drill Conductor Workshop from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Saturday, March 28 at the University of Alaska Southeast Technical Education Center, in Juneau. The workshop will cover cold water survival skills, EPIRBs (emergency beacons), flares, maydays, man-overboard recovery and firefighting, immersion suits and PFDs, emergency drills, helicopter rescue, life rafts and abandon ship procedures. Read more here 07:06
Annual herring run seems heavier than usual off Comox Valley shores
Since retiring from the air force in 1996, Hal Schulz has never seen a bigger herring run, which started Monday. The annual event occurs in late-February or early-March when millions of herring spawn the B.C. coastline from Victoria to the Queen Charlotte Islands. It typically lasts four or five days. Read the rest here 21:44
Frigid February may put Maine’s lobster harvest on ice for a while
The first-ever lobster forecast is out, and it says February’s record cold will likely set back Maine’s lobster season. This winter’s 
and stormy weather have cooled the waters in the Gulf of Maine. That means lobsters, which spend their winters in deeper waters offshore, will likely get a late start migrating to the coast and shedding their shells, says Christina Hernandez, a research assistant working on the project, which is being funded with $100,000 from NASA. Read the rest here 21:06
Local fishermen benefit as another round of fishery diaster relief released – Sure They Do!
“We’re hoping the end of the month, the end of March, that things can get done,” U.S. Rep. William Keating (D-Bourne) told the News Service on Monday. “We’ve got families that are really, really hurting,” said Frank Mirarchi, a fishing boat captain in Scituate. “This money will be a blessing.” Yes it will. If it ever gets here! What are they waiting for?! Christmas again? Read the rest here 18:05
Climate change, acid oceans: NOAA research priorities
The changing climate and chemistry of our oceans is definitely on radar screens of federal planet watchers. That’s the assurance of Kathryn Sullivan, director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. I don’t need to tell Alaskans – you are living it, you see it all around you. And the consequences that have societally, economically, ecologically you all are living it every day. Sullivan calls NOAA the nation’s environmental intelligence agency. (Really?) Audio, and read the rest here 17:47
Integrity of small-scale fisheries policy implementation process compromised
A meeting called by the Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (DAFF) to discuss aspects of the small-scale fisheries policy was deeply flawed, according to representatives of Masifundise and Coastal Links South Africa who attended. Masifundise and Coastal Links SA this week issued a statement to outline the basis of their concern. The media release reads as follows; Read the rest here 16:14
Crisfield watermen up in arms over DNR’s peeler crab regulations
It’s another winter day that Crisfield watermen are forced to stay off their boats, but the spring may be the start of even bigger problems. “We were hoping it wouldn’t come to this,” says Doug Hall, a waterman in Crisfield, Maryland. In Maryland, the current law requires that the minimum size of “peeler” or soft-shell crabs that watermen can harvest is 3.25 inches until July 14th, when that requirement jumps to 3.5 inches. However, this year the Department of Natural Resources is making that regulation go into effect three months earlier, on April 1st. Read the rest here 15:41
Southeast trollers fight for chums at Board of Fisheries
Regulations to increase the chum harvest for southeast trollers fell short. The Alaska Board of Fisheries held a meeting from Feb. 23 to March 3 to hear proposals regarding southeast Alaska and Yakutat finfish, which includes salmon, herring, and sablefish fisheries for commercial, sport, and subsistence harvest. The meeting limped along with only four voting members during many of the proposals, which kept at least one contentious measure from being passed for lack of board input. Read the rest here 15:08
UPDATED: Shrimp fishery reprieve? Industry proposal would avoid cuts this year
The offshore and inshore shrimp fleets have unanimously approved a plan that would see no cuts to shrimp quotas in fishing areas off the coast of Newfoundland and Labrador in 2015. In a move that can only be classified as stunning, the two sides presented the plan to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans at a federal shrimp advisory meeting in Montreal on Wednesday. “I have little doubt the minister will approve the recommendation,” Chapman told CBC Radio’s Fisheries Broadcast. Read the rest here 14:01
South Carolina Businessman to lead opposition against Big Oil
A Murrells Inlet businessman who also makes his home in the inlet is taking on “Big Oil” — and right here on the South Strand. Rich Baumann, the founder of Murrells Inlet Seafood, is putting together individuals, companies and groups opposed to seismic testing and eventually oil drilling off the South Carolina coast. Read the rest here 13:49
Pacific Fishery Management Council – Meeting in Vancouver, Washington March 6-12, 2015
The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and its advisory bodies will meet March 6-12, 2015 in Vancouver, Washington to address issues related to salmon, Pacific halibut, highly migratory species, ecosystem based management, and habitat matters. Info page, Click here Download a PDF version of the Meeting Notice and Agenda Join the meeting in “listen-only” mode, Click here 10:14
Baker: Shrimpin’ ain’t easy – Federal decision to cut inshore shrimp quotas mystifying, devastating for NL economy
I wonder how many people casually dismissed the news this week about northern shrimp quota cuts as just more “fishermen crying and whining” about their lot in life. A good many I’d say. And that’s too bad because in doing so you missed something that has huge ramifications. For everyone. I don’t think people fully understand how huge the decision is. There are upwards of 3,000 direct jobs linked to northern shrimp in Newfoundland and Labrador on vessels and in the plants. This decision could begin to wipe all of that out. Read the rest here 08:33 Newfoundland shrimp workers rally against feds and cuts Video, click here
TV’s ‘Wicked Tuna’ fishermen, seafood chefs to headline 2015 Maine Fishermen’s Forum
This year, David Carraro and his first mate, Sandro Maniaci, from the National Geographic Channel program “ Wicked Tuna” are expected to help attract attendees to the 2015 Maine Fishermen’s Forum in Rockport. The three-day event at The Samoset Resort in Rockport is scheduled to start about 8 a.m. Thursday morning and last through Saturday evening. The annual conference draws hundreds of fishermen and their families, regulators and industry representatives to three days worth of information sessions on a variety of fishing and seafood-related topics. Read the rest here 07:59
Alaska lawmaker wants to limit seine vessel length
A Ketchikan lawmaker is proposing that no seine vessels longer than 58 feet can fish in state salmon fisheries. Rep. Dan Ortiz said the bill he introduced Wednesday would protect fishing and processing opportunities for Alaskans by limiting the size of boats seining for salmon. Read the rest here 19:32
A Tale of two pictures – NOAA and Enviros have it all wrong on Gulf of Maine Cod!
This is a picture of approximately 2000 lbs. of cod. It represents the first time I have targeted cod in two years. While one picture does not determine the status of the stock it is a powerful illustrator of our current assessment shortcomings. This presentation is on Gulf of Maine Cod but the problems it illustrates cut across numerous species. By way of background, this was a one hour research tow in an open area. I travelled 20 miles to make this tow and it represents the first area that had not been taken over by lobster traps. This alone is cause for concern because most of the Gulf of Maine is now defacto closed to commercial fishing and the trawl survey, by the proliferation of fixed gear. The fact is, none of us now know how many cod exist because no one, including the NOAA trawl survey can fish here. Read the rest here, by David Goethel 16:36
Enviros Petition for Immediate and Permanent Rule Making to Prohibit Fishing for Gulf of Maine Cod
Togiak Herring Biomass Forecast Above 10-Year Average
Alaska fishery area management biologists in Dillingham say the 2015 Togiak District herring biomass is forecast to be 163,480 tons, about 110 percent of the recent 10-year average. The forecast issued in late February is based on an age-structured analysis model in use since 1993. It shows so far that herring ages 4-6 are expected to comprise 17 percent of the projected biomass, ages -7 and -8 comprising 27 percent, ages 9-11 up to 50 percent, and the remaining 6 percent from fish ages 12 years and over. Read the rest here 15:22
$1 million fish pier project tops Rockland list
A $1 million overhaul at the city’s fish pier tops Rockland’s proposed capital improvement program for 2015-2016. The fish pier work would consist of replacing the surface of the pier, which has deteriorated over the past few decades. New concrete will be poured, new pilings will be installed and two new cranes would be purchased to help fishermen unload their catches. Read the rest here 14:43
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 63′ Steel Shrimper/Trawler,1986, Dragger, Shrimper Steel, Detroit
Specifications, and information and 10 photos of the vessel, click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 13:20
There really ARE more fish in the sea: Scientists find deep sea species untouched by fishing makes up 95% of all fish in the world
Scientists have vastly underestimated the number of fish in the sea – and say the majority of them have never been fished.Australian researchers found that mesopelagic fish, which live between 100 and 1000m below the surface, constitute 95 per cent of the world’s fish biomass and are untouched by fishing. They say the secret to the animal’s success may be its ability to evade fishing nets. Read the rest here 10:49
40 Years of the Maine Fishermen’s Forum
“We had an industry that was nearly unregulated—nobody had experience dealing with regulators. People were being thrust into this world where the government would have a large say in how their lives ran,” said Jim Wilson. Wilson attended a meeting of fishermen in Rhode Island, and when he returned to Maine, he came up with the idea for the Maine Fishermen’s Forum (Click here). “The idea of the forum was to build a community that could start to prepare for this brave new world.” Read the rest here 10:19
Longtime Kenai River habitat advocate applies for Board of Fisheries seat
A Kenai Peninsula resident known for his habitat advocacy has applied to be on Alaska’s Board of Fisheries. Robert Ruffner is a 19-year resident of Soldotna and has supervised dozens of culvert and fish passage projects on the Kenai Peninsula. Ruffner, who has not actively participated in fisheries politics on one side of the sport, commercial, or personal-use fishing battle over Cook Inlet fish, could be a less polarizing figure. Read the rest here 08:47
South coast harvesters blast DFO and FFAW; call conservation ‘a joke’ – Cod fishery extended into spawning season … again
Inshore fish harvesters on the south coast of Newfoundland are accusing the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and the Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union (FFAW) of using the guise of science to allow large company-owned trawlers to catch cod during a time that is traditionally closed for cod spawning. The cod fishery in area 3Ps was set to close for spawning on March 1. But it was decided, the same as last year, the fishery would remain open until the end of March to help gather more information. Read the rest here 07:55
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
