Monthly Archives: March 2015
Right whales might get extra layer of protection off N.C. coast
Off Southeastern North Carolina, the critical habitat would extend about 25 miles offshore. So will the new designation mean additional red tape for commercial fishermen, ships transiting through the new critical habitat areas or other current offshore activities? No, Gouveia stressed. But it would place the whales on the proverbial radar screen for any future developments in the near-shore waters off the coast that could impact those important habitat features. Read the rest here 19:50
The Future of Fishing in the Central Arctic
Increasingly, it’s the future of fisheries that is taking center stage in the geopolitical discussions that come with planning for the future Arctic. This was made evident on January 15 and 16, 2015, when 40 Arctic experts from the United States, Canada, Russia, China, Iceland, Denmark, and Greenland travelled to Tongji University in Shanghai to attend the first “Roundtable on Central Arctic Ocean Fisheries Issues.” Read the rest here 18:21
What’s Alaska’s biggest fishing town? UFA Fishing Fact Sheets has all the answers
What Alaska town ranks as #1 for total commercial fishing participation? Based on the number of fishing permits, crew licenses and skippers, Anchorage comes out on top. That’s just one of the facts available in seafood industry fact sheets complied by . The facts include well-documented statewide data; added new this year are breakdowns for the Nome and Wade Hampton Census Areas, as well as for Washington, Oregon and California, which rank as the top three states for nonresident fishermen in Alaska. Read the rest here 16:49
Captain Larry Sears was friendly, well-liked and a passionate and innovative fisherman
Sears, of Shag Harbour, died Monday after being pulled overboard while lobster fishing in the Cape Sable area off Nova Scotia’s South Shore. Sears was a noted figure in the swordfishing industry. Troy Atkinson, president of the Nova Scotia Swordfishermen’s Association, which represents long-line swordfish fishermen, said Sears was well liked. “He was one of those people who was quiet, but when he talked, you listened. He was very knowledgeable and very well-respected in the community. He spoke with wisdom when he spoke.” Read the rest here 14:37
Newfoundland/Labrador: Seeking a Fair Share for Small Boat Shrimp Harvesters
The all-party committee on federal shrimp quota allocations officially outlined its position to the Honourable Gail Shea, federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans today about how the Federal Government should proceed with Northern Shrimp allocation decisions. The All-Party Committee supports the total allowable catch rollover for Shrimp Fishing Area 6 for this year as requested by both the inshore and offshore fleet, and has asked for the Last In, First Out (LIFO) policy to be rescinded and replaced with a new sharing arrangement that is fair to both valued fleets. Read the rest here 14:12
Fishermen Knowledge in Policy and Science: It’s just a net waste to ignore fishermen
Grown-up policy-making requires significant input from those closest to the issue at hand. Sounds obvious, doesn’t it?. But you would be surprised at how often key stakeholders, to use the bureaucrats’ beloved terminology, are kept out of the loop, especially by the European Commission (and NOAA) . When it comes to my own industry, the politicians, officials and green lobbyists who have largely dictated fisheries policy over the past decade still view us (I’m borrowing this metaphor from our farming friends) as the fox in the hen house, that is, untrustworthy. Read the rest here 13:40
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 84′ Steel Raised Foc’sle Stern Trawler w/ Permits, 560HP, CAT D-379 Diesel
Specifications, and information and 11 photos of the vessel, click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 12:40
Another Greenpeace Publicity Stunt! How’s your tuna ranked?
There are lists for everything nowadays — and Greenpeace has a doozy for environmentally-conscious canned tuna lovers. The activist group on Monday released a ranking of 14 brands that examines “fundamental sustainability standards.” It found that three of the most popular brands, representing 80% of the American tuna mark, among the worst offenders: Bumble Bee, Chicken of the Sea and StarKist. Read the rest here 09:43
EDITORIAL: Lobster levy flap foolish
Nova Scotia Fisheries Minister Keith Colwell has been clawed up over the proposed penny-a-pound marketing levy on lobster landings. So it’s not surprising his federal counterpart, Gail Shea, wasn’t eager Monday to go to battle for an idea that many players in the Nova Scotia industry think is logical, but too few want to pay for. Read the rest here 09:19
Congress Proposes Relaxing Sea Lion Protections
The Endangered Salmon and Fisheries Predation Prevention Act, a proposed amendment to the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act, could soon give tribal members and government fishery managers in the Columbia River Basin authority to kill sea lions threatening endangered salmon populations. U.S. Reps Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA) and Kurt Schrader (D-OR) introduced the amendment on January 27. Read the rest here 08:41
Pacific Fishery Management Council move to protect tiny ocean fish
West Coast fishery regulators on Tuesday banned fishing for huge swaths of species at the base of the ocean’s food chain, a major step toward ocean conservation that was hailed by environmentalists and fishermen alike. Most people probably never have heard of the hundreds of species protected by Tuesday’s vote at the council’s meeting in Vancouver, Washington. They fall into seven broad categories: Pacific saury, Silversides, round and thread herring, Pacific sand lance, Osmerid smelts, mesopelagic fishes and pelagic squids. Read the rest here 07:30
Newfoundland/Labrador – Stakes are big in shrimp fishery
The little northern shrimp gets picked on a lot in what is called Northern Shrimp Fishing Area 6 off the province’s northeast coast. The bullies include the offshore factory-freezer trawlers and inshore boats from all over the province that steam to the large expanse of water off the northeast coast of the island and southern Labrador. The overall shrimp resource has been declining in recent years and there’s controversy over which sector — the offshore or the inshore — should take the biggest hit in quota in coming years. Read the rest here 16:28
Debate continues about quotas as thousands of tonnes of herring pulled into boats off Parksville Qualicum Beach
While the Pacific herring are one of the most abundant fish in B.C.’s coastal waters, many communities have suffered a decrease in stock suspected from overfishing. The main controversies lay on the West Coast of Vancouver Island, around Haida Gwaii and on the central coast where First Nations and various scientists fear the herring are in a fragile state despite the federal government’s decision to reopen herring fisheries. Though herring stocks are struggling to recover in neighbouring waters, here in Parksville Qualicum Beach we’re seeing record highs. Read the rest here
Coast Guard officer relieved of command after grounding of 87-foot patrol boat
The Coast Guard officer who was relieved of the command of a Jonesport-based cutter is being investigated for his role in the grounding of the 87-foot patrol boat last month and several other incidents that called his ability to command into question, the Coast Guard said. Senior Chief Petty Officer Christopher Bouchard was relieved of his command of the Moray on Friday and temporarily reassigned to the Coast Guard sector field office in Southwest Harbor. Read the rest here 14:46
Federal judge grants preliminary injunction to block Pacific Seafood acquisition
Stepping in to avert a potential monopoly, a federal judge has granted commercial fishermen a preliminary injunction to block Pacific Seafood Group from acquiring Ocean Gold Seafoods. The fishermen have alleged that Pacific Seafood would have a monopoly over the groundfish, whiting and coldwater shrimp markets if it acquires Ocean Gold, a large fish processor in Westport, Wash. The ruling Friday by Judge Owen Panner in U.S. District Court in Medford came after the Oregon Attorney General’s office described the potential merger as “presumptively unlawful given the degree of market concentration.” Read the rest here 14:12
Happening Now: PFMC set to vote on new forage fish rules today
Regional policymakers are expected to act today on an ecological plan that would mark a significant shift in the way West Coast fisheries are managed. The years-in-the-making proposal aims to protect several species of forage fish that are often overlooked, but provide a crucial food source for salmon and other marine wildlife. The plan reflects a move toward more broad ecosystem-based management, rather than the species-by-species approach that characterized previous policy. Click here to listen live. Read the rest here 11:57
Tragedy: Captain Larry Wayne Sears dies after becoming ‘entangled’ in line
A 64-year-old Shag Harbour captain is dead after he was pulled overboard while lobster fishing in the Cape Sable area Monday night, according to Nova Scotia RCMP. Barrington RCMP say Larry Wayne Sears was hauling lobster pots with his two crew members on the Four Ladies when “it appears the trawl line became snarled in the hauler.” Read the rest here 11:03
“Waterway Hurricane Evacuation Smartphone App for Commercial Fishing Vessels,”
Louisiana’s commercial fishermen soon will have an app to help guide them during the rough waters of hurricane season. Titled “Waterway Hurricane Evacuation Smartphone App for Commercial Fishing Vessels,” the app is for fisherman to use as a reference deciding which way to head when a hurricane is forecast. The WAVE app project is underwritten by a $34,330 grant by the New Projects Fund of LSU Coastal Sustainability Studio. Read the rest here 10:27
Dispute continues over herring roe fishing rights in Barkley Sound
A confrontation between the Tseshaht First Nation and commercial fishing boats was avoided Sunday when a federal department postponed a herring fishery in Barkley Sound. A herring roe fishery was scheduled to open at sunrise by the Island’s West Coast area, but a last-minute announcement from Fisheries and Oceans Canada held off this activity, citing that stocks were not ready for harvesting. Tristan Nano photo Read the rest here 09:35
Eastlink sues Newfoundland fishing vessel for subsea cable break
An arrest warrant has been issued for a Newfoundland fishing vessel after another subsea telecommunication cable was broken last summer off the coast of Atlantic Canada. In a statement of claim filed last week in federal court, Nova Scotia-headquartered Eastlink accuses the vessel of damaging its cable, costing the company nearly $1 million in repairs. It was at least the fourth time an underwater cable was snapped by a fishing vessel in the region between May 2013 and July 2014. Read the rest here 08:33
Sardine ban looms as fishermen weigh disaster funds –
With the number of sardines along the Pacific coast plummeting, a commercial fishing ban looms on Monterey’s most iconic fish. “Our fishing is making the crash so much worse than it would have naturally been,” said Geoff Shester, California program director for the advocacy group Oceana. “This is unquestionably and unequivocally a result of overfishing.” “I’m sure Oceana will be banging the drum saying, ‘Oh no, the sky is falling, you can’t take one more fish,’” Diane Pleschner-Steele (CWPA) said. “They’re just so off the wall. They’re incredible.” Read the rest here 08:05
What to do with an icon: Boston PR firm hired to retool branding for Maine lobster
“We’ve got a great story to tell,” adds David Cousens, a fisherman and president of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association. “We’re poor at telling it, but we need to get better at it. We’re independent businessmen, we catch the product, we bring it in fresh. It’s a great, healthy, wild-caught product coming out of pristine water. We need to get that story out there because that story sells.” Read the rest here 20:59
Russian pollock sector soon to be as consolidated as US – 2 Foreign Companies OWN 50% of all US POLLOCK
The industry will follow the model of the US pollock sector, with the top five Russian companies controlling 80% of the quota in 2015-2016, states Osadchiy’s presentation from the event, held last week in Bergen, Norway. In the US, Trident Seafoods, Maruha Nichiro, Nippon Suisan Kaisha (Nissui) and American Seafoods Group control 80% of the TAC. Trident has 25% of the TAC, Maruha Nichiro, through its mothership vessels and Westward Seafoods and Alyeska Seafoods processing plants, has 22%; Nissui has 18% through Unisea; with American Seafoods and its fleet of factory vessels harvesting 16%. Read the rest here 18:59
Alaska Reality Wars | Selling Out Our High Sea And Distant Shores.
The vast expanse of the last frontier is quickly becoming the king of prime time television entertainment. There is another gold rush in Alaska and its attacking our screens with the ferocity of a Kodiak brown bear. There are over twenty reality TV shows currently airing on numerous cable networks that have some affiliation with Alaska.,, This “selling out” of our high seas and distant shores hits closer to home than I ever realized it could. Over the past months, I have been in negotiation with an unamed reality production crew, Read the rest here 17:16
Alaska groundfish fleets face big blow from halibut bycatch proposals
Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) groundfish fleets are staring down at what could be a shocking blow to revenues next year. The North Pacific Fishery Management (NPFMC) is considering halibut bycatch allocation reductions for BSAI groundfish fleets ranging from 10% to 50%, with a final vote slated for its June meeting. As the potential impacts of this blow begin to sink in, one company — three-decade old Fishermen’s Finest — has already assessed the damages, and they’re not pretty. Read the rest here 16:39
Inuit elders tell NASA Earth axis shifted
The Inuit Tribe are indigenous people who live in the Canadian Arctic, Greenland, Siberia and Alaska. Their elders have written to the National Space and Aeronautics Administration (NASA) to tell them that the Earth’s axis has shifted. The elders do not believe that carbon emissions from humans are causing the current climate changes. The elders say they can no longer predict the weather, as they have been able to in the past. Read the rest here 15:24
Gail Shea still pushing ‘imperative’ lobster levy in Nova Scotia
Federal Fisheries Minister Gail Shea is continuing to promote the idea of a Maritime-wide lobster levy, even though momentum in Nova Scotia appears to have stalled. “I can’t change how people react in that area,” Shea said Monday at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography in Halifax. She was referring to a unanimous vote of lobster buyers from southwestern Nova Scotia last month rejecting the Maritime wide levy. Read the rest here 14:53
Giant great white shark caught off P.E.I. was ‘a teenager’
New research into great white sharks has revealed that a giant shark caught off P.E.I. in 1983 still had a lot of growing to do. The 5.3-metre long shark was listed last summer on the Discovery Channel as No.2 on its list of top five legendary sharks. Now researchers have found the shark was still a youngster with a lot of growing to do. Read the rest here 12:06
Snow crab fishermen fined $7K
Three snow crab fishermen in the province have been fined a total of $7,000. According to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Carman Frampton of Burin was charged with having too many crab pots set, failing to take aboard an observer and using gear that’s not part of a licence. Read the rest here 11:59
Penobscot Bay Pilot Photo gallery: 2015 Maine Fishermen’s Forum
The Samoset Resort Saturday was packed with people, all turned out for the 40th annual Maine Fishermen’s Forum. Today was the last day of the three-day forum. From the gallery. Smithwick and Mariner’s Insurance representatives, from left, are Laurie Woodley, Christopher Smithwick and Suzanne Beilleux. View the gallery here 11:49
