Daily Archives: April 14, 2015
Light up the nets! Easy Solution for Shrimpers and Smelt Alike
Along with pink shrimp, their nets often scoop up a threatened smelt called eulachon. Many shrimpers worry that the species’ vulnerability could lead to new federal restrictions on their industry. Now scientists in Oregon seem to have hit upon an effective and low-cost solution: Light up the nets. Last July, fisheries biologists Robert Hannah and Stephen Jones of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife and Mark Lomeli of the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission chartered a shrimp trawler for an unusual experiment. Read the rest here 20:56
Carino not buying seals this year
Plunging sardine numbers and a Pew Study spark quick management response?
Fisheries managers have shut down this summer’s West Coast commercial sardine fishing season that begins in July, and this Tuesday, April 14, were considering an emergency shut down of the current season which doesn’t end until June 30. Then on April 13, the council announced that new information called into question whether the current season should also be shut down immediately. The study, funded by Pew Charitable Trusts,,, Read the rest here 19:23
Herring starts today at Kodiak, Togiak’s next; Sitka price info
Kodiak’s roe herring season starts today and unlike other regions, where the fishery is very concentrated and can last less than a week, Kodiak herring can show up in roughly 80 districts around the island well into June. About 3,200 tons will come out of the fishery, taken by 15 to 20 boats. While test fisheries to gauge roe counts are underway at Kodiak, boats and five buyers are also showing up early at Alaska’s largest roe herring fishery at Togiak in Bristol Bay. Read the rest here 17:44
INTERVIEW: Capt. Wild Bill readies for new season of ‘Deadliest Catch’
Deadliest Catch kicks off its 11th season 9 p.m. Tuesday, April 14 with a cutthroat episode that looks at the always treacherous profession of king-crab fishing in the Alaskan Bering Sea. The captains profiled on the show have become household names among reality-TV fans, and one of the most memorable is Capt. Wild Bill Wichrowski.,, Wichrowski said the 11th season will be different because Discovery Channel has “upped the scale of the camera equipment.” So, even though the story lines will be familiar, the visuals should be even more stunning. Read the rest here 17:01
Squid status quo? Fishermen discuss future of livelihood
Squid fisherman Steve Axelsson wants regulators to be proactive and make sure that too many fishermen running out of other species to catch don’t start targeting his livelihood. One concern is that a collapse of ground-fish stocks in New England could lead many to start using their inactive squid permits. David Wiscott, another Port of Cape May fisherman, took the opposite stance. While squid is a major target for Alexsson, Wiscott mostly catches scallops but at times will go after squid. “What about squid vessels that don’t do good and jump back into scallops? I think it’s very unfair and I’m against it,” said Wiscott. Read the rest here 15:48
Maine lobsterman creates revolutionary product with simple tweak – The EZ Block
Lobstering in the Gulf of Maine is tough work. There are a multitude of tasks that cause never ending wear and tear on just about every body part that you could think of, especially in areas like the shoulders, lower back, elbows, and knees. Now, thanks to David Hiltz Jr., of Deer Isle, there’s a new product on the line that could help lobstermen haul their traps more safely and efficiently. Read the rest here Video, 15:02
PERC’s Alden recognized as an innovator for fisheries sustainability work
Robin Alden is the recipient of the 2015 Innovator Award as part of the first SOURCE Maine Sustainability Awards. “Alden has made it her life’s work to help fishermen, scientists and fisheries managers understand each other before the goal of making local fisheries more sustainable for Maine’s coastal communities and future generations,” according to a statement accompanying the award. Read the rest here 11:59
Florida Key’s Illegal fish case continued
A Key West charter boat captain’s change of plea will be heard on April 21 in Plantation Key after a scheduling conflict continued the matter last week. Wickers and four other men were charged in the undercover Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission investigation into the illegal sale of finfish and lobster by charter and commercial fishermen. Read the rest here 11:18
Senate committee questions Fish Board appointee over sportfishing support
Robert Ruffner, director of the conservation group Kenai Watershed Forum, has faced criticism from some personal-use dipnetters and sportfishermen from Copper River, the Kenai and the Matanuska-Susitna Borough. They’ve accused him of supporting commercial fishing interests instead, and have opposed his appointment to the seven-member board that sets and revises fishing regulations in Alaska. Read the rest here 11:00
Obama Proposes New Rules For Offshore Oil Wells – How about Observer Coverage??
The proposal Monday by the Interior Department builds on standards industry has set for so-called blowout preventers since the April 2010 disaster on the Deepwater Horizon rig, and establishes schedules for maintenance and repair. If adopted, the rules would mandate outside audits of equipment, require each device to have a backup shear to cut a pipe, and call for real-time monitoring onshore for heat and pressure at the well. Read the rest here 10:37
Japan Won’t Accept “No” to Whaling
Japan on Monday said it hoped to resume its Antarctic whale hunt around the end of this year, after providing further information to win over an international panel that says its whaling plan does not prove the need for killing the animals. Japan has long maintained that most whale species are not endangered and that eating whale is part of its food culture. Read the rest here 09:32
New player in this year’s seal hunt – Bernie Halloran feels struggling industry about to ‘bust wide open’
There’s a new player in the seal processing sector in Newfoundland and Labrador this spring, and it is promising to shake things up for an industry that’s already facing a great deal of challenges and uncertainty. The company name — PhocaLux International Inc. — may not be familiar to many, but Bernie Halloran, the man at the helm, is no stranger to the sealing industry. Read the rest here 09:20
CSF proposes cooperative trawl survey program
Below you can read the prospectus CSF has developed and is putting forth as a good-faith attempt to solve some of the persistent challenges constraining the New England groundfishery. This paper will be widely circulated and it is our hope that the meeting with all fishery stakeholders that we are currently proposing will open a dialogue among the parties and produce better outcomes for all with an interest in preserving our fish and our fishermen. Read the rest here 08:50
