Daily Archives: April 15, 2015
Pacific Fishery Management Council votes to halt this seasons West Coast sardine fishery as soon as possible
Meeting outside Santa Rosa, California, the Pacific Fishery Management Council voted to halt the current season as early as possible, affecting about 100 fishing boats. The season normally would end June 30. Earlier this week, the council shut down the next sardine season, which was set to begin July 1. The council did not take Wednesday’s decision lightly and understood the pain the closure would impose on the fishing industry, said council member Michele Culver, representing the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. Read the rest here 22:15
Crab and prawn fishing banned in Burrard Inlet in wake of fuel spill
The department of Fisheries and Oceans has banned fishing for shellfish and groundfish in Burrard Inlet in the wake of last week’s fuel spill, and observers are questioning why the federal agency didn’t make that decision sooner. The spokeswoman added there is “no evidence that shellfish and groundfish in the area of the oil spill pose a danger, but due caution is being exercised until sampling results confirm they can be safely consumed.” Read the rest here 21:56
Vinalhaven man pleads guilty to making false distress call to Coast Guard
A Vinalhaven Island man who made a bogus “mayday” call to the Coast Guard last year pretending to be an injured crewman on a fishing boat pleaded guilty Wednesday to a federal charge of making a false distress call. Owen Adair, 23, told the Coast Guard on Sept. 30 that he was aboard the Lila Rose off the coast of Rockland with a serious neck injury, and that he was bleeding badly, Read the rest here 19:09
Alaska – New opportunities for scallops, seine pollock fall flat
Alaska is trying to provide new fishing opportunities inside state waters but the two latest have fallen flat as a flounder. A scallop fishery that reverted to open access this year drew no takers by the April 1 deadline. There were no takers again in the Westward Region for a new seine pollock fishery that opened this month and will continue into June. It’s the second year for the trial fishery permitted by the state Board of Fish. For seiners, Stichert says there have been lots of tire kickers, Audio, Read the rest here 17:45
Group sues to require sea-turtle trap doors in shrimp nets
Oceana also wants the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries arm to set a limit on the number of sea turtles that may legally be killed each year in Gulf of Mexico shrimp trawls, and to strengthen enforcement. There are some exemptions to rules requiring the devices. Oceana wants exemptions canceled. Shrimpers say they follow the rules and never pull up turtles. Biologists say hundreds of dead sea turtles found after the 2010 oil spill had drowned, probably in shrimp nets. Read the rest here 16:44
Pot Longline Gear Approved for Gulf of Alaska Sablefish IFQ Fishery
Final action reached at the council’s meeting on April 12 includes provisions for identifying tags on the pots, retention of halibut caught incidentally and a review of the effects of this fishery three years after implementation. The council’s action still faces a lengthy regulatory process and is not likely to go into effect until 2017, said Glenn Merrill, head of NOAA Fisheries’ NMFS Alaska Region division of sustainable fisheries. Read the rest here 15:55
Status of Stocks 2014 – Report to Congress – Overfishing and Overfished Numbers Hit All-Time Lows
As a result of the combined efforts of NOAA Fisheries NMFS, the regional fishery management councils, and all our partners, the number of stocks listed as subject to overfishing or overfished continues to decline and is at an all-time low. Check out the infographic below highlighting the progress we’ve made rebuilding stocks and ending overfishing. This progress demonstrates that our science-based approach to determining stock status and managing for sustainability is working. Read the rest here 15:00
Massachusetts: Cod fishing restrictions to remain in place for another year
Federal regulations implemented in November to restrict cod fishing in the Gulf of Maine will remain in place for at least another year, the state Division of Marine Fisheries announced Wednesday.Additionally, the state Division of Marine Fisheries has reduced the commercial trip limit for Gulf of Maine cod from 800 to 200 pounds for all state and federal permit holders fishing in state waters. Read the rest here 14:32
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 84′ Steel Stern Trawler, 500HP Cummins, State and Federal Permits
Specifications, and information and 19 photos of the vessel, click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 11:56
Lobster industry looks to students for labour shortage
The P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association is in talks with Holland College to design a course for people who want to work on lobster boats. Lobster boat captains are having trouble finding crew. They say many potential workers have moved out west, and others are retiring. Ian MacPherson, executive director of the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association, said a short Holland College course on lobster boats skills and safety may be particularly appealing to college athletes looking for a job to help them keep in shape. Read the rest here 11:09
Plan advances to map Long Island Sound seabed
A bill that would create the state’s first comprehensive plan for Long Island Sound — and provide ammunition to battle future unwanted uses — is moving through the General Assembly. “This is one of the few times I’ve seen an advisory committee that is balanced between those who are environmentally orientated, the fishing and commercial industry and the boating industry,” Aman said. Read the rest here 10:40
FWC takes up Keys issues: Commercial fishing boats, lobster traps
Loopholes for bogus fishing boats and suspicious crustacean traps may be plugged by state fishing regulators Wednesday and Thursday. Concern about a new breed of stone-crab traps that can double as lobster traps will be among issued pondered by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission at its two-day meeting in Tallahassee. Agency staff will recommend the FWC board move to reduce both the maximum allowable size of stone-crab traps and dimensions of the trap entrance — the “throat” — to discourage crab traps from being used to catch lobster. Read the rest here 10:09
No, global warming is not going to take away your fish and chips
No wonder, then, that when a new study came out yesterday seeming to suggest that the 
due to climate change could threaten stocks of fish like haddock — one of the leading fish components of the dish, along with cod — there was something of a media freakout. “Global warming could make haddock and chips a thing of the past,” blared the UK Mirror. “Fish and chips on the brink of extinction due to warming seas,” added International Business Times. Many other headlines suggested more or less the same. Read the rest here 09:51
Red Snapper scheme could destroy fishery
If this scheme becomes law, it could soon become difficult or impossible to legally buy American Red Snapper. Retailers, restaurants and grocery stores will be simply unable to provide consumers with the genuine American Red Snapper that is increasingly popular across the country. Read the rest here 09:40
