Daily Archives: April 19, 2015
Ruffner voted down for Board of Fisheries
Allocations among different user groups took a forefront since Ruffner’s nomination.Criticisms during the confirmation session came largely from Rep. Bill Wielechowski, D-Anchorage, and other legislators who have recently attacked Ruffner’s suitability for supposed allegiance to the commercial fishing industry and lack of representativeness of the Anchorage personal use and dipnetting user base. Read the rest here 21:32
Illegal Lobster Harvest Costs Three $22.4M
Three men convicted of illegally harvesting rock lobsters in South Africa and importing them to the U.S. must pay a $22.4 million restitution order, the 2nd Circuit ruled. Arnold Bengis and Jeffrey Noll pleaded guilty in Manhattan Federal Court to conspiracy to commit smuggling and to violating the Lacey Act, which bans trade in illegally retrieved wildlife; David Bengis pleaded guilty to conspiracy to violate the Lacey Act. Read the rest here 19:40
New England Fishery Management Council to meet in April 22 and 23 in Mystic, CT – Listen Live!
Canadian shrimp imports up as Maine fishery remains closed
Maine fishmonger Glen Libby made a disheartening discovery on Easter Sunday brunch — the cold water shrimp on the menu at a restaurant up the street from his fish market were from Canada, not New England. Canadian imports of the sweet, quarter-sized crustaceans are turning up more in American restaurants and seafood markets since a ban on fishing for Maine shrimp dried up local sources. Read the rest here 13:16
Canada’s turn as Arctic Council head to end at Iqaluit meeting; Kerry takes over
In an interview before handing over leadership of the council to Kerry, Environment Minister Leona Aglukkaq defended Canada’s accomplishments during its two-year termThe American priorities for the Arctic Council are significantly different. The U.S. has said it plans to put climate change at the centre of its two-year term and has outlined a program of measures to protect the Arctic environment, such as developing better ways to deal with marine pollution. The Americans will also start considering the development of a network of marine protected areas. Read the rest here 12:14
Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance Weekly Update, April 19, 2015
The Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance is dedicated to its mission of continuing to help create sustainable fisheries without putting licensed fishermen out of business.” Read the update here To read all the updates, click here 11:47
Battle of the Bluefin
I was working as a reporter on Prince Edward Island, having only just moved there from Ontario, a place without fish of such tremendous size. I remember regretting the tuna was dead during our first meeting, hanging by its tail from a crane over the humble harbour at Seacow Pond. These fish, which can grow a frightening three metres in length and weigh 680kg, visit Canadian waters between July and November, taking advantage of our bountiful waters on the Scotian Shelf, in the Gulf of St Lawrence and on the Grand Banks of Newfoundland. photo credit Read the rest here 09:23
Environmental Defense Fund — Fishery vote should protect more habitat
This Thursday, the New England Fishery Management Council will finally vote on the 
, the culmination of a multi-year process of creating, eliminating and modifying fishery closed areas in New England’s waters. As is often the case in New England fisheries, this decision has become highly contentious. Many fishermen oppose what they see as added restrictions on their ability to fish. For its part, the council seems intent on retaining the smallest amount of closed area it can get away with,,, Read the rest here 08:27
Peter Anthony, Nordic Fisheries — Size of closures not as important as effectiveness
New England’s historic fisheries are too important to our communities, to our economies and to our cultural heritage to allow special interest politics to stand in the way of substantive progress. Contrary to recent claims by some environmental organizations, the New England Fishery Management Council’s (NEFMC) proposed updates to habitat closures in our region via Omnibus Habitat Amendment 2 (OHA2) will align our commercial fisheries with exponentially improved science that better protects both our industries and our environment. Read the rest here 08:07
South Lafourche oysterman remains resilient
The dictionary definition of resilient is to be “able to withstand or recover quickly from difficult conditions.” That word is thrown around a lot in south Louisiana. Environmentalists refer to the resiliency of plants and wildlife surviving numerous oil spills and hurricanes. Coastal advocates promote projects to make the fast-eroding coast more resilient. Local governments create master resiliency plans as to make their parishes more sustainable. Then there’s Nick Collins and the Collins Oyster Co. that embody resiliency. Read the rest here 07:42
