Daily Archives: April 28, 2015
Newfoundland & Labrador’s Northern Shrimp Inshore Fleet: a lesson in the importance of small scale fisheries.
Small scale fisheries are crucial for the social and economic well-being of coastal communities. But when push comes to shove, we need data to back up the sentiment. In the case of Newfoundland and Labrador’s (NL) Northern Shrimp inshore fleet, the shove came in the form of DFO allocations of a declining resource. In 2014, the inshore fleet allocation was cut 26% from 2013 levels while offshore allocation was cut by just 5%. Northern shrimp cuts to the inshore will hurt coastal communities throughout the province,,, Read the rest here 21:28
Movement grows in Alaska against halibut bycatch
Across the state, letters and resolutions supporting the reduction of halibut bycatch caps in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BSAI) fisheries are surfacing — calling attention to a widespread and diverse movement for change. As directed halibut fisheries in the Bering Sea have reached crisis-level lows, bycatch limits on that same species remains at its decades-long level of 7.3 million pounds. Despite some voluntary bycatch reductions by the fleet, BSAI fisheries killed and discarded seven times more halibut (animals, not pounds) in 2014 than the directed fishery landed in that same region. Read the rest here 19:32
Rep. Antonio F.D. Cabral seeks $450,000 for SMAST project
“SMAST is an innovative leader for fisheries research and I’m proud to have won state funds for SMAST to continue its independent research on groundfish populations,” said Cabral, also in a news release. “At a time when the commercial fishing industry is experiencing unprecedented consolidation, these funds couldn’t be more important. “Right now, NOAA’s data on fish populations is the only information that’s used to set annual catch limits,” Cabral said. “We need independent research and these state dollars will produce it.” Read the rest here 18:55
NOAA’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center scientists to conduct Gulf of Alaska/Eastern Bering Sea Surveys
NOAA has chartered three commercial fishing vessels for the Gulf of Alaska survey. F/V Sea Storm, F/V Alaska Provider, and R/V Cape Flattery – will conduct standard 15-minute bottom trawl hauls at 800 preassigned stations using specially-designed nets with small meshes to capture a wide range of fishes and invertebrates. Two vessels – F/V Alaska Knight and F/V Vesteraalen – will survey the Bering Sea shelf. photo credit Read the rest here 18:14
FFAW and WWF sign agreement to ensure sustainable future cod fishery
An agreement signed Tuesday by Newfoundland and Labrador’s largest fisheries workers union and the World Wildlife Fund of Canada is expected to breathe new life into Newfoundland and Labrador’s moribund northern cod fishery. The Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union (FFAW) and World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Canada jointly signed off on the Fisheries Improvement Project at a meeting at FFAW headquarters in St. John’s. “We’re no longer going to be defined by July 2, 1992,” said FFAW President Keith Sullivan. “Today is about a focus on the future.” Read the rest here 15:27
Latest dispute over alewives in St. Croix River may lead to independent review
The LePage administration wants to create a working group to examine the scientific arguments over alewives in the St. Croix River as a way to defuse the latest flare-up in a debate over the fish that has raged for two decades. Yet Monday’s hours-long legislative hearing showed that alewives – a type of river herring occupying a critical niche in the – remain divisive even though they have yet to return to the St. Croix in large numbers. Read the rest here 15:09
Maine Native Americans want deal with state on commercial fishing
.gif)
Maine’s American Indian tribes want state officials to come to the table for a potentially wide-reaching agreement about the way the tribes harvest commercial fish. Passamaquoddy legislative Rep. Matthew Dana says members of Maine’s tribes have fished for thousands of years and deserve a bigger role in state decision making. His bill would allow for cooperative management of lucrative marine species such as lobsters, clams and baby eels. Read the rest here 14:43
NOAA report may underestimate the decline of Northeast groundfish industry
Dan Georgiana has taken a look at NOAA’s report on the state of the multispecies fishery and drawn his own conclusions. The report follows: The “2013 Final Report on the Performance of the Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) Fishery (May 2013 – April 2014)” by NOAA’s Northeast Fishery Science Center shows continued decline in almost all measures for the Northeast Groundfishing industry in Fishing Year 2013. The accuracy of the Report is not in question but its employment of legal definitions for active groundfishing vessels and trips may underestimate the declines in this fishery. Read the rest here 12:03
P.E.I. Lobster fishing opening date still unclear
The earliest Prince Edward Island lobster fishermen will be setting traps for the spring fishery is Monday, May 4, according to the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association. However, Association president Craig Avery says boats on the South shore of the Island may have to wait longer than that because, as Avery told CBC Monday, most of the harbours from East Point to Victoria are still iced in. Read the rest here 11:39
Seafood Harvesters of America “National Outreach Days,” in Washington D.C.
On April 28th the Seafood Harvesters of America will converge on our elected representatives to stay the course on a broken Magnuson Stevens Act. As other groups call for flexibility, the primarily catch share fishery group wants to maintain rigidity! The Seafood Harvesters are aligned with the likes of the Pew Charitable Trust, EDF, and the Nature Conservancy. House Resolution 1335, the Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act will fix MSA. This is not why this group is in D.C. Read the rest here 10:33
Editorial: Latest cod limits reiterates need for assessment changes
One might think that the lifting of the emergency cod regulations imposed by NOAA last November would bring sighs of relief across the Gloucester waterfront and elsewhere as the new commercial fishing year dawns this Friday. But there is little relief and there are no cheers being heard among groundfishermen here and elsewhere across the North Shore and New England. “Now the game of make-believe begins,” says Vito Giacalone, “Now it’s all about running away from fish that we know exist, but are not recognized by the assessment. Read the rest here 09:27
$10,000 donation to help Shem Creek shrimpers stay afloat
The town of Mount Pleasant extended an early blessing Sunday to local shrimpers in the form of a $10,000 donation to help them cover the costs of operating and competing with the global market. Mayor Linda Page says this is the first donation of its kind to a foundation in support of the fleet and Shem Creek fisheries. The goal is for the town to help support the local fleet any way they can. The 13 boats that sit in Shem Creek have been blessed. While the fishermen wait patiently for the start of shrimping season, Read the rest here 08:29
