Monthly Archives: April 2015
Coast-wide sightings of large schools of Atlantic menhaden support 2014 stock assessment methods, findings
April 1, 2015 (Menhaden Fisheries Coalition) — A new report compiled by the Menhaden Fisheries Coalition reaffirms the positive results of the 2014 Atlantic Menhaden Benchmark Stock Assessment. The report compares the latest stock assessment’s findings to numerous reported sightings of large schools of the species along the Atlantic coast. The Coalition’s conclusions reveal a compelling consensus among scientific experts, fishermen, and journalists that the species is healthy, wide-ranging, and sustainably managed. Read the rest here 08:25
Louisiana Shrimp Task Force voted 7-0 in favor of federal rules requiring the use of turtle excluder devices
A key industry panel wants Louisiana lawmakers to repeal a 1987 law that prohibits state fisheries agents from enforcing federal rules designed to protect sea turtles by outfitting shrimpers’ nets with special escape hatches for threatened and endangered turtles. Louisiana’s shrimp industry has long been criticized by environmental groups,,, Read the rest here 08:09
Russian Trawler Wreck: At least 43 Dead After Fishing Vessel Sinks In Sea Of Okhotsk
At least 43 people are dead after a freezer trawler they were on sunk off the coast of Russia’s eastern Kamchatka peninsula in the Sea of Okhotsk on Thursday local time. Another 63 of the 132 total passengers were rescued by Russian maritime services and local fishing vessels, while 26 remain missing. The nature of the wreck has not been determined. The nationalities of the deceased has not been released, but 78 people on board the “Dalniy Vostok” were Russian, while the other 54 were Ukrainian, Lithuanian, Burmese and Vanautuan, according to ITAR-TASS. Read the rest here 23:04
Heiltsuk First Nation claims victory over disputed herring fishery – “It looks like the fleet has packed up and is going south empty,”
A confrontation between the Heiltsuk First Nation and the federal government that threatened to erupt into a “war on the water” appears to have ended with the commercial fleet leaving the central coast, where the industry had been waiting for a disputed fishery to open. “We’re pretty ecstatic here,” Carrie Humchitt, legal services co-ordinator for the Heiltsuk said Wednesday. “We’re just waiting for official confirmation, but we’ve received word through channels that all of the industry boats will be pulling out.” Read the rest here 22:25
Maine – Bill to reduce scallop daily catch limit sunk by committee
A bill that, if voted into law, would allow fishermen with lapsed licenses back into the rebuilding scallop fishery was not well received by a standing room only crowd at a public hearing Wednesday afternoon. The bill, LD 908, also would have reduced the daily scallop catch limit in most of Maine by about 30 percent and would have reduced the maximum size of drags used in inner-island areas and bays to 5½ feet. Read the rest here 22:13
Bill to eliminate CFEC moves out of Fisheries Committee
According to Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission gets too much money for too little work that is does poorly anyway. Commercial fishing industry representatives oppose the bill almost unanimously, opting instead to let CFEC fix its inefficiencies on its own. During the 2014 legislative session, Rep. Paul Seaton, R-Homer, introduced a similar bill to Stutes’s. Read the rest here 21:22
Brier Island fisherman Jesse Tudor shows off 17-pound lobster
Jesse Tudor says he’s been looking for a big catch and finally got it on March 27. “We thought, ‘Finally we got a big one,’ because we’ve been hunting for that bugger for a while and it finally came up,” he told CBC News. This isn’t the biggest lobster Tudor has caught. He once got one that was just under 19 pounds. The latest catch was on Chad and Sisters Two, captained by Chad Graham in southwestern Nova Scotia. Read the rest here 17:23
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Seal hunt off Nova Scotia dormant as pelt market disappears
The seal hunt off Nova Scotia’s shores isn’t dead yet, but it’s pretty much dormant, fishermen said Tuesday. If market conditions improve, I’m sure we’ll be back into her.” Courtney said seals eat a lot of fish and Ottawa needs to help fishermen by opening up international markets or instituting a cull. “Basically, we’ve been waiting for the federal government to come out with something to do with the seals, because they’re basically eating us out of house and home,” he said. Read the rest here 13:50
UPDATED! BREAKING: 4 dead, Dozens Injured in Gulf of Mexico oil rig fire
One person was killed and 16 were injured after an oil rig burst into flame in the Gulf of Mexico Wednesday, Mexico’s state-run oil company said. The Abkatun platform, which sits in the middle of Campeche Bay, erupted in fire in the early morning and forced the evacuation of nearly 300 workers, Pemex said. Campeche Bay is the highest oil-producing region in Mexico. Read the rest here 13:08 Video, Read the update here 16:27
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 42′ Fiberglass Provincial Lobster Boat, 430HP, 6 Cylinder Cummins
Specifications, and information and 30 photos of the vessel, click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 12:37
Lawmakers scramble to reopen Oregon Inlet
State House and Senate lawmakers are scrambling this week for funds and fixes to reopen Oregon Inlet and dredge other inlets and ports. While House lawmakers are poised to allow Dare County to raise its local sales tax to pay for dredging, Senate lawmakers are working on a fix on the state’s side. Dredges are on their way to the inlet for a one-time federally funded fix, but Sen. Bill Cook, R-Beaufort,,, Read the rest here 12:05
Avalon documented before being demolished – Historic boat’s construction details preserved
A well-designed, well-built boat is a pleasure to look at, as well as being a repository of engineering knowledge, a tangible source of technical and historical information. Aesthetics and nostalgia aside, however, fishing boats are built for making money, and sometimes an old boat would cost more to fix than it’s worth. Such was the case with Avalon. Built at the Skansie Shipyard in Gig Harbor in 1929-30, Avalon had a long life as a commercial fishing vessel. After it sank Sept. 14, 2014 in Hood Canal, the Department of Natural Resources declared it derelict and seized the vessel to be destroyed. Video, Read the rest here 11:52
An open letter to the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs regarding Roe Herring Fisheries in 2015
This letter responds to the UBCIC letter of March 25, 2015, which opposes 2015 commercial roe herring fisheries. British Columbia herring stocks are intensively managed, with strong peer-reviewed science and a conservative harvest policy. Recent assessment information indicates that herring stocks in areas identified by First Nations have rebounded to fishable levels of abundance. In planning 2015 fisheries, the Department of Fisheries has adopted a precautionary management approach, limiting harvests in these areas to one-half the level,,, Read the rest here 11:15
Scientists ignoring fishermen — again
In 1992, the commercial fishery was closed. Let’s now turn the clock ahead to today. Inshore fish harvesters and recreational fish harvesters are reporting the abundance of cod is approaching the levels of the late 1970s to the early 1980s. There are large cod, medium cod and small cod and they are found all along the coast of the island and Labrador. If you believe the science, the spawning stock biomass of northern cod has increased by approximately 6,000 per cent since 2004. Read the rest here 08:42
Andrzejczak & Mazzeo Introduce Measure Opposing Offshore Drilling – no benefit to New Jersey from offshore drilling in the Atlantic
Assemblymen Vince Mazzeo and Bob Andrzejczak have introduced legislation opposing a proposal to open portions of Atlantic Coast for oil and natural gas drilling.“Offshore drilling threatens the economy and the environment of New Jersey and other coastal states,” said Mazzeo (D-Atlantic). “Consider that New Jersey’s 127-mile coast supports a tourism industry worth more than $36 billion, or 7 percent of the state’s entire economy, and generates recreational and commercial fishing revenues of $2 billion annually. Read the rest here 07:34
DFO clings to bad science, refuses to close herring fishery in Area 7 – “we’re prepared to stop them at all costs”
Despite harsh criticism from scientists and First Nations of DFO’s flawed forecasting methods for the health of herring stocks, the department’s Director General, Pacific Region Sue Farlinger acknowledged today that she was unable to commit to the closure of a gillnet fishery in Area 7. “That’s not enough for us,” responded Kelly Brown, the nation’s resource stewardship director. “We worked all night with people to get the proper stock assessment done, which shows that there is not enough herring here to sustain a commercial fishery.” Read the rest here Video 06:46
