Daily Archives: May 21, 2015
The Magnuson Stevens Act and its Ten Year Rebuilding Timeline: Science or Fiction? by Meghan Lapp
Under the Magnuson Stevens Act (MSA), regional Fishery Management Councils must develop a rebuilding plan for every overfished fishery, and must “specify a time period for rebuilding . . . that shall be as short as possible . . . and not exceed 10 years . . .To read more, please click here: MSA and Its Ten Year Timeline: Science or Fiction? 18:45
For pollock surveys in Alaska, things are looking up
Scientists have been conducting fish surveys in the Shelikof Strait for decades. But in February of this year, scientists moored three sonar devices to the seafloor and pointed them up toward the surface. The devices have been recording the passage of fish above them ever since. Because underwater devices cannot transmit data in real time, the sonar systems have been storing their data internally, leaving scientists in a state of suspense since February. But suspense turned to satisfaction last week when, working in cooperation with local fishermen aboard a 90-foot chartered fishing vessel, scientists retrieved the moorings from the bottom of Shelikof Strait. Read the rest here 17:31
Oil Cleanup Ramps Up at Refugio State Beach As Questions Arise About Company’s Record
As oil continued to spread across the ocean from the site of an underground crude pipeline break near Refugio State Beach in Santa Barbara County, cleanup was being ramped up Thursday and questions were being posed about the pipeline’s owner’s regulatory infractions. Plains All American Pipeline operates the line that ruptured midday Tuesday, sending as many as 105,000 gallons of crude oil spilling down a canyon, under a culvert, onto the sand and into the Pacific Ocean. An estimated 21,000 gallons entered the water. Read the rest here 17:05
Fishermen Prepare At Stonington Docks For A Week-Long trip to Georges Bank
Heavy rain and dark, foggy skies do not deter the commercial fishermen aboard the Heritage at the Stonington docks Tuesday as they prepared for a week-long voyage. A short video report here 16:37
Rep. Bradley Byrne argues for new red snapper rules in face of Obama veto threat
Even as members of the U.S. House began debate on changes to the act that regulates the nation’s fisheries, the Obama administration indicated that the president would be advised to veto the revised legislation. The bill has the support of a diverse group of businesses, organizations and individuals representing fishermen and fishing communities from the East, West and Gulf coasts, who jointly signed a letter supporting HR 1335. The letter states its opposition, however, to a proposal from the five Gulf state marine resources directors,, Read the rest here 15:48
Willapa worries: Fishermen protest salmon-harvest cutback in bay
More than 30 commercial fishermen and seafood processors picketed outside the annual Pacific County Marine Resource Committee Science Conference at the Cranberry Museum in Long Beach May 16, protesting a draft management policy they say could end commercial salmon fishing on Willapa Bay. The woman they believe is behind the policy, former Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission member Miranda Wecker, spoke at the conference, talking about lessons she’s learned working with state agencies in Willapa Bay over the past 23 years. Read the rest here 15:17
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, NOAA Propose Actions to Build on Successes of Endangered Species Act
Building on the success of the Obama Administration in implementing the Endangered Species Act (ESA) in new and innovative ways, today the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and National Marine Fisheries Service (the Services) announced an additional suite of actions the Administration will take to improve the effectiveness of the Act and demonstrate its flexibility. The actions will engage the states, promote the use of the best available science and transparency in the scientific process,,, Theres plenty more NOAA Rah Rah to read here 14:39
Millions of pounds of unprocessed fish approved for export as MPR exemptions increase
The 
approved exemptions allowing millions of pounds of groundfish to be shipped out of the province unprocessed last year, even as it stressed the importance of minimum processing requirements (MPR) to rural regions and squabbled with Ottawa over relinquishing them. CBC Investigates obtained details on all requests for MPR exemptions from 2010 through 2014, using access to information. That data reveals an increasing number of requests, and approvals. And some of the species involved may be surprising. Read the rest here 09:51
Trans-Pacific Partnership – Obama’s ugly show of presidential petulance
When the going got tough, Barack got in a huff, and then he got gruff. President Obama has worked himself into such a tizzy over the TPP that he’s lashing out at his progressive friends in Congress. He’s mad because they refuse to be stereotypical lemmings, following him over this political cliff called the Trans-Pacific Partnership. It masquerades as a “free trade agreement,” but such savvy and feisty progressive senators as Sherrod Brown, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have ripped off the mask, revealing that TPP is not free, not about trade and not anything that the American people would ever agree to. Read the rest here 09:24
Gillis resignation was over board appointment, say’s Walker undermined her credibility as Boards and Commissions director
Gillis said in an interview on Wednesday that she quit her position on May 13 after learning that Walker had decided to appoint Roberta “Bobbi” Quintavell to a vacant seat on the Alaska Board of Fisheries. The appointment rumors surfaced in a May 15 letter from commercial fishing organization United Fishermen of Alaska urging its members to contact the governor’s office to object to Quintavell’s possible appointment based on her close ties to the Kenai River Sportfishing Association, or KRSA, which led the fight that sunk Walker’s previous choice for the board seat, Robert Ruffner. Read the rest here 08:55
Researchers study health issues among fishermen
How much are fishermen affected by long-term health problems such as hearing loss, lack of sleep and high blood pressure? A pilot study aims to find out and researchers are using the 500-plus members of the Copper River salmon driftnet fleet as test subjects. “The Copper River fishing season lasts five months and most of the fleet is very digitally connected so it seemed a great fit,” said Torie Baker, a Sea Grant Marine Advisory Agent in Cordova. Read the rest here
Fixing the fleet in time – New exhibition “When The Fish Came First,” which opens May 28
When Nubar Alexanian started visiting Gloucester in 1971 as a young man of 21, the harbor bustled with fishing vessels that hauled in millions of pounds a fish a day. He captured the hive of activity among the Gloucester-based fleet from onshore and on extended trips offshore. The Worcester-born photographer soon made the nation’s oldest seaport his home, immersing himself into the cornucopia of Gloucester life and landscape. Read the rest here 08:02
