Monthly Archives: May 2015
Fish Grab – Embattled Fish and Wildlife nominee Bruce Buckmaster : I’m not a paid lobbyist
Bruce Buckmaster responded Friday to a growing effort to get his name withdrawn from the list of nominees to the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission. He has been labeled a “lobbyist, spokesman and chief strategist for the the commercial gillnet industry” by the Coastal Conservation Association Oregon in an announcement about a campaign to get Buckmaster’s name taken off the list submitted by Gov. Kate Brown. Read the rest here 11:16
Last commercial fisherman in town will fight fines after being found guilty of engine error
A FISHERMAN has been ordered to pay £1,750 after being found guilty of fishing with an overpowered boat. Brightlingsea skipper Terry Stimpson appeared before Basildon Magistrates’ Court charged with two counts of breaching a Kent and Essex IFCA bylaw on engine power. “I am the last commercial boat left in Brightlingsea. It used to be a fishing port and in the 19th century there were about 350 fishing boats – I am now the last one.” Read the rest here 10:33
Lobster licensing fee fairer say’s seafood firm
The land-based side of the lobster industry in Nova Scotia has rejected the penny-per-pound concept in favour of a licensing fee. “We believe this is a fairer way to distribute the cost through our side of the industry,” Terry Zinck, with Xsealent Seafood Co. in Clark’s Harbour, said Friday. A penny-per-pound levy to promote marketing and sustainability efforts has received mixed reviews from lobster harvesters. It has been promoted by the Lobster Council of Canada. Read the rest here 09:38
P.E.I. oyster season delayed for at least a week due to ice
P.E.I.’s spring wild oyster season was supposed to start Friday, but harvesters are going to have to wait at least a week before putting their boats in the water. A coalition of fishermen, processors, the province and Fisheries and Oceans Canada agree that it’s too soon because of ice conditions in Island harbours and decided as a group to put opening off until May 8 at the earliest. Brenda Campbell, president of the P.E.I. Shellfish Association, says there’s no way oyster harvesters could get on the water Friday. Read the rest here 09:07
Blessing and remembering Alaska’s commercial fishermen
This weekend marks the 25th anniversary of Juneau’s Blessing of the Fleet. The annual tradition honors those who participate in one of the state’s largest industries. It’s held at the Alaska Commercial Fishermen’s Memorial on the downtown waterfront. Five names have been added to the memorial’s granite wall this year, bringing the count to 203 men and women. Read the rest here 08:13
Friendship lobsterman facing longer license suspension because of new charges
The Maine Department of Marine Resources said James Simmons, 40, of Friendship has been charged with engaging in licensed activities while under suspension and violating conditions of release from jail. Simmons also is awaiting trial on an arson charge in which he is accused of burning down a boat shop that housed a lobster boat in Waldoboro in June 2012. Read the rest here 22:58
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for May 1, 2015
Click to read Weekly Update for May 1, 2015 as a PDF To read all the updates, click here 19:02
The CPRA has decided that some Louisiana Fishing Communities have to go! Are YOU ok with that??
If you live in St. Bernard or Plaquemines please, please, please read all the way through. If the people of St. Bernard and Plaquemines don’t stand up and do something now, the parts of our parish that are outside of the levees are going to be washed away. Delacroix, Shell Beach, Hopedale, Yscloskey will not be there any more. The state’s master plan is going to “relocate” those communities. Read the rest here 18:46
Fish Grab – Sportfishers ask Gov. Kate Brown to rescind appointment of gill-net strategist
A contingent of groups representing the Oregon sportfishing community have asked Gov. Kate Brown to rescind her appointment of a commercial gill-net industry lobbyist to the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission. The Coastal Conservation Association, Northwest Steelheaders, Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, Northwest Guides & Anglers Association and McKenzie River Guides have urged their members to contact state senators and ask them not to confirm Bruce Buckmaster’s 4-year appointment. Read the rest here 17:39
Thai police find graves of suspected trafficking victims
Last June, the United States put Thailand in its lowest category — “Tier 3” — in its annual assessment of how governments around the world have performed in fighting human trafficking. The ranking took into account the smuggling of Myanmar’s long-persecuted Rohingya community, as well as cases of migrants from neighboring countries who are forced or defrauded into working against their will in the sex industry, commercial fishing, garment production, factories and domestic work. President Barack Obama waived invoking action,,, Read the rest here 16:29
Caught up in Catch Shares – Shrinking Fleets, Shuttered Communities
The commercial fishing industry is pressured on all sides by environmental, economic, political, and cultural shifts. In response, managers continue to restructure the fishery and put new policies into place. But have these regulations met their goals? What impacts have they actually had – both on the health of fish stocks and the viability of fishermen? Read the rest here 12:31
Wanted: Lobstermen and sons for commercial
Boston Casting is conducting a casting call for working lobstermen for possible roles in an unidentified commercial project to be shot at a yet-to-be announced location. The casting company is looking for lobstermen between the ages of 35 and 50, including union and non-union fishermen. They especially would like to hear from lobstermen with sons between aged 13 to 15 who also might be included in the project. If cast, the lucky lobstermen would have to be available for a May 7 shoot. Interested lobstermen should email a photo to [email protected] and include their cell phone number. GDT 11:44
A frenzied, fast-tracked fish-farming bill, Stewart Lamont, Tangier
For those who will recall, the Doelle-Lahey report was issued prior to Christmas. It called for the absolute reform of open-net pen aquaculture and its sloppy regulation. Government members said they were open to these improvements, but not a peep did they express for nearly four months. Suddenly, last Tuesday on federal budget day, with absolutely no notice and attention largely elsewhere, the sludge hit the fan — if you will forgive the unfortunate phrase. Read the rest here 11:27
Guinta, Keating Introduce Bipartisan Fisheries Bill – Fisheries Investment and Regulatory Relief Act
Rep. Bill Keating and Rep. Frank Guinta (R-NH) reintroduced the Fisheries Investment and Regulatory Relief Act, a bipartisan bill that would redirect more than $100 million that has already been collected from duties (Saltonstall-Kennedy Act) on imported fish products. This legislation would ensure that these existing funds go directly toward research, monitoring and management of our fisheries, while incorporating input from the stakeholders who know this resource best. Read the rest here 09:09
Maine groundfishermen hurt by quota cuts to receive $640,000 in disaster relief
The funds will be distributed in the form of rebates to fishermen for the fees they pay at the Portland Fish Exchange. About 40 fishing boats that sell fish at the city-owned exchange will benefit as the money is distributed over the next year and a half, said General Manager Bert Jongerden. He said the fish exchange handles about 98 percent of the groundfish landed in Maine. “This is one way the government has seen to put money directly back onto the crews’ pockets,” Jongerden said. Read the rest here 08:24
U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Advances Fisheries Law
“And we’re trying to maintain the integrity of the original act by adding some smaller changes, and (among) the smaller changes are flexibility,” (Don Young) told the committee. The bill has alarmed some fishermen and conservationists. “We don’t think the changes they put in the act are really likely to have any effect on how we manage fisheries in the North Pacific,” (Chris) Oliver NPFMC said. “I think it could allow for some legitimate flexibility in other regions — and even perhaps in future situations in the North Pacific — without eroding the basic underlying conservation measures” of the law. Audio Read the rest here 07:53
