Monthly Archives: May 2015
Omega Protein ‘definitely next’ if Oceana-Daybrook deal goes through
Foreign seafood companies such as Marine Harvest and Royal DSM are likely watching the Oceana-Daybrook deal approval process like hawks to see whether it will allow South Africa-based Oceana to follow through on plans to acquire Louisiana-based menhaden company Daybrook. The $382.3 million deal will be a litmus test for another likely acquisition target: Omega Protein, Tyson Bauer, a senior analyst with . “I think if this deal goes through, Omega Protein is definitely next,” Bauer, who follows Texas-based menhaden catcher and processor Omega Protein, said. Read the rest here 14:44
Green light! Oregon Senate gives fish commish go-ahead to Buckmaster by 18-12 vote
The sportfishing industry and some recreational anglers lobbied hard to stop Gov. Kate Brown’s appointment of Astoria resident Bruce Buckmaster to the commission because of his work on behalf of the commercial fishing industry, but the Senate voted 18-12 to confirm Buckmaster. The Senate also voted 27-3 to confirm Jason Atkinson of Jacksonville to the commission. Senators voted unanimously to confirm 92 other appointments by the governor to various boards and commissions. Read the rest here 14:32
Changes to halibut sharing a ‘callous, desperate’ ploy for votes, says FFAW
A decision by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to deviate from an 
will have a deep impact on fishermen in Newfoundland and Labrador, and greatly benefit harvesters in Prince Edward Island, the home province of Fisheries Minister Gail Shea, a union leader says. “It’s like taking bread from the table of hard-working Newfoundlanders and Labradorians just to buy votes in other parts of Canada,” Sullivan said. Read the rest here 11:00
Southwest Nova Scotia buyers on board with lobster marketing
A significant part of Nova Scotia’s most lucrative lobster fishery could soon be on board with some sort of lobster marketing levy, says Fisheries Minister Keith Colwell. Colwell said Thursday that buyers on the southwestern shore have agreed to pay a fee, although the structure and amount is yet to be determined. “It’s going to be a little bit complex to get it all in place, but at least this is the first breakthrough we’ve had,” said Colwell. Read the rest here 10:53
New Hampshire’s Ayotte puts NOAA Administrator Sullivan on the Hot Seat – New call for outside review of NOAA assessments
The battle over the validity of NOAA fish stock assessments that continually have led to slashed groundfish quotas has reached a higher pitch, with mounting calls for a third-party assessment of the manner the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration assesses fish stocks. Under questioning by U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H., on Wednesday, NOAA Administrator Kathryn Sullivan defended the accuracy of the agency’s fish stock assessments and said she would welcome a third-party review of the agency’s methods and performance,,, Read the rest here Watch the video here 08:35
Our View: White House putting politics ahead of fishery science
Something happened Monday that made us wonder if there wasn’t finally some progress being made in fisheries management. About 150 businesses, organizations and individuals with interests in the fishing industry on the East, West and Gulf coasts expressed their support for the U.S. House of Representatives’ Natural Resources Committee work on reauthorizing the act that regulates. After years of losing battles with regulators, of finding too many deaf ears in Congress, of jaw-dropping incredulity over what appeared to be indiscriminate or capricious management that has decimated the Northeast groundfishing fleet, we thought it remarkable to read their letter to the committee chairman: Read the rest here 08:00
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
Obama threatens to veto House Magnuson-Stevens fisheries bill that would “harm the environment and the economy.”
The administration strongly opposes 
which would amend the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) because it would impose arbitrary, and un necessary requirements that would harm the environment and the economy. Read the rest here 15:51
Pipeline rupture pukes oil onto California coast
Cleanup crews fanned out Wednesday along a stretch of scenic California coastline stained by thousands of gallons of crude oil that spilled from broken pipe and flowed into the Pacific Ocean. Workers from an environmental cleanup company strapped on boots and gloves and picked up shovels and rakes to tackle the gobs of goo stuck to sand and rocks along Refugio State Beach on the southern Santa Barbara County coast. Read the rest here 14:37
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 63′ Steel Stern Trawler , 525HP, Cummins KTA 1150 with Permits
For specifications, information, and 26 photos of the vessel, click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 11:51
Buckmaster, Atkinson to get full Senate vote for fish and wildlife commission
The sportfishing industry raised an outcry after Gov. Kate Brown announced last month the appointment of Astoria resident Bruce Buckmaster to fill a seat on the commission that has been vacant for two years. Sportfishers complained Buckmaster had opposed a plan that allocates more fish on the Lower Columbia River to anglers, and they pointed out that none of the current commissioners or Brown’s appointees work in the sportfishing industry. The Senate Committee on Rules nonetheless voted unanimously to send Buckmaster,,, Read the rest here 10:26
Captain loses commercial fishing license for 10 years for oyster violations; 2 crewmen fined
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries says three Houma men are convicted of oyster violations, and the captain of the boat involved has lost his license for 10 years. Samuel Dobson, 35, also was sentenced to pay $1,654 in fines, serve a year on probation and perform 120 hours of community service. He lost his license for a third conviction for taking oysters from a polluted area, department spokesman Adam Einck said in an email Tuesday. Read the rest here 09:53
Coast Guard chopper from Oregon aids CA fisherman
A Coast Guard helicopter crew from North Bend on the southern Oregon coast has flown an ailing crewman from a commercial fishing vessel 30 miles off northern California to waiting medics in Crescent City, California. Petty Officer 3rd Class Katelyn Shearer in Seattle says the whole operation took about three hours Tuesday evening from the time the parent company of the 344-foot fishing vessel called a Coast Guard command center in Alameda, California, just before 5 p.m. Read the rest here, and here 09:27
Blue crabs lead banner North Carolina fish catch
Blue crabs were the stars in a banner year for North Carolina commercial fishing. Fishermen sold 61.7 million pounds of finfish and shellfish in 2014, a 23 percent increase over the previous year, according to a news release from the state’s Division of Marine Fisheries. It was the first year landings had increased since 2010. The dockside value was $93.8 million, the most since 2002. “It’s certainly good news, and good news is needed,” said Jerry Schill, president of the North Carolina Fisheries Association. Read the rest here 22:36
Seals threaten Scottish cod stock recovery
PREDATORY seals are constraining the recovery of cod stocks in Scottish west coast waters, research by the 
suggests. The study found that, although fishing has now halved, predation by seals has rapidly increased to compensate, eating up more than 40 per cent of the total stock. Seals have, historically, been anecdotally blamed for the reduction of Atlantic cod stocks. Grey seals are believed to consume nearly 7,000 tonnes of cod each year off the west of Scotland, where landed catches now amount to only a few hundred tonnes. Read the rest here 20:40
The Enviro’s are Howling over the Icelandic whale meat shipment to Japan
Environmentalists reacted angrily Tuesday to a controversial shipment of fin whale meat to Japan by an Icelandic whaling company, saying it flouted international conservation agreements. Iceland and Norway are the only nations that openly defy the International Whaling Commission’s (IWC’s) 1986 ban on hunting whales. Icelandic whalers caught 137 fin whales and 24 minke in 2014, according to the anti-whaling group WDC, compared to 134 fin whales and 35 minkes in 2013. Read the rest here 19:59
Mississippi Shrimp fishermen ready for 2015 season
Biloxi, Ms. Commercial fishermen in Mississippi are busy repairing their boats and loading supplies in preparation for the upcoming shrimp season. The 2015 season is expected to open sometime in early June. Last year, the season began on June 18, but opening day will likely be earlier, this year. Commercial shrimp fishermen are certainly anxious to drop their nets and get the 2015 shrimp season underway. The docks are alive with activity as shrimpers prepare. And early indications, are promising. Read the rest here 19:25
Search for Bella Coola fisherman suspended
The search for a fisherman who went missing near Bella Coola last Friday has been suspended. RCMP conducted a three-day search for the 35-year-old local man after he was reported missing at 6:40 p.m. on May 15. He was last seen cleaning the deck of his commercial fishing boat at 5:30 p.m. but nobody noticed he was missing until 6 p.m. Read the rest here 17:09
Sea You Home Safe! Seafish is calling on the UK’s fishermen to think about their safety
Seafish is calling on the UK’s fishermen to think about their safety after research revealed 46% of commercial fishermen consider their job to be dangerous but 34% say they rarely or never wear a Personal Flotation Device (PFD). Seafish’s safety at sea campaign, Sea You Home Safe, is continuing to call for the 12,000 fishermen across the UK to think about their safety before setting sail, with 7,000 new lightweight PFDs given to UK fishermen over the past year. Read the rest here 16:42
