Daily Archives: June 3, 2015
Bristol Bay Fisheries Report June 2, 2015 with Molly Dischner
KDLG’s Molly Dischner has June 2’s Bristol Bay Fisheries Report. Listen here for a conversation with ADFG Area Manager for the Naknek-Kvichak District Travis Elison, an update from Copper River Seafoods’ Bristol Bay Manager Vojta Novak about the new plant in Naknek, info on the local halibut and herring fisheries, and other news. Listen to the report here 19:23
NMFS Emergency Action on Blueline Tilefish Effective June 4, 2015
The measures, which go into effect Thursday, June 4 for vessels fishing north of the Virginia/North Carolina border, are: Commercial possession limit of 300 pounds whole weight per trip; Recreational limit of 7 fish per person, per trip; Requirement that commercial and charter/party vessels must hold a valid open access golden tilefish permits to land blueline tilefish. This temporary rule will be in place for 6 months, and may be extended for an additional 6 months, while the Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic Councils develop a long-term management plan for the stock. Read the rest here 17:20
Columbia River Seine fishery starts counting toward wild-salmon allocation
All fishermen on the river — both sport and commercial — are limited to a certain percentage of wild salmon they are allowed to catch, handle or keep. Last year, the first commercial seine fishery in more than 50 years fished the river but operated under “research impacts” rather than regular commercial impacts. As the seiners landed fish, any wild fish that got mixed into the nets didn’t get deducted from regular commercial impacts. This year they will. Read the rest here 16:25
“Operation Icebreaker” – Chinese authorities bust huge seafood smuggling ring
Frozen fish and crustaceans from Canada, India, Norway and Thailand were seized by Huangpu Customs in the southern port city of Guangzhou. But 21 “seafood smuggling cells” were targeted across the country and 31 people arrested in cities like Zhanjiang (a key shrimp trading hub), Tianjin and Beijing. Noticeably the latest crackdown features imported salmon and cod but also shrimp and crab. And crucially, the authorities have specifically pointed to mislabeling of species with sablefish and salmon stamped as containing lower-end species like mackerel and Atlantic cod – many of which are imported tax-free by processors for re-export. Read the rest here 15:04
Rally on Thursday, June 4, Corner Brook – Newfoundland and Labrador standing up for fair fisheries management
“These continued attacks by the federal Conservative government on rural Newfoundland and Labrador are shameful,” said FFAW-Unifor President Keith Sullivan. “The federal government seems to be under the impression that the economic sustainability Newfoundland and Labrador is unimportant to Canada. Recent analyses by others, such as BMO, suggest the contrary. The fishery is the economic future of our province but with management trends like this we will have no future.” Read the rest here 14:31
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 55.6′ Fiberglass Trawler/Lobster/Longliner, 12-V-7, Permits and option’s
For specifications, information, and 9 photos of the vessel, click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 11:28
Turbot fisherman fined $7,500 for excessive catch
A fisherman from Seldom has been convicted for exceeding trip limits for fishing Turbot and failing to accurately report the amount of gear fished. Joey Leyte was convicted in Gander provincial court in May for breaching two counts of the fishery regulations, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans said in a statement Tuesday. He was fined $5,000 for failing to accurately complete his fishing log on a daily basis. Leyte was also fined $2,500 and had to forfeit $4,742 for the value of fish exceeded on his trip. He was two years to pay the fines. (article) 09:55
Federal crackdown on illegal halibut fishing in Nova Scotia sees 11 fishermen pleading guilty to misreporting
The probe started more than five years ago, after Fisheries and Oceans Canada officials started hearing reports about misreported catches in the growing and lucrative halibut fishery. “Fisheries officers were hearing rumours,” said MacLean. “When we started to look at the information that we had, internally, we were starting to see indicators that maybe all wasn’t right in that particular fishery.” MacLean said investigators relied on, to show discrepancies. Read the rest here 09:40
Jury selection begins for BP exec charged in Deepwater Horizon oil spill
David Rainey, BP’s former vice president for exploration in the Gulf of Mexico, will stand trial in New Orleans, charged with obstructing a congressional investigation in the weeks after the oil spill, the largest in US history. Prosecutors allege he deliberately withheld information about how much oil was being pumped into the Gulf following the explosion at the BP well. Rainey was the second in command at BP’s “unified command center” in Robert, Louisiana, where cleanup and response efforts were coordinated. Read the rest here 09:26
Our View: Facts prevail in House vote on fisheries – seeing through an environmentalist-created fog
In politics, repeating an argument so frequently and with such authority as to allow it to become accepted as fact is a familiar tactic. But the fact in this case is that the 10-year rebuilding benchmark so jealously protected by advocates such as Pew Charitable Trust, the Conservation Law Foundation and even the president’s policy advisers is the genuinely arbitrary figure, with no basis in data. The fact is that data collected under the proposals in HR 1335 and the amendment would bring it in from more sources and would necessarily provide better assessments for administrators. Read the rest here 08:51
Connecticut’s Controversial Shellfish Bill Dead For 2015
The controversial bill, which the legislature’s legal staff warned was potentially unconstitutional, was “recommitted” to the General Assembly’s Environment Committee Saturday. A coalition representing the biggest shellfishing companies in the state, together with several influential lawmakers, had been seeking legislation to create a new shellfishing council to direct all state shellfishing regulatory policies. Malloy’s administration opposed the bill and also opposed the budget-related plan to shift the aquaculture unit from one state department to another. Read he rest here 08:20
NOAA Study Ties Deepwater Horizon Spill To Dolphin Deaths
These findings support those of a 2011 health assessment of live dolphins in Barataria Bay, Louisiana, a heavily oiled area during the spill which showed those resident dolphins had poor health, adrenal disease, and lung disease. The timing and nature of the detected lesions support that contaminants from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill caused these lesions and contributed to the high numbers of dolphin deaths within this oil spill’s footprint. Increased dolphin deaths after the oil spill are part of the northern Gulf of Mexico unusual mortality event investigation. Read the rest here 07:59
