Daily Archives: June 9, 2015
Pseudo Swashbuckler Sea Shepherds to Pay Millions to Japanese Whale Fleet
Sea Shepherd Conservation Society agreed to pay $2.55 million to Japan’s Institute of Cetacean Research on Monday as part of a settlement to resolve a long-standing legal battle over the anti-whaling group’s tactics against Japanese whaling ships in the Antarctic.The settlement came the same day the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear Sea Shepherd’s appeal of a federal court’s finding that the group was in contempt of a court order to stay clear of Japanese whaling ships. Read the rest here 21:48
Pacific Fishery Management Council Meeting in Spokane, June 10-16, 2015
The Pacific Fishery Management Council and its advisory bodies will meet June 10-16, 2015 in Spokane, Washington, at the DoubleTree by Hilton Spokane City Center. Download the June 2015 Meeting Notice WITH Agenda (includes full logistics for public comment deadlines) Download the June 2015 Agenda, Listen to the Live Audio Stream (starting on Friday, June 12, 2015) 21:06
Scientists say Newfoundland’s cod stocks are coming back. Can we get it right this time?
Sometimes, it seems as if cod is all anyone talks about, inside the Cupids Legacy Centre and on the streets of St. John’s, where cab drivers and tattooed twentysomethings still talk about family fishing rights. So when scientists announce the cod is coming back, it’s big news. It rubs salt into old wounds throughout Atlantic Canada. And it raises questions: Can we get it right this time? If the moratorium is lifted, can we find a way to manage the fishery sustainably? Read the rest here 17:34
Negotiations Fail to Limit Greenland’s Harvest of Wild Atlantic Salmon
The Atlantic Salmon Federation (ASF) is very disappointed over the failure of the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization (NASCO) to limit Greenland’s salmon harvest to sustainable levels, during negotiations to set regulatory measures at meetings that took place June 2 to 5 in Goose Bay, Labrador. Greenland would not budge below a quota of 45 tonnes, which was more than other Parties to the West Greenland Commission (made up of Greenland, Canada, the United States and the European Union), could accept. Denmark on,,, Read the rest here 16:24
Local boats forced off fishing grounds by large Spanish-owned but UK-registered fishing vessels
Simon Collins of the Shetland Fishermen’s Association said large Spanish-owned but UK-registered fishing vessels are obstructing local boats fishing their traditional grounds. Isles MSP Tavish Scott added that the Spanish fishing boats were acting aggressively in waters very close to the Shetland coastline. The vessels, such as the Tahume, the Brisan and the Magan D, are targeting valuable monkfish by shooting miles of gillnets, also described as tangle nets. The nets could be up to 35 miles long forming a wall of netting on the seabed. Read the rest here 15:11
New Jersey files lawsuit against the United States to stop high-energy seismic blasts
Named as defendants are the National Science Foundation, the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration and its Office for Coastal Management, the National Marine Fisheries Service, and the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, which is a component of Columbia University’ Earth Institute. New Jersey says the blasts will be felt “far outside of the study area” and will reduce commercial and recreational catch and harass marine mammals. Read the rest here 14:31
Massachusetts AG sues shellfish official for polluting coastal waters in an attempt to increase his yield of razor clams
Attorney General Maura Healey claims that John H. Grundstrom sprayed bleach on sensitive clamflats while harvesting razor clams in state waters. Forcing razor clams to the sediment’s surface by spraying bleach can yield a large number of clams in a short period of time compared to harvesting by traditional hand raking and digging methods, but at a cost to the environment. When sprayed or injected into mud or sand in tidal areas, kills microorganisms which supply food and nutrients critical for a healthy coastal ecosystem,,, Read the rest here 12:26
Meet Holly Faulkner, lobster buyer – the Big Bras d’Or stalwart is the only female on the job — and she’s proud
One of a handful of designated lobster buyers here at Big Bras d’Or’s Factory Wharf, the 22-year-old has faced the elements head-on since lobster fishing season opened here in mid-May. Her job description includes hauling a few thousand pounds of lobster, six days a week. She has not missed a day of work. Faulkner embraces it, getting down and dirty, hauling 100-pound crates from lobster boats to wharf, to scale and to the truck. “It’s not too bad,” she said. “It’s a good workout. But yeah, I’m pretty exhausted at the end of the day.” Read the rest here 10:43
As Our Oceans Degrade, The Environmentalist Network Stays Focused on their Overfishing Bread and Butter
Canadian scientists warn of artificial sweeteners in oceans. It means that up to 72 metric tonnes (160,000 pounds) of sweetener are pouring into Lake Erie. Because the sweeteners — used in products like diet soda, chewing gum, yogurt and as sugar replacements in tea and coffee to avoid weight gain — cannot be broken down by the human body, the artificial sweeteners pass right through. They cannot be broken down by wastewater treatment plants either, meaning the undiluted sweeteners enter the water supply used as drinking water for humans and animals. Read the rest here 10:08
Gov. Hassan signs into law Great Bay shellfish restoration bill
Gov. Maggie Hassan has signed into law a bill that would allow the Fish and Game Department the closing of clam, oyster and other bivalve areas for restoration efforts in the Great Bay. (here) Why would she close them, when they are being destroyed by high nitrogen levels from run off and the dozen or so waste water treatment plants that continue to degrade the oysters and eel grass that they continue to try restoring? Get your head out of the sand, Governor. FN 09:24
Letter: Lobstering, the last shoe to drop, Ron Gilson, Gloucester
The current brouhaha over NOAA’s proposal to install monitors on lobster boats (”Observer plan riles lobstermen,” June 6) is a bogus, blatant attempt to put the little guy out of business. While the EPA is hell bent on putting thousands of coal miners out of work, NOAA is methodically destroying all that remains of the fishing industry, the successful small boat lobsterman. Protection and indemnity insurance for these “observers,” mandated by NOAA, will put lobstermen out of business. This is the elephant in the room that will kill the industry. Read the rest here 08:43
