Daily Archives: June 22, 2015
Cooler after cooler, bucket after bucket, Five Massachusetts men charged with having hundreds of illegally caught fish
One of the them was caught last year selling fish out of his trunk in Brockton. The men, whom police have not yet identified, are facing illegal fishing and boating violations after they were caught with hundreds of illegally fished black sea bass and scup in their boat, state environmental police said. Environmental police were conducting inspections off Buzzards Bay Saturday when they came upon the 23-foot boat with five Brockton men aboard. Read the rest here 21:20
New York, and Connecticut Lawmakers seeking $65 million to clean up Long Island Sound
With new legislation proposed to protect and restore the waters of the Long Island Sound, Connecticut and New York lawmakers are hoping to reverse the effects of decades of over-development and pollution. The Long Island Sound Restoration and Stewardship Act would combine two water quality and shore restoration programs to be funded at, respectively, $40 million and $25 million per year through 2020. Read the rest here 19:22
Harper’s Seal Penis Offensive – $9M to Revive the Canadian Seal Market
Amish Patel, Film Maker / Writer / Performer, gives us his insight to the revival of seal penis sales, utilizing the whole animal. Viagra, Big Pharma’s chemical answer to slumping members of the male anatomy, is discussed as the alternative to this natural aphrodisiac. When I heard it mentioned, all I could think of is the chemical cocktail being injected into the eco systems where our juvenile fish are declining, because of wastewater treatment plants that can’t remove the chemicals. This guy is funny, but edgy. Enjoy the video here, and demand natural enhancement! 17:46
Tradex 3-Minute Market Insight: Bleak Outlook for Collapsed Sole Market; Cod Pricing Creates Buyer Opportunities
Long inventories, poor markets, and limited cash flow equate to looming troubles ahead for Chinese processing plants. Atlantic Cod pricing remains strong and raw materials are still high, forcing upwards pricing pressure on finished goods headed for North America. is looking like an affordable whitefish alternative. Watch the 3-Minute Market Insight here 14:58
Flower’s Cove wharf to receive upgrade – Extension still needed to accommodate more vessels says fisherman
While Flower’s Cove fisherman Edmund Moores is pleased to see the work taking place, he says there won’t be a much-needed extension to the wharf. Coupled with west coast and Quebec fishermen using the wharf for offloading purposes, Moores says the current size of the wharf isn’t adequate. “There’s no frontage,” said the owner of two 65-foot vessels. “You’ve got all the west coast here seining in the summer time, Quebec fishermen landing here and you’ve got sailboats that can’t get to the wharf.” Read the rest here 14:26
Japan confirms plan to resume sustainable whale hunt
Joji Morishita said the whole debate about whether or not Japan should be killing the mammals had long since moved away from science and into politics. Japan believes the world’s whale population, especially the minke stock, is sizeable enough to accommodate a return to sustainable whaling, putting it at odds with campaigners and anti-whaling nations. “If you keep on like this, I worry that a country which has international political power could impose its standards and ethics on others,” he said, calling it “environmental imperialism”. Read the rest here 13:28
There’s something strange happening to the Maine lobster population this year — and it could drastically raise prices
Reports of fisherman hauling out record amounts of lobster over the past few years make it seem that lobster should be pretty cheap. But that’s last year. This year the price of lobster is going up thanks to changing water temperatures. But now, three years later, price is on the rise again because the harsh winter that recently hit New England dropped ocean temperatures around Maine to the lower end of the lobster comfort zone. Read the rest here 11:35
Financially troubled American Seafoods debt deal underway amid Rokke return talk
The majority of payment-in-kind (PIK) noteholders in troubled US fishing company American Seafoods Group has agreed a restructuring agreement with an unnamed investor, according to a note from ratings agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P). American Seafoods’ highly leveraged capital structure, with debts of over $900 million, includes over $125m of 15% PIK notes, “which continue to accrue interest and represents a growing liability on the company’s balance sheet”, wrote S&P in a note from January. Read the rest here 10:33 Financially troubled American Seafoods nears deal on debts Read the rest here 12:00
Environmentalists are upset over NEFMC Georges Bank vote
Peter Shelley, senior attorney for the Conservation Law Foundation, charged that the council ignored years of scientific data and analysis and “caved to industry pressures” regarding Georges Bank. (The council did approve four other areas of habitat protection.) “The council hammered the final nail into the coffin of what could have been a landmark victory for ocean habitats protection in New England,” Shelley wrote on his organization’s web site. Dr. Sarah Smith, a member of the Fisheries Solutions Center at the Environmental Defense Fund, wrote The Standard-Times in an e-mail, “We are disappointed that the council,,, Read the rest here 09:14
