Monthly Archives: June 2015
US, China to cooperate on ocean preservation
The U.S. and China said Wednesday they are stepping up cooperation on preserving the ocean and combating illegal fishing despite their differences on maritime security. This week’s talks are a prelude to Xi’s visit, his first to the U.S. since 2013. Despite growing tensions over cybertheft and China’s island-building in the disputed South China Sea, the U.S. and China are stressing how they can work together on less contentious issues, such as climate change. (gagging now) Read the rest here 17:43
Re-opening of Commercial Sector for Atlantic Dolphin
Because we understand that commercial Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) vessels may occasionally catch Atlantic dolphin, we want to make sure Atlantic HMS permit holders are aware of the following action. NMFS announces the re-opening of the commercial sector for Atlantic dolphin (dolphin) in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) off the Atlantic states (Maine through the east coast of Florida) through a temporary rule. The most recent landings for dolphin indicate the commercial annual catch limit (ACL) has not yet been reached. Read the rest here 15:59
Greenland and the EU – Fishing, it’s not just an industry, it’s our lifeblood
“Growth and welfare – scenarios for the development of Greenland” seminar in Brussels – 
In the following, I will therefore concentrate on the subject that I have called “Fishing in Greenland is not just an industry, but the lifeblood of our society”. Because that’s exactly what it is. Fishing is not just Greenland’s dominant industry – it is actually Greenland’s only export industry. Consequently, we are much more dependent on income from the fishing industry than other countries in the western world. Read the rest here 13:13
UPDATED: Virginia Marine Resources Commission revokes licenses of 5 watermen for violations
David S. Luckett Jr. of Hayes, Willie F. Shiflette Jr. of Hayes, Ava Marie Shiflette of Hayes and Charles Franklin Davenport of Hampton lost their licenses for two years, along with fishing privileges in Virginia’s tidal waters. The commission revoked the license and fishing privileges of Roger Lee Belvin of Achilles for one year. Davenport was convicted of several violations, including harvesting oysters from a condemned area. Read the rest here 12:49
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 62′ Fiberglass Longliner, Cummins KT1150, John Deere – 40 KW Genset
For specifications, information, and 4 photos of the vessel, click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 12:14
Study unveils why Atlantic bluefin tuna suffer despite prey abundance
In a paper in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series titled “The paradox of the pelagics: why bluefin tuna can go hungry in a sea of plenty,” the seven authors outlined how the overall condition (fat content) of Atlantic bluefin tuna in the Gulf of Maine declined despite an abundance of Atlantic herring — their preferred prey. The population of Atlantic herring has increased over the past two decades suggesting that foraging conditions should have been favorable for bluefin tuna. A decline in bluefin tuna condition despite,,, Read the rest here 10:26
Will Shrimp Safety Concerns Pose Jumbo Difficulty For Trans-Pacific Partnership Deal?
Meals security experts fear secret elements of a hotly contested Pacific trade deal will additional hamper U.S. government efforts to turn back poor seafood at the border, even as shrimp imported from Southeast Asian farms continue to turn up important numbers of good tests for banned antibiotics and harmful bacteria. “These trade agreements are employed quite considerably as a weapon to go soon after meals safety standards,” said Patrick Woodall, of the food safety group Food and Water Watch. “We’re concerned it is producing a type of secret venue to,,, Read the rest here 10:09
Michigan Considers Controversial Commercial Net-Pen Aquaculture in Huron and Michigan
Several State agencies are looking at proposals to allow commercial net-pen aquaculture on the Great Lakes. The practice is controversial because of environmental concerns. WDET’s Amy Miller spoke with Tammy Newcomb; Senior Policy Advisor for the Department of Natural Resources. She says Ontario has allowed a few net-pens near Georgian Bay and now there are two Michigan proposals. This week the State is holding two public hearings on the two Great Lakes net-pen aquaculture proposals. Listen to the report here 08:29
Commercial harvest of Atlantic dolphin from Maine to Florida Closed
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that the commercial harvest of Atlantic dolphin from Maine through the east coast of Florida will be closed at 12:01 a.m. EDT Wednesday. Commercial harvest will reopen at 12:01 a.m. EST Jan. 1, 2016. Reports indicate that landings are approaching the 2015 catch limit for the commercial sector. The operator of a vessel with a federal commercial permit for dolphin-wahoo that is landing dolphin for sale must have landed and bartered, traded, or sold such dolphin before 12:01 a.m. Wednesday. Read the rest here 08:00
Update: No Fukushima Contamination Detected in Pacific Salmon Off North American Coast
The Integrated Fukushima Ocean Radionuclide Monitoring (InFORM) project is a network involving academic, governmental, and non-governmental organizations, as well as citizen scientists. InFORM is acquiring data to support a thorough radiological impact assessment for Canada’s west coast stemming from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant (FD-NPP) accident, and to effectively communicate these results to the public. Read the rest here 16:00
U.S. Marshals seize FV Westward, moored in Boothbay Harbor for the last two years
U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge John H. Rich issued an order for the Westward’s arrest on June 8, in response to Fuller Marine Services’ civil complaint to foreclose upon a salvage lien. After seizing the vessel, the Marshals Service transferred it into the temporary custodial care of Fuller Marine Services. The Westward arrived in Boothbay Harbor to be refurbished by the Boothbay Harbor Shipyard and returned to commercial fishing, according to its owner. Repairs were begun, but the owner James Sheehy, of Gloucester, Massachusetts, was unable,,, Read the rest here 14:59
Maine’s elver fishery – Smaller catch, bigger value – 2015 haul nets fishermen an average of $2,172 per pound
Maine’s 920 licensed harvesters caught 5,242 pounds of elvers during the 10-week season, which ended May 31. That catch was down significantly from 2014 when 9,688 pounds were landed. The average price per pound for elvers jumped from $874 in 2014 to $2,172, the department said. This year’s quota was set by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and will remain unchanged through 2017. The commission is expected to reassess the quota in 2018. Read the rest here 14:19
NOFish Announces Area Closures for Common Pool Northeast Groundfish Fishery
Disaster aid belongs to the fishing industry – It’s no wonder the industry views NOAA with suspicion
NOAA has in recent weeks been casting about for a pool of money to tap for its controversial onboard fishing 
. Efforts to make fishermen pay directly for the program — yet another unfunded federal mandate — have so far fallen short.,,, states sill have about $10 million in the ‘third bin,’” John Bullard said. “(Monitoring) would be an eligible use of those funds.” Let us not forget one reason NOAA wants to expand its lobster monitoring program is because it has to spend the money it has budgeted for that plan. Read the rest here 13:25
Halibut Bycatch: a Disappointing Update
On June 9th (10th?), Alaskan halibut fishermen, who have seen their individual quotas cut by up to 70% over the last ten years gathered to watch the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council (NPFMC or North Pacific Council) vote on reduced halibut bycatch caps for trawl fleets fishing in the Bering Sea. Fact sheets from ALFA, stories from KCAW, NPFMC’s Environmental Assessment, and our previous blog post all describe the conservation fight over halibut, but here are a few crucial bullet points as a reminder: Read the rest here 12:03
$2.1 Million in Federal Grants to Help Fishing-Related Jersey Businesses Impacted by Superstorm Sandy
The Christie Administration announced that 266 fishing-related businesses will share more than $2.1 million in federal grants to help them recover some costs resulting from damages sustained as a result of Superstorm Sandy. The grant program focused on helping smaller businesses. Owners of bait-and-tackle shops, commercial dealers, commercial fishermen, for-hire party and charter boat operators, marinas and those involved in shell-fish aquaculture businesses were eligible to apply to the DEP for grants of up to $10,000 to help offset,,, Read the rest here 11:37
New England Stock Assessments – If it’s the same, it will never be different, Don Cuddy
We are having a serious problem in New England with the performance of the models used in fishery management. To remedy a situation that, along with some other factors, has led to the current crisis in the groundfish industry, we need new data … and maybe we need new models.,, Getting better data is a theme familiar to anyone with connections to the fishing industry in New England. It is central to the mission at the Center for Sustainable Fisheries and was the focus of the forum CSF sponsored at the New Bedford Whaling Museum in May. Read the rest here 09:03
Aussie Fishermen donate lucrative catch to Melbourne Museum
James Owen and his crew have saved the elusive sea monster from the cooking pot, and have earned praise by donating it to science instead. “I’ve got a high regard for the skipper in his initiative in contacting the museum. “Obviously, he saw that it was far more valuable as a museum specimen than anything he could have made some money off of, and that’s his likelihood. Fish is how he makes his living. “Those fisherman were as much interested in conservation, I think, as the normal person in the street, if not more so.” More photo’s, Read the rest here 07:06
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
WPFMC question proposed rule on green sea turtles, address allocation of US tuna catches
The council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee and Protected Species Advisory Committee noted a lack of transparency in the criteria used to make the status determinations, questionable interpretation of existing research and gaps in information considered. The Scientific and Statistical Committee, for example, said the proposal to continue to list the Hawai’i green turtle as threatened is contrary to analysis that showed zero chance of decline in the population in the foreseeable future. Read the rest here 20:15
Bristol Bay Fisheries Report June 21, 2015 with KDLG’s Molly Dischner
Today we hear the news the westside has been waiting for – setnets are going in the water – and take a trip from Kachemak Bay to Bristol Bay. A look at Sunday’s catch and escapement numbers, an interview with area managers from both sides of the bay, and a journey from Kachemak Bay to Bristol Bay. That, plus a conversation about fisheries research with UW’s Daniel Schindler. Listen to the report here 19:03
Animal Rights Groups Implore Obama To Impose Trade Sanctions On Iceland
A coalition of 20 animal rights and environmentalist groups have called on US President Barack Obama to impose sanctions on Iceland over whaling. In the letter in question, the undersigned point out the recent shipment of endangered fin whale meat from Iceland, most likely on its way to Japan. While Obama has made direct statements about Iceland’s whaling practices, warning that he believes the issue should “receive the highest level of attention”, the undersigned believe the US president needs to now take further action. Read the rest here 17:48
