Monthly Archives: June 2015
Perspectives on the short and long-term effects of Santa Barbara County oil spill on Santa Barbara Fishermen
Fishermen in Santa Barbara Harbor are still starting their motors to head out into the channel for the day’s catch, despite being among the first to feel the economic punch of the back on May 19. Chris Voss is President of the Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara, and says the closure hurts his members financially, and the spill hurts the area’s reputation. “It’s a seriously significant seafood source because of the Channel Islands, we produce a lot of darn seafood” Audio, Read the rest here
Time to bring commercial fishing permits home to Alaska
In 1983, the city of Angoon had 183 locally held fishing permits. Now, 32 years later, there are only 15 left. In Nome, 157 permits have become 89. In New Stuyahok, 144 permits have become 21. Larsen Bay’s 47 permits have dwindled to 15. These are not isolated incidents: this is a trend that can be found in every region of the state. This is a red-button moment. Each lost permit represents a small business shuttering its doors. The effects are devastating, especially in rural places where the opportunities to participate,,, Read the rest here 10:08
Mulcair fisheries commitment brings hope to Newfoundland and Labrador
JUNE 8, 2015, ST. JOHN’S – Last Thursday in Corner Brook, nearly a hundred fish harvesters, concerned citizens and political leaders gathered to stand up for fair fisheries management. One speech in particular brought considerable hope to the rally attendees, as well as to thousands of others who could not be there in person. NDP MHA and fisheries critic Lorraine Michael read a statement from federal NDP leader Thomas Mulcair. Read the press release here 08:04
NPFMC cuts halibut bycatch limit by 25% – Nobody’s happy!
The council had a series of options for cuts of as high as 50 percent in the limit for the trawl fleet. Sam Cotten, proposed a 35 percent cut that he called “a bare minimum, maybe even a bit below.” But Cotten’s motion was amended to a 25 percent cut by Bill Tweit, a Washington council member, who called it a “strong first step” that he said would be followed by more steps to tackle the halibut bycatch. Cotten’s motion was amended to a 25 percent cut by Bill Tweit, He was interrupted by hoots of disagreement from hook-and-line fishermen who attended the meeting and had pushed for a much higher bycatch cut. Read the rest here 07:19 Bering Sea halibut bycatch cut leaves both trawlers and halibut fishermen unhappy, Read the rest here 07:26 Council cuts halibut bycatch in Bering Sea, Read the rest here 07:34
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council meeting in Key West, June 8 thru 12, 2015 Listen Live!
The public is invited to attend the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council meeting at the Marriot Beachside in Key West. Read the Committee and Council Agenda, Click here Read the briefing material, Click here, Joint Gulf/South Atlantic Council Meeting Agenda Register here to listen live Kick off, 08:30 21:37
South Atlantic Fishery Management Council meeting in Key West June 8 thru 12 – Listen Live!
The public is invited to attend the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council to be held at the Doubletree Grand Resort in Key West, Fla. Read the Meeting Agenda Click here, Briefing Book – June 2015 Council Meeting Click here Webinar Registration: Listen Live, Click here Kick off, 08:30 21:19
Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council meeting in Virginia Beach, June 8 thru 11, 2015 – Listen Live
The public is invited to attend the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s June 2015 meeting to be held at the Hilton Virginia Beach Oceanfront, 3001 Atlantic Ave., Virginia Beach, VA . June 2015 Council Meeting Agenda, Complete Briefing Book, For online access to the meeting, enter as a guest Click here Kick off, 09:00 21:03
Commercial fishing trial worries Lake Huron anglers
When the Michigan Department of Natural Resources announced a three-year trial to allow a commercial fishery to pursue whitefish in southern Lake Huron, recreational anglers took to social media to express their outrage. The state also is hoping that by allowing the commercial fisherman, Dana Serafin, to move his operation to southern Lake Huron, some of the fishing pressure in Saginaw Bay will be relieved. the state also announced a panel to look at the possible effects of proposals to raise fish in net pens in the Great Lakes. Read the rest here 20:30
Center for Biological Diversity offended by F&WS – NMFS ESA Proposal
The two federal agencies tasked with listing endangered species jointly proposed to revise the Endangered Species Act’s petition process, but conservationists are not happy. The proposal published Thursday by the Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service would make the best use of available resources, increase “stakeholder engagement” and improve transparency, according to the agencies’ announcement. Calling the move “boneheaded,” the (CBD), a frequent petitioner and litigant,,, Read the rest here 19:40
Legislators applaud House passage of legislation to permanently save Newport Air Station
House Ranking Member Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) and Kurt Schrader (D-Ore.) applauded the House passage of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2015, legislation that would keep the Newport air facility open indefinitely. Due to budget cuts, the Coast Guard threatened in 2014 to close the Newport air facility– which handles half of the emergency response calls on the Central Oregon Coast. Read the rest here 14:59
Marysville native Dan Borovina, on ‘Deadliest Catch’ finds clarity, recovery on the water
In the summer of 2001, Dan joined the crew of his Uncle Michael Borovina’s boat, the purse seiner Sea Pride. “I wanted to fill that void created by not having my dad around. I wanted to learn more about my dad by going fishing,” he said. “We headed out. When we got to Snow Pass off of Southeast Alaska, my uncle told me that my dad would want me to know that I was about to see a fish jump, a bald eagle and a whale. When I did, I knew I was where I was supposed to be.”,,, Borovina fell into drug abuse. Read the rest here 14:04
Card plan for Maine’s valuable urchins draws mixed response
Joe Leask, a diver on the Maine coast who is also the chairman of the Maine Sea Urchin Zone Council advisory board, said he’s not sure the swipe card system is necessary. Urchin fishermen already keep log books and are subject to a highly regulated fishing season as it is, Leask said.”What is the goal of the swipe card? If it’s accountability, the system’s already in place,” Leask said. “I’m not sure it’s a tool that’s needed right now.” Read the rest here 12:48
Fishermen give emotional testimony on Halibut bycatch caps at Sitka meeting, resumes at 12:00 Eastern, Listen live
“I mean, why is their family more important than mine?” Balovich asked. “Why are their kids more important than mine? Why is their boat more important than mine? Why is their crew more important than mine?” Trawlers echoed that argument. “Why is a crew member on a directed halibut boat more important than a crew member’s livelihood on a trawl boat?” said Heather Mann, of the Midwater Trawlers Cooperative. “It’s not. It’s not more important.” Read the rest here Listen Live at adobe connect 11:47
Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance Weekly Update, JUNE 7, 2015
The Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance is dedicated to its mission of continuing to help create sustainable fisheries without putting licensed fishermen out of business.” Read the update here To read all the updates, click here 11:17
Imperiled fish add to California’s drought stress
Their populations dwindling, Northern California’s fish suddenly are taking a leading role in the drought-related drama gripping the state. State regulators, alarmed at declining numbers of winter-run Chinook salmon, acted in late May to temporarily curtail the flow of water from Lake Shasta, hoping to cool the giant reservoir’s waters and prevent another massive die-off of juvenile fish. The move means less water, at least for the time being, for farmers and urban Californians downstream. Read the rest here 11:06
Erecting old Markets, Plan calls for revival of seal penis sales
Sales of Canadian seal products could get a lift if the federal Fisheries Department adopts a plan that, among other things, calls for the revival of the controversial seal penis trade, a key supporter of the East Coast seal hunt says. says its five-year plan, dated March 2014, focuses on creating markets for a number of products that could be derived using every part of the seal carcass. Officials at the Fisheries Department declined an interview, but said in an emailed response that they were considering the report. Read the rest here 10:07
Five years after ‘catch shares’ and ‘sectors,’ groundfish industry is on the rocks
Five years have now gone by since the reshaping of the Northeast fishery, five years that the the Northeast groundfishing industry does the best it can under a new set of rules. Five years ago, few knew the definition of the word “sector” as Fisheries was suddenly using it. Basically they are what most people would call co-operatives. “Catch shares” were a bit easier; it’s another word for quotas. And it’s the catch shares, not so much the sectors, that many believe are at the root of the problem. Read the rest here 09:00
Our Heritage on Display – Vintage fishing boat Roann catches visitors’ fancy at Cape fest
Inge Laine used her nose to see if the vintage fishing vessel ROANN was the real deal. As she descended the steep stairway into the engine room on Saturday she took a whiff and her childhood memories of her father’s Wildwood fishing boat came back. It smelled just like Ehlko Friesenborg’s boat, one of 237 such vessels at Otten’s Harbor back in the heyday before condos took over the waterway. There are only a couple left today and they are nothing like the wooden 1947 trawler that was the highlight of the first Cape May Port Commercial Fishing Festival. Read the rest here 20:19
Can the Sea Shepherds Cult Survive the Lawsuits?
Ady Gil has become dead-set on rooting out the dishonesty he sees in Watson’s radical conservation organization. He and his own conservation group, Ady Gil World Conservation, are bringing lawsuits against Sea Shepherd and its founder for damages, defamation and fraud – the first of which, concerning the loss of the ship, will likely be decided this summer. The first suit alone could cost SSCS as much as $50m. “These are people who will do anything possible to draw sympathy,” says Gil, who describes Sea Shepherd in an interview as “infested with corruption”. Read the rest here 18:43
Massachusetts lobstermen are pissed off over NOAA’s Fisheries Observer Program, and I don’t blame ’em.
The specter of increased observer coverage on the decks of their boats is not sitting well with Massachusetts lobstermen, whose resistance to the NOAA Fisheries plan was in full flower at a public meeting Thursday night in Gloucester. Regulator’s plan to expand its Northeast Fisheries Observer Program (NEFOP) in the New England lobstering industry and as far down the East Coast as Maryland. The lobstermen also were not happy with answers they received on why they are being targeted for expanded observer coverage. Read the rest here 13:59
Payoff for Alaska commercial fishermen all depends on the species
For Alaska commercial fishermen, everything depends on the species targeted. For instance, Southeast trollers targeting king salmon can clear much more than $100 on a single big chinook, while Togiak fishermen earn just $50 for netting 1 ton of tiny herring. But by and large, fishermen pursuing king salmon, halibut and sablefish are fetching fabulous early-season prices. The 300 Southeast trollers who target kings are enjoying a 40 percent price increase for the big salmon, averaging $7.54 a pound, up $1.88 from last year. Read the rest here 13:18
South Atlantic Fishery Management Council – No red snapper take in 2015
The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council announced Friday, there will not be commercial or recreational season in 2015 because the total number of red snapper removed from the population in 2014 exceeded the allowable level. In other news, the SAFMC also announced that no more recreational harvest of blueline tilefish in South Atlantic waters will be allowed after 12:01 a.m. (local time) Wednesday. The commercial sector for blueline tilefish was closed to harvest on April 7. Read the rest here 13:02
Halibut Dumping Stirs Fight Among Fishing Fleets In Alaska
The Rebecca Irene can’t keep that halibut: Trawlers aren’t supposed to catch it, and the law requires any halibut that are caught be thrown overboard. If the trend doesn’t change, fishermen in St. Paul face the potential of a complete shutdown. With his community’s future on the line, Swetsov choked up as he testified this week before the NPFMC, which regulates bycatch in federal waters off of Alaska. “I’m extremely angry that we’re here today,” he says. Read the rest here 11:57
Letter: It’s time to resolve the conflicts over national red snapper fishing rules – Mark Mathews
Red snapper is the most mismanaged fish in this country. I consider many charter captains dear friends. They are important friends and clients, and I try very hard to promote their businesses as much as I can. My criticism is not of them but of the environmentalists (EDF) who have shamelessly and unnecessarily come to our region to create conflicts and turn fishing friends against each other and the federal fisheries managers who have encouraged those conflicts. Read the rest here 11:08
Work to salvage F/V Denise begins
The commercial fishing boat “Denise” ran aground on Friday evening (May 29) and has since passed the rock barrier, due to the ocean’s tides and current, to lodge itself firmly in the sand below the bluffs adjacent to the 18th hole on Half Moon Bay Golf Links’ Ocean Course. Sidney Woods, Denise’s owner and captain, was on hand as work began. He had removed personal items and fishing hooks the day before, but lamented that he was precluded from dismantling and saving parts of the boat that could be salvaged. “But it’s a 1946 boat, and I’d like to at least have the wheel.” Read the rest here 10:53
NOAA proposes new status for humpback whales – Change would remove majority from endangered species list
If the proposal is approved, 10 of 14 populations worldwide would be delisted, including the West Indies population, which swims through Cape waters. The West Indies population has grown to about 12,000, according to NOAA officials. Peter Mason, a commercial lobsterman, was one of about 20 people who listened to the presentation. He supported the proposal. “Now they’ve come back, they should be taken off,” he said. Read the rest here 09:56
Fresh halibut hits Dillingham harbor fetching $7 dollars a pound
F/V Eagle II skipper William Johnson arrived in Dillingham on May 25 with 25 halibut weighing between 12 and 75 pounds. Among the happy customers was Sander Johnson, who says halibut is always his first fresh fish of the season. With a 50-pound halibut in his truck bed, Sander Johnson was looking forward to a favorite dinner that evening. Eagle II crewman Mike Johnson said that first load of halibut sold out in less than two hours. Read the rest here 07:09
Effective immediately South coast of Washington closed to crab fishing
WDFW announced the closure after routine testing showed domoic acid levels in crab exceeded standards established by the Washington State Department of Health. Domoic acid, a natural toxin produced by certain types of marine algae, can be harmful or even fatal if consumed in sufficient quantities. Cooking or freezing does not destroy domoic acid in shellfish. All crab gear must be removed from the closed areas by 12:01 a.m. June 10 or it will be subject to confiscation by Fish and Wildlife enforcement officers. Read the rest here 06:28
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for June 5, 2015
Click to read the Weekly Update for June 5, 2015 as a pdf To read all the updates, click here 06:12
Christie administration sues to halt ocean-blasting research
The state attorney general’s office filed a complaint Friday in U.S. District Court arguing the federally funded seismic research project that began this week will harm fish and marine animals, as well as commercial fisheries and beachgoers just as the summer tourism season gears up.The National Science Foundation-funded research, being performed by Rutgers University, is aimed at helping the world’s coastal regions better protect themselves from disasters like Superstorm Sandy by mapping ocean sediment deposits dating back 60 million years to study how the shoreline has advanced and retreated in response to rising sea levels. Read the rest here 22:00
