Daily Archives: July 8, 2015
Bristol Bay forecast goes bust
Bristol Bay needed volume to make up for a soft market, but state biologists say there’s no reason to expect that it’s going to happen now that the season’s unofficial point of no return has passed. Not only will the run come in far less than forecast, but likely come in well less than the 20-year average harvest. Travis Elison, the management biologist for the ADFG Dillingham office, said a low run is a foregone conclusion. “My perspective is that the run is below forecast,” said Elison. “That’s pretty obvious to me.” Read the rest here 22:28
As the Brownsville Shrimp Fleet is blessed, Prices are plummeting
Andrea Hance , executive director of the Brownsville-based Texas Shrimp Association, said the blessing is especially welcome this season. “Unfortunately this year the shrimp prices, they’re starting to plummet,” she said. “It’s not going to be pleasant this year. What’s happened, the imports have shot up.” “shrimp prices are about $3 lower per pound than this time last year. That’s too big of a change. We had a boat that came in the other day that averaged $3.50 a pound. (Prices) plummeted because the big nationwide buyers, they have too much inventory. Right now imports are about as high as they’ve ever been.” Read the rest here 14:37
A big shift is coming to the Maine lobster population — and it could devastate the local economy
While we can’t know for sure what the future holds, it seems that as ocean temperatures continue to increase, lobsters will likely keep moving north, study researcher Malin Pinsky, of Rutgers University, told Business Insider. At a rate of 43 miles per decade, it could only be 30 years or so until Maine lobsters are mostly in Canadian waters. Two factors will impact how quickly this happens, Pinsky told Business Insider: Greenhouse gas production and the rate of ocean temperature increase. If temperatures and gasses continue to rise, Pinsky says lobsters moving to Canada is, “not out of the question.” Read the rest here 13:42
Bronx wholesaler pleads guilty – Plea Shows Fraud Afoot in Fulton Fish Market
A fishmonger pleaded guilty Tuesday to a systematic cover-up related to the excessive harvesting of fluke, scup and black sea bass in New York. Assistant Attorney General John Cruden noted that the Fulton Fish Market dealer’s case was especially “aggravated because the participants took advantage of a federal program designed to study fish populations and enable law-abiding fishermen to increase their catch.” Read the rest here 12:57
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 41′ Fiberglass Split Wheelhouse Novi Lobster boat, Detroit 671N Diesel
Specifications, information and 14 photo’s click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 11:52
Anxious to avoid the wrath of the Sea Shepherds, Blackmore’s calls for krill talks
The Sea Shepherd new campaign, Operation Krill, targets Blackmores’ ‘EcoKrill’, an omega-3 supplement pills and its impact on whales in the Antarctic. Christine Holgate, Blackmores CEO, stressed her company and the Sea Shepherd share one thing in common: protection for the environment. She said Blackmores worked very closely with several organisations including World Wildlife Fund (WWF), Marine Sustainability Certification (MSC), and the Antarctic Wildlife Research Fund. Read the rest here 11:00
Final ASMFC hearings for Draft FMP to regulate Jonah crab fishery tonight in New Bedford, tomorrow night in Narragansett
The public hearings are scheduled for Wednesday night in New Bedford, Massachusetts, and Thursday night in Narragansett, Rhode Island. July 8, 2015 5:00 pm, Fairfield Inn and Suites, 185 MacArthur Boulevard, New Bedford, Massachusetts, July 9, 2015 5:30 pm, University of Rhode Island Bay Campus, Corliss Auditorium, South Ferry Road, Narragansett, Rhode Island 08:54
Censored Maine Fishermen Seek Assurances that Searsport Dredging Won’t Harm Bay
“My name is David Black and I’m from Belfast and I fish in this area out here. Wayne fishes beside me. We are the face of the destruction that this might cause out here.” Black says he worries the material will harm the bay’s fisheries. And he says state and federal regulators have not been listening to fishermen’s concerns. “I went to a hearing on the dredging for the Department of Marine Resources in Searsport about three weeks ago,” he says, “and I wanted to make comments about the disposal site out here, and I was told that my comments were not appropriate – I could not make comments on this disposal site.” Read the rest here 08:31
Coastal Conservation Association is all about catching fish for fun, not food – they want to take it off your table!
Readers of the June 26, 2015 op-ed in the Raleigh, N.C., News & Observer written by the executive director of the Coastal Conservation Association of North Carolina might have the impression that the organization is all about protecting marine resources. But the CCA’s record over the last 30 years shows a grab for the resource – working to make sure that access to the public trust resource is restricted to recreational anglers and off limits to commercial fishermen. It’s an ugly track record with calls for gamefish status for three delicious fish, which would make them off limits to commercial fishermen and remove striped bass, speckled trout, and red drum from your dinner plate. Read the rest here 08:09
