Daily Archives: July 9, 2015
Bristol Bay run nears 20 million sockeye
Yesterday fishermen in Bristol Bay hauled in their biggest catch to date – landing about 1.7 million sockeye, including 1 million harvested out of the Naknek-Kvichak district. The total run to Bristol Bay now stands at about 20 million sockeye, which is still well below the forecast … but Port Moller’s test fishery says catches the last two days are near the highest of the season. Listen, Read the rest here 17:26
Striking Thailand fishermen slam “inefficient” Government controls
Thai fishermen are continuing their strike in opposition to directives against illegal fishing – imposed by the European Union and adopted without notice by the military junta – which have outlawed most of their vessels. According to industry experts, the crisis was due to the government, which in recent years has done nothing to prevent the current situation. Wading into the debate on the EU’s “yellow card” handed out to Thailand last April, and the measures taken by the Bangkok government to avoid losing one its major export markets, Read the rest here 16:16
Whistleblowers say Interior Department diverted $48 Million in Klamath Basin fish funds to farmers
The site of some of the fiercest environmental wars over water in recent years is now the subject of a federal investigation into millions of dollars that whistleblowers say were intended to secure water for drought-stricken fish but flowed instead to farmers and ranchers. Two biologists for the Interior Department’s Bureau of Reclamation, which supplies farmers with irrigation water and farmland in the Klamath Project, became suspicious a little more than a year ago of a contract between the bureau and an organization called the Klamath Water and Power Agency,,, Read the rest here 12:17
Marine Matters: “Oh, I’ve got the blues so bad . . .”
Are you feeling blue? I’m not. It’s mid-July, the weather is warm, the Japanese beetles have not yet decimated my garden, and I just ate my first fresh pea. So despite the fact that this weekend will be full of the mournful notes of the North Atlantic Blues Festival, I am feeling quite cheerful. And so too are Atlantic bluefin tuna. In April the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Office of Sustainable Fisheries announced that Atlantic bluefin tuna were one of six fish species to be . Read the rest here 09:35
Albert Johnston IV recalls surviving “The Perfect Storm”
Albert Johnston IV has devoted much of his life to saltwater fishing, both for sport and professionally. He has numerous stories to tell that span the globe, including fishing for swordfish in Mexico and chasing bluefin tuna near Canada, but one story Johnston will tell for the rest of his life is the story of when he was the captain of the fishing vessel the Mary T in the fall of 1991 and being at sea during “The Perfect Storm,” a nor’easter in the Atlantic Ocean. The Perfect Storm famously claimed another fishing vessel, the Andrea Gail, and its crew. How it started. Read the rest here 09:05
Crying the Menhaden Blues – Charter boat captains say Commercial menhaden operations hurt business
Charter boat captains the past couple of years have found a niche fishery along the coast that has helped fill the void caused by a decline in offshore trips for marlin and tuna. But in the past week, that inshore fishery has come to a screeching halt, and captains are pointing fingers at commercial menhaden fishing operations. Companies such as Omega Protein debunk that theory in a continuation of a decades-long conflict between recreation anglers and the menhaden industry. Read the rest here 08:16
Six-hour purse seine chum fishery to open in Amalga Harbor
Thursday is the opening of the purse seine season at Amalga Harbor in Juneau. Commercial fishermen will be able to catch chum, released from the DIPAC hatchery. The fleet is allowed to fish for profit because DIPAC has already made back the cost to hatch the salmon. Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist Dave Harris says he’s expecting a good turnout for the opening. “My understanding is there’s about 30 boats anchored on the set right now,” he says. “And so I assume they’ll be at least that many. We’ve had 100 boats,,, Read the rest here 08:03
