Daily Archives: July 13, 2015
Fishermen to pay $700 a day for at-sea monitors – Will Crush New England’s small boat fleet
Groundfishermen monitored by a federal agency will soon have to pay roughly $700 for their own 
, a cost they say is “one more nail in the coffin” to put them out of business. The announcement comes at a time when the commercial and recreational groundfishing industry is struggling because of what they feel are strict federal regulations. “The day I really have to pay for this is the day I stop going fishing,” said David Goethel, a commercial fisherman from Hampton. “With the at-sea monitoring heaped upon fishermen, it very well could be the tipping point for many vessels, many permit holders,” said Dr. David Pierce, acting director of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fishery. Read the rest here
Jerry Schill: Facts about North Carolina fish stocks
Regarding the June 27 Point of View “The dark side to North Carolina’s fishing heritage”: In 2012, the General Assembly banned the purse-seining of menhaden off our coast, in part due to a stock assessment that was less than ideal. Three years later, we find that the stock assessment was incorrect, and menhaden are not overfished.Twice in the past few years through the recommendations of the Marine Fisheries Commission, we banned one type of commercial fishing and restricted the other based upon bad information. Read the rest here 20:12
Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council Ready To SLASH Fluke Catch Quota
A dramatic collapse in the reproduction of summer flounder off the East Coast may mean a sharp cut in the catch quota for both commercial and recreational fishermen next summer, according to a science committee on the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. But a 43-percent cut in the quota has been proposed for a late July meeting of the council, when a decision is expected at that time. That would reduce this year’s quota of roughly 22 million pounds to just 12 million pounds next year. Read the rest here 17:10
Squid stocks in Korean waters depleted by Chinese overfishing – Video
It’s early morning at Jumunjin port in the eastern coastal city of Gangneung, and fishermen are busy transporting their catch to market. The commercial fishing season for squid opened a month ago, but the fishermen are far from happy. “At this time of year, we would normally catch between four to six thousand squid, but this year, we’ve only been catching between 6-hundred to 1-thousand.” Many fishermen are opting to keep their boats in the port as they know going out is not profitable anymore. Video, Read the rest here 16:34
Could ‘balanced harvesting’ really feed the world and save the oceans?
Scientists and policymakers are simultaneously looking for new ways to feed the world and save the oceans. Global seafood demands are increasing, and fisheries and aquaculture already have large impacts on marine ecosystems. The concept of “balanced harvesting” aims to address both of these issues, and was the subject of several recent high-profile studies – including in Science, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences and Fish and Fisheries. Balanced harvesting is a philosophy (quackery) that advocates spreading fishing pressure evenly Read the rest here 14:11
National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO) confirms, it will again be sponsoring the Skipper Expo
Representing fishermen from all corners of England, Wales and Northern Ireland, the support from the NFFO underlines the important place Skipper Expo Int. Bournemouth 2015 now holds in the fishing industry calendar. The show on 30 and 31 October will be the third expo aimed specifically at the English and Welsh fishing industries and which also attracts visitors from other parts of the UK and Ireland. Read the rest here 12:40
Sassy Seafood – Tuna From Boat to Belly
For Sassy Seafood, it’s all in the name. The homegrown company, started by two commerical fishing families, is gracious, flirtatious, energetic, wise, persistent, adventurous, and tenacious. Just over six years ago, Teresa Reeves and Libie Cain, two young mothers (who double as members of a commercial fishing fleet, boat owners and entrepreneurs) had a great idea. They joined forces to create wild, certified and sustainable micro-canned tuna that is caught fresh in the Pacific Ocean. Read the rest here – visit Sassy Seafood here 12:23
151 Cape Ann crew, dockhands to share in $3M disaster relief funds
The state will distribute about $3 million in federal fishery disaster aid to 525 eligible Massachusetts-based crew members, dock workers and owner-operators, including 136 from Gloucester and 15 from other towns on Cape Ann, according to the state Division of Marine Fisheries. Peter Lorenz, DMF spokesman, said letters went out June 30 to 601 Massachusetts-based crew members who applied for the funds, informing them of their status. Lorenz said 76 applicants were not qualified for any payments. Read the rest here 08:58
The Life of a Tuna Fisherman: Featuring Wicked Tuna’s Captain Dave Marciano
There are a million and one different ways a man can earn a living to take care of his family. He could be a handy man nestled away in a quaint college town in Florida, a petro chemical analyst doing physical and analytical testing on petroleum products in Texas, a young barista in the Pacific Northwest or a tuna fisherman in Gloucester, Massachusetts, which may not be the most glamorous of ways to make a living but certainly comes with plenty of highs and lows along the way. Read the rest here 07:56
