Daily Archives: July 16, 2015
Queenslanders wish to retain their right to buy fresh local caught seafood and oppose any fishing closures.
MORE than 5000 people have signed petitions calling on parliament to block legislation to implement three net-free zones off Cairns, Mackay and the Capricorn Coast. Labor has allocated $10 million in this week’s State Budget to buy back commercial fishing licences,, But the petition urged MPs not to support the proposed net fishing bans. 75% of Queenslanders cannot or do not fish and rely on net fisheries to access fresh local fish. Reduced access to fishing areas will lead to the demise of family owned commercial fishing businesses. Read the rest here 21:35
Observer coverage more likely on lobster boats with state, federal permits
Massachusetts is slated to have more 
than Maine, where there are far more lobstermen fishing. According to NMFS, Massachusetts-based lobster boats are scheduled for 266 sea days of monitor coverage in 2015, compared to 218 for Maine. Together, lobstermen from the two states are scheduled for 78 percent, or 484 of the 619, of the sea days of coverage slated for 2015 in lobster fisheries from Maine to Maryland. “Massachusetts has a lot of activity because there are a lot more fishermen who hold other federal permits,” Read the rest here 17:59
SAFMC Snapper-Grouper Vision Project hearings in SC and GA next week – Be heard on this very important plan.
A reminder of the important public hearings next week in South Carolina and Georgia on the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s snapper-grouper Vision Project. This long-term snapper-grouper management plan, which was promised by the SAFMC to be “stakeholder-driven,” contains measures that are overwhelmingly opposed by stakeholders: catch share programs for both commercial and for-hire fishermen that will privatize the fishery, expensive and burdensome vessel electronic monitoring for all fishermen, and more closed fishing areas. South Carolina, and Georgia schedules, locations, webinar info click here 16:24
What happens to those halibut after being caught?
When you pull over Baycrest Hill and catch a glimpse of the Spit, it almost looks like a hook dangling in the gaping mouth of Kachemak Bay.And then you pass the sign proclaiming Homer to be the “Halibut Fishing Capital of the World.” Last year, 2.8 million pounds of halibut came over the Homer dock. That was 18 percent of total commercial halibut landings in the United States, and the most poundage of any Alaska port. Which makes the Homer dock a busy place. Here are the people involved in bringing one meal to the table: Dave Fry, commercial fisherman, Ray Starzec, individual quota holder, Erica Walli, deckhand,,, Read the rest here 13:51
SOCKEYE BLITZ! Sockeyes surge into Bristol Bay fishermen’s nets
After a lackluster beginning, Bristol Bay red salmon have roared to life well past their normal timing, with a July 14 total commercial harvest of just less than 23 million. The new outlook predicts the harvest will be around 30 million, which is still short of the initial forecast but far greater than the 20-year average harvest. Processors warned against the “schizoid” nature of the area early in the season, and the notoriety has proven well-earned. Read the rest here 11:49
Team of horses, haul of lobster — one day at a time for Joudrey
Truman Joudrey was taking it one day at a time. He sat on two tractor-trailer tires harnessed to two tired workhorses on an evening earlier this week in a patch of sun on Joudrey Road, near Tatamagouche. “Up in Earltown is where she came from, and that’s where she’s buried,” Joudrey, 70, said of his wife, Mary Jane. “Forty four years we had together.” Mary Jane Joudrey died two years ago, and Truman has been taking it one day at a time ever since. “That’s the only way to take it,” said Joudrey. Read the rest here
Arctic Nations Sign Declaration to Prevent Unregulated Fishing in the Central Arctic Ocean
The five states that surround the central Arctic Ocean – Canada, the Kingdom of Denmark in respect of Greenland, the Kingdom of Norway, the Russian Federation, and the United States of America – met in Oslo on July 16 to sign a declaration to prevent unregulated commercial fishing in high seas portion of the central Arctic Ocean. Read the rest here 10:29
Norfolk man pleads guilty in Chesapeake illegal-fishing case
A Norfolk man has pleaded guilty to illegal-fishing charges stemming from a sting operation in a part of Deep Creek known for its trophy-sized trout. Bi Chao Chen pleaded guilty Tuesday in General District Court to eight misdemeanors: two counts of gill nets that were longer than permitted; two counts of possession of oversize red drum; and possession over the limit of red drum and speckled trout, improper marking of a gill net and operating a vessel without lights at night. Read the rest here 10:22
Governor Cuomo Calls For Fair and Gradual Changes to Summer Flounder Fishery
Governor Cuomo called on the Mid Atlantic Fishery Management Council to reevaluate a potential 43 percent fluke harvest reduction for New York in 2016. The potential reduction would negatively affect both commercial and recreational fisheries in New York State. The potential reductions are based on several consecutive years of lower than average reproductive success and not as a result of overharvest in New York or elsewhere on the coast. Read the rest here 10:09
Debris found from trawler Re-Turner missing off Pilbara coast as three crew remain unaccounted for
DEBRIS believed to be from a missing trawler, including an unused life raft and emergency beacon, has been found on Burrup Peninsula — but there is no sign of the vessel or its three crewmen. The search for the three men – aged 57, 30 and 26 from the Geraldton area – continues after the commercial trawler failed to return to port at Point Samson, in the Pilbara on Wednesday night. “Items believed to be from the vessel have been found on the Burrup Peninsula, but at this time the vessel has not been located,’’ police said. Read the rest here 09:54
