Daily Archives: July 25, 2015
Yukon River king salmon pour over the Canada border
A surge of Yukon River king salmon crossed the Canada border this week, which fulfilled a treaty obligation to deliver Chinook to their Canadian spawning grounds. About 44,400 kings had been counted by Thursday at the Eagle sonar project, which is the final count before the fish enter Canada waters. An escapement goal of 42,500 king salmon is called for in the Pacific Salmon Treaty between the U.S. and Canada. Read the rest here 23:12
Former”Deadliest Catch” producer Joe McMahon, shot and killed – Suspect commits Suicide
Former”Deadliest Catch producer Joe McMahon was shot and killed early Friday morning in front of his home in Pasadena, Calif. He was 25 years old. According to CBS-LA, the suspect in the murder, an unidentified 24-year-old man, was found dead in his car Friday afternoon in West L.A. from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. “We are heartsick about this tragedy — our thoughts and prayers go out to his family and to all that knew and worked with him,” Discovery, the network behind Deadliest Catch, said in a statement Read the rest here Suspect found dead Read the rest here 19:49
Darren Harrity has had one heck of a week. – “When I swam up, the captain said, ‘Man, I’m sure happy to see you guys.’”
The Coast Guard petty officer 2nd class and rescue swimmer, stationed out of Group Air Station North Bend, saved four fishermen off the coast of Cape Blanco on Tuesday morning. He swam more than 1,750 yards, through frigid waves, before he was done. He then became a bit of a celebrity, even landing on the pages of the Washington Post, as he spent much of his Wednesday handling interview requests from all over the country. Read the rest here 18:38
Clamming up! – Clearwater Seafoods invited media aboard the Belle Carnell Friday
Bristol Bay fishermen aghast at 50-cents-a-pound price for sockeye
Most Bristol Bay fishermen were shocked and dismayed when they heard last week that major buyers would pay 50 cents a pound for . That’s a throwback to the dock prices paid from 2002 to 2004, and is far below the $1.20 or more paid last year. A late surge of reds produced catches of nearly 13 million fish in the final week of this year’s run, bringing the total by July 23 to 34.5 million fish. Fish were still trickling in, and state managers, who called the season an anomaly, said the final tally should reach the projected harvest of 37.6 million sockeye. Read the rest here 15:35
Rockport native filming an industry under seige – “Dead in the Water”
As a kid growing up in Rockport, David Wittkower remembers driving down along the Gloucester waterfront and being greeted by the sight of the expansive Gloucester fishing fleet at port and the scent of fish, either being cooked or unloaded. That memory stayed with the 55-year-old filmmaker when he returned to visit his parents, Andrew and Mary, about a year-and-a-half ago, especially after what he observed in subsequent nostalgic drives along East Main and Rogers streets. “Every single day, I would drive down there and think, ‘Well, the entire fleet can’t all be out at once,’” Wittkower said. “I thought, ‘Where are all the boats?’” Read the rest here 11:59
Humpbacks hounding herring in Aleutians
On Monday, Russell reported about 1,200 tons harvested from a quota of 1,878 tons. Normally, fishing would be done by now, he said, but for two problems: The whales, and the “huge biomass” of herring swimming too deep. Fishermen ideally want to catch the fish on the surface, but can round them up to a maximum of 10 fathoms, or 60 feet, he said. “Nice long ribbons” of underwater herring were seen on fishing boat electronics monitors. “They can see the fish, but they won’t come up,” Russell said. “The fish seem to be pretty scattered between Akutan and Unimak Pass.” Read the rest here 11:39
McDonald’s urges NPFMC to give Bering Sea canyons careful consideration
“In order to ensure all sources remain comfortably above sustainability standards into the future, we voice our support to the council and ask that it move swiftly to take all appropriate measures to protect the habitat of the Bering Sea canyons and sustain the long-term viability of its fisheries,” wrote Gross. McDonald’s did not, however, come down strongly on either side of the issue that Greenpeace and the pollock fishing industry have butted heads over for years. The NPFMC plans to decide whether to take action on pollock fishing limitation Read the rest here 11:01
When it was time to talk about commercial seafood The New York Times didn’t call the seafood community, it called Greenpeace.
There is a rich irony that comes with Greenpeace lecturing anyone on “standards of responsibility.” The group that recently trampled on Peru’s famed Nazca lines, a stunt that “scarred one of the country’s most treasured national symbols,” uses this forum to attack commercial fishing with its usual brand of unchecked hyperbole. Far from “ruining” the oceans, the seafood community not only sets high standards it drives adherence to those standards and pushes for the innovations that will be the future of fishing. Read the rest here 10:47
South Australia Wants to Solve Their Seal Problem with Underwater Bombs
The long-nosed fur seal population in South Australia’s Coorong region has been getting out of hand for a while now. The state population now tops 100,000, and the South Australian government is considering using explosives to scare them away from commercial fishing areas. Unsurprisingly, animal rights groups aren’t happy about it. Calling the seals “rats of the sea,” Liberal MP Adrian Pederick originally proposed a culling program. So Minister Hunter is looking into alternative solutions, one of which being seal-deterring explosives. Known as ,,, Read the rest here 09:38
Iceland protests five-nation no fishing deal in Arctic Ocean
REYKJAVIK: Iceland has protested at a five-nation accord to ban unregulated fishing around the North Pole and says it will not be bound by the deal. The foreign ministry in Reykjavik on Thursday hauled in the ambassadors of the five countries that sealed the July 16 agreement — the United States, Russia, Canada, Denmark on behalf of Greenland, and Norway. Iceland — which did not take part — “is… not bound by this declaration,” the government said in a statement. Read the rest here 09:14
Casting Call For New Docu-Series Celebrating American Fishing Families
Noelle Cain (IMDb bio: http://www.imdb.com/name/nm3691838/) is a producer on a new docu-series celebrating American Fishing Families who work the oceans of the United States! She is currently in search of multi-generational, commercial fishing families with 4+ family members who fish together, preferably off-shore. This new docu-series will be a positive look at the passion, heritage and traditions of fishing families who have worked the same waters, honing the same skills, for generations. Time to celebrate the families who are fighting to make it through these hard times! Email: [email protected] 08:59
