Daily Archives: July 30, 2015
Chatham-Kent’s amazing fishing economy sometimes overlooked
There are currently 16 fish processors located in various regions throughout Ontario. Here in Chatham-Kent, we have three of them, so we are well represented. The economic impacts of Lake Erie’s commercial fishing sector are significant. For the fishing sector on Lake Erie, they account for over 700 direct and indirect jobs with a GDP of over $28 million. The Lake Erie fish processing sector accounts for close to 800 direct and indirect jobs, with a GDP of over $77 million. Read the rest here 19:49
Making the Seas Safer for Fishermen
After Congress passed the 2010 Coast Guard Authorization Act, which updated fishing industry safety standards for the first time since 1988, activists like Bartlett were grateful their concerns were being taken seriously: Life rafts would be improved, safety training would become mandatory for fishing captains, and new boats would be built to standards set and verified by independent third parties called “class societies.” But almost five years after the law’s passage, the Coast Guard has yet to translate many of its requirements into enforceable rules. Read the rest here 17:57
How And When Some Seafood Is Mislabeled And Mistreated
In reporting our inaugural episode of Food Crimes, we began to suspect that maybe our only hope for ever eating seafood worry-free again was to either begin a direct relationship with a fisherman or to become fishermen ourselves. This graphic—the result of a great many sources deep inside the seafood industry—confirms it. See the graphic here 16:24
Bristol Bay fisherman’s lot: Either too few sockeye, or too many
“Lots of cotton, lots of fish!” That’s the old Bristol Bay, residents say. We could scoff at these old sayings, thinking “What in the world is the relationship of Alaska wild cotton to the sockeye run?” There should be no kinship between these two, but I still felt a little unease upon departing the jet in King Salmon and seeing almost no cotton on the drive to Naknek. The wild cotton never materialized this season. The red salmon did, though they were late enough to make even the most seasoned fishermen a little nervous. Read the rest here 15:51
Oceana again sues NMFS over bycatch monitoring
Oceana again sued NOAA Fisheries NMFS 
on Wednesday, claiming the current bycatch reporting rule finalized last month for the region — in part, as a response to Oceana’s earlier legal victory — is underfunded, uniformly inadequate for providing accurate information and in violation of the Magnuson-Stevens Act and the Administrative Procedure Act. The 43-page lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Washington D.C., claims the new bycatch rule “leaves loopholes that would guarantee that observer coverage will never meet its performance standards,,, Read the rest here 15:15
Consolidation: Greg Fulcher buys scallop vessel, permit from Oceans Fleet for $7m
Newport News, Virginia-based vessel operator Greg Fulcher has bought a scallop boat and license from Oceans Fleet Fisheries for $7 million, in the latest example of big money being spent in the US sector. At 92.1 feet long 171 metric tons gross tonnage, the Alaska was the largest vessel in the New Bedford, Massachusetts-based company’s fleet of 19 — now 18. “I also bought the Mistress last month, which is a part-time scallop boat. I bought it from Mistress Fishing Corp. out of [Massachusetts], with the help of [shipbrokers] Athearn Marine Agency,” he said. Read the rest here 14:36:03
Guernsey fishermen banned from EU and UK waters
The Fisheries Management Agreement means all commercial fishing within the Bailiwick’s 12 nautical miles (nm) has to be licensed. It also means Bailiwick vessels need licences to fish in EU and UK waters. However, the lack of a quota policy has led to the UK suspending licences held by Bailiwick vessels from Saturday. This decision does not prevent any Bailiwick fishermen from continuing to fish in local waters in accordance with their licences, but does prevent Bailiwick vessels from fishing in EU waters, which includes those of the UK. Read the rest here 12:16
First Nations tribal council suspends Okanagan sockeye salmon fishery
The tribal council representing eight First Nation communities in British Columbia’s Okanagan has suspended the area’s recreational and commercial sockeye salmon fishery – and says a full closing of food fishing is likely coming – as the salmon run comes in far lower than expected. The Okanagan Nation Alliance was set to open the fishery on Osoyoos Lake this weekend with a historic salmon run forecast for the Columbia River system. But only about 18,000 to 45,000 of the projected 375,000 fish are expected to survive the journey. Read the rest here 10:17
Is This Seafood Commercial Really Blasphemous?
Quiz: Are these tag lines from Comedy Central, a commercial ad campaign or the church on your corner? “Moses split the Red Sea. We split lobster tails and drizzle melted butter on them.” “In our book, gluttony isn’t a sin, it’s a commandment.” “Presbyterians will give you a sermon. Pescatarians will give you a salmon.” Ding! Ding! Ding! If you said ad campaign, you may be one of the people laughing at the 30-second TV commercials now running in Boston, Read the rest here 09:16
Susanne Altenburger’s Green ‘Boat in a crate’ takes to the water
A newly built 39-foot boat that fits neatly into a 40-foot shipping container has been making a splash on its maiden voyages in Gloucester Harbor in recent weeks. At the helm is Susanne Altenburger, Gloucester boat-designer , who put in about two-thirds of the man-hours it took to build the boat. The boat design took shape after the U.S. Navy had talked to Altenburger and her late husband, Phil Bolger, about creating a prototype of a versatile boat. Read the rest here 08:14
Cold Smoked Salmon Recalled for Listeria in CA
The California Department of Public Health is reporting that cold smoked salmon is being recalled for possible Listeria monocytogenes contamination. There is no word on whether or not any illnesses have been reported. Illnesses caused by this bacteria can take up to 70 days to appear. The recalled products are Cold Smoked Salmon Deli Trays and Cold Smoked Salmon Trim produced by Certified Smoked Fish of Gardena, California. Read the rest here 08:01
