Monthly Archives: July 2015
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 68.5′ Steel Trawler – Detroit 12-V-71 Diesel, John Deere – 65 KW Genset
Specifications, information and 29 photo’s click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 12:51
Next Year Will Be Awful Or Very Awful For Fluke Fisherman
Unless regulators provide a less abrupt alternative, the amount of fluke caught by 
could be nearly cut in half by next year — a sudden drop that might seriously wound the charter fishing fleet in Sheepshead Bay. Captain Anthony DiLernia, one of New York’s representatives in the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, said lower-than-expected fluke stocks found during the fish population surveys will require slashing quotas by as much as 45 percent next season. However, DiLernia said the council is considering,,, Read the rest here 12:19
What European demand for caviar means for a Great Lakes fish
Lake Superior is the largest freshwater lake in the world by surface area, and it has something the other Great Lakes don’t — stable populations of mostly native fish species. But scientists say a key fish in Superior’s food web is now in trouble because of mild winters and an appetite for caviar in Europe. There wasn’t much demand for lake herring until a few years ago. Craig Hoopman says it used to be fed to mink and used as fertilizer. He says around 2007, Scandinavians started buying lake herring eggs, or roe, for caviar. Listen, Read the rest here 12:11
Elected panels are too quiet NC offshore oil drilling and seismic testing
In unanimously approving a resolution to oppose offshore oil drilling and seismic testing earlier this month, the Wilmington City Council joined about 60 other local governments along the East Coast to come out against a proposal by the Obama Administration that would open up the coast of North Carolina to oil exploration. And with that action, the question becomes more pressing: Where do the local governments of Carteret and Onslow counties stand on this critical issue? Read the rest here 11:56
Always Top Quality! Your Seafreeze Ltd. Preferred Price List for July 29, 2015
Contact our sales team today @ 401 295 2585 or 800 732 273 Click Here for the complete price list from Seafreeze Ltd. We are Direct to the Source-We are Fishermen-We are Seafreeze Ltd! Visit our website! 11:11
Odoriferous : Trident engineers address odor issues at plant
Residents throughout town have been noticing the smell since early July. “My wife was commenting on it just the other day,” said Jerry Pirtle, a local gillnetter. “The smell is bad. Especially on a day like today with a westerly wind and you just want to be out enjoying the weather.” Pirtle, whose home is on 1st Street, on the hill over-looking Trident’s plant. “It’s pretty dissatisfying,” he said. Isaacson said the company has received phones calls and emails from residents. At least one local turned to graffiti to send his message. Read the rest here 08:36
Hawaii’s longline fishermen on course to hit bigeye limit – Enviros sue
Hawaii’s longline fishermen are on course to hit their annual bigeye tuna catch limit next week, which means they will have to stop catching bigeye in their most productive fishing grounds west of Hawaii on Aug. 5. Hawaii fishermen will still be able to catch bigeye in eastern waters regulated by a different fisheries commission. Several environmental groups say attributing catch to territories — which allows Hawaii fishermen to effectively double their catch — is illegal and have sued to stop the practice. Read the rest here 07:59
Coast Guard searching for missing father and son in Brazos River
The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for a father and son who went missing Tuesday morning. Officials said Brandon Orr and Phillip Orr were last seen fishing in a commercial crab boat in the Brazos River south of Freeport. “We know that the two individuals put in the boat in the San Bernard and were moving crab traps into the Brazos River,” Capt. Nick Harmon with the Game Warden said. “Earlier this morning, about 9:30, someone noticed the boat was running in circles in the river. Units came to investigate. Read the rest here 22:43
Crabbers, Herrera unite behind tri-state management
Pacific County resident Dale Beasley traveled to Washington, D.C., recently to testify in support of a bill that he says is a top priority for the fishing communities of Ilwaco and Chinook. Beasley, president of the Columbia River Crab Fisherman’s Association, was invited by U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash., to speak on behalf of H.R. 2168, a bipartisan bill introduced by her and U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., that would permanently reauthorize tri-state management of the West Coast’s commercial and recreational Dungeness crab fisheries. Read the rest here 20:05
Coast Guard Station Valdez boatcrew responds to a 30-foot fishing vessel taking on water
The boatcrew transferred a dewatering pump and damage control kit to the two boaters and assisted them in controlling the onboard flooding before escorting the vessel to Cordova. Coast Guard Sector Anchorage watchstanders received a report from the crew aboard Fishing Time of the vessel taking on water due to a four-inch crack in its hull. Watchstanders launched the Station Valdez 45-foot Response Boat-Medium boatcrew to the scene. Read the rest here 18:15
Bristol Bay fishery Tuesday July 28 update – The fish may have outlasted the fleet this year, returns are still continuing but effort is winding down.
Through Monday, the total Bristol Bay sockeye run was estimated at 51,935,000, according to Area Management Biologist Tim Sands. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has stopped sending out daily run summaries, but managers are still tracking the activity. “It looks like we’ll break 52 million in the total run here today,” Sands said Tuesday. Although fish are still returning to Bristol Bay, buyers are shutting down. Sands said Tuesday that there were only two buyers in the Nushagak District. Read the rest here 16:52
Barely half of all the sockeye salmon migrating up the Columbia River have survived to reach their spawning grounds
Unseasonably hot water has killed nearly half of the sockeye salmon migrating up the Columbia River through Oregon and Washington state, a wildlife official said on Monday. Only 272,000 out of the more than 507,000 sockeye salmon that have swum between two dams along a stretch of the lower Columbia River have survived the journey, said Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife fisheries manager John North. “We’ve never had mortalities at this scale,” said North. Read the rest here 15:16
Commercial conch waterman arrested for felony tampering, reckless endangering, numerous fisheries charges
NEAR BOWERS BEACH, Del. (July 28, 2015) – DNREC Division of Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police officers arrested a New Jersey-based, Delaware-licensed commercial waterman July 24 on numerous fisheries-related charges and a felony after he tried to evade a fisheries compliance boarding on Delaware Bay and steered his vessel away and into the path of a police boat. Natural Resources Police said that as their patrol boat neared the commercial vessel, its captain, Kenneth W. Bailey, 61, of Heislerville, N.J.,, Read the rest here 14:52
Atlantic cod could be at risk from noise created by wind farms and other off-shore developments
A study carried out by the University’s world-leading Institute of Aquaculture found that Atlantic cod exposed to noise levels
common in land-based aquaculture facilities exhibited significantly reduced rates of egg production and fertilization. But the researchers believe this could also have implications for Atlantic cod in the wild. Dr Andrew Davie, of the University’s world leading Institute of Aquaculture, said: “We need to be cautious as our study focused on the noise generated in enclosed,,, Read the rest here 13:36
Maine Department of Marine Resources Advisory Council to vote on sea urchin swipe card system
A key Maine panel is scheduled to vote this week on a plan to track the state’s sea urchin fishery with swipe cards. The swipe card proposal is subject to the approval of the Maine Department of Marine Resources Advisory Council, which meets Thursday in Augusta. State regulators want to create a swipe card system to record transactions in which fishermen sell urchins to dealers. Officials say the cards would help efficiently gather data about the fishery and eventually help give fishermen more flexibility about when they fish. Read the rest here 13:10:12
Terry McAuliffe says all Maryland crabs are born in Virginia
Maryland crabs, Maryland crab cakes, Maryland crab soup…Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe says it’s all a sham. “You know, Maryland talks about its crabs,” McAuliffe said with a chuckle during a July 21 radio interview. “If anyone from Maryland is listening, I want to make this perfectly clear: All the crabs are born here in Virginia and they end up, because of the current, being taken (to Maryland). So really, they should be Virginia crabs.” No such thing as a Maryland-born crab? Let’s crack this claim open. Read the rest here 12:10
Cameroon: Turtle Excluder Device Is Precondition for Certification to Export Shrimp to U.S.
In order for Cameroonian shrimp fishermen to have certification to permit them export their products to the US markets, they have to implement the use of TED. Imoulanok Louis Martin, a shrimp catcher expressed his willingness to take advantage of the situation to gain access to the US market, hoped that implementing TED will increase their catch. Read the rest here 10:37
Fishing Vessel Losses Top U.K. Accident Statistics
The U.K. Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has published its Annual Report highlighting the work of the branch during 2014. Highlighted in the report is the loss of life in the fishing sector. Twelve commercial fishing vessels were lost in 2014 compared with 18 in 2013. This compares favourably with the average losses during the last 10 years (19 vessels per year). 75 percent of the losses were in the small < 15 metre sector. Eight fishermen lost their lives in 2014 compared with only four lives lost in 2013. The average number of fishermen who lost their lives over the last 10 years is 8.5. Read the rest here The report is available here. 09:18
A sudden increase in the number White cross jellyfish in Bay of Fundy
There has been a sudden increase in the number of white cross jellyfish in the Bay of Fundy in recent weeks, and a researcher says the scientific world is trying to figure out if it’s part of a natural cycle, or the result global warming or human activity. Nick Record, a senior research scientist at Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences in East Boothbay, Maine, is building a library of jellyfish sightings based on citizen reports. He said reports of white cross jellyfish started coming in about two weeks ago, first in Penobscot Bay in Maine and then in the Bay of Fundy. Read the rest here 08:54
Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upholds California ban on legal shark fins
“The purpose of the shark fin law is to conserve state resources, prevent animal cruelty, and protect wildlife and public health,” said Judge Andrew Hurwitz in the 2-1 ruling, which upheld a federal judge’s decision in the state’s favor. In dissent, Judge Stephen Reinhardt interpreted federal law differently. The national government, Reinhardt said, is authorized to “manage and maximize the productivity of fisheries” in federal waters that extend 200 miles offshore. Bruce Wagman, an attorney for the Humane Society of the United States,,, Read the rest here 08:02
The American Samoa Fisheries Task Force needs support for petition
The American Samoa Fisheries Task Force is urging support for a petition that’s been filed with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to exempt US purse seines that deliver at least 50% of their catch to the American Samoa canneries, from the limits on high seas fishing effort for 2015. Last year NOAA set limits on fishing days by the US purse seine tuna fleet in Pacific waters but that limit only applied to 2014. Read the rest here 21:41
“It’s almost like a special run of crab.” Labrador crab fisherman ‘awestruck’ at size of this year’s catch
A Labrador crab fisherman says this season is shaping up to be the best he’s seen in over 20 years on the water. William Larkham Jr. fishes off the north coast near Makkovik and said he is amazed by the size of the crab being caught this season. “We’ve seen some big crab through the years, but nothing compared to what we are seeing this year,” he said. “You’re kind of awestruck, they’re that big,” he said. Video, Read the rest here 20:54
The House passes The Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing Enforcement Act
The U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation cosponsored by Congressman David Jolly, R-Indian Shores, July 27 to fight the problem of illegal fishing from foreign vessels in the Gulf of Mexico. The Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing Enforcement Act of 2015 (H.R. 774) passed the House by voice vote. The Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing Enforcement Act stiffens penalties for those caught illegally fishing in U.S. waters by potentially stripping poachers of their boats and equipment and laying the groundwork for criminal charges based on the laws of their home countries. Read the rest here 19:02
Does this fish look like a piranha to you?
Bryton Shockley, a commercial fisherman, was out on Florida’s Lake Okeechobee when he reeled in a creature that caused him to wonder, “is that … a piranha?” Florida wildlife officials took a look at photos of Schockley’s fish — a toothy creature with a red belly — and they believe it’s a pacu, a relative of the ravenous piranha. Pacu can be kept in aquariums and are sometimes illegally dumped into local waters when they grow too large for their tanks. Video, Read the rest here 18:24
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update July 27, 2015
Click here to read the Weekly Update, to read all the updates, Click here 16:34
‘Wicked Tuna’ star indicted on federal fraud charges, due in court on Aug. 10
A star of TV’s “Wicked Tuna” has been indicted on federal fraud charges. The indictment says Paul Hebert claimed to be disabled and unable to work while he was catching fish and appearing on the National Geographic Channel reality show. The four-count indictment against the 50-year-old from Gloucester, Massachusetts, was filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Burlington, Vermont. It alleges that Hebert accepted a little more than $44,000 in Social Security and Medicaid benefits between 2010 and 2013. Hebert’s attorney, Robert Goldstein of Boston, says his client is innocent. link 15:44
ADF&G figures show commercial pinks slow to arrive in Southeast
Southeast Alaska fishermen have pulled in almost 10 million salmon so far this summer even as the pace of fishing remains below five-year averages, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. On Sunday, ADF&G reported seiners had hauled in 4.85 million pink salmon and 1.85 million chum salmon in the season to date. Gillnet boats brought in another 570,000 pinks and 1.5 million chum. While those figures sound impressive, Fish and Game has forecasted an excellent pink harvest of 58 million fish. Purse seining captures most of the pink salmon in Southeast. Read the rest here 14:46
Meghan Lapp: Herring face no danger from fishing
The July 12 Associated Press article “There’s a herring boom off our coast” unfortunately misled readers about herring stock size and commercial harvest levels. There is not a “catch boom” in New England — far from it. Contrary to the article’s statement that 2014 harvest levels were unusually high, the 2014 fishing mortality rate (which is a comparison of the harvest level to the stock size) was at its lowest level since 1965. That is, commercial harvest rates of herring are at their lowest in a 50-year time period. Read the rest here 14:22
Shetland’s fishing leaders want better governance
But all is not well in the fishing ports of Lerwick and Scalloway, as Simon Collins and Brian Isbister – the chief executives of Shetland Fishermen’s Association and Shetland Fish Producers’ Organisation respectively – will soon tell you. They even talk of betrayal by governments in Edinburgh, London and Brussels.,, They called for the recognition of traditional fishing rights, designation of the isles as “small offshore islands which are dependent on fishing” – as set out in the reformed Common Fisheries Policy – and provision for an “opt-out” for local vessels from regulatory and management powers devolved to Scotland. Read the rest here 11:32
Powerful typhoon kills 11,000 farmed bluefin tuna in Japan
Typhoon Nangka made landfall in southwestern Japan on the night of July 16 and slowly moved northward before turning into a tropical depression. Torrential rain and gusts of wind wreaked havoc in various parts of western Japan, also causing high waves and clouding sea water in the fish farm near the Pacific coastal town of Kushimoto, Kyodo News and the Asahi newspaper reported. The storm caused the sensitive bluefin tuna to panic, the Asahi said, with the Mainichi daily saying the waves had driven many of them into a barrier. Read the rest here 11:04
