Daily Archives: August 14, 2015
South Carolina and Georgia shrimpers brace for black gill
While Lowcountry shrimpers have seen little of their catch infected with black gill disease this year, scientists say it’s only a matter of time. The infection, which causes dark spots to appear on the midsection of shrimp, is not dangerous to humans. It remains somewhat of a mystery to scientists and shrimpers, but some of them blame it for reduced shrimp population in recent years. Charles Gay of Gay Fish Company on St. Helena Island said his shrimpers began seeing black gill this week. Read the rest here 13:24
Cod comeback
“Last year was a pretty good sign of fish around, and this year was even better — more places, and a really good sign, places like Renews Rock. They hadn’t been there in 15 years, and the fish are back there now,” he said. “Ferryland right on down to Calvert, Bay Bulls, all those places are seeing a lot of fish.” George Rose, director of the Centre for Fisheries Ecosystems Research, said the scientific surveys it has done of cod populations bear out what fishermen are saying: the cod are back. Read the rest here 11:30
Why Hout Bay fishermen die trying to make a living
On Friday August 7, four men sat around a table in Hangberg, Hout Bay, watching the harbour and waiting for the body to arrive. Two of the men were drinking beer out of small glasses and smoking cigarettes, flicking the ash into an empty abalone shell. Ralph Warner, a 56-year-old Hangberg skipper, stood next to Josephs, who is also a fisherman, and lit another cigarette. “They call us small-scale fishers but we’re dying on a large scale,” he said. Read the rest here 08:51
Bloody, red Cod Livers has Long Harbour fisherman suspicious of nearby Vale Smelter operation
Andy Murphy of Long Harbour said last spring he was finding herring with bloody red-coloured innards, something he insists is a result of Vale’s smelter operations in the town. Now, Murphy said he is finding cod with the same discolouration and wonders if chemicals are being pumped out near the shore by Vale and contaminating the fish. “I noticed the livers are really dark red,” he said. “Some of them are green and red, more are white and red, and I’ve never noticed that before. Plenty of people noticed it during the food fishery.” Read the rest here 08:02
