Monthly Archives: August 2015
How Gloucester won lion’s share of fishing aid
All things considered, it could not have gone much better. The small working group assembled by Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken in February was tasked with helping identify and contact city waterfront businesses that might be eligible to receive some of the $750,000 in federal funds set aside to help Massachusetts shoreside businesses damaged by the ongoing groundfish disaster. The committee identified 15 Gloucester businesses willing to go through the application process. By comparison, consider . The historic whaling city on the state’s southeast coast — and now, thanks to its burgeoning scallop fleet, the state’s most lucrative port — had 10 of its shoreside businesses collectively receive $246,430. Read the rest here 08:21
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for Aug. 24, 2015
Click here to read the Weekly Update, to read all the updates, Click here 17:55
Brothers slapped with big fine for poaching sea bass in Mattapoisett
Three out-of-town men were slapped with a $20,000 fine by the Massachusetts Department of Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs for the illegal harvesting of black sea bass from waters off Mattapoisett’s coast after and had most of their catch confiscated after Mattapoisett Harbormaster officers discovered the trio had taken nearly 25 times more than the legal limit allowed for recreational fisherman. Brothers Chung Y. Leung, 69, of Brighton, Feo Yit Leung, 63, of Allston, and Dai Ah Leung, 60, of Malden, were handed the fine after a judge,,, Read the rest here 17:38
Coast Guard medevacs Fisherman off Ocean City
The Hannah Boden medevaced a man Tuesday requiring medical assistance aboard a boat 62 miles east of Ocean City. Watchstanders at in New Haven, Connecticut, received a call Aug. 25 on the radio Tuesday at approximately 8 a.m. from the 96-foot commercial fishing vessel Hannah Boden stating a 23-year-old male aboard lacerated his hand while fishing. Video, read the rest here 17:08
A Day in the Life of a Shrimper
Capt. Tommy Edwards and his crew Kevin, D.J. and Goat trawl for White Roe Shrimp of The Coast of South Carolina by Charleston 16:45
UPEI leads three-year study on impact of pesticide run-off
The University of Prince Edward Island is taking the lead on a team of researchers examining the potential impact of agricultural pesticide run-off on lobsters in the Northumberland Strait. The three-year study is funded by a Strategic Partnership Grant from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) and brings together partners from UPEI, the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association (PEIFA) and Homarus Inc. — a non-profit organization managed by the Maritime Fishermen’s Union. “The lobster populations in the Northumberland Strait have been collapsed for quite a number of years and no amount of fisheries measures seem,,, Read the rest here 11:29
Cape fishermen say federal money needed for monitors, disaster money should go to offset the observer costs
A typical skate trip, at 35 cents per pound and grossing $1,100, would be left with less than $400 to split between the boat and crew, said Chatham fisherman Jan Margeson. “We don’t gross enough money to afford this,” said Margeson, who proposed allocating federal disaster money to fishermen who actually carried observers. “This cost should be paid for by the federal government,” said John Pappalardo, chief executive officer at the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance. “This fishery is bankrupt right now. It’s nonsensical to lay it on a struggling industry.” Read the rest here 09:45
Yukon River salmon swim to Canada in higher numbers
Despite a below-average overall run, the most Yukon River king salmon in a decade have made it across the border on the way to their Canadian spawning grounds. About 83,000 fish went across the border this year. An international treaty mandates that at least 42,500 chinooks must get to Canada, but Alaska fishery managers have managed that goal in only two of the past four years. Between 118,000 and 140,000 chinooks were projected to enter the Yukon this year. Alaska Department of Fish and Game officials said it took severe chinook salmon restrictions,,, Read the rest here 08:51
Fish potentially worth millions of pounds found off Cornwall – but fishermen will not be able to touch them
A shoal of bluefin tuna potentially worth millions of pounds has appeared off the coast of Cornwall – but local fishermen will not be able to touch a single fish. The record price for a single tuna on the Japanese market is about £1 million, and the shoal, of around 500 fish, is believed to be the largest sighted off the county in over a century. Duncan and Hannah Jones, the owners of a tourist cruise company in Penzance who discovered the fish, said it was as though the sea was “exploding”. But EU fishing regulations prevent British boats from catching bluefin tuna. Read the rest here 08:11
California Gold: The Uni Dynasty of Mendocino County
Uni are shaped like small, golden tongues, and have a custard-like consistency. The sea urchin gonads are the very essence of the ocean, and not an easy sell in the United States, where people often disdain seafood that tastes like seafood. But that’s changing. Tom Trumper and his sons are Northern California sea urchin divers and uni processors who are wooing diners away from shrimp scampi and tuna salad and into their underwater world. I first met Gary Trumper when he handed me a paper cup with a golden hued, perfectly curled little sac of textured goo. He splashed sake into the cup, and said, “Here, it’s an uni shooter.” Read the rest here 21:28
PRAY! The drought’s hidden victim: California’s native fish
Last summer, a narrow, rock-rimmed stretch of the Sacramento River near here turned into a mass graveyard for baby salmon. Upstream releases of water from Shasta Dam were so warm that virtually an entire generation of endangered winter-run Chinook was wiped out. The eggs never hatched, or if they did, the emerging young soon died. A similar disaster could unfold this summer. And if the drought drags on for another year or two, wild populations of some of the state’s most prized fish are likely to vanish. “It would be a major extinction event,” UC Davis professor emeritus Peter Moyle warned. Read the rest here 16:07
Taxpayers foot bill to retrieve sunken tires from failed offshore environmental project
What to do with a million used tires? Dump them in the ocean, of course. As unthinkable as that idea is today, back in 1972, that was what Florida environmentalists chose to do, in an attempt to create an artificial reef. They gathered up old tires, ferried them a mile offshore from Fort Lauderdale’s world-famous beach and tossed them overboard. “Ummmm, seemed like a good idea at the time. Looked good on paper,” said Pat Quinn, Broward County’s environmental resource manager. It wasn’t. Read the rest here 13:31
Kenai River Sportfisherman’s Association Anti-setnet initiative spurs protests
As next Wednesday’s Alaska Supreme Court hearing on an initiative banning commercial setnet fishing in Cook Inlet approaches, tensions grow on the Kenai Peninsula. The Kenai Fisherman’s Association organized two protests this week. Many of those who took part carried signs expressing their opposition to the setnet initiative. But Dave Athons, the retired fisheries biologist who organized the demonstrations, says the main purpose was to express disapproval of the Kenai River Sportfisherman’s Association. “They are a political organization, using conservation as a front,” Athons said. Read the rest here 13:04The storm that forever changed Ocean City
Currently we’re in the middle of hurricane season and although Ocean City hasn’t been hit by one this year, Sunday marked the 82nd anniversary of the hurricane that helped shape the resort town we know today. Forecasters started naming hurricanes in 1950, so the storm had no name other than the storm of 1933. According to historians, the storm officially ended August 23, 1933, but the rain started days before causing the water level to rise in Assawoman Bay. The water level got so high, eventually the bay overflowed near downtown. Read the rest here 12:49:19
New Zealand’s fish stocks up with the world’s best, says top scientist
A top fisheries scientist says New Zealand’s fish stocks are performing as well or better than any in the world and the public perception is wrong. Addressing the Seafood New Zealand conference in Wellington, Ministry for Primary Industries principal fisheries science adviser Dr Pamela Mace said when she looked at fish stocks around the world, New Zealand was “the best success story of all”. Although the situation was “not actually perfect”, New Zealand was a good example of improved sustainability and excellent current status, Mace said. “We need to align people’s perceptions of fishing in New Zealand and the world with reality.” Read the rest here 11:48
USCG Aid Disabled Fishing Boat S.E. of Nantucket
Crews aboard two Coast Guard cutters brought an 83-foot fishing vessel safely to anchorage at approximately 8 p.m. Sunday. Watchstanders at the First Coast Guard District Command Center, were notified at 11:30 a.m. Saturday that the scallop fishing vessel Chaz’s Toy by the Coast Guard Cutter Escanaba crew 120 miles southeast of Nantucket. The cutter took the vessel in stern tow at approximately 4:30 p.m. Saturday. The following morning, the crew of the 110-foot Tybee relieved the Escanaba,,, Read the rest here 09:15
Japanese tsunami victim to reunite with his boat in B.C.
A Japanese fisherman who lost everything in the 2011 earthquake and tsunami will visit B.C. on Monday to take a last ride in his fishing boat. Its owner Kou Sasaki of Ofunato, will visit the tiny village of Klemtu, one of the places where debris from Japan washed up, after huge amounts of it landed all along the B.C. Coast. “It’s especially poignant because Mr. Sasaki lost his wife and son in the earthquake,” said Tim McGrady, general manager of the Spirit Bear Lodge in Klemtu, who now has the boat. “This is a community that lives and breathes boats, for thousands of years. So I think people have a real affinity for someone like Mr. Sasaki. There’s a lot of common ground.” Read the rest here
15 Gloucester shoreside businesses to receive disaster aid
Those Gloucester businesses comprise precisely half of the 30 Massachusetts businesses that will receive groundfish disaster aid. Collectively, they will receive by far the largest portion of the $750,000 set aside to assist shoreside businesses affected by the federally declared groundfish disaster now grinding through its third year. Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken said the city’s success in garnering more than half of the available aid earmarked for businesses underlined the city’s prominence at the epicenter of the groundfish disaster, both on the water and on the waterfront. “These businesses (listed) were severely impacted by the groundfish disaster declared in 2012,” Romeo Theken said. Read the rest here 08:07
‘The Long Haul’ looks at the future of Cape fishing
Eight years ago, Pedro Verde, captain of the dragger F/V Blue Ocean, stood on MacMillan Pier and blasted scientists and fisheries regulators for allowing him to fish only 52 days the previous year. He was talking to Sean Corcoran, a reporter at public radio station WCAI who was investigating the decline of the Provincetown dragger fishery. Those reports have now been collected in a book, “The Long Haul: The Future of New England’s Fisheries,” edited by Corcoran and published by Clock & Rose Press in Harwich Port. Read the rest here 19:17
Keeping the Nut’s Out – Federal agencies, Point Lay seek to minimize media enacted walrus disturbances
Federal agencies are stepping in to shield a North Slope village from the possibility of a deluge of international attention should a large walrus haulout develop nearby, as it has in years past — agreeing to act as an information clearinghouse on behalf of the Native Village of Point Lay. The village has also taken its own steps to reduce the impact of international attention and its own activities on the marine mammals. About 35,000 walruses swarmed the coast of Point Lay toward the end of summer last year, likely because the ice they usually use for rest had melted, scientists said. The event drew international visitors, mostly media, to the village of 189 residents. Read the rest here 15:11
Kotzebue Fishery Closes Early with ‘3rd Best Harvest in Over 25 Years’
The commercial fishing season in Kotzebue came to a close Friday, and while both the chum salmon run and the payout to fishermen pales in comparison to the gargantuan success of last year, the fishermen at Alaska’s northernmost salmon fishery still have plenty of reason to smile. “Right now we’re a little over 300,000 harvested, and this was the third best harvest in over 25 years in the Kotzebue fishery,” Read the rest here 13:38
Ocean Global Fisheries withdraws objection to petition
The Partner and Owner of Ocean Global Fisheries and Sea Global Fisheries, Mr. Douglas Hines, now agrees that the US fleet and vessels operating our of American Samoa may be experiencing a disproportionate burden and is hoping that the National Marine Fisheries Service is able to address the concerns raised in Tri Marine’s petition for exemption from the catch limits on fishing in the high seas. There are 37 US purse seiners fishing in this area of which only 18 deliver their catches to the local canneries. Mr. Hines’ companies represent purse seiners that dont send their catches here. Read the rest here 12:21
Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance Weekly Update, Aug 23, 2015
The Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance is dedicated to its mission of continuing to help create sustainable fisheries without putting licensed fishermen out of business.” Read the update here To read all the updates, click here 11:41
‘Let it Spoil’ campaign as fish prices skyrocket – Prices begin to drop in local markets as citizens boycott fish
Citizens kicked off “Let it Spoil” campaign yesterday by boycotting fish in order to arrest skyrocketing prices of different varieties of fish in Kuwait market. As the campaign started yesterday, the fish market at Souq Sharq presented a totally different picture with the conspicuous absence of regular customers and the usual ear-shattering noises of bargaining. The Kuwait Times visited the market to find out if the campaign had really started to make any impact on the prices. Some fish vendors have apparently started to reduce prices of certain varieties of fish. Read the rest here 11:16
Four old boats (and the $100K to remove them) stand in way of industrial park
Four discarded fishing boats the size of school buses are holding up what could become a marine industrial park on Far Creek. Extracting them would cost about $100,000. “We’ve got great hopes for this area,” said Kris Noble, Hyde County economic developer. “It’s bad when somebody leaves a little sailboat in the channel. But this is that 10 times over.” The Engelhard Marine Industrial Park could attract needed jobs, Noble said. A metal building sits on the 7.5-acre tract with public water and sewer. Read the rest here 10:56
Mines minister Bill Bennett to meet Alaska fishermen, natives
Bill Bennett met with mining representatives in Alaska last November, four months after a tailings dam burst and spilled 24 million cubic metres of waste into area waterways, including salmon-bearing rivers. However, Alaskans living downstream from northwestern B.C. mines said Bennett ignored their worries about the flowing their way in the event of another catastrophe. A year after the August 2014 spill, Bennett said he’s taking the lead from state officials who have arranged dozens of meetings with conservation groups and tribal associations. Read the rest here 09:32
Fishing enthusiast says letterbox bombed over campaign to ban commercial netting
Judy Lynne, executive officer of recreational fishing group Sunfish, has been locked in a battle against commercial netters. She said her mailbox exploded in flames on Thursday night, on the eve of the State Government announcing three net-free zones. Ms Lynne, who was celebrating the anti-netting victory, said the timing of the bombing was suspect. Ms. Lynne said other Sunfish members had been victims of anonymous death threats and harassment as the campaign heated up. Read the rest here 20:27
Is the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission going to Privatize the Maine Shrimp Fishery?
Regulators are considering putting a limit on the number of fishermen who can participate in the Gulf of Maine’s beleaguered shrimp fishery in an attempt to revive the shuttered industry. A board of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is developing a proposal to control the number of fishermen who can fish for the shrimp that are prized for their sweet, tender meat. The plan will likely be the subject of public hearings next year, and could apply as soon as the 2017 fishing year, said commission spokeswoman Tina Berger. Read the rest here 12:49
Meet the women behind the nets – Net Mending Through the eye of a needle
Joan Songer’s fingers tug at the twine, and she reels in a net as green and salty as the tide. This is where she loves it best: the harbor. Its warped boards under her feet, the voices of fishermen, the tang of the air. “Where else can you work with this beauty surrounding you?” She asks. No question, she loves it. From her corner in the old harbor, Lisa Brost looks like a featherweight boxing champ wielding a needle and thread. She bounces on the balls of her feet. Her tan arms end in white gloves that proclaim, in black ink, “tough.” Read the rest here 12:10
American Seafoods restructures debt, attracts new backers
After reeling in new capital, the company that calls itself “the largest harvester of wild-caught fish for human consumption in the U.S.” has reduced its debts from a previously estimated $900 million-plus to $740 million. CEO Bernt Bodal said the deal gives American Seafoods stability and adds as investors some experienced industry people with whom he’s had a “very, very long-term connection.” Those include Chris Lischewski, CEO of Bumble Bee Foods in San Diego; Amy Humphreys, former CEO of Seattle-based Icicle Seafoods; and Frank Dulcich, CEO of Mukilteo-based Pacific Seafood Group. Read the rest here 11:03
