Daily Archives: September 1, 2015
US and Russia will sign a bilateral deal next week aimed at fighting illegal fishing.
The United States and Russia will sign a bilateral deal next week aimed at fighting illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, US Deputy Assistant Secretary for Oceans and Fisheries Ambassador David Balton told Sputnik on Monday. “Next week in Portland, Oregon delegations to the United States and Russia will get together for our annual meeting on fisheries and we will be signing a bilateral agreement to combat IUU fishing,” Balton added that the cooperation between the United States and Russia in the Arctic remains “good and strong” despite the current tensions in the relations between the two countries. Read the rest here 17:34
Fishing Group Sanford it quitting tuna fishing in the South Pacific blaming high costs and low returns.
Fishing group Sanford will quit its underperforming Pacific tuna business and put the unit’s fleet up for sale. The Auckland-based company has sold its San Nanumea vessel and is in talks with a potential buyer of San Nikunau, its other Pacific tuna ship, after reviewing the viability of the business, Sanford said. On April 9, it entered into a conditional agreement to sell both international purse seiner vessels, according to Sanford’s interim report released in June. Sanford sold one of its international purse seiners last year,,, Read the rest here 16:58
Florida Keys Lobster season starts with record harvest, low prices
The harvest of spiny lobster off the Florida Keys has never been better, but the price fishermen are being paid is down significantly so far because the Asian market has yet to take off this season. The season started earlier this month with trap fishermen catching near record number of lobster, fishermen said. A trap will produce about 10 pounds of lobsters on average over the course of an eight-month season, with the bulk being harvested in the first couple of months. Read the rest here 16:38
Some Mass Lawmakers fear some Cape Cod fishermen will miss out on aid
Many Cape Cod fishermen, operating under shrunken quotas for cod, have shifted their focus to catching other fish species such as dogfish, skate and monkfish. But that business decision, some lawmakers worry, could be jeopardizing the fishermen’s ability to qualify for the last pot of federal disaster relief funding being dispersed by the Baker administration to help offset the hit to their livelihoods from declining fish populations. Read the rest here 14:10
South Australian fishing community calls for seal cull
Fisherman Glen Hill says he’s been battling against an increasing number of 
for almost a decade, and he’s had enough. “The seals don’t belong here. They’ve got to go. They have to go,” he told SBS. The co-owner of Coorong Wild Seafood said he first noticed long-nosed fur seals in his patch at Lake Albert, near the mouth of the Murray River, about eight years ago. “It’s just becoming bigger and bigger and bigger,” he said. “Fifty seals will follow you around of a night. One seal can pull out anywhere from 100 to 200 kilos of fish. Read the rest here 11:58
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for Aug. 31, 2015
Click here to read the Weekly Update, to read all the updates, Click here 10:52
Scottish Fishermen’s Federation comment on deep-sea trawling study
Researchers at the University of Glasgow and Marine Scotland Science published a study (27 August) on the impact of deep-sea trawling at depths of 600m or more. However, commenting upon the study, Bertie Armstrong, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF), said: “Whilst the number of Scottish boats working a deep-water fishery is small, they do nonetheless make a significant contribution to the economies of local communities, catching and landing only the limited and sustainable quotas allocated. Read the rest here 10:01
Are fisheries overfished or not
Of the 469 stocks managed by the eight regional fishery management councils, the status of 161 stocks is unknown for lack of stock assessments. In the South Atlantic, of the 59 species in the snapper-grouper fishery, the stock status is unknown for 76 percent or 45 species. Additionally, the status is unknown for important top-water species like dolphin (mahi) and wahoo. For stocks with an unknown status, the only way to set an annual catch limit is to use historical landings, which has no real scientific basis, and can unfairly penalize fishermen with artificially low catch limits. Instead of devoting adequate financial resources into stock assessments, NOAA has spent about $160 million over the last six years pushing its National Catch Share Program,,, Read the rest here 09:13
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries opens shrimp refrigeration cost-share program
The 
(LDWF) is opening a shrimp refrigeration cost-share program for eligible industry members Monday, Aug. 31, 2015 at 10 a.m. This program will offer eligible industry shrimp vessel owners, docks and processing facilities the opportunity to qualify for 50 percent of any authorized refrigeration equipment costs, up to $30,000. Participants who qualify may purchase and install advanced refrigeration equipment onboard their vessels or at their facility in efforts to produce high-quality seafood products. Read the rest here 08:51
P.E.I. eel fishermen want 2-week season delay
P.E.I. eel fishermen say they need a later start to the season to avoid finding dead eels in their nets. The problem is the water in the warm rivers is anoxic, the result of decaying sea lettuce stripping all the oxygen out of the water. “Eels get in the net and if the water where the net is goes anoxic, then they can’t get out and they succumb,” said Bruce Raymond of the Department of Environment. The issue is becoming an annual problem that fishermen want to avoid. “The first day, fellas on the river lost the whole catch, as far as four to 500 pounds on that day. Read the rest here 08:29
