Daily Archives: September 2, 2015
Hubbs-SeaWorld is partnering with private investment firm to create the largest fish farm in America
Don Kent peers into a water tank about the size of a backyard swimming pool and watches as a school of 10 yellowtails swim by, each about 4 feet long. “There are some big guys in there. There they come,” he said. “That’s a big fish right there.” I ask if he has names for them. “I try not to have names for things I eat,” he said. Kent won’t be eating these fish, but he hopes we’ll all be chowing down on their offspring in a few years. Kent is president and CEO of the Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute, a research nonprofit partially funded by SeaWorld. Hubbs-SeaWorld is partnering with a private investment firm to create the largest fish farm in America. The proposed aquaculture project would be built 4 miles off San Diego’s coast. Video, Read the rest here 22:21
Edgartown commercial fishermen continue to adjust to new realities
Edgartown’s commercial trap fishing industry is tough work. It is evident as much in the number of working boats and fishermen seeking conch and sea bass as it is anecdotally. Those fishermen who remain put in long days and work under strict quotas and regulations. However, fishing is all they’ve done for most of their lives, and they say they are committed to riding out what wave is left of the local industry. Read the rest here 19:00
Lobster boat strikes the stern of schooner Lazy Jack, a 48-foot tourist and charter boat based out of Boothbay Harbor.
No one was hurt when a 48-foot tourist schooner was struck by a lobster boat Wednesday afternoon near Squirrel Island in Boothbay Harbor. The Lazy Jack, a wooden sailboat that operates out of Boothbay Harbor, sent out a distress call about 1:06 p.m. Wednesday, said U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Kurt Hein. The schooner was struck in the stern and sustained extensive damage, but was able to limp back to port with a Coast Guard escort, Hein said. Several people were evacuated from the schooner onto a nearby commercial vessel that heard the distress call,,, Read the rest here 16:21
Commercial catch upsets Skeena fish group
A local fish conservation authority is upset federal officials opened a coastal commercial fishery for sockeye salmon, a move which it says goes against previous decisions “We decided in the pre-season to put measures in place to ensure that stocks of concern, specifically Kitwanga sockeye, Lake Babine river sockeye, chum stock, steelhead stocks, would be protected. And that there wouldn’t be any late season openings, and the minister signed off on that in the integrated fisheries management plan,” said Cleveland. But according to federal fisheries officials, the surge in sockeye was a legitimate reason to allow a fishery. Read the rest here 15:00
Canadian Workers’ compensation fisheries rate to dive 19%
The Workers’ Compensation Board has reduced its in 2016, citing improved safety measures and awareness. Next year’s rate has been set at $6.51 per $100 of payroll, a drop of 19 per cent from 2015. Last year’s $8.06 rate was the highest for the industry, a direct result of a difficult 2013 when eight people perished in fishing tragedies. Those deaths led to the formation of the Safe at Sea Alliance, and as a result the number of days lost due to injury dropped 34 per cent the following year. Read the rest here 13:10
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 80′ Steel Dragger,Scalloper, 450HP Cummins – State and Fed Permits
Specifications, information click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 12:11
Rolls-Royce to Design, Equip Canadian Stern Trawler
in Norway has received an order from a Canadian company for a shrimp stern trawler to be designed and equipped by Rolls-Royce, whose portion of the deal is worth in excess of £6 million. The fishing vessel, to be delivered from VARD’s Aukra yard in Norway in December 2016, is of Rolls-Royce NVC 374 design and will be around 80 meters long featuring an ICE 1A ice class hull. It will be equipped with an array of Rolls-Royce equipment, including a B33:45 main engine, Promas propulsion,,, Read the rest here 11:11Husky Energy’s White Rose Operation – Broken subsea equipment causes “major hydrocarbon gas release”
The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board reported a“major hydrocarbon gas release” 
from underwater equipment in the oilfield’s southern drill centre late Monday afternoon. The board initially reported 8,938 kilograms of gas was released from two subsea wells, but later clarified that the release came from subsea equipment, not the wells itself, and that the release was stopped with 12 minutes of the initial alarm. Read the rest here 10:53
Breakwater Fisheries won’t commit to rebuilding Cottlesville plant – fire was ‘100 per cent arson’;
The owner of the seafood processing plant in Cottlesville, New World Island that was burned by an arsonist in March says he’s not ready to say whether he will rebuild the facility. It’s a big blow for all of New World Island, said one former worker, who asked not to be named. The plant was a major employer in the small community on Newfoundland’s northeast coast, providing seasonal employment to 100 full-time and several dozen part-time staffers. One source said the operation processed between four and five-million pounds of snow crab annually, along with other pelagics such as capelin, mackerel and hearing. Read the rest here 09:50
Analysis: New England Marine Monument Proposals Overlook Existing Protections, Overstep Democratic Management
Fishermen, fisheries managers, and environmentalists agree that the Cashes Ledge region of the Gulf of Maine is home to some of the most important marine environments in New England. Since the early 2000s, federal fisheries managers have recognized the value of these areas and have taken proactive steps to protect their unique habitats, preventing commercial fishermen from entering the areas and allowing them to develop mostly undisturbed from human activity. But according to several environmental groups, including the Conservation Law Foundation, Pew Charitable Trusts, the National Geographic Society, and the Natural Resources Defense Council, such long-standing and effective protections are suddenly insufficient. Read the rest here 09:17
Hawaii’s longline fleet dodges hurricanes – Can they survive the Enviro Tsunami?
Bigeye tuna caught by Hawaii’s longline industry is in short supply right now as the fleet dodges Hurricane Ignacio and Hurricane Jimena. Some longline vessels that headed out, turned around without catching anything to avoid the powerful storms. In August, Hawaii’s longline fleet hit the bigeye tuna catch limit of 3,502 metric tons established by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission. Conservation groups, however, have filed a lawsuit to block the change,,, Video, Read the rest here 08:23
