Daily Archives: September 25, 2015
Right whales have Cape Breton Whelk fishermen on hold.
One Cape Breton fisherman says concern over changing migration patterns of endangered right whales are already having an impact on his ability to earn a living. Derrick Wadden, a multi-species fisherman, said he invested more than $7,000 this year in ropes and custom-made traps for whelk, a large, undersea snail, in hopes of going fishing this month. Fisheries and Oceans Canada had indicated fishing conditions for whelk licences would be issued at the beginning of September, he said, but the conditions have been delayed due to concern about the potential for right whales to get tangled in gear. Read the rest here 14:56
Safe and Sound – Atlantic Charger crew reunited with family back in Newfoundland
Crew members of an ill-fated fishing vessel have finally returned home to Newfoundland, after a tragic few days which saw them abandon their sinking boat and spend 10 hours at sea in a life raft off the coast of Nunavut. The men finally arrived in Harbour Grace round 9:30 a.m. Friday aboard the fishing trawler Katsheshuk, where they were greeted by anxious family members. Read the rest here 10:08
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s limited entry scheme for Maine Shrimp Fishery postponed
Regulators are taking the possibility of a limited entry program for Maine’s shuttered shrimp fishery off the table for now. The 
Northern Shrimp Section is postponing the development of the plan until next summer. The group has been looking at ways to manage the future of the fishery, including the possibility of allowing fewer fishermen to participate. The shrimp section is meeting on Dec. 7 to set specifications for the 2016 shrimp fishing season. A spokeswoman for the section says it is unlikely there will be a season at all in 2016. Link 09:48
“State of Our Halibut” discussed at last weekend’s inaugural Homer Halibut Festival – It’s not good.
From a fun run to a fish fry to a halibut cabaret, most of the weekend was a celebration of Homer’s iconic resource. But much of the discussion at Saturday’s “State of Our Halibut” lecture series at the Alaska Islands and Ocean Visitor Center was serious and centered around a major issue: the total mass of Pacific halibut is shrinking and no one is entirely sure why or what to do about it. That’s not entirely new information. Nearly ever year of the past decade, the annual survey reported decreases in both Pacific halibut population and biomass,,, Read the rest here 09:15
Fish like a girl: This 23-year-old lobsterwoman from Maine is her own boss
“When I was younger, I felt questioned by others, like whether I could do this,” Samuels said. “It makes you start to question yourself. I was like, ‘Can I do this? Am I strong enough to lift these traps?’” She made a wide circle and sidled her boat up next to the buoy. “And as I do it,” she continued, “I’m like, ‘Hell yeah, I am.’” “One thing I like about being a girl out here is that they can’t pay me less than a guy,” Sadie Samuels shouted over the grinding sound of her lobster boat’s mechanical pulley as it hoisted a trap up from the bottom of the ocean. Read the rest here 08:29
Fishermen Plan Demonstration during NEFMC Meeting in Plymouth Wednesday, 2 to 4 p.m.
The Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance is the group spearheading Wednesday’s demonstration, which is scheduled for 2 to 4 p.m. outside the fisheries council meeting at the Radisson hotel on Water Street in Plymouth. Stephen Welch, who lives in Hanover and fishes out of Scituate and Hyannis, plans to be at Wednesday’s demonstration. “I used to have two boats and eight employees. Now I have one boat and one employee,” said Welch, a member of Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance, a fishermen-led organization. Read the rest here 07:52
“Concentrated fish poo is just not Pure Michigan,” Sen. Jones works to ban fish farming in the Great Lakes
“In Michigan, legislators have a Constitutional duty to protect our Great Lakes,” said Jones, R-Grand Ledge. “By allowing commercial fish farming we can say goodbye to our Pure Michigan status and hello to an undrinkable Toledo water supply.” Jones said commercial fish farms in the Great Lakes are all risk and no reward. These are proven sources of pollution, invasive species, disease, and fugitive fish escaping to wreak havoc on our Great Lakes fisheries. Read the rest here 07:06
