Daily Archives: September 28, 2015
Papal Encyclical Draws Harsh Critique from Peru’s Private Fishery Sector
Elena Conterno is a former minister of production for the Peruvian government and she has served as president of the National Fisheries Society of Peru since 2013. It’s an important position: Peru lays claim to one of the planet’s most productive commercial fisheries, with a world market for more than 6 million tons of fish for animal feed, fertilizer and human consumption annually. Conterno’s role as a policy maker and lobbyist is highly influential. She spoke with journalist Justin Catanoso about Peru’s fisheries, government regulations, the poor, and her views on Pope Francis’ encyclical on environmental protection. The interview was edited for length and clarity. Read the rest here 20:37
Geez, Louise!!! Maine DMR seeks to reduce waiting times for lobster licenses
Fishermen are used to having to wait until they catch something, but there are many in Maine who don’t think it is right that they should have to wait a decade or more to catch lobster. The state Department of Marine Resources agrees that the waiting list for lobster licenses in most fishing zones along the coast is too long and, if possible, something should be done to reduce the time it takes to get a license. “What do people on the waiting list want?” Keliher asked the group, most of whom were fishermen with and waiting for lobster licenses. “They want predictability.” Read the rest here 19:55
Don’t fall for the deep-sea scaremongers – wild fishing is healthy and sustainable
Fishermen can’t win. The harder they work, the more successful they are, the more they are apparently despised. Take Scotland, for instance, where the EU (heavily influenced by well-financed NGO lobby groups) is attempting to exclude fishermen from large areas of the sea off the west coast that they may have fished for generations. Most fishermen agree with conservationists that there is a need to protect deep-sea coral and other vulnerable ecosystems far beneath the waves. Read the rest here 17:16
TRADEX 3MMI – Salmon Market Instability, Cod and Pollock Pricing on the Rise
We anticipate a smaller run and smaller fish size this year. Overall, there is still market instability for sockeye salmon right now. Market pricing is heading up for once frozen Cod and Pollock as well. Click here to watch this weeks TRADEX 3MMI 16:56
Who’s really in charge of U.S. fisheries? – Nils Stolpe, FishnetUSA
An Oligarchy is defined as “a country, business, etc., that is controlled by a small group of people” – Ancient City Shrimp is an eight minute YouTube video (Click here) produced by the St. Augustine Lighthouse Museum that examines St. Augustine’s past as one of several centers of commercial shrimping in Florida. Unfortunately – or perhaps tragically is a better fit – Florida’s shrimp fleet is only a shadow of what it once was. One of the reasons for this is the imposition of unrealistic regulations on U.S. shrimpers that has made the fishery much less profitable than it used to be. A history lesson or two. Read the rest here 16:27
N.E. Fishery Management Council Meeting – Plymouth, MA, September 29-October 1, 2015, Listen Live
Read the Agenda here Register to attend the meeting via webinar here 12:04
Southern Flounder – Disputed fisheries studies: Politics or inexact science?
Science plays a big role in managing fisheries. Scientists assess fish stocks, migration patterns, environmental issues — useful data that allow regulators to set policy. We expect our science to be accurate and unaffected by politics, and as citizens, we expect political actors to treat science in the same manner.,, Yet a series of e-mails found their way into the public domain from a 2007 round-robin discussion among several N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries scientists trying to peg a mortality rate for speckled seatrout caught by recreational anglers. See video It would take a few hundred words to demonstrate where science goes off the rails and how other factors, including interest group reactions, exert an influence on what is expected to be an unbiased, fact-driven process. Read the rest here 10:30
North Pacific industry officials – Five year Coast Guard dockside safety examinations are far too infrequent.
The Coast Guard will require commercial fishing vessels to undergo dockside safety examinations only once every five years, a move that North Pacific industry officials are protesting as far too infrequent. The industry officials want the exams, which become mandatory Oct. 15, to be required every two years so that the Coast Guard has a better chance of spotting torn survival suits, malfunctioning alarms and other safety problems. Read the rest here 09:23
Top fisheries regulator blends into the crowd at Working Waterfront Festival
In the closing hours of a picture-perfect day for the New Bedford Waterfront Festival, about 15 pretty important people were meeting in a stuffy, windowless third-floor conference room up three flights of stairs at the State Pier building. NOAA Assistant Administrator for Fisheries Eileen Sobeck. She was here at the invitation of Mayor Mitchell, and the arrangements were done pretty quietly. Former Mayor John Bullard was there because, as he is now regional administrator for NOAA Fisheries in the Northeast, Sobek is his boss. He deferred all questions to her. Read the rest here 07:16
