Monthly Archives: September 2015
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
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
