Daily Archives: October 9, 2015
Toxic road runoff kills adult coho salmon in hours, study finds
A new study shows that stormwater runoff from urban roadways is so toxic to coho salmon that it can kill adult fish in as little as 2½ hours. Scientists have long suspected that the mixture of oil, heavy metals and grime that washes off highways and roads can be poisonous to coho, but the study is the first to prove it. In some place, like Longfellow Creek in West Seattle’s Delridge area, up to 90 percent of females were killed. “It was apparent that something coming out of those pipes was causing it,” Spromberg said. Read the rest here 22:21
Thank you and eat local seafood
The 29th Annual N.C. Seafood Festival 
is now just a memory, but it is one we will not soon forget. The West Carteret High School FFA Alumni is one of the original nonprofit seafood vendors in what has become a celebration of our local seafood industry and a good time for our students to promote agriculture and the FFA to the thousands of festival goers. Our students enjoy working in the booth, and many of them benefit directly from the experience and financial support generated from this seafood festival. Read the rest here 16:25
MSU boat safety training helps save two fishermen
The Atlantic hurricane that sunk the cargo ship El Faro in early October highlights the need for sailors to be trained in how to react in an emergency. Dave Burrage, Mississippi State University Extension professor of marine resources at the Coastal Research and Extension Center, is trained to certify marine safety instructors who are sailors on commercial vessels. Two Mississippi sailors he trained survived an on-the-water collision that sunk one boat in the Gulf of Mexico last year. “Two fishermen were involved in a collision at night, and one of the boats sank,”,, Read the rest here 14:48
Speaker Atkins’ Pacific to Plate Bill signed by Gov. Brown
Seafood markets will be allowed to operate in the public square just like farmers markets, now that Gov. Jerry Brown has signed Assembly Speaker Toni G. Atkins’ Pacific to Plate Act. AB 226 removes red tape, making it easier for shoppers to purchase local seafood. “The massive growth of farmers markets across the state shows us the benefits of allowing direct sales between farmers and consumers,” said Speaker Atkins (D-San Diego). “Coastal communities and small-business owners throughout California deserve the same opportunities.” Read the rest here 12:21
“It’s been an exemplary season,” – Maine fishermen cash in as lobster cracks $4 a pound
Bob Williams has been hauling lobster traps in Penobscot Bay since 1959 and says this year’s season has been among the most profitable ever. “It’s rare for us to have a fairly good catch and high prices,” said Williams, 78, who lives in Stonington. It’s a combination that seems to defy the laws of supply and demand – a large catch tends to lower wholesale prices. But that’s not happening this year even with Maine fishermen on track,,, Read the rest here 11:39
Biscayne National Park’s General Management Plan – No-fishing zone no solution to coral loss
Were Charles Dickens alive today, it’s possible that the drama surrounding the inclusion of a no-fishing zone in Biscayne National Park’s General Management Plan (GMP) could be mistaken as part of the inspiration for his great story A Tale of Two Cities. Dickens’ famous opening sentence from that novel is: “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” But the way that the (NPS) and its activist allies talk about the no-fishing zone seems to reflect part of the rest of that opening line: “It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness.” Read the rest here 11:02
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation Dealings Criticized
A $1,000 check issued last month to Stuart Vorpahl, an East Hampton bayman, from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation as reimbursement for the 1998 seizure of fluke and lobsters from his boat was closely followed by a report from the state’s inspector general’s office critical of several of the D.E.C.’s enforcement practices as they relate to the commercial fishing industry. But the report itself is also coming under fire, both for its substance and for the lengthy delay in its issuance. Read the rest here 10:08
Clearwater Seafoods to buy U.K.’s largest producer of wild shellfish in $195m deal
Clearwater Seafoods Inc. has a $195-million deal to acquire the United Kingdom’s largest producer of wild shellfish. Bedford-based Clearwater announced the deal with Scotland’s Macduff Shellfish Group Ltd. on Friday. The transaction is expected to close by the end of the month. The purchase price is C$187 million, including a cash payment of $71 million. The Nova Scotia company is also assuming amost $8 million in seasonal working capital debt. Read the rest here 09:36
Hawaii Bigeye Tuna Industry Reels Two Months after Reaching Its Quotas
HONOLULU (08 Oct. 2015) For the past two months, since early August, about a quarter of the 145 active vessels in the 
have been prohibited from catching their target species, bigeye tuna. Arbitrary quotas not linked to conservation objectives are keeping them tied at the docks. These struggling vessels and small businesses they support are accumulating millions of dollars in debt each month, causing untold anxiety for the local fishing community and consumers. This travesty has happened because of two international quota systems,,, Video, Read the rest here 08:42
