Daily Archives: October 31, 2015
IPHC staff reflect on 2015 season, decisions, with Joe Viechnicki
A little over a month from now, the International Pacific Halibut Commission will meet to start considering catch limits for next season. IPHC executive director Bruce Leaman and visited Petersburg this week and met with commercial fishermen. Joe Viechnicki sat down with the two and asked Stewart about what he’s heard about this past season. IPHC staff will be presenting preliminary numbers for next year’s catch to the commission at an interim meeting in Seattle December 1st and 2nd. Audio here, duration: 11:37 14:31
Indictment in BP claims scam reads like a movie
The federal indictment of seven people accused of defrauding the BP claims process includes evidence that reads like a script from a movie. Fraud, conspiracy, dead people and a dog filing for a piece of billions in BP money. Those are all allegations spelled out in Thursday’s 95 count indictment. Prosecutors call it the biggest BP disaster identity theft case to date. The indictment alleges among the more than 40,000 client claims submitted, one was for Lucy Lu who turned out to be a dog. Five other names submitted had died before the 2010 oil spill. Read the rest here Seven indicted in largest BP fraud identity theft case to date– Related article here 13:54
Red Snapper Fisherman Charged with Illegal Gear in State Waters
Enforcement agents cited Seven P. Rhoto, 37, for using bandit gear in state waters. Bandit gear is allowed to be used in federal waters and is normally used by federally permitted reef fish holders, but is illegal in Louisiana water. Agents observed a vessel using bandit gear fishing for red snapper near the mouth of the Mississippi River in Plaquemines Parish. Upon inspection of the vessel, agents found Rhoto in possession of 1,088 pounds of red snapper, 44 pounds of lane snapper and 17 pounds of white trout. Read the rest here 12:45
Fishermen raise funds for removed Comox soccer player opposed to fish farms
A group of commercial fishermen gathered at the Comox Fisherman’s Wharf Thursday to present 14-year-old Freyja Reed with a trust fund cheque for $2000. They’re throwing their support behind the young soccer player over the backlash she received for speaking out against her team’s sponsor Marine Harvest, one of the largest fish farming companies in the world. “We want our youth to know if you do stand up for something you strongly believe in, people are going to listen,” said commercial fisherman and trust fund organizer Travis Hird. Video, Read the rest here 12:10
COUNTERPOINT: Who’ll police fish farms? – Kathaleen Milan, Sable River
In Lunenburg on Monday, Fisheries and Aquaculture Minister Keith Colwell announced that aquaculture regulations have gone from two pages to 60. While much has been added, there is still no solid commitment to enforcement, and no mention of increasing the number of inspectors, how many more boats will be needed, nor how many bottom samples or random fish samples will be done. No announcement of millions of dollars to pay for all this new enforcement that will be required. It’s hard not to be cynical,,, Read the rest here 09:47
Gulf warming study based on bad science, stakeholders say
The study, performed by the Gulf of Maine Research Institute and appearing in the journal Science, concluded the Gulf of Maine’s surface water is warming more rapidly than 99.9 percent of the rest of the world’s oceans and that climate change is a contributing factor to the demise of the cod stock. “My first question was whether any part of the study started out to understand the true status of Gulf of Maine cod or if they just assumed that the data from the assessment — which we contend is consistently wrong — is fact,” said Vito Giacalone, policy director for the Gloucester-based Northeast Seafood Coalition. “I was told it was the latter.” Read the rest here 08:39
The beloved boat that came home after the war
War stories are often told on Remembrance Day, but they are not always about heroes or significant battles. A war story can take place where no battles are fought, as on Canada’s west coast where the Canadian military was preparing for a possible attack from Japan just prior to World War II. As a result of this fear and the attack on Pearl Harbor in December 1941, hundreds of Japanese Canadians were interred in camps in the belief that they posed a threat to Canada’s security, and their possessions were taken from them. One such story is right in our own backyard. Read the rest here 07:44
