Daily Archives: November 7, 2015
Pago Pago: Local businesses feeling impact of purse seiner loss
Some local businesses are feeling the effects of purse seiners cancelling trips to Pago Pago to off load their catches, as a result of a ban on US tuna boats in nearby fishing grounds. Local stevedore company Blue Angel which has been in business for 57 years reports that they have lost 60% of their income as a result of several purse seiners not calling into Pago Pago. Owner Herman Popeye Thomsen says his workers used to be paid $200 to $300 a week. But with the cancellations of purse seiners that normally off load at the local canneries, they are earning only $80 to $90 for 1-2 days of work. Read the rest here 13:23
Massachusetts Man jumps into water after lobster boat catches fire
A man operating a lobster vessel off Crane Beach in Ipswich was uninjured after he jumped into the water when his boat caught fire Friday morning, the Coast Guard said. The unidentified man’s boat, the 1977 28-foot wood-hulled Dawn Breaker, caught fire at 9:30 a.m. for reasons still under investigation, Coast Guard spokesman Robb Ruddell said. The man tried to put out the fire with a fire extinguisher but jumped into the water after it worsened, he said. Read the rest here 12:05
Big Trouble Looms For California Salmon — And For Fishermen
The West Coast’s historic drought has strained many Californians — from farmers who’ve watched their lands dry up, to rural residents forced to drink and cook with bottled water. Now, thanks to a blazing hot summer and unusually warm water, things are looking pretty bad for salmon, too – and for the fishermen whose livelihoods depend on them. Preliminary counts of juvenile winter-run Chinook are at extreme low levels. These are salmon that are born during the summer in California’s Sacramento River and begin to swim downstream in the fall. Read the rest here 11:38
P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association – Hunter Tootoo a good choice for federal fisheries minister
The head of the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association is pleased with the appointment of Nunavut MP Hunter Tootoo as the new
minister. Up until her defeat last month, Island fishermen had local Egmont MP Gail Shea as their minister. While there were many benefits to that, association executive director Ian MacPherson said Island fishermen are looking forward to a fresh take on the fishery from Tootoo. Read the rest here 09:41
South Carolina: Crabs, other fish showing impact of flood
The onslaught of big crabs into the creeks feeding in the Charleston estuary is among the first indications biologists are getting of the effects of October’s historic flooding on marine life — a wash of water so large that the creeks only now are starting to fall to levels anywhere near what observers would call ebb tides and the offshore remains less salty than usual. Among other shellfish, oyster beds are again off-limits partly because of the flood, while the shrimp catch — so far — doesn’t seem to have been helped or hurt. Read the rest here 08:52
‘Biggest fish of my life’: A Cape Breton fisherman’s hunt for the majestic bluefin tuna
The fishing rod lurched down like it was pulled by a motorcycle, rattling in its holster as the frantic bluefin tuna fought against the hook. It was as thick as three men, long as a kayak, and strong enough to drag the the 40-foot boat in the Northumberland Strait. “Look at him bending that rod,” captain Jeff Mills said to his two-man crew, three kilometres off the coast of Cape Breton. “You feel the boat going?” The rod suddenly straightened out and the line went limp. “Gone!” Mills screamed. The three fishermen stared at one another. Then Mills looked out at the water and realized the fish wasn’t gone; it was swimming toward the boat. Read the rest here 08:06
Louisiana stops issuing new crabbing licenses, citing overfishing
The state has stopped issuing new commercial crab licenses due to overfishing, a move local crab wholesalers say has long been needed in an industry flooded with newcomers. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries officials declared an emergency Thursday following a low blue crab count. The decision “aims to prevent increased fishing pressure and mortality by temporarily prohibiting new entrants into the fishery until more permanent regulatory and legislative measures can be developed to address the reduced stock status,” Read the rest here 07:29
