Daily Archives: December 4, 2015
Design of Canadian Coast Guard’s fisheries ships led to fears of capsizing
The government’s plans for the Coast Guard’s new fisheries and science vessels produced a ship some engineers considered so unstable it was unseaworthy and if sailed on the open ocean would capsize in heavy seas. The issue was discovered in 2012 once the blueprints of the government-ordered design were sent to Vancouver Shipyards, where three of the ships are being built under the government’s shipbuilding strategy. CBC News has learned the design problem was considered so severe by the shipbuilders it was thought it would be unsafe to build and sail the vessels. Read the article here 21:17
International Pacific Halibut Commission weighs 2016 harvest recommendations
The interim meeting of the International Pacific Halibut Commission is our first look at the huge volume of data the collects that informs a big decision coming next January: How much halibut will be available for harvest from the coast of Oregon to the Bering Sea. For halibut users in Southeast Alaska, the number could be ticking up — maybe 8-percent, or by over 300,000 pounds. In Southcentral Alaska, though, the trend is the other direction — the commercial and sport fleets may see their harvests reduced by 7-percent, or three-quarters of a million pounds. Read the article here 14:05
Friday Tomfoolery with WA Fisheries Minister Ken Baston “… I’ll check up on that straight away,”!
WA Fisheries Minister Ken Baston has contradicted advice from his own department, saying he would not recommend people eat fish from Cockburn Sound. More than 2,000 fish have died in the area in recent weeks and authorities are still trying to identify what caused the deaths. The Department of Fisheries had advised people not to swim or fish in affected area, but one week ago said both activities were again safe. Mr Baston said he was not aware his department had given the “all clear” for fishing. “For him not to be aware that his department had given the public the all clear to eat fish from Cockburn Sound is just extraordinary. Read the article here 11:23
UPDATED – Five rescued from sinking fishing boat off Cape Sable Island
Five people were rescued from a sinking fishing vessel off Clark’s Harbour on Thursday evening. The 
received a call at about 7:30 p.m. that the vessel was taking on water. The five people managed to get aboard a second fishing vessel, which took them to shore at nearby West Head on Cape Sable Island. A coast guard vessel escorted the second fishing vessel to shore. “Everybody’s safe on shore now,” said coast guard spokesman Steve Bornais. Read the article here 11:46
One Fisherman is dead, two are rescued after Gloucester fishing vessel Orin C sinks
The Coast Guard rescued two fishermen and recovered a third deceased Thursday after their fishing boat sank 12 miles off Thatcher Island, Gloucester. A good Samaritan aboard the Foxy Lady notified watchstanders at the Coast Guard Sector Boston command center at about 3 p.m. that the fishing boat Orin C was disabled and needed a tow. The Foxy Lady began towing Orin C toward shore, but high wind and waves impeded their effort. A large wave reportedly crashed over Orin C’s bow, causing the boat to flood. Read the rest here 08:45
New England: Fleet could see haddock quota double
The annual catch limits for Gulf of Maine cod will increase slightly in 2016, while the quota for haddock will more than double if recommendations passed this week by the New England Fishery Management Council are approved by NOAA Fisheries. One year after slashing total cod quotas by more than 75 percent to 386 metric tons, the council voted at its three-day meeting in Portland, Maine, to raise the total cod annual catch limit (ACL) to about 440 metric tons, with 280 metric tons designated for the commercial fishing industry in each of the next three fishing seasons. Read the article here 08:20:38
Getting Close! California’s Dungeness crab season still not ready to begin
“I don’t know when we will reopen,” California Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Charlton Bonham told a legislative committee in Santa Rosa. “You deserve honesty.” Tests by the California Department of Public Health show levels of domoic acid, a biotoxin that has tainted this year’s crabs, have declined to safe levels from San Francisco to Santa Barbara. But it will take another round of clean tests for Fish and Wildlife to consider opening the commercial crab season in those areas, and levels of domoic acid remain high in northern counties from Sonoma to the Oregon border. Read the article here 07:43
