Monthly Archives: December 2015
Starving the fleet – (No word on when dairy farmers will have to begin paying for the inspectors who examine their barns.)
Federal fishing regulators and environmentalists seem to think the best approach to conservation is simply to nickel-and-dime the local fishing fleet out of existence. It’s a contemptible way to handle an industry that helped build the economy in this nation’s coastal states. Federal law now requires commercial fishing vessels that work beyond 3 nautical miles offshore to undergo updated safety and survival training (previously the requirement was only for vessels beyond 13 miles offshore). And of course safety’s a good thing; fishermen risk their lives with every trip. Read the op-ed here 08:32
Waters still rough after new flounder limits
New restrictions on southern flounder stoke showdown between commercial, recreational fishing and conservationists. Neither side can agree on the science; dispute is over whether flounder is over-fished. Politicians keeping a close eye on the controversy. Lawsuits or legislation could follow. All that anyone agrees on in the politically charged controversy over southern flounder is that new regulations that go into effect Friday will reduce the number of fish that are caught. Read the article here 17:27
Opponents seek to reverse decision on oyster farm approval
Even though state and federal agencies have approved plans to establish a 50-acre oyster aquaculture site in Goose Cove, area residents and officials are voicing strong objections to the project and are asking federal officials to revisit the issue. Mark Nadel, a seasonal resident who spends summers on Goose Cove, said the combination of attracting large birds to the area and planes coming and going is a recipe for a repeat of the so-called “Miracle on the Hudson,” ROFLMAO! Read the article here, and support oyster food production! 16:50
Omega Protein : Conservation groups and legislators look to change menhaden regulations
With the lights of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel twinkling in the background, Barry Knight looked at a room full of supporters and realized he no longer was alone. For nearly a decade, the Republican member of the Virginia House of Delegates has been trying to wrestle the menhaden fishing industry from the grasp of the state’s General Assembly. An environmentally conscious angler and a rural Virginia Beach pig farmer, he has wondered for years why menhaden are the only species in Virginia waters that are not controlled by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission. Read the article here 15:31
Md. seafood survives another round on guest worker program
Leaders of Maryland’s seafood industry are cheering an expansion of a guest worker program they deem critical for crab season as part of the $1.1 trillion federal spending bill signed by President Barack Obama this month. But industry leaders say they are concerned about the future. Labor unions, civil rights groups — and, increasingly, political conservatives — have taken aim at the program that brings tens of thousands of seasonal workers to the country annually, including for the crab-picking and oyster-shucking seasons on the Eastern Shore. Read the article here 14:33
Savannah McDormand, 20, mourned after Westport fishing boat death
Savannah McDormand, a 20-year-old woman who was found dead on a fishing boat earlier this week in Westport, N.S., is being remembered as a fun person with a wry sense of humour. “She was very bubbly and very happy-go-lucky,” said Virginia Tudor, the owner of the Brier Island Lodge. Tudor knew the young woman since McDormand was a child on the small island that is home to about 130 people. Tudor says the community is devastated. Read the article here 14:24
Bluefin tuna sighted early in season off Outer Banks
Bluefin tuna season is here again, traditionally running from November through March, sometimes into April, and there have already been landings in Carteret County, as well as some anecdotal reports of the prized commercial fish showing up off the Outer Banks. Bluefin tuna are a sought-after commercial finfish for sushi, and individual fish can sell for several thousand dollars on the international market. Matt Frost, owner and operator of Homer Smith Seafood in Beaufort, said as of Wednesday he’s had about 6,100 pounds of bluefin tuna landed at his fish house. Read the article here 20:20
‘Wild Alaskan’ floating strip club owner guilty of dumping human waste in harbor
The owner of a crabbing boat that was converted into a floating strip club off the shore of an Alaskan island has been found guilty of illegally dumping human waste into a harbor. KMXT-FM reports that Darren Byler on Wednesday was found guilty in federal court of illegal dumping of sewage and lying to federal authorities about it. The jury found his wife Kimberly Riedel-Byler not guilty of the same charges. Prosecutors say Byler piped raw sewage from bathrooms aboard the 94-foot “Wild Alaskan” into the Kodiak harbor instead of taking the waste 3 miles offshore. Read the rest here 20:06
Factory trawlers praised for halibut conservation
What a difference a year makes for the halibut bycatch controversy in the Bering Sea at the December meetings of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council in Anchorage. The flatfish factory trawlers, vilified for much of this year, reported vigorous and voluntary efforts at halibut conservation, and even received praise from the Pribilofs. Their zeal was prompted by what might be termed resolution number two-by-four of the fish council last summer, which slashed halibut bycatch by 25 percent. “I’m glad what is happening now is happening,” said Swetzof, who was furious when the issue first arose last year,,, Read the article here 18:32
Falmouth selectmen support keeping Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole
The Northeast Fisheries Science Center facility in Woods Hole was built before men walked on the moon and is due for an upgrade — but whether that happens at its current home in the village remains to be seen. The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and Department of Commerce are doing a facilities study on the Woods Hole campus, which dates to 1961 and houses both research and administrative facilities. NOAA spokeswoman Teri Frady said repairs, renovations or replacement are all possible options, but any definitive direction is still a long way off. Read the article here 12:36
Must Read – Fears for our fishery, Father Ed Brophy, St. Alban’s
Fellow Newfoundlanders, according to the news, a large Newfoundland fish company called Quin-Sea is about to be taken over by an even larger company from Denmark. The Danish company is called Royal Greenland. I find this disturbing. For me, it is a cause for grave concern. With the stroke of a pen, with the signing of a bill of sale, Royal Greenland of Denmark will be the major shareholder in one of Newfoundland’s largest fish-producing companies. In other words, major decisions about the company, the quotas the catching of shrimp and crab, the production — in fact, all major decisions — could be made by a large company in Denmark. Read the op-ed here, and think! 09:23
Discard Mortality: What happens when a fisherman tosses a fish back overboard? It’s not a frivolous question.
What happens when a fisherman tosses a fish back overboard? It’s not a frivolous question. The government bases catch quotas and other rules in part on the mortality of tossed fish, and there isn’t always accurate data available about how many fish survive the fling. Now, a group of New England scientists says it’s finding that a surprisingly high percentage of the lucky fish might live to swim another day. Read the article here 08:44
Eight fishermen rescued after five days in lifeboat
Eight fishermen who spent five days on a lifeboat after their vessel sank in the Atlantic Ocean have been rescued off the Brazilian coast. The skipper of another fishing boat spotted the group Thursday afternoon some 15km from Cascavel beach in the northeastern state of Ceara, Brazilian authorities said on Friday. The crew of the second boat rescued the eight castaways and brought them ashore. Suffering from dehydration, the survivors were taken to hospitals in Fortaleza, the state capital, and two of them remained hospitalised on Friday. Read the rest here 20:30
User conflicts over halibut, salmon on horizon for 2016
The year about to end saw the beginnings of some fisheries regulations and legal battles that will either resolve or present further issues in 2016. Halibut has dominated the federal fisheries agenda for the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, which oversees the Exclusive Economic Zone from 3 to 200 miles off the coast. Shrinking halibut stocks and dual management have collided to produce a fishery bitterly divided among bycatch users, directed users, and charter anglers struggling to make ends meet with fewer legally harvestable fish. Read the article here 16:04
Atlantic Salmon Found Spawning In Farmington River Watershed For First Time in Centuries
State wildlife experts have now documented wild Atlantic salmon laying eggs in nests in their traditional Farmington River valley spawning grounds, possibly for the first time in centuries. “It’s the first time since probably the Revolutionary War,” said Peter Aarrestad, director of inland fisheries for the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection. The three wild salmon nests, or “redds,” were discovered in November upstream of the Rainbow Dam fishway in Windsor, somewhere “within the Farmington River watershed,” Aarrestad said. Read the rest here 15:41
Hawaii Longliners get a Christmas Gift, Ahi Ruling Upheld! Enviro’s get coal.
A federal judge has ruled longline fishermen in Hawaii may continue catching more bigeye tuna, or ahi, than the maximum set by international regulators. U.S. District Judge Leslie Kobayashi on Wednesday issued a ruling rejecting environmental groups’ claims that the extra fishing is illegal. The opinion came just in time for the year-end holidays when Hawaii consumers crowd stores to buy ahi sashimi for Christmas and New Year’s celebrations. A ruling adverse to the fishermen had the potential to shut down or curtail the Hawaii fishery for the rest of the calendar year. Read the article here 20:50
Norad Tracks Santa: Christmas tradition for children turns 60
When the red phone rang on the desk of U.S. Air Force Col. Harry Shoup one night in early December 1955, he took a deep breath before answering. After all, it was the height of the Cold War and he was commander of the combat alert centre charged with watching for Russian threats in the skies over Canada and the U.S. If that phone rang, only one of two people was likely on the other end: a four-star general at the Pentagon or the president of the United States. Instead, Shoup heard the very small voice of a child who had a very big question: “Is this Santa Claus?” Read the article here 18:03
An Update on the Caledonian Family Relief Fund.
On December 17th we posted There appears to be a problem with the Caledonian Tragedy Family Relief Fund. We said inquiry’s would be made, and we did inquire! We received a response from you caring on Dec 18, saying they would investigate the status of the fund. Calls were made to the company for comment, but we got dumped at the voicemail of the company attorney, with no response. Today, an article (damage control) was posted at undercurrent via seafoodnews.com that the funds will be released. When we post a fundraiser for people in need, we expect those funds to be distributed, otherwise we certainly wouldn’t post them. I believe this would still be in limbo if we didn’t dog them. Merry Christmas to the surviving loved ones of this tragedy.
Pacific Seafood Group, the parent company of Vancouver Island, Canada-based S&S Seafood and Ucluelet Harbor Seafood, announced on Dec. 23 that a fundraiser for the families of the crew lost on Caledonian has raised over CAD 100,000. The 33-meter trawler sank on Sept. 5, 2015 resulting in the deaths of skipper Wesley Hagglund, engineer Keith Standing, and deckhand Doug White. Standing and White were both from Port Alberni. Hagglund was from Duncan. A fourth crew member survived. Read the article here 16:40
Rhode Island: Investing in seafood industry pays off
Monday’s shoreline Port of Galilee ribbon-cutting ceremony was a perfect example of how investing in infrastructure can make the cash register ring for Rhode Islanders. “This dock was in rough shape. You couldn’t drive heavy vehicles on it. But thanks to the team here today, our capacity will be enhanced by 30 percent. This is big for our company,” said Ryan Clark, vice president of Town Dock, a fishing and fish processing company. Read the article here 15:24
Feds wasting too much taxpayer money on public relations efforts
Our federal government is a master of self-promotion, comprising the second-largest public relations firm in the world, according to a new report from Open the Books, a project of the nonprofit group American Transparency. From fiscal years 2007-14, the federal government spent $4.37 billion on public relations efforts, according to the study. This sum includes more than $2.3 billion for 3,092 in-house public affairs officers – 60 percent of whom make at least $100,000 a year in base salary – across more than 200 federal agencies and $2 billion spent by 139 agencies on outside PR vendors. Read the op-ed here 10:50
Death of woman found on lobster boat no longer considered suspicious
RCMP say the death of a 20-year-old woman found dead on a Brier Island-based lobster boat Tuesday is no longer considered suspicious. “The investigation, obviously, is still ongoing,” Const. Mark Skinner said Thursday morning. “We’ve ruled out foul play.” The woman was discovered dead in a bunk on a fishing boat as it was heading into Westport Tuesday afternoon. It’s not believed the crew knew the woman was on board. Read the article here 08:54
Sidetracked salmon rescued, released into Sacramento River
Operation Salmon Rescue is in full swing in Yolo County, where hundreds of the endangered fish are getting a second shot at life. Since as early as this past September, the state Department of Fish and Wildlife has teamed up with both local and regional organizations to capture hordes of fully grown along the Colusa Basin Drain in the Yolo Bypass, who have strayed from their natural migration patterns into dead-end drainage canals. Read the article here 08:21
New Hampshire Fishermen are optimizing the value of their catch – Fishing for new markets
Leaving New Hampshire’s shores early in the morning in small 40-foot boats and returning in the afternoon to sell the day’s catch, groundfishermen seem to personify the state motto, “Live Free or Die.” But their numbers are shrinking. In communities across the country, a movement has sprouted up aimed at helping the local fishing industry create markets that deliver higher prices to fishermen for the fish they can catch. Read the article here 19:26
Exclusive: Ocean acidification not a current problem, top NOAA scientist insists in FOIA-ed e-mails
JunkScience.com got NOAA scientist e-mails via FOIA? Why can’t Congress? Last October, the New York Times published this dire op-ed on ocean acidification, supposedly authored by NOAA chief Richard Spinrad and his UK counterpart Ian Boyd. First, the op-ed was actually written by NOAA staff Madelyn Applebaum, not Spinrad or Boyd. The purpose was to tout NOAA not inform the public about ocean acidification. Read this brilliant FOIA expose here 18:59
THE ORIGINS AND HISTORY OF THE FLYING SANTA
Airplanes, helicopters, lighthouses and a Santa Claus delivering toys along with coffee, tea, potato chips and shaving products. Seems like a strange mix for a 84-year tradition to be based on. This annual New England occurrence, though always appreciated by its recipients, has not always been completely understood. There are many elements that make up the Flying Santa experience and we hope to enlighten people with the following account of its history and customs. Through personal recollections, newspaper accounts and family histories we have been able to put together a detailed report on the origins of the Flying Santa and its evolution over the past 84 years. We continue to research the accounts of years past, so this is by no means the final word on the origins and history of the “Santa of the lighthouses”. By Brian Taque Read the story here 17:34
NOAA Failed Walrus Science, Meanwhile Polar bears are doing just fine – with some “as fat as pigs”!
Two posts: The 2015 Arctic Report Card: NOAA Failed Walrus Science!- Good scientists fully understand that complex issues with high uncertainties require two or more working hypotheses. NOAA failed to communicate the great uncertainties and alternative. Instead NOAA’s report card made claims that hinge on the unproven hypothesis that,, (Click here), and More scientific evidence that polar bears are doing just fine – a 30% increase in population with some of them “as fat as pigs.” – Svalbard polar bear numbers increased 30% over last 11 years. Results of this fall’s Barents Sea population survey have been released by the Norwegian Polar Institute and they are phenomenal: despite several years with poor ice conditions, (Click here) 15:13
‘Historic’ red tide could keep oyster reefs closed for months
Oyster season won’t be reopening any time soon in Mississippi. The CMR was told the required red tide testing to make sure oysters are safe for harvest, could take up to three months. “We’ve never had one at this level or this intensity. This is a historic event,” the DMR’s Joe Jewell said at this morning’s special meeting of the CMR. Jewell was talking about the red tide event which closed oyster season nearly two weeks ago. Read the article here 12:41
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 56.8′ Steel Stern Trawler, CAT 3406, Kubota – 30 KW Genset
Specifications, information and 8 photo’s click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 12:20
NPR Claims Fish Stocks are Declining Worldwide – Comment by Ray Hilborn, University of Washington
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