Daily Archives: January 16, 2016
Nova Scotia fisherman concerned about recent thefts of live lobster
A Nova Scotia lobster fisherman says he is troubled by the recent thefts of roughly 2,700 kilograms of live lobster in the province. Hubert Saulnier, a former president of the Maritime Fishermen’s Union Local 9, says the valuable crustaceans were someone’s livelihood and a lot of work and money went into catching them. The RCMP say 48 crates of live lobster, more than 2,100 kilograms, were stolen from an outdoor pound at a business on Cape Sable Island early Wednesday. Read the rest here 18:45
No One in Alaska Died Commercial Fishing in the Past Year
Commercial fishing has been getting safer for decades, for a lot of reasons. The U.S. Coast Guard recently announced a milestone: No one in Alaska died commercial fishing in a vessel-related incident in the past year, for the first time. That’s the federal fiscal year, Oct. 1 2014 through Sept. 30 2015. Although six commercial fishing boats sank in the summer of 2015, no one was killed. Between 1980 and 1988, an average of 31 fishermen died in Alaska each year. Read the report here 15:45
Coast Guard Air Station Astoria receives the service’s first centennial celebration painted helicopter
Coast Guard Air Station Astoria received a yellow-painted MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter at its base in Warrenton, Friday, in celebration of 100 years of Coast Guard aviation. The Jayhawk helicopter, the first of all this year’s specially painted aircraft delivered by the Coast Guard to an operational unit, arrived from Coast Guard Aviation Logistics Center in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and will operate out of the Warrenton base for the next 4 years. Read the post here 12:52
Alaskans own dwindling number of Alaska fishing permits
Fishing issues will take a back seat to budget cutting when the Alaska Legislature convenes Jan. 19, but two early fish bills (and one holdover) are getting attention already. One new measure aims to stop the migration of commercial fishing permits out of Alaska. Forty years ago at Bristol Bay, 36 percent of the more than nearly 2,000 permits were held by locals and 64 percent by nonresidents. By 2013, the numbers were 19 percent local and 81 percent nonresident. Similar trends, by varying degrees, are happening in other regions as well. Read the article here 12:33
Video: The Phil Paleologos Show – A Talk About At Sea Monitors and Other Regulations For Fishermen
Phil Paleologos hosts a conversation regarding a lawsuit over a provision that would require fishermen to pay for at-sea monitors. This conversation included David Geothel, a fisherman and plaintiff in the lawsuit; Richard Canastra, of the Buyers and Sellers Exchange or BASE; Don Cuddy, Program Director for the Center for Sustainable Fisheries; and , the Manager of Sector 13. A court hearing will take place January 21. Watch the video here 11:20
Fogo Island codfish making its way to Toronto restaurant plates
Fogo Island codfish has caught the attention of Toronto chefs hook, line and sinker. When construction of the Fogo Island Inn and artist studios was complete, Anthony Cobb turned his focus to something more traditional — codfish. Cobb launched a pilot project, called Fogo Island Fish, whose goal was to put codfish caught by Fogo Island fishermen in the hands of Toronto chefs. “Conditions in the cod fisheries haven’t changed much since the 1960s,” Cobb said. “My father left the cod fishery because he couldn’t get a decent price for his fish, and fast forward 50 years or so and you still can’t get a decent price for fish if you’re a fisherman.” Read the article here 09:57
SpaceX to launch $180 million NOAA ocean satellite, data to be used to aid fisheries management
A $180 million satellite to study the world’s oceans in a changing climate will blast off Sunday atop a Falcon 9 rocket, which SpaceX will try to land on a floating platform after launch. “That is a significant advantage over our predecessors,” said Jim Silva, Jason-3 program manager at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The technology will also monitor global sea surface heights, tropical cyclones and help support seasonal and coastal forecasts. During a five-year mission, its data will also be used to aid fisheries management and research into human impacts on the world’s oceans. Read the article here 08:43
Questions schooling around at-sea fishing monitors – NOAA says money to run out in February
The battle over the cost and scope of at-sea monitoring of Northeast groundfish vessels, now being played out on various regulatory and legal platforms, promises a hectic end to the current fishing season and a complex start to the next. There are no shortage of questions. When will the federal government run out of money and shift the responsibility for paying for observers to the permit holders? And what of the Goethel lawsuit filed with the support of Cause for Action, the nonprofit government watchdog agency? Read the article here. 08:10
