Daily Archives: January 22, 2016
“Super-sized 11-million-pound commercial fish factory” protested
Water-quality advocates with San Diego Coastkeeper announced this week that the group is petitioning the federal Environmental Protection Agency to deny a discharge permit for the proposed Rose Canyon Aquaculture Project , which detractors say would place a development “like large-scale feedlots, but in our ocean” just a few miles off the coast of Ocean Beach. The project, the first of its kind aimed at farming large quantities of deep-sea fish such as yellowtail in American waters, was developed by Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute, a nonprofit arm of the SeaWorld theme-park chain. Read the post here 20:51
Fishermen await decision about at-sea monitoring lawsuit
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — East Coast fishermen are awaiting a judge’s decision about their contention that the federal government’s plan to hand them the cost of at-sea monitoring is illegal. The fishermen’s challenge was the subject of a hearing at U.S. District Court in Concord on Thursday. The judge didn’t issue an order from the bench, so a decision is expected in the future. Link 17:39
F/V Eagle III Memorial Fund
On the night of January 19th the crew on the Eagle III was out crabbing near Charleston, Oregon. They capsized after colliding with the jetty. The captain made it to shore, but one of the crew did not survive and two more are still missing. The boat is owned by Leesa Cobb of Port Orford, who has worked together with the members of the Port Orford Ocean Resource Team on many projects over the years to benefit small boat fishermen and their community. We are raising funds to support the families of the crew who died, and we are so thankful for anything you can contribute to help them get through this tragedy. Click here, and please donate whatever you can. 16:38
Why is it wrong for the fishermen to bring a lawsuit but is alright for Mr. Shelly’s CLF to profit from lawsuits?
CLF’s Peter Shelley at Talking Fish wrote: Blowing Up the New England Fishery Management Council. He won’t post the rebuttal comments but we will!
Comment on Talking Fish that doesn’t seem to be accepted. Mr. Shelly and CLF make a living from suing NOAA and fishing for dollars. For that they get nonprofit tax status. So the taxpayers pay twice 1) for nonprofit status and 2) because they file so many lawsuits they win by default (a scam all NGOs have perfected). Unlike fishermen who do pay taxes and support local economies. Contrary to Mr. Shelly’s claim the majority of people on the councils are not fishermen, and one of the so called fishermen that is on the council is a paid spokesman for the ENGOs (John Pappalardo).
Legal fish, Illegal stop – Fishermen Turned Medical Students Settle Civil Rights Case Against Washington F&W
Washington’s Department of Fish and Wildlife will formally acknowledge Friday that it violated the constitutional rights of two brothers who commercially fished the Columbia River. The agency’s admission of wrongdoing is part of a settlement in a lawsuit that has changed agency practices. It stems from a traffic stop nearly nine years ago in rural southwest Washington. The traffic stop happened on the morning of March 23, 2007. The location was tiny Wahkiakum County across the Columbia River from Astoria. It was captured on video. Read the article here 12:52
Fishermen’s union takes fight to Minister Tootoo, story and video
The United Fishermen and Allied Workers’ Union is hoping residents of Prince Rupert can dust off their pens, stamps and notebooks and put them to good use in the coming days. The union (UFAWU-Unifor) was hard at work last fall, rallying North Coast MLA Jennifer Rice, Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen, the City of Prince Rupert and the District of Port Edward to support them after ), a division of the Jim Pattison Group announced the closure of salmon canning operations at its Oceanside Plant. While they received sympathetic voices in all those representatives, mayors and council members, UFAWU is taking the fight federally. Read the article here 12:08
Bill aimed at helping younger fishermen
As young Alaskans gather in Juneau for the sixth annual Young Fishermen’s Summit next week to explore ways to get a leg up in an increasingly challenging and expensive industry, Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, a member of the House Fisheries Committee, is trying to help. Kreiss-Tomkins and other members of the committee are working on a bill to create community banks to buy limited entry permits from people selling out in order to be able to lease them to people primarily in rural communities who cannot afford to buy them outright. Read the article here 10:47
Men involved in Oregon crabbing boat tragedy identified
The Coos County Sheriff’s Office identified the captain on Thursday as 52-year-old Port Orford resident Glen Burkhow. Burkhow survived the Tuesday night accident in which the commercial fishing boat, F/V Eagle III , sank after hitting a Coos Bay jetty. The sheriff’s office said a man whose body was recovered Wednesday has been identified as 52-year-old Blane Steinmetz of Port Orford. Officials said 37-year-old Daniel Matlock and 31-year-old Joshua Paulus, also of Port Orford, remain missing. A search conducted through Wednesday afternoon was suspended after a U.S. Coast Guard spokesman said the search area had been saturated. Read the post here 09:22
Removal of derelict fishing gear has major economic impact
A new study by researchers at William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science shows that removal of derelict fishing gear could generate millions of dollars in extra harvest value for commercial fisheries worldwide. The study focused on a 6-year, collaborative program to remove derelict crab pots from Chesapeake Bay, showing that the effort generated more than $20 million in harvest value for area watermen. Extending their methodology to estimate the economic benefits of removing derelict crab pots and lobster traps on a global basis,,, Read the article here 08:49
Secretary of Commerce adopts halibut bycatch cuts
The Secretary of Commerce adopted Amendment 111 to the Magnuson-Stevens Act on Wednesday, which cuts halibut bycatch limits for groundfish trawlers. The amendment aims to reduce the bycatch in Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands groundfish fisheries. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration believes the measure will reduce the overall amount of halibut bycatch in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands by 361 metric tons compared to 2014, or nearly 800,000 pounds, freeing up more of the lucrative fish for the directed halibut fishermen in the central Bering Sea. Read the rest here 07:38
