Daily Archives: January 25, 2016
Ventura Harbor Entrance Closed Until Further Notice
The Ventura Harbor’s entrance is closed and will continue to be closed for at least the next week, and this is impacting local fishermen. The harbor entrance is the only way fishermen docked in the Ventura Harbor can get out to the ocean and go fishing. Some of them have been trapped in the harbor since Friday, and they say every day that goes by is another day they are losing thousands of dollars. “For us we get a load of squid it is $40,000 a night so for us it’s a big deal,” said squid fisherman Brian Lapeyri. Fishermen who work on the Aleutian Spirit are currently stuck at their dock in the Ventura Harbor. Read the article here 22:07
Seals blamed for drop in Strait of Georgia juvenile salmon stocks
A bountiful population of harbour seals is a prime suspect in the decline of coho and chinook in the Strait of Georgia, according to a new study. The population of harbour seals has grown steadily with federal protection, from fewer than 5,000 in 1970 to about 40,000 in 2008 in the Strait of Georgia — a period that corresponds with marked declines in coho and chinook. “In the 1970s, you could take 60 to 70 per cent of the population sustainably every year and there’d still be plenty of fish coming back to spawn — and that just doesn’t happen any more,” Read the article here 19:47
New U.S. Coast Guard Safety Regs For Life Rafts
By the end of next month there will be new Coast Guard safety regulations for the use of flotation devices on all sea vessels. Smaller passenger vessels will no longer be able to use life rings and other flotation devices as the only form of survival gear, but instead equipped their boat with a life raft to assure that in the case of a vessel sinking, every passenger is safely out of water. Scott Wilwert is the Coast Guard Fishing Safety Coordinator in Juneau.“On February 26 2016 survival craft requirements for commercial fishing vessels as well,,, Audio, Read the rest here 16:46
New England Fishery Management Council meeting in Portsmouth, NH January 26 thru 28, 2016
The New England Fishery Management Council and its advisory bodies will meet at the Sheraton Harborside Hotel, 250 Market Street, Portsmouth, NH January 26 thru 28, 2016 . View the Final Council Meeting Agenda, Click here Register to Listen Live, Click here 16:20
Canneries look for a list of concessions from American Samoa
Faced with a decline in their competitive advantage, the governor’s executive assistant Iulogologo Joseph Pereira says the canneries are seeking concessions from the government and a response is being formulated to help the canneries — the largest private employer in the territory. The canneries and fishing industry in American Samoa are facing serious challenges with the fishing restrictions imposed in June — and since the beginning of 2016, the Forum Fisheries Agency or FFA is no longer issuing fishing licenses to the U.S. fleeting to fish in waters of 17 Pacific island countries under the South Pacific Tuna Treaty. Read the article here 13:58
Portland-based fishing boat captain and daughter to be featured on ‘Wicked Tuna’
Pete Speeches sees himself as a competitive guy, competing against the unpredictability of nature every time he sets foot on his boat. So when Speeches and his daughter Erin signed up to be featured on the new season of the popular tuna-fishing reality show “Wicked Tuna,” he wasn’t looking to just get his face on TV or for a career in acting. He was looking to win. “I’m not in the habit of not catching fish, I like to be the guy who catches fish,” said Speeches, 54, who fishes out of Portland on a boat named for his daughters, the Erin & Sarah. Read the article here 12:51
King: Offended by cooking show
On Jan 16, Saturday eve, we were watching a cooking show on WACA-TV (cable TV in Ashland) where the top item on the menu was a ‘traditional’ Italian lobster dish. We’d just viewed an earlier preparation of part of the meal and it was well planned and executed. There is a degree of enjoyment watching people who know what they’re doing to the extent it seems to be an art. Then they talked about the lobster. It was clear the lobster was still alive. (Oh no!) Read the rest here 11:02
Harrowing tale of how 20 fishermen aboard Grimsby trawler Laforey paid the ultimate price
An audio play reliving the events in which crewmen aboard a famous Grimsby trawler sadly died is to be broadcast. The story of the 20 fishermen onboard the Laforey GY85 is the theme of a powerful new play, due to be aired next month. The story will explore how the trawler grounded off the coast of Norway during heavy seas and snow in February 1954, resulting in the loss of all 20 crew. Named The Price Of Fish: GY85, the play will be broadcast on Compass FM on Sunday, February 7, at 7pm, the 62nd anniversary of the loss of the ship. Read the article here 10:40
Some lobstermen dislike proposal to ease long waits for Maine lobstering licenses
It can take years for someone to move off a waiting list to become a commercial lobsterman in Maine, and for years fishermen have been trying to figure out a way to make the licensing process work while protecting the health of the lobster population. Now a bill that aims to accomplish both goals appears to be headed for a fight when it goes before the Legislature’s Marine Resources Committee on Feb. 10. “People who live in struggling coastal communities care about this,” said Rep. Walter Kumiega, D-Deer Isle, sponsor of the bill and House chairman of the Marine Resources Committee. Read the rest here 10:19
Governor Kasich and the New Hampshire Fishermen
When John Kasich tells you that he is a skilled executive, believe him. Governor Kasich met with several New Hampshire fishermen on 8 January. David Goethel, owner and captain of the 44-foot fishing trawler Ellen Diane, is suing NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) for bureaucratic overreach and has explained his position in a Wall Street Journal op-ed. Governor Kasich read the op-ed and as a result requested the meeting. This was not a campaign stop. Nobody took names for a mailing list; nobody handed out bumper stickers. The governor was there to learn and to help. Read the article here 09:06
Bluefin Tuna Early Migration Focuses OLE Officer’s Attention On Compliance, Outreach
Atlantic bluefin tuna are beginning to appear off the coasts of North Carolina and Virginia. The early arrival of the highly sought-after finfish may be generating an enthusiastic stir among fishermen, but the interest is in ensuring compliance throughout the season. “Bluefin tuna fisheries are among the most highly regulated in the world” said OLE Enforcement Officer Justin Hanacek. “In order to safeguard the species’ stability it’s important to comply with all the regulations intended to protect and manage the population throughout all stages of the migration along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts of the United States.” Read the rest here 08:16
