Daily Archives: February 16, 2016
Cooke looking to buy Icicle Seafoods Alaska-based wild salmon processing in Alaska and whitefish operations
Acquisitive Canadian seafood entrepreneur Glenn Cooke is said to be closing in on a deal for US farming, fishing and processing firm Icicle
, which New York-based private equity Paine and Partners is desperately trying to offload. Cooke, who owns fish farming operations in Canada, the US, Chile, Scotland and Spain, has been linked to a move for the Icicle Washington State salmon farm ever since the start of the sale process, which got underway at the start of 2015. Now, Cooke is negotiating a deal for the salmon farm, as well as its Alaska-based wild salmon processing in Alaska and whitefish operations,,, Read the rest here 22:50
Coast Guard, Navy assist two stricken fishing vessel crews approximately 35 miles east of Oregon Inlet.
Coast Guard Sector North Carolina watchstanders in Wilmington received a report at about 2:40 p.m. Monday that the fishing boat Captain David, with three people aboard, was towing the disabled fishing boat Miss Kaylie, with two people aboard, when the Captain David also became disabled. Both boats began taking on water. Crews were not able to keep up with the flooding aboard Captain David but managed to keep flooding under control aboard Miss Kaylie. The Captain David is believed to have sunk. ??? Believed? Read the report here 22:12
Groundswell – Revisiting MSA Reauthorization 2006 – Who Owns the Flying Duck? by Terry Haines
Who owns the air? Who owns the ocean? Who owns a duck flying overhead, on his way to his summer house in the Arctic marshes? Does everyone? Does anyone? Legions of lobbyists are marching on Washington to join the crusade to divvy up every fish that swims within two hundred miles of the United States of America. But the government doesn’t even own the fish that it is giving away. This is the duck that hovers over the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, ready to release its payload. Who Owns the Flying Duck? Read the article here 20:38
Crab task force opts to continue waiting ‘for the good of the industry’
The 2015-2016 commercial Dungeness crab fishing season is officially a salvage operation, but beleaguered fishermen must wait at least another week before they can get to work. During a Tuesday conference call, the Dungeness Crab Task Force unanimously recommended keeping the commercial crab fishing season closed until remaining test sites along the California coast produce sample crab containing safe levels of domoic acid. The recommendation to wait, which reflects input from representatives of crab fishermen, crab processors, sport fishermen and environmental organizations, will be presented to California Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Charlton Bonham, who is expected to make a decision in the next few days. Read the rest here 18:04
NASA confirms the Pacific ‘warm blob’ has disappeared
In the winter of 2013-14, an unusually strong and persistent ridge of atmospheric high pressure emerged in weather maps of the northeastern Pacific Ocean. The feature, which was so unrelenting that meteorologists took to calling it the Ridiculously Resilient Ridge, weakened winds in the area enough that the normal wind-driven churning of the sea eased. Those winds usually promote upwelling, which brings deep, cool water up toward the surface; instead, the resilient ridge shut down the ocean circulation, leaving a large lens of unusually warm surface water in the northeastern Pacific. Read the rest here 16:01
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for Feb 15, 2016
Click here to read the Weekly Update, to read all the updates, Click here 15:31
Transportation Safety Board investigating sinking of fishing boat off Yarmouth
The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) is investigating the Feb. 15 sinking of the fishing vessel that occurred off Yarmouth. The TSB is sending a team of investigators to Pubnico, Yarmouth County, which was the home port of the fish dragger Don Cadegan. According to the TSB, the Don Cadegan ran aground and subsequently on Monday. The TSB said the three-person crew was picked up by another fishing vessel. When contacted by the Vanguard, the owner of the Don Cadegan said he did not know a lot of details, but said everyone on board the vessel at the time of the incident had been safely picked up by another vessel. Read the rest here 13:05
Notice of Intent To Review Monitor National Marine Sanctuary Boundary Expansion
The Expansion Working Group, as the basis for their recommended expansion models, has considered four broad thematic categories, which include: (1) The Colonial and Pre-Contact Period, (2) Commerce, (3) Conflict, and (4) Coastal Heritage. Veterans groups, historians, archaeologists, divers, the preservation community, the general public and the MNMS Sanctuary Advisory Council (SAC) have asked NOAA to consider expansion of the sanctuary as a means to protect and conserve these wrecks for current and future generations. In Federal Register, Read the rest here 11:33
Alaska Fish & Game plans to cut 30 positions in upcoming budget
“Like, I think, most of the department you’ve seen, there was pretty steady growth for about a 10-year period. For the last three years we’ve seen a pretty significant decline,” Brooks said. In three years, the department has cut 100 positions, Brooks said. There are two pieces of legislation in the works that would help raise revenue for the department. House Bill 137 would increase fees on fishing and hunting licenses. And House Bill 251 would assess an additional 1 percent tax on the commercial fishing industry. Read the rest here 11:18
POMs Virus devastating the Tasmanian oyster industry – facing financial ruin. Overnight.
An outbreak of Pacific Oyster Mortality Syndrome is cutting a swathe through the Tasmanian oyster industry. Third generation oyster farmer Ben Cameron discovered he’d lost $1.5million worth of baby oysters in a day. Richard Whittington, Vet scientist, Sydnney UNI This is the worst disease that we’ve actually seen in Australia in terms of its capacity to kill animals en masse within days and put people out of business within days. Video, Read the rest here 08:58
Rightfully, Scottish Fishermen’s Federation accuses think-tank of “pulling the wool over people’s eyes”
A think-tank has been criticised for showing “a complete lack of understanding” of fisheries management in a new report shaming the UK, Denmark and Spain for mismanaging their seas. The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) said yesterday the New Economics Foundation (NEF) was also “pulling the wool over people’s eyes” by cherry-picking facts. NEF’s report – Landing the Blame: Overfishing in the Northeast Atlantic 2016 – claimed to have uncovered the EU countries most responsible for setting fishing quotas above scientific advice. It highlighted the UK, Denmark, and Spain as the worst offenders in terms of the total tonnage of fish quota set above advice. Read the rest here 08:09
Two fishermen rescued 6 miles offshore near San Francisco after commercial vessel capsized
Two fishermen were rescued six miles offshore near San Francisco after their fishing vessel capsized on Monday morning, according to the United Sates Coast Guard. The Coast Guard received a distress call from the Jack D 7 at 10:02 a.m., reporting that the vessel was taking on water. The crew attempted to report their coordinates, but that information turned out to be inaccurate. The boat was found roughly six miles away from the position reported by the crew, according to the Coast Guard. Read the rest here 07:36
