Monthly Archives: February 2016
Red-snapper limits help Louisiana’s restaurants and economy: Brett Veerhusen and Haley Bittermann
Louisiana catches about 1 billion pounds of seafood every year for commercial sale, and with the demand for local seafood at an all-time high, we rely on our nation’s fishery management process to ensure sustainable fisheries. Louisiana restaurants rely on locally sourced, sustainably managed seafood. Close to 70 percent of seafood harvested off the Gulf Coast is landed in Louisiana. Chances are your delicious plate of red snapper is from one of our many locally run Gulf fisheries. Read the rest here 10:13
Coast Guardsmen find film an apt tribute
“We all live or we all die.” That’s Boatswain Mate Kelly Zimmerman’s favorite line from the movie “The Finest Hours” which he saw at a special showing in Boston with other members of Coast Guard Station Chatham last week. In the film those words are said by actor Chris Pine, who Zimmerman got a chance to meet when the star shadowed him and other Coasties for character development during filming. Those words were first uttered by Coxswain Bernie Webber, whom Pine portrays in the movie. Webber took three other Coast Guardsmen out during a nor’easter on Feb. 18, 1952 to rescue 33 men on the stern of the tanker Pendleton. With waves more than 60-feet high and the deadly Chatham Bar to cross many called the attempt a suicide mission. Read the rest here 09:02
Fish Grab: Push and pull, as fishermen debate proposed tourist fishery
The notion that tourists should be able to drop a fishing line in the ocean all summer long has ignited a fierce debate on CBC Radio’s The Broadcast. Mussel Bed Boat Tours in Lewisporte is lobbying the federal government on behalf of 40 tour boat operators. “We proposed that we would start the season the first of June and end it at the end of September or the first of October, and that we would retain two fish per tourist per trip,” said Mussel Bed’s owner Graham Wood. “That doesn’t make any sense to me, right,” said Bay de Verde fisherman Tony Doyle, who’s against the proposal and worried about competition. “They can catch fish on his vessel when he’s out, but I’ll still be sitting on the end of the wharf and waiting for a three week fishery.” Read the rest here 07:53
Well Preserved
In 1979, Bumble Bee Seafoods divested some of its properties on the Lower Columbia River. Nine fishermen purchased seven acres in Clifton from the seafood company. The property included a cluster of cannery-related buildings such as a net storage and receiving station, boat shed, net drying racks and bunkhouse. Jack Marincovich, now 83, was one of those nine fishermen. He grew up in Clifton and is encyclopedic in his recollection of its buildings and their occupants. “It was a pretty tight community,” he recalled. Read the article here 19:41
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission approves NJ option for summer flounder
New Jersey is one step closer to becoming its own summer flounder management region. The 
unanimously approved an option Tuesday during their winter meetings in Virginia to allow for a New Jersey/Delaware Bay management region. It would pull the state out of its present management region which it shares with Connecticut and New York.The New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council must now vote to adopt the measure. The council’s next meeting is March 3. Read the rest here 19:21
North Carolina Shrimp fishermen help state researchers gather data
, they will do so with an important partner. Area fishermen will be offering up their time and use of their private trawlers to help state researchers gather information on the effectiveness of various gears in reducing bycatch of finfish in trawl nets. Plans are to test three gear options in each the summer and fall shrimp fishery; a task that will involve the use of three trawls each season for about three weeks each. “We’ve budgeted 15 days for each vessel with a goal of 30 tows for each one of the gears,” said Kevin Brown, gear development biologist with the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries. Fishermen and others involved in the shrimp fishery have also had a say in what gears will be tested. Read the article here 14:37Congressman Hunter calls for a ban on some American aid tied to South Pacific Tuna Treaty
This follows the end of the treaty arrangements when the US failed to pay its first quarter levy and the Pacific Islands Forum Fisheries Agency is no longer issuing licences to fish for tuna in the island countries’ waters.Hunter wants the US Congress to stop the US Government using congressionally approved funds as aid to the Pacific countries involved – which includes all the independent island nations in the region. Congress allocates about US$21 million dollars each annually to the US State Department as part of the federal government’s under the Tuna Treaty. Hunter said it’s important to stress economic assistance does not occur on its own; it had always been tied to United States boats fishing in the Treaty area. Read the rest here 10:59
Not Counting Fish – MARCO report woefully lacking info from recreational fishermen
MARCO stands for Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean, and it was created to provide information on all the various uses as well as all the animal and mineral concentrations in the ocean off the Mid-Atlantic coast. Similar councils have been formed to investigate the same things all along the coast of the United States. President Barack Obama issued an executive order asking for this information so future ocean planners can make informed decisions before issuing permits to build windmill farms, or perform ocean mining or oil and gas exploration. These councils are the result of that order. Read the rest here 08:36
Conservative Cape Cod scientist announces 2nd run for Congress, hoping to challenge Keating
A Brown University biology professor calling for tighter border security and less government regulation is taking his second run at the U.S. House of Representatives, announcing plans Thursday to vie for the Republican nomination in the 9th Congressional District. Mark Alliegro, a former senior scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole, said securing the country’s southern border is “probably about the top issue” for people he speaks with in the district, which spans Cape Cod and much of SouthCoast. Read the rest here 06:57
Todd Fisheries Technology’s first full scale Lobster Hatchery in Kilkeel, Northern Ireland.
The hatchery is called Seascope and incorporates a visitor centre and oyster hatchery (also manufactured by Todd Fish). The motivation behind the hatchery was to ensure the locally important lobster fishery was stable and sustainable. Renowned researcher Professor Paulo Prodohl, from Queens University in Belfast, is working with the hatchery on new research relating to genetics, diet and efficacy of lobster hatcheries. The North Coast Lobster Fishermen’s Association are also partners and supporters of the project. Read the rest here 20:22
NEFMC Newsletter – Council Report
Dear Interested Parties: You will find attached the New England Fishery Management Council’s newsletter, the Council Report. It summarizes the actions taken at the Council’s meeting in Portsmouth, NH last week. Click here -> NEFMC Council Rept_Jan2016.pdf .Also, please feel free to contact me with any questions and have a nice weekend. Patricia M. Fiorelli, Public Affairs Officer, New England Fishery Management Council (w) 978.465.0492, ext. 106 (c) 617.548.5786 [email protected] 16:45
Coast Guard medevacs Fisherman off the coast of Marquesas Keys, Florida
A fisherman was medically evacuated by a Coast Guard search-and-rescue crew north of Marquesas Keys, Florida, Thursday. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Key West, Fla., received notification from the crew aboard the Capt GC II of a 49-year-old male experiencing shortness of breath 13 nautical miles north of Marquesas Keys. After consulting with the duty flight surgeon, a Coast Guard Air Station Miami MH-65 helicopter crew launched to transport him to urgent medical care. The helicopter crew arrived on scene, hoisted the man and transported him to Key West International Airport where emergency medical services awaited. Watch the video here 13:43
Shrimp Task Force discusses penalties for fishing out of season
State officials and district attorneys continue to hammer out stricter penalties for shrimpers. 
At its meeting today in Houma, the Louisiana Shrimp Task Force continued discussions on its plans to get legislation passed to strengthen the penalties for violators. Currently, shrimpers face fines, revocation of gear licenses, community service and potential jail time if accused of multiple violations. Officials said the issue with the current penalties is that an owner of a vessel with multiple violations can use another licensed captain who does not have violations out on the same boat. Read the rest here 10:58
Maine lobster industry wary as warm waters suggest repeat of disastrous 2012 season
For those in the lobster industry, any sign of a return to the conditions of 2012 is cause for high anxiety. Researchers say the industry needs to be prepared for that possibility because warming trends are laying the groundwork for a potential repeat of the disastrous season of four years ago. “We learned a hard lesson in 2012,” said Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association. Because of warm waters in the Gulf of Maine, peak harvesting started in May that year, weeks ahead of schedule. The catch jumped more than 20 percent, from 104 million pounds in 2011 to 127 million pounds in 2012. The shedding season,,, Read the article here 10:29
Lobster breeding program is a success
The town’s aquarium is raising lobsters to replenish the fisheries off the coast of Cumbria. When they’re big enough, the baby lobsters are released from a boat into the wild using weighted containers that sink slowly to the sea bed. The lids of the containers are made from paper so the baby lobsters can chew their way through it to freedom. Mark Vollers, the owner of Lake District Coast Aquarium, said: “There is clearly a strong connection to the mother in the breeding cycle in that if the eggs are taken from her they don’t survive or hatch successfully. “She has to release them when she senses the time is right. Read the rest here 10:11
Sounds of ships and windfarms ‘may alter marine ecosystem’
Underwater sound linked to human activity could alter the behaviour of seabed creatures which play a vital role in marine ecosystems, according to new research. The study found exposure to sounds that resemble shipping traffic and offshore construction results in behavioural responses in certain invertebrate species which live in the marine sediment. These species make a crucial contribution to the seabed ecosystem as their burrowing and bioirrigation activities (how much the organism moves water in and out of the sediment by its actions) are vital in nutrient recycling and carbon storage. Read the rest here 09:54
Coast Guard rescue stations in SC, Oregon open till 2018
U.S. Coast Guard helicopter search-and-rescue stations on the South Carolina and Oregon coasts will remain open at least until 2018. Sen. Tim Scott said in a statement Thursday that part of an authorization bill that cleared Congress this week includes keeping the Coast Guard Stations open. The bill was sent to the president to be signed. Losing the Air Facility Charleston and its search-and-rescue helicopter would have serious effects on one of our nation’s critical port cities and adversely impact the safety of mariners, residents and tourists in the Lowcountry,” Scott said. Scott and his fellow South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham worked with Sens. Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley of Oregon to keep the facilities open. Read the rest here 08:33
LDWC approves fishing regulations out to 9-mile limit
Recreational and commercial fishermen will have no changes in daily nor sized limits and the state will not alter current federal commercial fishing regulations on the use of gear in state waters out to nine miles. The one-year rule pushing state boundary waters out to nine nautical miles from the state’s wildly meandering coastline was given Congressional approval in December. In some cases, state laws governing gear use by commercial fisheries were more strict than federal laws. Thursday, during the state Wildlife and Fisheries Commission’s monthly meeting, the LDWC unanimously approved a resolution to apply state recreational regulations and retain federal commercial fishing regulations out to the nine-mile limit. Read the rest here 07:41
Disaster loans opened to California’s Dungeness crab fishermen, businesses
The U.S. Small Business Administration announced that low-interest disaster loans are now available to commercial anglers and other businesses affected by the continued closure, which stems from a potentially deadly neurotoxin affecting the fishery. The loans, which max out at $2 million, with 4 percent interest, are the first significant help extended to crabbers, seafood processors and others who have been economically devastated by the foregone season. California crab landings are usually worth about $60 million a year or more.,, It does not appear that deckhands, who often work as contracted employees, would qualify for the business loans. Those workers comprise a group that is among the most desperate amid the crab closure. Read the rest here 06:54
More and bigger shrimp boats could be headed Hernando Beach, and neighbors are in an uproar!
Daniel Ebbecke has told county planners that he wants more intense commercial zoning for his one-third-of-an-acre lot “to eliminate the confusion regarding the use of this property.” His site, on Calienta Street at Gulf Coast Drive, was limited to two shrimp boats years ago by the county, and the current zoning limits the size of boats to 26 feet. Ebbecke is asking for a zoning change to allow up to six boats of up to 45 feet, a request the Hernando County Planning and Zoning Commission is scheduled to hear Monday. Neighbors are opposed to the commercial boat expansion for reasons ranging from noise to seawall and dock damage, traffic issues at Calienta Street and Shoal Line Boulevard, and navigational problems. Read the rest here 16:15
Bycatch spike, meeting spur trawl stand down
Gulf of Alaska trawlers are flocking to a meeting in Portland, leaving behind a halibut bycatch situation the North Pacific Fishery Management Council is attempting to fix. The trawlers have complaints with council process, but are also standing down from a halibut bycatch spike resulting from a pollock price dispute with area processors. Industry sources say the stand down was already underway prior to a letter from prominent Gulf of Alaska trawl organizations on Jan. 28 asking for the council-related stand down. Trawl industry representatives said the two stand downs are unrelated. Thirty-four Central Gulf of Alaska trawlers and 19 Western Gulf of Alaska trawlers have agreed not to fish from Feb. 3-6, showing solidarity with those trawlers traveling to Portland to testify at the council meeting. Read the rest here 15:44
COAST GUARD RESPONDS TO HELP FISHERMEN STRANDED 45 MILES OFF PORTLAND, ME
The Coast Guard is towing a 65-foot fishing boat with four people aboard Thursday, 45 miles southeast of Portland, Maine. At approximately 7:30 a.m. Wednesday a crew member aboard the fishing boat Jocka used a VHF-FM radio to contact Coast Guard watchstanders to report their engine was disabled and they needed assistance. The crew aboard the 110-foot Coast Guard Cutter Ocracoke, homeported in South Portland, Maine, responded to the hail for help and diverted to assist the stranded fishermen. Read the rest here 13:57
Work under way on Endangered Species Act hatchery plans
The National Marine Fisheries Service says it has completed work on plans for 26 Columbia River hatcheries and is actively working on Endangered Species Act review of 32 more, including 16 on lower Columbia tributaries in Washington. The numbers from the federal fishery agency were provided in response to a 60-day notice of intent to sue announced Jan. 13 by the Wild Fish Conservancy, which claims the government is funding Columbia River hatcheries prior to meeting mandated review of plans under the Endangered Species Act. Read the rest here 11:09
Video: Coast Guard medevacs injured fisherman 70 miles off Barnegat Light, NJ
The Coast Guard medevaced a 49-year-old man Wednesday 70 miles east of Barnegat Light, New Jersey. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay in Philadelphia received notification at approximately 9:15 a.m. from the crew of the 77-foot fishing vessel Determination of a crewmember who suffered injuries to his right hand. The fishing vessel Determination is homeported in Rhode Island. Video, Click here 10:49
Courtney tells congressional subcommittee that plan would bankrupt Connecticut lobstermen
U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District told a congressional subcommittee Tuesday that a proposal to transfer control of 155 square miles of federally controlled ocean to Rhode Island and New York jurisdiction would bankrupt Connecticut lobstermen, including those from Stonington and other southeastern Connecticut towns. “This is damaging people’s livelihood and I think we have to be a lot more careful in terms of how we as a Congress treat federal jurisdiction and people’s rights … If the plan passes, Courtney said Connecticut lobstermen would be shut out of fishing in Rhode Island waters because they are not residents while in New York they would have to try and obtain a non-resident permit through a costly auction process. Read the rest here 10:24
‘Big Fish, Texas’ Follows Buddy Guindon And His Commercial Fishing Empire
Buddy Guindon is no stranger to hard work, having built up his company from only one boat to an entire fleet of boats and building Katie’s Seafood Market, which is named after Buddy’s wife. The entire Guindon family works together like a well-oiled machine in order to maintain and build upon what Buddy started. Buddy Guindon and his family are well known in Galveston, Texas, and he is a respected advocate of the Gulf fishery. Video, Read the article here 08:13
Now here’s a true fish story
Those scallops you ate last week — where do you think they came from? China maybe? Most people don’t bother reading the labels on their food. They don’t know where it was grown or caught or packaged and to what bacteria or viruses it may have been exposed during any of those processes. Karter Larson, one of the Larson family of commercial fishermen in Barnegat Light talked about life on the sea and details of how the operation runs, to a standing-room-only crowd on Saturday at the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences. Read the rest here 07:48
Savage quota cuts will finish off the New England small boat groundfish fishery
Fishermen and fishing stakeholders say the darkness that has descended on the Northeast groundfish fishery over the past three years is only going to grow deeper in 2016, with some fishing stakeholders envisioning the final collapse of the small-boat industry due to slashed quotas for species they believe are abundant. “We’ve never had a greater gap between what the fishermen are seeing on the water and what the scientists are saying,” Giacalone said. “Never.” Read the rest here, if you can stand it. 06:23
The Many Problems With the Proposed Fish Farm in San Diego
If you’ve ever driven north on Interstate 5 and passed through the section with industrial feedlots for cattle, you know the smell. It’s unforgettable. Besides the obvious odor, though, there are serious environmental, animal welfare and human health issues associated with these large-scale meat production facilities. Those issues are similar to environmental concerns about offshore aquaculture – or factory fish farms in the ocean. In Ry Rivard’s Jan. 19 story, “State Probing Experimental Hubbs Fish Breeding Program That’s Spawned Deformities, Mixed Results,” he called attention to the prevalence of disease and deformity in hatchery-raised white seabass in a smaller project run by Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute in Agua Hedionda Lagoon. Read the rest here 22:57
Warming ocean may bring major changes for US northeast fishery species
NOAA scientists have released the first multispecies assessment of just how vulnerable U.S. marine fish and invertebrate species are to the effects of climate change. The study examined 82 species that occur off the Northeastern U.S., where ocean warming is occurring rapidly. Researchers found that most species evaluated will be affected, and that some are likely to be more resilient to changing ocean conditions than others. “Our method identifies specific attributes that influence marine fish and invertebrate resilience to the effects of a warming ocean and characterizes risks posed to individual species,” said Jon Hare, a fisheries oceanographer at NOAA Fisheries’ Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) and lead author of the study. Read the article here 20:00
