Daily Archives: March 22, 2016
New England Fishermen face devastating cod cuts
New Bedford’s commercial fishing industry — battered by last month’s arrest of magnate Carlos Rafael on federal conspiracy charges, last week’s drug raids on the waterfront and ongoing monitoring costs — took another punch to the gut this week, as government regulators proposed new cuts to cod catches that could take effect May 1. “Those cuts will be devastating to the groundfishing fleet of New Bedford, and the whole New England coast,” said John Haran, manager of groundfish Sector 13. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in conjunction with the New England Fishery Management Council, released a proposed update Monday to the federal management plan for the northeastern fishery. Read the rest here 20:45
Slowing Chinese lobster demand, anticipated early season likely mean more conservative pricing
Lobster prices have fallen significantly after anticipation of continued strong growth in Chinese demand failed to come to fruition, with some industry executives expecting more conservative pricing for next season. In September last year, strong Chinese demand was keeping lobster prices high despite the usual post-Labor Day slowdown in the US, with softshell lobster selling for between $4.75 to $5.75 a pound. Some sources predicted that high prices could remain the norm for the foreseeable future. “Last year prices surged, but we had a long cold winter, supply was short, demand from China drove prices up pretty [high],” said Neil Zarella of Boston Lobster Company. Read the article here 15:39
Comment by John Sibert, University of Hawaii: Environmental Bullies – Conservationists or Agenda-pushers?
Dr. Molly Lutcavage wrote a piece last week on Medium titled, Environmental Bullies, how conservation ideologues attack scientists who don’t agree with them. Though a summary follows, we encourage you all to read the article here. Dr. Lutcavage felt Carl Safina and other ENGOs like Pew Oceans have maligned her and her peers for their research because it would, “get in the way of fund-raising campaigns, messages to the media, book sales, rich donors, and perhaps the most insidious – attempts to influence US fisheries and ocean policies.” I, like many other scientists, practice my profession with the expectation that my work will be used to improve management policies. However, scientists who choose to work on subjects that intersect with management of natural resources sometimes become targets of special interest pressures. Pressure to change or “spin” research results occurs more often than it should. Read the comment here 14:23
Feds halt South Atlantic offshore drilling leases , but not seismic testing
There were public expressions of surprise, relief and victory from environmental groups and local officials after the U.S. Department of Interior’s March 15 announcement that there would be no offshore drilling leases in the Atlantic Ocean for the 2017-2022 period. But for drilling opponents and environmental advocates, that celebration has been tempered somewhat by news that, even without drilling, the process of awarding permits for seismic testing in the Atlantic will go ahead — and could lead to such testing later this year. Read the rest here 13:07
Scots fishermen’s leader caught up in suspected terror attack
A SCOT spoke today of how his decision to have a lie-in possibly saved his life as terrorists struck in Brussels. Fishermen’s leader Michael Park , 56, from Stonehaven, alerted friends with a Facebook post: “Nearly took the flight. Thank God I didn’t. “NATO say it’s part of a coordinated attack with more to come. Not good when your sitting on Eurostar in Brussels.” Michael had also been staying in a hotel near the Parliament and next door to the Metro where another bomb is reported to have gone off. Read the rest here 09:14
Pillar Point Harbor bustles as crabbing opens: Commercial fishermen preparing for short Dungeness season
Months behind schedule after California’s annual nearly $90 million Dungeness crabbing industry was shuttered this year, commercial fishermen are anxiously preparing for the season to open this weekend after state officials announced the delectable crustaceans are finally safe to eat. Pillar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay is again a flurry of action with captains and their crews gearing up to reel in the year’s first commercially-caught crab as early as Saturday morning. Porter McHenry, captain of the Merva W and president of the Half Moon Bay Seafood Marketing Association, said he’s eager to put his crew to work and locals are rushing to get ready after being given just a week’s notice. Read the rest here 08:41
Rep. Bill Straus — Impact of the federal fisheries arrests in New Bedford
By now the local reaction to the waterfront arrests in New Bedford of one of the port’s major figures has begun to shift to inevitable questions of the role of the federal government in the regulation of commercial fishing. Operating under federal law, the current groundfish system of control, the so-called “catch shares” plan, began with Amendment 16 in 2009 by vote of the New England Fishery Management Council. This intricate system of allocating by fish species what can be caught and landed by licensed federal permit holders has clearly changed the market economics for New England fishing; a rapid concentration of fish permit holders has led to what functions as a government-created near monopoly. Read the rest here 07:43
