Monthly Archives: March 2016
Salmon fishing season likely to be shorter in 2016
North Coast fishermen may have plenty of free time on their hands this summer if regulators adopt any of three proposed alternatives for this year’s commercial salmon seasons. With the outlook suggesting diminished abundance of two key Chinook salmon runs, fishery managers have structured a season with lots of gaps, especially in the Fort Bragg region, where the fishery would be all or mostly closed in June and completely shut down in July. North Coast Rep. Jared Huffman, D-San Rafael, and other bay-delta representatives said the proposed cuts would reduce commercial fishing boats’ time on the water by at least 20 percent overall — and by up to 45 percent along a stretch of the North Coast from Point Arena to Horse Mountain, located north of Shelter Cove in Humboldt County. Read the rest here 11:22
Abundant returns, sustained yields testify that Alaska Board of Fisheries isn’t broken
Starting in 2014, and continuing into 2016, members of United Cook Inlet Drift Association (UCIDA), a commercial fishing organization, and two former employees of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game who have since became advocates for Cook Inlet commercial fisheries, have claimed the Alaska Board of Fisheries is broken and needs reform. These are serious accusations and should be examined to determine whether there is evidence to support them. Read the rest here 08:29
Department of Marine Resources emergency action on Scallop area closures
Maine commercial fishing regulators are working on a string of closures to scalloping grounds around the state as the season nears its end. A spokesman for the state Department of Marine Resources says the agency is working on an emergency action that would close areas such as the Inner Machias Rotational Area, Wahoa/Jonesport Reach and Gouldsboro Bay and Dyers Bay. A handful of other areas would also close. Casco Bay would close to draggers, but not divers. The spokesman says the closures will likely be effective by Sunday. Link 07:58
Should catch share management be indicted in the Carlos Seafood case? – David Goethel
According to accusations from Federal investigators, the seafood business run by Carlos Rafael “laundered” fish to evade quotas, sold fish for cash to evade taxes, and cheated captains and crews by paying them for lower-valued fish than what they landed. These are serious criminal accusations, but they also raise a disturbing question: Is the system known as “catch shares” at least in part responsible for what occurred? Catch shares are a system of managing fish where fishermen are given fixed quota for each species, which they can either catch or lease. Read the rest here 07:25
Coast Guard investigates sunken fishing boat at New Bedford Pope’s Island
A crane pulled out a small fishing boat that sank off Pope’s Island Marina Tuesday morning. The Coast Guard received notification of the sunken 37-foot fishing vessel, named Elizabeth & Jessica of Scituate, at 7:30 a.m. At about 12:15 p.m., workers from Tucker Roy Marine Towing & Salvage who were called by the owner, were pumping water out of the boat. “We are not really sure how this happened,” said Harbormaster David Condon at the scene. “It’s been lifted out by a crane and pumped. It will be hauled out this afternoon.” Read the rest here 21:31
Commercial Fisherman Andy Mays given the first DMR Excellence Award. Congratulations, Andy!
Andy Mays is not often at a loss for words. But when the Southwest Harbor lobster fisherman and scalloper was called up on stage at the Fisherman’s Forum banquet earlier this month to receive a new award from Department of Marine Resources (DMR) Commissioner Patrick Keliher, he was caught off guard. “I’m speechless. I think this is the first time I’ve ever been speechless,” he said. The DMR Excellence Award, presented for the first time this year, recognizes industry members who participate with the department to ensure a sustainable future for Maine’s commercial fisheries. Mays was honored for his 25-plus years of service and participation on DMR advisory councils. A great story about a great guy. Read the rest here 14:41
Obama reverses course, won’t allow Atlantic coast oil drilling
The Obama administration is reversing course on opening Atlantic waters to a new generation of oil and gas drilling, after a revolt by environmentalists and coastal communities that said the activity threatened marine life, fishing and tourism along the East Coast. The proposed offshore leasing program to be released Tuesday eliminates the administration’s initial plan to auction off drilling rights in as many as 104 million acres of the mid- and south-Atlantic in 2021, according to an Interior Department official who requested anonymity because the plan wasn’t yet public. Read the rest here 14:10
Audio Report: Supporters Say Lobster Marketing Efforts Paying Off
The first year of Maine’s new lobster marketing effort is starting to pay off. That’s according to supporters, who believe the $1.5 million invested is boosting the profile of a premier brand. And they believe the next four years of the campaign will reap significant rewards for the industry. Given the popularity of the Maine lobster, you might think that chefs everywhere would be comfortable plating it up. But as Matt Jacobsen of the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative told a legislative committee recently, that’s not the always the case. Audio, Read the rest here 11:13
Paying It Forward in Blueline Tilefish
Several commercial fishermen from the Outer Banks have been paying it forward this winter with donations of fish to a local food pantry. Buddy Coppersmith (F/V Emily Shay), Jimmy Taylor (F/V Windy Gale), and Dewey Hemilright (F/V Tar Baby), have been commercial fishermen for most of their lives. Recently, they’ve been working under a cooperative research grant collecting data that will improve future stock assessments for blueline tilefish. Read the article here 09:59
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for March 14, 2016
Click here to read the Weekly Update, to read all the updates, Click here 09:55
Canadian Coast Guard accepts new light-lift helicopter in Shearwater, Nova Scotia
The honorable Hunter Tootoo, minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, the honorable Judy M. Foote, minister of public services and procurement, and Jody Thomas, commissioner of the Canadian Coast Guard, have accepted the last new light-lift helicopter into the Canadian Coast Guard fleet. “These made-in-Canada light-lift helicopters are faster, safer, more reliable and more efficient than the models they are replacing,” said Tootoo. “By renewing the fleet of helicopters, our government is providing the women and men of the Coast Guard with the modern equipment they need to better serve Canadians.” Read the rest here 09:10Gig Harbor fishing boat sailed for 77 years
In his younger days, Jim Richards saw dollar signs when storms rolled in at the start of fishing season. The Gig Harbor man knew they’d drive away many of his competitors, giving him and his crew in the steady Bergen more room to rake in the cod they sold to raise their families. “That boat could go out and do anything, and it was better than the bigger boats,” Richards said over the weekend. “The Bergen has caught millions and millions and millions of pounds of halibut and it has provided really good jobs for guys for a long time,” said Richards, 59. “It’s sad that she’s gone.” Read the rest here 08:18
Salvage of fishing vessel Bergen to resume Tuesday in Bellingham
Efforts to salvage the wrecked fishing boat Bergen and pull its remains out of Bellingham Bay will resume Tuesday, March 15, according to the Washington State Department of Ecology. Three fishermen were rescued by the U.S. Coast Guard early Thursday when the commercial fishing boat broke free from its moorage in a windstorm with gusts of 70 mph. The 52-foot wooden boat hit a seawall south of Seaview Avenue, after drifting about 300 yards to the west. The boat, which was built in 1939 and based in Gig Harbor, had been moored near Bellingham Cold Storage, 2825 Roeder Ave.as the crew prepared for a three-month trip to Bristol Bay to fish for black cod. Video, Read the rest here 06:50
‘Wicked Tuna’ experiences ‘Big Hauls and Downfalls’
On last week’s episode of “Wicked Tuna,” the fishermen of Gloucester, Massachusetts are in the hunt once again. As the competition to catch the biggest and largest quantity of their prize bluefin tuna, they may often have a fish on the line for hours, only to lose it when it pulls the hook or the line snaps. See what other troubles befall these warriors on this episode titled, “Big Hauls and Downfalls.” Video, read the rest here 19:30
Pacific Fishery Management Council considers closing ocean salmon seasons due to projected poor coho returns
Poor forecasts for returning coho salmon are prompting state and tribal fishery managers to consider closing all salmon fisheries in Washington’s ocean waters this year as part of a federal season-setting process for the West Coast. State, tribal and federal fishery managers have developed three options for non-treaty ocean salmon fisheries that reflect the anticipated low coho returns. Two options would permit some salmon fishing this year, but one would close recreational and commercial ocean fisheries for. Those alternatives were approved Sunday for public review by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC), which establishes fishing seasons in ocean waters three to 200 miles off the Pacific coast. A public hearing on the three alternatives for ocean salmon fisheries is scheduled for March 28 in Westport. Read the rest here 14:17
Alaska pushes back on Arctic plan with Canada
Alaska’s leaders in Juneau and Congress had harsh words for a joint March 10 statement from the White House and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announcing plans for new emissions caps on the oil and gas industry and preservation of significant chunks territory in each country’s Arctic. The statement was released as Trudeau made the first official visit by a Canadian prime minister to the White House in nearly two decades. Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan and Gov. Bill Walker all noted the omission of Alaska in drafting the 10-page agreement in formal statements of their own. The sentiment is similar to comments made following the president’s three-day visit to Alaska last summer, which was used as a vehicle to promote his climate change policies. Read the rest here 12:41
“Mushing to save Bristol Bay” – Set netter with a mission hits the Iditarod Trail
In summer months, Monica Zappa is hard at work with fishing partner Tim Osmar, working his set net site at Kasilof on the Kenai Peninsula for sockeye salmon. In winter months, the couple, who live off the grid in the Peninsula’s Caribou Hills, are mushing dogs. Since 2012 they have been mushing for a cause they care deeply about, protecting the salmon and salmon habitat of Bristol Bay from the dangers of large scale mines. When Zappa set out on her third Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race at Willow on March 6, a banner proclaiming “clean water, wild salmon” was affixed to her sled. Read the rest here 09:54
Gloucester Fresh campaign lands a big one!
The city’s Gloucester Fresh seafood marketing efforts have landed the city a major commercial partner. The Ninety Nine Restaurant & Pub group, with 105 restaurants across New England and into upstate New York, will be featuring Gloucester-landed haddock on its spring menus. The agreement for the family restaurant chain to feature Gloucester seafood was announced Monday by Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken and Ninety Nine President Charlie Noyes at a Gloucester House luncheon for more than 75 seafood buyers and processors who were visiting the city to tour Gloucester’s fishing infrastructure. Read the rest here 09:46
Royal Greenland CEO: North Atlantic fishing sector needs more consolidation
Royal Greenland’s acquisition of Quin-Sea Fisheries of Canada is a movement in the right direction for the consolidation of the North Atlantic seafood sector, said the former’s CEO. On Friday, Royal Greenland confirmed the government of the province of Newfoundland and Labrador, where Quin-Sea is based, has approved production licenses to operate the Canadian firm’s plants. This was the last pending condition for the deal, meaning it will now complete. Read the rest here 08:24
Active scallop fishermen not pleased with court decision that brought the inactive harvesters out of the woodwork.
That’s the message a group of active scallop harvesters is hoping to make public after a court case involving their union and other scallop license holders concluded two weeks ago. Walsh confirmed there were likely going to be relationships broken and friendships ruined over this decision. But he felt the only way to be fair was to share the money with those actively fishing since they’re the ones losing the area. Gibbons backed him on that, saying the license holders were piggybacking off those who make a living in the industry. “I’ll work for what I get,” he said. “I always did. If I don’t work for it, I don’t deserve it.” Read the rest here 07:56
In the Atlantic salmon fight, Greenland proves a sticking point
Preventing the long-imperiled Atlantic salmon from disappearing from American waters will require the U.S. to put pressure on Inuit fishermen in Greenland to stop harvesting a fish that has fed them for hundreds of years, federal officials say. The salmon were once found from Long Island Sound to Canada, but their population has cratered in the face of river damming, warming ocean waters, competition for food with non-native fish and, officials say, continued Greenlandic fishing. Now, federal officials have outlined an ambitious plan to try to save the Atlantic salmon that they say will require removing dams, creating fish passages and fostering cooperation from Inuit fishermen some 2,000 miles away from Maine, Read the rest here 13:17
Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council meeting in Honolulu March 15 – 17, 2016
The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council convenes March 15 to 17, at Fuller Hall, YWCA, 1040 Richards St., Honolulu. Fishermen, other stakeholders and members of the public are invited to participate in the meeting and decision-making for federally managed fisheries in the offshore waters of Hawai’i, the Territories of American Samoa and Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) and US Pacific Remote Island Areas. Read the rest here 12:17
Salmon permit prices plunge while halibut soars
Fire sale salmon prices last year and a dim outlook for the upcoming season have caused the value of Alaska fishing permits to plummet. At the other extreme, the prices for halibut catch shares have soared to “unheard-of levels,” according to Olivia Olsen of Alaskan Quota and Permits at Petersburg. This year’s small increase in the halibut quota combined with hopes of a repeat of $6 to $7 per pound prices was enough to send quota share prices skyrocketing. “There was a big rush after the halibut numbers were announced in late January,” said Olsen of Petersburg. Read the rest here 10:32
Nova Scotia lobster industry facing challenging season
Seafood buyers are reporting high lobster mortality and poor quality, which a federal scientist says may be because lobsters are extra fragile this year in Canada’s largest lobster region off southwestern Nova Scotia. Fishermen are catching lobsters, bigger than ever, in “crazy, crazy numbers,” says Joel German, plant manager of I. Deveau Fisheries in Barrington Passage, but this winter, more than the usual amount have soft shells. “It’s not the same lobster as it used to be, so we can’t hold them as long,” he said. Lobsters generally grow out of and then shed their shells once a year in a process called moulting. As the shells grow back, they’re soft, making the lobster easier to hurt — and harder to store and ship. Read the rest here 09:58
Hope for crab season debated
Whether the North Coast Dungeness crab season will ever open this season, or even be worth opening at this juncture, depends on whom you ask. Second District California Congressman Jared Huffman recently introduced a bill to provide more than $138 million in disaster relief funds to the financially ailing crab fleet and industries. He said the focus is now about getting the fishing industry through the year, crab or no crab. “This season is gone I think,” the San Rafael Democrat said. “It’s really, at this point, about trying to address the losses and the damage that have occurred.” Read the rest here 13:50
Part of the bottom of the fabled Georgetown Hole will be closed to fishing by 2017
The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council approved in a final vote Friday to close off 3.1 square miles of the offshore fishing mecca, after looking at options as varied as closing off 15 square miles to not closing the Hole at all. Trolling, or fishing off the bottom would still be allowed. The move would reserve the acreage as a marine spawning sanctuary to help restore the lost stock, particularly those huge brood stock “trophy fish” that are rarely, if ever, caught today. Council also voted to close two artificial reef areas totaling about 6 square miles. Read the rest here 12:06
Massachusetts lobstermen want to create in-state processing industry
With two of the top five lobster ports in the state, the South Shore could see newly created jobs and increased income for its local fisherman if legislators pass a law clearing the way for lobster parts to be processed in Massachusetts. The bill to allow shell-on lobster parts to be processed, transported and sold in the state passed the State Senate in January and is waiting on action by the House, possibly before April, said co-sponsor Rep. James Cantwell, D-Marshfield. Approval would allow Massachusetts to compete with Maine lobster processors that are going up against the dominant players globally – lobster meat processors based in Canada’s Maritime Provinces. Read the rest here 10:18
State, federal officials confiscate, sell nearly 3,600 pounds of fish from longline vessel
State and federal authorities seized the catch of a longline fishing vessel and cited seven fishermen for not having valid commercial marine licenses, the state Department of Land and Natural Resources said in a news release today. The Coast Guard cutter Galveston Island boarded the 71-foot fishing vessel Lady Ann Margret earlier this month about 350 miles off Oahu and found the boat’s high seas fishing permit expired last year. The Coast Guard directed the captain to return to port because of expired permit and to fix safety violations. Read the rest here 09:07
Sedgwick lobsterman faces criminal charges, 3 yr suspension after violent ocean confrontation
A Sedgwick fisherman is facing criminal charges and a possible three-year suspension of his lobster license because of a last fall in which he allegedly rammed another fisherman’s boat, shot off a flare gun and intentionally broke a line on one of that fisherman’s traps. Carl W. Gray, 41, is facing a civil charge of tampering with another fisherman’s gear and three criminal charges associated with the Oct. 5 incident. He has been charged with operating a watercraft to endanger and theft by unauthorized taking, both Class E misdemeanors, and a Class C felony charge of reckless conduct with a dangerous weapon, according to court documents filed in Ellsworth. Read the rest here 08:22
Stonington Maine man pleads guilty to setting fire to lobster boat
A local man has pleaded guilty in federal court to setting fire to another man’s lobster boat, according to a federal prosecutor. Jeremy Eaton, 39, faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for setting the fire, which destroyed the fishing boat Heritage on the night of April 16, 2014, according to documents on file in the publicly accessible online document database for U.S. District Court in Bangor. In a prepared statement released late Friday, the U.S attorney’s office for Maine said that on the night of the fire, Eaton walked to the harbor in Stonington, removed gasoline cans from a skiff tied to a dock and then used a small boat to ferry himself and the gas cans to a fiberglass lobster boat moored in the harbor. Read the rest here 08:15
