Daily Archives: April 12, 2016
THIS IS OUTRAGEOUS! SMAST scallop researcher rejected for NOAA funding for first time since 1999
For the first time since 1999, internationally known SMAST scientist Kevin Stokesbury has been denied federally administered funding for annual scallop surveys, as government officials questioned the cost and design of his latest proposal. Many local fishermen credit Stokesbury’s work with reviving the scallop industry over more than a decade, and a prominent scalloper said Tuesday that it was hard to make sense of the funding denial this year. “We as an industry are very upset about this — it’s very disturbing,” said Dan Eilertsen, who owns six scallopers based on Fish Island. “Our fishery has been managed based on the published work that (Stokesbury) does.” The National Marine Fisheries Service, under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), told Stokesbury on March 29 that his proposal for a $2.65 million scallop survey project had been denied for the 2016-17 grant cycle. Read the rest here 20:14
Bay de Verde fish plant will be rebuilt after huge fire, owners assure workers
Hundreds of vital jobs also went up in those billows of black ash but owners the Quinlan Brothers offered some much needed reassurance. “There has been a great loss of physical assets but all of it can be and will be replaced,” the company said in a statement late Tuesday. “The company is fully insured and it will rebuild at Bay de Verde as quickly as possible.” It also said it can serve fish harvesters “as normal” with backup plans for processing. “The company is working ’round the clock to put in place arrangements with other producers to add capacity, increase shifts, etc., that will ensure seafood landed is processed in a timely and high quality manner.” Read the rest here 16:29
Chesapeake Bay blue crab population grows 35 percent; DNR predicts ‘robust’ season
There are more than 550 million blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay, an increase of more than a third over this time last year and one of the highest population counts of the past two decades. A winter dredging survey found the strongest growth in the populations of adult male crabs, which more than doubled. The number of spawning females, a key barometer for future population growth, nearly doubled but remained slightly below a target population count of 215 million.Maryland Department of Natural Resources officials, who released the survey results Tuesday, said the results bode well for local crab harvests. Read the rest here 15:53
The “Zumwalt Effect”: New off-radar US destroyer poses maritime traffic risks
Ongoing at-sea tests of the most advanced and expensive destroyer ever, the USS Zumwalt (DDG 1000), have exposed an unexpected problem. Perceived as a medium-sized fishing boat on radars, its sheer size shocks ill-prepared fishermen when it approaches. Maine lobsterman Lawrence Pye experienced the “Zumwalt effect” for himself. He saw something that appeared on his radar screen to be a 15-meter fishing boat, but it materialized into a gigantic 186-meter warship. The destroyer was returning to the Bath Iron Works shipbuilding yard after a series of sea trials. Read the rest here 12:35
West Coast sardine fishery shutdown continues for 2nd year
West coast sardine fishermen for a second straight season will have to keep their boats moored or find something else to catch. The Pacific Fishery Management Council on Sunday closed the sardine fishery off Oregon, California and Washington following the second straight year of sardine population estimates that fall below the minimum abundance required to allow fishing. There are fewer than 65,000 metric tons adult sardines in the ocean this year, federal scientists estimated. West coast fishery rules require sardine fishing to cease once the adult stock drops below 150,000 metric tons. Read the article here 11:58
ADF&G Releases Bristol Bay Update
A new forecast for the 2016 sockeye salmon fishing season in Bristol Bay says the fishery, which opens by regulation on June 1, is expected to have a run of some 46.6 million fish, with 29.5 million potentially available for commercial harvest. The figures were released on April 4 by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. For the eastside districts, fishing will be allowed using a weekly schedule that will vary by district, to balance fishing opportunity with escapement in the early part of the season, particularly for Chinook salmon. In the Nushagak District, management of the king salmon fishery will govern fishing time in the early part of the season, followed by directed sockeye salmon management as abundance dictates. Read the rest here 10:01
Congressman Jones opposes expansion of Monitor Marine Sanctuary
Last week, U.S. Rep. Walter B. Jones, R-N.C., joined Dare and Carteret counties in opposing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) proposed expansion of the Monitor Sanctuary off the Eastern North Carolina coast. The existing sanctuary protects the remains of the USS Monitor, a Civil War ironclad that sank in December 1862 off of Cape Hatteras. In January, NOAA published proposals to significantly expand the Monitor Sanctuary. Dare and Carteret counties subsequently passed public resolutions opposing expansion because of concerns they may be used in the future to restrict public access to large areas of federal waters off the North Carolina coast. “There is no need for new designations or access restrictions for fishermen and boaters that may flow from them in the future,” said Congressman Jones. Read the rest here 09:33 Read Monitor National Marine Sanctuary Expansion: The controversy continues, click here
MFV Louisa Fisherman Lachlann Armstrong’s battle for survival: “I didn’t know if I’d make it”
A fisherman who swam through icy waters and clung onto rocks after his boat sank off the Outer Hebrides has spoken of his dramatic battle for survival and the “heartbreaking” moment he realised his friends were lost. Lachlann Armstrong admitted last night he did not know if he would make it to shore after he abandoned the MFV Louisa’s life raft when it failed to inflate. The 27-year-old father said he decided to try to reach the shore to free up space on the semi-submerged raft and help save his colleagues. Yesterday, he opened his heart about the tragedy that has rocked the Western Isles. Read the rest here 08:35
AquaBounty, GMO salmon producer, applies to expand production on P.E.I.
The company that produces genetically-modified salmon has applied to re-purpose a 38-year-old fish hatchery in Rollo Bay West, P.E.I., as it looks to expand its commercial production. AquaBounty Technologies received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration five months ago to sell its AquAdvantage salmon in the United States. According to an environmental impact statement filed with the province, the company isn’t able to expand its production at its plant in Bay Fortune, P.E.I., because of the groundwater and electricity needed, so it’s requesting permission to use the old Snow Island Sea Smolt plant in Rollo Bay West. Read the rest here 08:22
Bay de Verde residents in plant fire evacuation left to ‘pick up the pieces’
Bay de Verde’s mayor says residents and workers will need to ‘pick up the pieces’ following a fire that destroyed the eastern Newfoundland community’s fish processing plant. This morning we still have a smouldering mess,” Mayor Gerard Murphy told CBC’s St. John’s Morning Show on Tuesday. About 12 hours earlier, Murphy lifted a state of emergency and evacuation order in his community that saw 300 homes emptied as firefighters battled the blaze at the Quinlan Brothers Ltd. plant. The fire was reported at 5:30 a.m. NT Monday, and Murphy said the site is still one of devastation and smoke. Read the rest here 07:59
