Daily Archives: April 26, 2016
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for April 25, 2016
Click here to read the Weekly Update, to read all the updates, Click here 22:45
N.C Division of Marine Fisheries plans survey of commercial fishermen
Commercial fishermen who fish in the Atlantic Ocean off of North Carolina may receive a questionnaire in the mail or by phone call in the coming weeks and months for an N.C Division of Marine Fisheries survey. The division plans to contact approximately 300 fishermen between now and August and ask them information about their fishing activity, perceptions, fishing expenses and demographics. The information gathered in the survey will be used to improve the state’s estimates of the economic impacts of commercial fishing and the effects of fishing regulations. It will also assist managers in making informed decisions on fisheries topics. Read the rest here 17:11
Things are looking up in Provincetown as fishermen see grounds for hope
When commercial fisherman Beau Gribbin walked in and handed members of the Provincetown Fishermen’s Memorial Foundation a check for $6,500 at their meeting on Wednesday, April 13 he was signaling not only support for the fund but the return of a formal alliance between local fishermen. Gribbin, captain of the fishing vessel Glutton, along with Chris King, owner of Cape Tip Seafood and captain of the scallop vessel Donna Marie, are both members and former chairs of the Provincetown Fishermen’s Association, known as ProFish. The organization is making a comeback, Gribbin and King said in recent interviews, and its current members, along with some of the original founders who are no longer members, agreed that donating to the Fishermen’s Memorial Foundation would be a good use of a portion of ProFish’s remaining funds. Read the rest here 14:58
Outer Banks Catch pulls out of Seafood Fest – the public is being misled
Citing concerns over the lack of local seafood served at the Outer Banks Seafood Festival, Outer Banks Catch (OBC) has chosen not to participate in this year’s event, scheduled for Oct. 15. A letter from OBC Executive Director Sandy Semans Ross stated that, “This action is not being taken lightly,” adding that the event’s advertising has “indicated that local seafood is the fare of the day at the event. Most of it is not; the public is being misled.” “The biggest point of contention…was the fact that the seafood festival doesn’t serve one hundred percent locally caught seafood,, Read the rest here 13:34
US Increases Lobster Processing as Prices Reach 15-Year High
Prices for U.S. lobster meat have climbed to a 15-year high in April, and are up 48% year-over-year. The main reason behind this dramatic rise in the past 12 months has been high demand for lobster products in U.S. food service and retail. So why has processed lobster meat become so popular over the last couple of years? Lobster processing involves extracting the meat from the shell, making it much more consumer-friendly. Processed lobster meat has a longer shelf life and can be stored and shipped better than a live lobster. This, combined with low prices seen in 2014, made the product popular in food service and retail, leading to heavy and successful advertising of processed lobster based products. Read the rest here 11:12
Nova Scotia man helps develop inflatable, waterproof work suits
Paul Brodie blows into a valve, inflating the shoulders and chest area in the red work suit he’s wearing. The Nova Scotia research scientist has been helping develop a waterproof, buoyant suit that he hopes could be used by anyone who works on or around the water. Three companies — 66° North, Seamaster and Hansen Protection — are now producing the gear, which was tested in Denmark and is being manufactured for all three brands in Latvia, Brodie says. “This is a work suit, it is not a survival suit, those big bulky things you put on and go jump off an oil rig,” said Brodie, a former Fisheries and Oceans Canada scientist. Read the rest here 08:59
Family feud erupts over iPhone recovered in search for Fla. teen fishermen
More than eight months after Perry Cohen and Austin Stephanos, both 14, went missing off the Florida coast, their boat was found near Bermuda, with an iPhone intact on March 18.Perry Cohen and Austin Stephanos, both 14, got lost at sea during a bout of severe weather on July 24, 2015. The US Coast Guard located the boat about 67 miles off the shore of Daytona Beach just two days after they went missing, but it drifted away. The 19-foot Seacraft boat was discovered by a passing vessel about 100 miles off the coast of Bermuda. Read the rest here Onboard were Stephanos’ phone and some fishing gear. One day after the Cohen family filed the restraining order, Blu Stephanos, Austin’s father, promised to share the phone’s data with investigators and both families. Video, Read the rest here 08:33
Trinidad crab tests to determine commercial opener
The long-awaited opener of the commercial crab season on the North Coast now hinges on six crabs collected just south of Trinidad Head. If the crabs don’t show high levels of a neurotoxin, which has delayed the state’s crab season since Dec. 1, the commercial season could start as soon as May 5, according to Department of Fish and Wildlife senior environmental scientist Pete Kalvass. “That’s holding everything up,” Kalvass said of the Trinidad crab. “… If those six crabs show up clean, we could declare the entire area clear and then open up sport fishing up in that region and commercial (fishing) a week later.” Meanwhile, state officials are gearing up to hear an update on Thursday regarding Gov. Jerry Brown’s request for federal fisheries disaster relief funds and how the state is preparing for future incidents. Read the rest here 07:46
