Daily Archives: May 14, 2016
South Carolina’s commercial shrimp trawling season opens Monday
In the wake of South Carolina’s historic rainfall event in October 2015, fishermen and biologists were unsure how the unprecedented influx of freshwater would impact the state’s shrimp fishery. Now, local shrimp are back on the menu and contrary to early concerns, S.C. Department of Natural Resources (DNR) biologists are expecting a productive year, with models predicting the largest roe white shrimp crop since 1979. The commercial shrimp trawling season will open in all state waters where trawling is legal at 8 a.m. Monday. Shrimp season normally opens in mid to late May, after the peak spawning period of white shrimp has occurred. Eight smaller provisional areas opened in early April. Several key factors have contributed to 2016’s record shrimp stocks, according to DNR biologists. Read the rest here 23:30
Stone crab season not a good one for crabbers
Daniel Doxsee turns the Miss Chloe Ann toward the docks behind Kirk Fish Co. in Goodland and turns his attention to next year’s stone crab season. This one has been tough. They’ve hauled in plenty of claws in Florida — 2.5 million pounds and still counting — but a combination of weather and lower demand has kept prices down, and crabbers have felt the pinch. “It’s nice to catch the pounds, but if you don’t have the price to go with it, it’s kind of a kick in the ass, so to speak,” said Doxsee, 35, whose commercial fishing family is the namesake of the Doxsee Clam Factory, which opened in 1910 on Marco Island. Kirk Fish Co. handled about the same number of pounds of stone crab claws this season, which began Oct. 15, as they did last season, about 70,000 pounds. But low prices meant fishermen got about $4 less per pound, said Patty Kirk, the do-it-all wholesale manager at Kirk Fish Co. That’s about a 25 percent loss, she said. Read the rest here 17:56
North Carolina Legislation would put a net ban referendum on November ballot
Late last month, state Rep. Billy Richardson, D-Cumberland, told a room full of recreational fishermen in Wilmington he would push for a statewide referendum to ban trawling and netting in North Carolina’s estuaries. The room responded with a standing ovation. A month later, Richardson has delivered on that promise — sort of. On Tuesday the Cumberland County Democrat filed a bill that would let voters decide whether to outlaw gill and certain other nets in all state coastal waters. If the N.C. General Assembly supports House Bill 1122, that referendum would appear on the November ballot. Richardson did not return multiple requests for comment. But observers say they think the bill is doomed to go belly-up. Read the rest here 14:02
Dear President Obama – Opposed to expanding Papahanaumokuakea marine monument, Isaac and Shyla Moon, Kalaheo
A group of seven Hawaii residents (William Aila, Kamanaopono Crabbe, Isaac Harp, Kekuewa Kikiloi, Marvin Kaleo Manuel, Victoria Holt Takamine, Nainoa Thompson) recently wrote you a letter asking you to expand the current Papahanaumokuakea National Marine Monument in Hawaii, from 50 miles to 200 miles. There are no clear promises that the expansion will not encroach middle banks and the buoys that many of Kauai’s fishermen go to. Over the past five years we have attended numerous meetings and hearings. The overall feeling from our community is that we’re being overrun and taken advantage of by the government, regardless of existing state management policies and regulations. Read the rest here 11:48
DFO justifies Area 6 northern shrimp catch by offshore fleet
Fisheries and Oceans Canada is defending its decision to allow offshore factory freezer trawlers to catch northern shrimp this spring, even though its own scientists say the stock is vulnerable to collapse. Inshore fishermen have criticized the fishing, because 2016 quotas have not yet been set, and could be cut significantly. Glenn Best, who fishes shrimp off Fogo Island, said the so-called “bridging policy” should not have been applied in Area 6 at a time when stocks are under review. “The [cod] moratorium would be a walk in the park compared to what’s going to happen if we lose this shrimp,” he said. “This is the bread and butter. This is what sustains communities from Fogo Island to St. Anthony to southern Labrador. We need this shrimp. Why are we taking chances with it?” Read the rest here 10:10
Alaska salmon prices seem to be rebounding – Chilean farmed salmon takes a hit
Alaska’s salmon season has started with optimism, a far cry from the bleak feelings a year ago when the fishery was blown asunder by a perfect storm of depressed currencies, salmon backlogs and global markets awash with farmed fish. Prices to fishermen fell nearly 41 percent between 2013 and 2015, years which produced the two largest Alaska salmon harvests on record. But in the past six months, those trends have turned around. Another positive turnaround involves salmon supplies. “If you want to see what’s happening with fish prices, look at supply and demand. Look at how much was produced in Alaska and how much our competitors produced,” advised fisheries economist Gunnar Knapp,,, Read the rest here 09:08
Thief busted for stealing crabs from traps near Delacroix
There are at least a couple of ways to catch crabs in the rich waters along Louisiana’s coast. One is to bait traps, set them out, kill some time tending to other tasks and then return hours later to harvest the contents of your traps. The other way is to run traps that were set out by someone else. The only problem is one method is legal, and the other isn’t. Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries agents say a Slidell man went with the latter option Wednesday. Broward Barwick, 26, was cited for removing the contents of crab traps that were not owned by him, failing to mark crab traps and theft of crab traps. Read the rest here 08:45
Port Royal will continue shrimp dock operations, explores building new seafood processing facility
Charles Abner is still docked in Port Royal, finishing some work on his 73-foot shrimp trawler, “Lady Bernice,” before going to work as shrimp season begins. Abner plans to offload most of his shrimp at Benny Hudson Seafood on Hilton Head Island, where he said the money is a bit better. He also likes likes to offload in North Carolina and Georgia, where he said docks will front shrimpers fuel and ice. “I love the conditions over there (on Hilton Head),” Abner said Friday. “It’s a whole lot closer to the fishing ground; there’s quite a few other things. Port Royal wants to keep shrimpers like Abner from going elsewhere, aiming to make the docks off 11th Street on Battery Creek the desired destination in the area. Read the rest here 08:20
