Daily Archives: June 6, 2016

CNMI Lt. Gov. Hocog Asks Western Pacific Fishery Management Council to Collaborate on Three Key Issues

14acd1a0-61f6-4794-bdfc-bd9cb84e37a6Acting Gov. Victor Hocog of the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI) today asked the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council to work with the Commonwealth to address regulations that impact the people of the CNMI. On behalf of Gov. Ralph Torres, who is off-island, Hocog made his remarks during the opening of the 166th meeting of the Council today at the Fiesta Resort & Spa in Garapan, CNMI. “I humbly ask this Council to consider the state our people are faced with,” he added. “I choose to ask the Council in the days ahead on this meeting to give serious thoughts and consideration [on how we can] work together and achieve what islanders need without compromising standards.” Hocog listed three items of concern: 1) the 0 to 3 miles of submerged lands and waters around islands of the Islands Unit of the Marianas Trench Marine National Monument (MNM) that have not been conveyed to the CNMI; 2) sea turtles and sharks; and 3) US military bombing of Farallon de Medinilla (FDM). Read the press release here 21:26

“Much sympathy” around this coastline for fishing communities pro-Brexit campaign

image brexit irelandAn Irish fishing industry representative says north Atlantic coastal states, including Ireland, Iceland and Norway, should form their own economic union with Britain if it votes to leave the EU this month. Irish Fish Producers Organisation chief executive Francis O’Donnell told The Irish Times that there was “much sympathy” around this coastline for the “Leave” camp. The impact of the EU common fisheries policy had been very severe on coastal communities on both islands, Mr O’Donnell said. He said Ireland has one of the largest and biologically fish-rich sea areas, but has been allocated quotas for 18 per cent of the total catch. For this reason he believes there is tacit support here for the grassroots Fishing for Leave campaign initiated by a British skipper, which says it has been endorsed this side of the Irish Sea in Northern Irish ports like Kilkeel, Co Down. Read the rest here 20:44

Fishermen Oppose, but New York Bureaucrats are determined to build a wind farm off the coast of Long Island

john-b-rhodesNew York State is mounting a broad effort to reduce the cost of building a wind farm off the coast of Long Island, an ambitious push to generate clean power in U.S. waters. The state’s Energy Research and Development Authority plans to bid for a federal lease to develop a 81,000-acre (127-square-mile) site in the Atlantic Ocean. If it wins, New York would undertake initial site studies and pursue an agreement to sell the electricity. The state would then hold an auction of its own, selling development rights to the highest bidder. New York officials see offshore wind as critical for meeting the state’s goal to get half its power from renewable sources by 2030. By doing the initial planning and guaranteeing a buyer for the power, the state intends to make the project appealing to developers, driving down costs and making it more likely the wind farm will be built. “This is a resource that has to be, and will be, developed,” John B. Rhodes, president and chief executive of the New York State authority, said in an interview Friday. “It is our job to do it as surefootedly and cost efficiently as possible.” Read the rest here  20:06

A Life of Subsistence Fishing on Grand Traverse Bay for Ed and Cindy John

commercial fishing, native american couple, june 2016They’re married, they’re Native American, and they make a living fishing on Grand Traverse Bay. Ed and Cindy John share thoughts about subsistence fishing during a windy day setting nets. “When you look at the lake you see a calm beautiful surface, but when you talk about the fishery, when you go underneath, it’s like a metropolis down there,” says Cindy John, her piercing eyes darting from depth sounder to GPS coordinates to husband Ed, precariously braced against a gunwale. Today, West Grand Traverse Bay is anything but a calm surface. Two days into a ferocious summer blow, the blue-green miles of water between the peninsulas are a jagged fabric of whitecaps that skitter crates of netting across the Linda Sue’s tilting aft deck. Sideways to the wind, the heavy trawler wallows in the wave troughs, its growling diesel outdrive pushing steadily toward the edge of a deep-water bank, where the Johns hope to intercept schools of whitefish and lake trout in their summer pattern. Great story, Read the rest here 18:01

P.E.I. government invests in province’s lobster holding capacity

10-lobsters1There will be more space available in P.E.I. to store live lobsters so they are as fresh as possible when they are processed and sent around the world. “The food industry requires extensive physical infrastructure to produce and to grow their businesses,” Economic Development and Tourism Minister Heath MacDonald said. “Innovation P.E.I. is responding to the industry’s needs by providing grants to five projects that will enhance our province’s live lobster holding capacity, enhancing our exports and supporting the economies in our rural communities while building our reputation as Canada’s Food Island.’’ Innovation P.E.I. has contributed more than $224,000 in grants to the Live Lobster Holding Program since it began in March 2015, with the remaining $2.2 million coming from the private sector. Read the rest here 16:35

Expert: Scientists exaggerated Great Barrier Reef coral bleaching story

barrier-reefThere is growing scientific conflict over bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef. Picture: Tourism Queensland Activist scientists and lobby groups have distorted surveys, maps and data to misrepresent the extent and impact of coral bleaching on the Great Barrier Reef, ­according to the chairman of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, Russell Reichelt. A full survey of the reef ­released yesterday by the author­ity and the Australian Institute of Marine ­Science said 75 per cent of the reef would escape unscathed.,, “We’ve seen headlines stating that 93 per cent of the reef is prac­tic­ally dead,” he said. “We’ve also seen reports that 35 per cent, or even 50 per cent, of the entire reef is now gone. Read the rest here 15:47

Biloxi, Ms. Fisherman and tourists prepare for shrimp season

10714142_GMany say that shrimp are one of the most beloved types of seafood.  “We’re looking for some shrimp for the gumbo, and also for the grill, and to fix it other ways. We’d figure we’d come by here,” said tourist, Lucretia Pope. Fisherman like Randy Lesso, Jr. are preparing for the Monday kickoff of shrimp season. “My dad has been doing this for 44 years, I’m just following in his footsteps. “Our boats are ready to go and ready for the opening on Monday morning.”Lesso says that at the end of the day, it’s all about serving the customer. “It’s a great feeling because you can come down here and get some fresh shrimp off our boats. Every morning you come in here 7, 7:30 to get what we caught that night. A lot of people love it, that’s why they come down here to see us.” Video, read the rest here 12:06

Lobster prices up over last year

10-lobsters1Although lobster prices along the North Shore are up a bit from last year, some harvests have gone the other way, River John fisherman Ron Heighton says. “In most areas the catches are down,” said Heighton, who is also the long-serving president of the Northumberland Fishermen’s Union. “Price wise, we’re doing better than last year. And catch wise, in some areas the catches are as good as last year and in some areas they’re not.” Processers and buyers have been paying $6.50/lb. for market-sized lobster compared to about $5.75/lb. for the same period last year, Heighton said. Read the rest here 11:13

Opinion: Red Snapper recreational fishermen— Allow Reallocation Among Fishermen, want shift to state management

redsnapperMany Gulf Coast anglers have been asking themselves what the world is coming to lately, when they can fish federal waters for red snapper for only a few days this year while commercial boats can take sport fishermen out anytime to catch snapper for the boat to sell. I sure wondered how that could be when, in April, I first heard about Texas captain Scott Hickman’s trips,” which — quite legally — allow him to take sport fishermen along to fill his fish boxes per the commercial catch shares he owns. He accepts no payment from these anglers, just as by law he can accept no tips. The anglers cannot legally keep any fish nor buy fish from Hickman. But they can buy fish caught that day from the fish house back at the dock — for a premium price (at least a few bucks more per pound than the usual market price). At first, this scheme seemed outrageous to me, as it apparently did to many in the recreational-fishing community. Then I started trying to put my finger on why it pissed me off, and mostly I came up with reasons why it shouldn’t, especially when considered within the context of our bizarro snapper-management regime. Read the rest here 10:30