Daily Archives: July 12, 2016
House Panel on California Water Pits Farmers Against Fishermen
The plan to buoy historically low salmon populations imperiled by California’s historic drought made for a contentious hearing Tuesday on Capitol Hill. House Republicans accused federal agencies of depriving farmers of water while the Golden State’s reservoirs sit full. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Maine Fisheries Service teamed up for the drought proposal debated at this morning’s hearing of the House Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans. Though recent El Nino storms have left the state’s largest reservoirs full, the contentious plan calls for less water to be pulled from California’s largest reservoir, Shasta Lake, to preserve cold-water supplies needed to keep the Sacramento River at or below 56 degrees this fall. Read the rest here 20:33
Coast Guard medevacs fisherman after dogfish bite off Gloucester
A Coast Guard rescue crew medevaced a fisherman Tuesday morning after he was bitten on the arm by a dogfish 16 miles east of Cape Ann. At about 10 a.m. watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Boston’s command center received a VHF-16 radio call from the captain of the 26-foot fishing boat Miss Molly reporting he had been bitten by a dogfish while fishing alone. A 29-foot rescue boat crew from Station Gloucester, along with two Gloucester Fire Department emergency medical services personnel, launched to assist and arrived on scene at 10:45 a.m. After arriving on scene the crew took the patient aboard their boat where he was given medical treatment. He was then transported back to Station Gloucester and passed to an awaiting ambulance at around 11:15 a.m. The patient was reported to be in stable condition and was expected to be transported to Cape Ann Medical Center for further treatment. Two Coast Guard crewmembers brought Miss Molly safely back to the state pier in Gloucester. Link 18:04
So much for compassion – Buddhist-affiliated eatery vandalized hours after monks free lobsters
A Buddhist-affiliated restaurant in Prince Edward Island has been vandalized, hours after a group of local monks liberated 600 pounds of live lobsters. Charlottetown police responded early Sunday to property damage at the Splendid Essence restaurant, including a damaged railing, uprooted flowers and smashed mailbox. The previous day, monks from the Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society in Little Sands had invited a CBC News crew to join them on a fishing boat as they released lobsters purchased on the island into the ocean off Wood Islands. Before returning the crustaceans to their natural habitat, the monks sprinkled the lobsters with purified water and performed a 20-minute ceremony involving a Buddhist chant for compassion. Read the rest here 17:34
Mon Dieu! Brexit ‘could boot French fishermen out of British waters’
French fishermen fear that Brexit could wreck their industry if they are denied crucial access to British territorial waters in the Channel. The French National Fisheries Committee complained on Tuesday that larger vessels accustomed to fishing in British territorial waters could be deprived of up to 80 per cent of their catch. French boats are currently allowed to fish up to six nautical miles from the British coast but EU laws prevent British vessels from fishing within 12 miles of the French coast. The committee has written to the French prime minister, Manuel Valls, warning that Normandy, Brittany and the ‘Hauts de France’ region around Calais could be “very badly affected” by Britain’s departure from the EU. About 80 per cent of France’s fishing boats never leave French territorial waters, but the remaining 20 per cent, which are larger vessels, bring in up to two-thirds of the national catch. Read the rest here 16:58
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for July 11, 2016
Click here to read the Weekly Update, to read all the updates, Click here 14:00
This kid has Guts! Deadliest Catch Deckhand forced to slurp down raw COD INTESTINES
If there’s one thing that’s going to motivate you to work hard — it’s the threat of having to slurp down raw COD INTESTINES like spaghetti if you mess up. Unfortunately for the newest crew member of the Brenna A on tonight’s Deadliest Catch, when he misses the crab pots with a throw of the hook that’s exactly what he’s faced with. Captain Sean Dwyer enforces the punishment to make sure his crew stay motivated and the newbie ‘greenhorn’ had started off well, landing every throw at the rail. But when he finally misses he has to follow through with the gut-wrenching consequences. Bring out the “Bering Sea sushi” — a gruesomely long piece of raw cod intestines. Watch the video below as he struggles to stomach the fresh intestines without gagging. Click here! 13:45
This weeks NOAA/NMFS Notices
We will be posting the notices we receive, when we receive them, on a daily basis, and aggregate them in one weekly post. Here we go. Commercial Landings of Bluefin Tuna as of May 31, 2016 – Clink here NOAA Announces Lobster Trap Transfer Application Workshop – Click here Workshop Summary: Potential Protected Resources Interactions with Longline Aquaculture – Click here New Regulations for Blueline Tilefish, Black Sea Bass, and Yellowtail Snapper in Federal Waters of the South Atlantic – Click here Atlantic Sturgeon Critical Habitat Informational Meetings and Public Hearings – Click here 13:01 Fishing for Energy Request for Proposals 2016 – Click here SAFMC News Release: Federal Fishery Advisory Panel Seats Open to Applicants – Click here 19:40 NOAA Fisheries Announces Common Pool Area Closure for Georges Bank Cod – Click here Commercial Landings of Bigeye, Albacore, Yellowfin, and Skipjack Tuna from January 1 to June 30, 2016 – Click here Atlantic Swordfish Landings Update Through June 30, 2016: Commercial and Recreational – Click here 20:05
Libby’s No. 23 – Double-ender offers peek into the Bristol Bay sailboat era
The double-ender sailboat is a relic of the non-motorized Bristol Bay fishery that disappeared in the early 1950s. One of these boats is on display at Lake Clark National Park in Port Alsworth — a 30-footer built in 1914 in a West Coast shipyard, named Libby’s No. 23. Libby’s No. 23 was one of the thousands of wooden sailboats manned by two-man crews back when the Bristol Bay fleet was totally at the mercy of the wind and the tides. “Not only did you have to be a good fisherman in this era, you had to be a darn good sailor,” said John Branson, the historian for Lake Clark National Park in Port Alsworth. You had to be a skilled sailor back then, he says, because mistakes could cost you dearly. Audio report, read the rest here 10:25
Kenai, East Forelands setnets open for first period
A skiff called the Santa Maria, flying a pirate flag, skidded into the Nikiski beach, grating to a heavy halt. The crew efficiently hauled the boat further up into the sand with a tractor, and a truck with peeling paint rolled back alongside it to receive the fish piled inside. Soon, slime, water and blood were flying as the crew of four cheerfully pitched the fish into the bed of the truck. The setnetters in the Kenai and East Forelands sections wet their gear for the first time this season Monday. Their counterparts in the Kasilof section have been fishing since June 23, and the drift gillnet fleet has been fishing since June 20. The setnet fisheries in the Kasilof, Kenai and East Forelands will be open until Aug. 15 unless closed earlier by emergency order. Monday was a regular period for the setnetters, a 12-hour opening from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. An emergency order issued around 1 p.m. extended the period until midnight, giving the setnetters an additional five hours of fishing time. Read the rest here 10:06
Marlborough Sounds scallop closure divides industry
A ban of scallop fishing in the Marlborough Sounds, and parts of Tasman Bay, three days before the start of the season, has split the industry, with commercial groups looking at legal options to challenge the ruling. Primary Industries Minister Nathan Guy announced on Tuesday a total ban on all scalloping by commercial and recreational fishers in the southern scallop fishery area (SCA7). The ban included all of the Marlborough Sounds, and the north eastern part of Tasman Bay, between Okuri Point and Peppin Island, from Friday until February 14 next year. Marlborough Recreational Fishers Association president Peter Watson said the closure was in the best interests of the fishery. Challenger Scallop Enhancement Company Ltd chief executive John Reid said the ban was not supported by commercial scallopers. Read the rest here 09:54 Ban aims to save Marlborough Sounds scallops – Read the rest here 10:02
‘Fishermen are tired of lies of politicians and environmental groups, plan wave of protests against Brussels
Dutch fishermen are planning a series of protests against European rules that they claim are destroying their industry. The ‘Eendracht Maakt Kracht’ (‘Unity Is Strength’) movement says it wants to inform the public about ‘the real story’ of Brussels interference. ‘Fishermen are tired of the lies of politicians and environmental organisations,’ spokesman Jan de Boer told the Volkskrant. EMK’s main grievance is with the fishing quotas imposed by Brussels and the tide of regulation that comes with them. The group, which evolved from a WhatsApp community in fishing communities such as Urk, is also critical of the existing representative groups in the industry, which it says have failed to stand up for fishermen’s interests. ‘The groups in the fisheries sector are always in talks but never strike a blow,’ said De Boer. Read the rest here 08:52
Scallop fishermen protest at Clearwater plant in Grand Bank for Access to Traditional Grounds
Wayne Meade, one of the organizers of the protest, said fishermen in the area are fed up and want answers from their union – Fish, Food and Allied Workers (FFAW-Unifor) – and the federal government about access to nearby fishing grounds. The harvesters believe they should be able to once again fish the southern and middle scallop beds on St. Pierre Bank, Meade said. “We had a licence to fish anywhere on St. Pierre Bank for 25, 30 year. Overnight that was took from us in 2006 and give to Clearwater and the offshore boats – the companies,” Meade said. Meade said inshore fishermen were then limited to the northwest part of the bank, which had already been largely raked clean by factory trawlers. Read the rest here 07:18
