Daily Archives: July 28, 2016
An optimistic outlook for fall lobster fishery in LFA 25
The president of the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association thinks the way the spring lobster fishery finished off bodes well for the fall fishery which is due to open Aug. 9. “There is really heavy, heavy demand,” Craig Avery noted. Avery, who fishes spring lobster out of Northport, saw prices start off at $5.25 and $5.75 a pound for canners and markets respectively. By the end of the season he was getting $7.75 across the board while some buyers to the eastern end of the province were paying $8.00 a pound for canners and $8.25 a pound for markets. “I don’t see any reason why the price shouldn’t stay the same as where it finished this spring,” Avery commented. He pointed out the Lobster Fishing Area 25 is pretty well “the only show in Canada,” when it comes to fall lobster. Read the story here 20:09
NRDC Enviro: Obama Administration is on the verge of weakening the nations fisheries regulations!
The U.S. has been a global leader in confronting and effectively tackling the overexploitation of its ocean fisheries. While there’s work still be done—more than three dozen fish populations or stocks (out of 233) remain overfished—American fisheries today are among the most sustainable in the world. Yet, with the job unfinished, the Obama Administration is on the verge of weakening fisheries regulations. Last month, enviro 44 organizations wrote to the president opposing these rollbacks. The changes would represent the first significant weakening of the country’s ocean fisheries policy since 1996, when important conservation provisions were enacted into law. NOAA Fisheries, the agency that regulates U.S. fisheries, is proposing to revise the regulations that implement the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act—the nation’s ocean fisheries law—saying that this will give managers more flexibility to handle current fishery management challenges. Read the rest here 19:39 Read this, National Marine Fisheries Service Proposes Weakening Magnuson-Stevens Act Regulations click here
Commercial fishers ‘gutted’ by govt reforms
Commercial fishers gathered in Coffs Harbour from across the state in protest against fisheries reforms. More than 80 fishermen from Hawkesbury River to as far north as the Tweed rallied at the Jetty foreshores on Tuesday and Wednesday to garner public support to fight the reforms. Fishermen like Allan Bodycote, of the Clarence Valley, say the State Government’s Commercial Fisheries Business Adjustment Program will cripple their businesses because they will need to buy back their right to continue their current catch quotas. “We’ve got active fishers here who have been actively fishing up to 35 years in the game and come 2017, we believe we won’t have access to the shares to continue fishing because there is not enough shares to go around,” Mr Bodycote said. “We are buying our jobs back, how many times do you have to buy your job?” Read the rest here 17:04
Louisiana seafood industry told to think beyond daily catch
Leather made of tuna skin. Canned seafood marketed to tourists as souvenirs. Dried shrimp shells sold as a soup seasoning or used to extract chitin, a protein that has various agricultural, industrial and medical uses. Those were a few potential revenue generators for Louisiana’s seafood industry that were suggested Wednesday by Thor Sigfusson, an Icelandic entrepreneur who founded an incubator to connect businesses in the seafood industry. The effort, called the Iceland Ocean Cluster, focuses on developing innovative ideas within the fishing industry and new uses for the daily catch. “We have a scarcity of these natural proteins in the world, and these are absolutely the best proteins you can have,” Sigfusson told state leaders and seafood industry officials in New Orleans during a two-day visit. Read the story here 13:37
Marine Accident Investigation Branch reveals shocking UK fishermen death toll
The UK’s fishing fleet is suffering from one of its deadliest periods in a decade with more deaths recorded here than in Alaskan waters where reality TV show the ‘Deadliest Catch’ is filmed. Nine fishermen’s lives have been lost at sea in the first six months of this year in six different incidents, a worryingly high figure for this stage in the year and there is concern this number could rise. Now more dangerous than Alaska, recognised for its treacherous waters as part of the reality television series ‘Deadliest Catch’, the UK has seen an increase of 29% on 2015 full year figures (seven fishermen lost their lives), as reported by the Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) today in its 2015 Annual Report. The MAIB’s Annual Report for 2015 comes as Seafish also warns that the summer months (June to September) are when commercial fishermen are more likely to have a non fatal accident which leads to major injury when working at sea. A common misperception is that these accidents are more likely to happen during bad weather during the winter months. Read the rest here 13:18
Ryan Cleary says Newfoundland and Labrador fishermen want him to set up a new union
A former MP from Newfoundland and Labrador says fishermen are asking them to help organize a new union that would be a rival to the Fish, Food and Allied Workers union. Ryan Cleary says he’s never seen fish harvesters so angry and disillusioned with the FFAW, which currently represents them. “The common theme is that fishermen aren’t happy with the representation. In a lot of ways, the fishermen see the FFAW as having evolved into a corporation, more concerned with feeding itself than looking after the fishermen it’s charged with representing.” Cleary says fishermen have many reasons for wanting to break from the FFAW. He cites a recent lawsuit that scallop fishermen on the Northern Peninsula launched against the union over compensation money from Nalcor, which the fishermen won. Read the story here 11:44
Sad News: Larry the Lobster has died on his journey home. (I think they killed ‘im!)
Larry the Lobster gained fame after it was spared from a boiling pot in Florida, but Maine officials say the crustacean didn’t make it to retirement. A rescue group had stepped forward to save the lobster after the restaurant owner called a TV station in Florida last week to show off the lobster’s unusual size. It was estimated to be between 60 and 110 years old. It’s not clear what killed the lobster. It was packed in a Styrofoam clamshell with seaweed and frozen gel packs. Watch the video showing how they packed him here 11:19
Salmon gillnetting to resume Aug. 7 in the Columbia River
Nine nights of gillnetting in the lower Columbia River between Warrior Rock and Beacon Rock will begin Aug. 7. The commercial fleet will fish Sundays, Tuesdays and Thursdays from 9 p.m. to 6 a.m. through Aug. 26, according to regulations adopted today in Vancouver by the Columbia River Compact. Nine-inch-minimum-mesh nets will be required. Robin Ehlke, assistant Columbia River policy coordinator for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, said the netters are projected to catch 2,200 fall chinook in the first week, 7,500 in the second week and 19,700 in the third week. Read the rest here 10:06
Growth And Diversity Mark 25 Years Of Fishermen’s Alliance
When local shellfishermen wanted help setting up a meeting with officials from the state division of marine fisheries to discuss changes in regulations governing quahog size, they turned to an unlikely source: The Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance. Until fairly recently, few would have made a connection between the Alliance and shellfish. Last year, however, the West Chatham-based organization invested in a 20 percent ownership stake in Aquaculture Researcher Corporation in Dennis, helping save a company that provides dozens of communities with seed shellfish and becoming a player in the Cape’s commercial shellfishing industry. The move is in many ways emblematic of how the Alliance has evolved and grown in the 25 years since it was founded as the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen’s Association. Read the rest here 09:20
United Fishermen of Alaska launch survey for fishermen’s input on habitat
The United Fishermen of Alaska launched its Salmon Habitat Information Project on Tuesday in an effort to keep fishermen and the organization more connected with habitat information across the state. The initiative kicks off with a survey to gain more information from fishermen about habitat conditions in their home fishing grounds and how they would engage with the organization, said Lindsey Bloom, the program manager and a UFA board member. The survey asks fishermen about what conditions they observe in their local environments. One question asks about the words fishermen use to describe salmon habitat, from “spawning bed” to “open ocean,” and another asks how well the taker feels Alaska is managing its salmon populations. The other part is to touch base with how fishermen want to be engaged. As technology has changed, fishermen may use cell phones, text or email, so the UFA wants to stay updated on how to reach them. “We’re launching with the survey because we want to get a better idea of what fishermen really care about, where their strongest interests lie, and how they want to be engaged, and how do they want to be contacted,” Bloom said. Read the rest here 08:39
Where are the herring? Unalaska’s seine fishery remains on hold
The commercial herring fishery is on hold in Unalaska — because no one can find the fish. The herring season opened more than a week ago. So far, fishermen haven’t had any luck, even with a spotter pilot searching from above. “There’s been no appreciable harvest at all,” said Frank Kelty on the Unalaska Fisheries Report. “The fish appear to be well offshore and in very deep water where the seiners can’t get to them.” Kelty said three or four seiners are registered to fish this season, while no one has registered to use gillnet gear. If the herring show up, Dutch Harbor fishermen will be able to harvest 2,166 tons. But until then, the seiners are on standby. Read the rest here Listen to the report here 08:01
