Monthly Archives: July 2016
Actual press release: “Policy makers and ecologists must develop a more constructive dialogue to save the planet”
From the talk not action department and TRINITY COLLEGE DUBLIN comes this laughable press release: Dublin, Ireland, Tuesday July 19, 2016 – An international consensus demands human impacts on the environment “sustain”, “maintain”, “conserve”, “protect”, “safeguard”, and “secure” it, keeping it within “safe ecological limits”. But, a new Trinity College Dublin-led study that assembled an international team of environmental scientists shows that policy makers have little idea what these terms mean or how to connect them to a wealth of ecological data and ideas.,,“There’s a lot of discussion about “tipping points” — the idea that there are boundaries beyond which, if we push nature it will collapse.,, The more likely alternative is not a sudden change, but a progressive loss of fisheries, croplands, damage to all our natural worlds. A wrong view of nature can have disastrous consequences.” Read the post here 11:43
Listen to the Bristol Bay Fisheries Report, July 18, 2016
The total run to Bristol Bay through Sunday is now 41.2 million. Sunday was another two million fish day, with 1.5 million landed and 500,000 counted as escapement. Will this run reach or surpass the preaseason forecasts? (ADF&G – 46 million / FRI – 51.9 million) Naknek-Kvichak Sunday harvest: 809,000 (821 sockeye avg. per drift delivery) Ugashik: 308,000 (1205) Egegik: 291,000 (857)Nushagak: 186,000 (589) Togiak had the day off. On tonight’s program, Egegik fisherman and BBFA board member David Kopra reacts to a price posted by Icicle Seafoods of .75/lb for sockeye, plus a .15/lb chilling bonus. (Icicle also says chums .40/lb, kings $1.25/lb, pinks .23/lb, silvers .55/lb.) One longtime Trident Seafoods fisherman says his company offered the same for reds. (Like to share what your companies have posted? Email Dave or Molly or call 907-842-5281.) Plus, FRI’s Curry Cunningham breaks down the district runs, and weighs in on what tail that Naknek Kvichak district may, or may not, see this week. Listen to the report here 10:59
Qikiqtaaluk Corp. may lose $2M as a result of cuts to shrimp quota in Nova Scotia
Qikiqtaaluk Corporation, which had one of its vessels damaged earlier this year from striking ice, is now concerned reductions to the Northern shrimp quota for offshore trawlers in Nova Scotia will hurt its bottom line even more. The quota reduction mainly affects companies in Nova Scotia. However, Qikiqtaaluk, the biggest fishing company in Nunavut, also fishes those waters during the winter months. “Having this other announcement is another blow,” said Harry Flaherty, president and CEO of Qikiqtaaluk Corporation. Qikiqtaaluk lost approximately $4 million when the F/V Saputi struck ice in February. It had to be shipped to Poland for repairs and the company also lost months of valuable fishing time, said Flaherty. Now, the Fisheries and Oceans Canada announcement on quote reductions means Qikiqtaaluk may lose an additional $2 million in shrimp stock, said Flaherty. Read the rest here 09:59
Fishing Vessel Runs Aground at Woods Hole
A 67-foot steel-hulled fishing vessel went aground in Woods Hole passage late Monday morning. No injuries were reported after the vessel, named Hope & Sydney, from Point Judith struck Middle Ledge. At 3:15 p.m., the large vessel was still aground at the point where the main channel known to mariners as The Straight branches off to a secondary channel known as Broadway. The ledge is marked by a fixed day mark and a large green floating buoy. “Everybody’s accounted for and safe,” said Coast Guard Petty Officer 2nd Class LaNola Stone. “There is no fuel in the water. They’re just waiting for the tide to float it off.” Link 09:30
Monster shark fishing tournaments face growing pressure to reform
It’s 4am at the dock on Block Island, a teardrop-shaped New England vacation spot situated off Rhode Island, and tempers are fraying among fishermen competing in one of the region’s growing number of big money “monster” shark fishing tournaments. At the previous night’s pre-competition gathering, one fisherman tore off his shirt and hurled it at the organizers, enraged at what he saw as an insufficient prize pot. Then, on the opening morning of a two-day contest to reel in the largest shark, anger flares from a very different source. The Guardian is supposed to join the boat skippered by Peter Brancaleone, last year’s winner of the Block Island Giant Shark Tournament and rotund star of the TV show Shark Hunters. But one of his crew isn’t happy, believing that this reporter is a government spy planted to spread allegations of cheating against Brancaleone. “Either he gets off the boat or I do,” the crew member says. “If he sees us pushing 16 sharks off the side of the boat, what do you think this British fuck is going to tell people? Get him off the boat.” Read the story here 08:47
The mysterious case of the drug-smuggling fishermen
In 2011, a group of men from the Isle of Wight was given a combined 104-year prison sentence for masterminding a £53m drug smuggling operation. Does new evidence suggest they were innocent? “It’s like living in a ridiculous police drama,” Sue Beere says. Her husband Jonathan Beere is serving 24 years in a high-security prison in the Midlands, convicted of organising a complex operation to smuggle a quarter of a tonne of cocaine into the UK. She vividly remembers the day police came to arrest him in January 2011: “They literally came through the door in the morning… a troop of men.” Two of the other men, skipper Jamie Green and Zoran Dresic, also received 24-year sentences, while Daniel Payne received 18 years and Scott Birtwistle 14. They had been charged with conspiring to import Class A drugs. Now a new lawyer, Emily Bolton, is working on their case. She founded the Innocence Project New Orleans in the US, which has so far freed 25 prisoners, and has recently set up a new charity in the UK – the Centre for Criminal Appeals – to specialise in miscarriage of justice investigations. Read the story here 07:45
A Fundraiser: Please donate to Lobsterman Jon Popham’s Family in this time of need
The lobsterman who died Saturday after falling off the lobster boat Melinda Ann about 2 miles off Jonesport has been identified as Jon Popham. He was 28 years old, and leaves behind his wife Melinda, and his two year old son, Isaias. A GoFundMe page was created by Jess Harvey to help this family at this very sad time. If you can, please donate any amount large or small. Click here to donate. Thank you. 21:17
What happened to all the Chinook Salmon? New research points to potential predators
In the 1960s, king salmon were abundant in Alaska, and it stayed that way through the 90s. After the new millennium, though, Chinook numbers fell — and they’ve remained low since. “People have scratched their heads and said, ‘Where are all the kings? What happened to all the kings?’” said Andy Seitz, an associate professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences. At a lecture in Unalaska this week, Seitz explained how his research team has studied adult Chinook in the Bering Sea for the last three years. The project relied on pop-up satellite tags, which attach to salmon and measure the water temperature, depth, and ambient light of their environment. Seitz and his team think warm-blooded salmon sharks ate the kings and their tags, and the odd data was recorded when fish were trapped in the sharks’ guts. He also said they found five instances where marine mammals and other unidentified predators could have killed Chinook. Read the story here 18:41
Burglars nabbed during out of season shrimping roust in Terrebonne Parish
Enforcement agents with the 
Fisheries busted three alleged thieves last weekend on their way back from writing up commercial shrimpers accused of fishing in a closed season. According to a press release, agents cited Shawn T. Tran, 30, of Oklahoma City, Okla., and Dung T. Hong, 48, of New Orleans, for allegedly using skimmer nets during a closed season on July 9. Agents acting on a complaint observed the vessel actively shrimping 3,671 feet inside the closed waters line in Caillou Boca, and seized more than 1,700 pounds of shrimp that were ultimately sold at the dock. While escorting that vessel back to port, agents came across a small vessel with no navigational lights about 12:50 a.m. on Sunday, July 10. Read the rest here 16:53
HAVE WE LEARNED NOTHING? – Canada Approves Controversial Chemical Corexit for Ocean Oil Spills
The Canadian federal government has quietly approved the use of a highly controversial chemical for dispersing ocean oil spills, despite growing scientific evidence it doesn’t always work as claimed and even intensifies the toxicity of oil. Last month Environment Canada released regulations establishing a list of approved “treating agents” for oil spills that included Corexit EC 9500A, which sinks the oil and spreads it through the water column. Exxon developed Corexit five decades ago to disperse and sink oil and avoid ugly petroleum slicks on beaches. In 2010 BP used almost two million gallons of Corexit during its catastrophic Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, prompting a raft of scientific studies that challenged its effectiveness and revived concerns about how such emulsifiers can make oil more toxic. Read the rest here 12:12
Corexit 9500A and 9527A were sprayed in the Gulf during the Deepwater Horizon spill. – To read, Click here
Matt Kenseth will take another lobster, thank you very much, after win in New Hampshire 301
Matt Kenseth will take another lobster, thank you very much, as he wins Sunday’s NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race and claims the unique trophy that comes with it at New Hampshire Motor Speedway. Kenseth won Sunday’s New Hampshire 301 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series race at New Hampshire Motor Speedway, taking the lead from Martin Truex Jr. with 44 laps to go and then surviving a spate of wrecks, cautions and restarts over the final 29 laps to claim his second victory of the 2016 season. “You’re always pleased to be in Victory Lane. The farther down the road you get, the better they feel for sure,” said Kenseth, who turned 44 last March and won the championship in NASCAR’s top series in 2003. Read the rest here 11:43
A comprehensive article about Massachusetts DMF Industry-Based Survey underway in Gulf of Maine
Massachusetts received more than $21 million in federal fisheries disaster aid, most of which was distributed to fishermen. But the state kept some for research projects, including $400,000 for an eight month Industry-Based Survey of random tows throughout the Gulf of Maine, from Cape Cod Bay up to Portland, Maine, focusing on cod, but counting and cataloging the fish and other species they catch. The state survey is part of Gov. Charlie Baker’s promise to help fishermen answer some of the key questions plaguing fishery management, Beaton said. Fishermen contend they are seeing a lot of cod in the Gulf of Maine, but their observations don’t match NOAA stock assessments that show historically low populations. The disconnect, fishermen say, results from the federal government using a vessel and net that have had trouble catching cod and performing surveys in the wrong places at the wrong time of year. The state survey will be more intensive than the federal effort, with approximately 400 tows in the Gulf of Maine over eight months compared with NOAA’s two-month research cruise with approximately 800 trawl locations from North Carolina up over the Canadian maritime border. Read the article here 09:50
Counting cod: Division of Marine Fisheries trawl survey aims to determine status of iconic fish
The coastline had melted into a gray slurry, its shapes barely visible through intermittent rain and mist, when the Miss Emily made her first of two scheduled tows last week about seven miles off this South Shore port. Despite the weather, the waters remained sedate as the 55-foot gillnetter (its a dragger), skippered by owner Capt. Kevin Norton, steamed at about three knots for 30 minutes, its net set at 36 fathoms, or about 216 feet. Its target? What else? The iconic, oft-debated and oft-elusive cod. “It will be interesting to see what we come up with today,” Norton said as he feathered the Miss Emily through the harbor and out into open waters. “Usually, at this time of year, there’s nothing really here because the water has begun to warm and the fish already have moved further out.” “This whole survey is designed with cod in mind,” said Micah Dean, a research scientist at DMF. “There’s never been a fishing-industry trawl survey in June or July, so this should give us a new perspective.” Read the rest here 09:03
Queensland Seafood industry critical of WWF license grab, Every fisherman should be
Queensland Seafood Industry Association chief executive Eric Perez says the WWF is meddling in a heavily regulated industry that focuses on sustainable fishing. “They don’t have a point. They are trying to interfere with fisheries management by stealth,” Mr Perez told AAP. “They can’t force their way into regulating the industry the way they want to, so they get cashed up individuals with a green tinge or bent … which is a way to undermining us.” Mr Perez said the purchase of one, or even two, of the licences was not going to have an impact but if the WWF bought up more then eventually there would be repercussions. He said family businesses and micro businesses would be affected and Queenslander retailers would either have to buy fish from interstate or import more. Read the rest here 08:06
Fishermen’s Lawsuit Revived for Abalone Protection
This lawsuit is about Eco-Based Management in the purest sense. Overruling a trial court, the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals [Tuesday] reinstated 
lawsuit to protect abalone and other shellfish resources — and the industries dependent on them — from being ravaged by sea otters in the waters off the Southern California coast. The lawsuit — California Sea Urchin Commission, et al. v. Jacobson, et. al. — targets the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service for illegally eliminating a “sea otter management zone” (i.e., a zone of protection for shellfish off the Southern California coast) which Congress established under a 1986 statute. PLF attorneys represent fishermen, a California state commission, and several nonprofit organizations with a direct interest in maintaining healthy populations of shellfish. In challenging the Service’s violation of its legal mandate to contain the sea otter population, PLF attorneys represent: The California Sea Urchin Commission, California Abalone Association, California Lobster and Trap Fishermen’s Association, Commercial Fishermen of Santa Barbara. Read the rest here 20:35
Processing upgrades possible, but humans irreplaceable says analyst
Processing the 20 to 40 million sockeye harvested in about a month each summer is no small feat. And while the Bristol Bay salmon fishery has come a long way from the hey-days of canneries, there are more improvements to come. Bergur Goumundsson has already seen his share of changes in fisheries. He grew up in a town of about 400 people north of the Arctic Circle. His father was a longline fisherman; his brother followed suit. Eventually, Goumundsson found his way into processing technology, and now works for the fisheries division at Morel, an international company that works in food processing. “My job is basically to analyze processes and come up with ideas that could increase the yield. To make more usable products out of the raw materials that you have,” he said. Audio, read the rest here 16:35
Freeport fisherman prohibited from fishing for five months
A Freeport fisherman will have to miss five months of ground fishing next year. Beau Gillis pled guilty July 11 to failure to hail accurate weight of fish on board a vessel, possessing halibut less than 81 centimetres in length, offloading fish without a monitor, and possessing fish that cannot be identified. Department of Fisheries officers say they noticed suspicious behaviour during a surveillance patrol on Long Island on June 10, 2015. Fishery Officers pulled over Gillis and seized his truck and 1,134 pounds of halibut worth $11,340. Judge Timothy Landry ordered the forfeiture of Gillis’ truck and the proceeds from the fish plus fines totalling $10,000. Read the rest here 12:21
Culture: How fishermen use charms, juju and suicide ropes to catch fish for Nairobians
At 8pm, a ghostly stillness settles over the waters of Lake Victoria. A gentle breeze wafts along the beaches, the air fragrant with pine, grass and the sharp, pungent smell of fish as crickets and croaking frogs lull residents to sleep. But for fishermen, bells toll, signaling a new ‘day’ in office. Far away in Nairobi, mama samaki is keeping vigil at Gikomba, Marikiti and City Market, awaiting trucks piled with tilapia to arrive at dawn from the lake’s landing beaches for Nairobi’s urban population. But unknown to urbanites who devour the ngege with relish, fish does not stagger into the net like drunken louts. Most fishermen (and women) use witchcraft to ensure a bountiful catch! From naming boats after dead relatives, scrambling for ‘suicide ropes’ and seeking the services of witchdoctors for protection and good tidings, fishing in the lake region is not for the fainthearted or the ‘Amen!’ brigade. Read the rest here 11:11
Makah fishermen add value to catch at home by processing own fish fillets
It took 10 years, but today, the Makah Cape Flattery Fisherman’s Co-op in Neah Bay has realized the goal of processing its own fish fillets, adding value to the fish and jobs to the community. Every step of processing done outside of Neah Bay is money that leaves the village. The co-op is happy to be in the business of filleting and packaging their own catch. “The goal of the board of the co-op and the fishermen members was always to get back to processing our own fish,” said Joey Lawrence, Makah Co-op general manager. It took several big investments on the part of the co-op, including the purchase of a machine that adds ozone to water. The ozone kills bacteria and keeps it from growing on the fish for seven days. “It increases the shelf life of the fish, especially since we’re not trucking it away from here to undergo this process,” Lawrence said. Read the story here 10:38
The Sheldon Jackson Museum’s Artifact of the Month: halibut hook
The Sheldon Jackson Museum’s July Artifact of the Month is a halibut hook (SJ.I.A.645). Despite serving the same purpose and having the same basic principal design as the other halibut hooks in the museum’s collection, the Artifact of the Month is very different from the other hooks in its construction and simplicity. All coastal tribes have historically caught halibut, though the Makah on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington and the Tlingit and Haida were the most extensive harvesters of the fish. The species is most abundant in the spring before the arrival of salmon, but can be caught year round, an excellent source of food, fresh or cured. The featured halibut hook is made from the natural crotch of a tree. The large heavier arm has an iron barb bound into place in a vertical groove with two-ply commercial cord. Read the rest here 09:09
Coast Guard medevacs unresponsive fisherman near Jonesport, Maine
A Coast Guard rescue crew medevaced an unresponsive crewman from the fishing vessel Melinda Ann Saturday afternoon from Englishman Bay near Jonesport, Maine. Station Jonesport watchstanders were notified by the Melinda Ann at around 1:50 p.m. that a crewman had fallen overboard and was unresponsive when recovered. A 29-foot rescue boat crew from the station was underway at the time and diverted to assist. Upon arriving on scene the Coast Guard crew took the man aboard and performed CPR and used an automated external defibrillator on the patient. The rescue crew brought the patient to Station Jonesport and transferred him to awaiting emergency medical services personnel at approximately 2:26 p.m. Medical personnel continued CPR after the transfer, but the man was eventually pronounced deceased. The cause is under investigation. Link 20:56
Former Hawaii Gov. George Ariyoshi, Chefs Protest Marine Monument Expansion
Set against a backdrop of commercial fishing boats at Pier 38 in Honolulu, former Hawaii Gov. George Ariyoshi told a crowd of roughly 200 people Friday that they need to work together to stop the proposed expansion of Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument. “We should not let the federal government come in and tell us what to do with our ocean,” the 90-year-old Ariyoshi said, receiving a round of applause. It was the biggest rally to date against expanding the monument around the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Some waved signs saying “Fishing Means Food” and “MVP Most Valuable Poke.” Top chefs like Nico Chaize and George Mavrothalassitis were on hand, along with longline fishermen who object to a further encroachment on their fishing grounds. Read the rest here 18:33
Fears for future of Grimsby’s iconic Ross Tiger trawler
The future of Grimsby’s iconic trawler Ross Tiger has been thrown into question after the woman put in charge of preserving it left her role. A spokesperson for North East Lincolnshire Council (NELC) has confirmed Sue Marshall has “left the employment” of the authority. She had been employed as the council’s tourism and operations manager and was responsible for Grimsby Fishing Heritage Centre. This involved heading up an ambitious £3 million project to save the Ross Tiger, after council officials warned the vessel could be lost forever due to corrosion. In March of last year, Ms Marshall unveiled plans to expand the Fishing Heritage Centre and put the Tiger in a dry dock. The famous fishing boat – built in 1957 as part of the Ross Trawler Group – is the last of Great Grimsby’s side trawlers. At present, she is moored alongside the Fishing Heritage Centre and is an integral part of the centre’s attraction, drawing in more than 80,000 visitors a year from all over the world. But a recent ultrasound report has shown her hull is thinning and is covered in mussels. Read the rest here 15:08
Prices and catch were all positive in lobster fishing area 27
The 2016 lobster season was marked by good weather, good catches and good prices. “The price reached $8 early in the season and stayed there until the end,” said Alvin LeBlanc, a crewmember on the All Jacked Up out the Ballast Grounds in North Sydney. “It’s a pretty intense nine weeks, but this season’s been a good one.” Fishermen in area 27 from Bay St. Lawrence to Forchu set their traps May 14. Speculation was that the fishermen would get $6 a pound to start the season. Richard Gerrow, who has been fishing for more than 40 years, said the price started at $6 and just kept climbing. “Overall it was a pretty good season and it helped that the weather was good on most days.” Read the rest here 13:09
Lobster poacher jumps into the water, challenges game wardens to come and get him. They waited!
One defendant in a lobster-poaching case Saturday reportedly threw his cell phone into the ocean at Bahia Honda, jumped into the ocean and challenged state officers “to come in the water and get him.” A second man booked in the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission case ran from officers and hid for three hours before trying to return to his truck. He found that FWC Officer Adam Garrison was willing to outwait him. Miami residents Carlos M. Duran-Cantillo, 37, and Karel Cantillo-Martinez, 38, face multiple conservation counts after FWC officers charged them with possession of eight , all taken in a closed season. Five of the tails were undersized. Both also were charged with resisting arrest without violence and littering. Read the rest here 11:30
SHRIMP GUTTED: “It’s going to be very tough on a lot of people.”
A decision by Ottawa to cut into the total allowable catch (TAC) for Shrimp Fishing Area 6 drew swift response on Friday, with “disappointing” being a go-to word in reference to the numbers. The fishing area is located off Newfoundland’s Northern Peninsula and southern Labrador and shared by both the inshore and offshore shrimp fleets.For 2016-17, federal Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc set the total allowable catch at 27,825 tonnes — a 42.3 per cent drop year over year. The slash in quota is a direct result of a plummeting shrimp stock. And it amounts to a hard blow for the commercial fishery. Read the rest here 09:38
Is Synthetic bait the answer to natural bait shortages? Kepley Biosystems is banking on it!
As the lobster bait shortage on the US east coast continues to attract more attention — recently prompting regulation changes in on the east coast — a North Carolina-based synthetic bait startup is in a good position to fill the gap in bait supply. Kepley Biosystems is responsible for developing, a hockey puck-shaped product that mimics the smell emitted by decaying forage fish, the traditional bait used to catch crab and lobster, but uses no animal byproducts. Anthony Dellinger, president of Kepley Biosystems, said that the shortage of forage fish for bait has been a growing issue for a while, but has recently garnered more attention. Read the rest here 09:06
We have not published anything by a non-scientist… until today! A fisherman responds to George Burgess
Recently on CFOOD we started a new series where we talk to fishery biologists and let them steer the conversation. We (try to) post one per week and invite anyone to comment or respond to whatever statements our interview subjects make. Our special shark week conversation was with noted shark biologist George Burgess. Dick Grachek, a fisherman out of Point Judith, took issue with some of Burgess’s comments on shark fishermen and women and the spiny dogfish fishery. Here, he responds to Burgess and offers a fisherman’s perspective not often seen.
A response to George Burgess by Dick Grachek – There exists a carefully controlled and stringently regulated legitimate shark fishery! I have an issue with how George Burgess spoke about shark fishermen and women. He made inaccurate and misleading generalized statements about sharks and shark finning and claimed that, unless carefully scrutinized, “fishers will sneak in extra fins.” In particular, making silly statements about Spiny Dogfish as “high value,” implies a motive for overfishing and contributes to a perception of commercial fishing as greedy and uncaring plunder. These misinformed perceptions lead to baseless regulations. Such regulations are destructive to the fish and the fishermen. They can, and often do, prevent legitimate harvesting of a vital, healthy food source. Read the rest here 20:58
Commercial fishing boat catches fire in Moss Landing Harbor
A 55-foot fishing boat named “Bev A” was heavily damaged by a fire in the Moss Landing Harbor. Harbormaster Linda MacIntyre said the fire may have started in the engine room and later spread to the wheel house. Multiple agencies were called out to prevent the fire from spreading. Details are sketchy! Link 18:59
Grand Bank scallop fishermen once again block access to Clearwater Seafoods plant
The harvesters want answers from the Fish, Food and Allied Workers (FFAW-Unifor) union and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) about access to scallop beds on St. Pierre Bank. The fishermen initially blocked the plant on Monday and thought they might be making some headway when they were invited to take part in a conference call with Bonavista-Burin-Trinity MP Judy Foote, DFO officials and the union on Thursday. Things didn’t pan out as the harvesters had hoped, however, Wayne Meade said. FFAW-Unifor representatives spoke with government first. The union then held a second conference call with the fishermen without anyone from government on the line, Meade said. Which pissed them off! Read the rest here 18:41
