Monthly Archives: August 2016
The War on Fishing
Animal rights activists don’t want us eating fish or catching them recreationally. Fish may feel pain, don’t you know. Thus fishing is too cruel. When the usual suspects advocate destroying a trillion dollar industry, it is one thing. But when an outdoors magazine sympathizes, attention must be paid. From “Fish Have Feelings: Does That Mean We Are Torturing Them? Click here ” in Outside magazine: If fish feel pain, then many of us may have to rethink our life choices. We catch and eat nearly a thousand times more fish than terrestrial animals, and fishing practices in much of the world are barbaric. Conventional fishing kills millions of fish unnecessarily and most certainly subjects the animals to pain. “It really can’t be considered humane,” says Mary Finelli of Fish Feel. (rolling eyes) Like hunters are prime targets of animal rights activists, sport fishermen are now in the target zone. Read the rest here 16:34
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for August 22, 2016
Click here to read the Weekly Update, to read all the updates, Click here 16:12
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council August Meeting Review
The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council met in New Orleans, Louisiana, August 15 – 18, 2016. The Council welcomed its newest member Dr. Thomas Frazer, Director of the School of Natural Resources and Environment for the University of Florida. In addition, Douglas Boyd (TX) and Leann Bosarge (MS) were each sworn in for an additional 3-year term. The Council elected Leann Bosarge as Council Chair and Johnny Greene as Council Vice Chair for the upcoming year. Issues in this update include – Data Collection – Coral and Habitat Protection – Modifications to the Commercial Individual Fishing Quota Programs – Gray Triggerfish – Federal Reef Fish Headboat Survey Vessel Management – Red Snapper Management for Federally Permitted Charter Vessels – Mackerel – Council Wrap-Up Webinar – The Council will host a webinar to review the Council meeting. Please join us at 6 p.m. ESTWednesday, August 24 for a quick presentation followed by a question and answer session. Register for the webinar here: To read the details, Click here 15:52
72 hours to vacate: First Nation gives eviction notice to salmon farm –
A B.C. First Nation has served a 72-hour eviction notice to a fish farm on the northern coast of the province. Hereditary chiefs from Musgamagw Dzawada’enuxw First Nation boarded a Cermaq/Mitsubishi salmon farm off the Burdwood Islands earlier this week. Their message was clear: it’s time to leave. The leaders of Musgamagw Dzawada’enuxw cite the fish farm’s occupation of their ancestral lands as the reason for the eviction, as well as concerns that the farm has damaged wild salmon habitat. In an interview with CBC News, Moon said their position is firm. “This is unconditional,” said Moon. “We want them out of our territories.” A letter regarding the eviction is also being sent to the provincial and federal governments. Read the story here 12:27
Coast Guard medevacs man off fishing vessel near Hobucken, NC
The Coast Guard medevaced a man Monday off a fishing vessel near Hobucken. Station Hobucken watchstanders were notified at approximately 1 a.m. Monday that the captain of the fishing vessel Master Joseph, homeported out of Bayboro, was reportedly disoriented and had temporarily lost consciousness. A Coast Guard 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew from Station Hobucken launched at approximately 1:30 a.m. and arrived on scene at approximately 2 a.m. The crew medevaced and transferred the captain back to R.E. Mayo Seafood in Hobucken, where EMS personnel took him to CarolinaEast Medical Center in New Bern. Link 12:02
FDA warns Hawaii seafood processor about handling of tuna
A seafood-processing facility in Honolulu was found to have “serious violations” of the seafood Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) regulations during a May 17 and 20 inspection by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The resulting warning letter, dated July 27 and sent from the agency’s San Francisco District Office, informed Tropic Fish Hawaii LLC that its “fresh, refrigerated histamine-forming fish products, including Ahi tuna, mahi mahi, and skipjack tuna” are therefore adulterated, meaning that “they have been prepared, packed, or held under insanitary conditions whereby they may have been rendered injurious to health.” Click here to read the article 11:42
American Fisheries Society recognizes Bill Hogarth with top conservation award
The American Fisheries Society is honoring recently retired Florida Institute of Oceanography Director Bill Hogarth with the Carl R. Sullivan Fishery Conservation Award – one of the nation’s premier awards in fisheries science – in recognition of his long career and leadership in preserving some of the world’s most threatened species, advocating for environmental protections and leading Florida’s scientific response to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. The award recognizes a wide span of achievements in Hogarth’s 51-year-career in marine science, beginning with his research into threatened fish species; his roles as director of the National Marine Fisheries Service and chairman of the International Whaling Commission; and his service as the former dean of the University of South Florida’s College of Marine Science and Director of the Florida Institute of Oceanography. During his career, Hogarth is credited with,,, Read the rest here 09:59
Quality more important than quantity in cod fishing, says FFAW
Researchers with the Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union (FFAW) are working with fish harvesters to determine how to ensure cod caught in Newfoundland and Labrador is top quality. As Newfoundlanders and Labradorians can attest, many can tell the difference between a great piece of cod and an average one. And the FFAW’s new project is aiming to close the gap between the two. Bill Broderick, the inshore director of the FFAW, told CBC’s The Broadcast that 32 harvesters have signed on for the project. He said fish harvesters need to ensure they catch quality cod because, these days, quality is more important than quantity. Read the rest here 09:47
If you find a crab with a green t-bar tag and/or orange knuckle tag marked with “AOLA” You could win money!
Massachusetts’s Division of Marine Fisheries, in collaboration with the Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s Association, is tagging Jonah crabs to investigate migration patterns and growth. Information will be used for Jonah crab stock assessment. WHAT TO REPORT: date, location, tag #, crab sex, egg status and whether you kept or released the animal. For green tags only, if you have a way to measure carapace width in millimeters, we would appreciate that information as well. REWARDS: Every tag report will qualify as one raffle entry. Rewards will be drawn July 1, 2017 and July 1, 2018: 1st place – $500, 2nd place – $300, 3rd place $200. Green tag reports with width measurement will be additionally entered into high value cash raffles drawn July 1, 2017 and 2018: 1st place – $1,000, 2nd place $500 If you haul a tagged crab, please release it and contact (774) 251-9454 or [email protected] Click here 08:37
Nathan Cullen wants changes to the fisheries system in the North West of Canada
The fisheries system in the North West of Canada needs an overhaul. That was the message from the Skeena-Bulkley Valley MP, Nathan Cullen, last week when he spoke with media. An incident between a few fishermen and Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) officers on Aug. 2 has increased tensions in the area, and Canfisco Oceanview plant saw an increased presence of officers. Frustration is mounting over the changing regulations and restrictive fishing methods, and allowing certain user groups to fish down the coast, a DFO spokesperson stated two weeks ago.,, His answer is to sit down with DFO and the fisheries minister and reform the fishery. Some of the changes he’d like to see already exist on the East Coast. One example he gave was the owner-operator policy in the Atlantic, where commercial fishing licences are held by an individual or the licence holders’s company. Read the story here 20:26
Fishermen’s Protest in Chile – Fighting against the privatization of the seas
Chile’s fishermen are fighting against the privatization of the sea. Salmon farms and factory fishing are driving out ordinary fishermen. Profits from these large-scale ventures are being pocketed by a few powerful companies. They are convinced that the salmon farms are destroying the environment, killing marine mammals and wild fish, and causing uncontrolled pollution. This is an interesting video, and its well worth the twelve minute investment of your time. These fishermen have so much in common with small scale fishermen everywhere. Watch the video, Click here 18:24
Alaska Pink Salmon Fishery Set To Rank as Worst in 20 Years
Alaska’s 2016 pink salmon fishery is set to rank as the worst in 20 years by a long shot, and the outlook is bleak for all other salmon catches except sockeyes. “Boy, sockeye is really going to have to carry the load in terms of the fishery’s value because there’s a lot of misses elsewhere,” said Andy Wink, a fisheries economist with the Juneau-based McDowell Group. The historical peaks of the various salmon runs have already passed and the pink salmon catch so far has yet to break 35 million on a forecast of 90 million. That compares to a harvest of 190 million pinks last year. Weekly tracking through August 15 shows the pace of the Chinook salmon harvest (341,000) is down 42 percent versus last year in net fisheries, cohos (under 2 million) are down 20 percent, and the chum catch (12 million) is down 25 percent. Read the article here 14:42
Warm water blamed for lowest sockeye salmon run on record
Warm summer temperatures may have Lower Mainlanders feeling good, but they are proving lethal for sockeye salmon. The Pacific Salmon Commission recently revised its already low forecast for sockeye numbers from 2.3 million to 1.1 million in the Fraser River, which would be the lowest number since records have been kept. As of August 12, the DFO has suspended all sockeye fisheries in response. John Reynolds, professor of aquatic ecology and conservation at Simon Fraser University, said three main factors are contributing to this year’s low numbers: a small parental generation; a “blob” of warm water in the Pacific Ocean; and higher-than-normal temperatures in the Fraser River. Sockeye spawn over a four-year cycle, and Reynolds said the last cycle’s already low numbers meant low numbers were a distinct possibility for this year. Read the rest here 11:39
S.C. police body cam funds go to all — including oyster officers
After a bystander’s video last year showed a white North Charleston police officer shooting and killing a fleeing, unarmed black man, widespread outrage spurred South Carolina lawmakers to vote in favor of police body cameras, and to come up with $5.8 million to pay for cameras and data storage. Among the top recipients of the limited cash is the state Department of Health and Environmental Control. Its $135,100 grant will outfit its 32 armed officers in the divisions of drug control, shellfish monitoring and investigating environmental crimes such as illegal dumping, said agency spokesman Robert Yanity. State Sen. Greg Hembree said he knows “it seems funny” to put cameras on the officers who oversee shellfish harvesting. Read the story here 10:39
Texas Shrimp Association industry director steamed over Deepwater Horizon Restore Act money
Andrea Hance isn’t happy. The executive director of the Texas Shrimp Association said that of the billions of dollars in RESTORE Act money — fines related to the Deepwater Horizon oil disaster in 2010 — that have been distributed to various groups in Gulf states, her industry received nothing for marketing and promotion, even though Texas shrimpers were significantly affected by the worst oil spill in U.S. history. It may all come down to the fact that, historically, the state’s industry has never had much of a voice, thus few people outside the industry understand it. But that doesn’t make Hance, who took the helm at TSA three years ago, feel any better about it. People assume that because the oil, which gushed from the seafloor for 87 days roughly 42 miles from the Louisiana coast, didn’t stray into Texas waters that the state’s shrimpers weren’t affected. In fact, when state and federal waters off Texas are closed to shrimping each year from mid-May to mid-July, the state’s fleet depends on the waters off Louisiana. Read the rest here 10:01
Working Waterfront: Are Morro Bay officials attempting to chip away at Measure D?
In 1981, Morro Bay fishermen Joe Giannini and Ed Ewing crafted Measure D to protect the local fishing industry. The measure sets aside the waterfront lease sites between Beach Street and Target Rock for uses “primarily for the purpose of serving or facilitating licensed commercial fishing activities or noncommercial recreational fishing activities, or is clearly incidental thereto.” Arguments in favor of the measure included: “This area is known throughout the world as the essence of Morro Bay, and its future should not be left to five council members subject to changing political pressures and self-interests. Measure D is short, direct, and easily understandable. The opponents know what it means and they fear it because it takes away their power to give financial favors to their friends.” Voters agreed and the measure passed and became part of the Morro Bay Municipal Code. It appeared that Giannini and Ewing had scored a major victory. Unfortunately, they hadn’t counted on opposition tactics that have been used repeatedly over the years. Read the story here 08:54
National Marine Monuments: N.E. Marine Preserve Proposal Ignites Debate Over Fishing
Proposals to create a vast national marine preserve off the New England coast are generating a whirlpool of debate that’s sucking in commercial fishermen, recreational anglers, environmentalists, multistate bureaucrats and politicians. Environmental groups are calling on President Obama to use his executive powers to establish a 6,180-square-mile New England Coral Canyons and Seamounts national monument. They insist it would protect a unique and ecologically critical marine environment lying about 150 miles off New England’s shores. If Obama heeds those calls, virtually all fishing and commercial operations such as oil and undersea mining would be banned within the new national preserve. The controversy has exposed deep fault lines between commercial fishermen fiercely opposed to new federal restrictions on their industry and many recreational anglers who argue the preserve would benefit fishing in the region. Read the article here 18:03
A Huge Haul! £80m of cocaine found on fishing trawler near Falmouth
More than a tonne of cocaine with a street value of £80 million was recovered from a vessel off the English coast. Officers from the National Crime Agency and the Border Force boarded the British-registered converted fishing trawler just south of Falmouth in Cornwall on Thursday. They discovered approximately 50 bags of the drug on the vessel, named Bianca. All three crew were charged with importing cocaine. The owner of the vessel, Michael McDermott, 67, and the crew, Gerald Van De Kooij, 26, and David Pleasants, 57, were remanded in custody by Bodmin Magistrates’ Court. Their next hearing is at Bristol Crown Court on the 20 September. Read the rest here 16:46
P.E.I. – Only five tuna have been landed so far this season
Michael McInnis’s tuna season is over before most members of the Island’s fleet even toss a baited hook over the sides of their boats. The Island’s fleet has landed only five of the big fish since the season opened Aug. 1, and McInnis has one of them. “I was just about to take in the hooks and call it a day when it struck,” he said. The fish gave him a 45-minute fight before he was able to bring it alongside his boat. Doug Fraser, a member of the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association’s tuna advisory committee, said there have been three good-sized fish landed in western P.E.I. over the past week and two smaller ones in eastern P.E.I. prior to that. “As we move into September, the next four or five weeks, it really ramps up pretty quickly.” Read the story here 14:49
Search for a Scapegoat: Offshore Trawler Bycatch Suspected in Disappearance of Shad
Mid-Atlantic fisheries regulators are weighing whether to take additional steps to protect American shad and river herring as they migrate along the East Coast, as some new research suggests significant numbers of herring may be accidentally netted by offshore trawlers. The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council is scheduled to receive a staff-written white paper this month reviewing whether to move toward imposing tighter limits on the amount of shad and river herring that could be caught by offshore fleets pursuing another species, Atlantic mackerel. The council, which regulates commercial fishing within federal waters from New York to North Carolina, plans to make a decision at its October meeting. “We’ve got industrial-scale fishing vessels targeting mackerel and Atlantic herring in the southern New England area, and we barely have any observer coverage on those vessels,” complains Roger Fleming, a lawyer with Earthjustice. “Some of those vessels can hold up to 1 million pounds of fish. . . . They can virtually wipe out a river herring stock in one tow [of the net].” Read the story here 12:20
Shark researchers question DFO policy on catch-and-kill derbies
The catching of a large female mako shark has prompted some researchers to question the Fisheries and Oceans Canada policy on Nova Scotia’s annual shark derbies. The shark derbies are annual community festivals that include a shark-fishing event. Fishermen compete to catch large sharks, which are then turned over to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans so scientists can gather biological data. Sharks smaller than 2.4 metres are tagged and released. Brendal Townsend, a shark researcher at Dalhousie University, says she is concerned that the data collected is no longer scientifically useful. She believes the same information could be gathered through catch-and-release methods. Read the rest here 10:13
Police save naked RI man from water off pier in New Bedford
Two New Bedford police officers are credited with saving a 46-year-old man who was nude in the water, holding onto a rope and screaming, off Pier 3 early Thursday. Officers Johnny Galarza and Steven Alers were dispatched to Pier 3 after the captain of a nearby fishing vessel heard screams and found the victim in the water holding on to an anchor rope at about 3:30 a.m., New Bedford Police Det. Capt. Steven Vicente said. The man had apparently been in the water for quite some time and was going into shock, Vicente said. Officers were able to throw him a life ring and guide him to a dock ladder. With the assistance of the fire department, the victim was brought out of the water. He was transported to St. Luke’s Hospital by medics, where he was treated for hypothermia, Vicente said. The victim is from Rhode Island and is believed to be a fisherman on one of the docked vessels, Vicente said. Link 09:21
Maine Rep Proposes Owner/Operator Requirement for Scallop and Urchin Fishery
Rep. Lydia Blume, D-York, is proposing legislation to require license holders in the scallop and urchin fisheries to own and operate their own vessels. Owner-operator provisions help to increase stewardship in a fishery and help to ensure the fishery’s revenues stay in local communities, she said. “Maine’s lobster fishery has an owner-operator requirement, and this is one of the reasons why it is looked upon as a textbook example of a sustainable fishery,” Blume said. “We should try to replicate what works with lobster in harvesting other species.” Entrance to both the scallop and urchin fisheries is now closed, but there are several factors, like the rebuilding of stocks and increased dockside prices, that are increasing pressure to open them to new license holders. Read the rest here 08:28
Fishermen Outraged! ‘We have to buy our jobs back’
The opposition has demanded the State Government press pause on controversial reforms to the commercial fishing industry, it claims will force fishers to “borrow money to buy shares to do the job they already do”. During a visit to Stockton on Friday, Shadow Minister for Primary Industries Mick Veitch also described it as “ludicrous” to be asking fishers around Williamtown to be investing in more shares while they are still locked out of contaminated waterways at Fullerton Cove and upper Tilligerry Creek. Mr Veitch met with a group of about 20 fisherman to protest the reforms, which are due to come into effect in July next year. They will introduce minimum shareholdings – meaning smaller players could be squeezed out of the industry unless they buy more shares – and link fishing rights to catch levels. One veteran of the industry, John Verdich, estimated the changes would cost him $120,000. “That’s just to get back to what I’m doing,” he said. Read the story here 16:06
Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management Policy and Roadmap – Its your duty to comment!
Resilient, productive ocean fisheries are critical to our economy and way of life. Managing these fisheries over the long-term means taking into account more than just one species at a time. It requires a holistic, science-based approach that looks at the entire ecosystem. This approach is known as Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management (EBFM). NOAA Fisheries has developed an agency-wide EBFM policy, which outlines a set of principles to guide our actions and decisions over the long-term. It directs continued progress toward development and implementation of EBFM approaches. It also ensures our commitment to incorporate EBFM into the agency’s resource management decisions. NOAA also recently released a EBFM draft “road map” to guide implementation of the EBFM policy over the next five years. The road map outlines actions we can take now to further the policy’s 6 guiding principles: Implement ecosystem-level planning, 1.Advance understanding of ecosystem processes 2. Assess risks and vulnerabilities 3. Explore trade-offs 4. Incorporate ecosystem considerations into management advice 5. Maintain ecosystem resilience and social well-being Interested parties can send their comments on the draft road map no later than October 15, 2016 to [email protected] and [email protected]. Related Links: What is Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management? What are we already doing? 6 Myths of Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management Related Resources: Gulf of Mexico Marine Ecosystem – Video Link to the notice 15:38
Lobstah-lovin’ Texans get another Cousins Maine Lobster Truck
Cousins Maine Lobster Truck is expanding its fleet with another mobile kitchen in San Antonio, Texas, according to the San Antonio Current, which said the addition was announced on Facebook. The Portland-based company, started by cousins Jim Tselikis and Sabin Lomac, opened its 12th location last December in Nashville, as reported by Mainebiz. At the time it had 18 trucks in 12 cities, including Nashville. The truck franchise launched in 2012. The Texas newspaper said the local trucks are franchised by Todd Knief and Neil Werner, who first started serving Maine lobster rolls, lobster bisque and lobster tacos the weekend of June 4. Cousins Maine Lobster became famous when it won backing on ABC’s Shark Tank show by real estate financier Barbara Corcoran. Link 12:21
FDA tests confirm hepatitis A in scallops imported from Philippines likely source of outbreak of virus in Hawaii
U.S. Food and Drug Administration tests found hepatitis A in scallops from the Philippines, which have been identified as the likely source of an outbreak of the virus in Hawaii. The Hawaii Department of Health announced Thursday the FDA laboratory test results of frozen Sea Port Bay Scallops. They’re produced by De Oro Resources Inc. Messages left with the company’s main office in the Philippines weren’t immediately returned. The scallops are imported by Sea Port Products Corp. in Washington state. “I am deeply troubled at the thought that anyone may have become ill from eating product that we shipped,” Sea Port owner Bill Dresser said in a statement. “I am also fully committed to trying to find out how this may have happened and to work to prevent it from happening again not only to Sea Port, but to the entire seafood community.” Read the story here 10:29
Commercial fisherman turns low-grade fish into healthy, tasty pet treats
No commercial fisherman ever wants to throw away or waste a fish he’s worked hard to catch. The reality is, though, some species demand very little interest among consumers and consequently, provide little or no return. But an enterprising fisherman in Mission Beach in far north Queensland believes he’s overcome the problem by transforming his low-grade fish products into high-value dog treats. Glen Murray said his ‘light bulb moment’ came when one of his own dogs was diagnosed with arthritis and the vet recommended fish oil tablets as a treatment. The beauty of his dog treat concept was not only finding a market for fish he traditionally struggled to sell, but the fact the manufacturing process utilised the resource more effectively. Read the story here 08:46
Fishermen Catch Giant Swordfish, SHOCKED When They Cut It Open
A bizarre incident was recently caught on video after a few fishermen reeled in a massive swordfish. However, the situation got strange after they began to cut it open, only to make a surprising discovery inside. The location of the incident is currently unknown, but video of the ordeal is going viral after seeing what the day’s catch produced. We all know that fishermen bring things in on a daily basis and most of them have their own niche markets for whatever they want. As it turns out, these guys specialized in swordfish and managed to bring in a rather large one before attempting to dress it. However, things would take a turn as the men on the boat noticed that the large fish had a rather swollen abdomen that just wasn’t normal. Watch the video here 07:59
Copper River Coho Salmon Season Kicks Off in Alaska
Fishermen of the Copper River flats celebrated the official start of Copper River coho salmon season on August 15. Setting their nets in tumultuous ocean swell, they were rewarded with bright and beautiful Copper River coho salmon. According to research biologist Steve Moffitt with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), harvest from the first Copper River coho salmon fishing period was 19,000 coho salmon. This level of harvest is on track to meet or exceed the preseason harvest forecast of 201,000 coho salmon. If the run comes in as forecast, harvest could be over 45% higher than last year when 137,000 Copper River coho were caught- great news for fishermen and salmon lovers alike! Read the rest here 07:37
