Daily Archives: September 8, 2016
Trading Salmon for Almonds
Northern California fishermen have endured an extremely difficult year. Fishery managers closed the entire commercial salmon fishing season for half of June and all of July in much of Northern California, and in general, ocean fishing has been poor the past few years off the California coast. The drought is to blame, along with excessive water diversions from the streams where Chinook salmon spawn. So it’s frustrating for commercial fishermen like Mike Hudson of Berkeley to hear that another part of the state’s food industry—almonds—is expecting a record crop in 2016. Almond farmers draw water from the same river systems in which Chinook salmon lay and fertilize their eggs, and to Hudson—a longtime critic of unsustainable agriculture, including growing thirsty crops like almonds in the dry San Joaquin Valley—it appears as though the farmer’s gain is his loss. Read the story here 18:31
Have you heard? Nutrient pollution is changing sounds in the sea
Nutrient pollution emptying into seas from cities, towns and agricultural land is changing the sounds made by marine life – and potentially upsetting navigational cues for fish and other sea creatures, a new University of Adelaide study has found. Published online in the journal Landscape Ecology, the research found that marine ecosystems degraded by ‘eutrophication’, caused by run-off from adjacent land, are more silent than healthier comparable ecosystems. This marine ‘soundscape’ comes largely from the snapping of shrimps, but also the rasping of sea urchins and fish vocalisations. The researchers – PhD graduate Tullio Rossi, Associate Professor Ivan Nagelkerken and Professor Sean Connell from the University’s Environment Institute – studied kelp forests and seagrass beds in South Australia’s St Vincent’s Gulf, many of which have been impacted by excessive nutrients washing into the sea, particularly along the metropolitan coast of Adelaide. Read the rest here 17:31
Coast Guard fights boat fire in Jonesport, Maine
A Coast Guard boat crew extinguished a boat fire Thursday off the coast of Jonesport, Maine. At about 6:12 a.m., watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Northern New England received a call from the owner, who was on shore, that his 32-foot fishing vessel Bigger Dirls was on fire in Hopkins Point Marina. Station Jonesport launched a 29-foot response boat crew. They arrived on scene where the vessel was tied to a mooring ball and used their dewatering pump to begin fighting the fire. Jonesport Fire Department also arrived on scene and assisted in dousing the flames. When the fire was extinguished, the boat was towed by a good Samaritan to shore at Hopkins Point Marina. The cause of the boat fire is currently under investigation. Link 14:32
Maine: The Situation with bait Herring
On a local radio station recently a commentator stated that herring stocks are overfished. Overfishing has led to the current shortage of herring for lobstermen’s use as bait, he continued. His statement was incorrect. Among the many fish species that call the Gulf of Maine home, Atlantic herring are one species that is doing quite well, thank you very much. In the opaque language of fisheries regulators, “Atlantic herring stocks are not overfished and overfishing is not occurring.” So why has herring availability become such an issue for lobstermen this summer? The migratory fish is the preferred bait for many Maine lobstermen and when there’s no herring available, lobstermen get a little testy. The problem lies not with the fish, who right now are congregating in spawning schools along the coast. The problem lies with the regulatory need to control what happens at sea, a desire that often conflicts with what is actually happening at sea. Read the story here 14:18
Murrells Inlet fundraiser set for Lost at Sea Memorial Saturday, Sept. 10th
People who would like to support the Lost at Sea Memorial in Murrells Inlet will gather at the Big Beaver Bar for a fundraiser on Saturday, Sept. 10. The event, which will features food, live music, raffles, door prizes and a silent auction, will be held from 1 to 5 p.m. Admission is a suggested $10 donation. “This is a benefit to help the memorial and continue adding names as necessary,” said event organizer Gary Pew. “It is for a good local cause.” The Lost at Sea Memorial is located at Morse Park Landing in Murrells Inlet. He said he attended the last Lost at Sea Memorial service held in April with a friend who lost her son at sea. He found out that more funds are needed to maintain the monument and add names each year. According to the Lost at Sea Memorial website, it was established in April of 2005 by the family of Johnny W. Brown. He was a native of Horry County and a commercial fisherman out of Murrells Inlet. Read the story here 13:33
Red snapper dispute continued at Wednesday meeting
The war of words continued Wednesday during an all-day meeting in Baton Rouge designed to educate members of the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission on red snapper management. A surrogate of Rep. Garret Graves, R-Baton Rouge, presented a letter declaring states would not be responsible for research funding under HR 3094, a bill authored by Graves and Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-New Orleans, that would transfer management authority to Louisiana, Texas, Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. That directly contradicted charges made by Charlie Melancon, secretary of the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, that the bill became an unfunded mandate when Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, tacked an amendment to it. “Amending things to death is how you kill a bill,” Melancon told the crowd of industry leaders and interested anglers Wednesday. “What was done to (HR 3094) was an attempt to kill the bill.” But Paul Sawyer, Graves’ chief of staff, presented a letter, signed by Bishop, stating that his amendment merely banned the transfer of funds to the states for fisheries research because that research would continue to be conducted by NOAA Fisheries. Read the story here 12:31
Lobster price depends on whose plate
Last week the news was filled with stories about the price of Maine lobster reaching its highest point in 10 years or more. Some trade publications were talking about 1¼-pound hardshells selling for as much as $8.50 over Labor Day weekend. That may be true, but its news to most dealers and fishermen in Downeast Maine when it comes to discussing the boat price. “I’m getting $4.35 plus whatever bonus at the end of the year,” a lobsterman from Blue Hill said on Sunday. That price was for shedders — or what the industry-funded Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative prefers to call “new shell” lobsters. The fisherman hasn’t caught any hardshell lobsters all summer. Read the story here 12:06
Four B.C. chinook and coho fisheries on “avoid” red list with ten others having “some concerns,”
In the latest update to the Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch program, four B.C. chinook and coho fisheries were listed as “avoid.” Ten others were identified as having “some concerns,” but remain listed as “good alternatives.” The four fisheries newly labelled as “avoid” are all in southern B.C. — chinook caught off the south coast using purse seine (a net that is drawn into the shape of a purse to catch large schools of fish) or drift gillnets (vertical sheets of net with certain sizes of netting to capture specific types of fish), and coho salmon in the same region using the same two methods. According to Jeffery Young, a science and policy adviser with the David Suzuki Foundation, the rating is not necessarily a criticism of a fisheries’ practices, but reflects that the salmon targeted by these fisheries are in serious decline. Read the story here 10:15
Nanaimo fisherman sentenced to another 45 days in jail for repeat fishing violations
A man previously convicted for selling up to $100,000 in illegally-acquired crab and halibut has been given another jail term. Scott Steer, a fisherman based out of Nanaimo, was found guilty last month on eight charges of breaching his Fisheries Act prohibition order. As a result, he has been sentenced to an additional 45 days in jail, along with forfeiting his crab fishing gear and a vessel, the HOLLY V. In May, Steer was sentenced to 21 days after his arrest in April for “failing to comply with a court order banning him from being on any vessel other than BC Ferries.” Steer is now prohibited from applying for a new fishing lease, being onboard any fishing vessel, or having any fishing gear for 12 years. Link 09:25
Fish On!: On Board the Wacky Jacky
From the article: All this excitement is confined to the stern. Up in the wheelhouse sits Wacky Jacky herself, piloting us through the fog west of the Golden Gate. She’s two months shy of her 88th birthday, making her the oldest captain in San Francisco’s fishing fleet, as well as its only woman. I’d met her at about six that morning, sipping weak coffee and debating whether I should eat anything before learning how choppy the water is, while she greeted the regulars and processed credit card payments and the mates got the boat ready. She’s a small woman with a lot of personality, more of a grinner than a smiler, and wearing head-to-toe red and a black hat. She’s ebullient, but I wouldn’t want to get on her bad side, nor would I want to be a doctor who condescendingly calls her “dear.” Read the story here 08:30
Two bumbling hired thugs arrested for allegedly sinking a lobster boat in trap turf war
Two people are in jail and a third man is expected to be charged for the intentional sinking of a lobster boat last week. This is the second sinking of a lobster boat in the town in the past few weeks. Vincent Hilt, 22, of Vinalhaven, and Devlin Meklin, 20, of Warren were arrested and charged with felony criminal mischief and felony theft. Hilt was arrested Friday afternoon and Meklin on Monday morning. Both remain at the Knox County Jail in Rockland. According to an affidavit filed in Knox County Unified Court by the Knox County Sheriff’s Office, the 36-foot lobster boat owned by Joshua Hupper sank during the early morning of Sept. 1 where it was moored off Tenants Harbor. Damage to the lobster boat was estimated at $50,000 because of water in the engine and the electronic equipment. Read the story here 07:41
