Daily Archives: September 28, 2016
Fishermen, state, in flux after circuit court overturns state control of Cook Inlet salmon
In Cook Inlet, managing the salmon runs for commercial, sport and subsistence interests is so controversial, it’s often called a fish war. A group of commercial fishermen who think the state is mismanaging the fisheries, have won the latest battle. A three-judge panel at the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week that the area needs federal oversight. But no one knows exactly what that will mean. The United Cook Inlet Drift Association and the Cook Inlet Fishermen’s Fund say that instead of addressing habitat problems or fighting invasive species that eat salmon in Cook Inlet – the state simply restricted commercial fishing. So the fishing groups sued the National Marine Fisheries Service. They argued against a 2011 decision to remove several Alaska salmon fisheries — including Cook Inlet — from federal management and transfer the responsibility of managing salmon to the state. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals agreed. For commercial fishermen like Brian Harrison, in Homer, the court’s decision is a victory. But, he’s not sure what to expect going forward. Read the story here 18:53
Commercial Fishermen Question Obama’s Ocean ‘Monument’ Preserve
“All commercial fishing is excluded from the area, but fisheries in the top 10 to 20 feet, no way in the world they’re going to impact the bottom,” pointed out Nils Stolpe, communications director of the association. Such is the case for a lot of the Barnegat Light-based boats, he said, for example, longliners and some hook-and-line tuna boats. “They’re fishing 3 miles up above all of this on the ocean floor.” “Longliners are probably affected more than any of our other fisheries up there” by the declaration, said Ernie Panacek, general manager at Viking Village Commercial Seafood Producers in Barnegat Light. “Our bottom longlining boats and surface longlining for sword and tuna boats are going to be affected up there.” Golden tilefish is found on the bottom and tuna and sword on the surface, “and they’re banning all commercial fishing,” Panacek noted. “It’s not a big area, necessarily, but my biggest concern is an expansion of this national monument just like they did in Hawaii,” he added. Panacek said fishermen have done “extensive work” with the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Council and the Garden State Seafood Association to protect deep-sea coral reefs and sea mounts in the North Atlantic, and were awarded for it. “And now President Obama had to step ahead and do this; I don’t understand,” Panacek said. The federal Magnuson Stevens Act has been managing these areas “and they have been managed properly,” he said. Read the story here 17:47
Invader green crabs from Europe threaten havoc in Puget Sound
Emily Grason and Sean McDonald trudge through the mud of San Juan Island’s Westcott Bay on the hunt for something they hope not to find: A 3-inch menace: the European green crab. In late August, a single adult male was found for the first time in Washington’s inland sea. University of Washington researchers responded, arriving at the location of that first sighting with hundreds of traps in tow. “It might seem like it’s crazy for us to have such an intense trapping effort for just a single crab being found. One crab, what’s the big deal?” says Emily Grason, project coordinator for the Washington Sea Grant Crab Team. “But these crabs do tend to show up in numbers and where there’s one, there’s often more.” Video, read the story here 17:24
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 44ft. 11in. Fiberglass Crab/Groundfish, 375HP, John Deere Diesel
Specifications, information and 24 photo’s click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 15:10
Temporary restraining order against the State in southern flounder lawsuit
Superior Court Judge John Nobles issued a temporary restraining order Wednesday during a hearing in superior court against the state enjoining officials from going forward with new southern flounder fishery regulations. Groups fighting the new regulations had requested a preliminary injunction. But the judge went with the TRO because not all of the defendants had been notified of the action. The next hearing date is to be announced, but officials hope to have it the week starting Monday, Oct. 10. Commercial fishermen and supporters of the civil action were present in the courtroom. Read the story here 13:40
Investigation may lead to charges in the Nathan Carman “Chicken Pox’’ boat sinking
A multi-state investigation is underway into Nathan Carman and the disappearance of his mother while on a tuna fishing trip with him, a trip that authorities said took them farther out to sea than Linda Carman wanted. The mother and her 22-year-old son were aboard the son’s 32-foot aluminium boat, the “Chicken Pox’’ when it began to take on water Sept. 18 and sank near Block Canyon, an area in the Atlantic Ocean about 100 miles off New York. It has been reported (His Mother Inherited $21 Million After the Murder of Her Father) Nathan Carman told Coast Guard investigators he deployed the ship’s lifeboat, but when he turned to look for his mother, she was gone, and he never saw his mother again. The mystery deepened Tuesday after revelations that authorities had searched Carman’s Vernon, Vt., home. Rhode Island authorities wrote in court papers seeking the search warrant that repairs that Carman was making to the boat himself rendered the vessel unsafe. Read the story here 12:44
Marine Harvest Canada sues Alexandra Morton for trespassing on fish farms
Aquaculture company Marine Harvest Canada has filed a lawsuit against activist and independent biologist Alexandra Morton for allegedly trespassing on three of their salmon farms on the B.C. coast last month. Morton spent the summer visiting salmon farms — uninvited — aboard the R/V Martin Sheen owned by the group Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, looking for a controversial virus prevalent in salmon farms. In the lawsuit, Marine Harvest alleges she and others trespassed on their Glacier Falls, Midsummer Island and Sonora Island operations without permission and intentionally tampered with the equipment. At two facilities, they’re accused of violating biosecurity procedures. The group is also accused of flying a drone and diving at one facility, putting an object in the water at another and ignoring Marine Harvest’s instruction to leave. Read the story here 09:57
Federal Government has signalled it would consider a shark cull on the NSW north coast
As shark attack victim Cooper Allen recovers in Lismore Hospital, the Federal Government has signaled it would consider a shark cull on the NSW north coast. Federal Environment Minister Josh Frydenberg’s statement comes as the State Government announces a further three- month trial of shark-spotting drones and additional drum lines for the area. He said he was open to proposals for a cull of great white sharks. Culling great whites would need federal approval because they are a vulnerable species. Read the rest here 09:26
New England: Twin trawl survey validates industry concerns with NOAA assessment
Fishermen in New England do not believe that the survey vessel used by NOAA is catching fish in amounts comparable to what they haul up and have long questioned the fishing gear NOAA employs. To address these doubts a Rhode Island captain, Chris Roebuck went out and towed two nets simultaneously to compare the different gear types. here is what he found. Watch the video here 08:41
