Monthly Archives: September 2016
Coast Guard officer diagnosed with PTSD for seven hour work day
Lt. j.g. Evan Summerlin has told shipmates and relatives that he is currently suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, a source involved in the investigation reports. Summerlin recently pulled a seven hour work day filing investigation forms, emailing case pictures, and scheduling meetings. “I used to love coming to work,” Summerlin said. “I used to chat it up with Bridget in Admin, try to beat my high score on Temple Run, and still have enough time to pretend to know what I’m doing. Now I have to do this thing called ‘work?’” A coast Guard Spokesman spoke about Summerlin’s mental state. “While it seems like he has a healthy medical record,” the spokesman said, “he has been known to whine profusely on a daily basis and delegate shit-work to subordinates.” Read the rest here 08:18
Pacific Council on proposed Marine Monument
Today, the 
Pacific Fishery Management Council sent a letter to President Obama expressing concern about “how these National Monument designations would impact our fishery management efforts in the west coast Exclusive Economic Zone.” In it, the Council stresses: 1. All of the areas proposed for designation already have significant protections from specific fishing activities. For example – Essential Fish Habitat requirements under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; and Cowcod Conservation Areas off the Southern California coast. 2. Fishery management decisions are best done in a thoroughly transparent public process rather than being done with limited involvement of certain stakeholders. 3. The social and economic importance of those areas cannot be understated. Read the letter from the PFMC, and the letter from the Council Coordination Committee by clicking here 07:44
Lobster prices in New England have spiked to their highest level in more than a decade
Annie Tselikis, marketing director at Maine Coast Co. and executive director of the Maine Lobster Dealers’ Association, said demand for live and processed lobster has been strong all summer.“We have seen higher prices in the marketplace this summer … on par with the demand that we’re seeing,” she said. “It’s been crazy since the Fourth of July.” Tselikis said a big reason for the boost in demand for processed lobster is that distributors have stepped up their efforts to create new markets. Much of the recent growth in demand has come from Asian markets including China, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and Vietnam, she said. “We’re seeing lobster in places where it didn’t exist before,” Tselikis said. Read the story here 07:04
New South Wales Fishers aren’t hooked by latest govt catch share plan
Fishers claim a “preview” share trading period is the New South Wales Government’s attempt to avoid admitting it does not understand its own commercial fishing law reforms. Anyone wishing to continue their job will be forced to buy back their rights under an industry-wide restructuring aimed at keeping fisheries sustainable. The cut-off date for fishers has now been extended to December2. Primary Industries Minister Niall Blair last week admitted his department could not explain what shares would be available and how much they would cost. The government has opened up a “preview period” to help fishers wrap their heads around what is coming – a dry run allowing them to trade mock shares without any actual money changing hands. Clarence River Fishermen’s Co-operative general manager Danielle Adams welcomed the time extension but said the government had still failed to explain what the future held for fishers. Read the story here 20:00
Hermine becomes a hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico
Tropical Storm Hermine officially reached hurricane status on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2016, at 1:55 p.m. EDT. NOAA’s GOES-East satellite captured a visible image of the hurricane at 3:15 p.m. EDT (1915 UTC). The image shows a much more organized Hermine with bands of thunderstorms wrapping around its low-level center and blanketing the entire state of Florida. The image was created at NASA/NOAA’s GOES Project office, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland. A hurricane warning is in effect from Suwannee River to Mexico Beach, Florida. A hurricane watch is in effect from Anclote River to Suwannee River, and west of Mexico Beach to the Walton/Bay County line. A tropical storm warning is in effect from Englewood to Suwannee River, from west of Mexico Beach to the Walton/Bay County line, and the Flagler/Volusia County line to Surf City. A tropical storm watch is in effect from north of Surf City to Oregon Inlet, including Pamlico Sound. Read the rest here 18:15
Revisited: Americas Finest – Follow the construction of this Bering Sea Fishing Trawler from start to finish
We posted this on and a lot of water has gone over the dam, or better yet, a whole lotta steel has flown into position. Steel fabrication can be considered an art form, and the images posted will confirm, this is art being created by craftsmen at Dakota Creek Industries in Anacortes, Washington. There are hundreds of images showing Americas Finest under construction. Start with the July 2015 post for the beginning of construction. The ship is named, “Americas Finest” she is designed for catching and producing frozen at sea white fish products, ground fish and pelagic fish species. Operations will be the North Pacific, Gulf of Alaska, Chukchi Sea and Bering Sea inside the US EEZ. Construction was begun in June 2015 estimated completion date estimated for December 2017. Click here to view the Floating Steel website. 17:39
Toxic fumes from decaying fish contributed to the deaths of two fishermen
A report has found that two crewmen died after bring exposed to toxic fumes from a trawler’s fish tank. The men were carrying out checks on the FV Oileán an Óir in Killybegs Harbour, Co Donegal, which had been out of use for some time, when they were overcome by the fumes. The report says that although two of the three crewmen on board were experienced, a skipper did not accompany them on the day of the incident in August 2015. As the crew began to test the trawler out, seawater was pumped through the two refrigerated sea water (RSW) fish storage tanks. Although there had been no reported problems with the system in the prior five years, the fishermen noticed that the water was dirty and decided to empty the tanks using a vacuum pumping system. Read this story 15:36
Apalachicola Bay commercial oyster bag limit lowered to 3 – Oyster reefs ‘in worse shape’
The commercial bag limit for oysters in Apalachicola Bay will be lowered to three bags per harvester during the winter season, Sept. 1 through May 31. Several other oyster conservation measures implemented previously will also continue this winter season. These changes are effective in all of Apalachicola Bay, including all waters of Indian Lagoon in Gulf County. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) began implementing conservation measures in the fall of 2014 in an effort to help the Apalachicola Bay oyster population recover from the effects of low river flow. Apalachicola Bay oyster populations have significantly declined in recent years due to lack of sufficient fresh water flows in the Apalachicola River. Read the post here Oyster reefs ‘in worse shape’ – “We’re in worse shape. We’ve got to have river flow, that’s the first thing.” None of the SMARRT leadership seated at the front table disputed Estes’ findings. “I couldn’t get 100 legal oysters from there, and I moved around,” said SMARRT chair Shannon Hartsfield, referring to Dry Bar North and Green Point, reefs in the western portion of the bay, which in three separate surveys this summer yielded no more than 15 bags per acre to FWC surveyors. Read the article here 13:12
Arrests and seizures – DFO releases another 2,500 pounds of lobster into Digby harbor!
Just days after seizing 1,350 pounds of lobster and returning the live fish into the Annapolis Basin on Aug. 26, Fishery officers from Digby made another series of on the evening of Aug. 30. Fishery officer Corey Webster says both incidents took place in Margaretsville, both involved alleged infractions under the Aboriginal Food Social and Ceremonial fishery and some of the same individuals were arrested in both cases. Officer Webster says charges are still pending in both cases. “We hadn’t even had time to process the first incident before this second one happened,” said Webster. Link 11:43
EU’s Scientific Forum on Invasive Alien Species Opinion Delays American Lobster Ruling
An opinion by a European authority about whether to classify American lobster as an invasive species – the first step in what could be a long process to ban lobster imports in the European Union – has been delayed. A spokesman said members are still gathering information for the EU’s Scientific Forum on Invasive Alien Species about whether American lobsters are a threat to native lobster populations. Swedish scientists submitted a report on July 31 saying they don’t have the science to prove that American lobsters have invaded and become established in North Atlantic waters but the threat is real and can be fully neutralized only by an import ban. Read the rest here 11:17
Meijer Partnership with Commercial Fishing Company Exemplifies Commitment to Local
The partnership between Meijer and Great Lakes commercial fishing company, La Nassa Foods, began on a handshake nearly two decades ago and continues to thrive today based on a mutual commitment to provide Meijer customers with the highest quality lake fish. As a result, the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer is able to offer customers at each of its 230 stores across the Midwest with nearly 500,000 pounds of Lake Erie walleye, yellow perch and other lake species each year. Today, it’s the longest-running partnership Meijer has with a local fishing company, which harvests from Lake Erie daily and delivers the catch to the Meijer Distribution Facility in southeast Michigan four days a week. The partnership has also led La Nassa to grow from three fishing vessels and 35 employees to 11 vessels and 105 employees over the past 18 years, said Tony Giacalone, president of La Nassa Foods. Read the story here 10:48
Papahanaumokuakea Expansion Is Counterproductive for Hawaii’s Sustainable Fisheries – Shane Yoshimoto
Hawaii is the most secluded island chain in the world. The ocean and the resources that come out of it are invaluable to the state. Eating and catching fish is a way of life and deeply rooted into the culture. Hawaii consumes nearly three times more seafood annually compared to the rest of the mainland. The last thing we want to do is completely wipe out our oceans and deny future generations the ability to cherish locally caught, fresh fish.,, While the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument may have sounded like a good idea, it is not the right answer for the state of Hawaii, its fishery, and the rest of the United States. The monument expansion proposal lacked transparency and the claims made to justify its protection are not backed by science. Read the article here 09:29
North Atlantic right whales recovery hurt by entanglements, scientists say
The ability of an endangered whale species to recover is jeopardized by increasing rates of entanglement in fishing gear and a resultant drop in birth rates, according to scientists who study the animal. The population of North Atlantic right whales has slowly crept up from about 300 in 1992 to about 500 in 2010. But a study that appeared this month in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science said the number of baby right whales born every year has declined by nearly 40 percent since 2010. Study author Scott Kraus, a scientist with the New England Aquarium in Boston who worked on the study, said the whales’ population suffers even when they survive entanglements in fishing gear. Entanglements have surpassed ship strikes as a leading danger to right whales in recent years. Forty-four percent of diagnosed right whale deaths were due to ship strikes and 35 percent were due to entanglements from 1970 to 2009, the study said. From 2010 to 2015, 15 percent of diagnosed deaths were due to ship strikes and 85 percent were due to entanglements, it said. Read the article here 09:10
New Nelson-built fishing vessel F/V Santy Maria carries economic and environmental hopes
The FV Santy Maria is the first vessel in Moana New Zealand’s $25-$30 million fleet renewal project and was officially blessed at Port Nelson on Thursday. The vessel was built in Nelson by Aimex Service Group for Tauranga-based fisherman Roger Rawlinson Technical expertise was provided by Westfleet chief executive Craig Boote. The vessel is named after Rawlinson’s mother Santy, who started the family business RMD with his father Bill more than 25 years ago, and was present at the launch. Designed to suit New Zealand’s conditions, the vessel is said to provide improved fuel efficiency, power and stability, and productivity while using precision seafood harvesting technology. Read the story here 08:20
