Daily Archives: October 1, 2016
WA Fisheries shark research lacks competency
Greg Pickering said any study of great white shark numbers needed to involve veteran spearfishing and fishing enthusiasts as well as abalone divers and commercial fishermen. “I’ve got to question their competency,” said Mr Pickering, a veteran of 34 years as an abalone diver and spearfisherman who survived 10 hours of surgery to his face and chest after he was bitten by a great white shark during a dive 180km east of Esperance in 2013. “People have stopped listening to Fisheries because they keep saying, ‘Our data doesn’t show any increase in numbers’. But maybe it’s the way they collect their data. “I’ve been attacked by a shark twice, spent half my life in the water, kept records of everything I’ve seen on every dive since 1983 but I’ve never had a call or an email. “There are a lot of guys with 30 or 40 years in the field with significant information to contribute. They’re in the water every day. You can’t pay for that sort of field work. But (Fisheries) feel they don’t need to talk to us because we don’t have a letter in front of our name saying, ‘Doctor so and so’.” Read the story here 18:42
Lobster fishermen face a monumental problem
The Newport-based fishing vessel Freedom has been Marc Ducharme’s home away from home since it was built in 1984. And for the better part of those 32 years, Ducharme, the boat’s captain, and his crews of four to five men have spent their time pulling lobster traps from the waters around three underwater canyons near the edge of the continental shelf, about 125 miles southeast of Nantucket. The crew makes 25-30 runs a year — each lasting about a week — to the lucrative lobster grounds formally referred to as the Northeast Canyons on George’s Bank. Each trip nets them about 6,000 pounds of lobster, Ducharme said Wednesday, standing in the cockpit of the 72-foot-long vessel docked at the Newport state fishing pier. Using executive authority established by the Antiquities Act of 1906, President Barrack Obama on Sept. 15 designated a 4,900-square- mile area the Northeast Canyons and Seamount Marine National Monument. That area includes the sea canyons, where Ducharme plies his trade. The designation will eventually prohibit all commercial fishing there. Read the story here 12:41
New Brunswick fisherman hauls in rare ‘ghost lobster’
A New Brunswick lobster fisherman has beaten the odds by catching a rare albino lobster. Eugene Richard, 64, caught the “ghost lobster” on Tuesday in the Northumberland Strait, off eastern New Brunswick. It’s estimated that one in 100 million lobsters are albino. The odds of winning Lotto 6/49, on the other hand, are 14 million to one. Richard has been fishing lobster in Richibucto Cape for 50 years and calls this the catch of his career. Bernice says her husband thought he was seeing things when he hauled it up the lobster, which weighed about three-quarters of a pound. She says he called her from the boat to say he had a surprise for her. Bernice says when she first saw the crustacean, “I thought it was a rubber lobster.” Read the rest here 11:34
EU live lobster ban could cut off $125M Mass. market
Hoping to preserve a $125 million Bay State export market, the Massachusetts Congressional delegation has raised objections with the European Commission, arguing against a ban on live imports of American lobster. In a letter dated Wednesday and signed at the top by U.S. Sen. Ed Markey and Congressman Seth Moulton, the all-Democrat delegation made an economic and scientific pitch for why the trade should continue. The delegation wrote to Daniel Calleja Crespo, directorate-general for environment of the European Commission. “It is our hope that the EU’s Scientific Committee will uphold a commitment to making a data-based decision as they consider the potential listing of American lobster as an invasive species,” the letter says. Read the story here 10:20
Peterhead is the undisputed king of UK fish landings
UK Government figures have confirmed Peterhead’s status as Britain’s top fishing port. A total of 127,000tonnes of fish and other seafood worth a total of £111million were landed in the Blue Toon during 2015, highlighting why the port is investing £50million in a major upgrade of the facilities. The figures eclipsed the top ports in England, where Plymouth led the way for volume after a 13,400-tonne haul of fish and other seafood worth a total of £15million. Brixham was the top English port by value after a 12,400-tonne catch worth £23million. The Scottish and Northern Irish fleets caught mainly pelagic fish. White-fish species accounted for the lion’s share of the English fleet’s catch, while Welsh boats mainly caught shellfish. Read the story here 08:10
Photo Gallery: The Biggest Sharks Ever Caught
People often associate sharks with terms like “sea killers” and the Steven Spielberg’s movie “Jaws.” These feared kings of the sea are probably the most famous kind of fish. They are also among the biggest and baddest. Catching one is probably every fisherman’s dream. In most major shark species, female sharks usually outweigh males, as is the case with most sharks on the following list. A whale shark is the largest living shark and the largest type of fish in general. Just last year, also in Pakistan, fishermen needed five cranes to reel a 40-foot long whale shark that was found dead. 15 photos, click here 07:48
A Happy Ending! Fishermen rescue humpback whale in southwest N.B.
It’s been a long week for a couple of Bay of Fundy fishermen that rescued a humpback whale that got trapped inside their weir nets. “It doesn’t look stressed or anything,” said fisherman Chuck Breen. “It’s being forced-fed right now. The weir is catching fish and it’s happy to eat. But if you do the wrong thing and it does get stressed, what do you do then. We’re in a small boat, it’s a 30 ton animal.” The humpback swam into the weir not far from Black’s Harbour on Monday and the fishermen say they were unable to get any help to free the animal. Ross Hanley owns the weir. He says as soon as he saw the whale he called the Department of Fisheries and whale rescue groups in the area, but to no avail. “They said they put everything away for the winter so they don’t want to help. I don’t know why,” said Hanley. Video, read the story here 07:13
