Monthly Archives: October 2016
American Somoa misses out on quota transfer fisheries revenues
Statements by the governor’s fisheries advisor at the meeting of the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council last week indicate that the territory missed out on an opportunity to earn money from allowing Hawaii to use our quota of big eye tuna catch. During the public comment session which followed a report on American Samoa’s fisheries activities at the Council meeting in Honolulu, Governor Lolo’s adviser on fisheries, Vaamua Henry Sesepasara, spoke up about the big eye quota transfer. This allows Hawaii longliners to buy unused quota limits for big eye catch of the territories of Guam, Northern Marianas and American Samoa. Vaamua said that the Lolo administration was not aware of the big eye quota transfer which was first carried out in 2011 and 2012 under the Togiola administration. Read the story here 14:12
State Medical Examiner investigates apparent drug overdose on New Bedford fishing boat
State and local police are investigating the apparent fatal overdose of a man, who was found unresponsive on a fishing boat docked at Pier 3 in New Bedford. The 49-year-old Fairhaven man was pronounced dead at St. Luke’s Hospital Thursday night after being found on the fishing vessel Saint Jude. The death appears to be an overdose, police said, but the state’s medical examiner was investigating. Signs of drug use were found. A co-worker on the boat attempted CPR before police, fire and EMS arrived at about 8:38 p.m. The victim was transported to St. Luke’s Hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 10:05 p.m. The is investigating, along with New Bedford Police and State Police. Link 13:02
Gulf of Mexico shrimp landings low, prices up
Shrimp landings in the Gulf of Mexico are running lower than usual, but prices are up, according to the latest data issued by the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). U.S. shrimpers caught 11.2 million lbs. of shrimp in September 2016, the lowest September total since 2008 and 3.5 million fewer lbs. than was caught last September. The total is nearly 18 percent off the 14-year historical catch average of 13.6 million lbs. Landings in the U.S. states of Texas and Alabama both fell markedly, while Louisiana’s catch was around its historical average for September. Texan shrimpers caught 4.3 million lbs. of shrimp in September, Read the rest here 11:43
Recreational Fishing Industry report seeks federal fisheries reform
Several stakeholders in the recreational fishing and boating industries released a set of recommendations for the incoming administration and Congress to change the way federal overseers allocate saltwater fish. The Center for Coastal Conservation and its 10 member groups issued a report recommending a government shift away from using the same tools to manage commercial fisheries as it does for recreational fishing at a federal level. “One of the most important things in the document we put forward is the recommendation that we get our own Recreational Fishing Advisory Committee,” Center for Coastal Conservation president Jeff Angers told Trade Only Today. “The current Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee is dominated by the commercial industry. We really need our own. We have a different industry, different constituents, different environmental impacts.” Read the rest here 11:07
Tasmanian researchers say Scallop deaths linked to seismic surveys being carried out on seabed
A link can be drawn between seismic testing for mineral resources and scallop deaths, Tasmanian researchers say. The Fisheries Research and Development Corporation has released findings of a four-year study into the impact of marine seismic surveys on south-east Australian lobster and scallop populations. The study began after Tasmanian fisherman were convinced seismic testing carried out by the Victorian Government in Bass Strait in 2010 caused a massive die-off. Seismic testing involves firing soundwaves into the ocean floor to detect the presence of oil or gas reserves. Bridport fisherman Allan Barnett was hit hard from the 2010 mass mortality. “The industry blames the seismic activity for the death of virtually all the scallops in that bed which was 24,000 tonne — about $70 million worth,” he said. Read the story here 10:24
Bait crisis is over, but Maine lobstermen are still feeling the pinch
The lobster bait crisis that plagued New England this summer is finally over, now that fishermen have begun to catch herring off Georges Bank. But the price of lobstermen’s favorite bait fish, which rose dramatically when the offshore fleet wasn’t landing enough herring to refill empty bait freezers, has remained high through the end of peak lobster season, typically August through late October. Although there’s been no appreciable effect on consumer prices, lobstermen agree the shortage hurt their bottom line. “There is always a risk of something like this in a wild-caught fishery,” Patrice McCarron said. “You can’t create supply. Herring just wasn’t available, and no manager can fix that. I think the managers did the best they could to stretch the inshore bait out as long as they did, but there’s no doubt, it cost us more than ever to bait our traps this year.” Read the story here 09:33
U.S. Customs and Border Protection: Foreign Fishermen Have No Complaints Working On US longline vessels
Federal officials said Thursday they have interviewed dozens of foreign crew members who work on U.S. commercial fishing boats since allegations of labor abuses surfaced, but haven’t found much beyond a few cockroaches. “They had an opportunity to talk to us freely,” said Ferdie Jose, supervisory officer for the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. “They didn’t voice any complaints.” Jose made the statement at what has traditionally been a private quarterly meeting among commercial fishing vessel owners, law enforcement officers and state and federal officials. It was a marked contrast to one held just a day earlier at the state Capitol, where legislators grilled state officials and fishing industry leaders for nearly three hours in an effort to find ways to improve the working conditions for foreign crew members. Read the story here 09:02
Destroyed tuna vessel Laurie Ann towed to Salisbury
The Laurie Ann, a 35-foot-long tuna boat that sank in the mouth of the Merrimack River Monday evening in rough seas, is back above water but its days as a seaworthy vessel appear to be over. Wednesday evening the vessel was towed back to shore and hauled out by a TowBoatUS crew, an operation that took roughly six hours. Afterward, the boat was trucked to the Salisbury Industrial Park off Rabbit Road where its owner, Stan Kench, works, according to Mike Goodridge of TowBoatUS. Kench was one of two men onboard the vessel when it capsized in choppy water around 7 p.m. Monday. Both men were thrown from the boat and sustained minor injuries. The capsizing was witnessed by a good Samaritan aboard the Lady Suzanne who radioed the Coast Guard for help and then plucked the two men from the water. Read the story here 08:36
After pursuit at sea, captain busted trying to smuggle illegal immigrants into South Florida
The boat entering the Hillsboro Inlet might have gone unnoticed, if the captain hadn’t made an “aggressive” U-turn beside a sheriff’s boat and headed back out to sea. Broward sheriff’s deputies called out and signaled for the captain to stop. But he just gave them a thumbs up, pointed in an easterly direction and kept going, investigators said. Sheriff’s deputies said they followed the boat — and only gave up when they were 25 miles off shore.The Sept. 14 excursion eventually ended with boat captain James Sawyer’s arrest on federal charges he tried to illegally smuggle 15 people into the U.S. On Thursday, he pleaded not guilty. A Coast Guard cutter stopped the boat nearly three hours after it left the inlet, about 10 p.m. Only two men were visible on the boat, but officers quickly discovered there was a total of 18 people on board. Read the rest here 20:38
Nils Stolpe – Summer Flounder Management – Can it get any worse?
Summer flounder, also known as fluke, support recreational and commercial fisheries that are among the most important in the mid-Atlantic and southern New England. They have been a mainstay of recreational fishermen either from their own boats or on for-hire vessels, support a large directed commercial fishery, their incidental harvest is important in other fisheries and they are near the top of the list of must-have meals for summer visits to the shore. Hundreds of party and charter boats depend on them for all or for part of their annual incomes, thousands of private boats seek them out every summer, and much of the business bait and tackle shops do every year depends on the fishery. Hundreds of commercial fishing boats target them or take them incidentally in other fisheries.,, The summer flounder stock has gone from having the highest biomass in 50 years to being on the verge of overfishing in the five years between 2011 and 2016. While no one seems to know why the management program hadn’t been working, the SSC did come up with several possibilities. These included “sources of (fishing) mortality that are not fully accounted in the assessment. These could include under-estimation of discards in both the commercial and recreational fisheries and lower estimates of mortality rates applied to the discards than are actually occurring.” Read the full article here 15:27
Shrimpers with chainsaws: Local commercial fishermen carry on after Hurricane Matthew
October is supposed to be a month for prime Lowcountry seafood but this month, Hurricane Matthew had other plans. The Category 2 storm put local seafood production on hold. The storm hit Beaufort County just a week after the start of the oyster season and in the middle of shrimp season. But not to worry. Most local fishermen stayed with their vessels through the storm and — with the resilience the trade has always required — are making their way to recovery. “A chainsaw becomes necessary equipment on a shrimp boat now,” Reeves said. “Anything you can imagine, we see: pilings, lawn chairs, refrigerators. Cutting through can be difficult and very costly.” The long-term impact on local shrimp populations is also still not clear, local shrimpers say. Read the story here 14:01
Hawaii lawmakers hold public meeting on foreign fishermen
A woman who worked as an observer on fishing boats that docked in Honolulu described for Hawaii lawmakers what it was like without toilets, showers or hot water. “You have a cold water deck hose as a shower…the water tastes like iron,” said Ashley Watts, a former observer for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Watts’ comments to lawmakers at the state Capitol Wednesday followed an Associated Press investigation that found some fishermen have been confined to vessels for years. A federal loophole allows the foreign men to work but exempts them from most basic labor protections. Many foreign fishermen have to stay on the boats because they are not legally allowed to enter the United States. Before the meeting, a group of Hawaii residents and activists rallied outside the state Capitol to call for better conditions for fishermen, demanding an end to what they call unacceptable living and working conditions. Read the story here 13:25
Fishing Boat Runs Aground In West Falmouth
A 73-foot steel hulled fishing boat ran aground in the Great Sippewissett Marsh area early Thursday morning, October 20, according to Deputy Director of Falmouth Marine and Environmental Services R. Charles Martinsen III. Mr. Martinsen said the boat is currently stuck in a shallow and rocky area of the marsh, “right up against the shore.” Report of the accident first reached the US Coast Guard and Falmouth Fire Department Thursday morning, and the marine and environmental services department was notified at about 6:30 AM. Link to the rest 12:56
Bay of Fundy tidal energy battle heads to court Thursday
The Nova Scotia government and a company attempting to deploy two tidal turbines in the Bay of Fundy have joined forces to fight a move by a fishermen’s association to block the venture. The Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association is scheduled to appear Thursday in Nova Scotia Supreme Court to ask for a stay on an approval that will allow Cape Sharp Tidal Ventures to install two 16-metre-wide turbines at the bottom of the Minas Passage. Cape Sharp Tidal is a partnership between Halifax-based Emera, parent company of Nova Scotia Power, and French-owned Open Hydro. The province and Cape Sharp Tidal want the court to dismiss the application. Read the story here 09:57
Shrimp boat goes up in flames at Aransas Pass
A day at work for a local shrimper took a turn for the worst when his boat went up in flames. Aransas Pass police say the boat was found drifting in an intercoastal waterway before coming to a rest in a cove near Turtle Bayou Road. Firefighters from Aransas Pass, Rockport, and Fulton responded to extinguish the fire. A fire boat belonging to the Rockport Volunteer Fire Department was also utilized after weeks of initial training. Coast Guard and Texas Parks and Wildlife were also on the scene. Police say the boat owner sustained minor injuries trying to put out the fire. Fortunately, a local boater was nearby to help assist the owner of the shrimp boat to shore. The owner of the boat says the fire started near his generator while he was on his way to get fuel at Conn Brown Harbor. The cause of the fire is still under investigation. Video, click here 09:04
S.C. couple rode out Matthew on their shrimp boat
Richard Billington, who was aware of the storm and had taken special precautions with his boat, Village Lady, said the couple did not have cell phone service and they had lost power so they weren’t sure where the storm was. Unbeknownst to them, the hurricane was aiming for a landfall near McClellanville, the same spot where Hurricane Hugo made landfall in 1989 with a 20-foot storm surge and devastating consequences. “We came down here to make coffee and cook breakfast and all of a sudden the storm surge came in and we couldn’t get off,” he said. “The most amazing thing was right during the worst of it, I looked across the creek at a dock and there was about 20 seagulls with 95 to 110 mph winds blowing and the seagulls were still holding onto the dock,” he said. He also noticed an army of bugs coming out of the water and climbing onto the pilings. Read the story here 08:33
Fundraiser hopes to keep F/V Lady Bernice shrimp trawler working after Hurricane Matthew
The Lady Bernice shrimp trawler was set free Monday after Hurricane Matthew wedged the 80-ton shrimp boat in the mud of Hilton Head Island’s Skull Creek. But all is still not well with the Lady. There was other damage that may risk the future of one of the few shrimp boats still working near Hilton Head. After the boat was freed, longtime shrimp boat captain Charles Abner discovered that his trawler lost all electronics and that the radar system needed to navigate on the boat was damaged. The boat also suffered a broken propeller, shattered window and cosmetic damages to its side. Capt. Abner hopes the boat is still able to go on short shrimping trips, but knows it would be unsafe to go out longer. “I still fully intend to go out shrimping on Thursday,” Capt. Abner said. “We’ll see if it works then.” Read the story here To donate to help keep the “Lady Bernice” runnning, go to the “Save Lady Bernice” page at GoFundMe.com. 07:59
The U.S. Labor Department suing Intershell over workers’ wages
The suit, filed Oct. 4 in U.S. District Court in Boston, seeks at least $275,000 from Intershell for back wages and liquidated damages. The Labor Department said Ultimate Advance Corp., which provides Intershell with temporary workers, is jointly liable for about $116,000 of the total amount being sought. The federal department said an investigation by its wage and hour division revealed that Intershell owners Monte Rome and his wife Yibing Gao-Rome, in conjunction with Ultimate Advance, violated federal law by not paying overtime to 55 workers responsible for cutting, cleaning and packing seafood.It said Intershell had been involved in the violations since February 2013 and Ultimate Advance since 2015. The suit also charges the defendants failed to keep accurate records of employees’ work hours and provided inaccurate payroll records to the division’s investigators. It accused them of “improperly deducting from certain employees’ pay the cost of cleaning their uniforms.” Read the rest here 19:58
Members of Alaska crab industry are holding out hope for high prices and a late fishery.
The Alaska Board of Fisheries hasn’t yet decided whether to review harvest guidelines for Eastern Bering Sea Tanner crab and potentially open the season in January or earlier, or leave the fishery closed entirely for the next two years. Meanwhile, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game cut the quota for snow crab by 50 percent and for Bristol Bay red king crab by 15 percent. Despite the cuts, crab industry stakeholders say the season for Bristol Bay red king crab is moving along at more than a healthy clip. “Some good news from the grounds, the crab look good. They’re heavy. There’s a lot of small crab, females. Folks are seeing pots just plugged with crab — so full they can’t get another one in,” said Jake Jacobsen, director of the Inter-Cooperative Exchange, a crab harvesting cooperative with 188 members that together harvest 70 percent of Alaska’s crab. Jacobsen said that given the density of the fishing, he wonders why the surveys that measure abundance didn’t pick anything up.“The reports I’ve got, maybe the people who aren’t doing so well don’t say anything,” he said. “There’s a lot of very optimistic reports from the grounds. I’m not sure what happened with the survey last summer.” Read the story here 16:53
Fishermen upset over extension of ban
With only six months remaining in a two-year ban on all fishing activities in the vicinity of the port town of San Felipe, Baja California, there is now disagreement between fishermen and environmental groups over what happens next. Fishing techniques had become a threat to the vaquita, whose numbers have declined to an estimated 60, because they are caught along with the totoaba, a fish species whose swim bladder is a delicacy in China. The two-year federal program was intended to give the marine mammals a respite started in April 2015. As its end draws near, environmental organizations have asked authorities for broader controls on the illegal totoaba fishing and the creation of a safe zone for the vaquita. Read the story here 14:59
Coast Guard transports pregnant manatee to Florida following rescue in Massachusetts
The Coast Guard teamed up with multiple animal rescue teams to transport a pregnant manatee Tuesday from Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut, to SeaWorld in Orlando, Florida. Expert rescue staff from the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) rescued the manatee September 22 from the waters off Falmouth and transported her to Mystic Aquarium. The manatee arrived in Florida aboard a Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod HC-144 aircraft. Upon arrival, she was transported to SeaWorld by their Animal Rescue Team where veterinarians will provide round-the-clock care until she is ready to be released to her natural Florida habitat. “It was a pleasure working with the U.S. Fish and Wild Life Service, Mystic Aquarum, IFAW, and SeaWorld to transport the manatee to SeaWorld in order for her to be released to her natural habitat,” said Lt. Daniel Cloonan, one of the pilots from Air Station Cape Cod who flew the manatee to Florida. “It was a unique mission where all the moving parts and joint collaboration came together tremendously.” The manatee was named Washburn after the island she was rescued on. Link 14:39
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 42′ Fiberglass Lobster boat, 500HP, 6 Cylinder Volvo D9 Diesel, “like new” condition!
Specifications, information and 14 photo’s click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 12:31
Oceana bites back at proposed rule for US dusky shark conservation
U.S. President Barack Obama and his administration have released a proposal addressing the chronic overfishing of dusky sharks in U.S. waters. But suggested rule comes up short on its objective, according to marine conservation group Oceana. Oceana, which sued the federal government in 2015 in a challenge to its policies on dusky sharks, has deemed the proposed rule as “grossly inadequate,” and charged that that the National Marine Fisheries Service fails to offer measurable means to stop dusky shark decline and facilitate the species’ recovery. Over the past two decades, dusky shark populations across the Atlantic and Gulf coasts have dropped by 65 percent as a result of bycatch and overfishing, said Oceana. Because the species is slow to grow and reproduces at low rates, recent studies suggest that the population would need between 70 and 180 years to recover. Read the story here 12:06
Opinion: Stop the Obama administration from destroying our coastal economy
The Obama Administration is very close to unleashing an underwater sonic boom attack off our Atlantic Coast, including South Carolina’s. You probably have two immediate questions. What am I talking about? And why should you care? First, a sonic boom is how Richard Viso, a professor in the Coastal Environment School at Coastal Carolina University, describes seismic testing. Seismic testing is a highly dangerous process that uses intense airgun blasting to send extremely loud sound waves miles below the seafloor in a hunt for oil deposits. One seismic testing vessel can tow up to 96 airguns, which can cover an area 21 times larger than the National Mall in Washington. These sonic booms, which can be heard for thousands of miles underwater, are repeated every 10 to 12 seconds, creating one of the loudest noises in the oceans. Seismic testing under just one lease can go on for up to an entire year. The Obama Administration’s Department of Interior is set to issue up to 9 seismic testing permits because oil companies don’t share information. Read the story here 11:37
Public weighs in at Board of Fisheries meeting in Soldotna
F
ishermen and the fisheries-inclined turned out by the dozens Tuesday for an open hearing before the Board of Fisheries to air their concerns on a host of issues. The Board of Fisheries, preparing to enter its 2016-2017 cycle, is holding a work session in Soldotna this week to discuss Agenda Change Requests and non-regulatory proposals and to take public comments. When the session was scheduled in October 2014, the board set aside an entire day for fishermen to make public comments on any issue they wanted to address. Commenters spoke on a variety of issues, but several recurred throughout the day. The issue that received the most comments, both for and against, was a non-regulatory proposal requesting the Board of Fisheries to lobby the Legislature to update the state fish habitat permitting process to include specific criteria from the Alaska Sustainable Salmon Fisheries Policy. Read the story here 11:20
Fight Over Papahanaumokuakea Expansion Isn’t Over
Hawaii’s commercial fishing industry leaders are not finished fighting the fourfold expansion of a U.S. marine monument in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. Now the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, which actively opposed the expansion, wants the government to study the potential effects and find ways to alleviate them. “The impacts to the Hawaii fishing and seafood industries and indigenous communities as a result of monument expansion are considerable,” Council Chair Edwin Ebisui Jr. said in a statement Friday. “The Council will write to the President about these and request the Department of Commerce to mitigate them.” The latest wave of opposition to the monument rolled in earlier this month at the council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee meeting in Honolulu. New committee member Ray Hilborn, a prominent marine biologist from the University of Washington, railed against large marine protected areas. Read the story here 08:59
Atlantic States Marine Fishery Commission will decide status Gulf of Maine shrimp fishery
The commission is scheduled to meet Nov. 10 in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, first to review the most recent stock status report for northern shrimp and technical recommendations from the shrimp advisory panel. It will then set the specifications for the upcoming season. The stock status reports dating back to 2012 reveal a species in free fall, with record low levels of abundance and biomass and poor recruitment since 2012. Those assessments showed problems with overfishing, warming water temperatures and a dwindling number of spawning females. Maine harvesters dominated the fishery the last time it was open in 2013. Of the 207 vessels permitted to shrimp in the Gulf of Maine, 180 had hailing ports in Maine, while Massachusetts and New Hampshire each had 13. Read the story here 07:45
Cape May fisherman gets restraining order in pilot whale killing case
A Cape May commercial fisherman charged with killing a pilot whale in 2011 has gotten a federal order prohibiting federal agents and a defense investigator from speaking to informants in the case. Defense attorney Bill Hughes Jr., of Cooper Levenson, in Atlantic City, said in court documents the informants told his investigator they were threatened and harassed by federal agents. And in its submission, the U.S. Attorney’s Office alleged the defense investigator had misled the informants while interviewing them. The order follows an Oct. 17 teleconference between U.S Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor, Hughes and lawyers for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The order says that individuals who previously had contact with the informants, including federal agents, federally deputized state agents, and the defense counsel’s private investigator, cannot have further contact with them. Read the story here 20:02
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for October 17, 2016
Click here to read the Weekly Update, to read all the updates, Click here 18:39
Season Finale – ‘Deadliest Catch: Dungeon Cove’ 9 PM ET/PT on the Discovery Channel
Tonight marks the season finale of Deadliest Catch: Dungeon Cove,” airing at 9 PM ET/PT on the Discovery Channel. After weeks battling the Pacific Ocean, Oregon’s crab fleet nears the finish line, but crossing won’t be easy. With lethal waves blocking his path, Captain Mikey Retherford Jr faces a deadly bar crossing into port, with his son on board.Captain Sehlbach and the F/V Galway Bay crew aren’t the only ones facing a difficult path to the finish line in the finale though. Tuesday’s season ender will find Captain Miket Rutherford Jr facing a deadly bar crossing into port while his is on board! It’s a must-see finale that promises to have fans on the edge of their seats and one that no fan will want to miss. Video here and here 17:43
