Daily Archives: November 14, 2016
Dragger still keeled over
The Blue Ocean fishing boat continues to languish on the tides near the far end of Niles Beach as the Coast Guard gets ready this week to pump out the fuel remaining in its sealed tank, according to Gloucester Harbormaster T. J. Ciarametaro. The 64-year-old wooden Eastern-rigged dragger broke anchor late Thursday night in high winds and drifted toward the beach. It remains about 50 yards off the far end of Niles Beach at low tide, partially submerged and keeled over onto its starboard side. During the weekend, the Coast Guard installed a floating containment collar around the vessel as a preventative measure against any leaks or ruptures that could send any environmental hazards into the water. “Right now, there has been no pollution into the water and there are no leaks or environmental hazards,” Ciarametaro said, adding that the boat has about 100 gallons of fuel remaining in its sealed tanks. Read the story here 21:23
Pacific Fishery Management Council Meeting in Garden Grove, California November 15 – 21
The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and its advisory bodies will meet starting Sunday, November 13, 2016 in Garden Grove, California. Advisory bodies will start Sunday, November 13. The Council session will start on Wednesday, November 16, 2016 to address issues related to salmon, groundfish, highly migratory species, coastal pelagic species, Pacific halibut, and habitat matters. Click here to read the Agenda. Click here to listen to the Live Audio Stream 19:37
New England Fishery Management Council meeting in Newport, RI November 15-17, 2016 – Listen Live
The New England Fishery Management Council will be meeting in at the Hotel Viking, Newport, RI November 15, 2016 – November 17, 2016 . To read the final agenda, click here Register here to listen live via webinar. click here They will send you an email notification. www.nefmc.org 19:15
Navy to Expand Sonar, Other Training off Northwest Coast
The U.S. Navy has finalized a plan to expand sonar testing and other warfare training off the coasts of Washington, Oregon and northern California. The Navy decided to implement its preferred plan after a lengthy review that included a determination from the National Marine Fisheries Service that the exercises would not have major impacts on endangered orcas and other marine mammals. It announced its decision on Nov. 4. The fisheries service last year renewed the Navy’s five-year permit, through 2020, to conduct the activities in areas from the inland waters of Puget Sound in Washington state to the northern coast of California. The plan includes expanding the use of “sonobuoys,” devices that send out underwater sonar signals used by air crews training to detect submarines. Read the rest here 16:54
Isle of Man catch limit imposed after ‘fishing race’ concerns
Starting on Tuesday, a daily 1,400kg (3,086lbs) limit will be in force for the next six weeks in order to tackle current “unsustainable” fishing rates. An unusually big harvest of king scallops off the island’s west coast has recently attracted fishing boats from all over the British Isles. Manx fishermen said they were unable to compete with such larger vessels. The Isle of Man’s king scallop season runs between November and May. Fisheries minister Geoffrey Boot added: “In the first six days of the 2016-17 season, almost 800 tonnes of king scallops were landed – almost a quarter of the catch recorded last season. Some vessels were landing in excess of 8,000kg a day. Read the rest here 16:06
Canadian Perspective on Atlantic Cod Stocks & Management
Last week we released a two part feature on the status of Atlantic cod stocks. Click here Part 1 was a general overview of the status of stocks while Part 2 dove deeper into the reasons behind different statuses.
Jeffrey Hutchings, a fishery scientist at Dalhousie University was inspired to comment on our CFOOD feature below;
Despite voluminous research, science discussions of Atlantic cod can verge on the simplistic. Overfishing and ‘the environment’ unhelpfully portrayed as alternative or additive causes of decline. Temperature presented unequivocally as the driver of recruitment. Variable attention to how differential responses to natural and human-induced environmental stressors can be influenced by basic elements of demography — population size, age structure, natural mortality — especially when these fall outside a population’s norm. The collapse of Northern cod was unprecedented but the low temperatures that cod experienced prior to collapse were not (it has been as cold, or colder, if one’s temporal horizon extends beyond the mid 20th Century for this 500-year-old fishery). Recruitment failure is not affecting the recovery of some depleted stocks, such as Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence cod, but altered predator-prey interactions – predicated by prolonged overfishing – almost certainly are. Not all northeast Atlantic cod are doing well, as the current status of those along the Norwegian coast will attest. Read the rest here 14:07
Jake Harris of ‘Deadliest Catch’ recovering after severe beating
Jake Harris of television series “Deadliest Catch” is recovering in a hospital after a severe beating over the weekend. Jake Harris’ brother, Cornelia Marie Captain Josh Harris, shared details of his brother’s attack in two live videos on the official Facebook page for Deadliest Catch – F/V Cornelia Marie. Josh Harris said Jake was jumped late Saturday and was in an intensive care unit with a “cracked skull” and brain trauma. The victim’s brother said Jake was beaten and then thrown out of a moving vehicle onto the side of the freeway. People in a car behind the suspects called 911 to get help. Josh said Jake had gotten a ride home from a couple who had been at the Quil Ceda Creek Casino near Marysville, but it was unclear if that’s where Jake had met the couple and where the actual beating took place. Video, read the rest here 13:26
State officials investigating fish die-off in Hampton Bays
The Shinnecock Canal in Hampton Bays became the scene of a massive fish die-off Monday morning, with tens of thousands of menhaden — more commonly known as bunker — clogging the water surface for hundreds of yards. Authorities, including state Department of Environmental Conservation investigators, responded to the scene Monday. Regional DEC spokesman Bill Fonda said staff investigators were looking into the cause, but that initial indications were the die-off was “probably due to the usual reasons … We don’t see anything so far to indicate it’s chemical” or from a pollutant. Read the story here 13:08
Midcoast lobsterman charged with exceeding 800-trap limit
A local lobsterman from the local village of Spruce Head has been charged with using more traps than state law allows, according to state officials. The Maine Department of Marine Resource issued a news release Monday morning indicating that Bruce Tarbox, 52, is accused of fishing 956 traps, which is 156 more than the 800-trap limit. Tarbox is facing civil charges of fishing traps in excess of the authorized limit, which is punishable by a fine between $100 and $500, and fishing lobster traps marked with identification tags not registered to his vessel, which has a minimum potential fine of $100. He also faces a possible suspension of his lobster-fishing license. Tarbox’s son, 23-year-old Samuel Tarbox of Spruce Head, also has been charged with with fishing lobster traps that contain tags not registered to his vessel, according to DMR. Like his father, Samuel Tarbox faces minimum possible fine of $100 and a potential suspension of his fishing license. Read the rest here 12:31
Investors bet on farmed kelp being Alaska’s next seafood export
In the remote waters of Larsen Bay, off the coast of Kodiak Island, an experiment is underway. Two types of kelp are strung on lines in the ocean waters, and researchers, investors and commercial fishermen are all watching to see if they grow. Erik O’Brien, a commercial fisherman, planted the kelp last month. He’s one of three Alaska kelp farmers working with a California-based company that’s investing in the project. The experiment could represent the start of a fledgling kelp farm industry in Alaska. But O’Brien isn’t sure yet whether the venture will pan out. “There’s way more questions than answers,” O’Brien said. In late October, O’Brien headed out to Larsen Bay. After six months of working through the state process, he had received his permit and planted sugar kelp and ribbon kelp on 4,600 feet of line. Read the story here 11:51
Why this Irish trawling company missed out on the big Blufin Tuna money
Due to Ireland’s fishing quotas, fishermen are not permitted to catch and sell Bluefin fish, which are protected under Irish law. Employees of O’Flaherty’s Brothers Limited, based in Kilmore Quay, Co. Wexford accidently caught eight of the fish which have been frequenting Irish waters. In Japan, they can fetch up to €100,000 due to high demand, as the Bluefin is a popular form of sushi. The Sea Fisheries Protection Agency granted a waiver to allow O’Flaherty’s to sell them for a total sum of €5,000. However, Seamus O’Flaherty, one of the owners of the company, says Ireland’s economy could be benefitting a lot more from the influx of the “extremely valuable” fish. “These fish are worth a fortune. While we got some money for them, we got nothing compared to what we could have done if we sold them to an established market in Japan, which we’re not allowed to do,” Mr O’Flaherty told Independent.ie. “It’s a tragedy because there is a very valuable fishery off the Irish coast and the only people who are allowed to partake in it are the Spanish and French. Read the story here 11:07
Commercial Dungeness crab season to open throughout most of the Southern Fishery; one area will remain closed
On Tuesday, Nov. 15, commercial Dungeness crab season will open from Point Reyes in Marin County south, the 
(CDFW) announced. But at the recommendation of state health agencies, the CDFW Director is moving to close the commercial Dungeness crab fishery between Point Reyes and the Sonoma/Mendocino County line and to close the commercial rock crab fishery north of Pigeon Point in San Mateo County. This has the effect of closing approximately 60 miles of coastline to commercial Dungeness crab fishing that otherwise would have opened on Nov. 15. The fishery north of the Sonoma/Mendocino county line is not scheduled to open until Dec. 1. The commercial Dungeness crab fishery had been scheduled to open all the way up to the Sonoma/Mendocino county line (about 60 miles north of Point Reyes) on Nov. 15 and the rock crab fishery is otherwise open year round, but some crabs collected and tested showed elevated levels of domoic acid. The naturally occurring toxin can sicken people who consume crab. Read the rest here 08:08
Icelandic Fishermen’s Association and Fisheries Iceland Sign Contract
A deal was struck before midnight, last night, between the Icelandic Fishermen’s Association and Fisheries Iceland, RÚV reports. The contract was signed at 1 am. The fishermen’s strike, which began Thursday night, has been postponed until 8 pm Tuesday. Two fishermen’s associations, with a total of 900 members did not sign the contract, one of them from Grindavík. Negotiations will continue this week with those two. The last dispute to be solved had to do with manning of pelagic fishing vessels and wet fish trawlers. It was agreed that a year-long study be done on the safety and work hours of fishermen on those vessels. The contract is for two years. It will be presented to fishermen today and tomorrow. After that, online voting will take place. Link 07:48
