Daily Archives: January 17, 2017
Advisory committees recommend denying shrimp trawling limitations
Five advisory committees to the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission met Tuesday to contemplate a petition on restrictions to shrimp trawling. The Division of Marine Fisheries announced Tuesday evening that all advisory committees voted to recommend the Marine Fisheries Commission deny the petition for limitations. Marine Fisheries will make the final decision in February at a separate meeting in Wilmington. Video Read the rest here 20:28
BIG Tuna story! Local man hauls in huge catch
It seems like everyone has a big fish story – and every year that fish – and the tall tale that goes along with it, gets bigger and bigger. But for Reidsville native Tommy Adkins, he’s got the story and the photos to prove that his big fish story, is the real deal. Adkins, a self-described small-time commercial fisherman, took his boat “Fish ‘N Frenzy” out off the coast of Morehead City last Wednesday morning and came home with a whopping 800 pound-plus Atlantic blue fin tuna. It was not only the biggest tuna Adkins ever landed, but also the biggest blue fin tuna caught off the Morehead City port so far this season. After the fish was processed and cleaned, it dressed at 629 pounds and sold for $19 per pound. That’s a $11,951 pay day, but Adkins says there is a huge expense that goes along with the job that most people don’t realize. Click here to read the rest of the story 17:00
Crawling with crab! Temporary glut slows processors
A perfect storm of weather, strong catches and domoic acid worries has led to a glut of crab on the market, overwhelming processors and making it harder for fishermen to find buyers for the high-value crustacean. Dave Hubbard, captain of the fishing vessel Katrina, said he waited 58 hours to unload 25,000 pounds of crab his crew had caught between Garibaldi and Klipsan Beach, Washington. On Monday, the Katrina docked at the Port of Astoria’s Pier 2, its catch unloaded by workers from Bornstein Seafoods. Hubbard said processors were hit by icy weather on land preventing delivery trucks and workers from coming and going. The processors have boats on catch limits, he said, based on the amount of crab pots they drop. “Everyone’s jammed up,” said Steve Fick, owner of Fishhawk Fisheries in Astoria. Read the story here 16:05
You are invited to the 2017 Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association’s Annual Weekend and Industry Trade Show January 19-22, 2017
You are invited to the 2017 Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association’s Annual Weekend and Industry Trade Show January 19-22, 2017 This event is open to all and admission is FREE! MLA ANNUAL WEEKEND AND TRADE SHOW 2017 PROGRAM Calling all Commercial Fishermen READ MORE HERE>>> COME MEET “WICKED TUNA” CAPTAIN DAVE MARCIANO f/v HARD MERCHANDISE Click here for more information 13:10
Port of Savannah leads in the export of shark fins
For the last three years the port of Savannah has been the U.S. leader in the export of shark fins, a legal but controversial trade item used to make shark fin soup, a delicacy in parts of Asia. Federal fisheries data show that although no shark fin was exported from Savannah in 2013, the trade here jumped in the following years from 18,444 pounds in 2014 to 25,765 pounds in 2015. That amounts to about $1.2 million in shark fins over the two years. Last year through November the export amounted to 19,171 pounds, valued at $559,845. In each case the shark fins were shipped to Hong Kong. Oceana is now advocating a nationwide ban on the shark fin trade. Not all shark lovers agree. Shark researcher Chris Fischer, a founder of Ocearch and a leader of its expeditions to catch and satellite tag great white sharks, said shutting down trade here will merely create a bigger opportunity for unmanaged fisheries elsewhere. Read the story here 12:33
Penobscot East Resource Center Founder Robin Alden to step down as fisheries organization director
Robin Alden, a one-time commissioner of the Department of Marine Resources under Governor John Mckernan and longtime editor and publisher of the regional trade publication Commercial Fisheries News, will step down as executive director of the Penobscot East Resource Center at the end of this year. The organization has begun a national search for her successor. Alden founded Penobscot East 13 years ago together with her husband, MacArthur Fellow Ted Ames, former Maine Sea Coast Mission pastor and fisheries advocate Ted Hoskins and Kristen and Paul Lewis. Started with only a few employees and a thin-as-a-shoestring budget in 2003, Penobscot East now has a dozen employees including fisheries scientists and marine policy experts. Under Alden’s stewardship, its operating budget has grown to $1.8 million. Read the story here 12:05
Trump presidency may bring changes to U.S. fishing laws
Previously unsuccessful efforts to reform the US’s main federal fishing law, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, are positioned to move ahead under a Donald Trump administration. New efforts to amend the US Magnuson-Stevens Act are expected from the new Congress, leaving some in industry concerned with any move away from a law judged by many to have worked reasonably well for four decades. “Right now you might be looking at potential for a whole lot of changes and revisions,” said an Alaska-based source who wished to remain unnamed. “I would say there should be some anxiety about how far you go giving people flexibility that moves outside the scientific realm.” HR 1335 – One of the bill’s central provisions would have reformed Magnuson-Stevens’s mandatory 10-year stock rebuilding timeline, incorporating additional flexibility. Instead of formally defining all stocks in decline as “overfished”, Young’s amendment would allow the term “depleted” when the reason for a stock’s decline is due to depredation or other non-fishing factors. Read the story here 11:39
Washington State Commercial and Sport fishermen demand transparency in setting salmon seasons
Commercial and sport fishermen are demanding change when it comes to the annual process that determines who gets to fish how much salmon and when. It’s called the North of Falcon process, and it involves several months of private meetings between federal, state, and tribal representatives. They typically start in February. The meetings are not open to the public, but a petition that’s gained more than a 1,000 signatures is just one sign of rising tides against the process, as non-treaty recreational and commercial fishermen rally for transparency. Tribal representatives defend their push for fishing restrictions over the last few years, pointing to low salmon returns. In 2016, the North of Falcon process took so long, the fishing season was canceled for weeks as the state and tribal co-managers stood at a stalemate. Read the story here 09:18
WATCH: Fishing Vessel Battles Chetco River Bar (Nearly Loses)
Check out this amazing video posted to facebook showing an inbound fishing vessel crossing the Chetco River (Brooking) bar near Brooking, Oregon. The footage is grainy but if you watch and listen closely it’s easy to see what’s happening. According to the person narrating, the video shows the 24-meter dungeness crab vessel F/V Pacific Hooker battle a strong current while inbound. In the first half you can see two guys standing out on deck, but luckily it looks like they head in right before things got really bad. At the two minute mark a HUGE wave take out just about everything on deck. The person in the video said the vessel actually had to back off and turn around. Read the rest here, and watch the video 08:18
BIG DAY AHEAD: North Carolina Shrimpers to argue against proposed industry restrictions
The public will have a chance to speak during a meeting in New Bern that could lead to commercial shrimp trawling restrictions in North Carolina. Multiple media outlets report five advisory committees to the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission will meet jointly Tuesday at the New Bern Riverfront Convention Center. The committee members will discuss a petition was filed by the North Carolina Wildlife Federation that would designate fishing waters in the sounds and three miles into the ocean as primary nursery areas to protect habitats for juvenile fish. Another change would be to limit the days and hours when shrimp trawling is allowed. Commercial fishermen say the proposed regulations would further threaten the shrimping business in North Carolina. link 07:41
