Daily Archives: April 3, 2017
Maine lobsterman denied bail in federal manslaughter case
A lobsterman from Cushing will remain jailed until his manslaughter trial despite an impassioned plea to have him released to the custody and supervision of his parents. U.S. Magistrate Judge John Rich ruled Monday that Christopher Hutchinson, 28, should not be allowed bail since he already violated conditions when he used drugs and overdosed last month. His parents, who sat in the courtroom during the hearing in Portland, cried as the judge read his decision. Hutchinson is charged with seaman’s manslaughter in connection with the Nov. 1, 2014, deaths of Tom Hammond, 27, of Rockland and Tyler Sawyer, 15, of St. George. Investigators believe Hutchinson was under the influence of alcohol and opioids when he sailed his lobster boat, No Limits, into a storm, sinking it. ,, Hutchinson was arrested in December after a lengthy investigation and posted $10,000 bail three days later with conditions that he not use substances. He violated those conditions on March 14, when he overdosed on heroin and needed to be revived with the drug Narcan. Read the story here 20:08
Mid-Atlantic Council to Hold Public Hearings for Squid Amendment
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold nine public hearings in April and May 2017 to solicit public input on the Squid Amendment to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan. The Council is also soliciting written comments on the amendment through 11:59 pm on May 18, 2017.The amendment considers measures to reduce latent longfin and Illex squid permits. Currently, a relatively small portion of vessels with limited access (“moratorium”) squid permits account for the majority of landings in most years. The Council is concerned that activation of latent permits in the squid fisheries could lead to excessive fishing effort, potentially resulting in shortened seasons and increased catch of non-target species. The amendment also considers measures to modify the management of longfin squid during Trimester 2 (May-August). The Council is considering this action because there is concern that the productivity of the longfin squid stock may be negatively impacted if excessive fishing in Trimester 2 does not allow sufficient spawning and/or successful egg hatching from egg mops. Locations of the hearings with time and date, public comment info, Click Here 17:54
FISH-NL: Snow-crab cuts another body blow to fishery; special allocation with links to FFAW should be cut immediately
The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) says the province’s fishing industry took yet another body blow today with news that the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans cut the overall snow crab quota by 22 per cent. “Today’s news on snow crab, combined with last week’s almost 63 per cent cut to northern shrimp, spells disaster for the inshore fishery,” says Ryan Cleary, President of FISH-NL. “The very first cut in the total allowable catch (TAC) for snow crab on the tail of the Grand Banks in fishing zone 3N outside the 200-mile limit should be to the special interest allocation caught by the Katrina Charlene, the so-called ‘union boat,’ a quota whose origins are directly linked to the FFAW,” says Cleary. “First things first, the time has come for that conflict of interest to be acknowledged and the quota cancelled and added back to the allocations of independent harvesters.” Read the Press Release here 16:20
Shrimper shortage: Lack of foreign workers puts Texas shrimp industry in bind
The Texas shrimp industry, struggling for years against high fuel prices and cheap foreign imports, faces a new crisis: a major shortage of the temporary foreign workers that boat owners and processing plants depend on to operate. The shortage is the result of Congress not renewing the H-2B Returning Worker Program when it expired at the end of September. Congress created the exemption in 2015 to help industries like seafood, landscaping and hospitality fill essential jobs.The exemption was established after the government in 2005 instituted an annual cap of 66,000 H-2B foreign worker visas, in response to a surge in H-2B applications from employers since the program started during the late 1980s. The cap is divided equally among the two halves of the fiscal year — 33,000 the first half and 33,000 the last. As part of the H-2B application process, the government requires employers first to advertise the jobs to U.S. workers. In the case of the shrimp industry, however, it’s very difficult to find U.S. workers willing to do the work. The Rio Grande Valley’s shrimp industry increasingly has had to rely on shrimp boat workers from Mexico, who tend to have experience and in some cases have worked on the same U.S. boats for two decades or more. continue reading the story here 15:12
China’s fishing fleet hunts for new oceans to target, squid is becoming the new substitute
Seagulls wheel and cry around the Caleta Portales fishing pier in the Chilean port of Valparaiso while sea lions loiter in the waves. The fishermen hoist their boats out of the water, untangle a paltry catch from their nets and trudge off for a political strategy meeting in a dark room lit only by a PowerPoint presentation. Nearby, a line of white banners bear a defiant message in red block letters: “NO to industrial squid trawling!” ,,, Squid is taking the place of declining stocks. In Valparaiso, artisanal fishermen operating out of Caleta Portales rely on squid for about half of their income. And the carts now sell enchiladas stuffed with squid, which locals call loco de los pobres, or “poor man’s loco”. Even Corpesca, the nation’s largest fishing conglomerate, has moved into the game. Chilean fishermen were outraged in 2012 when the revised fisheries law gave Corpesca a permanent quota for 20 per cent of the squid catch. “Other species have collapsed so these ships and technology are being applied to squid,” Mr Fuentes says. “Squid is becoming a new option.” Read the article, click here 13:57
DFO slashes crab quota in latest blow to N.L. fishing industry
In yet another blow to the Newfoundland and Labrador fishing industry, federal fisheries has announced that the total allowable catch for snow crab will be cut by 22 per cent this year. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans announced Monday that the quota for the region has been set at 35,419 tonnes. The largest hit is in fishing area 3L, east of the Avalon Peninsula, where the bulk of the quota is harvested. Harvesters there will endure a 26 per cent cut in quota, down to less than 25,000 tonnes. The cut was expected, with scientists saying the resource has plummeted in recent years, but that’s little comfort to the thousands of harvesters and plant workers who depend on the fishery. continue reading the story here 13:17
Ray Hilborn study disputes previous findings on forage fish
A new study has been published today by a scientific group led by University of Washington fisheries researcher Ray Hilborn that disputes previous findings on the impact of human and natural predation on forage fish such as anchovies, sardines and herring. The study, published in the scientific journal Fisheries Research, found that human fishing for forage fish does not have as great an impact on the food chain as previously thought, given that humans typically catch fish of much larger size than those typically hunted and eaten by non-human species. The study also decouples the link between the size of forage fish populations and the populations of species that predate on forage fish. “What we found is that there is essentially no relationship between how many forage fish there are in the ocean and how well predators do in terms of whether the populations increase or decrease,” Hilborn said in a video explaining the study’s findings. Video, continue reading the story here 11:47
A full weekend of events! Darien gears up for the 49th Blessing of the Fleet
This weekend marks the 49th Blessing of the Fleet in Darien, and the festivities that attendees have come to expect will be there in spades under this year’s theme of “Saltwater Blessings.” “The local community is excited and everyone that normally makes their vacation or homecoming plans, for those that like to plan visits home around the festival, everybody is extremely excited and anticipating the festival,” said Kelly McClellan, festival director. “It’s spring break for the kids, so everyone will be around, we’ve got a lot of student volunteers this year.” The festival kicks off at 5 p.m. this Friday with the opening of vendor booths and the car show. At 6 p.m., the Swinging Medallions start playing on the concert stage. The event closes at 10 p.m. continue reading about the schedule of events here 10:59
Greenpeace criticises fishing monitor’s connections with industry
Environmental campaigners Greenpeace will take a complaint to the Auditor General after discovering the company responsible for monitoring large chunks of the fishing industry is wholly owned by the industry’s biggest lobby group. The company, named FishServe, has been contracted by the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) for the last 20 years to monitor overfishing, take catch reports, manage quotas and decide on licences. A Greenpeace investigation found the company is not only owned by the industry group Seafood New Zealand, but it operates from the same office and shares staff. The revelations follow a series of controversies last year about fish dumping going unprosecuted, and a contract for camera-monitoring also being given to an industry-owned company. continue reading the story here 09:26
A milestone in the war over the true state of cod
For years, fishermen from Gloucester to New Bedford have accused the federal government of relying on faulty science to assess the health of the region’s cod population, a fundamental flaw that has greatly exaggerated its demise, they say, and led officials to wrongly ban nearly all fishing of the iconic species.The fishermen’s concerns resonated with Governor Charlie Baker, so last year he commissioned his own survey of the waters off New England, where cod were once so abundant that fishermen would say they could walk across the Atlantic on their backs. Now, in a milestone in the war over the true state of cod in the Gulf of Maine, Massachusetts scientists have reached the same dismal conclusion that their federal counterparts did: The region’s cod are at a historic low — about 80 percent less than the population from just a decade ago. continue reading the story here 08:07
