Daily Archives: April 20, 2017
Snow crab prices could be clawed back
Halfway around the world there’s an uneasiness that may land this year’s Newfoundland snow crab industry in troubled waters. While the announced increase in price between the province’s harvesters and processors this year appears to have somewhat offset concerns about a drastic drop in Newfoundland snow crab quotas, key Japanese buyers remain uncertain about paying a high price through the season. The minimum price per pound for snow crab this year for harvesters was set at $4.39 — the highest price ever in this province — by the Standing Fish Price Setting Panel, which chose the harvesters’ proposed price over the processors’ offer of $4.10. John Sackton, a longtime North American seafood market analyst and president and publisher of SeafoodNews.com, said Japanese buyers find themselves in an uneasy situation. He said their normal buying process — in which the buyers like to work on a single-established price — has been disrupted. click here to read the story 22:35
Richard Gillett Stands Firm, Determined, while FISH-NL executive accuses DFO and FFAW of playing politics in fishery protest
Ryan Cleary says the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) and the Fish, Food and Allied Workers (FFAW) union are killing Richard Gillett with politics. “This guy is a rock, but he’s hurting now and they’re playing with his life,” the Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador president said of the organization’s vice-president, who is now eight days into a hunger strike while camped outside the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Centre in St. John’s. Cleary was responding to a news release from the FFAW that he claims takes credit for the federal government’s decision to conduct a full assessment on northern cod stocks on an annual basis. (Ten yearold Lucas Wilkinson made the point it was important to show solidarity with Richard Gillett. click here to read the story! 21:54
NOAA Fisheries Approves Amendment 18 to Address Fleet Consolidation in Groundfish Fishery
NOAA Fisheries has approved Amendment 18 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan. The Amendment establishes permit accumulation limits to minimize fleet consolidation in the groundfish fishery. Amendment 18 limits the number of permits and annual groundfish allocation that an entity could hold. Also, to increase fishing opportunities and promote fleet diversity, Amendment 18 increases flexibility for fishermen on limited-access handgear vessels. Read the final rule as published in the Federal Register, and the permit holder letter posted on our website.Questions? Contact Jennifer Goebel at 978-281-9175 or [email protected]
When it comes to in the Atlantic east of Montauk, the Fishing Industry must be considered
Many in the commercial fishing industry are frustrated with the pace of planning a planned wind farm in the Atlantic east of Montauk. The project, they say, will hurt their ability to make a living and they are feeling left behind by public officials and by public sentiment, which appears largely supportive. Aware of these concerns, Deepwater Wind, the company planning the turbines, wants to hire a handful of local representatives to help smooth the waters. Balancing the needs of fishermen with the increasing call for renewable energy is a tough order. Seafood harvesters here have long expressed displeasure at what they see as excessive and unnecessary regulation. Now, with the industrialization of portions of their fishing grounds, they fear a slippery slope in which productive areas are put out of reach. Their concerns are important and have to be weighed carefully. click here to read the Op-Ed 17:14
Is the United States ready for offshore aquaculture?
Harlon Pearce walks muck-booted past processors gutting wild drum and red snapper to showcase a half-full new 5,000-square-foot (500-square-meter) freezer he hopes will someday house a fresh boom of marine fish. Harlon’s LA Fish sits just across the railroad tracks from the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport, perfectly positioned to ship fish out of Louisiana. As president of the New Orleans–based Gulf Seafood Institute, seafood supplier Pearce is a big fish himself in these parts, connected to fishermen, federal agencies, restaurateurs and even the oil industry. He knows better than anyone that wild fisheries alone can’t supply U.S. consumers’ growing demand for fish. Which is why he’s doing his best to bring everyone to the table to achieve one goal: farming the Gulf of Mexico. click here to read the story 16:31
ICE searching shrimp boats docked at Mayport, Fernandina
A shrimping boat docked at Mayport and another at Fernandina Beach were searched Wednesday by Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers. The Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office dive team and at least one officer of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission were assisting in the Mayport search of the Mattie Fay at the dock of Safe Harbor Seafood, next to the U.S. Coast Guard Station. The Captain A.B. was the boat being searched in Fernandina. The two shrimping boats are owned by brothers, who had just returned from Key West after at least 20 days at sea. Leon Reid runs Mattie Fay and Ricky Armstrong runs Captain A.B. click here to read the story 13:37
Day 8: Richard Gillett hunger strike – Gillett joined by two-dozen supporters
As the eighth day Richard Gillett’s hunger strike began Thursday morning, he was joined by over two dozen of his fellow fish harvesters. While the demonstration was peaceful in nature, the protestors were stopping Department of Fisheries and Ocean Employees from entering the road leading the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Centre. There were few vehicles to impede, however, as DFO management had already planned a delayed opening and decided just after 8:30 a.m. to keep the building closed until noon. RNC officers were briefly on the scene to speak with Gillett and his supporters. click here to read the story 11:44
‘It’s breaking my heart’: Richard Gillett’s father among fishermen supporting hunger striker – click to read the story and a short video 13:27
Lobster buyer gets his license yanked
A hearing examiner has upheld the one-year suspension of the license of a lobster buyer accused of failing to report a portion of the purchases made off a barge based in Seal Cove in Tremont. In August, Maine Marine Patrol officers summonsed Donald Crabtree Sr. of Crabtree Seafood in Brewer on a charge of violating the Department of Marine Resources’ (DMR) reporting requirements, a civil violation. Crabtree appealed his suspension. A hearing examiner last week determined that the suspension is justified, according to Sgt. Troy Dow of the marine patrol. Crabtree began using the town-owned Seal Cove Wharf as a base for his lobster business in the spring of 2015. He was mooring his 45-foot barge there and used the facility’s ramp to load bait before motoring into Blue Hill Bay to sell bait to fishermen and buy lobsters from them. The day’s catch later was offloaded at the ramp. click here to read the story 11:16
Injured Fisherman rescued 600 miles off California coast by the 129th Rescue Wing
Early Tuesday morning the 129th Rescue Wing flew two HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopters, one MC-130P Combat Shadow aircraft, and one 4-man Guardian Angel Pararescue team approximately 600 miles off the California coast to the GUTSY LADY 4. Once the 129th RQW personnel reached the GUTSY LADY 4, the Guardian Angel team boarded the fishing vessel and stabilized and secured the patient before hoisting him onto their helicopter. The Guardian Angel team provided care to the patient on board the helicopter until they arrived at San Jose Regional Medical Center Tuesday evening. On Sunday, the 129th RQW accepted the mission from Coast Guard District 11 and established a direct line of communication with the GUTSY LADY 4, which at the time was about 1,100 miles west of the San Francisco Bay Area. click here to read the story 09:06
Plenty to go around from this year’s Strait of Georgia herring spawn
It was another strong year for the local herring roe harvest — in line with a growing abundance of herring over the last decade that has led to “historic highs,” said the executive director of the Herring Conservation and Research Society, Greg Thomas. The Nanoose Bay resident said the prediction for this year was 150,000 total tons of herring in the Strait of Georgia. The numbers are provided by Fisheries and Oceans Canada, which assesses the strength of each year’s spawn, and sets the quotas for the following year. The quotas tend to be about 20 per cent of the total, said Thomas. While some reports have said the herring quotas in the Qualicum Beach to Nanoose Bay area were caught quite quickly, Thomas said that, overall, “(Fishing companies) didn’t achieve their total allowable catch, however they did catch a substantial amount of fish.” click here to continue reading the story 08:47
Happening Now! Fishermen block off DFO building in St. John’s for protest
Fishermen have set up camp outside the Department of Fisheries and Oceans office in St. John’s Thursday morning for another protest. The group of 18 protesters set up fishing gear at the entrance to the building around 8 a.m. DFO employees who have not yet come in for work are being asked to stay away until noon. This is the second such protest from the fishermen, who say they’re unhappy about inshore shrimp quota cuts. At the previous protest, the group broke a door and some of them walked into the DFO building. Link 08:14
