Daily Archives: April 26, 2017
Training Great Lakes captains – Online education makes Marine Institute a hub for Canadian harvesters
When you think about Ontario, commercial fisheries aren’t something that necessarily comes to mind. But there is a thriving industry on the Great Lakes. In fact, according to the Ontario Commercial Fisheries’ Association (OCFA), “Ontario is home to the largest freshwater fishery in North America.”,,, But much as with Newfoundland and Labrador fisheries, the province of Ontario’s skilled fishers are aging. “The captains are becoming older and starting to retire,” said Jane Graham, executive director of the OCFA. “We wanted to have people trained to step into the role.”,,, The online version of Fishing Master Class IV program started as a pilot project back in 2010 to meet the same needs as those of the OCFA. The initiative was developed by the Marine Institute, in partnership with the Canadian Council of Professional Sea Harvesters and the Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture, as a way of improving training in the industry and filling the gap in (s)killed harvesters. click here to read the story 18:04
Mexico plans immediate action on US imports after WTO tuna ruling over USA “dolphin-safe” labeling
However, the ruling could be overturned later this year if a subsequent WTO decision finds the United States has stopped discriminating against tuna caught by its southern neighbor. The World Trade Organization ruled Tuesday that Mexico’s tuna industry has been harmed by USA “dolphin-safe” labeling rules and says the country can seek retaliatory measures worth hundreds of millions of dollars. Mexico’s economy ministry said it planned immediate action to initiate the trade sanctions. Ruling on the tuna dispute, a WTO arbitrator said earlier on Tuesday that Mexico can impose annual trade sanctions worth $163.23 million against the United States. The US insists that any Mexican tuna sold in the US must be “dolphin safe”, meaning dolphins weren’t killed by tuna fisherman, which was once common. The WTO agreed and ruled that Mexico could place trade sanctions on the USA of up to $163 million a year, enough to make up Mexico’s estimated loss. “Today’s WTO decision threatens to punish USA families for the crime of having a label on tuna cans that saves dolphins’ lives”. click here to read the story 16:23
South Carolina: 30th on the 30th – Blessing of the Fleet marks start of shrimp season
The 30th annual Blessing of the Fleet will be held April 30 with an anticipated fleet of 13 boats. Continuing the tradition began by the Magwood family, who started the festival in 1988, every year the proceeds from the festival are donated to local nonprofit organizations. The Town of Mount Pleasant has chosen the Charleston Port and Seafarers’ Society and East Cooper Meals on Wheels to receive the net proceeds of the 30th annual Blessing of the Fleet & Seafood Festival. Meet the captains – click here to read the rest and view the images 15:28
Division of Marine Fisheries Extends Trap Fishing Gear Closure in Cape Cod Bay
As a result of the ongoing presence of endangered right whales feeding in Cape Cod Bay, the Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) today announced that most of Cape Cod Bay will remain closed to the setting of recreational and commercial traps and pots for an additional week, through May 7, 2017. Right whales are common in Cape Cod Bay during late winter and early spring, especially during the months of March and April, and usually depart before May 1, when the three month (February – April) trap closure affecting this area was scheduled to be lifted. However, over the past month an unprecedented number of whales have been observed, with mid-April counts demonstrating a presence of more than 200 whales. While the most recent survey suggests some whales may have departed the Bay, an estimated 100 to 200 individuals remain present. This late seasonal presence of whales corresponds with extraordinarily high densities of plankton (Calanus copepods), the preferred food of right whales. Read the press release here with imagery 14:43
Researchers probing marine mammal genitals, copulation with simulated sex!
Dara Orbach is probably one of very few people in the world who regularly gets sent dolphin vaginas in the mail. “The boxes don’t usually smell very good when they arrive,” says Orbach, a post-doctoral fellow at Dalhousie University and a research assistant at Mount Holyoke College in Massachusetts. The marine mammologist has spent the last few years studying the genitals of whales, dolphins, porpoises, sea lions and seals to understand how they fit together during sex. It’s not an easy thing to do. First, she has to actually obtain the animals’ vaginas and penises. Orbach has a permit to receive the reproductive organs of marine mammals that have died of natural causes after a necropsy has taken place. It has taken her years, but at its peak, her collection included about 140 specimens. Second, she has to figure out how the penises and vaginas interact in real life when, in fact, they’re lying inert and disembodied on her laboratory table. click here to read this story 12:30
Kitty’s out of a job! Researchers Discontinue Annual Lobster Season Forecast After Complaints From Industry
A Portland-based research institute is dropping its yearly forecast of when lobster landings in Maine will begin their annual surge. The move comes after criticism from Maine’s lobster industry about the report’s timing and accuracy, and its effect on lobster prices.,, State regulators and lobster industry groups asked the institute whether it could develop a tool that would allow the timing of the annual uptick in lobster landings to be predicted. After a few years studying the issue, the institute started publicizing its statewide predictions in 2015 and again last year. But last year, and particularly in certain geographic areas, the prediction didn’t match conditions. click here to read the story 11:40
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 65′ Fiberglass Longliner, Cummins 855TA, 40 KW Genset, Fed Permits available
Specifications, information and 7 (more being added) photo’s click here Swordfish Directed, Shark Directed, Atlantic Tuna Longline available for an additional cost. To see all the boats in this series, Click here 11:11
The Fishing Fleet: An invisible cornerstone of our economy
Hundreds of people who drive by on their way to and from wherever probably don’t notice, but you might, or at least you could. Look seaward when you pass Safeway and you’ll see a boatyard story that goes beyond the wooden boat identity Port Townsend is famous for. Below the tall masts of schooners and square riggers are the troll poles, gurdies and net rollers of the fish boats that call on Port Townsend for their winter’s maintenance. Some of their owners live here, and the vessels’ names are better known (Chichagof, Duna, Cape Cleare). Many come from distant ports, employing and trusting our community to keep their boats afloat. The marine trades constitute the third-largest employer in the county. This is big business for us. Tim Hoffman of Lowest Hadlock Shipwrights put this way: “Ninety percent of my business is fish boats, and they really don’t get the credit they deserve for what they’ve brought to this place, and I’m talking since the mid-’70s.” click here to read the story 08:51
