Daily Archives: June 26, 2017

Maine man gets three days in jail for shooting seal

A Warren man pleaded guilty on Monday to shooting a seal off the coast of Acadia National Park last fall, according to federal prosecutors. Joseph A. Martin, 54, was sentenced to serve three days behind bars and was ordered by federal Magistrate Judge John C. Nivison to pay a $1,000 fine for shooting the animal, which is protected by the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act. Martin was acting as captain of a fishing boat on Oct. 10, 2016 when multiple seals approached the vessel, federal officials said Monday in a news release. Martin was fishing off the coast of Acadia National Park, which stretches from Schoodic Point to Isle Au Haut, officials said. click here to read the story 20:49

Trapped On The Ocean Floor: A Stunning Tale Of Maritime Survival

Cape Sable in Nova Scotia has been the scene of many hundreds of shipwrecks over the centuries.  According to one reliable chronicler of the days of sail, that number is close to 340.  I remember the story of one such wreck that stands out for the extraordinary tale of suffering and survival it contains.  We will tell the tale of the wreck of the schooner Cod Seeker, which went down on May 9, 1877. The Cod Seeker was a two-masted fishing vessel built at Clyde River, Nova Scotia, in 1877; after being provisioned and fitted at Halifax, it embarked on its first cruise with a crew of 13 and a captain named Philip Brown.  Codfish was her object; then as now, the cod industry was a key part of the economy of the area. But the ship ran into rough seas near Baccaro Light and capsized a few days after leaving Halifax. click here to read the story 17:18

Blue Crabs Crest Tipping Point – Maryland and Virginia may limit harvest for the remainder of the season

After almost three decades of effort, Maryland’s treasured Chesapeake Bay crustacean, the blue crab, has achieved a major scientific benchmark. The number of spawning females has at last reached the minimum target level for optimum species viability: 215 million sooks. The 2017 Winter Dredge Survey put the female population at well over the minimum, 254 million, an impressive 31 percent increase from the prior year. This is an important moment, as just four years ago (and five years prior to that), the female crab population had been ­driven to dangerous, even population-collapse, levels.,, To protect overall numbers, the Maryland, Virginia and Potomac River Fisheries Commission has proposed shortening the crabbing season and imposing stricter bushel limits on female crabs. No changes to male crab limits were proposed. click here to read the story 16:25

NOAA opens public comment period – National Marine Sanctuaries and Marine National Monuments

NOAA opens public comment period on Sec. 4(b) in Executive Order 13795 focused on National Marine Sanctuaries and Marine National Monuments NOAA is soliciting comment on National Marine Sanctuaries and Marine National Monuments designated or expanded since April 28, 2007, during a 30-day public comment period, which will open June 26, 2017, to assist the Secretary of Commerce in his review under section 4(b) of the Presidential Executive Order (EO) 13795, “Implementing an America-First Offshore Energy Strategy” (signed April 28, 2017). There are a total of six National Marine Sanctuaries expanded and five Marine National Monuments designated or expanded since April 28, 2007, that are a part of this review (see table 1). NOAA is asking the public to focus their comments, for this 30-day comment period, on those criteria outlined in Section 4(b)(i) of EO 13795: Click here to read the notice. 15:47

FISH-NL advises Fisheries and Oceans Minister Dominic LeBlanc to cancel 2017 sentinel cod program 

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE June 26th, 2017 The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) has written federal Fisheries and Oceans Minister Dominic LeBlanc recommending that he cancel the 2017 sentinel cod program. The federal government first introduced sentinel or test fisheries for cod in the mid-1990s, the moratoria years, to keep a first-hand check of the health of stocks in the absence of commercial fisheries. It has never been adjusted to account for or to incorporate the impacts of commercial activity. The program involves upwards of roughly 70 fixed, test fishery sites, costing taxpayers an estimated $1.1 million a year. Funds are also raised from the sale of cod caught in the sentinel fisheries, an estimated 350 tonnes, but it’s not known where that money goes. click here to read the press release and letter 15:06

Feds interview Tangier watermen, look into oyster sales records in Crisfield

Officers from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service visited several watermen on Tangier Island and seafood businesses in Crisfield last week as part of an investigation they are conducting related to oysters. Federal officials would not confirm or deny the existence of an investigation, saying that’s their policy. But Wyn Hornbuckle, a spokesman for the U.S. Department of Justice, did confirm “federal law enforcement activity” in Crisfield and Tangier last Wednesday. Tangier Mayor James “Ooker” Eskridge said the officials came in two boats and a helicopter; at first, he said, he thought President Donald Trump had arrived. click here to read the story 12:05

DFO will talk to Nova Scotia about growing number of Marine Protected Areas

The Department of Fisheries and Oceans will meet with the province to discuss its concerns about the growing numbers of marine protected areas being designated off Nova Scotia, a department spokesman says. In April, the province asked Ottawa to stop making additional designations until other provinces and territories reach the same numbers achieved off Nova Scotia. The McNeil government is concerned the creation of more marine protected areas will have a negative impact on Nova Scotia’s economy. Marine-protected designations restrict human activities like fishing and offshore energy development. click here to read the story 11:30

Meet one of Grimsby’s last-remaining active fishermen and step on board his boat

Casting his weary eyes over the sparse setting of Grimsby Fish Docks, the face of jovial fisherman, Darren Kenyon, crumples into a frown. When I look around it’s depressing – absolutely depressing. When you look at the current situation, you have all of these buildings being knocked down and no one investing any money into the jobs,” he says.,,, In a location which has seen some of the most drastic industrial change in the county over the past 40 years, few have witnessed that change more explicitly than Darren has; his plot on the North Quay lies just a few yards away from the bases of Dong Energy and E.ON’s Humber Gateway Offshore Windfarm. click here to read the story 10:52

Gloucester: As fleet shrinks, so has blessing ceremony

A fleet of pleasure boats blessed on a sunny Sunday afternoon replaced the fishing vessels that once lined Gloucester’s Outer Harbor during St. Peter’s Fiesta. “The fleet is a mere shadow of what it was 50, 60 years ago,” Gloucester native Mike Gilardi said. The Rev. Jim Achadinha, the pastor of the Catholic community of Gloucester and Rockport, and Bishop Mark O’Connell, the bishop of the North Region of the Archdiocese of Boston, blessed the fleets on Sunday at 3. The few remaining authentic fishing vessels of the Gloucester fleet didn’t come to Stacy Boulevard for the blessing and haven’t for years. Achadinha estimated the last time was 15 years ago. click here to read the story 08:48

Photos – State-of-the-art longliner for Narooma nears completion

The state-of-the-art commercial longlining vessel being built for the Abbott family of Narooma is nearing completion at an Adelaide shipyard. The three siblings, Ryan, Todd and Hayley, still only in their 20s, have invested heavily in the multi-million-dollar vessel because they believe in the sustainability of the Eastern Tuna and Billfish Fishery and the demand for their top-quality fish continues to grow unabated. Other than a couple of 25-metre crayfishing boats operating in Western Australia, it will be one of the largest commercial fishing boats built in Australia, he said. click here for photo’s and read the article 07:46