Daily Archives: June 27, 2017
Papahanaumokuakea Review Spurs Tension With Conservation Groups, Fisheries
President Donald Trump’s targeting of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument in the northwest Hawaiian Islands for national review has revived a lopsided debate between Native Hawaiians, senators, scientists and conservation groups in favor of the monument’s designation, and an activist fishery council mainly concerned with “maximizing longline yields.” The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council vocally opposed the monument’s expansion in 2016 during a public comment process, communicating that to the White House under the leadership of Executive Director Kitty Simonds. click here to read the story 22:28
New York DEC Will Talk About Licensing With Commercial Fishermen This Fall
State lawmakers said this week that they have persuaded the State Department of Environmental Conservation to meet with commercial fishermen to talk about expanding how many new commercial fishing licenses are issued. The DEC has agreed to meet with fishermen this fall to discuss revising the state’s policy on the transfer of licenses from one fisherman to another, Assemblyman Fred W. Thiele Jr. said this week. The agreement comes on the heels of lawmakers derailing a DEC request for a new three-year extension to existing commercial licensing guidelines, instead granting only a one-year extension contingent on DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos and other agency officials meeting with fishermen to talk about the policy. click here to read the story 21:57
Mt. Sinai, 87-foot trawler, added to Manasquan Inlet Reef
The first planned vessel sinking on the new Manasquan Inlet Reef was completed on Tuesday. Mt. Sinai, an 87-foot trawler donated by Roy Diehl of Belford and the Belford Fisherman’s Cooperative, was sunk in about 75 feet of water, according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. The DEP said the towing and preparation expenses for the vessel were sponsored by the Greater Point Pleasant Charter Boat Association. The Manasquan Inlet Reef site starts about 1.2 miles offshore of Point Pleasant Beach. The entire area of ocean floor set aside to build the reef is nearly a square mile. The boundary lies within two miles of the beach and is in 67 to 75-foot water depths click here to read the story 21:17
Year-round harvesters offer up option to N.L. shrimp plants
The Canadian Association of Prawn Producers (CAPP) says it can help supply shrimp to plants in this province hurt by recent quota cuts. “Canada’s year-round shrimp harvesters would welcome supplying whole, frozen-at-sea shrimp for cooking and peeling by shore-based shrimp processing plants in NL,” CAPP executive director Bruce Chapman said in a news release Tuesday. Much of the shrimp caught by the year-round shrimp harvesters is unavailable. The larger shrimp is packed for use in sushi and sashimi restaurants in Japan, the release states, while the medium-sized shrimp that is cooked and packaged on board goes to Scandinavia and Asia. A portion of the catch, however, consists of small size whole shrimp that is sold to shore-based cooking and peeling operations. click here to read the story 16:41
Lake harvests are likely more fruitful than we knew
Harvests from freshwater fisheries such as the Great Lakes could total more than 12 million tons a year globally and contribute more to global food supplies and economies than previous estimates indicate, according to a study published today by Michigan State University and the U.S. Geological Survey.,, Freshwater ecosystems across the planet provide valuable services, such as drinking water, hydropower, irrigation for agriculture and economically important recreation and tourism. The USGS, Michigan State University and partners estimated the 2011 fish harvest from over 246,000 lakes worldwide. They found that the harvest was 18.5 billion pounds, or the weight of more than a million large African elephants. click here to read the story 15:31
Dakota Creek Industries trying to make things right in eyes of Congress
Dakota Creek Industries owner Mike Nelson and his staff have been looking for ways to appease federal lawmakers following the mistake the company made in building the $75 million fishing vessel America’s Finest. The mistake — using too much foreign-formed steel in the vessel’s hull — requires a waiver from the U.S. Congress in order for the ship to fish domestically. The waiver would be for the Jones Act, which requires domestic fishing vessels be built in the U.S. These days, Nelson glances frequently at his cell phone hoping for good news concerning his company’s lobbying efforts in Washington, D.C. click here to read the story 12:12
Coast Guard medevacs fisherman from fishing vessel south of Long Island
Coast Guard crews medevaced a man from a fishing vessel 30-miles south of Shinnecock Inlet, New York, Monday evening. Crewmembers aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Shrike, an 87-foot patrol boat, were notified around 8:00 p.m., that a 34-year old man aboard a nearby fishing vessel, the Cameron Scott, had suffered a head injury after he was struck with a heavy cable earlier in the day. The Shrike launched their cutter smallboat with two Coast Guard EMS-trained personnel aboard. They arrived on scene at approximately 8:30 p.m., and boarded the Cameron Scott to render assistance. Watchstanders at Sector Long Island Sound also launched a Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew to assist. At approximately 10:00 p.m., the aircrew arrived on scene, hoisted the injured man, and transported him to Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston for further care. The mans current medical condition is unknown. click here for video -USCG- 11:48
Tribute to Redgeway Russell thrown overboard in a bottle washes up exactly where he’d want it to
When Corinna Russell’s father died in 2015, she did something he probably wouldn’t have approved of. She agreed to take his place aboard the Northern Swan, a small crab fishing boat launched out of their hometown, William’s Harbour, on the south coast of Labrador. “I don’t think Dad would have been too impressed at that moment. I think he would have been nervous.” The 2016 crab season was the first in many years without Redgeway Russell on deck. The younger Russell says it was difficult for all hands. “The whole crab season was very emotional for me,” she said, “I tried my hardest to fill his shoes — pretty big shoes to fill.” At the end of the season, Russell and the rest of the crew decided to do something special for her father. Crewmate Pamela Penney penned a tribute to her old friend, rolled it up in a bottle, and asked his daughter to throw it out to sea. One year later — on Father’s Day — they learned the bottle had landed in Ireland. click here to read the story and see the message 09:57
Blown Deadlines Weaken Hawaii’s Voice On Federal Fishery Management Council
Hawaii will soon have less influence in setting national policies that affect everything from commercial fishing to endangered species in nearly 1.5 million square miles of the Pacific Ocean. Gov. David Ige’s administration twice missed deadlines to submit to federal officials a list of names to fill two at-large terms that expire in August on the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council. The seats have historically been held by Hawaii residents. Instead, they will be filled from the lists provided by the governors of American Samoa and the Northern Mariana Islands. Guam, the other U.S. territory represented on the council, did not nominate anyone. click here to read the story 08:40
