Daily Archives: July 12, 2017
South Shore lobstermen donated their boats to Harvey’s Salt Water Fishing Club’s 61st Annual Disabled Vet’s Day Fishing Outing
It’s the heart of the catching season and local lobstermen use everyday to the fullest – pulling in traps and spending days on the water to provide for families waiting at home. On Wednesday, however, they took a day off and donated their time and boats to local disabled veterans. “The vets deserve some kind of recognition,” said Bill Doherty, a lobsterman from Weymouth. “It’s nice to get them out and they’re always appreciative. A bunch of people come together to make this happen.” Doherty was one of about 15 who donated their lobster or fishing boats to Harvey’s Salt Water Fishing Club’s Annual Disabled Vet’s Day Fishing Outing – where volunteers taking roughly 150 local vets out on the water for the day. No matter their disabilities, volunteers help the veterans spend an afternoon fishing, boating and relaxing with each other. click here to read the story 19:22
NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Administrator Announces Retirement
NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Administrator John Bullard today formally announced he will retire on January 5, 2018. Bullard, who took the top job in the agency’s Gloucester-based office in 2012, will leave a legacy of improved relationships with the regulated community, the research community, environmentalists, local, state, and federal officials and agency partners, including the New England and the Mid-Atlantic fishery management councils and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. click here to read the story 15:41
FISH-NL questions whether FFAW retaliating against inshore harvesters of the Great Northern Peninsula for taking union to court
The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) questions whether the FFAW-Unifor has purposely chosen not to take a stand for inshore harvesters of the Great Northern Peninsula in retaliation for some of them taking the union to court. “The FFAW-Unifor’s silence on a redfish quota to the Qalipu First Nation when inshore harvesters are barely hanging on and desperate for fish is bizarre,” says Ryan Cleary, President of FISH-NL. “One explanation is that the union is retaliating against harvesters who took a stand against it.” During a news conference on Newfoundland’s west coast earlier this week, it was announced that the Barry Group, headed by west coast businessman Bill Barry, has formed a partnership with the Qalipu First Nation, and are in talks with Ottawa for a redfish quota in the Gulf. click here to read the press release 15:04
NMFS Chief Chris Oliver suspends large whale rescues in U.S. following rescuer death
An American agency that responds to marine mammals in distress has halted its efforts to free large whales trapped in fishing gear following the recent death of a whale rescuer in New Brunswick. Chris Oliver, assistant administrator with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, extended condolences Wednesday to the family of Joe Howlett of Campobello Island. Howlett, who also worked as a lobster fisherman, was killed Monday after freeing a North Atlantic right whale that had been entangled in fishing gear near Shippagan, N.B. “Because ensuring the safety of responders is of paramount importance, NOAA Fisheries is suspending all large whale entanglement response activities nationally until further notice, in order to review our own emergency response protocols,” Oliver said in a statement. click here to read the story 14:37
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 45′ Guimond Lobster/Gillnet, 585HP Cummins
Specifications, information and 8 photos click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 12:33
Races draw big fleets to Stonington and Moosabec Reach
The summer lobster boat racing season is always compressed, with 10 races in harbors from Jonesport to Portland packed into just 10 weeks at the height of fishing season. It’s rare, though, that two races happen less than a week apart. This year, the fog that is as much a part of summer in Maine as the races themselves forced the fleet to gather twice in six days — on July 4 on Moosabec Reach and July 9 at Stonington — though that wasn’t the original plan.,, The fluid schedule didn’t seem to keep too many boats away. Maine Lobster Boat Racing Association President Jon Johansen had 80 working boats signed up to run. click here to read the story 11:56
Scotland: Innovative new Mair’s Pier to become fishing industry hub
Wednesday will be a proud day for everyone at Lerwick Port Authority when the largest single project the harbour has ever undertaken is officially opened by local MSP Tavish Scott. Mair’s Pier, named after the herring station based at the site in the 19th and early 20th centuries, is going to be used predominantly by the local fishing industry, but it will also provide berthing space for oil supply vessels and cruise ships. The £16.5 million investment forms part of a bold move by the port authority when it decided in 2014 to borrow £25 million from the Bank of Scotland to invest into three major projects.,,, “Whatever happens with Brexit, there is still going to be plenty of fish in the sea, it is of good quality and we are at the right location.” That view is very much echoed by local fishermen. Shetland Fishermen’s Association’s chief officer Simon Collins welcomed the new pier saying it comes at a good time for the industry. click here to read the story 10:00
SF Port Commission considers letting fish be sold directly from boats at Fisherman’s Wharf
San Francisco fishermen are hoping to catch a break by reviving an old policy that allows them to sell fish directly from their boats. Dozens of fishermen, processing tenants, wholesalers and owners from local businesses packed the Port Commission meeting on Tuesday in what Commission President Willie Adams described as unprecedented numbers to discuss the proposed policy, which was resurrected by fishermen who approached the Port of San Francisco in January. The proposal would allow fishermen to sell fish to the public, fresh from their boats, at the dock in Fisherman’s Wharf Harbor for the first time in nearly two decades. But some fish processors and wholesalers have concerns of an uneven playing field. click here to read the story 09:04
Louisiana Shrimp Fishermen Face New Challenges – White Spot Disease
The experience is not universal within the nation’s eight shrimp-producing states, nor even within Louisiana. That’s why some shrimpers suspect that undiagnosed trouble may lurk within the local fishery itself. At the tail end of this year’s crawfish season, white spot disease was detected in Louisiana ponds. It’s not too far a jump, some in the industry, to suspect contamination with the virus as a cause for decline. “Is it the same strain that is in the Asian shrimp that gets imported here?” said Acy Cooper, president of the Louisiana Shrimp Association.,,, Jeffrey Marx, the chief shrimp biologist at the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, is skeptical.,,, Fishermen want more research to be done, and some precautions to be taken, however. click here to read the story for links about White Spot here and Australia click here 08:34
