Daily Archives: August 22, 2017
Prince Rupert Sends Letter to Fisheries Minister On Importance of Processing Fish At Home
Councillor Joy Thorkelson presented a motion to council to have the letter ask for better policies to ensure Canadian fish caught at home is processed at home instead of somewhere overseas. “An example is pink salmon is being frozen and sent to China, Vietnam, or the Philippines for processing. We’re buying it back in Canada when it’s processed in Asia. Those are our jobs. Those are Canadian jobs, those are good union jobs that support this community. We used to have 750 people working; this year had about 135 people working processing fish.” click here to read the story 22:59
Man lied about father dying to get off work on fishing boat
A novice fisherman who concocted a story about his father dying in a car crash just to get off work has been convicted for dishonesty. The lie, which prompted his skipper to head for port, caused $170,000 dollars of damages in wages and lost production. Former fisherman Tyler Stokes said while leaving court “I’d just like to say that I’ve said sorry for my actions, I’m remorseful, and that’s all.” The 20-year-old had only spent four days on a Talley’s trawler when he decided to fool his captain. He claimed a car crash had killed his father and put his mother in intensive care. The company put its fishing operation on hold and headed into port. His partner Monique Carlaw also faced court, after backing up the lie in a conversation with Talleys. click here to read the story 20:48
NY State, Fishermen Map Out Possible Conflicts At Sea To Help Clear Way For Future Wind Turbines
Commercial fishermen from throughout the South Fork last week pored over nautical charts showing the broad swaths of ocean south of Long Island being considered for future wind energy development by New York State—and saw a lot of the area where they harvest a living. But the state officials who hosted two open-house discussions with fishermen last week, one at Shinnecock Inlet and the other in Montauk, said that is exactly what they wanted the fishermen to point out to them—so they can work to reduce the impact.,, “I think the main concern is that fishermen don’t want to lose any fishing ground,” said Bruce Beckwith, a Montauk draggerman. “For me, I would rather not see anything in the ocean—just leave it the way it is. I have eight grandsons. They might want to go fishing someday. I don’t want to see them be shut out.” click here to read the story 15:48
Traffic, sun blindness, now eclipse dumps 305,000 Farmed Atlantic salmon near San Juan Islands
It’s open season on (farmed) Atlantic salmon as the public is urged to help mop up a salmon spill from an imploded net holding 305,000 fish at a Cooke Aquaculture fish farm near Cypress Island. Lummi fishers out for chinook on Sunday near Samish, south of Bellingham Bay, were shocked to pull up the spotted, silvery sided Atlantic salmon — escapees that turned up in their nets again Monday. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife is urging the public to catch as many of the fish as possible, with no limit on size or number. The fish are about 10 pounds each. No one knows yet how many escaped. But the net had some 3 million pounds of fish in it when it imploded about 4 p.m. Saturday, said Ron Warren, fish program assistant director for the WDFW click here to read the story 15:05
Quinhagak commercial fishermen struggle after two years without a buyer
Several weeks ago, the financing fell through on a plan to bring the “Akutan,” a floating fish processing vessel, to Kuskokwim Bay. For the second summer in a row, fishermen in the coastal community of Quinhagak have nowhere to sell their catch; many in the village are now struggling to make ends meet. Timothy “Johnny Boy” Matthews doesn’t remember when he started fishing commercially.,, Matthews has a family of his own now. He bought his own limited entry permit a decade ago and spent his summers selling silvers to a newly opened processing plant in Platinum. It’s owned by Coastal Villages Region Fund (CVRF), a corporation that is supposed to use its Bering Sea fishing quota to support economic development in the area. But CVRF decided not to re-open its plant last year,,, Audio, read the story here 12:17
FISH-NL urges provincial government to establish Fishery Stress Line similar to one for western farmers
The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) is calling on the provincial government to establish a Fishery Stress Line to help inshore harvesters access help for mental health. “The fishery is in worse shape today than the cod moratorium days of the early 1990s because harvesters have bigger loans, and there are no other species to move onto,” said Ryan Cleary, President of FISH-NL. “More and more harvesters are having a hard go of it because of quota cuts that make it difficult for them and their families to keep going financially, and they see the future as bleak.” Saskatchewan has had a Farm Stress Line since 1989, offering mental health services to thousands of rural farmers. click here to read the press release 10:49
Surfers flee for their lives as ‘great white shark’ savagely attacks seal just yards from shore
Frantic surfers fled for their lives after suspected Great White Shark launched a savage attack on a seal just yards from show. A trail of blood could clearly be seen in the water as horrified onlookers were ushered off the sand and the beach was closed. A pair of desperate surfers, out on the ocean at Nauset beach in Orleans, America, frantically paddled to shore in the terrifying footage. Earlier this summer people heading to the beach in Cape Cod, Massachuesetts had been warned up to 150 great whites had been seen off the coastline – a huge boom in numbers. The numbers have been increasing over the past few years and has more than doubled since 2014. Video, click here to read the story! 10:27
Lummi Island Wild Takes to the Streets with a Little Help from Signs Plus, Inc.
With eight of the only twelve reefnetting commercial fishing organizations in the world right here in Whatcom County, Lummi Island Wild is among the unique and truly sustainable businesses that bring our local fish to our grocery stores and ultimately our dinner tables. Lummi Island Wild, a locally-owned cooperative business, takes fishing and quality very seriously. From the fishing to the processing, they are part of every step – ensuring the highest quality of their products.,, Reefnetting, a historic Pacific Northwest fishing method, involves a spotter who calls to have the nets raised when he sees a school of salmon in place. The salmon are then rolled over the platform and into holding tanks full of seawater where they are allowed to rest. At that point, any unwanted bycatch is released unharmed back into the sea. “We do it differently and we do it better,” says Keith Carpenter, President and Executive Director of Lummi Island Wild. “We are committed to making things better.” click here to read the story 09:50
Modern Fish Act: boon to recreational fishing or risk to U.S. fishery?
The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act sets strict, scientifically adjusted, annual catch limits on U.S. commercial, charter and recreational fisheries in order to sustain saltwater fish stocks, and is seen as a model of fishery management globally. The Modern Fish Act (MFA), a bill introduced in the U.S. House in April, would do away with limits on recreational fishermen, who argue they have no impact on fishery stocks. Environmentalists, however, say the MFA introduces legal loopholes that would allow for uncontrolled fishing at potentially unsustainable levels that could cause stocks to crash. Critics also say that the MFA muddies the waters between federal and state management, and allows political and economic considerations to override science in management decisions. The bill is still moving through Congress, and its chances for passage are presently unknown. click here to read the story 08:55
