Daily Archives: August 23, 2017
Your View: Even ‘smart’ video monitoring is onerous to fishermen
I would like to make several observations regarding Michael Bonner’s Aug. 21 article, “Delegation supports Rafael’s forfeiture toward electronic monitoring.” First of all, state legislators’ support for utilizing the forfeiture to fund the electronic monitoring (surveillance), presupposes that this form of electronic monitoring will be supported and adopted. It surely does not seem to be the favored choice of monitoring, as far as the groundfish industry is concerned. In fact, they are not in favor of any form of monitoring that has been proposed to date. NOAA fisheries Regional Administrator John Bullard (soon to be retiring) is quoted as saying that he thinks that video monitoring is a major benefit to the industry. I’m not sure who he thinks he’s going to convince with that statement. Surely not the fishing industry. If that were the case, New Hampshire fisherman David Goethel likely would not be requesting that this “benefit” be reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court, click here to read the op-ed by Jim Kendall 19:04
Another chance to prosper
It began quietly, this year’s white shrimp season, on Friday. If you know how to look for the rhythms of the bayous, you could see the boats heading out, some Thursday night, some even earlier. On those vessels large and small ride the cultural lifeblood of this region, one of the things that makes us different from everywhere else. Commercial fishing is seen by many as a relic of the past, but the dollars that it pumps into the local economy is anything but yesterday’s news. The boats are so much more than boats. They are in essence the equivalent of family-owned stores. click here to read the story 17:16
Latest shark incident prompts Cape Cod politician to push ‘Hazard migration strategy’ – would hook ’em, kill ’em
A Barnstable County commissioner is proposing a controversial “shark hazard mitigation strategy” after a shark attacking a seal off a Cape Cod beach Monday sent terrified swimmers and surfers scrambling to shore. Commissioner Ron Beaty is looking to deploy baited drum lines with hooks near popular beaches in the hopes of catching great white sharks — a protocol that he says has been successfully implemented in South Africa and Australia. “From my viewpoint, based upon the sharp increase in shark-related attacks and incidents around Cape Cod in recent years, there is a clear and present danger to human life as a result of this growing problem,”. (He’s not wrong, as a report of a shark gnawing on a paddleboard surfaced today, (click here) . Greg Skomal, a state Division of Marine Fisheries biologist, said he would need to know more about Beaty’s proposal, which, based on the commissioner’s seven-sentence press release, “doesn’t seem to have much to it.” “I’m wondering what the shark hazard is,” said Skomal, who has spent more than 30 years studying sharks. click here to read the story 15:26
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 42′ Provincial Fiberglass Lobster/Tuna, 400HP, 6 Cylinder Volvo
Specifications, information and 3 photos click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 14:19
FISH-NL releases correspondence in response to its call for immediate vote for inshore harvesters to decide their union fate
The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) was forwarded correspondence today in response to its Aug. 15th letter asking the Labour Relations Board to proceed immediately with a vote of inshore harvesters to decide which union they want to represent them. The correspondence is from the Association of Seafood Producers (ASP), and the FFAW-Unifor. “FISH-NL believes in complete transparency,” said Ryan Cleary, President of FISH-NL. “In that light, both letters are attached.” click here to read the press release and letters 13:45
Magnuson Reauthorization, let’s get it right this time – Nils E. Stolpe/FishNet USA
When the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA) became law 0n April 13, 1976, one of its primary selling points, along with reserving the fish and shellfish in our coastal waters out to two hundred miles for U.S. fishermen, was that the eight regional Fishery Management Councils that it established had as voting members both government employees who were involved in fisheries management and private citizens who were knowledgeable about fisheries. Ideally this made for balanced decision making, allowing for both the official view of what’s going on in particular fisheries and the on-the-water observations of people with an actual working knowledge of the fisheries, and with the Secretary of Commerce required to sign off on any fishery management actions. (It’s important to note that this was well before supposed environmental crises were supporting a multi-billion dollar industry.) click here to read this article. 12:21
Feds review annual bowhead whale quotas for Alaska Native hunters
Federal officials are reviewing annual catch limits for 11 Alaska Native communities whose subsistence hunters are authorized to harvest bowhead whales. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says the public has until Sept. 14 to comment on quotas for a six-year period to begin in 2019. The International Whaling Commission, which has final say on quotas for subsistence harvesting of large whales, meets next in Brazil in 2018. click here to read the story 10:46
‘Deadliest Catch’ tragedy: Sig Hansen in tears as crab fishermen friends are lost at sea
Crab fishing is a dangerous profession and that was made tragically clear on Tuesday night’s emotional episode of “Deadliest Catch.” On the Discovery Channel show, the captains were devastated to learn that the Destination, the ship of their friend Jeff Hathaway, had gone missing off the coast of Alaska. Hathaway and his crew couldn’t be found. The Bering Sea had been fierce all winter and as the episode began, veteran Sig Hansen noted, “We have had our close calls. It makes me wonder, how many chances do we get?” Sadly, unbeknownst to the skippers, the coast guard was searching for a missing vessel that had set off a distress signal. click here to read the story 09:53
Coast Guard hosts meeting to decrease oil spills in New Bedford harbor
The Coast Guard, Massachusetts’ Department of Environmental Protection, the New Bedford Harbor Development Council and the Fairhaven Harbormaster agreed that 95 percent of the oil pollution in the harbor is caused by about 5 percent of the vessels using it. For two hours Tuesday, the organizations led a meeting targeting those who illegally dump oil into the harbor. However, the fishermen who attended the meeting likely aren’t the ones polluting. “As soon as somebody gets caught and they get hit with the a fine, that’s going to turn some people’s heads,” Ed Anthes Washburn, director of the port and HDC, said. click here to read the story 08:50
