Daily Archives: October 24, 2017
Commercial Spiny Lobster Fishery Closed at Anacapa Island and the East End of Santa Cruz Island Due to Public Health Hazard
California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Director Charlton H. Bonham has enacted a commercial spiny lobster fishery closure effective immediately. State health agencies determined that spiny lobster near Anacapa Island, Ventura County and the east end of Santa Cruz Island, Santa Barbara County had unhealthy levels of domoic acid and recommended closure of the commercial fishery. The recreational fishery for spiny lobster remains open statewide with a warning from the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) to recreational anglers to avoid consuming the viscera (tomalley) of spiny lobster. click here to read the story 21:30
Record high prices, strong demand for Canadian snow crab bodes well for Alaska
The top executives of Royal Greenland and Ocean Choice International (OCI) noted demand has remained strong for Canadian snow crab in 2017, despite record-high prices caused by reduced supply from the Newfoundland and Labrador fishery. In April, Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) cut the 2017/2018 total allowable catch (TAC) for the Newfoundland and Labrador fishery 22% year-on-year — to 35,419 metric tons — causing prices to increase to record levels of over $8 per pound (for 5-8 ounce size crab) during the season, sources said. The Newfoundland season started on April 6 and finished between May and August, depending on the area. click here to read the story 18:38
After witness recants, jury acquits lobsterman of ordering sinking of competitor’s boat
A Knox County jury deliberated for more than an hour Tuesday before clearing a Tenants Harbor lobsterman accused of paying his former sternman to sink a competitor’s boat. The jury found Alan B. Norwood Jr., 48, not guilty of felony aggravated criminal mischief in connection to the Sept. 1, 2016 sinking of the 36-foot lobster boat Oracle, owned by Joshua Hupper, off St. George. Norwood testified Tuesday on his behalf and told jurors he never asked his then sternman Vincent Hilt to sink the boat and denied paying him $500 for the sinking. click here to read the story 16:57
Educating the public – A lobster cruise: The luckiest catch in Maine
Captain Tom Martin turns the handle that draws up the lobster trap sitting on the ocean floor 45 feet below the surface to see what he can see. It’s a guessing game every time: Will it be big enough — but not too big — to keep? Will it be a pregnant female, which he can’t keep? “It’s easy to get hooked on it,” Martin says. “I’ve been doing this for 33 years, and I still enjoy going out to pick up the traps and seeing what’s inside. It’s like playing a slot machine — you never know what’s going come up in the trap.” Martin, the owner of Lucky Catch Cruises of out of Portland Maine, video, click here to read the story 13:54
NOAA Approves State Water Exemptions for Scallop Fisheries in Maine and Massachusetts
The State Waters Scallop Exemption Program allows federal permit holders to fish in the state waters scallop fishery on a more equitable basis where federal and state laws are inconsistent. The Program specifies that a state with a scallop fishery may be eligible for state waters exemptions from specific regulations if it has a scallop conservation program that does not jeopardize the objectives of the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan. click here to read the press release 12:41
New record of whale strandings along coast
While East Londoners have been enjoying a bumper season of whale sightings over the past few weeks, a fourth humpback whale in less than a month has beached and died along the East London coastline. East London Museum principal scientist Kevin Cole said the strandings were a new record for his cetacean database. Yesterday, Cole examined the badly decomposed carcass of the fourth dead humpback on the rocks west of Chintsa West.,,, He said a number of factors could be responsible for the strandings including old age, pollution, ship strikes and the effects of seismic blasting to explore for gas and oil offshore. click here to read the story 11:34
Pro-Brexit Scots fishermen fear Westminster ‘power grab’
The pro-Brexit Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) has warned the UK Government’s legislation to leave the EU must be amended if Holyrood’s powers are to be respected. The call comes after the Scottish and Welsh devolved governments set out their proposal for 38 amendments to the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill to stop what they describe as a “power grab” by their counterparts in Westminster. Scotland’s devolved settlement was built upon the presumption that the UK would continuously be part of the EU. click here to read the story 10:45
Another North Atlantic right whale found dead on Cape Cod
Yet another North Atlantic right whale carcass has been discovered, the sixteenth confirmed death of the endangered species this year. The International Fund for Animal Welfare says the carcass was found on Nashawena Island, south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts. The animal welfare organization says the carcass was “very decomposed,” but it is working alongside the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to determine the cause of death. click here to read the story 09:47
California State legislators to meet in Eureka to discuss future of crab, salmon fisheries
With the California crab season opener approaching and a poor salmon season winding down, a California legislative committee is set to meet in Eureka on Friday to discuss what the future holds for two of the North Coast’s most important fisheries. The Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture hearing is set to touch upon everything from whale entanglements in crab gear and the recent lawsuit filed related to them; the potential for a federal disaster declaration for California’s and Oregon’s 2017 salmon season; and crab fishing rules and recent test results on how toxic algae blooms are affecting crab this year. click here to read the story 09:02
A huge marine reserve in the Pacific will protect rich tourists rather than fish
Palau is a sovereign state with a UN vote, albeit one with just 18,000 residents. In 2015 the country designated 80% of its territorial waters – an area roughly the size of Spain – as a National Marine Sanctuary. In the “Bul”, as the sanctuary is known locally, commercial fishing is off limits. The reserve has attracted many of the world’s largest conservation and development NGOs. It has received more than US$90m in pledges, mostly from corporate donors, charitable trusts and government agencies in Australia, Japan and the US. Yet the scientific rationale behind the sanctuary is questionable. click here to read the story 08:15
