Monthly Archives: October 2017
The Ocean’s Low-Oxygen Dead Zones Are Getting Worse
Along the West Coast, low-oxygen levels in bottom layers of the ocean, known as hypoxia, have become a big concern for scientists and fishers alike—fish and crabs are vital to ecosystems, research, and an entire industry. “We’re always on the lookout to see, is this going to be a bad year?” says Francis Chan, a marine ecologist at Oregon State University who studies the effects of ocean chemistry. And by all accounts, 2017 shaped up to be a bad year. Scientists first got reports of crabs dying in pots off the Oregon coast back in 2002. Since then, says Chan, there have been some years when the oxygen levels in some places drop to zero and stay that way for weeks or even months. Video, click here to read the story 17:16
Why are fishermen guilty until proven innocent? A case against putting video cameras on every boat
As many of you may know, my husband filed a lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service to stop them from requiring the fishermen to pay for the At-Sea monitors that the Fisheries Service requires ground fishermen to take on their boats. The cost is upwards of $700 a day, which is more than the small family owned fishing boats make here in New England. The Supreme Court decided not to hear their case which the lower courts had dismissed on a technicality because the suit was not filed within a 30 day time frame. Some people have suggested video monitoring as an alternative. I have addressed that in my comments below click here to read Ellen Goethels post 15:01
Penzance fishing trawler Algrie which crashed into Plymouth rocks once caught a nuclear attack submarine
The Cornish fishing trawler that crashed into rocks in front of spectators in Plymouth this weekend has run into trouble before – when it caught a nuclear submarine. The 70ft Algrie dangerously dragged the nuclear attack sub HMS Spartan in the waters off Land’s End in 1982 for several minutes before the sub surfaced. The captain at the time was then ordered to cut free his nets and tackle before the sub moved on. It was understood to have cost £8,000. click here to read the story 14:01
£39 million of fish landed at Scrabster during 2016
Scrabster Harbour is the third most valuable landing port in Scotland, according to newly released figures. The 2016 Scottish Sea Fisheries statistics revealed £39.4 million worth of fish and shellfish was landed in the Scrabster fishing district during 2016. The results are based on 19,713 tonnes of fish which were landed at the harbour last year which makes it the fourth largest landing port in the country. Peterhead is once again the largest fishing district,,, click here to read the story 11:30
The ‘Mercedes of lobster traps’
A new company in Yarmouth, N.S., has designed a recyclable lobster trap made from plastic that it says has a longer life than traditional wire devices and stacks easily. Scott Dauphinee, managing director of The Lobster Trap Company, said they’ve been working on designing and testing the traps over the last year and a half. LasTrap is the “Mercedes of lobster traps,” he said.”Lobster fishing gear has not really changed … the actual material used, in almost half a century,” Dauphinee said. click here to read the story 10:23
Pebble rising?
Once thought to be on the verge of death, Alaska’s proposed Pebble prospect copper and gold mine seems to be taking on a new life. First came the July announcement by the Environmental Protection Agency of President Donald Trump that it planned to lift a proposed ban on the mine ordered by the EPA of President Barrack Obama.,,, The Pebble Limited Partnership sued the Obama administration and the EPA of Trump – taking a page from the playbook of enviromental organizations fond of filing lawsuits to leverage legal settlements – in this case negotiated an agreement allowing Pebble to apply for the necessary permits. click here to read the story 09:37
Trump official says government won’t stand in the way of removing Klamath dams
After the Obama administration helped broker a deal last year to tear down four dams straddling the California-Oregon border, practically everyone involved figured President Donald Trump would undermine it. They assumed Trump would side with conservative activists and Republican congressmen who thwarted an earlier version of the same agreement in 2015. Those assumptions are proving wrong. The fight over the Klamath River is one of country’s fiercest, longest-running water wars. click here to read the story 08:26
Gulf Coast spared the worst as Hurricane Nate rapidly weakens
Hurricane Nate brought a burst of flooding and power cuts to the US Gulf Coast – but spared the region the kind of catastrophic damage left by a series of hurricanes in recent weeks. Nate – the first hurricane to make landfall in Mississippi since Katrina in 2005 – quickly lost strength, with its winds diminishing to a tropical depression as it pushed northward into Alabama and towards Georgia with heavy rain. click here to read the story 08:03
Many fishermen believe Stokesbury saved the scallop industry
Well, I guess that I had better start writing some of this stuff down, as it seems that my memory is getting fuzzier by the day. Not an uncommon affliction for an old fisherman, who has been put ashore, but who still has enough recall to remember some things that are just too important to allow to fade into obscurity! I had been a scalloper out of New Bedford for 32 years, both as a deckhand, and as a captain of several high-line scalloper vessels. Over all those years there were several trips that stay relatively fresh in my mind’s eye, but one of the most important and fulfilling ones actually occurred after I came ashore. By Jim Kendall click here to read the story 21:55
Salmon in the history of the Pacific Northwest
Lewis and Clark’s interpreter and guide Sacagawea was a “Salmon Eater.” That’s what they called her tribe of Lemhi Shoshone Native Americans, a nomadic band who lived in Idaho’s Lemhi River Valley and along the upper Salmon River — their descendants today living mostly on the Fort Hall Indian Reservation near Pocatello. Sacagawea’s tribe was made up of the Agaidikas or Salmon-Eater Shoshone and the Tukidikas. Sacagawea belonged to the Agaidikas. Food was almost always a big challenge for Lewis and Clark’s Corps of Discovery expedition. click here to read the story 19:43
Penzance fishing trawler crashes into rocks in front of spectators in Plymouth
A fishing trawler from Cornwall has crashed onto rocks at Plymouth in the night. A lifeboat from the Plymouth RNLI rushed to the aid of the Algrie at about 9.45pm yesterday (October 7). The 70ft vessel had struck rocks of Mount Batten Pier. HM Coastguard and Devon and Cornwall Police also attended the incident but little could be done as the Algrie was stuck on the rocks. Passersby watched the drama and captured photos of the accident. Photo gallery, click here to read the story 10:26
Tropical storm Nate weakens but rain, floods to continue
A fast-moving storm called Nate brought flooding and power outages to the U.S. Gulf Coast early Sunday after it sloshed ashore outside Biloxi, Mississippi — the first hurricane to make landfall in that state since Katrina devastated the region 12 years ago. The storm hit Mississippi as a Category 1 hurricane with maximum sustained winds near 85 mph (140 kph) but weakened later to a tropical storm as it moved inland, the U.S. National Hurricane Center in Miami said. More than 100,000 residents in Mississippi and Alabama were without power following the arrival of Nate, but no deaths or injuries were reported early Sunday. click here to read the story 09:53
On This Day – October 8 – 1984: Ninety-four whales die after beaching in Eastham
On this day in 1984, workers from the New England Aquarium began giving lethal injections to beached pilot whales that could not be saved. Ninety-four whales, some 20 feet long, were stranded Saturday on a beach in Eastham. The cause of the mass beaching, the largest in the Cape Cod area in recent years, is not known. Mass strandings of dolphins, whales, and other marine mammals date back to the time of Aristotle, but some environmental activists,,, click here to read the story 09:27
Storm brews over Maine’s monument offshore, too
Zinke has recommended that the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument – a 4,913-square-mile area of underwater canyons, thousand-year-old coral forests, and volcanic mountains on and beyond the southern edge of Georges Bank at the mouth of the Gulf of Maine – be opened to commercial fishing, a move proponents say would defeat its purpose.,, The heads of eight of the nation’s fisheries management councils – the industry-led bodies that implement fisheries regulations in federal waters – were already on record against the commercial fishing restrictions.,, Peter Shelley of the Conservation Law Foundation, an environmental attorney who is watching the case closely, strongly disagrees. click here to read the story 08:35
Coast Guard, partners respond to grounded fishing vessel near El Capitan State Beach
Coast Guard and local partner agencies are responding to a grounded commercial fishing vessel near El Capitan State Beach Saturday. At approximately 5:30 a.m., the crew aboard the Kaylee J notified Coast Guard Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach that their vessel ran aground and requested assistance. The crew aboard were reportedly not injured. Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment personnel in Santa Barbara responded and reported no oil pollution in the water. A unified command was established between the Coast Guard, California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response and California State Parks to remove oil and hazardous materials held within the vessel’s structure. The cause of the incident is under investigation. -USCG- 18:41
1600 UPDATE Hurricane Nate – National Hurricane Center Public Advisory
At 400 PM CDT, the center of Hurricane Nate was located near latitude 28.4 North, longitude 89.1 West. Nate is moving toward the north-northwest near 23 mph (37 km/h). A turn toward the
north and a slight decrease in forward speed are expected during the next several hours, followed by a turn toward the north-northeast later tonight.,, Maximum sustained winds are near 90 mph (150 km/h) with higher gusts. Some strengthening is possible before landfall, and Nate could still become a category 2 hurricane on the Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Wind Scale this evening. Rapid weakening is expected after landfall. click here to read the update 16:59
“There’s been an explosion of striped bass,” – VIDEO: Seafood diet of striped bass upsets Cape Breton fisherman
Believe it or not, Ray Briand wasn’t entirely surprised to find two lobsters stuffed inside a 72-centimetre-long striped bass he’d caught Wednesday night. That’s because the longtime Cape Breton fisherman believed his suspicions were confirmed. “They’re called wolves of the oceans for a reason,” said Briand, a Smelt Brook resident. “They fish in packs and they’re devastating our local fishing stocks. “There’s nothing left in our harbours except bass. Now we’re wondering if they’re going to damage our lobster industry; that’s what we’re really worried about.” Video, click here to read the story 12:19
AB 944 – Local lawmaker helps create Spiny Lobster Commission
Assemblymember Monique Limón has helped create a Spiny Lobster Commission to support the local fishing industry. Governor Jerry Brown has signed the bill, Limón announced Friday. She authored the bill and says it will aid local spiny lobster fisheries. This is really an effort of the fishers, businesses and conservation groups coming together to proactively solve problems,” said Assemblymember Limón. “With AB 944, the Spiny Lobster Commission will be able to carry out programs of education, marketing and research to promote our local product, and to do so in a way that is sustainable.” click here to read the story 11:53
‘He cared about everyone’: John ‘Gus’ Foote, advocate for veterans, fishermen, seniors, dies at 87
A leading voice for Gloucester’s seniors, fishermen and the people of his beloved Ward 2 is now silent. John A. “Gus” Foote, who represented Ward 2 on Gloucester’s City Council for more than three decades and served as a tireless advocate for many residents across the city, died early Friday morning at Addison Gilbert Hospital. He was 87. A decorated Purple Heart and U.S. Marine Corps veteran who served in the Korean War, he continued to attend the city’s Memorial Day and Veterans Day ceremonies, wearing his Purple Heart cap, right up to this past May’s Memorial Day service at Gloucester High School. click here to read the story 11:22
USCG: Remain Upright by Fully Understanding Vessel Stability
The need for operators to understand their vessel’s Stability Instructions (SI) cannot be overstated. It is important to understand the document. Operators and crew should seek out opportunities to further their knowledge of stability via courses, training, workshops, and visits from Naval Architects. They should also take advantage of other various initiatives, both mandatory and voluntary, to discuss and compare a vessel’s current SI to the actual loaded condition prior to departing port. An independent review of a vessel’s loaded condition, equipment, and operations can often provide important insights. click here to read the story 10:21
Wishy-washy – Baker team circumspect on marine monument controversy
In the course of the past year, a Connecticut-sized marine area off the coast of Cape Cod has been officially designated a national monument by one president and targeted for potential changes by the next. It became subject to a new ban on commercial fishing, and now might have that ban removed. The ping-ponging presidential decisions have left the future of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument somewhat murky, but the same concerns Governor Charlie Baker first raised almost two years ago remain on the minds of his top environmental official. click here to read the story 08:21
UPDATED 0800: National Hurricane Center – Hurricane Nate Public Advisory
At 700 AM CDT , the center of Hurricane Nate was located near latitude 25.7 North, longitude 88.0 West. Nate is moving toward the north-northwest near 22 mph (35 km/h), and this general fast
motion is expected to continue through tonight. A turn toward the north is forecast on Sunday morning, followed by a turn toward the north-northeast thereafter. On the forecast track, the center of Nate will move across the central and northern Gulf of Mexico today and will make landfall along the central U.S. Gulf coast tonight. click here to read the forecast07:59
Port of Seattle plans $35 million Fishermen’s Terminal makeover to stem losses
The Port of Seattle has a $35 million plan to redevelop the iconic but unprofitable Fishermen’s Terminal in Ballard. Port officials hope the mix of new and renovated buildings will boost terminal revenue, allowing the public agency to fulfill its 100-year commitment to the fishing industry while remaining accountable to King County taxpayers. The plan calls for demolitions, new buildings and a reduction in public parking to reduce the $4.3 million in annual operating losses at the terminal, which is home to the Alaska fishing fleet. View 9 photos, click here to read the article 19:47
Senator Warren: New Bedford should keep Rafael’s fishing permits
And another voice enters the fray. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren has weighed in on the debate over the ultimate fate of Carlos Rafael’s seized commercial fishing permits, saying in a letter to NOAA Fisheries the permits should remain in New Bedford. “It has been reported that (Rafael’s) fishing permits may be cancelled or seized by the federal government and I am urging you to do everything possible to ensure that those permits stay in the port of New Bedford,” Warren wrote to Chris Oliver, NOAA Fisheries’ assistant administrator for fisheries. “Not doing so has the potential to devastate the local economy and effectively punish numerous innocent workers and businesses in New Bedford for Mr. Rafael’s crimes.” click here to read the story 18:57
EDF to partner with Philippine bureau of fisheries to implement fishing reforms
In a dramatic step forward for Asia-Pacific and global ocean conservation, the Philippines has begun implementing sustainable fishing reforms with Environmental Defense Fund serving as a partner to provide critical support on science and policy. The commitment was highlighted at the Our Ocean Conference in Malta, where the Philippines announced it would establish these reforms for its major commercial fisheries by 2022. click here to read the press release 16:58
Fishing industry group says it’s looking for ways to prevent Atlantic right whale entanglements
The fishing industry says it’s looking for a solution to help prevent North Atlantic right whales from enduring painful, and sometimes deadly, entanglements with fishing gear. The Maritime Fishermen’s Union says a longer snow crab fishing season and an unprecedented number of right whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence created a “perfect storm” this year for a massive die-off.,,, “Our association is being proactive with this issue and there are some consultations that will be going forward with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans as soon as early November,” click here to read the story 15:24
Overfishing Operation Nets Three Eel Traffickers
Three men pleaded guilty Thursday to trafficking juvenile American eels — a species at risk of overfishing as harvesters try to meet demand in the East Asian markets.,, “Operation Broken Glass” has resulted in 18 guilty pleas in Maine, Virginia and South Carolina. The defendants are responsible collectively for the illegally trafficking of more than $4.5 million worth of elvers. William Sheldon, Timothy Lewis, and Charles Good joined the list on Thursday, pleading guilty before a federal judge in Portland, Maine, to violations of the Lacey Act. click here to read the story 14:53
Cooke acquires Omega Protein for nearly USD 500 million
Cooke Aquaculture’s parent company has acquired Texas-based fish oil and fishmeal producer Omega Protein for nearly USD 500 million (EUR 428 million). The agreement has been unanimously approved by the board of directors of each of Omega Protein and Cooke, according to a press release. Cooke Inc., based in New Brunswick, Canada, and Houston-headquartered Omega Protein agreed to a purchase price of USD 22.00 (EUR 18.81) per share for the publicly traded company.,, The transaction, which is expected to close near the end of 2017 or early in 2018, according to Cooke, is subject to the approval of Omega Protein stockholders, certain regulatory approvals, and other customary closing conditions. click here to read the story 14:30
31st annual N.C. Seafood Festival – It’s all about seafood
Rides are up, tents pitched and flags hung high. Now it’s time to cook up some seafood. With preparation work done, the waterfront will soon be alive with the smells of freshly cooked, locally caught seafood, and the sounds of laughter and amusement during the 31st annual N.C. Seafood Festival. The festival starts today and rolls to Sunday. It focuses on the importance of local seafood caught off the coast of North Carolina. To celebrate the fishing industry, the festival boasts a weekend full of activities with free music, sporting events, games, rides, the Blessing of the Fleet ceremony and more. click here to read the story 13:04
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for October 6, 2017
Click here to read the Weekly Update, to read all the updates, Click here for older updates listed as NCFA click here11:33