Daily Archives: November 1, 2017
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife – Crab still soft, light on meat
Dungeness crab in the Long Beach area are putting on meat at a slower rate than last year, possibly calling into question whether they will be ready for harvest by the traditional Dec. 1 start date. Samples gathered by Oct. 24 in the Long Beach test area had a meat-recovery rate of 19.9 percent, compared to 23 percent from samples gathered by Oct. 30 last year. Samples from the Westport area collected on or before Oct. 27 had a recovery rate of 20.2 percent, compared to 22.9 percent last year. A test conducted by the Quinault Indian Nation (off Westport and Point Grenville) on Oct. 17 had a pick-out rate of 16.5 percent, according to an Oct. 31 report by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. click here to read the story 19:37
New England, Mid-Atlantic States Lead Nation in Volume and Value of Several Key Fisheries
NOAA Fisheries has released the Fisheries of the U. S. 2016 report, and once again New Bedford, Mass. was the leading U.S. port by value and American lobsters were the nation’s most valuable landed species. Alaska led all states in the value and volume of commercial landings, with 5.6 billion pounds valued at $1.6 billion. Maine and Massachusetts ranked second and third in the value of landings at $633.6 million and $552.1 million, respectively. American lobsters were the nation’s top-valued species landed, with crabs second and scallops third. Alaska pollock ranked first in volume of landings, followed by menhaden and Pacific cod. click here to read the story 17:39
Feds intend to appeal forfeiture deal in Codfather case
Federal prosecutors are not going quietly in their quest to exact far more assets from convicted fishing mogul Carlos Rafael. The U.S. Attorney’s office on Wednesday filed a motion of its intent to appeal the court-ordered plan to seize only four of Rafael’s vessels and their accompanying 34 permits instead of the 13 vessels and accompanying permits sought in the forfeiture plan developed by prosecutors. click here to read the story 16:09
NOAA: American Fisheries Remain a Strong Economic Driver
Commercial and recreational fisheries remain a strong contributor to the United States economy, according to the annual Fisheries of the United States report released today by NOAA.
Saltwater recreational fishing remains one of America’s favorite pastimes and a key contributor to the national economy,,, Also in 2016, U.S. commercial fishermen landed 9.6 billion pounds of seafood (down 1.5 percent from 2015) valued at $5.3 billion (up 2.1 percent from 2015). The highest value commercial species were lobster ($723 million),,, click here to read the report click here for infographics 15:27
Thousands Of Mussels Live In This Humboldt Park Warehouse
In a nondescript Humboldt Park warehouse, thousands of mussels trucked in from Newfoundland are living out their final hours in an ocean-like environment designed to mimic a mollusk’s natural saltwater habitat. “No one wants to eat old seafood. We’re trying to make it fresher, safer and easier to distribute mussels locally and to a wider audience,” Chicago Wet Storage owner Guy Furman said during a recent tour of his inland facility, 3125 W. Chicago Ave. click here to read the story 13:02
Life on a rock lobster boat
Starting in the dark, long days in isolation, and repetitive physical labour. Sounds like farming, but it’s actually the life of a rock lobster fisherman. It is 3:15am, cold and dark, and Colin and Brodi Milstead are headed into the Southern Ocean. The father-and-son team are aboard Brodi Milstead’s boat, Impact, at the Robe marina in South Australia. It is a simple vessel, 53-feet long. Off the side hangs a pulley style machinewhich will be used to lift out the pots of red gold — the treasure being southern zone rock lobsters. click here to read the story 11:38
For the first time in almost two decades, a fisherman sold fish straight from his boat at Fisherman’s Wharf.
Giuseppe “Joe” Pennisi sold about 230 pounds of rockfish, petrale sole and other fish from his boat on Saturday and Sunday, making him the first to take part in a pilot program at the Port of San Francisco that allows fishermen to sell directly to retail customers from their boats. David and Evelyn Riley of Fremont were the first customers to stroll up Saturday to Pennisi’s boat, the Pioneer, which was docked on Pier 47 near Scoma’s Restaurant. click here to read the story 11:11
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 42′ Bruno Tuna/Longline (Solid Fiberglass) Cat 3306, Northern Lights 6 KW Genset
Specifications, information and 22 photos click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here Boat is in excellent condition. Hull is of solid fiberglass construction. Vessel was rebuilt in 2016. 10:59
Fishermen: ‘We want to be proactive’ – Making The Sea Safer For Whales
More than 30 times this year, the federal government has received reports of whales tangled in fishing gear along the West Coast. Sometimes the whales manage to wriggle free. Other times you see heart-rending pictures on the news or a rescue mission. The culprit often involves Dungeness crab pot lines. Now Oregon crabbers are working with marine scientists to make the seas safer for whales and to avoid a black mark on their brand. Bob Eder has fished commercially out of Newport, Oregon for decades. “Over 45 years of pulling crab pots—I think I’ve probably hauled in close to a million—I’ve never encountered an entangled whale,” he said. ‘We want to be proactive’ click here to read the story 09:03
FISH-NL applauds Grand Bank for standing up to FFAW-Unifor
The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) applauds Grand Bank Mayor Rex Matthews for calling out the FFAW-Unifor for being an “arm of the federal government.” “It’s nice to hear someone other than FISH-NL say the FFAW-Unifor is in Ottawa’s pocket,” said Ryan Cleary, President of FISH-NL. “The FFAW-Unifor hasn’t said a word against Ottawa’s plan to expropriate a huge chunk of the Arctic surf clam quota — which fuels the Grand Bank plant — the same way the union didn’t open its mouth when the feds gave away a piece of the future redfish quota in the Gulf of St. Lawrence.” click here to read the press release 07:55
‘We were blindsided’: Grand Bank mayor anticipating job losses in wake of major arctic surf clam changes – click here to read the story 
