Daily Archives: November 8, 2017
Rarely seen ‘living fossil’ frilled shark caught off Algarve coast
A frilled shark, a species that is often termed a ‘living fossil’ because of several ‘primitive’ features that have survived for millions of years, has been captured off the coast of Portugal’s Algarve region, the country’s meteorological and sea institute has announced. Researchers from IPMA and the Centre for Maritime Sciences recorded the catching of a shark “with unusual features” by a commercial trawler, as part of an “initiative to minimise undesirable catches in European fisheries”. click here to read the story 22:43
Omega Protein Employees and Supporters Call for Fisheries Managers To Protect Menhaden Jobs
457 Omega Protein employees and supporters have signed a petition urging the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) to protect the jobs created by the Atlantic menhaden fishery. The petition, part of the public comment process for Amendment 3 to the Atlantic Menhaden Interstate Fishery Management Plan, provides the Commission with the perspectives of those whose livelihoods would be most affected by any new restrictions on the menhaden fishery, and contrasts the outside pressure generated by international environmental groups and individuals who do not live in one of the 15 Atlantic coastal states. The Omega Protein petition, addressed to the ASMFC’s Atlantic Menhaden Fishery Management Plan Coordinator Megan Ware, calls for the ASMFC to continue its current menhaden management approach until its scientific advisers finish their ongoing work developing menhaden-specific ecological reference points. Some environmental groups are advocating for interim reference points that reduce catch levels by up to 80 percent. click here to read the story 20:29
Alaska tops nation in total fishing volume for 20th year
The annual report detailing national and regional economic impacts of U.S. fisheries totaled $9.6 billion in value in 2016 with Alaska as usual producing more than the rest of the nation combined. Alaska produced 58 percent of all landings and for the 20th straight year brought in the highest volume, according to the 2016 Fisheries of the United States report by the National Marine Fisheries Service. The top spot for all ports in the nation went to Dutch Harbor, which brought in 770 million pounds with Alaska pollock accounting for 89 percent of that volume. click here to read the story 16:43
Gold Coast prawn prices ‘highest in 35 years’ ahead of Christmas according to seafood shops
Seafood lovers have been told to brace for an expensive festive season with Gold Coast prawn prices already at a 35-year high at some retailers. The price of large king prawns, at $40 a kilogram, are already at Christmas peak levels.“I’ve never seen prices this high at this time of year,” said Tasman Star Seafoods co-owner Peter Duncombe. The price hike has been blamed on major reforms in the NSW commercial fishing industry have resulted in fewer prawn boats out on the water, a “fizzer” start to the season for trawlers, and a fallout from the devastating white spot disease which shut down Gold Coast prawn farms this year. click here to read the story 15:45
Occupational Hazard Or Social Factors? Tradesmen Five Times More Likely To Die By Overdose
Addiction to heroin and other opiates reaches across all socioeconomic boundaries, but a new study claims that young men in the building trades on Cape Cod are five times more likely than others to overdose and die.The findings, presented in a study by the Barnstable County Department of Human Services issued last month, ultimately raises as many questions as it answers. Researchers don’t know why, for instance, some people who enter the workforce directly from high school appear to be at greater risk of fatal overdoses than people who have attained higher education.,, The lobsterman who was interviewed indicated that he does not use drugs, but said he knows several commercial fishermen who died in overdoses. click here to read the story 14:18
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: Deco Marine 78′ Steel Scalloper, Cat 3412, Fed ALGC Scallop with allocation
Specifications, information and 3 photos click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 12:33
Strange fish found on the Scotian Shelf
For 25 years Don Clark has been going to the Scotian Shelf to see what’s there. For the last decade the fisheries biologist at the St. Andrews Biological Station in New Brunswick has been in charge of the federal Fisheries and Oceans summer survey. Just after Canada Day each year, the CCG Alfred Needler heads out to trawl 240 way points on the Scotian Shelf between Georges Bank in the south and the Laurentian Channel in the north. It’s an immense area — the 120,000 square kilometres of continental shelf that extends off Nova Scotia’s eastern shore into the North Atlantic. click here to read the story 11:56
2 injured in oil platform fire in Gulf of Mexico
Two people were injured Wednesday morning (Nov. 8) in a fire on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico, Shell said. The remaining 46 workers were safely evacuated. A Shell spokesman said the fire happened at 1:30 a.m. Wednesday on its Enchilada platform at Garden Banks 128. Shell said it had identified the source of the fire and was “actively responding to the situation.” “An early morning U.S. Coast Guard overflight is complete and there were no signs of oil on the water at that time,” Shell said. click here to read the story 11:03
New Mississippi rule on oysters not based on science, Vietnamese group says in lawsuit
A lawsuit alleges the state’s ban on basket dredges for harvesting oysters was illegally based on “personal opinion and conjecture” and erodes the livelihood of Vietnamese American fishers. Thao Vu and the Mississippi Coalition for Vietnamese-American Fisher Folks are suing the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources over a ban its Commission on Marine Resources recommended. The ban went in effect Sept. 1. The lawsuit, filed Oct. 16 in Harrison County Chancery Court in Biloxi, is appealing the ban. The DMR went against state seafood laws that say fishery management plans and conservation efforts must be based on “the best scientific information available,” according to the civil complaint. click here to read the story 10:27
Changes can be made right now to save right whales, says fisherman
Fishermen in Nova Scotia’s snow crab industry say they are already making some immediate changes to prevent more deaths of North Atlantic right whales. Gordon MacDonald, managing director of the Snow Crab Fishermen’s Association off of southeastern Cape Breton, said he and other fishermen are already looking at ways to reduce the amount of slack rope attached to traps during the April-to-August snow crab season. “It’s easy, it’s quick and we can get on it right away and see how that goes and then get into other things.” He said the industry doesn’t need to wait for more study and changes to government regulations. “We can’t wait for that development to start doing things that have a positive impact,” he said. click here to read the story 09:53
North Carolina: Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project accepting applications
The North Carolina Coastal Federation is accepting applications from commercial watermen to assist in its annual on-the-water Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project. The project is open to any fisherman with a Standard Commercial Fishing License in North Carolina. Those selected help the federation and the North Carolina Marine Patrol remove lost fishing gear from coastal waters during the no-potting period, typically from Jan. 15 to Feb. 7. Compensation is $400 per boat, per day. Each boat is required to have two people onboard for safety reasons. click here for the story, application details 09:18
Commissioner, 3 employees are leaving embattled Alaska fishing agency
One of the two leaders of an embattled Alaska commercial fishing agency is leaving his job, he said this week. Ben Brown, a commissioner at the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission, said in an email that he’s resigning to take a job at a Juneau arts organization. His departure comes within the same month as three other commission employees’, according to a former colleague. Brown and Bruce Twomley, CFEC’s other commissioner, have both earned more than $130,000 a year to supervise the fishing agency even though their most essential work — limiting access to fisheries and ruling on permit applications — has slowed dramatically. click here to read the story 08:58
Right whale deaths spur regulators to eye fishing gear modifications
This has been a tough year for North Atlantic right whales. Late in October, according to the International Fund for Animal Welfare, the badly decomposed carcass of a right whale was found ashore on Nashawena Island, south of Cape Cod in Massachusetts. It was the 16th of the highly endangered species known to have died in U.S. or Canadian waters in 2017. Starting in the early spring and continuing through the late summer months, a dozen dead right whales were found floating in Canada’s Gulf of St. Lawrence.,,, Last year, the NOAA Fisheries Large Whale Take Reduction Team (TRT) began a five-year review click here to read the story 08:23
