Monthly Archives: November 2017
On World Fisheries Day FISH-NL reiterates call for Trudeau to apologize to NL for fisheries mismanagement
The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) is reiterating its call for Prime Minster Justin Trudeau to formally apologize to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians for fisheries mismanagement, which continues to threaten the province’s sustainability. “The Prime Minister is set to apologize to residential school survivors in Labrador, and for LGBTQ persecution, and we’re hopeful his next apology will be to Newfoundlanders and Labradorians for the destruction — under Ottawa’s watch — of our once-great commercial fisheries,” says Ryan Cleary, President of FISH-NL. click here to read the statement 23:58
WDFW delays commercial crab fishery on Washington coast due to low meat content
State shellfish managers have delayed the opening of the commercial Dungeness crab fishery on Washington’s coast due to inadequate meat in crab shells. Recent testing indicates crabs along the coast do not have sufficient meat in their shells to meet industry standards for harvest. The fishery will be delayed until at least Dec. 16 to allow more time for crabs to fill with more meat. Contrary to an erroneous news report, WDFW did not delay the commercial crab fishery due to a harmful algae bloom click here to read the story 17:53
Maine: Scallop license lottery moves forward
More scalloping or more scallopers? That’s the question the Department of Marine Resources is facing with a proposed rule that would establish a lottery system for new scallop fishing licenses. Under a plan announced last week, DMR would issue annually two new scallop dragging licenses for every three surrendered. The department would also issue one new diving license for each one not renewed. click here to read the story 16:31
Northeast Multispecies Fishery; Disapproval of Northeast Fishery Sector IX Operational Plan
Through an Interim Final Rule filed this morning, NOAA Fisheries withdraws approval of the 2017 and 2018 Northeast Fishery Sector IX operations plan. The Regional Administrator determined that the sector and its participants have not complied with the requirements of their approved operations plan, and that the continuation of the Sector IX operations plan will undermine achievement of the conservation and management objectives of the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan. This action follows the guilty plea and sentencing of Mr. Carlos Rafael, a major participant in Sector IX, who admitted to falsely reporting catch information. click here to read the press release 12:24
New England Council Supports Regional Administrator’s Action to Enforce GroundfishSector IX Operations Plan – click here to read press release 16:06
Greater Atlantic Region – Our New Community Resilience Website!
We have been working with our Northeast Fisheries Science Center and other partners to address issues of community resilience and to develop ways to support our regional fishing communities. Part of this effort is our new website (click here) that contains information on how we define community resilience, our near and long-term goals, recent workshop proceedings and next steps, as well as links to our partners, data portals, and other resources. Learn how we are supporting our communities as they face regulatory, environmental, and economic challenges from a changing climate, ocean acidification, and other impacts. If you have questions, email NMFS, GAR, Community [email protected]. 11:11
AquaBounty’s Stotish responds to Sobeys decision against selling GE salmon
Since the first genetically engineered salmon was sold in Canada this summer, retailers and environmental groups have stepped up their opposition to the product. After four years of review, the Canadian government declared GE salmon safe for consumption and allowed it to be sold in 2016. However, resistance has been growing,,, Retailers have responded, with Sobeys, which operates 15,000 stores across Canada, recently becoming the latest grocery chain in North America to declare that it will not be selling AquaBounty’s AquAdvantage salmon, after Loblaws and Metro declared they would not sell GE salmon earlier this year. click here to read the story 10:40
Perpetrators Who Caused the Death of 69 People Were Convicted in the Wreck of a Trawler in the Sea of Okhotsk
Figures of the criminal case on the death of 69 people as a result of the crash of the Far East trawler in 2015 in the Sea of Okhotsk were sentenced to long terms of imprisonment, the press service of the Prosecutor General’s Office told Interfax on Monday. “The court came to the conclusion that the accident and its consequences are caused by the change in the vessel’s ownership of the ship’s structures, its overload, and the presence of a minimal amount of fuel on board. Moreover, the ship lacked a sufficient number of hydrothermotics and life jackets,,, click here to read the story 10:10
Sleepy deckhand fined after vessel ran aground on auto-pilot
A 19-year-old deckhand who fell asleep at the wheel of a spanner crab vessel that ran aground on auto-pilot at Mooloolaba has been fined $2,500. The skipper and a female passenger were below deck when the boat was beached in the dark in July. No one was hurt but the Matahari was a write-off. Insurance did not cover replacement costs. The stricken vessel became a tourist attraction and was dragged one kilometre up the busy beach before being cut into pieces. photo’s, click here to read the story 09:29
Endangered orcas compete with seals, sea lions for salmon
Harbor seals, sea lions and some fish-eating killer whales have been rebounding along the Northeast Pacific Ocean in recent decades. But that boom has come with a trade-off: They’re devouring more of the salmon prized by a unique but fragile population of endangered orcas. Competition with other marine mammals for the same food may be a bigger problem than fishing, at least in recent years, for southern resident killer whales that spend time in Washington state’s Puget Sound, a new study suggests. click here to read the story 07:43
Appleyard: Pensacola’s fishing industry had a few odd twists
Northwest Florida’s economic history usually places illustrations on the years 1870 to 1965, when over time three large organizations plied the fishing trade. During those years the Sewell Cobb firm, Warren Fish Company and the E.E. Sanders and Company became sizable employers, using a total of as many as 60 well-built smacks for a trade that took the skilled lineman far into the gulf, often off the coast of Mexico. This trade became possible when local ice production provided practical cooling for the fish-filled box cars, the cars coming, of course, when the L&N Railroad’s trackage would bring the fresh-iced fish to markets to the north. Usually the industry is detailed within those factors; however, there were two other tales that illustrated the ingenuity of men in their desire to earn a dollar. click here to read the story 19:02
“Dead in the Water” premiere packed
John Friedrich drove down here from Amesbury on Saturday afternoon for the sole purpose of attending the premiere of the fishing documentary “Dead in the Water” at the Rockport High School auditorium. Friedrich had read a story in the Newburyport Daily News about the documentary that chronicles the demise and unceasing challenges faced by the once-mighty Gloucester groundfish fleet and thought it was something he should see, to gauge for himself the true extent of the problem. “I thought the film was very well done,” he said of the 15th documentary from veteran filmmaker and Rockport native David Wittkower. “But it was also very disturbing, just emotionally disturbing. It’s such a tragedy. The problem is so much more huge than I imagined.” click here to read the story 18:17
20 years later, Hibernia really changed us (and not entirely for the better)
John Gushue – A little more than 20 years ago, I was working on a CBC Television documentary series called East of Canada, which had the aim of covering 500 years of history in Newfoundland and Labrador. It was an ambitious undertaking, even with five one-hour episodes (and, believe me, there are not a whole lot of pictures to describe most of those years). In the spring of 1997, toward the end of production, there was an event that seemed perfect for visual contrast of where the place had been and where it might be going: the towout of the Hibernia platform. We had been chronicling the upheavals of history, the rise and fall of the codfish, the aspirations and dashed dreams of a place that never quite found its economic footing. click here to read the story 16:11
Hokkaido: Poor catches inflate salmon and saury prices ahead of year-end holidays
Poor catches for salmon and saury in the North Pacific have caused prices to spike across Japan as the year-end shopping season begins. In Hokkaido, which accounts for 70 to 80 percent of the nation’s autumn salmon catch, this season’s haul fell by more than 30 percent in the period ended Nov. 10, dropping to around 15.3 million fish, according to the prefecture’s fishery management division.,, In addition, fishermen are struggling with poor catches of saury, a slender but fatty fish popular as an autumn delicacy. click here to read the story 14:48
The science is in — salmon farms need to be out
The salmon-farm debate has come full circle with the recent escape of nearly 200,000 potentially invasive farmed Atlantic salmon 33 kilometres from B.C. waters in Washington state. Over the years, public outrages associated with this industry have unfolded like so many layers of a rotten onion: sea lice, viruses, organic pollution, 10 times the carcinogens in the flesh of farmed salmon versus wild, legal shooting of seal and sea lion “pests,” whales entangled in nets and anchor lines — and the list goes on. This is all unfolding against a backdrop of vehement objections from First Nations. click here to read the story 09:27
PAT NEAL: New threat to our threatened salmon – Here in the Pacific Northwest, there are 19 populations of salmon and steelhead listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. There are many reasons for this. click here to read the story 11:20
Juvenile striped bass maintain average abundance in Virginia waters in 2017
Preliminary results from an ongoing long-term survey conducted by researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science suggest an average year class of young-of-year striped bass was produced in Virginia tributaries of Chesapeake Bay in 2017. The 2017 year class represents the group of fish hatched this spring that will grow to fishable sizes in 3 to 4 years. The program, formally known as the Juvenile Striped Bass Seine Survey, recorded a mean value of 8.98 fish per seine haul in the Virginia portion of Chesapeake Bay, which is similar to the historic average of 7.77 fish per seine haul. click here to read the story 08:16
Shell, lacked? Lobster catch might be much less this year
Maine’s lobster haul might be less this year, and prices have drifted downward for both lobstermen and consumers, members of the industry say. American lobster fishing is in the midst of a multiyear boom, with Maine fishermen setting a record of nearly 131 million pounds last year. Fishermen in the state have caught more than 100 million pounds for six years in a row after never previously reaching that total. But fishermen saw smaller catches this summer, and some in the industry believe the catch could be as much as 30 percent off this year, click here to read the story 07:47
Record Chinook Salmon, Steelhead Returns Reported on Mokelumne River
For many years after Camanche Dam was built, the Mokelumne River, a major tributary of the San Joaquin River and the Delta, hosted small runs of Chinook salmon. The historic runs of steelhead after the construction of the dam averaged only 100 fish and no steelhead returned to spawn many years. But both steelhead and salmon runs have rebounded in recent years, due to a number of factors. In welcome good news for Central Valley salmon populations, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) and the East Bay Municipal Utility District (EBMUD) report record fall spawning returns of Chinook salmon and steelhead to the Mokelumne River, a tributary of the San Joaquin River.,, The hatchery has received 13,799 adult salmon to date—compared to 4,129 at this point last year—and is expected to break the record return of 18,000 in 2011. click here to read the story 20:33
Crew walk off cockroach-infested trawler in West Cork
Indonesian crew members of the UK-registered ship detained in West Cork last week walked off the vessel last night and sought to be put up by Irish officials to enable them to plan for a journey home, writes Stephen Rogers.Earlier, Britain’s Marine and Coastguard Agency (MCA) confirmed that its inspector had examined the trawler Christian M, which had been detained by Irish authorities for a number of issues including a significant cockroach infestation and crewing issues. click here to read the story 14:09
Bi-Partisan effort to keep open permanently Newport, Charleston Coast Guard air bases
“We remain extremely concerned about Coast Guard air facilities in the high-use ports of Newport, Oregon and Charleston, South Carolina,” the four lawmakers wrote Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), chair of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science & Transportation; the committee’s ranking member Sen. Bill Nelson (D-Fla.); Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.), chair of the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure; and the House committee’s ranking member, Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.). click here to read the letter 13:09
Houma man cited on shrimping violations
A Houma man was cited last week for alleged shrimping violations on Nov. 9 in Pointe-Aux-Chenes. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries cited Dwayne T. Hotard, 44, who is accused of illegally taking commercial fish, taking commercial fish without a vessel license, blocking the passage of fish, possessing over the limit of shrimp on a Wildlife Management Area and being in a Wildlife Management Area after hours. Around 5:15 p.m. Nov. 9, agents received a complaint about a net that was stretched across a flood control structure,, click here to read the story 11:42
Experts: Idaho hatchery built to save salmon is killing them
A relatively new $13.5 million hatchery intended to save Snake River sockeye salmon from extinction is instead killing thousands of fish before they ever get to the ocean, and fisheries biologists in Idaho think they know why. The Department of Fish and Game in information released this week says water chemistry at the Springfield Hatchery in eastern Idaho is so different from that in the central region that the young fish can’t adjust when released into the wild. Idaho Rivers United, an environmental group, blasted the report as more reason for removing four dams on the lower Snake River that impede salmon click here to read the story 10:53
Iceland is selling whole, raw lobsters – already shelled – for £15.
At this price, the lobsters, weighing about 140g, are considerably more expensive than the ones already in their shell that the likes of Aldi sell at Christmas for £6, or the pair of lobster tails that Asda sells for £12. But Iceland is confident that it will be a hit with British shoppers, many of whom see lobster as a key part of a Christmas buffet or meal. Sales of lobster jumped 32 per cent last year, helped by a price war which saw Lidl sell lobster for just £2.99 for a limited time in December. click here to read the story 09:35
Holy mackerel! Civilisation begins with fishing
Fishing, writes Fagan, ‘has created the modern world’. It is a startling claim, particularly given the wont of prehistorians to focus on hunting, gathering and then agriculture. Shellfish collectors, wrote one eminent prehistorian, ‘are normally associated with a low level of culture’. The people of Pinnacle Point on the South African coast who lived 165,000 years ago, collected molluscs to eat. More importantly, they used mollusc shells as adornment. This, says Fagan, ‘is the earliest known sign of the changes that result in today’s cognitive skills’. It is when humans began to be human. click here to read the story 09:10
OSHA releases fact sheet on shipboard pedestal crane safety
A new fact sheet from OSHA is intended to help protect workers from hazards associated with shipboard pedestal cranes. Common on commercial fishing vessels, pedestal cranes move and load materials and catches. When a pedestal crane’s components, or their operation, fail, injuries and fatalities can occur. Failure can result from inadequate maintenance, unapproved modifications, improper use, lack of training, and improper inspections, the sheet states. Proper training, regular inspections and working within manufacturers’ guidelines can reduce the risks. The fact sheet covers inspection, operation and training requirements, as well as OSHA certification requirements, click here to read the story 08:03 read the fact sheet here
Baffin Fisheries ex-CEO denies fraud accusations; countersues for $20M
The former CEO of the Baffin Fisheries Coalition (BFC) says he never defrauded the company, and is now countersuing the BFC for breach of contract and defamation. Last month, BFC launched a $1.4 million lawsuit against , alleging he was building on his private land in Winterton, N.L., and invoicing the work to BFC, and its subsidiary Niqitaq Fisheries, claiming it was for a project in Pond Inlet, Nunavut. click here to read the story 21:32
Quebec company touts lean nutrition and ‘unique’ taste of seal meat
Jonas Gilbart likes his seal steaks rare on the inside with a hard sear on the outside. “I love the taste and I love the nutritional benefits,” he said of a meat choice that’s still outside the food comfort zone for most Canadians. Gilbart’s helping lead a new campaign for Quebec-based supplier SeaDNA touting seal as “the Canadian superfood” with a “unique and inviting taste” similar to beef. “It comes from our backyard, it’s sustainably harvested from our waters and monitored by our government,” Gilbart said from Montreal. click here to read the story 17:16
The first Dungeness crabs are in, and they’re meaty!
“The crabs are meaty, and my haul was good,” Capt. Barry Day said upon his return to Pillar Point Harbor on the San Mateo County coast, where he sold the crustaceans straight off his boat for $6 a pound. Dan Chavez, the meat and seafood department manager at Draeger’s in Blackhawk, echoed that sentiment after receiving his store’s first shipment of live crabs Thursday. “They’re beautiful! They’re 2 pounds and over,” he said. “I called everyone and said, ‘Crab at my house tonight!’” click here to read the story 16:41
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for November 17, 2017
Click here to read the Weekly Update, to read all the updates Click here, for older updates listed as NCFA click here16:07
Hawke’s Bay deckhand would probably have survived if he had been sober
A deckhand who drowned after falling overboard from a commercial fishing boat would probably have survived if he was sober, a coroner has found. Fisherman Kevin James Thomson died on December 7, 2013 after falling from Hawke’s Bay Seafoods vessel Jeanette near Napier Port. In a finding released on Friday coroner Carla na Nagara said Thomson had been under the influence of alcohol and drugs when he died and “it is most unlikely that Kevin would have fallen if he was sober and in the event he had fallen overboard sober he would have been in a position to take steps to save himself by staying afloat and calling for help”. click here to read the story 10:12
Chairman James Gilmore hopes to modernize Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission
The announcement in mid-October that James Gilmore had been elected Chairman of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) came as no surprise to anglers familiar with the fishery management process at the federal level. Voted in by the ASMFC State Commissioners from Maine to Florida, the lifelong Amityville resident had spent the past two years as vice chairman. He is also Division of Marine Resources Director for the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC), a position he has held for the last decade and will continue to hold. In his new role as ASMFC chairman, Gilmore oversees both administration and policy issues for the regulatory agency’s individual species management boards. click here to read the story 09:35
