Monthly Archives: November 2017
Charged with illegal fishing, Mi’kmaw man seeks to redefine Supreme Court’s Marshall decision
Exactly 18 years after the Supreme Court of Canada issued a clarification of its ruling on Indigenous peoples’ right to fish, a Mi’kmaw fisherman from New Brunswick’s lawsuit against the Crown will be in court — hoping to clear it up again. Legal counsel for Joseph Hubert Francis of Elispogtog First Nation in New Brunswick will appear in Halifax Federal Court Friday for the first part of the lawsuit filed in March of this year. click here to read the story 09:16
NOAA/NMFS seeks input on proposed sea lion removal at Willamette Falls
NOAA Fisheries is seeking public input on an application from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) to remove, by lethal means if necessary, California sea lions preying on endangered and threatened salmon and steelhead at Willamette Falls on the Willamette River near Oregon City. The approach would be similar to the ongoing removal of sea lions preying on vulnerable populations of protected fish at Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River. Under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), each application NOAA Fisheries receives for removing problematic sea lions must undergo independent consideration. info, click here to read the story 08:36
Herrera Beutler seeks aid, additional funding for declared fishery disasters
Members of Congress from the state of Washington are asking the Office of Management and Budget to provide additional funding for declared fishery disasters statewide. Led by Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground, and Rep. Derek Kilmer, D-Artondale, 10 members of the state’s congressional delegation sent a letter to OMB Director Mick Mulvaney on Wednesday asking him to approve their request for supplemental appropriations, specifically for Washington’s commercial, recreational and tribal fisheries. click here to read the story 07:46
Gloucester: City needs full-time fishing director
The need for a full-time fisheries director is now. Back in 2015, then interim Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken and the Gloucester Fisheries commissioners agreed there was need for a full-time director. It has been almost 20 years since we had someone full-time. They also agreed the job was horrendous and time-consuming. In 2016, at a mayoral debate that I attended, I asked both candidates, Paul McGeary and Romeo Theken if they would support a full-time fisheries director. click here to read the story 20:11
Pro-Active – P.E.I. snow crab industry figuring out how to protect endangered whales
Fisheries experts are on a tight timeline to figure out changes to the snow crab fishery to protect endangered right whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence before the 2018 seasons starts. The season opens in April — including 35 Island fishermen landing about $14 million dollars worth for the Island. Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) wants feedback from fishing groups in the next two to three weeks. Industry and DFO officials met in Moncton Wednesday to discuss possible solutions. One of the ideas was starting fishing earlier so fishermen could possibly reach their quota before whales arrive. click here to read the story 19:17
Oregon delays start of Dungeness crab season by more than 2 weeks
The traditional Dec. 1 opening of the commercial Dungeness crab season will be delayed until at least Dec. 16 along the entire Oregon coast as testing shows crabs are too low in meat yield.,, Crab quality testing in early November showed that none of the test areas met the criteria for a Dec. 1 opening. The delayed opening will allow for crabs to fill with more meat. click here to read the story 15:58
“Last year’s season opening was also delayed but still brought in the highest ex-vessel value ever ($62.7 million) with 20.4 million pounds landed, about 22 percent above the 10-year average,” the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlifre said in a statement. click here to read the story
Peconic Bay scallopers asked to slow down due to plentiful harvest
This year’s Peconic Bay scallop harvest is starting off with one of the strongest yields in years, according to local seafood markets and baymen. “It’s definitely a pretty impressive year,” said Charlie Manwaring, owner of Southold Fish Market. During the first week, in fact, so many baymen brought in their 10-bushel limit that he and other market operators asked them to hold off bringing in more so that they could catch up with the oversupply, which strained their ability to shuck and sell the mounds of shellfish. click here to read the story 15:24
Marine biologists, baymen bringing back Peconic Bay scallops – There is a story in every shell. click here to read the story
Washington state senator says he’ll file bill to ban Atlantic salmon farming
Under fire after a collapse and massive escape last summer, Atlantic salmon net-pen farming would be banned in Washington under legislation that will be filed by Sen. Kevin Ranker this coming session. The legislation would allow existing state leases for the eight Atlantic net-pen farms now operating in Washington to run out by 2025. No permits for new farms would be granted, and no renewals for existing leases would be allowed. The bill also would require state agencies that regulate net-pen farming to keep a tighter watch on operations. click here to read the story 13:30
Report: Imported seafood often contains dangerous drugs
In 2015, about 90 percent of seafood consumed in the U.S. was imported from overseas, and about half of that comes from fish farms, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The recent analysis released by the U.S. General Accountability Office found that some fish imported from other countries, including China, India and Vietnam, contain high levels of drug residue, yet few samples are ever tested. click here to read the story 12:04
Finding crew: Industry leaders search for the next generation of fishermen
John Corbin remembers tent cities in Alaska in the 1980s during the booming king crab seasons. The commercial fisherman said upward of 50 guys a day would walk the docks looking for work. Those days are gone.,, Across the industry, businesses have struggled to attract new employees. Clatsop County seafood processors say they need to hire more people, but can’t seem to get anyone through the door.,, Fishing remains a highly lucrative career, the industry argues. At the same time, regulations and demographic shifts in coastal communities have changed what is and isn’t possible for young fishermen. click here to read the story 11:18
Marblehead lobstermen frustrated by lack of storage options
Local lobstermen are feeling left out in the cold with no place to store their traps for the winter season. “A lot of us would store them in our backyards, but then the neighbors complain,” said Ray Bates, who is leading an effort to get the town to set aside a place for trap storage. “They go right to the Board of Health, they call them unsightly.” What’s a lobsterman to do? Bates recently dropped off a petition at the Health Department,,, click here to read the story 10:38
Scientists accused of scaremongering, ‘overheated claims’ with warning to humanity
A recent warning to humanity endorsed by thousands of scientists around the world includes “scaremongering” and “overheated” claims while ignoring much of the progress made in recent decades, some experts say. “It concerns me that the message from science is this doom-and-gloom scenario that just turns off about 75 per cent of people,” said Erle Ellis, an associate professor of geography and environmental systems at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County. “There’s a small percentage that loves the crisis narrative, and they just repeat it over and over to each other.” click here to read the story 10:03
Savannah scientists continue study of black gill in shrimp
As the Research Vessel Savannah moved slowly along Georgia’s coast in early October, Wynn Gale calmly arranged about a dozen shrimp on a table inside one of the boat’s laboratories. He inspected each specimen for dark gill coloration, and then he took a photo of the shrimp on his smartphone. Black gill, named because of a telltale dark coloration on shrimps’ gills, is caused by a microscopic parasite. Scientists have determined that the parasite is a ciliate, a single-cell organism, but have yet to identify the specific type. Scientists say shrimp suffering from black gill are safe for humans to eat. click here to read the story 08:53
DFO, NSP knew that Annapolis tidal turbine killed fish
Fisheries and Oceans Canada and Nova Scotia Power have long known that the Annapolis tidal turbine kills significant numbers of fish. As a result, Acadia University professor and former Fisheries and Oceans scientist Michael Dadswell is accusing Nova Scotia Power of being in violation of the Fisheries Act and the federal department of not enforcing it. “Either (Fisheries and Oceans) does not pay attention to its own scientists or they have been in cahoots with Nova Scotia Power all these years to deny the extreme decimation of the Annapolis fish populations,” said Dadswell. click here to read the story 18:29
$300 million Asian Carp control plan needs study, says Lt. Gov.
Another proposed step to prevent Asian carp in the Illinois River from invading the Great Lakes needs a careful look, Illinois Lt. Gov. Evelyn Sanguinetti said Monday morning aboard the twin-screw tugboat “Windy City” while it plied the Illinois River at Ottawa. In July, the Army Corps of Engineers released a new carp control system that would be installed at the Brandon Roads Lock and Dam on the Des Plaines River in Joliet. Of the $300 million cost of the installation the state is being asked to put up $90 million, she said, and then pay $10 million annually in maintenance expenses,, “The actual (Asian carp) population has decreased 68 percent because of commercial fishing and other nonstructural solutions that are working,” said Del Wilkins. click here to read the story 15:43
NOAA/NMFS Seeks Comments on Proposed Rulemaking for American Lobster Fishery
NOAA Fisheries seeks comments on the American lobster control date, changes to lobster trap gear marking requirements, and allowing substitute vessels to fish lobster traps for federally permitted but inoperable vessels. In accordance with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Addenda XXI and XXII to Amendment 3 of the Interstate Fisheries Management Plan for American Lobster, NOAA Fisheries may select January 27, 2014, or another date, as a control date for the lobster fishery, depending on public comment and input from the Commission. click here to read the press release 12:53
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 55′ RI Marine Day Scalloper with Permit, Cat 3406, Isuzu-22 KW Genset
Specifications, information and 37 photos click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here12:25
Iceland’s Forgotten Fisherwomen
In the mid-1700s, a seawoman in Iceland named Björg Einarsdóttir composed a poem teasing men on her boat for their weak rowing: Do row better my dear man, Fear not to hurt the ocean. Set your shoulders if you can Into harder motion. Her work at sea may seem unusual. After all, fishing is generally considered a man’s job. But recent work by an American researcher, Margaret Willson, suggests that Einarsdóttir was one of hundreds of Icelandic women in the 18th and 19th centuries who braved towering waves and icy waters to catch fish. click here to read the story 11:20
‘Tis the season – Commercial crabbing begins off the coast of Half Moon Bay
As the clock struck midnight, local fishermen of the coast of Half Moon Bay began eagerly reeling in the first commercially caught crabs of the season. The scene at Pillar Point Harbor’s docks the day before the official Nov. 15 opener of California’s commercial crab fishery was described simply as “a zoo.” “We’re excited. The last month or so you’ve just been working on the boat, working on the crab pots, getting everything ready. And now, you finally get to go to work, get to catch something. We’re all pumped up,” said Porter McHenry, captain of the Merva W and president of the Half Moon Bay Seafood Marketing Association. click here to read the story 10:38
Whopper of a salmon caught in B.C.! – Percy Walkus Hatchery catches fish as part of its conservation program
Volunteer fishermen with a hatchery in central B.C. found themselves one big salmon last month The Percy Walkus Hatchery caught the massive chinook along the Wannock River, about 80 kilometres southwest of Bella Coola. It weighed more than 50 pounds. It was one of 94 salmon caught as part of an “egg take” — a conservation program that ensures the strongest chinook gene pool survives. Volunteers harvest the semen — known as milt — along with eggs from the strongest broodstock fish, which are fertilized and planted in the nearby hatchery. More photo’s, click here to read the story 10:09
Lives on the line when fishermen head out to sea
It’s an old song. But it seems we have to keep singing it until something changes. Two weeks ago, The Globe and Mail ran a feature story on the fishing industry, pointing out, as others have for years, that the industry is one of the most dangerous in Canada. The newspaper mined statistical data to show just how dangerous the profession is: out of all professions in Canada, three different fishing occupations were in the top 10 of Canada’s most dangerous. Fishing vessel deckhand was the second-most dangerous occupation in the country. Fishing vessel skippers and fishers came in at fifth place, and aquaculture and marine harvest labourers ranked sixth. click here to read the story 09:06
Eastport boatbuilder required to auction boat molds
A settlement agreement between the boatbuilding firm Millennium Marine USA and the Washington County government includes auctioning off four boat molds used by the company. The Quoddy Tides (click here) reported that the county purchased the molds for use by the company, with the help of $524,000 in U.S. Economic Development Agency grant funds. The molds will be auctioned for a minimum price of $15,000. click here to read the story 08:32
UPDATED: Northeast Regional Planning Body Data Workshop – Day Two – Nov 16, 2017 in Exeter, NH
RPB meeting continues at the Exeter Town Hall, in Exeter, NH, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. This meeting will include important updates from RPB members about plan implementation, and progress to date and priorities for 2018. Remote access via a webinar will be available for this workshop. Please click the link below to join the webinar: https://cbuilding.zoom.us/j/644686345. for details, click here 23:35 updated 11/15 17:23
Washington State Marine Spatial Planning: Are ‘winds of change’ in store for local waters?
Could Pacific Ocean wind farms and fish-rearing net pens in Willapa Bay become future industries in Pacific County? Those are some possibilities being studied among an array of new potential ocean uses mentioned by the Washington Department of Ecology during a public meeting Wednesday, Nov. 8, in Long Beach. Marine Spatial Planning for Washington’s offshore waters was discussed by members of an inter-agency team led by Washington Department of Ecology Senior Ocean Planner Jennifer Hennessey. About 24 community members — including county officials, commercial fishermen and local oyster farmers — attended to listen or provide formal testimony regarding their concerns about new potential ocean uses and possible impacts on existing industries. click here to read the story 21:08
Maine Elver lottery gets under way Wednesday
For the first time in more than four years, a few new Maine residents will get a chance to participate in the elver fishery. On Wednesday, the Department of Marine Resources will open a lottery for at least seven new licenses to be issued for the 2018 elver fishery. The season begins on March 22. Each new license holder will be allotted a minimum of 4 pounds of the state’s aggregate elver quota. Based on the average price for the 2017 season that ended in June, that would be worth some $6,000. click here to read the story, details, and good luck! 17:18
Northern Osprey III named at Tersan
The new Arctic shrimp trawler Northern Osprey III, built at the Tersan yard in Turkey to Skipsteknisk ST-118 design, is close to completion at Tersan Shipyard in Turkey. Owners MV Osprey of North Sidney, Nova Scotia ordered the new vessel at Tersan Shipyard in November 2015 after intense design development with Skipsteknisk. Northern Osprey III is the third vessel built by the Norwegian emigrant Ulf Snarby at MV Osprey based on ST-design. The first was the Northern Osprey (1992) and the second was the newly sold Northern Eagle (1996). click here to read the story 15:01
Fishermen’s union wants draggers out of vulnerable south coast cod fishery
The union representing the province’s fish harvesters is calling for the Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) to close the south coast cod fishery to offshore vessels. Keith Sullivan, president of the Fish, Food and Allied Workers (FFAW) union, said the cod stock in the 3PS fishing area along Newfoundland’s south coast is too fragile to handle the pressure.,,, On Friday, DFO issued a notice that the fishery was closing to inshore fishermen on Nov. 15. Another notice announced the fishery was opening Nov. 11 to offshore vessels. The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador is also against the decision to allow offshore fishing in the 3PS zone. click here to read the story 13:23
Nations press panel to raise annual Bluefin tuna quotas
Nations fishing the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea have started assessing how much more prized Bluefin tuna can be caught in the next few years amid signs that stocks of the iconic fish are recovering. The 50-nation International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas opened its year-end meeting Tuesday in Marrakech, Morocco, facing pressure from nations to allow more Bluefin to be caught after years of cuts. click here to read the story 12:19
ASMFC rejects plan to change menhaden management strategy, increases catch limit 8%
The Atlantic Marine Fisheries Commission decided Monday not to change the way it manages menhaden, an important species of fish at the bottom of the food chain. At a meeting in Linthicum, the panel rejected a proposal from conservationists that would have considered the effect of the menhaden commercial fishery on larger Atlantic ecosystems. Instead, on Tuesday the commission adopted a revised menhaden catch limit of 216,000 metric tons for 2018 and 2019, an 8 percent increase over the current limit. The limit is intended to ensure the menhaden population remains stable. click here to read the story 11:16
Newport News man convicted for drunken fake distress call to Coast Guard
A Newport News man who drunkenly cried wolf out on the open water now faces up to 12 years in prison. 39-year-old Justin P. Stahmer was convicted by a federal jury on Monday for issuing a fake distress call to the U.S. Coast Guard. According to United States Attorney Dana J. Boente, Stahmer initially denied making the call, before saying he called the Coast Guard because he ran out of gas. When Coast Guard Boarding Officers inspected his boat, Stahmer became belligerent, which led to an arrest for boating under the influence of alcohol. click here to read the story 10:47
