Monthly Archives: December 2017
How We Know Megalodon Doesn’t Still Exist?
Megalodon (Carcharocles megalodon) is the largest shark, at a magnificent maximum of 18 meters (59 feet), to ever have dwelled in the oceans. We know primarily about Megalodon’s existence through fossilized teeth. A recent Twitter exchange, made me realize that both some people think Megalodon still exists and a really good write up on how we know Megalodon actually does not exist is not on the interwebs. So in a numbered list, here we go. By Dr. M click here to read the story 19:49
Japan to enforce penalties for bluefin catch quota violations starting next month
The Fisheries Agency will start enforcing penal regulations on Pacific bluefin tuna caught by Japanese fishermen in January, in line with stricter international controls aimed at overfishing. The agency hopes that comprehensive resources management will allow fishermen to continue catching the prized fish amid concerns that global tuna stocks are being depleted, officials said. The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission allocates catch quotas to its members, including Japan and the United States. click here to read the story 16:15
Sharks freeze to death in sub-zero temperatures in the US East Coast
Cities along the East Coast of the United States are experiencing record-breaking snowfall and extreme drops in temperature; it’s been so cold that sharks have been washing up on shore frozen to death. Atlantic White Shark Conservancy has reported that a number of thresher sharks which washed up dead on Cape Cod are likely to have died from ‘cold shock’ due to the ice cold temperatures in the water. click here to read the story 14:22
DMR extends search for shrimp boat for 2018 Northern Shrimp Cooperative Winter Sampling program
The Department of Marine Resources extended the deadline and sweetened the deal in the hope of attracting applications to participate in its 2018 Northern Shrimp Cooperative Winter Sampling program. DMR was offering up to $2,500 in pay for a shrimp trawler to collect shrimp samples off the Midcoast, starting about Jan. 29. The purpose of the program is solely to collect scientific samples for DMR. No shrimp may be kept or sold. Last week, DMR announced that it was upping the ante to $3,450 in an effort to attract some interest and extended the deadline to Wednesday, Jan. 3. click here to read the story 11:55
Key West Couple Charged For Selling Shrimp Without License
A Key West couple is facing charges for selling shrimp without a license. Iliecer Noa, 41, and his wife Carolina Aviles, 37, allegedly posted photos of five-pound bags of shrimp for $40, according to the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office. Deputy Seth Hopp saw the Facebook posts and checked with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to see if the couple had the proper licenses to sell saltwater products. It was determined that neither Aviles nor Noa had a commercial fishing license. click here to read the story 11:00 
Alaska fishermen bewildered, alarmed at loss of king salmon
There’s an unsolved fish mystery playing out right now along a rugged, 300-mile stretch of Southeast Alaska coastline: What’s killing off the thousands of king salmon that, at an increasing rate, swim out to sea and don’t return to spawn? “There’s a big ocean out there,” said Tad Fujioka, a commercial fisherman in Sitka. “And it’s kind of a black box.” Alaska fishermen and scientists don’t know what, exactly, is causing king salmon returns to plummet across Southeast. But they’re trying to adapt to the consequences: closures for certain fisheries and new limits on catches,,, click here to read the story 10:20
Florida fisherman finds Maryland blue crab
A blue crab was tagged by the Smithsonian in Maryland, and then traveled several years to Florida, where a fisherman recently found it. click here to watch the video. Tagged blue crab caught locally raises eyebrows – When Tom Cochran started crabbing in the Crystal River, he didn’t think he’d make the news. But on Wednesday, Cochran caught a crab he considered noteworthy: one with a tag on it that read “Smithsonian Environmental Research Center.” click here to read the story 09:19
“Paper Captain” – Coast Guard cites fishing boat for illegal foreign captain
The U.S. Coast Guard said Friday it found a foreign worker acting as the captain of an American-flagged commercial fishing vessel in federal waters off Hawaii. The crew of the U.S. Cutter Oliver Berry boarded the unnamed vessel on Dec. 19 and issued a citation after they suspected a foreign national was acting as the captain and operating the boat, the Coast Guard said in a statement . It’s illegal for a foreign national to operate a U.S.-flagged commercial vessel. The Coast Guard said the vessel was cited for a violation known as a “paper captain.” click here to read the story 18:43
Fighting the tide
After three years of work, a University of Alaska Fairbanks study of the state’s commercial fishing industry has reached one conclusion nobody in the 49th state wants to talk about and another that not even the authors of the report seem willing to confront. The first conclusion is barely disguised in the report: “Since limited entry programs were implemented in state commercial fisheries, permit holdings by rural residents local to their fisheries have declined by 30 percent. Some regions like Bristol Bay have lost over 50 percent of their local rural permits.” A systemic fail? click here to read the story 17:11
The Shipwrecked Sailors & the Wandering Cod
In the remote archipelago of Lofoten, Arctic cod have been dried on oceanfront racks since the age of the Vikings. This is the unlikely story of how the humble fish became king of Norway. “I could tell you the story of the shipwreck,” says Steinar Larsen, smoothing his hands over the belly of a blue-striped sailor shirt. “But,” demurs the brusque proprietor of the Lofoten Stockfish Museum in the village of Å (pronounced OH-ah) “it would take too long.” (Big Read!) click here to read the story 13:30 
FALL 2017 Pacific Islands Fishery Newsletter
There is a lot of information in the newsletter about issues that are common to other area’s, MPA’s, council actions, and includes a post from Paul Dalzell, senior scientist and pelagic fisheries coordinator for the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, reflects on trends in fishery management since 1996 and takes a stab at a few of his pet peeves and vexations. A key problem with environmental activists is they must constantly campaign. The campaign can never die. Thus groups seeking an end to fishing simply shift the goal posts as one issue fades or is addressed by fishery management. Campaigns to address large top predators in the marine ecosystem are supplanted by campaigns gravely concerned about small forage fish. click here to read the newsletter11:13
Oregon Coast crabbing closure impacts the industry
In the middle of a parking lot on the Charleston Marina a large square of crab pots sits six pots high and 12 wide. Fisheries and fishermen alike are geared up for the commercial crabbing season that has been pushed back to Jan. 15. ,,, Fishermen have spent the last month without any income and will spend at least two more weeks without pay because of closures. Adams said that the local economy is really where the crabbing closure hits hardest. click here to read the story 09:09
The last remaining California Department of Public Health advisory for Dungeness Crab was lifted Friday – click here to read the story 10:03
Famous 16-Foot Great White Shark Gone Missing
Mary Lee, the 16-foot Great White Shark that has had Twitter in a frenzy the past few weeks, has gone missing – electronically speaking. According to Ocearch, a conservation group set out to track and collect date from tiger and great white sharks, said her transmitter hasn’t had a “ping” since June 17, and no one has seen or heard from her since. Fans on twitter have been speculating her death, but never fear, it is more likely her tracker has lost battery power. click here to read the story 06:15
Major Fight Shapes up Over Salmon Harvest in the Columbia River
Agreements that have reigned for a decade on how to divide the catch of salmon and steelhead in the Columbia Basin expire on the last day of 2017. The new plan is so contentious that multiple sides have promised to sue over it. What are the outrageous details? Same as the current ones. But the moment is a pressure point that allows old arguments to resurface. The current agreement, which expires at midnight on Dec. 31,,, click here to read the story 05:54
Coast Guard Cutter Oliver Berry completes at-sea fisheries enforcement patrol off Hawaii
The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Oliver Berry (WPC 1124), a 154-foot Fast Response Cutter homeported in Honolulu, recently completed a 10-day patrol of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone in the Hawaiian Islands region. They conducted six boardings on Hawaii-based, U.S.-flagged long-line fishing vessels and issued eight safety and fisheries regulations violations.,, On Dec. 19, while conducting a boarding of a U.S.-flagged longline fishing vessel, the boarding team suspected a foreign national was acting as the vessel captain and operating the vessel. click here to read the story 18:13 
Christmas for the Shem Creek Fleet
Save Shem Creek Corp. teamed up with Shem Creek Fisheries this holiday season to raise money for the Shem Creek fleet. In addition to a BBQ plate fundraiser, Save Shem Creek Corp. started a GoFundMe account to raise money for the fleet. Save Shem Creek Corp. recently held a candidate meet and greet and from that they earned a $1,000 profit. The purpose of the event was not to raise money, according to spokesman Will Bagwell so the board agreed to donate it to Shem Creek Fisheries. “Since the fleet was having such a bad season, we thought there was no one better to give it to than them.” click here to read the story 17:36
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for December 29, 2017
Click here to read the Weekly Update, to read all the updates Click here, for older updates listed as NCFA click here16:54
Should Massachusetts ban commercial striped bass fishing?
YES – Rip Cunningham: Dover resident who fishes in the Plymouth area; active member, Stripers Forever; former editor, Salt Water Sportsman; former chairman, Massachusetts Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission, and New England Fisheries Management Council.,, NO – Douglas Amorello: Plymouth resident, commercial lobsterman and multi-species fin fisherman, including for striped bass click here to read the story 15:52
Marty Stillufsen – Who is to blame? and what to do with the money!
Hello Mr. Bullard, Congratulations on your retirement. You have the proud title of being the only respondent to any of my e-mails that I have sent since 2012 (lobster leased territory management suggestion). Thank you! I recently responded to a media article on the Raphael case. I hope that it made it to your desk. “Raphael apparently has a long history of fisheries and IRS violations that has been going on for quite some time. It’s a mystery to me how the National Marine Fisheries Service avoided monitoring this individual sooner; considering the disproportionate quantity of permits he held. click here to read the letter 13:14
Kirkcudbright scallop fishermen set to be hit by Isle of Man law changes
Fishermen at Kirkcudbright are likely to be hit by law changes on the Isle of Man. The Manx Department of the Environment, Food and Agriculture have ruled that all boats fishing for scallops in their waters must report to their ports every day. The requirement – due to come into effect on January 8 – could have a devastating effect particularly at Kirkcudbright, which is the country’s top scallop-landing port. click here to read the story 12:47 
Avangrid Pursuing Huge Offshore & Onshore Wind Projects In US
Avangrid Renewables is pursuing two new wind projects, one off the coast of Massachusetts and another in the heart of New Mexico. It is working with Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners on a bid to build an offshore wind farm in waters off the coast of Massachusetts. That partnership is known as Vineyard Wind.,, Two other partnerships have submitted bids to the state of Massachusetts, which plans to have up to 1.6 gigawatts (GW) of offshore power in place by 2027. click here to read the story 11:26
Best Workboats of 2017
Notwithstanding the lingering offshore energy downturn, there were plenty of bright spots for North American shipyards in 2017. If a hull was delivered in 2017, we took a look at it, with several areas as a focus for inclusion into this edition. For starters, it is always exciting when a domestic yard delivers a vessel – or multiple vessels, for that matter – to foreign buyers. We can compete in a foreign arena; on price, quality and on-time delivery. This year was no different. No less important is the environmental footprint of a vessel, and there was plenty to report on from that angle in the past 12 months. click here to read the story 11:08
Arson investigation continues into Christmas Day lobster pound fire in Digby County
A suspicious fire, that destroyed a lobster pound on Little Paradise Road in St. Bernard, has been labelled by the RCMP, as an act of arson. St. Bernard Fire Chief Daniel Gaudet said his crew and firefighters from Little Brook got the call to report to the scene of the fire about 4 a.m. Christmas morning.,, The initial blaze was reported to the RCMP by 4:45 a.m. Christmas morning after the initial blaze was labeled as “suspicious”.
Remembering the Salty Lady’s Roger Thomas
In the 1940s, a boy named Roger Thomas first walked knee-deep into the breaking waves of Monterey Bay, fishing rod in hand, and fell in love with the Pacific Ocean. Last Tuesday, 83 years after he was born, he passed away in San Francisco. Thomas, a fisherman who dedicated his life largely to protecting California’s Chinook salmon, reportedly died peacefully, several months after he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Thomas’s best friend Jacky Douglas, also a fishing boat skipper, sat by his side as he took his final breaths. click here to read the story 23:07
More fluke, less sea bass, but no difference for frustrated CT commercial fisherman under 2018 quotas
East Coast fishermen will be allowed to catch more summer flounder and not as much sea bass as last year, under new quotas proposed by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. But Stonington fisherman say the effects of the changing quotas will be nominal, and they will continue to advocate for an overhaul of the quota system, which they say has been unfair for decades. click here to read the story 21:54 
All Hands on Deck! Sam Parisi gives an update on efforts to get a Fish Bill, wants to know what YOU want included!
First let me thank Fisherynation.com for publishing my letter. I have received many emails and calls from fishermen and fisheries association’s, and it has been great to have them join in with me. I have also had many ask what is this Fish Bill all about ,and they deserve and answer. To be clear, I do not know how to write a bill, and at some point a Senator or Congressman will have to write the bill, with all the specifics spelled out. Now is the time to discuss and add input about what you’d like to see in your US Fish Bill. In the meantime, here is a brief summary of what some of us would like the bill to do. click here to read the story 18:42
The Illegal Black Market – Abalone haul costs man $500,000
A Chula Vista man who owns a seafood company was fined $15,000 Dec. 18 and ordered to forfeit $500,000 in proceeds stemming from his illegally importing abalone from Mexico without specifying from where it came. Yon Pon Wong, 65, the owner of the Lucky Company, pleaded guilty to false labeling in the U.S. in which he sold 148,500 pounds of abalone and falsely stated where he obtained it. click here to read the story 17:46
British Columbia court grants injunction to fish farm, ending protests
A B.C. Supreme Court judge has granted an injunction to Marine Harvest Canada’s Midsummer Island farm, which is located amid a series of islands in the Broughton Archipelago, about 50 kilometres east of Port Hardy on Vancouver Island. Protesters began occupying the farm in September, although Molina Dawson, a protester with the Musgamagw Dzawada’enuxw Nation, said they scaled back their activity while the legal proceedings were underway. Justice Peter Voith said in the decision that the protesters’ presence “gives rise to real safety issues” and he agrees that Marine Harvest will suffer irreparable harm if the occupation of the farm continues. click here to read the story 15:24
Ex-National Fish president pleads guilty to tax fraud
The former president of East Gloucester-based National Fish pleaded guilty to seven counts of tax evasion on Friday as part of a deal with federal prosecutors that removed more serious conspiracy charges involving at least one other National Fish executive. Jack A. Ventola of Ipswich changed his plea to guilty last Tuesday and now faces up to three years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of at least $250,000 for each of the seven counts. Ventola also was ordered to make restitution of $1.07 million to the IRS. click here to read the story 13:53
Photos: The ‘Craziest Lobster’ contest draws unusual photos of fishermens’ bizarre catches
An unusual contest has uncovered dozens of bizarre lobsters found in the waters of Canada’s East Coast — including blue ones, three-clawed ones, and even one as big as a beagle. Fishermen have submitted photos of about 75 lobsters to a “Craziest Lobster” contest on the Facebook page of Murray GM, a car dealership in southwestern Nova Scotia. click here to see the photos, read the story 13:10
