Daily Archives: December 4, 2017
Lund’s Fisheries Promotes, Hires as Part of Domestic Expansion
Lund’s Fisheries is pleased to announce a series of promotions and new hires as part of its expansion into innovative product lines and markets. Our reorganized team will focus on adding additional value-added products such as seafood mixes, sauces and gourmet meals to the company’s overall product mix, while further developing Lund’s long-standing product lines such as fresh and frozen seafood and bait products. click here to read the press release 23:19
Sector IX Responds to NOAA Groundfish Ban
Sector IX sent a 15 page response to John Bullard and NOAA on Saturday after the governing agency banned the sector from groundfishing two weeks ago. The documents sent to NOAA’s Northeast Regional Administrator by Sector IX President Virginia Martins included a six page letter that outlined the grievances with the decision as well as biographies of the new board members and the agenda of an Oct. 26 meeting between the sector and the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office. click here to read the story 22:33
Coast Guard, local agencies searching for 2 fisherman near Nantucket from 4 man crew
Coast Guard crews along with local agencies and good Samaritans are searching for two fisherman after their fishing boat sank Monday evening 10 miles southeast of Nantucket. At approximately 6:10 pm the First Coast Guard District command center received a distress call via an emergency positioning indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) from the 69-foot fishing vessel Misty Blue with four crewmembers aboard. The fishing boat Enterprise was in the area rescued two of the crewmembers and transferred them to Coast Guard Cutter Steelhead. Coast Guard and local agencies are currently searching for the remaining two crewmembers. Link 21:53
Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association gets $100,000 grant
The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation announced the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association Dec. 1 as one of seven recipients to receive a grant through the Fisheries Innovation Fund. This funding, $99,882 in total, will continue to drive the organization’s mission of working to identify and foster ways to restore the fisheries of the Gulf of Maine and sustain Maine’s fishing communities for future generations. The Fishermen’s Association received funding to work on a project to develop the Next Generation of Permit Banking and Fishery Trusts.The Fisheries Innovation Fund is an ongoing partnership between NFWF, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Walton Family Foundation. click here to read the story 21:23
Grant program could increase Gulf aquaculture
A new method is being tried to increase seafood production through the use of aquaculture. The Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission is awarding grants totaling $450,000 for new and unique aquaculture projects in the Gulf of Mexico. The projects will range in size from $50,000 to $100,000 and will be given out starting in April to qualified projects. Oysters are already being grown, but these new projects would be in deep water and concentrate on fish. click here to read the story 18:41
Major pattern change to cold begins at mid-week in the Mid-Atlantic region, assures a far different December compared to last five years
Overview – A major pattern change is going to begin on Wednesday in the Mid-Atlantic region and it will result in a period of sustained colder-than-normal temperatures that will assure a much different December compared to the last five. This pattern change to cold will also include increasing chances for snow – perhaps as early as late this week or during the upcoming weekend – as an active upper-level trough forms in the eastern US associated with the initial cold blast. Discussion – This December will be a far cry from the last five years,,, click here to read the story 17:59
New England Fishery Management Council Meeting December 5-7, 2017 in Newport, RI
The New England Fishery Management Council will be meeting at the Hotel Viking, 1 Bellevue Avenue, Newport, RI 02840. To read the final agenda, click here Register click here to listen live 16:57
Huge scallop harvest, growth in oyster farming boost East End
Since the scallop season opened with a strong start in early November, fish dealers have been buying hundreds of pounds a day. The surge in volume is keeping fishermen, shuckers, wholesalers and seafood store owners busy, but it has also pushed prices down. Scallops are selling for less than $20 a pound, in some cases as low as $15, down from around $35 last year.,, Nate Phillips, whose family owns Alice’s Fish Market in Greenport, has been supplying the shop with all the bay scallops it can sell. Each morning he takes his small fishing boat loaded with metal dredges and a sorting table to state waters not far from his Greenport shop to catch his daily quota of 10 bushels.Video, click here to read the story 16:26
Fraser River Sockeye salmon recommended for listing under Species At Risk Act
The recommendation, announced Monday by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada, an independent scientific body that advises the federal government, is the most significant acknowledgement to date of the jeopardy facing the iconic red-bodied fish that was once the mainstay of British Columbia’s salmon industry. “It’s a signal of a larger issue,” said Eric Taylor, committee chair and fish ecologist at the University of British Columbia. “The Fraser River is having trouble supporting these fish.” click here to read the story 14:37
Mid Atlantic Council considering buffer zone south of Nantucket that would eliminate squid fishing in federal waters in that area
The Council included an action to consider Squid Buffers in the list of “Possible Additions” in the 2017 Implementation Plan. The December 2017 Council meeting would constitute Framework Meeting 1, as per the Frameworks Process Summary. Staff has been able to draft possible alternatives and to develop preliminary related analyses (or use existing analyses). Staff is seeking Council input on next steps. Several recent constituent communications regarding the buffer issue are also included at the end of this tab. Previous public comments have included positions for and against moving forward with this action. click here to read the story Attached are two letters of support for the fishing industry from the Town of Narragansett Town Council and also the Narragansett Chamber of Commerce click here to read the letters 12:43
Research shows juvenile endangered California salmon use different rivers than expected
In a paper published online last week in the journal Biological Conservation, a team of California researchers revealed a surprising finding: Juvenile winter-run Chinook aren’t just using the Sacramento River as rearing habitat; after hatching, they also venture in large numbers into the river’s tributaries, including creeks that feed into it below Redding, as well the Feather and the American rivers. Winter-run Chinook are a distinct species of salmon that return each year to spawn and die in the Sacramento River near Redding. click here to read the story 11:16
Red snapper imperiled by Trump team’s gift to the yachting set
As a chef in New Orleans, I rely on fish and seafood for my livelihood. The seafood from the Gulf of Mexico and its waterways is integral to my menu and to every restaurant that benefits from New Orleans’ reputation as a world-class food city. What would New Orleans’ culinary tradition be without fresh catch for our seafood gumbo, oysters Rockefeller, crawfish etouffée, and shrimp po-boys? Along with other chefs, fishers, and eaters, I have relied for years on bipartisan and science-based management of Gulf fish stocks to maintain this precious natural resource. click here to read the stuff10:38
Maine objections couldn’t stop shrimp closure
Say this for Maine — both its state fisheries regulators and its shrimpers: They don’t like to lose. Last Wednesday, Maine got outvoted by Massachusetts and New Hampshire on whether interstate fisheries regulators should continue closing the Gulf of Maine to shrimping for the fifth consecutive year. Massachusetts and New Hampshire voted to keep it closed. Maine, hoping to sustain as much of its shrimp fishery’s infrastructure as possible, argued for a modest season despite the continued dire forecasts for the northern shrimp stocks — which, if possible — seem even worse than what NOAA Fisheries says about Gulf of Maine cod. click here to read the story 09:04
UK’s undersea communications cables ‘uniquely vulnerable’ to sabotage – report
Terrorists using deep-sea grappling hooks attached to fishing trawlers could intercept the UK’s network of undersea communications cables, a report has warned. It said they remained “uniquely vulnerable” to sabotage despite 97% of global communications being transmitted through fibre-optic cables. The report, written by Tory MP Rishi Sunak for right-leaning think-tank Policy Exchange, said a successful attack on Britain’s network would be a “crippling blow” to the country’s security and economy. click here to read the story 08:26
Offshore wind farm could make vital Fife fishing ground a no-go zone
Eight turbines up to 800ft high may be built off the coast of Methil, in an area of rich pickings for fishermen from both sides of the Firth of Forth. Although the Forthwind developers insist fishing could continue around some of the massive structures those in the industry say it would become a no-go zone. Tom Mackenzie, manager of the Fishermen’s Mutual Association (Pittenweem), said: “It would be too dangerous to fish there. click here to read the story 07:49
