Daily Archives: December 11, 2017
Why Fishermen Fail To Unite and Resist Being Swept Off of Our Historic Fishing Grounds
As fishermen it often seems we are beset on all sides by so many issues that would disenfranchise us, derail our efforts to safeguard our industry, destroy our livelihoods and communities, and push us off of the historically wild and free ocean. Whether it is in the name of industrial power production or environmental protection, we are up against marine monuments, death by a thousand cuts regulation, forests of windmills, observers, cameras, and tracking systems watching us like an Orwellian nightmare, and grids of closure areas that threaten to push us onto fishing reservations like the Native Americans who once stood in the path of progress. click here to continue reading By Jon Johnson 18:51
Westport crabber sentenced for stealing commercial pots
A Grays Harbor County judge has sentenced a commercial crab fisherman to 90 days of electronic home monitoring and fined him $5,000 for stealing crab pots offshore of Westport, concluding a case that began with an investigation last year by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). Larrin Brietsprecher, 57, of Westport, was sentenced Dec. 1 by Grays Harbor County Superior Court Judge Mark McCauley after a jury found him guilty of possessing stolen property and related charges. Beginning May 1, click here for press release 17:28
Puget Sound report tells the environmental story that took place in 2016
The year 2016 may be regarded as a transition year for Puget Sound, coming between the extreme warm-water conditions of 2014 and 2015 and the more normal conditions observed over the past year, according to the latest Puget Sound Marine Waters report (click here). The report on the 2016 conditions was released this past week by the Marine Waters Workgroup, which oversees the Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program (PSEMP). The report includes data collected in 2016 and analyzed over the past year. Some findings from the report, click here to read the story 16:01
DEM gets $1.6M grant for Port of Galilee infrastructure improvements
The R.I. Department of Environmental Management has received a $1.6 million grant from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration to make critical port infrastructure improvements needed to support the region’s commercial fishing industry, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced Monday.,,, “President Trump has been clear about the urgent need to upgrade American infrastructure from coast to coast,” Ross said in a statement. “The completion of this project will help drive new opportunities to the local commercial fishing industry in the Port of Galilee.” click here to read the story 14:57
Clark’s Harbour wharf: Lobster landings looking good
It looks as though lobster landings have been holding their own for the first two weeks of the season, with estimates that the catch is on par with last year in Shelburne County. “We’re seeing about the same as last year,” said Clark’s Harbour lobster buyer Gary Blades. “Some fishermen are up, some are down.” For many fishermen the first hauling day of the season didn’t come until Nov. 30, after traps were dumped on Nov. 28. This was due to gale force winds on Nov. 29. The season opening had also been delayed by a day. After that, for the most part, the weather was cooperative. click here to read the story 14:29
Matt Ridley: Blue Planet II Was Superb, Save A Few Fishy Facts
Nothing that Hollywood sci-fi screenwriters dream up for outer space begins to rival the beauty and ingenuity of life under water right here. Blue Planet II captured behaviour that was new to science as well as surprising: giant trevally fish eating sooty terns on the wing; Galapagos sea lions herding yellowfin tuna ashore; an octopus wrapping itself in shells to confuse sharks. The series also preached. Every episode had a dose of bad news about the ocean and a rebuke to humanity, while the entire last episode was devoted to the environmental cause, featuring overfishing, pollution, climate change and ocean acidification. The team behind the incomparable Sir David Attenborough has acceded to demands that it should push more environmentalism. click here to read the story 12:26
Hearing – National Ocean Policy: Stakeholder Perspectives, Tuesday, December 12, 2017 2:30 p.m.
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), chairman of the Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard, will convene a hearing titled “National Ocean Policy: Stakeholder Perspectives,” at 2:30 p.m. on Tuesday, December 12, 2017. The hearing will examine the state of the National Ocean Policy and the program’s interaction with existing laws and regulations for ocean management. Witnesses: – Ms. Bonnie Brady, Executive Director, Long Island Commercial Fishing Association – Mr. Christopher Guith, Senior Vice President, Global Energy Institute, U.S. Chamber of Commerce – Mr. Dan Keppen, Executive Director, Family Farm Alliance – Ms. Kathy Metcalf, President and CEO, Chamber of Shipping of America click here to read, and the link will open to watch the proceedings tomorrow @ 2:30 pm
Mid Atlantic Fishery Management Council Meeting in Annapolis, MD December 11-14, 2017
The public is invited to attend the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s December meeting in Annapolis, MD. Briefing Materials & Agenda Overview Agenda click here Attend Meeting with Adobe Connect Click here Listen Live! 10:38
Seaspan launches Canadian Coast Guard’s first Offshore Fisheries Science Vessel
The first large vessel to be designed and built under the Canadian National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS) was launched at Seaspan Shipyards on December 8. ‘Sir John Franklin’ is the first of three offshore fisheries science vessels (OFSV) which will be operated by the Canadian Coast Guard. In 2011, the government of Canada selected Seaspan to be its non-combat shipbuilder as part of the NSS program. click here to read the story 09:44
On This Day: Dec. 11, 1975 – Attack on British vessels heightens Cod War
An Icelandic gunboat has opened fire on unarmed British fishery support vessels in the North Atlantic Sea, it is reported. The violent clash left the Icelandic coastguard ship, Thor, badly damaged but the three British vessels involved appear to be unaffected. The Thor is said to have tried to arrest the British Star Aquarius and her sister vessel the Star Polaris as they sheltered from a force nine gale within Iceland’s 12 mile territorial waters. click here to read the story 09:03
Promising results from UK lobster hatchery
Set up primarily to support the local lobster-fishing industry, the National Lobster Hatchery (NLH) concentrates on hatching eggs from gravid females caught by local fishermen, keeping them within the safety of the hatchery during their vulnerable larval phase, before releasing them – as comparatively robust juveniles – back into the seas around Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly. However, the researchers have since been experimenting with on-growing these juveniles for longer – and to larger sizes – in a number of different sea-based systems. They hope that this ecological conditioning will not only help to improve the survival of those lobsters that they release back into the wild,,,, click here to read the story 08:05
