Daily Archives: December 13, 2017

Department of Fisheries and Oceans installs security office, excavates hill where hunger strike held last spring

The hill is alive with the sound of an excavator at the start of the road leading to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) headquarters in St. John’s where Twillingate fisherman Richard Gillett held an 11-day hunger strike in April. The site where Gillett pitched his tent is all mud now. According to a statement from DFO, the excavation and the security office are part of new security and safety protocols being implemented at the facility.,, Gillett’s hunger strike started on April 13 and his supporters caused a bit of disruption at times for people trying to enter and leave the facility. But that wasn’t the only protest action by fishermen in the spring that caused some concern for DFO officials. click here to read the story 21:08

New research shows wild salmon exposed to fish farms have ‘much higher’ rate of disease

Wild salmon exposed to open-net fish farms are much more likely to be infected with piscine reovirus (PRV) than those that don’t have that contact, a new study has concluded. The data also show that the virus makes it more difficult for wild salmon to swim upstream to their spawning grounds, which has major implications for the sustainability of the populations. “The government has to remove this industry from the key salmon migration routes or we risk the complete loss of wild salmon in this province,” said Alexandra Morton, lead author on the report and an outspoken advocate for wild salmon. click here to read the story 18:07

The effect of exposure to farmed salmon on piscine orthoreovirus infection and fitness in wild Pacific salmon in British Columbia, Canadaclick here to read the study

Port of Seattle buys Salmon Bay Marina

The Port of Seattle has purchased Salmon Bay Marina, a privately-owned operation on five acres just to the west of Fishermen’s Terminal. The price: $15.6 million. The Port said it bought the marina to protect maritime industrial land and support the growth of Fishermen’s Terminal. The Port has set a goal to double the size of the “commercial fishing business cluster” at Fishermen’s Terminal. click here to read the story 15:09

Ryan Cleary calls for federal investigation over rumours and allegations

Two fishermen in Cartwright are making accusations of backdoor dealings and foul play around a Labrador committee of harvesters. Curtis Heard says he’s spent the past two years trying to get answers from a shrimp allocation committee that he claims is breaking the rules to satisfy its own ends.  “This committee operates with no oversight,” said Heard. “They’re making criteria to treat themselves, and if they don’t meet that criteria they’ll still walk through it.” In 2003, as a way to offset the impact of declines in crab and cod stocks, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) established an allocation of northern shrimp for crab and cod harvesters from Cartwright to L’Anse au Clair. click here to read the story 14:43

Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 45′ Dixon Fiberglass Gillnetter/Lobster, 360HP Lugger

Specifications, information and 6 photos click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 12:44

Mark the Shark, Miami’s Most Famed Deep-Sea Hunter, Fends Off Critics

“Got ’em on!” Mark “the Shark” Quartiano roars while his first mate stabs a shark with a gaff and hauls it out of the placid Atlantic Ocean.,,, After more than three decades in business, Quartiano has earned an international reputation for both his skill in reeling in the monsters of his customers’ dreams and his bravado over killing the creatures. He is perhaps America’s best-known shark angler after starring in dozens of fishing and reality TV shows and attracting a star-studded client list including Will Smith, Shaquille O’Neal, Ice-T, and Rosie O’Donnell. But in recent years, Quartiano has become known less for headlines as a shark-conquering hero and more for accusations that he’s a butcher of the seas. click here to read the story 11:54

PHOTOS: Craziest lobster contest stacking up entries

For the second year in a row, photos of weird-looking lobsters are flooding the Facebook Page of a local auto dealership. The pictures of the unusual crustaceans, mostly submitted by fishermen, are being entered in Murray GM’s Craziest Lobster Contest. Marketing manager Billy Mole says he’s noticed there are quite a few photos of out-of-the-ordinary claws. “Last year I noticed we were seeing a few that had some pretty funky claws with some extensions.,,  Last year the contest reached nearly half a million viewers, with entries from Hawaii, Ecuador and a fish market in Tanzania. 15 photo’s, click here to read the story 10:43

‘Local hero’ frees beached boat

On Dec. 5, local lobsterman Dave Reingardt’s boat Head Tide was found aground at the northernmost point of Mill Cove across the road from The Village at Mill Cove Landing. The boat parted with the dock it was tied to due to the speed of winds. Lobsterman Craig Sproul was watching efforts from a bank on the shore and said he had seen his share of boats come off moorings or docks, but he had never seen a boat of Head Tide’s size be carried as far into the cove as it was. photo gallery, click here to read the story. 10:07

Caiozzo Questions Langevin’s Support for Fishing Industry in RI

Republican candidate for Rhode Island’s Second Congressional District Sal Caiozzo is questioning the support being offered by Congressman Jim Langevin for the commercial fishing industry in Rhode Island. “For the past two years I’ve gone to D.C. and fought for Rhode Island’s commercial fisherman. I’ve made several day-long trips on commercial fishing vessels, I’ve met with fishermen, industry leaders and congressmen from states with a commercial fishing industry urging them to hear the plight of fishermen and stop over-regulating the industry. click here to read the story 09:02

Deepwater struggles to assuage concerns of fishermen

Commercial fishermen peppered representatives of Deepwater Wind this week with concerns, questions and “what-if” scenarios about the planned offshore wind farm’s feared impacts on marine life and the men who work the waters for a living. The company, which is planning to spend more than $700 million to construct 15 wind turbines in the ocean 30 miles southeast of Montauk, walked a standing-room-only audience at the East Hampton Town Trustees meeting on Monday night through the coming permitting and presumed construction process that will follow. Its officials also tried to again assuage the concerns of fishermen about the effects the South Fork Wind Farm will have on fishing. click here to read the story 08:13

Fishermen Demand Answers on Wind Power Plan – “You’re going into our fishing grounds,” Hank Lackner, owner of the 90-foot trawler Jason & Danielle, told the Deepwater Wind officials. Visibly angry, he demanded details as to how fishermen would be compensated for interruptions, likening that compensation to the incentives offered to the town, which he said are effectively bribery. “When I can’t fish where I have for decades . . . and have to change my business operations, what are you going to do?” click here to read the story18:36 12/14