Daily Archives: December 15, 2017
Bluefin tuna in P.E.I. are so hungry they no longer fear humans
Bobbing up and down on cold Atlantic waters, several fishermen toss scaly, silver mackerel overboard. It’s a delicious snack for a bluefin tuna — the largest species of tuna in the world, measuring more than six feet in length and weighing up to 1,600 pounds. The newcomer among them, a writer and ecologist, expects to spend the afternoon patiently waiting for a bite. Instead, the bluefin tuna here in North Lake, P.E.I. are so abundant and so hungry that within minutes their trademark yellow caudal finlets are circling the boat. click here to read the story 18:29
Lets meet and build a consensus to have Congress enact a U.S. Fisheries Bill – Sam Parisi
I am a retired fisherman and am very concerned about the fishing future for those who are still engaged in their chosen occupation, and want to devote my time to help protect the future of those that are still fishing. As you know we are faced with many obstacles. I thought we could together fix the problems but there are so many, and the problems continue increasing. From National Marine Monuments closures, forced monitoring costs on those that can’t afford them, allocation cut backs based on science no one has confidence in unless you work for the NOAA, and now a steady wave of industries that want to utilize our traditional fishing grounds along every coast line of the EEZ. click here to read the letter 15:48
Maine lobster council to keep funding marketing effort despite critics
Despite grumbling from lobster dealers, the state Lobster Advisory Council voted unanimously Thursday to continue funding the Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative. The collaborative is about to begin the final year of its five-year mission to promote the state’s signature product. It wants the Legislature to renew its authorization, and its $2.2 million a year budget funded by surcharges on state-issued lobster licenses. But it needs the support of the people that its work is serving – the individual lobster zone councils and the Lobster Advisory Council that oversees it all. click here to read the story 13:29
Squid fishery proposed for Southeast as squid follow warmer waters to Alaska
Following warmer waters to Alaska, market squid may be here to stay and at least four Southeast fishermen think there’s enough here to begin catching and marketing them. A proposal to create a squid fishery in Southeast is slated for the Alaska Board of Fisheries meeting Jan. 11-23 in Sitka. If adopted, the board would work with fishermen and stakeholders to develop a purse seine fishery for market squid, which are already being caught in lucrative fisheries in California and Oregon. click here to read the story 12:40
Fisheries Work Group reacts to cod decline and quota reduction
The Gulf of Alaska is seeing a Pacific cod decline just a year after a disastrous pink salmon season, and it has Kodiak representatives looking at the next steps for the community. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council recently decided to reduce the Gulf of Alaska cod quota by 80 percent to compensate for the almost 70 percent decline. The feeling around the table at the Kodiak Fisheries Work Group meeting Wednesday night was that this could be another fishery disaster, as with the pink season in 2016, which earned a federal disaster designation. click here to read the story 12:07
Fish Processing Icon Pat Quinlan Has Passed Away
Pat Quinlan, the co-founder of Quinlan Brothers, has passed away. Quinlan was born in Red Head Cove on November, 1929 – the youngest of seven children in the family of Patrick and Alice Quinlan. Throughout Pat’s life, he received many accolades and awards within the local community. However, it was as owner, manager, president and CEO of Quinlan Brothers Limited that Pat left his mark on the fishing industry of Newfoundland and Labrador. click here to read the story 10:44
DFO says changes at St. John’s facility a result of disconcerting spring protests
Those measures are a direct result of (Richard) Gillett’s protest, which began on April 13, and an earlier protest on April 7 when a group of protesting fishermen kicked in a window at the building’s main entrance and stormed inside the building. Jan Woodford, regional director of communications with Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Newfoundland and Labrador Region, confirmed Thursday a new security review was conducted as a result of the protests. “Yes, this review was carried out in response to an incident at the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Centre during which protesters forcibly gained access to the building,” Woodford said. click here to read the story 10:01
Freeport fisherman to be sentenced for catching red snapper without commercial license
A Freeport man is set to be sentenced Friday in a Houston federal court for lying to federal agents about a massive and unauthorized red snapper haul last March. Jamal Marshall, 36, who was only licensed for recreational fishing, pleaded guilty on Aug. 24 for lying to federal agents about hundreds of fish he’d brought in. He had 488 red snapper and 154 vermilion snapper on board the vessel when stopped by officials, a gross violation of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) catch limits. The fish had a market value of $30,000. But Marshall also admitted he had sold $35,000 worth of fish to Houston-area restaurants. click here to read the story 09:21
“You’re going into our fishing grounds,” – Fishermen Demand Answers on Wind Power Plan
An effort by Deepwater Wind, the Rhode Island company that plans to construct the South Fork Wind Farm approximately 30 miles east of Montauk, to alleviate the concerns of skeptical fishermen over disruption or destruction of their livelihood took an incremental step forward when the company’s president and vice president of development addressed a standing-room-only crowd at East Hampton Town Hall on Monday. Concerns remain, however, with commercial fishermen demanding to see data that Deepwater Wind has promised but has yet to produce, along with assurances that they will be compensated for losses resulting from construction or operation of the wind farm. click here to read the story 08:08
