Daily Archives: December 16, 2017
Local Vietnam veteran honored by Sen. Reed with awards
More than four decades after the conclusion of the Vietnam War, one Narragansett native is finally being recognized for his service during the conflict. Paul Harvey was honored by U.S. Senator Jack Reed at his office in Cranston Friday, where he was presented the Purple Heart Medal with one Bronze Oak Leaf Cluster and the Silver Star Medal, the military’s third-highest personal declaration for valor in combat, among other awards.,,, he would go on to become a Newport-based commercial fisherman for 45 years, click here to read his story 17:53
Vote against fishing restrictions seen as win for RI, Galilee
At its meeting Tuesday, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council voted 16-4 to discontinue a proposed squid buffer zone framework off the coast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, according to Meghan Lapp, fisheries liaison for Seafreeze Ltd “There were a good number of commercial fishermen, squid fishermen present. There were also a good number of people from Nantucket present. Basically everybody that wanted to speak got a chance to speak, and the council did the right thing,” she said. All members of the Narragansett Town Council had signed a letter Dec. 4 requesting the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council “reject further discussion of a buffer zone for the summer squid fishery off Nantucket.” click here to read the story 15:46
For the last two years, the most dramatic moments of the White Marlin Open have been on dry land
Phil Heasley caught the fish of his life, but the $2.8 million in tournament prize money got away. Heasley reeled in a 6-foot (1.8 meter) white marlin last year off Maryland’s coast. But in a sign of how concerned some big money tournaments are about cheating, officials made him and his crew take lie detector tests. The officials said all four men failed. Heasley is now in a protracted court battle over the winnings and his crew’s reputation, pitting their integrity against that of one of the world’s most lucrative angling contests. click here to read the story 13:42
Long Beach area crab meat percentage drops
The Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife completed third round of preseason Dungeness crab testing Dec. 14 in the Long Beach test stations only. This test collected both crab shell condition and meat recovery data. Results do not bode well for a Dec. 31 start to the season. This third test was conducted at the request of members of the coastal crab industry, to confirm the results of the second round of tests from this same area. click here to read the story 12:42
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for December 15, 2017
Click here to read the Weekly Update, to read all the updates Click here, for older updates listed as NCFA click here12:01
Stay home or go fishing? Homer fishermen grapple with cod decline
Regulators voted to slash Gulf of Alaska Pacific cod allocations 80 percent earlier this month after a massive decline in stocks. That has fishermen and processors around the Gulf deciding what to do when the season kicks off on in January. “It’s going to be a big deal to a bunch of us. I’m guessing we’re going to be looking for stuff to do by the end of February at the latest,” Alray Carroll said.,, Once 2018’s total allowable catch of 13,000 metric tons has been landed, the season is over. click here to read the story 10:44
Pacific Ocean perch stock declared rebuilt
An important, though overfished groundfish stock has been declared rebuilt, the Pacific fishery Management Council announced Monday. Pacific Ocean perch has been an overfished stock since the mid 1960s when they were targeted by foreign fishing fleets, said John DeVore, groundfish staff officer for the Pacific fishery Management Council. This declaration will mainly be felt by the commercial trawl fishery north of Cape Mendocino, he said. click here to read the story 10:18
Amid uncertain NAFTA future, lobster industry looks to other markets
President Donald Trump is known to be a steak kind of guy. But his threat to throw out the North American Free Trade Agreement is lending a whole new meaning to “surf and turf” for at least one lobster-processing plant in southwestern Nova Scotia. “Yes, we all watch the negotiations. Yes, we’re all concerned about what will happen,” said Robert MacDonald, president and general manager of Gidney Fisheries in Centreville, N.S. The U.S. is the largest consumer of lobster from the Maritimes, accounting for close to three-quarters of the roughly $2 billion this country exported in 2016, according to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. click here to read the story 09:24
Trump Administration Facing Battle Over New England Marine Monument
“We will challenge in court any action to roll back the Coral Canyons and Seamounts monument and we expect to win,” said Priscilla Brooks, director of ocean conservation for the Boston-based Conservation Law Foundation. But Jon Williams, owner of the Atlantic Red Crab Company in New Bedford, Mass., said he and other commercial fishermen who have harvested crabs and deep sea lobsters from the Coral Canyons region for decades are delighted with the Trump administration’s proposal. click here to read the story 08:22
