Daily Archives: January 8, 2018
The Invisible Underwater Messaging System in Blue Crab Urine
In estuaries off the coast of Georgia, the water is so murky that if you were to dive in, you couldn’t see your hand in front of your face. There, blue crabs feast on mud crabs, oysters, fish and more. You may eagerly approach these hand-sized arthropods when they’re cracked into pieces and doused in butter. But in muddy water, tiny mud crabs, no bigger than the tip of your thumb, steer clear of the hungry blue crab predators. In this crab-eat-crab world, they can’t see their enemies coming — but they can smell them. click here to read the story 20:01
Minister praises role fishermen play in boosting P.E.I. economy
Provincial Fisheries minister Alan McIsaac told members of the Prince County Fishermen’s Association on Monday that the Island’s fishing industry is one of the shining reasons why the province will balance its budget, or show a slight surplus, this year. McIsaac said the lobster fishery alone produced landings of 36.4 million pounds and a landed value of $226 million in 2017. “You fellows are the ones that are making the economy go and helping us to balance the books.” click here to read the story 18:26 
Body of Paul Brenner who went missing during blizzard found
The body of Paul Benner, who went missing Thursday while clamming, has been found according to Marine Resources who has been spearheading the search. Benner’s body was found in Long Cove by Marine Patrol Officers using side scan sonar. The body was recovered using a dive team and will be taken to the Medical Examiner’s office. click here to read the story 16:47
NMFS Approves “Majority” of Council’s Habitat Amendment
NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has approved –with two exceptions –the New England Fishery Management Council’s Omnibus Essential Fish Habitat Amendment 2 (OHA2), paving the way for sweeping change to the existing network of closed and management areas in the Gulf of Maine, Southern New England, and Georges Bank. The changes will provide better protection for both fish and habitat while eliminating closures that no longer serve their intended purpose. click here to read the press release 16:20
The NIMBY’s! Coast Guard suspends use of Beaumont Hospital landing site after resident complaints
The Coast Guard’s helicopter service has suspended the use of the designated landing site for Beaumont Hospital after complaints from local residents. For the last number of years, a football pitch close to the hospital has been used as a landing site by both the Coast Guard helicopter service and the Air Corps to deliver patients to Beaumont, which is the country’s national centre for neurosurgery. In a post on its Facebook page back in November, the Beaumont Woods Residents Association,,, click here to read the story 15:07
Trump administration’s offshore drilling plans make one Nova Scotia fish processor very nervous
A U.S. government plan to expand offshore drilling in its waters could give oil and gas companies access to ecologically sensitive areas, including the American half of Georges Bank, a prospect that makes one Nova Scotia fish processor very nervous. Georges Bank is a large elevated area of sea floor that separates the Gulf of Maine from the Atlantic Ocean and is an important breeding ground for several fish species. It’s an area far too important to the fishing industry to be endangered by drilling, according to Nathan Blades, the general manager of Sable Fish Packers on Cape Sable Island in southwest Nova Scotia. click here to read the story 13:35
The last Gillnetter: Magazine documented the life of fishermen
They cleaned out the office after Christmas. Into the moving van went the old signs and the newspaper clippings documenting achievements and battles for river fisheries. Out went the boxes filled with index cards listing the names of past Columbia River Fishermen’s Protective Union members — and the dates they died. And the faded photographs and paintings of fishing boats that have sunk, sold or come to rest in museums. And boxes of old Columbia River Gillnetter magazines, a union publication founded in 1969. click here to read the story 12:15 
FISH-NL questions quiet reopening of Canadian ports to banned Faroese and Greenland trawlers
The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) is calling on Ottawa to explain its decision almost a year ago to quietly reopen Canadian ports to trawlers from the Faroe Islands and Greenland that had been banned for overfishing northern shrimp. “Why exactly was the ban lifted, and why didn’t the federal government make the news public when the decision was made?” questions Ryan Cleary, President of FISH-NL. click here to read the press release 11:48
Why save the Hawaii Aquarium Fishery? Aquarium Fish Collectors and what we do
The September 6, 2017 Hawaii Supreme Court HEPA (Hawaii Environmental Protection Act) ruling has nearly shut down Hawaii’s aquarium fishery. It will take years and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal fees to get HEPA filings finished even though the studies proved our fishery sustainable long before the courts considered the issue. Based on the Court ruling, all Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) ocean business permits will be facing HEPA permit requirements.,,, Please support Hawaii’s sustainable fisheries. Jesus and George Washington where fishermen! click here to read the story 10:58
On This Day: January 8, 1999, Fishing boat Cape Fear sinks in Buzzards Bay
On this day in 1999, the 112-foot fishing boat Cape Fear sank a quarter mile from the light tower at the mouth of Buzzards Bay. Its captain and two crew members were rescued by the vessel’s sister ship, the Misty Dawn, but two other crew were presumed drowned in the frigid, 37-degree waters. click here to read the story What happened? Report details cause of Cape Fear sinking – An investigation into the sinking of the Cape Fear two years ago has concluded,,, click here to read the story 10:07
Lobstermen alarmed at prospect of sharing their secrets with regulators
For generations, Maine lobstermen have fiercely guarded their fishing secrets, telling almost no one how and where they fish or how much they haul up in their traps. But under a new proposal, these independent operators would have to share all the nitty-gritty details with regulators, like where they fish, how long they let their traps soak, the kind of gear they use and how deep they set it, and how much lobster they land. click here to read the story 08:35
