Monthly Archives: March 2018
New Brunswick Crab fishermen to test ropeless fishing
New Brunswick snow crab fishermen will test two ropeless trap methods this spring to reduce the use of the fishing rope blamed in the deaths of two North Atlantic right whales last year.,,Mark Baumgartner, of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts, said ropeless fishing is the solution to the entanglement problem.,, Robert Haché, director general of the Acadian Crabbers Association, said the fishermen want to do all they can to prevent entanglements.,, The techniques to be tested this season will be from U.S.-based technology and research companies, Haché said. >click to read< 10:13
Stormy horizons – Salmon farms
Good news for Alaska commercial fishermen: Salmon last year ranked as the favorite fish at Japanese conveyor-belt sushi restaurants for the sixth year in a row, according to a survey by seafood processor Maruha Nichiro. Bad news for Alaska fishermen: “Ninety percent of that salmon is imported from Chile and Norway, but its popularity is now spurring domestic fish farming,” Nikkei Asian Review reported earlier this month. The report of Japanese domestic fishing farming might be the worst news of all. >click to read<09:02
Support local seafood before it’s too late
“Fishermen are the farmers of sea,” (March 17), states fisheries liaison Meghan Lapp in the documentary “Fishing Wars: Drowning in Regulation.” Oppressive federal regulations, inaccurate science and low quotas are crushing commercial fishing in Stonington and other communities. Fish stocks are at healthy levels, yet 90 percent of seafood consumed in the U.S. is imported. And 97 percent of those imports are not inspected by the FDA. Are you worried yet? I am. >click to read< 08:18
Corps of Engineers wants to remove 500 cormorant eggs to support salmon conservation in Columbia River
The Corps is in the fourth year of a five-year plan to cut the cormorant population on East Sand Island at the river’s mouth from more than 14,000 breeding pairs to no more than 5,380 to 5,939 birds to reduce pressure on fish listed under the federal Endangered Species Act. Double-crested cormorants are not listed under the federal Endangered Species Act but have federal protections under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act. The colony on the island at one point was believed to account for more than 40 percent of the entire Western population of the double,, >click to read<18:45
Russell Wangersky: Fish science still taking a backseat
In science, it’s critically important to compare apples to apples. If you’re looking at comparing data sets, you have to know that you’re using the same comparative parameters, and that all parts of the equation are the same. But that might not be the case for a critical fishery survey being done off Nova Scotia. The coast guard vessel Alfred Needler can’t do the survey, because it’s laid up in the St. John’s shipyard undergoing refit — a refit that has had to be extended after additional work was added. The Teleost, which normally would have done the work if the Needler couldn’t do the five-week trawl survey, is also laid up, and is also behind schedule. >click to read<17:44
IPHC commissioners hope to find middle ground on catch limits
In January, disagreements on the International Pacific Halibut Commission came to a head. U.S. and Canadian commissioners are in agreement on one thing, halibut stocks are on the decline. But when it came to divvying up the catch between U.S. and Canadian waters, commissioners were at an impasse. The fundamental disagreement comes down to whether halibut should be allocated solely based on the science or if social and economic considerations should also play a role. Next month commissioners will begin that conversation. >click to read<11:54
Northern cod stock declined over last year; scientists urge minimum fishing effort
Those in the province’s fishing industry hoping the northern cod would be ready for a commercial fishery in a few years’ time — a saviour to an industry suffering repeated blows from declining crab and shrimp stocks — better hold on to their hooks and nets. Northern cod this year are in the same leaky boat, having declined significantly over the past year. And that has come as a surprise to many because the northern cod stocks off the province’s east and northeast coast showed promising growth since 2012 — the first real glint of light since the dark and uncertain days of the northern cod stock collapse of the late 1980s and early 1990s. >click to read<10:10
Pensacola Bay – Coast Guard, local agencies respond to vessel fire and spilt diesel
Coast Guard Sector Mobile watchstanders received a notification of a 50-foot commercial fishing vessel catching fire while moored at Joe Patti’s Marina in Pensacola Bay at 4:26 p.m. Pensacola Fire Department extinguished the fire but the vessel sank and discharged an estimated 100 gallons of diesel into the water. Seatow deployed containment boom and sorbent pads around the vessel to collect oil. A vacuum truck and skimmer are en route to begin operations Saturday morning. An inquirey revealed the name of the as F/V New Horizon. >click to read<09:28
No rescue by Congress for $75M fishing boat in Anacortes that can’t fish in U.S. waters
A state-of-the-art $75 million factory trawler moored at an Anacortes dock is called “America’s Finest,” but that name could end up being a cruel irony for the shipyard and fishing company that hoped to put it to work. The still-unfinished vessel is not allowed to dip a net in U.S. waters because the hull contains too much steel modified overseas. A congressional waiver to overcome that failed to make it into the $1.3 trillion spending bill signed Friday by President Donald Trump. Mike Nelson, vice president of Dakota Creek Industries Anacortes, said the failure to gain >click to read<22:59
This Weekend: Anti-Fishing Protests to Hit 38 Cities!
This weekend, in honor of World Day for the End of Fishing, PETA supporters in 38 North American cities—from Boston and Vancouver to Mexico City and Honolulu—will gather outside restaurants that still serve sea animals and cover themselves with fishing nets beneath a banner that demands, “End Fishing!” PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—notes that the commercial fishing industry drags fish from their ocean homes in huge nets,, yadda yadda, >click to read<21:34
New York State petitions feds demanding more equitable fluke quota
New York State on Friday filed a petition with the federal government to demand a more equitable distribution of the commercial fluke quota, saying current rules put “unreasonable limits” on the state industry.,, “The stringent limits on commercial landings of [fluke] in New York ports have made [fluke] fishing no longer an economically viable choice” for New York fishermen, because the “limited revenue generated by a trip often cannot offset the costs, including fuel, time, and vessel wear-and-tear.” >click to read<18:21
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for March 23, 2018
>Click here to read the Weekly Update<, to read all the updates >Click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here< 14:56
‘The truth needed to come out’: A decade after the sinking of the Alaska Ranger, a survivor changes his story
On the 10th anniversary of the sinking of the Seattle-based fishing vessel, a survivor and key witness says he left out part of the story — an incident he believes had grave consequences. Rodney Lundy has a story to tell. He says he should have told it a lot sooner. As the Seattle-based Alaska Ranger prepared to head out to the Bering Sea to fish for Atka mackerel, Lundy, an assistant engineer, says he saw trouble. It was the evening of March 21, 2008, and Lundy says crew had stacked bundles of netting around one of two air vents.,, Lundy wanted the gear moved. The conversation grew heated as fishmaster Satoshi Konno — leader of a small group of Japanese crew members — refused. >click to read<14:07
FISH-NL calls for independent investigation of ‘epic’ mismanagement of northern cod stock, relationship between DFO and FFAW
The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) says a dramatic decline in northern cod below 1992’s moratorium level reflects “epic” mismanagement that isn’t characteristic of the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans with other fisheries across Canada. In that context, FISH-NL recommends Ottawa initiate an immediate, independent investigation of DFO management in the Newfoundland and Labrador region, and, more specifically, the department’s relationship with the FFAW-Unifor. >click to read<12:47
Man accused of redirecting $315,000 in grant funds for his own use
A Fairbanks man has been indicted for allegedly using more than $300,000 in federal grant money to attend flight school and to buy himself an airplane, real estate, firearms and online pornography. David Michael McGraw, 38, “willfully misapplied” the money while he was working as the finance director for the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Watershed Council from 2010-14, according to a news release issued by the office of the United States Attorney for the District of Alaska. >click to read< 12:22
Enviro group concerned about decline in capelin abundance in N.L.
A national conservation organization is expressing concerns about what it says is a 70 per cent decline in capelin abundance over the last two years in Newfoundland and Labrador. A news release from WWF Canada says that while environmental factors are driving the decline, it cannot rule out fishing as another factor. It says due to limitations with its surveys, the Fisheries Department cannot accurately estimate the total number of capelin in the water, and therefore cannot conclude with certainty the impact fishing has had on the stock. >click to read<11:23
Petition to Reclassify: Fight begins over fate of leatherback sea turtle
Protected as endangered species for nearly half a century, their Atlantic population soon may lose that status, in what is becoming a fight between commercial fishermen and conservationists. The Blue Water Fishermen’s Association, which represents longline fishermen who catch swordfish, tuna and other big fish along the east coast, has petitioned the federal government to reclassify from endangered to threatened the northwest Atlantic population of leatherbacks,,, With the Pacific leatherback population crashing, they say the northwest Atlantic population should be classified separately so U.S. fishermen aren’t penalized for the failure of other countries to protect them. >click to read<09:36
Fisherman who sued feds thrilled about funding for at-sea monitoring
A commercial fisherman who sued the federal government over at-sea monitoring costs was thrilled Thursday when it was announced the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration would fully fund the program under the omnibus government spending bill. David Goethel, of Hampton, said he learned about the funding Wednesday. “I’ve been sitting on this for 18 hours. I was like a cat that swallowed a canary. I didn’t want to spit out any feathers,” Goethel said Thursday afternoon. >click to read<09:01
Partnership expected to create Live Stor America with holding facilities in Portland, Seattle
Live Stor Ltd. of North Sydney has reached an agreement with Tennessee-based LIG Assets to establish two live lobster holding facilities in the U.S. The new facilities would be based in Portland, Me. and Seattle, Wash. Under the name, Live Stor America, a million-pound live holding system operation in both cities would support import and export of live seafood from the U.S., Europe and Asia. “LIGA is very fortunate to partner with Live Ship, a company that is certain to disrupt the seafood delivery industry and shares our corporate values,” LIG Assets chairman Aric Simons said in a release issued earlier this month.>click to read<21:09
Local fisherman, FGCU student finds message in a bottle at sea, collects $10,000 diamond
One month after jeweler Mark Loren dropped three messages in a bottle from a helicopter into the Gulf of Mexico, a local fisherman has claimed the first prize. Wesley Skinner, 22, a commercial fisherman and senior at Florida Gulf Coast University, spotted the light green glass bottle floating at sea, about 30 miles offshore northwest of Sanibel Island. The water was extremely calm that day, Skinner recalled, and after seeing an object bobbing in the water, asked the captain turn around so he could take a closer look. He didn’t immediately uncork the bottle, though,,, >click to read<18:22
Gone Fishing with the X-H1
For 2018 I have embarked on a new project telling the story of a year in the life of a local fisherman and his 10-metre trawler called the Rockhopper of Perceul. I live in the small fishing town of Dunbar on Scotland’s south east coast which boasts a small fishing fleet of twenty nine boats ranging from small creel boats up to medium size trawlers. The Rockhopper is one of two trawler / potters that work the seas off of Dunbar all year round. By Jeff Carter >click to read<14:48
Rep. Zeldin Slams ASMFC Black Sea Bass Allocation, Calls for Equitable Fishing Quotas
Congressman Lee Zeldin (R, NY-1) issued the following statement following the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) proposed allocation for black sea bass for the 2018 season, which would unfairly cut New York State’s share by up to 12%, while other states will see their allocations grow: “With the vast majority of Long Island fishing taking place in waters shared with New Jersey and Connecticut, such as the Atlantic Ocean and Long Island Sound, it is unfair that New York anglers are, once again, being penalized with smaller fishing quotas than neighboring states. >click to read<14:08
US Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross questions safety of seafood imports
U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross addressed U.S. fisheries regulations and his concern about the quality of seafood imports with the U.S. Congress on Tuesday, 20 March, and he said he’s looking for NOAA Fisheries officials to work harder to reduce the country’s seafood trade deficit.,, “It’s one of my pet peeves,” Ross said, when asked by U.S. Rep. Steven Palazzo (R-Mississippi) what he planned to do to reduce the country’s seafood trade deficit. “I hate the idea that with all the water surrounding us and all the water inland that we have a trade deficit in fish. >click to read<13:05
Shaheen Negotiates Full Federal Funding for At-Sea Monitoring Fees in Government Spending Bill
U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), the lead Democrat on the Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies Senate Appropriations Subcommittee, released the following statement after obtaining funding in the omnibus government spending bill that will prevent a burdensome and costly at-sea monitoring fee from being imposed on New Hampshire fishermen this year. The fee was previously paid for by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), but in recent years, the agency has shifted this significant financial burden on to fishermen. >click to read<11:00
Lobster: Don’t put us in same pot
FOREWARD: The spring fishers of P.E.I. include over 1,000 fleets from Tignish to East Point to Victoria. We are grateful for the support of local businesses and the general public who purchase our cold-water lobster each year. As with all goods and services, prices of lobster also fluctuate. However, one thing remains constant: Spring-caught lobster are hands-down the best quality lobster in North America, and when it comes to annual prices, the bar should be set by the highest quality product. We acknowledge that several factors also affect the price of lobster, such as CAD value, supply and demand. Our two articles are meant to provide clarity on the varying costs of P.E.I. lobster. Following is Part 1. >click to read<10:28
Coast Guard rescues 3 from grounded vessel in Peril Strait, Alaska
A Coast Guard Air Station Sitka MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew rescued three people after their fishing vessel grounded in Peril Strait, Wednesday. The Jayhawk helicopter crew landed on shore and embarked the three individuals. They were taken to Air Station Sitka in good condition. Coast Guard Sector Juneau watchstanders received a mayday call via VHF Channel 16 from the 40-foot steel hull commercial fishing vessel EH crew asking for assistance after the vessel ran hard aground and began taking on water at Saook Point, approximately 30 miles north of Sitka. >click to read<09:10
Obama Banned Fishing In 5,000 Square Miles Of Rich Ocean — Fishermen Want It Back
A Washington, D.C., district court lifted a stay Wednesday on a fishing industry lawsuit to reverse a 5,000 square mile marine national monument created off New England’s coast in 2016. The Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Marine Monument will ban fishing in an area roughly the size of Connecticut in less than a decade. Seafood and fishing trade groups are suing to rescind the monument former President Barack Obama crafted near the end of his 2nd term, to restore an area of ocean that has been an important source of lobster and fish for decades, according to the lawsuit. >click to read<18:29
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 55′ Fiberglass Dragger, 425HP Cummins, 20 KW Genset, Complete main engine rebuild
Specifications, information and 53 photos >click here< To see all the boats in this series, >Click here<17:38
More seals, sea lions endangering orcas
Re: “Ottawa spending millions to help endangered orcas” and “Washington state moves to protect endangered southern residents,” March 16. These articles failed to address a couple of noteworthy things regarding prey availability for resident orcas, more resources for local salmon enhancement being one of them. The southern resident orcas are facing increased competition for salmon in large part due to the increase in harbour seal and California sea lion populations since the enactment of the Marine Mammal Protection Act in 1972. >click to read<17:00
Seeking a viable fishery in Twillingate – Harvester and harbour master weigh in on state of shrimp fishery
With projected quota cuts to an already curtailed fishery, some shrimp harvesters say they will not even bother chasing the species this year. Perry Collins of Seldom on Fogo Island has harvested shrimp for over 10 years. He says if quotas go lower than they already are, there will be little to no profit in taking part in the shrimp fishery. “If the quota goes any lower … they may as well close it out all together,” Collins said. “With the time you take to gear up and change over from your other fisheries, it’s really not worth going after.” >click to read<14:09
