Daily Archives: April 19, 2018
Coast Guard to Remove 1,500 Gallons of Fuel From Burnt Ship Currently Docked Along Eureka’s Waterfront
The Coast Guard is coordinating fuel removal and salvage operations Thursday for a fishing vessel that caught fire Wednesday near Eureka. Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Humboldt Bay pollution responders have determined the 47-foot vessel, Midori, is safe to tow to the Eureka Municipal docks, where a reported 1,500 gallons of diesel will be removed before the boat is salvaged. Fuel removal has not been scheduled. >click to read<23:17
FISH-NL calls for IMMEDIATE ACTION on northern cod, including moratorium on seismic; harvest of more seals
The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) recommends Ottawa follow scientific advice on northern cod and restrict removals from all sources to the lowest possible level until the stock clears the critical zone. FISH-NL also calls for an immediate freeze to all scheduled offshore seismic activity off the province’s east coast, support for the taking of the entire seal quota, the introduction of tags in the food fishery, and the ordering of an independent review of “epic” federal fisheries mismanagement in the Newfoundland and Labrador region. >click to read<21:22
‘Two guys are doing all of the work’: Orcas’ inbreeding may devastate the population
Just two male whales fathered more than half the calves born since 1990 in the population of southern-resident killer whales, a sign of inbreeding, scientists have learned. “It was a shocker to find out two guys are doing all of the work,” said Ken Balcomb, director of the Center for Whale Research and an author on a paper published this week in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Animal Conservation. The findings are based on a new genetic analysis of the whales that frequent Washington’s Salish Sea and Puget Sound. >click to read<20:15
UFA Announces Officer and Executive Committee Changes
United Fishermen of Alaska (UFA) announced the transition in its leadership effective April 15, with the election of Matt Alward succeeding Jerry McCune as president, Bob Kehoe replacing Alward as vice president, and new executive committee members Rebecca Skinner and Sue Doherty. Jerry McCune has served most recently as UFA president since 2014, as well as from 1992 to 1996, and has served as a paid or volunteer lobbyist for UFA throughout the past two decades. He was named to the UFA Alaska Seafood Industry Hall of Fame among the initial inductees in 2009, and will continue to serve on the UFA executive committee. Matt Alward represents North Pacific Fisheries Association on the UFA board and,,,>click to read<18:37
Haines Fishermen’s Alliance to advocate for salmon, habitat in face of large mine
A new Haines fishermen’s group called the Haines Fishermen’s Alliance will work to advocate for salmon and salmon habitat. “It is a group of fishermen outside of the group that was already started and has been around for many, many years, which is the Lynn Canal Gillnetters Association, a group of like-minded people who have serious questions about having a large-scale industrial mine above the watershed that is feeding our industry, our fish,” said Haines resident JR Churchill, who helped form the group. >click to read<17:11
Fishermen air concerns about Vineyard Wind
Looking to create a sea change in energy production in Massachusetts, Governor Charlie Baker signed “An Act to Promote Energy Diversity” with overwhelming bipartisan support in 2016. A key provision of the legislation mandated that utilities solicit long-term contracts with offshore wind farm developers, with the goal of adding 1,600 megawatts of offshore wind power by 2027. Fast-forward to Tuesday night, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center, where federal and state officials, along with representatives from Vineyard Wind, gathered for a “scoping session” to hear how Islanders feel about having the first large-scale offshore wind farm in the United States – 106 turbines, 700 feet tall, spaced about a mile apart, covering 167,000 acres>click to read<15:47
Nova Scotia Lobster Fishermen Fed Up with Mis-Communication By DFO
Lobster fishermen in Southwestern, Nova Scotia are frustrated and disappointed with the lack of direction, mis-communication, and overall support from Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO) regional management. Five separate fishermen’s associations joined forces in 2017 to form the Southwest Lobster Science Society (SWLSS) to work towards a partnership-based approach to fisheries management and conservation; a move which was touted to be a historic partnership between industry, environmental non-governmental organisations (ENGOs) and regulators. Yet, the newly formed partnership has struggled to move forward as the regulators (DFO) >click to read<11:34
Wind, ice influence price of lobster
Speculate. That’s about all fishers, or anyone else, can do about the season-opening price for lobster in any given year, and Ken Blanchard shrugs off any suggestion it will go much above $8 a pound starting out. Bluster among landlubbers has it nearly twice that, $15. With bigger wind to deal with, Blanchard, who makes a living on live-catch lobster and crab as a licensed fisher plying waters of the outer Bay of Islands, sees active storms and bigger local backwater icefields on Penguin Arm and Goose Arm as more pressing concerns as the harvest looms. >click to read<09:07
