Daily Archives: May 15, 2018
FISH-NL calling on labour board to shed thousands from FFAW list
The Federation of Independent Seafood Harvesters (FISH-NL) is arguing that the ranks of inshore harvesters in the province’s fisheries union is swollen to nearly twice its actual size by individuals with no serious connection to the industry. As a result, it wants the labour relations board to strip thousands of card-carrying members of their right to vote in any certification process. “Everybody who pays dues is not a harvester,” FISH-NL president Ryan Cleary told reporters.,,, “We just want bona fide, full-time boots on the deck harvesters to participate in a vote,” >click to read<20:31
Pacific Salmon Treaty 3.0 looms for B.C. fishing industry
It has been nearly 20 years since a renegotiation of the Pacific Salmon Treaty with the U.S. sparked a war between the B.C. government, Ottawa and the U.S. That fight ended with Ottawa trying to expropriate a provincially owned seabed at Nanoose Bay – used for a joint Canadian-American submarine and torpedo test range – and generated such hostility that angry B.C. fishermen corralled an American ferry and held it hostage for two days in Prince Rupert in 1997.,,, The treaty expires at the end of this year. American and Canadian negotiators have been quietly working on its renewal for 18 months, said Brian Riddell, who is a Canadian commissioner to the Pacific Salmon Commission. >click to read<18:49
How stone crab season survived a hurricane
The lobster season ended for many before it really had much of a chance to begin. But for those who fish both stone crabs and lobster, high market prices for stone crabs and steady production this season, which ends this week, was what they needed to stay afloat after Irma. The hurricane had displaced or destroyed anywhere from half to a third of the 350,000 lobster traps fished in the Keys during the season that runs from Aug. 6 to March 31. “It wasn’t a great season, and it wasn’t a terrible season,” George Niles, Lower Keys commercial trap fisherman said,,, >click to read<16:46
Board of Fisheries denies petition on hatcheries
The members of the Board of Fisheries agree that Pacific salmon hatchery impacts on wild salmon stocks are concerning, but they aren’t clear on what to do to address them yet. At a meeting Monday to consider emergency petitions, the board declined to consider an emergency petition submitted by the Kenai River Sportfishing Association and signed by a variety of Southcentral Alaska sportfishing organizations expressing concern about a hatchery operation permit. Specifically, the petition asked the board to intervene in a permit modification procedure for the Prince William Sound Aquaculture Corporation to increase its pink salmon egg take this season by 20 million. >click to read<15:35
Expert questions BP’s drilling plans for offshore Nova Scotia
An engineering expert and former oil industry consultant has raised the alarm on BP Canada Energy Group’s plans to drill off Nova Scotia. “Given BP’s current proposals for exploratory drilling offshore Nova Scotia, the likelihood of an uncontrolled blowout exceeds the upper limits for tolerability of exploratory well drilling risks,” said Robert Bea in his risk analysis of BP’s plans.,, “Based on the information provided by BP, the blowout risk is clearly not acceptable,” Bea said in an interview Monday. >click to read<
Halibut surplus and competition on East Coast drives dock prices down
Halibut prices have fallen about $2 per pound, and decreasing demand has left plenty sitting in the freezer from last year. Billy Sullivan owns a small fish-buying operation in Homer, and he said years of historically high prices – about $20 to $30 per pound at your typical supermarket – have driven consumers away from purchasing Pacific halibut.,, Consumers are reluctant to buy expensive fillets in grocery stores and restaurants. A new competitor also is taking over a large portion of the market. “They went and found alternatives to expensive halibut and the East Coast fish fills in,” Sullivan said. >click to read<12:18
Court dismissal ends lobster dealer’s potboiler
A saga involving allegations of skullduggery by a Mount Desert Island lobster dealer on the waters of Blue Hill Bay reached its final chapter last week in Ellsworth. A Superior Court judge dismissed a single charge against Donald Crabtree of failing to keep required records or not reporting all of his lobster purchases. The story began in the summer of 2015 with an investigation by Maine Marine Patrol officers who had heard complaints that Crabtree was buying lobsters on a barge moored outside Seal Cove in Blue Hill Bay but wasn’t filing the required landings reports with the Department of Marine Resources. >click to read< 11:39
Trap Gear Closure and Speed Limit in Cape Cod Bay Lifted Today (Tuesday, May 15, 2018)
May 14, 2018 Aerial Survey shows that right whales have departed Cape Cod Bay The Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies (PCCS) conducted an aerial survey of Cape Cod Bay yesterday (Monday, May 14, 2018) as part of DMF’s ongoing right whale conservation efforts. Clear weather conditions allowed PCCS’ aerial survey team to complete an entire survey of the Bay and no right whales were observed in the Bay. Consequently, DMF has lifted its emergency regulatory closure on the setting of lobster traps and the speed limit of 10 knots or less on small vessels (smaller than 65’) in Cape Cod Bay effective today, Tuesday May 15, 2018. >click to read<11:03
N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission To Consider Changes To Shrimp Trawling Industry
The North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission plans to discuss and possibly vote on new gear requirements in the shrimp trawl fishery at their quarterly business meeting in New Bern on Wednesday and Thursday. A three-year study identified four new gear configurations that reduce finfish bycatch by at least 40 percent. The North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, NOAA Fisheries and N.C. Sea Grant worked with commercial fishermen and local net makers to test 14 different trawl net configurations. >click to read<10:09
Working group is confident it’s found ways to cut down on N.C. shrimp bycatch – >click to read<10:50
