Daily Archives: May 26, 2018
Lobster processing bill OK’d by Mass State Senate
“Massachusetts has the second largest lobster catch in the country,” Tarr said in a statement. “To keep from being left behind, we should expand our ability to process raw and frozen lobster parts. American lobsters are being harvested here and should be prepared for market here instead of Canada or Maine.” The expansion of allowed processing practices, according to Tarr, would enhance local economies in Massachusetts coastal communities such as Gloucester, which is the state’s most lucrative lobster port, and provide local restaurants and food stores with “superior access to the best lobster parts for their customers.” >click to read<19:26
Coast Guard confirms fisherman found by divers inside vessel in Willapa Bay
Coast Guard personnel confirm the missing fisherman was found by divers inside the sunken vessel, the Kelli J, prior to it being refloated by contractors in Willapa Bay, Friday. Pacific County Sheriff’s Office personnel transported the fisherman to a local funeral home that evening. The vessel is being taken to the Nachotta marina with the owner’s insurance company coordinating the remaining salvage efforts. The Kelli J was originally reported missing on Saturday, May 19, which sparked search and rescue efforts that extended into Monday when the search was suspended. Multiple efforts were conducted to attempt to locate the missing vessel that resulted in the vessel being found submerged within Willapa Bay on Wednesday. >link<-USCG-
NTSB Breaks Down El Faro Findings in Must-Read Illustrated Digest
The National Transportation Safety Board has released 16-page illustrated digest summarizing in detail the critical events and decisions that led to the October 1, 2015 sinking of the American cargo ship El Faro with the loss of all 33 crew members. The digest also synopsizes the more than 60 recommendations issued throughout the NTSB’s investigation of the sinking. In its final report into the disaster, the NTSB said the Captain’s decisions and TOTE’s poor oversight and inadequate safety management system led to the sinking, the deadliest shipping disaster involving a U.S. flagged vessel in more than 30 years >click to read<17:58
B.C. Commercial fishermen support cuts in Chinook catches
The commercial fishing industry in BC is supporting a move to shut down the Chinook salmon fishery in parts of the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Gulf Islands as well as partial closures in the mouth of the Fraser River. The federal government is hoping the measures will increase the amount of salmon for the endangered southern resident killer whale population. Dane Chauvel is a commercial fisherman who co-founded the sustainable seafood supply company Organic Ocean and sits on the Commercial Salmon Advisory Board. >click to read<14:17
Trawl limit plan divides lobstermen at hearing
A Department of Marine Resources proposal to change the way some lobstermen fish in a large swath of water around Mount Desert Rock drew vocal opposition at a meeting in Ellsworth May 22 despite a unanimous vote in the Zone B Lobster Management Council. At issue is a proposal to limit the number of traps that can be linked together in a single “trawl” in an area of about 300 square miles. The roughly rectangular area in waters that are part of Lobster Management Zone B stretches about 10 miles seawards from a line drawn six miles off the coast that extends roughly between Schoodic Point in the east and the southern end of Marshall Island in the west. >click to read<11:54
Congress must act — again — to save salmon from hungry sea lions
Government agencies spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually trying to preserve threatened salmon and steelhead runs in the Columbia River Basin. Yet in recent years, a growing population of hungry sea lions has jeopardized all of that investment and hard work.,, Congress needs to safeguard the public’s investment in conserving these vulnerable salmon and steelhead runs along the Columbia. Republicans and Democrats must come together this year to pass legislation making it easier to lethally remove some of the sea lions. That will mean relaxing a section of the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act,,, >Click to read<11:34
Canadian investor backs away from Alaska mine project
A Canadian company that was courted as a potential partner in a proposed copper-and-gold mine near one of the world’s largest salmon fisheries in Alaska has backed away from the project.
Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd., which is seeking to develop the Pebble Mine project in southwest Alaska, said Friday that it was unable to finalize an agreement with First Quantum Minerals Ltd., the potential investor. It was not immediately clear what happened or what this means for the project, which has a permit application pending with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. >click to read<10:55
Smoke-filled rooms
With the fishing season beginning in the 49th state, Alaska Gov. Bill Walker has been holding private meetings to forge an agreement between commercial, sport and other fishing interests on how to manage salmon in Cook Inlet. The reason why is unclear. By law, the regulation of state fisheries falls solely under the jurisdiction of the Alaska Board of Fisheries. One of the first acts of the Alaska Legislature after Statehood in 1959 was to establish a Board of Fish and Game – later split into the separate boards for fish and wildlife management – to insulate resource decisions from backroom politicking. >click to read<10:37
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for May 25, 2018
>Click here to read the Weekly Update<, to read all the updates >Click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here<10:04
Fun and food at Westport’s “Weekend with the Fleet” this weekend
The annual Weekend with the Fleet celebration in Westport will honor the commercial fishing industry and the maritimers who gave their all this Memorial Day weekend. There will be vendors featuring arts and crafts stations, fishing competitions, Sea Scout displays, a beer garden and more starting today. The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Westport Maritime Museum grounds at 2201 Westhaven Drive. Then at 7:30 p.m. is the Light the Dock celebration along Westhaven Drive. It features luminary displays honoring maritime professionals who lost their lives at sea. Luminaries are available for purchase at the event.,,, Sunday will feature the Blessing of the Fleet ceremony beginning at 1 p.m. at the Fishermen’s Memorial on Neddie Rose Drive,,>click to read<
