Daily Archives: May 30, 2018
Ice and weather causing problems for Northern Peninsula crab fishers
In a normal season fish harvester Ronald Patey of Englee would have caught his crab quota by now. However, bad weather and ice are causing problems for crab harvesters on the Northern Peninsula so far this fishing season. Patey of Englee made his first crab-fishing trip on May 17. “It’s unreal how slow going it is,” said Patey. “I believe my first trip last year we hauled up 2,800 pounds. Our first trip this year we hauled up 700 pounds.,,, The situation is a little better for St. Anthony fisherman Jamie Rose. >click to read<20:13
New tool improves fishing efficiency and sustainability
Called EcoCast, the experimental tool developed by researchers at Stanford and other universities combines satellite data of ocean conditions, records from fisheries observers and species tracking data to pinpoint ideal fishing areas on a daily basis. Resource managers can adjust the weighting of each species as risks change and the fishing season progresses. This helps fishers optimize their harvest of target fish, while reducing the risk of inadvertently catching and killing sensitive species. >click to read<16:47
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 35ft’ Tuna/Lobster/Charter, 450HP Cummins
Specifications, information and 37 photos >click here< To see all the boats in this series, >Click here<14:11
Snug Harbor’s fishing tender has a long history in crabbing
Commercial fishermen delivering to Snug Harbor Seafoods are attended by a tender vessel with a long history and more equipment than it needs for the job. The Bering Sea, owned by Snug Harbor Seafoods, is a 114-foot retired crabbing boat of iron/steel alloy built in 1973 and originally homeported in Washington state. With wooden decks and the company’s logo emblazoned on its side, it dominates the end of the dock in the Kenai River as workers stocked it with groceries and worked to get it ready for the upcoming season last Friday. >click to read<13:49
Mississippi says commercial speckled trout catch underreported, ends season
Mississippi Department of Marine Resources Executive Director Joe Spraggins announced Tuesday that the second half of the state’s commercial fishing season for speckled trout, a much-sought species along the Gulf Coast, won’t happen. That’s because officials believe commercial fishermen didn’t fully report their catches from the first half of the season. Spokeswoman Melissa Scallan said the closure doesn’t affect recreational and charter fishermen, who must adhere to certain size limits for speckled trout. Normally, Mississippi has two seasons in state waters for the saltwater fish — one from Feb. 1 through May 31 and another running from June 1 to Oct. 31. >click to read<10:22
N.S. Fishermen call on government officials to crack down on lobster poaching
Bernie Berry glances across the wharf in Digby, N.S., as several fishing boats stop alongside for crews to offload their catch. As the season for this lobster fishing area — one of the most lucrative in Canada — prepares to close on the last day of May, it’s bringing with it a flurry of activity. Berry and others here hope the hustle and bustle of fishing isn’t replaced with negative activity come June 1. “Everyone knows what’s going on,” he said. “This kind of stuff has been going on for years.” >click to read<
One month into the season, Bristol Bay halibut fishermen harvest a quarter of the quota
Bristol Bay fishermen have landed 8,700 pounds of halibut so far. This year’s quota for area 4-E is 33,900 pounds, significantly less than last year’s quota of 58,800 pounds. “It is a reduction,” said Gary Cline, the regional fisheries director at BBEDC. “It’s basically because there appears to be less halibut abundance in the Pacific, not just in area 4-E, but stretching down to southeast and throughout the Bering Sea. And, because of this concern, the regulatory agencies have adopted a more restrictive catch limits for 2018.” >click to read<08:22
New MA Offshore Wind Farm Could Jeopardize Squid Fishery
Members of the commercial fishing community are worried a proposed utility-scale offshore wind farm in Massachusetts could impact Rhode Island’s lucrative squid industry. Massachusetts recently selected a project bid from Vineyard Wind to construct and deploy 100 turbines about 15 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard in a federal wind energy area. However, Meghan Lapp, spokeswoman for a Rhode Island-based commercial fishing company called Seafreeze Ltd., said the project, which requires underwater cables to connect the project to the regional electricl grid, was sited directly through and adjacent to squid fishing grounds. >click to read<07:52
