Daily Archives: July 10, 2018
Ukrainian seafood buyers want to connect with Unalaska’s fisheries
International seafood buyers are scheduled to visit Unalaska this month, but they don’t hail from a massive importer like China or Japan. They’re coming from Ukraine — a once-modest market for Alaska fish that’s slowly reemerging after political upheaval and economic crisis. In 2013, Ukraine spent $105 million on American seafood — a record for the Eastern European nation that loves hake, pollock and salmon roe. But two years later, those imports had plummeted almost 70 percent as the Ukrainian government was overthrown and parts of its land occupied by Russia. >click to read<21:22
The ‘Soul’ of the Pacific Northwest is dying of starvation
“I believe we have orcas in our soul in this state.” Those were the words of Washington Gov. Jay Inslee earlier this year after forming the Southern Resident Orca Task Force, an initiative meant to keep endangered killer whales alive in the region. Scientists point to a number of factors for the dwindling number of orcas in the region, including pollution, both old and new sources, that accumulate in their primary prey, Chinook salmon. This pollution gets stored in the orca’s fatty tissues, suppressing their immune system and making the whales more susceptible to disease… “It’s an ecosystem-wide problem,” Hanson said. “Things are out of whack and we have to get them back to where we can sustain killer whales. And the clock is ticking.” >click to read<18:00
Starting a squidding venture on a famed wooden dragger: Stan and Eric’s excellent adventure
Some folks may think Stanley Larsen, owner of Menemsha Fish Market, could have a screw loose, or perhaps it’s a midlife crisis, but standing with him overlooking the painting and freshening-up of his recently purchased wooden dragger Richard & Arnold, you know this new love in his life runs deep. It’s been raining a lot, and the famed wooden dragger just arrived from Provincetown, its home since 1982, when it was purchased by Capt. David Dutra. According to his wife, J.J. (Judy) Dutra, in her book “Nautical Twilight,” “the boat was built in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, by Casey Boat Building Co. in 1924, and began fishing in 1927. She’s 52 feet on the waterline and 60 feet overall, with a beam of 15 feet. She draws seven feet, a deep keel for such a small boat, but that’s what makes her seaworthy.” Larsen is excited to own a piece of history. >click to read<15:07
U.S. Coast Guard: Hoax calls affect us all
“This is the fishing vessel SOL E MAR. This is a MAYDAY, we’re sinking, we need help now!” were the some of the last words of 19-year-old Billy Hokanson, as the fishing boat that he and his father, William was on sank to the bottom of the ocean on March 25, 1990. Coast Guard Stations Menemsha and Brad Point, both off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, received the distress call on marine radio channel 16 – distorted by heavy amounts of static. Both stations attempted to call the boat back, but did not get an answer. About a minute after Hakanson’s transmission, a separate call came through channel 16. “SOS, I’m sinking,” the caller said in playful tone with laughter.,, Five days after the call for help was made, William’s wife reported them overdue. >click to read<11:38
Great Salmon Escape Threatens to Taint Chile’s Fish Farms
About 900,000 salmon escaped from a Marine Harvest ASA farm during a storm on July 5, according to the Bergen, Norway-based company. The fish are not fit for consumption, Marine Harvest said in a press release. The company has recovered about 250,000 salmon and taken them to a nearby site, it said in a separate statement on July 9. About 680,000 fish are still missing and it is collaborating with the local Fisherman’s Federation to recover the remainder, Marine Harvest said. Chile’s salmon industry was already under attack for the use of hundreds of tons of antibiotics every year and allegations that the dumping of dead fish in the past have fueled algae blooms that damage the local fishing industry. >click to read<10:51
Manatee County Sheriff’s Office arrests Cortez net thief
A theft in Cortez has been tied to a man found on a deserted island. Manatee County Sheriff’s Office arrested Timothy Lee Thompson, 53, of Cortez, June 27 for stealing a Cortez commercial fisherman’s seine nets. The nets went missing two days earlier from a boat docked in the 12400 block of 42nd Avenue Drive West. MCSO Deputy Daniel Hearn and Sgt. Russell Schnering found the suspect on an uninhabited island known as Gilligan’s Island, located north of Manatee Avenue on Anna Maria Sound in Perico Bayou. They also located the nets valued at $2,400. >click to read<10:25
Prosecution was “legalised blackmail” – Angry trawler skipper cleared of illegal fishing says case cost him £200,000
A South Devon trawler owner cleared of illegal scallop fishing has lashed out at prosecutors who took him to court – in a case which has cost him more than £200,000. Derek Meredith, aged 50, and fellow skipper David Bickerstaff have been acquitted by a jury after a three-week trial. Mr Meredith, who owns the two boats at the centre of the case, said the prosecution had almost crippled him. He added that the two-year prosecution had cost him between £200,000 and £250,000 in lost business and legal fees. But a jury at Gloucester Crown Court acquitted him, Mr Bickerstaff and their companies of 16 counts. >click to read<09:55
Partisanship shouldn’t undermine our fisheries
Partisan rancor may be standard operating procedure for most of Washington, but let’s not allow it to unravel the progress we’ve made for our country’s vital fisheries.,,, The current reauthorization legislation on the table, H.R. 200, reauthorizes the MSA for the first time in over a decade. It has the needed type of collaborative, stakeholder-driven support that previous successful reauthorization efforts enjoyed. That’s because this reauthorization wasn’t created overnight — it has been carefully developed over the past five years with input from experts in fisheries’ science, commercial and recreational fishing groups, and a wide array of regional perspectives. >click to read< for various posts on the reauthorization >click here<06:25
