Daily Archives: October 1, 2018
Panama City man catches 330-pound Warsaw grouper – “Definitely a fish of a lifetime”
For as long as he can remember, commercial fisherman Brandon Lee Van Horn has wanted to catch a really big fish. Not your run-of-the-mill big fish, but a really big fish — the kind you tell your grandkids about one day or that strangers take pictures of, or that ends up in the newspaper. On Monday, Van Horn’s years on the Gulf paid off when he showed up at the dock of Greg Abrams Seafood with a 330-pound Warsaw grouper, 313 pounds after it had been gutted. “You have no idea how much that fish means to me,” he said. “I will probably never catch another one that big ever again.”>click to read<22:33
More fishermen on P.E.I. plan to wear personal flotation devices
Some Prince Edward Island fishermen say after the tragic deaths of Glen DesRoches and Moe Getson, they plan to start wearing life vests on board their boats. Earl Gavin said he plans to wear a personal flotation device when he goes out on the water. “It’d be no harm to have life jackets on,” Gavin said. “I don’t now wear one aboard the boat. But we should.” The Workers Compensation Board of P.E.I. said it’s been getting more calls from fishermen wondering where to buy the right life vest and how to encourage others to wear them. >click to read<21:58
NEFMC Approves Atlantic Herring Amendment 8; Asks NMFS to Set 2019 Catch Limits
On September 25 during its meeting in Plymouth, MA, the New England Fishery Management Council approved Amendment 8 to the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan. The Council also asked the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS, NOAA Fisheries) to develop an in-season action to set 2019 specifications for the herring fishery. ABC Control Rule: The acceptable biological catch (ABC) control rule is a formula that will be used to set annual catch limits. The Council considered close to a dozen alternatives that would allow different levels of fishing mortality depending on the estimated level of herring biomass in the ecosystem.,, Potential Localized Depletion and User Conflicts –Buffer Zone, Stock Status and 2019 Catch Limits,,, >click to read<21:34
Mass. Republican Candidate Peter Tedeschi Reaffirms his Commitment to Commercial Fishing Industy
Peter Tedeschi, former President and CEO of Tedeschi Food Shops and candidate to represent the 9th Congressional District of Massachusetts, vows to be an advocate on behalf of Southeastern Massachusetts’ fishing industry if elected. “The health of this industry impacts countless ancillary businesses, and the wellbeing of families behind these businesses should be a top priority for the Congressman from this district,” says Peter Tedeschi. “The industry, and the region, need an advocate. Congressman Keating is simply not doing enough.”>click to read<16:11
Southeast dive fisheries, crab seasons start in October
The season for geoduck clam diving starts Oct. 1. The first opening could be Oct. 3 or 4, depending on testing for the toxins that cause paralytic shellfish poisoning. The region’s guideline harvest level is 702,100 pounds. The large clams are plucked from the ocean floor and shipped whole and live to overseas markets, if the clams don’t test too high for PSP or inorganic arsenic. There are a couple of changes for that fishery this year. Past openings have been only from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., one day a week. The Board of Fisheries last winter approved a 1,000-pound weekly harvest limit. >click to read<12:48
U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement – U.S. and Canada Reach Nafta Deal
The accord restores—for now, at least—harmony with two neighbors that Mr. Trump has repeatedly criticized in public, paving the way for him to hold a late-November signing ceremony with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. “It’s a good day for Canada,” Mr. Trudeau told reporters as he left a special Sunday-night cabinet meeting at his offices to go over the framework of the agreement. Early Monday, Mr. Trump tweeted: “It is a great deal for all three countries, solves the many deficiencies and mistakes in NAFTA, greatly opens markets to our Farmers and Manufacturers, [reduces] Trade Barriers to the U.S. and will bring all three Great Nations closer together in competition with the rest of the world.” >click to read<11:45
Scientists say black Sea bass behavior could be affected by offshore wind
Scientists from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center say that offshore wind energy construction could affect the behavior of Black Sea Bass. Black Sea Bass live up and down the east coast from Maine to the Gulf of Mexico, providing a significant ecological and economic importance. The fish are also attracted to structurally complex habitats, often found around rocky reefs, mussel beds, cobble and rock fields, and artificial habitats like shipwrecks. Scientists, commercial and recreational fisherman have expressed their concerns about how the sounds that come with the development of offshore wind energy overlapping with the natural habitats of Black Sea Bass. >click to read<09:37
Moving Forward – FISH-NL Vows to keep fighting despite certification rejection
The president of the Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters says he’s not discouraged by the provincial labour relations board’s rejection of union certification for the group. FISH-NL applied for certification nearly two years ago, an application that was quashed Friday by the board, which said the group didn’t have “adequate support to warrant a vote.”President Ryan Cleary told CBC’s St. John’s Morning Show on Monday that the application’s dismissal doesn’t solve the problems that prompted him to start the group in the first place, such as the established Fish Food and Allied Workers Union representing both fishermen and fish plant workers, which he says is a conflict of interest. >click to read<08:56
Scottish fishermen face cuts to mackerel quota
The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (Ices), an influential group of scientists whose advice helps to shape fisheries policy in the EU and elsewhere, has called for north-east Atlantic mackeral catches to be slashed by nearly 70%. Mackeral was worth £162 million, or 29% of the total catch by value for the Scottish fleet last year. Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association chief executive Ian Gatt said yesterday the proposed cut was a “huge concern” and he would be meeting European Commission officials today to discuss it. >click to read<08:04
