Daily Archives: October 4, 2018
Researchers Had ‘No Idea’ Killer Whales Could Dive This Deep
Killer whales in the South Atlantic Ocean are willing to dive more than a thousand feet more than previously recorded—if they are certain to get a snack at the end of it, researchers have discovered. And the best way to guarantee food is to steal it. BC-based marine researcher Jared Towers witnessed a tagged killer whale diving 3,566 feet to snag some toothfish off a long commercial fishing line. More than 60 killer whales and 40 sperm whales were studied, though just one of each was tagged because whales aren’t particularly cooperative, said Towers. >click to read<20:00
Alaska Mesothelioma Victims Center Now Urges any Commercial Fisherman with Mesothelioma to call
The Alaska Mesothelioma Victims Center says, “We are reaching out to a commercial fisherman who now has mesothelioma due to asbestos exposure while working on a fishing boat or boats that had a home port in Alaska. A commercial fisherman with mesothelioma typically did not work on just one fishing or crab boat. Typically, we find that these men did everything on the boat from mechanics, repairs, or upgrades. If you are a commercial fisherman and you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, or their family, please call us anytime at 800-714-0303. What we want to do is ensure a victim of mesothelioma receives the very best possible financial compensation.” >click to read<18:32
Trawl limit in Blue Hill Bay not an end to cross-zone fishing issue
A possible compromise with Zone B lobstermen over the boundary lines of a new five-trap trawl limit occupied a Zone C lobster council meeting October 1, the day the rule went into effect. The trawl limit covers a Zone B that is also fished by Zone C license holders, about six miles off Frenchboro around Mt. Desert Rock. A Zone B-proposed boundary line change would move the trawl-limit area from the west side to the east side of the rock. Zone B council initiated the trawl limit rule change because they “were getting boxed out by trawls,” Maine Department of Resources Lobster Council Liaison Sarah Cotnoir said,,, >click to read<14:42
Dare County leaders reviving Working Watermen Commission
A group focused on guiding Dare County leaders about issues surrounding the fishing industry is being revived after laying dormant for almost six years, and will hold its first meeting next week. The Dare County Commission for Working Watermen was originally formed in May of 2008, but held it’s last meeting in December 2012, according to District 3 County Commissioner Steve House who has been chosen to spearhead the panel. “Many of its members over the years spun off to Outer Banks Catch, N.C. Watermen United and others,” House said. The commission is designed to monitor and advise the Dare County Board of Commissioners regarding pending and proposed laws, rules, regulations, fisheries management plans and coastal habitat plans. >click to read<14:11
Canadian fishermen want cheaper lobster bait. Americans want to stop an invasive fish. And so, one man hatches a plan
Like whales breaching ocean swells, silver carp fly out from beneath the surface of waterways in Illinois. Tens of millions of dollars have been spent trying to keep the invasive fish – which procreate rapidly, crowding out other marine life – from spilling into the $7-billion Great Lakes fishery. And in an era of expeditious information-sharing, the “flying fish,” a form of Asian carp imported into the States decades ago, with hopes of using them to manage American ecosystems, have also caught the attention of gawking social-media spectators around the world. Three years ago, one of those spectators was a Nova Scotian named Patrick J. Swim. But instead of merely gawking, the self-described “lobsterpreneur” hatched a plan: >click to read<12:32
Solution to Lobster Shell Disease Remains Elusive, Blindness is also a growing concern
Despite more than 20 years of declining lobster populations in southern New England and extensive studies of the shell disease that is a major factor in their decline, scientists are still struggling to provide definitive answers to help restore hope to those working in the local lobster fishery. A new study of lobsters along the eastern Connecticut coast has found that the disease is linked to warming water temperatures, while progress is slow in efforts to identify probiotics to counteract the disease and to better understand why so many lobsters are blind. >click to read<11:37
Coast Guard, Alaska State Troopers rescue man from a grounded vessel while on training mission
The Coast Guard and Alaska State Troopers coordinated efforts to locate and rescue a boater from a disabled and aground 40-foot fishing vessel 127 miles east-southeast of Cordova, Alaska, Wednesday. A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak HC-130 Hercules aircrew located the operator of the fishing vessel Gambler while conducting a training flight in the area. The HC-130 aircrew dropped a radio to the man to communicate with him. After coordinating with Alaska State Troopers, the man was rescued from the shore, and was reported to be in good condition with no medical concerns. Video, >click to read<10:48
Protesters call for end to Chinook salmon fishing to save endangered orcas
Demonstrators concerned about the fate of the endangered southern resident killer whale population are calling for an end to all commercial fishing of Chinook salmon. There are just 74 of the southern residents remaining, and scientists say a lack of their primary food source, Chinook, is one of the key threats to their survival. On Wednesday, about a dozen protesters descended on Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Jonathan Wilkinson’s North Vancouver constituency office to call for change. Shirley Samples argued the government needs to ban all commercial and recreational Chinook fishing. “Why don’t we subsidize these fishermen? Why don’t we give them money so they can make it through this time when they have to forfeit fishing? There is a solution,”>click to read<10:20
Northern Shrimp: Maine fishermen demand better science before canceling another shrimp season
Members of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will meet Thursday in Portland to review the most recent stock assessment and make recommendations on whether Maine will see a shrimp season next year for the first time since 2013.“Spawning stock biomass and total abundance remain low, with little sign of recovery,” Toni Kerns, an ASMFC fishery management plans coordinator, wrote in an email about the shrimp population in the Gulf of Maine.,, But Maine’s shrimp fishermen, facing a sixth consecutive barren season, are calling the survey process by the ASMFC a “sham” and say the entire process to measure the recovery of Maine shrimp should be overhauled. >click to read<08:37
