Daily Archives: October 23, 2018
Coast Guard will help researchers track whales along the West Coast
The Oregon crab industry is putting up money to launch a new research study on where whales swim and feed along the Pacific Coast. The study stems from growing concern West Coast-wide about whales getting tangled in fishing gear. The Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission voted unanimously Tuesday to underwrite the first year of a three-year aerial survey of humpbacks, gray whales and blue whales off the coast. Oregon State University researcher Leigh Torres said the Marine Mammal Institute, which she leads, and the state Department of Fish and Wildlife hope to win a federal grant to cover years two and three. >click to read<22:57
UPDATE: Coast Guard, local agencies recovered the body of missing lobsterman Scott Chandler
Coast Guard and local agencies recovered the body of the missing lobersterman Tuesday off Doyle Island, Maine. At approximately 5 p.m., Maine State Police and Maine Warden Service divers recovered the lobsterman about 200 yards west from where he entered the water. Crews searched 233 square nautical miles. Station Jonesport took lobster boat, Marie Louise II, to their station for further investigation. >click to read<19:34
The body of Scott Chandler, 51, was recovered Tuesday evening off Jonesport after an extensive daylong search, authorities say. >click to read,<
DFO study results on crab stocks bad news for harvesters, Bonavista fisherman comments. Then, theres the Cod.
Fisherman Reg Butler of Bonavista wonders when the cuts will end for the snow crab fishery. After Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) scientists revealed the results of a six-year study of crab biomass last week, which is at a 25-year low,,, “And the fuel is not getting no cheaper, and the bait is not getting no cheaper — that seems to be increasing every year as well — where do I draw the line? Does it come to the point where I have to shorten up the crew because it’s a big expense to run?” >click to read<19:07
Coast Guard, local agencies search for missing lobsterman off Jonesport, Maine
The Coast Guard and local agencies are searching for a person in the water Tuesday near Doyle Island, Maine. A good Samaritan reported to watchstanders at Sector Northern New England that he saw a person falling into the water from a 20-foot commercial lobster boat operating in the vicinity of Doyle Island. Mariners are advised to exercise caution when operating in the area. Anyone with information about the case should contact the Coast Guard Sector Northern New England Command Center at 207-767-0303.>click to read< -USCG-16:18
Portsmouth charter boat captain falsified fishing logs to get disaster funds
A fishing boat captain, with a home port of Portsmouth, agreed to plead guilty to a federal charge stating he provided false fishing logs to state Fish and Game officials to fraudulently obtain fishery disaster-relief funds. The captain, David Bardzik, endorsed the federal plea agreement with his attorney Jerome Blanchard on Oct. 10 and neither could immediately be reached for comment. Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Rombeau is prosecuting the case and a spokesman for the federal prosecutor’s office did not return a request for additional information. >click to read<14:40
Fisheries minister meets with stakeholders to discuss right whale protections
The federal fisheries minister met with fishermen, industry representatives and marine scientists Tuesday to discuss the impact of restrictions put in place to protect North Atlantic right whales and whether they may be needed for the coming fishing seasons. Jonathan Wilkinson sat down with dozens of stakeholders at a hotel in Dartmouth, N.S., to discuss measures introduced earlier this year that were aimed at shielding the marine mammals against fishing gear entanglements and ship strikes — their greatest threats. >click to read<13:31
The Halibut Hook Revival – An ingenious Indigenous fishing technology with spiritual significance
Jonathan Rowan lowers his handmade wooden halibut hook into the tranquil early-morning water off Klawock, Alaska, and urges it to go down and fight: “Weidei yei jindagut,” he says in the Tlingit language. From his skiff, the tribal leader, who is joined by two friends, watches the V-shaped hook about as long as his forearm slowly sink and hopes the imagery he carved on the seafloor-facing arm—a beaver perched on a chewed stick—entices a halibut. >click to read<12:48
Mate killed in Illegal Alien Hammer Attack Aboard F/V Captain Billy Haver
A York County-based fishing boat — the Captain Billy Haver — was 55 miles off the coast of Massachusetts a few weeks ago, dredging scallops from the sea. Then, seemingly out of the blue, a crew member started attacking his shipmates with a hammer.,,, “Mayday, mayday, mayday,” he said in a thick accent. “Can anybody hear me?” “We have a man gone crazy here on the boat, man,” the captain continued after hearing a reply. “One man, I don’t know if he’s dead or what. But one of the crew members went crazy, and he started hitting people in the head with a hammer. I got three men that’s injured now. One I can’t wake him up. ”The boat’s chief mate, Javier Rangel Sosa, 54, of Newport News, lay on the deck nearby, blood rushing from his mouth. >click to read<
Regulators moving to ban exotic bait that could threaten lobster fishery
The American Lobster Management Board took a first step toward adopting regional bait safety rules, voting Monday to develop a resolution to prohibit the use of exotic baits that could introduce disease, parasites or invasive species to East Coast waters.,, The board – which is part of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission – agreed to develop a bait safety resolution based on Maine’s rules that all lobstering states would enact by 2020 – a quick but voluntary fix. >click to read<09:36
Oceana’s Challenge to Bycatch Rule Looks Likely to Sink
The D.C. Circuit appeared primed Monday to uphold how the government counts bycatch — a term for various sea life unintentionally swept up in commercial fishing. Led by the nonprofit Oceana, the challengers take issue specifically with procedures by which the National Marine Fisheries Service monitors for bycatch with less intensity than Congress allowed it. The agency came up with a new procedure to cover the Greater Atlantic region three years ago after a plan from 2008 was found to have improperly given the agency “complete discretion” to depart from procedure. >click to read<09:05
