Daily Archives: November 16, 2018
DFO warns 80% of N.L. snow crab are below fishable size
Eighty per cent of the snow crab in the province’s waters are now smaller than fishable size, and new biological research from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans says fishing pressure on the already strained stock is the main problem. “There is a major biological concern here,” said DFO biologist Darrell Mullowney.,, The news comes just as the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is set to meet with harvesters about snow crab in a series of meetings being held across the province between November 19 and 29. >click to read<19:44
About 250 cubic metres of oil spilled from SeaRose
Husky Energy’s SeaRose FPSO spilled oil into the Atlantic on Friday afternoon, just as it was preparing to restart production after Thursday’s high winds. Production was shut down during the storm on Thursday, Husky spokesperson Colleen McConnell said in an email to The Telegram. Shortly after noon Friday, the SeaRose experienced a loss of pressure in a subsea flowline as the crew was preparing to restart production, and that’s when the oil was spilled. >click to read<18:40
ASMFC block Northern shrimp harvesting for 3 more years
Citing continuing concerns that further fishing could drive the species to extinction, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted Friday to cancel not only the 2019 Maine shrimp season, but the 2020 and 2021 seasons as well. Commissioners from New Hampshire and Massachusetts supported the closure, while Patrick Keliher, commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources, voted no, according to Tina Berger of the commission. DMR spokesman Jeff Nichols said in an email that Keliher would have supported a one-year moratorium. >click to read<17:59
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for Nov. 16, 2018
>Click here to read the Weekly Update<, to read all the updates >click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here<16:12
Fisherman Indicted For Murder Off Cape Cod
A federal grand jury has indicted a fisherman in the killing of another crew member on a fishing boat off Cape Cod, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office.,, Federal authorities say on Sept. 23, 2018, Meave Vazquez assaulted a crew member with a hammer in one hand and a knife in the other onboard the Captain Billy Haver, which was sailing 55 miles off the coast of Nantucket. That victim then saw that another crew member was lying on the deck bleeding. >click to read<12:45
Australia: Seafood industry calls for Senate inquiry into seismic testing
Members of the Australian seafood industry are persisting in their calls for an inquiry into seismic testing, despite the Senate having twice rejected the idea. Seismic surveys, which are used to search for undersea oil and gas deposits, involve firing intense soundwaves into the ocean floor, which fishers worry could disrupt the behaviour of marine life. Southern Bluefin Tuna Industry Association President Brian Jeffriess said not enough is known about the impacts of the practice. >click to read<11:51
Fishermen head out on opening day of 2018 commercial Dungeness crab season
After several frustrating years of on-again-off-again crab catching operations along the California coast, fisherman were optimistic about hauling in a good catch as the 2018 commercial Dungeness crab season opened Thursday. It was three years ago that the highly anticipated season had to be delayed until March after state fishery officials detected toxic levels of domoic acid in crabs. In addition, fishermen have had to contend with scattered delays and lousy weather. >click to read<
Ropeless lobster fishing? Stakeholders get a progress report
The Ropeless Consortium, a group of scientists and other interested stakeholders hosted by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, met Nov. 6 to consider the prospects of ropeless fishing to reduce whale entanglements with lobster gear. “It was very cool to see how advanced the technology is and the many companies and groups working on development around the world,” Zack Klyver, lead naturalist for Bar Harbor Whale Watch, who attended the meeting, told the Mount Desert Islander. >click to read<10:30
