Daily Archives: November 22, 2018
McGuire to Host Hearing on Whale Protection Efforts and State of Latest Crab Season
Senator Mike McGuire, Chairman of the Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture (JCFA), and Assemblymember Mark Stone, Vice Chairman, are hosting a comprehensive hearing next week at the Aquarium of the Bay in San Francisco. They will kick off the hearing with a State of the State of the California Dungeness Crab Season,,, Then they will transition into the robust efforts the State, Crab Fleet and numerous environmental organizations have been laser focused on: Protecting the Golden State’s majestic whales from entanglement. >click to read<20:30
Virtual whale entanglements seen as a learning tool
Scientists know for sure that commercial fishing rope entangles and eventually can kill North Atlantic right whales. But with the aid of technology to simulate an entrapment, scientists want to better understand and ultimately identify new, less harmful gear options. “We don’t want to have solutions that are good for whales but bad for fishermen,” said biologist Timothy Werner, who co-authored a recent study about the interactive simulation technology at the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium in Boston. >click to read<19:26
Editorial: Too close for comfort
Friday brought what may be the worst oil spill so far in the East Coast offshore. Husky Energy’s SeaRose production vessel spilled as much as 250,000 litres of oil into the ocean on Friday morning. Much of that oil is unlikely to be recovered and has instead been widely dispersed. The SeaRose is the same vessel that failed to follow iceberg protocols in March 2017, and was almost hit by an iceberg. Meanwhile, the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) and the provincial government are still tied up in the usual conundrum. That’s the problem of being oil industry proponents, promoters, owners — and regulators. >click to read<
Gulf of Mexico Shrimp harvest reaches the lowest level recorded since October 2002
Commercial shrimp harvest reached 10.4 million pounds in the Gulf of Mexico for October 2018, the lowest reported for any October in the records maintained by the Southern Shrimp Alliance (SSA) going back to 2002. According to data from the Fishery Monitoring Branch of NOAA Fisheries’ Southeast Fisheries Science Center, in total, landings for the month were roughly 30 per cent below the prior sixteen-year historical average for the month. >click to read<12:13
Southwestern NS fishermen asked ‘Are you ready?’ as focus is put on safety heading into season
The Fisheries Safety Association of Nova Scotia and the Nova Scotia Fisheries Sector Council have been busy in the weeks leading up to the opening of the lobster fishery delivering man overboard drills, safety equipment demonstrations and safety messages at wharfs throughout southwestern Nova Scotia as part of their ‘Are You Ready?’ program. “Attendance at these drills has been fantastic, even in smaller ports for 10 or less vessels we are still seeing all captains and crews show up,” said Matthew Duffy, safety advisor for the Fisheries Safety Association of Nova Scotia. >click to read<10:53
