Daily Archives: April 19, 2019
‘Can’t get five cents’: Little Harbour fishermen say wharf has big problems
Roddy Conrad’s been fishing out of Little Harbour, N.S., for 28 years. He says over time the wharf’s condition has deteriorated to the point where those who fish from it are concerned about their boats and their safety. Ten boats fish from the wharf near Lockeport. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans owns the structure. “This one here has a rung missing on top, so your first step’s a big one,” >click to read<16:20
Gov. Jay Inslee’s Orca-Recovery Agenda Advancing, But Billion-Dollar Funding Yet to Be Seen
Gov. Jay Inslee’s orca agenda is advancing in the Washington state Legislature, but with the budget yet to be decided how much of the governor’s billion-dollar-bold ambition will be accomplished is yet to be seen. Budgets passed by the House and Senate so far contain no funding to continue the governor’s task force on orca recovery. There’s no agreement yet on funding the governor’s proposed panel to consider the affects of breaching the Lower Snake River dams. And revenue measures to help pay for everything, from increasing hatchery production to enforcement of habitat protections, have yet to be decided. >click to read< 15:03
More crew means more opportunity for fishermen to make good
As interstate and federal agencies move to cut use of Maine’s chief bait source — herring — by 75 percent and put in new rules to protect right whales, many of us who have fished lobsters through good times and bad face some very scary times in the next couple of years if we do not figure out a way to get the most out of every trap we put in the water. There’s talk of a trap reduction, of reducing the amount of bait we use, even of closing off valuable fishing areas for part of the year to men and women who have fished Maine waters since they could barely see over the side of the boat. Each of these will hurt Maine’s blue-collar fishing families and the towns we live in without giving anyone much hope for the future. >click to read< by Rep. Billy Bob Faulkingham11:39
Coast Guard: Blaze on fishing vessel started during Customs inspection
A fire on a 40 (?)-foot fishing vessel Thursday apparently started when members of the crew were undergoing a routine Customs and Border Protection inspection and inadvertently left a stove burner on in the galley, officials said. The fire started about 1:30 p.m., and smoke pouring from the boat ― St. Peter ― could be seen from several blocks away. The Coast Guard said the fire started during a routine Customs inspection of the vessel. >2 video’s, click to read< 10:44
NOAA scientist: Offshore wind projects will likely affect viability of fishery surveys
At a special session of the New England Fisheries Management Council covering offshore wind, Wendy Gabriel, of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, outlined a wide number of concerns for the organization regarding the development of wind power along the coast. Chief among the concerns was the organization’s ability to continue conducting viable fishery surveys – which provide much of the data that the council uses to establish fishing quotas. “The bottom-line here is, nearly all of the long-term fishery independent surveys that have coverage will be affected,” she said during the session. >click to read<10:06
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for April19, 2019
>Click here to read the Weekly Update<, to read all the updates >click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here<09:39
‘Huge increase’ in fishing ahead – Could a redfish trawling bonanza zap the Maritime Link?
Owners of the Maritime Link are exploring whether the two subsea electrical cables between Newfoundland and Nova Scotia will need to be better protected from fishing gear when seafood companies begin harvesting an exploding biomass of redfish in the region. Scientists say there are at least 2.5 million tonnes of redfish in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and that is expected to trigger an Atlantic Canadian fishing bonanza — including more bottom trawling — when the fish reach harvest size in a year or two. >click to read< 08:59
New England Fishery Management Council explores monitoring alternatives
The New England Fishery Management Council continues to work on an amendment to improve monitoring within the groundfish fishery, with a particular emphasis on generating more options within the dockside monitoring alternatives. Meeting for three days this week in Mystic, Connecticut, the council approved several additions and modifications to the original range of groundfish monitoring alternatives, with an eye toward completing a draft environmental impact statement in time to schedule public hearings later this year. The council also requested its Groundfish Committee “expand the number of options,,, >click to read<08:26
