Daily Archives: May 4, 2019

Shrimp Strike – Fishermen chafe while boats break strike

It’s been weeks of blue tarps and yawns on the Newport shrimp boats. But now, frustration is on deck too. The Pacific pink shrimp season has been open for a month, but processors and fishermen are still far apart on price. The captains and crews of some 115 boats along the coast are holding out while a deal is cut. Their patience is being tried as a fleet of some 20 boats from Washington and Columbia River ports make hay in the traditional fishing grounds of the Newport fleet. Newport fisherman Gary Ripka said that north coast boats breaking the strike have traditionally observed an unspoken agreement to stay well north of Newport. “They’re rubbing it in our faces,” he said. >click to read<13:47

Asian carp lure Chinese investors (and Commercial Fishermen) to Kentucky

Justin Irwin and James Berry took turns to steer their boat on Barkley Lake in western Kentucky, looking for Asian carp.,,, Berry and Irwin, half-brothers originally from Washington, came to Kentucky to fish for Asian carp in November. Irwin is a commercial fisherman who has worked all over the world, most recently in Alaska during the summer. For three months, he worked 20 – to 22-hour days in Alaskan waters.,,, One day, Irwin read an internet article about Asian carp and commercial fishing in Kentucky, and immediately became interested. “As a commercial fisherman, I aim to fish as much as I can,” he said. >click to read<12:42

An early start to a late setting day for P.E.I.’s lobster fishermen

The lobster boats are off and heading to a staging area outside the North Rustico harbour on the North Shore of Prince Edward Island Friday morning, waiting for the 6 a.m. start time. According to federal fisheries rules, the boats can’t go until the appointed hour.,,, The wharf and breakwater of North Rustico was crowded with spectators as the boats set out into the Gulf of St. Lawrence. This year was a bit unusual in that setting day was supposed to be April 29, but because of bad weather it was delayed until May 3. Brian McInnis is a Charlottetown-based freelance photographer. >Excellent photo’s, click to read<11:52

Salmon-eating sea lions targeted at Columbia River dam

More California sea lions preying on imperiled salmon in the Columbia River below a hydroelectric project on the Oregon-Washington border are being killed under a revised policy, federal authorities said Friday. The National Marine Fisheries Service made public reduced criteria for removing sea lions at Bonneville Dam about 145 miles (235 kilometers) from the Pacific Ocean. The new guidelines that went into effect April 17 permit any California sea lion seen in the area on five occasions or seen eating a fish to be put on a list for lethal removal. >click to read<10:57

Newfoundland and Labrador: Fishing for the future – a two-part series

Since he was 12, Trent Emberley fished with his father. Now many years later, they still fish together. This generational bond through fishing was common throughout the lineages of Newfoundland and Labrador. But today, many in the province are calling it a rare sight. Even rarer, now at the age of 23, Emberley has signed off on his own inshore fishing enterprise. With his required five years experience as a full-time harvester, his level II certification, and massive investments for his boat and quotas begun, the Southern Harbour man has laid the foundations for a career in the industry.,,,>click to read part one<The Prime Berth Fishing Heritage Centre, the first structure past the causeway into Twillingate Island, is run by owner and harvester David Boyd. “One of the goals is to see the licences in Atlantic Canada remain in the hands of independent owner/operators, not to corporations or processing companies. >click to read part two<09:45

Herring Decline Mystery Spawns New Studies

Throughout the coastal waters of New England, the annual migration of river herring has been a seasonal “must see” event. Watching thousands of small fish swim upstream to natal waters, traveling from saltwater oceans to freshwater streams and ponds, is one of nature’s miracles. Yet these marine animals, like most living things on the plant, have been negatively impacted by human activity. But is that the whole story? (not by a longshot)! >click to read<08:41

Fisherman, conservationists want more research before developing wind farms

Before Humboldt County begins investing in offshore wind energy, local conservationists and fishermen say more research needs to be done to assess the projects’ local impacts. Harrison Ibach, president of the Humboldt Fishermen’s Marketing Association, said much of California’s waters are already closed to commercial fishing and the installation of wind turbines is going to further reduce the number of areas where fishermen can operate. “We can’t afford to lose any more grounds,” Ibach said. >click to read<07:49

Stakeholders Voice Concerns and Cautious Optimism About Offshore Wind Energy at McGuire-Hosted Hearingclick here to read<