Daily Archives: June 2, 2019
Fishing licences and quota on the West Coast are murky business
Being a commercial fish harvester is tough work. There are long hours, unpredictable seas and demanding physical conditions, not to mention the experience it takes to know where to drop the traps or cast a net..,, In the West Coast fisheries, a single licence may be exchanged for tens of thousands of dollars to hundreds of thousands of dollars, and quota transactions are worth tens of millions of dollars annually. However, the market for licences and quota is not transparent or tightly regulated.,,, As licences and quota concentrate in fewer hands they become out of reach for active harvesters. In turn, the socioeconomic fabric of Indigenous and coastal communities stretches and strains. A recent study by the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans comes to similar conclusions. >click to read<16:31
Analysis of Commercial Fishing Licence, and Quota Values – As at December 31, 2016 Prepared for Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Pacific Region >click to read<
North Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting June 3-10, 2019, in Sitka, Alaska.
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council will meet June 3-10, 2019, at the Harrigan Centennial Hall in Sitka, Alaska. The >Agenda, click< and >Schedule, click<as well as a list of review documents and their associated posting dates are available through the links provided. >Listen online, click< while the meeting is in session. 15:28
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council meeting June 3 – 6, 2019, in Miramar Beach, FL.
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council meeting June 3 – 6, 2019, in Miramar Beach, FL. Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort, Bayside Ballroom
9300 Emerald Coast Parkway W. Miramar Beach, FL 32550, 850-267-8000. >click to review Agenda, and supporting documents.< Listen online, >click to listen< This webinar meets 4 times.15:14
Alan Holman – Make PFDs mandatory on fishing boats
It has been noted in past columns in this space that fishing is the most dangerous occupation in Canada. On a per capita basis more people die in the fishing industry than any other, including construction, mining and policing. But, is enough being done. All other Island industries operate under stringent health and safety regulations; the fishery, not so much. Not all, but most Island fishing boats are too small, or they don’t go far enough from shore, to fall under the federal department of transport regulations concerning safety measures requiring the crew to wear life-jackets. And, most Island fishermen think that’s alright. They don’t want any more regulations. This lack of regulation would be fine, if Island fishermen were taking measures to prevent the kind of accident that happened recently off Naufrage when 22-year-old Jordan Hicken fell overboard, unnoticed, as the boat headed out to sea. >click to read<14:29
Coast Guard rescues 2 people from vessel taking on water
Coast Guard Sector New Orleans watchstanders received a report at 4:53 p.m. of the vessel Miss Linda taking on water in Breton Sound, Louisiana, with two people aboard. Watchstanders diverted a Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircrew at 5:32 p.m. The aircrew located the Miss Linda and dropped two rafts and supplies to the two individuals. >3 photo’s,click to read<13:46
Maine 2019 baby eel harvest value exceeds $20M for second straight year
For two consecutive years, Maine baby eel fishermen have netted more than $20 million statewide and earned an average price of more than $2,000 per pound. With a preliminary total value of $20.1 million, Maine’s 2019 baby eel harvest as the fourth-most lucrative ever, and as the second-most since a statewide annual catch limit was imposed in 2014. The average statewide price of $2,093 ranks as the third-highest such average that fishermen have earned for the lucrative baby eels, also known as elvers. >click to read<12:13
Cocaine use a growing problem on fishing vessels, says industry rep
“It’s everywhere — in all the ports,” said Hubert Saulnier, who fishes out of Meteghan, N.S., and is on the drugs and alcohol committee of the Fisheries Safety Association of Nova Scotia. “You hear about it a lot … It’s an ongoing issue and it’s getting to be a little bit worse.” Saulnier said he hears of cocaine use at sea from fishermen themselves, as well as from the RCMP and the federal Fisheries and Oceans Department. He believes some fishermen may use hard drugs in part to increase their endurance and productivity during long trips, which can last 48 hours or more. >click to read<11:44
No wonder there’s a problem! – Deep sea fishermen pull in big catch of cocaine, worth nearly $1M, off Charleston coast >click to read<
New rules are meant to save whales; lobstermen wonder if they’ll survive
The state Department of Marine Resources has until September to come up with a way that it can cut the number of buoy lines in the Gulf of Maine by 50 percent. Federal regulators say that’s what it will take to reduce the risk of fatal entanglement enough for the species to survive. Scientists estimate only 411 right whales remain. The species has been on the brink of extinction before, most recently in 1992, when its population bottomed out at 295. It rebounded to about 500 in 2010, but low calving rates, ship strikes and fishing line entanglements have sent its numbers tumbling, yet again. But many in Maine’s $485 million industry worry it is the lobsterman who will face extinction,,, >click to read<10:28
Trove of salmon delight fisherman on Central Coast, consumers could see price drop
“There’s a lot of smiling faces, the fellas who are fishing salmon, it’s a good thing to see,” Morro Bay Commercial Fishermen’s Organization Vice President Jeremiah O’Brien said.The Pacific Ocean from Avila Beach to Morro Bay is an underwater gold mine for salmon, O’Brien said,,, In the back room of Giovanni’s Fish Market, a man filleted a fresh-caught salmon to the persistent sound of a bell ringing non-stop to alert employees of new customers entering the store to buy fish. >Video, click to read<09:55
REMINDER: Public comment on AMENDMENT 2 of Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan
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