Monthly Archives: September 2019
Wind farm developers reach agreement with Montauk dock owners
Developers Orsted and Eversource last week announced the agreement with Inlet Seafood on East Lake Drive in Montauk, an operation that’s partly owned by Dave Aripotch, one of the region’s most active commercial fishermen who has consistently criticized the offshore wind-energy projects as “wind-scams.”,,, “I’m not happy with it, but I’m not going to stop my partners from doing it,” said Aripotch, who is married to Bonnie Brady, executive director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, who also has opposed offshore wind. >click to read< 20:29
Judah and Sons Fish Market in Sebastian closes after 70 years
A dream that lasted 70 years ended Monday, when Judah and Sons Fish Market opened its doors for the last time. Years of financial struggles, increased state regulations of commercial fishing — starting with the 1995 entanglement net ban — and mounting repairs from a deteriorating seawall took their toll on the retail fish market, which began in 1949 by Bascomb Judah and his son, James Coolidge Judah. “We knew this day was coming,” said Bascomb’s grandson, Kevin Judah, 58. “But when it gets here, it takes your breath away.” >click to read< 18:00
Janet Mills wants Maine carbon-neutral by 2045. What will that take?
Gov. Janet Mills made a surprise announcement when she addressed world leaders at the United Nations Climate Action Summit last week: She had issued an executive order pledging that Maine will be carbon-neutral by 2045.,,, Renewable power drives everything. So what is that likely to look like? The good news is that Maine has massive renewable power potential, especially in regard to offshore wind, a sector the University of Maine is on the cutting edge of, having developed a floating turbine platform. Jacobson’s team already developed an all-renewable energy plan for Maine consisting of 35 percent offshore wind, >click to read< 17:25
German fishermen’s scepticism towards EU impedes compliance with its regulations
Negative perception of a regulatory authority like the EU diminishes the honesty of those regulated, for example, that of fishermen. This is the conclusion drawn by researchers from the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), the Leipzig University, the University of Hamburg, and the Kiel Institute for the World Economy from a game of chance experiment with EU-sceptic commercial fishermen and Brexit voters.,,, The experiment also revealed that the fishermen were more honest than students. >click to read< 13:07
For centuries, the United States and Canada’s only remaining land border dispute has been kept alive by a single family.
This story conflicts with the official stances of two powerful nations. It flies in the face of the Canadian lighthouse that has stood on the island for nearly two centuries. It also complicates the United States’s position, which is to claim the disputed island as American territory without making too much of a fuss. But Norton never gave up on his story. In a time when the last thing most people want is another border controversy, I decided to try to find out why. by Cara Giaimo, >click to read< 11:28
Prince William Sound season’s catch nears 56 million fish, statewide harvest now tops 201 million salmon
Statewide preliminary data compiled by ADF&G showed an overall harvest of 201 million fish, including 124.8 million pink, 55.3 million sockeye, 17.3 million chum, 3.4 million coho and 273,000 Chinook salmon. With the addition of some 100,000 fish last week, the 2019 Alaska commercial salmon season is nearly complete, noted Garrett Evridge of the McDowell Group, who compiles weekly commercial salmon reports in season on behalf of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. >click to read< 10:47
PEIFA joins MFU in seeking mid-summer lobster-fishing ban
“After 20 years of lobster research from the government of Canada and our science affiliate, Homarus, we understand just how important the mid-summer (July 7 – Aug. 7) is for the hatching and development of lobster larvae into juvenile lobsters,” MFU executive director, Martin Mallet said. ”Any fishing activity during this time has an extremely negative effect on several key biological processes for lobster, including moulting, extrusion of new eggs and hatching of eggs that are in the final stages of development.” >click to read< 08:54
Hampton boat captain hoping to tag her third moose this season
Capt. Jeanne Bailey is hoping to tag her third moose this hunting season. Bailey and her brother, Capt. Bob Tonkin, run Captain Bob’s Lobster Tours and Fishing Charters in Hampton. She said she was surprised when she learned she was one of only 49 people to be selected as a moose permit holder this year. “I was at Fish and Game and I said, ‘You know, what the heck, I’ll donate my 20 bucks,’,,, Bailey said she comes from a long line of hunters and fishermen. It is how they survive. >click to read< 08:15
Critics say federal government is wiping out commercial pink salmon fisheries
In emails obtained by the BC Wildlife Federation, British Columbia government staff and scientists say Fisheries and Oceans Canada is burying science and misrepresenting a crisis situation to the public, risking extinction of Thompson-Chilcotin steelhead trout. In the fall of 2017, only an estimated 150 Thompson fish returned alongside just 77 to the Chilcotin down from thousands just a decade and a half ago. The email chain shows the DFO changed the wording of a public scientific document that is based on peer reviewed science. >click to read< 18:40
North Pacific Fishery Management Council will meet in Homer, Alaska, September 30 – October 9, 2019
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council will meet September 30 – October 9, 2019, at the Land’s End in Homer, Alaska. Read the Agenda > click here<, Read the schedule >click here< To listen online, (link is missing, will be updated)>click here< while the meeting is in session. 15:46
Manx scallop fishermen told to diversify fishing fleet for prawns, squid or white fish
Queen scallop fishermen are being invited to apply for grants to diversify into fishing for prawns, squid or white fish. The move comes as the island’s scallop industry comes under pressure over declining stocks. Major cuts in catch quotas were announced at the beginning of the queenie season in July and then all areas of the fishery except East Douglas were closed to allow stocks to recover. Now island queen scallop fishermen are invited to make grant applications to enable fisheries diversification. >click to read< 11:56
Sen. Murkowski is right: The Army Corps needs to bring science back to Pebble permitting
“If a mine cannot stand on its own without negative impact to the fisheries resource, then that mine should not be permitted.” – Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Sept. 18, 2019. That statement, delivered during Bristol Bay Native Corporation’s annual salmon celebration in Washington, D.C., quickly travelled from the U.S. Capitol all the way back to Bristol Bay, where many of our organizations have been working to expose the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers inadequate environmental review process for Pebble. >click to read< 10:40
Oregon looks at ocean acidification, hypoxia threats to marine life
The Oregon Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia Action Plan outlines actions the state will take to adapt to and mitigate impacts. The plan, requested last year by Gov. Kate Brown and adopted in August, will serve as a roadmap for the next six years. “Ocean acidification and hypoxia threaten not just our commercial fisheries in Oregon, but our entire coastal way of life,” Gov. Brown said. >click to read< 09:16
Truro lobsterman says rules to protect right whales costly to his business
Cheryl Souza is ending her lobster sales after October. But third-generation lobsterman Billy Souza, as it turns out, is considering quitting as well. “It’s all the whale issues,” Souza said. Unlike the lobstering in the days of Souza’s grandfather, Frank Souza, and his father, William Souza, the current generation fishing off Cape Cod is under an intense and unique scrutiny..,, “The whales could get entangled anywhere in the world, but there’s so many eyes on them here it looks like we’re the bad guys and we’re not.” >click to read< 07:38
From the newsvine archives! F/V Endurance- Foto Friday, Fri Aug 5, 2011
Took a road trip to New Bedford to visit ish2dant, and tour the F/V Endurance, our Foto Friday subject. More photos, >click to read< 16:41
An Epitaph for Newsvine – >click to read< by Co-founder Mike Davidson
September 28 – 1889: Cape fishermen heading for South Africa for mackerel
“Fishing widow” will now become a year-round occupation. A century ago the fishermen on Cape Cod were making plans to spend the winter fishing for mackerel off the Cape of Good Hope off the southern tip of Africa, a distance of almost 8,000 miles away from homeport. For the wives of the Cape’s fishermen that would mean nearly year-round widowhood as the trip a century ago took weeks under the best of conditions and mackerel were believed to abound in South African waters after December 1st, the same fish seen here six months later. >click to read< 14:08
Brenda Sterling-Goodwin: Diluting waste in Northumberland Strait not the answer for Northern Pulp effluent
“The solution to pollution is dilution. It is very logical that if a chemical is bothering you, you should increase the flow,,, In many cases, people were probably taught that it is OK to pour your waste materials down the sink (and let dilution take care of any nasty effects). However, despite its frequent promotion, dilution is probably not the solution.,,, A pipe in the Northumberland Strait is not the answer. It may be one of the less costly solutions for waste disposal at Northern Pulp, but one must think of the environmental consequences. >click to read< 09:21
Trump aide offers no guidance on Vineyard Wind
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management put the offshore wind farm on hold indefinitely in early August while it tries to gain a better understanding of the cumulative impact of the many East Coast wind farm projects currently in the pipeline. With the project in danger of being canceled if the delay lasts too long, James Bennett, the renewable energy program manager at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, gave no indication of when the agency’s review will be completed. >click to read< 08:33
Blessing of the Fleet ceremony enters 21st year
A popular part of the N.C. Seafood Festival is remembering and recognition of the commercial fishing industry. The Blessing of the Fleet ceremony honors those who work on the water.,,, Kenny Rustick has been a commercial fisherman since he was a small child, fishing with members of his family.,, “It’s got a lot of meaning. It’s a time of year that the fishermen and their families come together and the communities all come together to memorialize the ones that’ve left us,”,,, Mr. Rustick and Mr. Grant were fishing aboard the Mad Lady II last July when the vessel overturned in Pamlico Sound. The men were lost at sea for 14 hours. >click to read< 07:49
‘They need to come to the table’, Lennox Island chief rejects PEIFA’s calls for July lobster fishery ban
The P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association is requesting a ban be implemented by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans on lobster fishing for part of the summer. The association is supporting the idea of a ban on all lobster fishing in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence during midsummer, mainly July.,,, Chief Darlene Bernard of the Lennox Island First Nation said they have a ceremonial fishery in the month of July for the annual St. Anne’s Sunday celebration and she has no plans to stop it. >click to read< 18:21
The Yurok Tribe is Leading a Massive Restoration Project on the Trinity River, and the Fish are Coming Back
Known as the Chapman Ranch Project, is part of the largest environmental restoration program ever implemented on the Trinity, and it’s being led by his own people, the Yurok Tribe.,,, Historically, the Trinity, the largest tributary of the Klamath River, hosted thriving populations of steelhead, coho and Chinook salmon, which provided local tribes with their primary dietary staple since time immemorial. It wasn’t just the dam that altered this waterway. Mining activities in the 19th and 20th centuries drastically changed the river’s character and its capacity to support wildlife. Photo’s, Video, >click to read< 15:00
Fisher Poets return to Steveston’s Gulf of Georgia Cannery
The call of the sea, the river and fishing all serve as the source of inspiration for the poets presenting at this weekend’s Fisher Poets at the Gulf of Georgia Cannery. On Saturday Sept. 28, current and retired members of the West Coast commercial fishing industry will share their poetry, prose and songs in the Gulf of Georgia Cannery’s Boiler House Theatre. >click to read< 12:19 The Fisher Poets Afternoon will run from 2 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 28.
Why we must break free from the rotten EU fisheries system
The Common Fisheries Policy, a rigid political structure that works against nature.,,, To understand the significance of this research, it is important to understand how nets (trawls) are constructed.,,, Separator trawls were designed with a panel inserted horizontally throughout the trawl, with two cod-ends, one top section for haddock and one at the bottom for cod (Cod ends are the end of the trawl, where the catch ends up, and is emptied into where the catch is sorted.) The Canadians took this research further. They were concerned about their shrimp fishery,,, >click to read< 11:04
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for Sept. 27, 2019
Legislative updates, Bill updates, Calendar, >Click here to read the Weekly Update<, to read all the updates >click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here< 09:42
Do Sharks Know When Hurricanes Are Coming?
Hurricanes can cause lots of environmental changes before they make landfall including high winds, storm surge, and high rainfall. They also create areas of extremely low barometric pressure which many animals can detect. For example, sharks have an organ called a ‘lateral line,’ which is a long row of small pores on each side of their body. Connected like a fluid-like canal, they sense changes in the surrounding pressure and are usually used to “feel” wounded prey. But they can also detect drops in the pressure that indicate an approaching hurricane. >click to read< 08:27
In her garage lab, a scientist looks for answers about skinny tuna
Molly Lutcavage is standing on the State Fish Pier in Gloucester, watching a crane hoist a giant bluefin tuna off the back of a fishing boat. “Look at how skinny she is,” the fisherman, Corky Decker, yells up to her. “That’s how they’ve all been — long, ugly things like you’d catch in June.” Lutcavage nods at the fish, which is 74 inches long but weighs just 174 pounds — very skinny indeed for a tuna — then looks down at the plastic bag in her hands, which is what she’s come for. It contains the tuna’s ovaries,,, >click to read< 07:38
Newport News captain back from voyage delivering supplies to Bahamas after Hurricane Dorian
Buck Ford guided his scallop boat, the Ocean Fox, to the Bahamas to drop off supplies and help desperate people in need after Hurricane Dorian slammed the island. “They thanked us over and over,” Ford told News 3 on Thursday. “One guy hadn’t had a pair of shoes since the hurricane, so I told him to look around and he found a pair of tennis shoes. Those were the first pair he’d had since the hurricane.” >click to read< Sept. 11,2019, Newport News scallop boat embarking on 800 mile voyage to Bahamas to deliver disaster relief – >click to read< 17:19
Auction for offshore wind lease just around the corner
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is set to hold an auction to lease space approximately 25 miles off the coast of Eureka to develop an offshore wind energy project in 2020,,, We’re committed to building this project and that we’re able to do that in a way, again, that delivers benefits to the local community.” The companies are front-loading much of the work that needs to be done by trying to assess the impacts to wildlife and local industries, Studds said. >click to read< 16:07
EPA considering first fish farm in Gulf of Mexico
The farm, a pilot project, would not only be a first for the gulf, but would also be the first in the federal waters of the continental United States. If it works, then look for others to follow, both here and elsewhere, said Kampachi co-founder Neil Anthony Sims. “We think the gulf coast of Florida around Tampa offers the most advantageous location, given the criteria we’re looking at,” Sims said. Other companies are eyeing potential fish farm locations off of California and Long Island, he said. >click to read< 14:24
Coast fishermen, seafood related businesses welcome disaster declaration
The federal fisheries disaster declaration was certainly welcomed by fishermen and seafood sales businesses along the Coast Wednesday. Because of the algae bloom, the seafood industry has been hit hard. But even in the midst of crisis, there are pockets of success. Business is steady for the Cajun Maid at the Pass Christian Harbor. “Every day, people come up here every single day to buy shrimp,” said deckhand Britt Roberts. >click to read< 11:38
