Monthly Archives: October 2019
Divers Looking For WWII Shipwreck Find Enormous Enormous, Gelatinous Orb With Thousands Of Baby Squid Inside
Time and again, the deep sea reveals the most extraterrestrial-looking life we’ll ever see without actually leaving Earth. This was precisely the case during a recent dive in the waters near Ørstafjorden, Norway. According to the Daily Mail, the divers were on their way back after visiting a World War II shipwreck, when they stumbled upon a mysterious translucent orb floating just 50 feet above the ocean floor. >Video, click to read< 08:58
Managing Coorong seals could provide local jobs, say Indigenous elders
The number of seals in the region has increased dramatically in the past five years, and many fishermen have called for a cull. But Indigenous elders in the Lower Lakes and Coorong region said there could be other ways to manage the seals.,,, A recent senate inquiry recommended culling overabundant species, such as corellas and kangaroos, when the pests’ impact on the community warrants it. But South Australian Environment Minister David Spiers said in the case of the Coorong seals, more research was needed before the State Government would consider a cull. >click to read< 16:24
Hundreds honor seafood industry hall of fame inductees
While it’s been a rough year for the seafood industry on the Coast, Saturday was a time to celebrate a heritage that has resilience beyond disaster. Twenty-five inductees have been added to the Maritime & Seafood Industry Museum Hall of Fame. There was more than just seafood history being honored. This was a cultural celebration. “The stories are beautiful. Every story is a part of the big picture, and every story is valuable,” said museum board president Kim Ross Bush. “It’s just like threads of a great tapestry; you need them all to make the tapestry work.” >click to read< 14:36
‘You’re not listening to the science’: Pebble Mine fight aired at US House hearing
For Alaskans opposed to the Pebble Mine, a hearing in the U.S. House of Representatives Wednesday was an opportunity to raise the issue on a national stage, and to ask Congress to stop the proposed gold and copper mine upstream from Bristol Bay. But Alaska Congressman Don Young made it clear he didn’t think much of the hearing. He said he’s neither for nor against the mine, but he believes in science-based decision-making.,, The hearing produced sparks and several impassioned speeches, but no specific legislation.>click to read< 11:00
On This Day: October 27,1660, Cape Cod’s first whaler was persecuted “for his evil ways”
The New York Times in October of 1894 reported on the first whaler from Cape Cod. Unfortunately, he was persecuted for “his evil ways” by the Puritans, which delayed the further development of whaling for another half century when it then flourished for the next century on Nantucket and Provincetown where in May 11, 1843 the Provincetown whaling schooner Cordelia took the largest whale ever known to be captured on this coast, southeast of Chatham. The earliest records indicate that one William Hamilton was the first person who killed whales on the New-England coast. >click to read< 08:49
Great Lakes Recreational Grab-Bills would squeeze commercial fishermen, help sportsfishermen
Michigan House lawmakers last week advanced legislation to tighten regulations on Great Lakes commercial fishers, escalating a fight between the long-declining industry and sportfishing groups. The legislation would increase commercial fishing license fees from about $200 to $1,400; exponentially boost fines, tighten reporting requirements on commercial catches and how fishermen tend their nets… The biggest area of contention: The bills also will codify into law a current Department of Natural Resources ban on commercial harvesting of lake trout, walleye, yellow perch and other game fish, reserving them exclusively for anglers. > click to read< 19:06:16
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission 78th Annual Meeting in New Castle, NH. October 28 thru 31, 2019
The agenda is subject to change. The agenda reflects the current estimate of time required for scheduled Board meetings. The Commission may adjust this agenda in accordance with the actual duration of Board meetings. Interested parties should anticipate Boards starting earlier or later than indicated herein. >click to read the agenda< Board meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning Monday, October 28th at 8:30 a.m. and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 12:15 p.m.) on Thursday, October 31st. >click here for webinar access< 17:19
Coast Guard rescues 4 fishermen near South Padre Island, Texas
Coast Guard crews rescued four fishermen from the water after their fishing vessel capsized at the South Padre Island jetties near South Padre Island, Texas, late Friday night. At approximately 11:00 p.m., Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi watchstanders received notification that the 63-foot fishing vessel Little Joseph was taking on water after striking the south jetty. >click to read< 15:12
‘A Whole New Industry’: N.H. To Work With Neighboring States On Offshore Wind in Gulf of Maine
New Hampshire, Maine and Massachusetts will work together on large-scale offshore wind development in the Gulf of Maine. Stakeholders from the three states met today in Manchester talk about the possibilities and obstacles for that new industry. The event was hosted by the Environmental Business Council of New England at the state headquarters of Eversource, which is developing several large offshore wind projects elsewhere in the Northeast. >click to read< 14:06
Oregon seeking expanded sea lion controls following success of salmon protections at Willamette Falls, Bonneville Dam
Having fended off the threat of extinction of wild winter steelhead over Willamette Falls, Oregon biologists are now joining counterparts in Washington, Idaho and Native American tribes to expand that success. Tuesday is the deadline set by the National Marine Fisheries Service for comments on a state and tribal proposal to reduce protections for both California and Steller sea lions in the Columbia river and its tributaries…. Send comments to: https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=NOAA-NMFS-2019-0073, or mail them to the National Marine Fisheries Service, ATTN: Protected Resources Division, NOAA-NMFS-2019-0073; 1201 NE Lloyd Blvd., Suite 1100; Portland, Ore., 97232. >click to read< 11:52
LETTER: ‘World class’ means something different in Newfoundland and Labrador. Smoke and Mirrors!
Here in Newfoundland and Labrador we routinely hear politicians and private industry speak of the “world class” qualities of whatever they are promoting. Whether it is megaprojects, various standards or qualities of whatever public or private business is involved — or just about anything it seems — our cup runs over with world class items. Here are a few examples: “The Muskrat Falls project is world class”; “The salmon aquaculture industry in Newfoundland and Labrador is world class” and recently, the new rules touted by our provincial government to regulate the aquaculture industry here are described as “surpassing the world as the place of best practise for aquaculture.” From the now six-week unfolding of the massive Fortune Bay farmed salmon die off,,, by David Downton >click to read< 09:33
Nova Scotia lobsters still in sweet spot despite climate change
Canadian scientists have attempted to predict the impact of a warming ocean caused by climate change on the lucrative Nova Scotia and New Brunswick lobster fishery on the Scotian Shelf. In most areas, lobster habitat in the offshore is expected to remain suitable or improve over the next few decades, according to a study published in the journal Frontiers of Marine Science. Offshore is defined as beyond 19 kilometres from land. “Some of the climate projections suggest that it may not have a big impact over the next number of years on adult lobsters,” >click to read< 08:49
Video: Coast Guard medevacs fisherman near the St. Augustine Inlet
The Coast Guard medevaced a 46-year-old man Friday from a fishing vessel near the St. Augustine Inlet. A Coast Guard Air Station Savannah MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew hoisted and transported the man to Flagler Hospital. At 1:45 p.m., Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville command center watchstanders received a request for a medevac from St. Johns Fire and Rescue for a crew member experiencing chest pains aboard the Lady Denise, a 96-foot fishing vessel. >click here to watch video< >photo, info, >click here <20:43
The legacy of a 60-year-old boat
The growth of the gillnet and seine fleet is astonishing in both size and efficiency, and 99 percent of the boats now in the harbor are either aluminum or fiberglass. Yet tied at the end of Float B in the North harbor is a craft that appears to be fiberglass but in fact was originally wood, a vestige of a different era and style of fishing. It was built in a Parks Cannery boat shop that still stands today, amidst a group of Copper River Seafoods buildings, by a local character who was a master with the band saw, when he wasn’t busy sharing suds with patrons at many of Cordova’s favorite waterholes. Named the Vecci, it was assembled by Martin Andersen in the winter of 1959, with longtime Cordova fisherman Charlie Simpler partnering in the project. >click to read< 19:06
Mississippi to sue Army Corps of Engineers over extended opening of spillway
Mississippi’s attorney general said Thursday that he will sue the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for environmental and economic damage the state experienced after the Corps opened a spillway for two extended periods this year to protect New Orleans from flooding.,, Hood said he does not want New Orleans to flood but the Corps should better assess potential damage to Mississippi when deciding whether to open the Bonnet Carre spillway. He said if the federal government decides to open the spillway often, “they’ll have to pay for it because it’s just about put our seafood industry out of business.” >click to read< 17:11
Senators Markey and Sullivan introduced the Ocean, Coastal and Estuarine Acidification Necessitates (OCEAN) Research Act.
This bipartisan legislation would reauthorize the Federal Ocean Acidification Research and Monitoring Act funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Science Foundation, which lapsed in 2012. The bill strengthens investment in research and monitoring of poorly-understood acidification processes in coastal and estuarine areas, and engages coastal communities and the seafood industry through an Advisory Board and collaborative research grants. >click to read< 15:57
Warming waters, local differences in oceanography affect Gulf of Maine lobster population
Two new studies published by University of Maine scientists are putting a long-standing survey of the American lobster’s earliest life stages to its most rigorous test yet as an early warning system for trends in New England’s iconic fishery. The studies point to the role of a warming ocean and local differences in oceanography in the rise and fall of lobster populations along the coast from southern New England to Atlantic Canada. >click to read< 12:36
FISH-NL’s Platform Puts Inshore Harvesters First
- FISH-NL will serve as a union solely for the inshore harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador. 2. FISH-NL will organize regular open, transparent membership meetings so that issues such as the northern cod management plan are debated, and voted on. 3. No benefits — including pension/medical plans — will be available to the FISH-NL executive unless available to all members. 5. FISH-NL will not manage any commercial fishery, or hold any quotas. DFO must deal directly with inshore harvesters in assigning survey work for fisheries science. 6.,,, >click to read the rest< 11:29
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for October 25 , 2019
On October 15th, Congressman Joe Cunningham who represents South Carolina’s First District which makes up the state’s coastal region, introduced HR-4679, CLIMATE READY FISHERIES ACT of 2019.,,, The Climate Ready Fisheries Act of 2019 has support from Ocean Conservancy, National Audubon Society, Earthjustice, Oceana, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Conservation Voters of South Carolina, Coastal Conservation League, and the Marine Fish Conservation Network >click to read< 10:45
Park City Wind Will Transform Bridgeport Into Offshore Wind Hub
Vineyard Wind announced details of the company’s proposed “Park City Wind” offshore wind project. Vineyard Wind submitted its Park City Wind proposal on September 30th, 2019 to the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection (DEEP) in response to their 2019 solicitation for offshore wind facilities. “Park City Wind is a tremendous opportunity to revitalize Bridgeport by creating thousands of good paying jobs with good benefits in both the wind industry and throughout the local supply chain,” said Vineyard Wind CEO Lars Thaaning Pedersen. >click to read< 09:47
Bonnie Brady: A Diversity of Experience
“What you see is what you get,” is how Bonnie Brady, a longtime Montauk resident and EH Fusion Party candidate for East Hampton Town Board, described herself in an interview with Star staff this week. “I’d like to think of myself as a fair, honest person, someone who would work their butt off” for constituents. As executive director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, Ms. Brady has long been a proponent of that industry’s interests, which in recent years means she is also a vocal opponent of the proposed South Fork Wind Farm, which fishermen fear will disrupt or destroy their livelihood. >click to read< 08:56
Mass. Maritime Launches First-in-the-Nation Offshore Wind Training Facility
Governor Charlie Baker, Lt. Governor Karyn Polito, Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs Kathleen Theoharides, and Stephen Pike, CEO of the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, joined officials from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy to launch the first-in-the-nation offshore wind crew transfer training facility. The group of state and college representatives officially christened the training vessel as part of the 2nd Annual Massachusetts STEM Week. >click to read< 08:10
Congress considering safety, climate change for fisheries
Congress is getting involved in fisheries in a couple key areas: safety and climate change. The FISH SAFE Act, and, Climate Ready Fisheries Act of 2019. Republican Rep. Don Young is leading a bipartisan effort along with Rep. Jared Golden (D, Maine) to improve safety, introducing the Funding Instruction for Safety Health, and Security Avoids Fishing Emergencies Act.,,, The most recent climate change legislation, also bipartisan, was introduced by Rep. Joe Cunningham, (D- S.C), and is co-sponsored by Reps Brian Mast (R-Fla.), Francis Rooney (R-Fla.) and Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), and is meant to help “low country” fishermen, but the impact, should it pass, would presumably help fishermen nation-wide. >click to read< 21:51
A Guide to the Surplus of Drama That Has Sprung From Deadliest Catch
Deadliest Catch has won 16 Emmys, including two for Best Unstructured Reality Program (a rare assignation if there ever was one), spawned books and video games, and remains a must-watch for millions after 14 years on Discovery Channel. But perhaps because of the very nature of the job at hand, the drama over 15 seasons hasn’t been confined to the adventures unfolding at sea. Photo’s, >click to read< 18:04
Lt. Governor, Congresswoman, Territory Commerce Department Stress Importance of Fisheries to the U.S. Territory of American Samoa
“Fisheries sustains our livelihoods in all aspects of our lives” was the core message that reverberated through the remarks of Lt. Gov. Lemanu Peleti Mauga, who opened the 180th meeting of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council yesterday in Pago Pago, American Samoa. Congresswoman Aumua Amata Radewagen’s opening remarks echoed those of the Lt. Governor. “Fishing has sustained us for our entire history,” she said. >click to read< 16:28
Congresswoman: US negotiators went backwards – Congresswoman Aumua Amata says US negotiators went backwards when they reduced 700 fishing days in the current South Pacific Tuna Treaty. Audio, >click to read< 16:30
Dear editor: Government going overboard with Marine Protected Areas
The B.C. economy is set to lose hundreds of millions of dollars and few seem to be aware or care about this issue. The issue is the establishment of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs). Few would argue that MPAs can be beneficial, even commercial fishermen.,,, These B.C. fishermen work on the principle of sustainable yield,,,An estimate of the loss to the northern shelf alone ( north of Port Hardy) is $100 million per year! by George Dennis,
Comox >click to read< 15:20
Southeast Alaska and Washington Tribes, First Nations in British Columbia declare salmon emergency
Indigenous governments in Southeast Alaska and Washington, with First Nations in British Columbia, have declared a salmon emergency and are calling for representation in all government decisions impacting their territories. “We know there are things going on in the ocean,” said Rob Sanderson Jr. chairman of the Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission. “Our fish are just not there. The size of the salmon are a lot smaller,” >click to read< 12:40
DMR’s answer to whale rules focus offshore
Last week, DMR Commissioner Patrick Keliher announced that after “rigorous scientific analysis,” the department had come up with a new draft plan to address “both the risk to right whales and concerns of fishermen” that is “in keeping with the real risk the Maine fishery presents.” Last March, the National Marine Fisheries Service announced that the risk of injuries to right whales in the Gulf of Maine had to be reduced by at least 60 percent. Last March, the National Marine Fisheries Service announced that the risk of injuries to right whales in the Gulf of Maine had to be reduced by at least 60 percent.,,, The rule also would extend electronic vessel monitoring now required on boats that hold permits to fish for species other than lobster in federal waters to all federally permitted lobster boats. >click to read< 11:27
Two Months Later, Vineyard Wind’s Delay Still Clouds US Offshore Picture
Two months after the U.S. government abruptly delayed Vineyard Wind’s 800-megawatt offshore wind project, the industry is still looking for answers. It’s not exactly clear when Vineyard will get its final go-ahead, let alone what effect the government’s unexpected “cumulative impacts analysis” will have on the pathbreaking $2.8 billion project or the broader American offshore wind market.,,, “This delay…I took it very personally,” said Jason Folsom, director of U.S. sales at MHI Vestas and a market veteran, speaking at the Boston conference this week. >click to read< 09:57
DMR issues draft decision approving controversial Mere Point Oyster Co. lease
Despite opposition from a group of neighbors and commercial fishermen who object that the lease would interfere with fishing and recreation in the bay, the Department of Marine Resources has issued a draft decision approving a 35-acre oyster lease proposed by Mere Point Oyster Company. The company, owned by Doug Niven, a longtime resident of Mere Point, and former Brunswick Marine Resources Officer Dan Devereaux, applied in February 2018 to expand their oyster-growing license to a 40-acre oyster lease in Maquoit Bay. >click to read< 08:54
