Daily Archives: January 8, 2020
Illegally moored 112-foot-long fishing boat could be set for the auction block
The Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) will conduct a public auction of a 112 foot-long, twin-engine, fishing boat if the owner does not remove the vessel within one week. The SOS Minnow pulled into a slip at the Ala Wai Small Boat Harbor on Nov. 22, 2019, after its owner said he was having a medical emergency. The boat is described as being in very good condition. If the current owner claims it before the Wednesday auction, he’ll need to pay impound fees, illegal mooring fees, and for the cost of legal ads, estimated to total $1000.00. 7 photo’s, >click to read< 22:59
DFO says south coast cod numbers down – ‘This new assessment model is overly pessimistic,’ Atlantic Groundfish Council
Cod stocks are at critical levels off the south coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, according to the new model used by the Department of Fisheries and Ocean,, Even if there was no fishing permitted in the area this coming season, the stock is predicted to decline further. DFO says the natural mortality of the fish caused by predators and changes to the environment is around three times that of fishing mortality.,, But at least two organizations are slamming the new way DFO compiles its data. >click to read< 18:54
Cod stock in Area 3Ps off southern Newfoundland in ‘critical zone’ until at least 2022
– New model used to determine cod biomass questioned by industry, union. There are fewer cod in the 3Ps area off southern Newfoundland than ever recorded, according to new data released Wednesday by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). >click to read< 21:45
Chesapeake Bay: Targeting male blue crabs for harvest is preventing female crabs from having offspring
The Bay’s crab fishery is currently regulated to limit the harvest of female crabs, in a so-far successful effort to ensure that enough survive to reproduce and maintain the crustacean’s overall abundance — and sustain the estuary’s most valuable fishery. But researchers have wondered — and even worried at times — if harvesting more male crabs (or jimmies, as watermen call them) than females could be having an impact on the population. >click to read< 17:27
1 dead, 2 missing after shrimp boat sinks off North Carolina, search continues
The Coast Guard rescued two crew members from a shrimp trawler when it went down in the Pamlico Sound on Tuesday, officials said. One of them was pronounced dead at the hospital, and two others are still missing.,, Two crew members were located by the aircrew and taken to Sentara Albemarle Hospital in Elizabeth City. One was hypothermic and the other, who required CPR, was pronounced dead at the hospital, according to the release. >click to read< 15:35
Coast Guard pulls two fishermen from water, searching for two others in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina
The Coast Guard pulled two mariners from the water after their vessel sank on Tuesday night, and is currently searching for the other two crewmembers in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina, Wednesday morning. Watchstanders at the Coast Guard’s Fifth District command center received a distress signal from an emergency position indicating radio beacon registered to fishing vessel Papa’s Girl. >click to read< 14:01
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 49′ 11″ x 19′ Novi Lobster/Gillnetter, Split Wheelhouse, Cat 3306
Specifications, information and 26 photos >click here< To see all the boats in this series, >click here< 11:14
Marine Protected Areas: May or May Not Include Actual Protection
Clearly, a marine protected area is a region of the ocean—and the marine life therein—set aside to be preserved in its natural state, kept safe from human exploitation, right? If only it were that simple. MPAs can involve a spectrum of objectives from allowing sustainable fishing and gathering to protecting biodiversity to conserving sites of scientific or cultural interest. In the end, unless it is created and managed in accordance with globally recognized standards, an MPA is whatever a particular jurisdiction decides it will be. >click to read< 10:43
Crabbers brave ‘sloppy seas’ to start harvest
Fishing crews reported enduring ‘sloppy seas’ for most of the season so far. “It was a little rough,” said Paul Blaylock of the F/V Amanda C, upon delivering their first catch of the season on Jan. 2. “We got a little wet.” The weather has fishermen and processors hopeful for more favorable conditions in the coming days. “It’s been a struggle. The fishing windows are very narrow right now,” 11 photos, >click to read< 08:59
Fishermen bound for Alaska receive prayers
A crowd of people gathered at the Port of Newport International Terminal at noon on Tuesday, Jan. 7, where prayers were offered for local commercial fishermen who are headed this week to Alaska’s Bering Sea. South Beach Church Pastor Luke Frechette called everyone in. “Closer,” he said, as dozens of people — fishermen, their families and their friends — formed a circle. The large fishing vessels, geared up, lined the dock behind them. >click to read< 08:17
Letter to the Editor: (and the rest of the world) Urging Action on Seal Population Control
The exploding seal population is a consequence of the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act, which allowed for the rapidly growing seal overpopulation. Seals attract great white sharks, which feed upon them and ferociously attack humans. We once had a thriving fishing industry, kept healthy in part by a bounty system of predator control. That ended in 1972 with the passage of the protection act, which not only lifted the bounties on fish-eating predators like seals, but placed them under perpetual protection, immune from mitigation. Now fully recovered, the seal population has grown beyond what any reasonable person would consider healthy. Ron Beaty >click to read< 07:15
