Daily Archives: September 10, 2020
Petersburg to send salmon disaster declaration request
The numbers of salmon caught in the region this summer are some of the worst since Alaska became a state. “As far as the net fisheries go in Southeast, the net fisheries being the drift gillnet fishery and the purse seine fishery, we are looking at some all-time lows for salmon harvested in those fisheries,” said Troy Thynes, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s region one management coordinator for commercial fisheries. “The region 10-year average for the seine ex-vessel value is about $73.5 million,” Thynes said. “So this year’s value of eight million (dollars) is considerably less than that. And then the gillnet ex-vessel value, the recent 10-year average is about 27.4 million and right now we’re looking at around seven million, again very preliminary and we still have ongoing fisheries. These numbers will change.” For further comparison, the salmon harvest last year topped 101 million dollars and the year before 133 million. >click to read< 18:46
New Study – B.C. Salmon farms regularly under count sea lice, potentially putting wild salmon at risk
The study shows mandatory sea lice counts performed by the operators of the fish farms drop by between 15 and 50 per cent when they’re not being done during an audit by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). “That isn’t really a minor effect. This is a pretty obvious result,” said lead researcher Sean Godwin, who conducted the research for his PhD at Simon Fraser University. Salmon farms are required to perform monthly counts of the sea lice on their fish and make those numbers publicly available. The counts are self-reported, but fisheries officials perform occasional, pre-arranged audits to make sure the numbers are accurate. If the lice counts pass a certain threshold, the operators are required to pay for delousing treatments. >click to read< 15:59
Prince Edward Island: New fishermen left out of Coronavirus support programs
The P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association is trying to get federal support programs for fishermen changed so people new to the industry can qualify. The association says these new fishermen don’t qualify for the Fish Harvester Benefit and Grant program, the Canada Emergency Business Account or the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy. That’s because they need to supply information about their previous work in the industry. “There are several of the programs that require one or two years of previous financial information, which of course a new entrant would not possess,” said Ian MacPherson, executive director of the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association. >click to read< 13:05
Hurricane Laura: A Paramedic’s diary – Kelly Grayson recounts weathering the storm
0700, August 26: Shift start. My partner and I do a rig check, and immediately leave to purchase ice for our coolers. We’ll be without power and communications by the time this shift is over.,,1600, August 27:“Does this place have a public restroom?” a man asks. I’m supposed to tell him no, but something about him speaks of a man at the end of his rope. He is dressed in overalls with no shirt, and white rubber boots. I point silently to the men’s room, and after he relieves himself, he stands in the hallway like a man lost. “How’s Cameron?” I guess, and he answers with a sigh of despair. “Under water. My house is gone. I got out with my wife, my kids and my dog. I don’t even know where we are.” We tell him, and my partner says, “You got what’s important. Everything else is just stuff. You can rebuild.” “Don’t know how,” the man sobs. “The shrimp boat I worked on sank at the dock. I don’t even have a job.” >click to read< 09:46
Humpback Whale freed from 4,000 pounds of fishing gear
An injured whale was rescued from the waters between New York and New Jersey,,, The whale was reported to the Coast Guard after being spotted by a recreational boat off the coast of the Rockaways in New York City, across from Sandy Hook, in late July. An investigation showed it was entangled by several buoys and thousands of pounds of steel fishing gear. Although whale entanglements are not unusual, a rescue effort of this magnitude is, experts said. “Using a hacksaw rescuers were able to cut through the steel cable holding the whale and the whale was able to swim free,” Nickles said. >click to read< 08:08
