Daily Archives: September 27, 2020
Bodega Bay Crabbers struggle to protect whales frequenting their waters–while still making a living.
Mark Gentry pauses for an afternoon yerba mate on the dock by his boat, whose deck is littered with crusty lines and vinyl yellow “bib” coveralls. Tall piles of circular mesh crab pots sit idle nearby; this year’s crab season ended early as whales moved through the area.,, Since 2015, crabber Dick Ogg says he and his colleagues have been doing “everything we can to fish alongside the whales and coexist with them,” including starting a lost gear removal program and working to remove potentially dangerous excess slack from buoy lines. They even voluntarily delayed the 2019-2020 crabbing season due to high whale activity. CDFW senior scientist Ryan Bartling points out that these programs weren’t just implemented by crabbers but actually suggested by them, as part of a working group of fishermen, regulators, and nonprofit representatives who convened to find solutions. >click to read< 18:50
Judge hears lawsuit over fish farms in Puget Sound
Whether Cooke Aquaculture’s plan to raise native steelhead at fish farms in Puget Sound is a simple business transition or a complex threat to the marine ecosystem is being debated in King County Superior Court. Judge Johanna Bender heard testimony Thursday over Zoom in a lawsuit environment groups brought against the state Department of Fish & Wildlife for granting a permit to the seafood company to raise steelhead. “Did the department make a mistake in comparing the impacts of one type of stock to another, as opposed to comparing it to Puget Sound without fish farming at all?” she said.,, , the state Legislature passed a law that phases out Atlantic salmon net pen aquaculture by 2022 >click to read< 15:48
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for September 25, 2020
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< 14:59
As a fishing dispute in N.S. sees no swift end, ‘Peaceful and mutually beneficial coexistence is possible because it was once the norm here’
The fishery has always been essential to the inhabitants of what is known today as Nova Scotia, but a conflict has erupted over who benefits from the fishery, how much, and when. Ineffective governments have exacerbated the situation, no doubt, but historical amnesia has equally been a great abetter of ill feeling and a sower of confusion. Looking back might light part of the way toward a solution. We should begin with an observation that might seem counterintuitive in the present climate: contact and colonization were not at once and always an unmitigated disaster. >click to read< 11:44
NEFMC will vote Sept. 30 on changing requirements for groundfish monitoring, fishermen have mixed responses
Commercial fisherman Randy Cushman walks on top of his boat where he measures fish in front of electronic monitoring cameras, pictured to the right. Cushman is among a handful of New England fishermen who use electronic monitoring instead of a traditional human observer to track what they catch and discard. The New England Fisheries Management Council (NEFMC) is scheduled to vote on changes to its groundfish management plan at a virtual meeting Sept. 30, culminating four years of research. “If we’re going to have accurate stock assessments, we need 100 percent coverage under this management system,” said Cushman. But, the prospect of increased monitoring concerns Terry Alexander, a fisherman who represents Maine on the NEFMC and operates his 62-foot boat out of Massachusetts. >click to read< 10:57
Baja shrimp fishermen defy rules designed to save vaquita
Fishermen are defying rules designed to protect the critically endangered vaquita marina porpoise as the new shrimp season begins in the upper Gulf of California. The federal government this week enlarged by 50% a zero-tolerance zone in the gulf’s northern region where the use of a range of fishing nets including gillnets are prohibited. “We’re just looking for a way to keep working,” García said. He said that fishermen are open to different ways of fishing but asserted that the alternatives currently on the table are not viable. >click to read< 09:41
Captain Antonio M. Pimentel – He believed in the American dream
Antonio Mano Pimentel, age 78, passed away peacefully at home in Palm Coast, Florida surrounded by his wife and children on September 20, 2020 after a courageous and hard fought battle with cancer. He was born in Figueira da Foz, Portugal, the son of the late Antonio deSantos and Arminda (Chuva). Yearning for freedom and opportunity, in 1967 he left his homeland for the United States where he met and married his devoted wife of 53 years, Susan (Gomes). He believed in the American dream and labored endlessly to make it true for himself and his family. As a lifelong Christian, he gave more than he received. Before retiring and relocating to Palm Coast in 1998, he was a Captain, commercial fishing boat owner and commercial fisherman in New Bedford, Massachusetts. >click to read< 07:30
