Daily Archives: March 8, 2023
Alaska Halibut Season Opens March 10
Pacific halibut season opens Sunday, March 10 statewide in Alaska. NOAA Fisheries filed notice of their effectiveness in the Federal Register today, which will publish March 7, 2023. The regulations, adopted at the annual meeting of the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) in January, took effect when the Secretary of State accepted them, with the Secretary of Commerce’s concurrence. Included in this season’s federal regulations are the catch limits established by the IPHC and basic regulations for the commercial and sport halibut fisheries. >click to read< 18:03
Fate of NJ Fishermen in the Hands of Supreme Court
New Jersey herring fishermen asked the Supreme Court in a final brief to rein in regulators that rely on judicial deference to circumvent the will of Congress. The fishermen are challenging the lawfulness of a regulation that could force them to hand over 20 percent of their pay to third-party at-sea monitors they must carry on their boats—a mandate that Congress never approved by statute and did not give the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) the authority to require by regulation. The U.S. Solicitor General recently filed a brief with the Court urging the justices to ignore the checks and balances of the U.S. Constitution in order to preserve the controversial doctrine of Chevrondeference. >click to read the press release< 15:22
‘The season where hope comes back:’ Praying for a good catch on Lake Erie
George Gibbons understands that saying a prayer over his fishing nets may not guarantee a good catch or keep him and his fellow commercial fishermen safe on Lake Erie’s choppy waters. But it can’t hurt, either. “We’re a superstitious lot,” said Gibbons, who has been a regular at the blessing of the nets ceremony at St. Paul’s Anglican Church in Port Dover since the early 1970s. The annual church service is dedicated to the fishing families of Port Dover, which was once a bustling freshwater port and still retains a small fleet of commercial tugs that will return to the water in March. >click to read< 13:37
PD Editorial: Listen to fishermen: Skip salmon season
When people call for action that goes against their own short-term interests, something bigger must be at stake. The public should pay attention. So, it is with three associations of West Coast fishermen that have called for a shutdown of this year’s California salmon fishing season. Members of all three associations know that a closure will cost them dearly, but they understand that this year’s pain is the best chance for long-term survival. But the people who know salmon best and rely on them most — members of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, the Golden Gate Fishermen’s Association and the Northern California Guides and Sportsmen’s Association — say that it’s time for a pause. >click to read< 11:44
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 60′ Duckworth Steel Longliner with Federal permits, Cat 3406T
To review specifications, information, and 24 photos’, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here< 10:31
Island Town Deploys ‘Save the Whales’ Message Boards As Officials Call for Offshore Wind Pause
An island community has made no bones about its position on calls to place a moratorium on offshore wind development research until experts can determine whether the offshore soundings have interrupted whale communication patterns. Officials have said a rash of nearly 20 marine mammals, mostly humpback whales, have been discovered deceased, washed up on beaches or floating offshore. The calls for a moratorium center on research mapping taking place offshore prior to wind turbine construction. As it currently stands, no turbines have been built off the New Jersey coast, nor are any under construction. Crews, however, are performing geological seafloor mapping and surveying using acoustic equipment that some have argued could send marine mammals off their migration tracks or disable them in the wild. >click to read< 08:40
Extended Va. Oyster Season Poised for Largest Harvest In 35 Years
With Virginia watermen enjoying their most bountiful wild harvest in 35 years, state fisheries managers have agreed to extend the season by two weeks. The Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) voted unanimously to allow wild oyster harvests for an extra 10 working days in areas where commission staff judged the bivalve populations abundant enough to withstand additional fishing pressure. “We’ve had a great oyster season, and it’s still going strong,” said J.C. Hudgins, head of the Virginia Waterman’s Association. “It’s been good everywhere we go.” Looking back, it’s quite a turnaround. >click to read< 07:36
