Daily Archives: December 30, 2023

Help Alaska’s fisheries: Reduce methane emissions

NOAA now confirms that another critical Alaska fishery is in decline due to successive marine heat waves. First there was the loss of 10 billion snow crabs and the close of the once-lucrative Bering Sea crab fisheries; now we know that climate change (warming seas) is the culprit behind the crash of chum salmon on the Yukon-Kuskokwim. Both these fisheries are the life blood to many Alaskan communities and villages. From the Yukon to Kodiak, from the Arctic to Ketchikan, Alaska’s coastal fisheries must now confront the dual threat of heat waves and ocean acidification. more, >>click to read<< By Linda Behnken and Kate Troll 15:48

Swimming Against the Tide

Russian Crab and Antey, two prominent Russian crab-catching companies, signed an agreement with a Russian government agency to invest 224 billion roubles ($2.3 billion) to build 18 crabbers in the next few years and expand the Far East’s coastal processing infrastructure. Under the agreements signed during the Vladivostok Economic Forum, Antey intends to build eight crabbers and launch two port complexes housing fish processing infrastructure. Russian Crab plans to add ten new vessels to its fleet. Russian crab currently runs a fleet of 37 vessels, Antey has 52 in operation. Both companies participated in the first round of the crab auctions.  Photos, more, >>click to read<< 09:01

Dungennes crab fishery held up again by recent whale and turtle entanglements

Before the restrictions, the crab fishing season off California started before Thanksgiving, in plenty of time for holiday tables. In recent years, fishermen’s ability to drop their gear has been pushed back because whales and turtles were still be spotted in their fishing zones. This season, fishermen can start dropping their crab pots on Jan. 5, and only in the two most northern California zones. In central and southern California no start date has been announced. Officials with the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations said the industry does its best to avoid whales and have accepted limiting the seasons, but notes that since the restrictions have been in place, the industry has dropped from 450 active vessels to fewer than 100 and has lost out on tens of millions of dollars.  more, >>click to read<< 07:47

MA Awarded $4.6 Million to Support North Atlantic Right Whale Recovery and Lobster Industry

The Massachusetts Department of Fish and Game’s Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) will receive more than $4.6 million from a congressional appropriation through the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to enhance the division’s nation-leading conservation program for the endangered North Atlantic right whale. DMF will use this funding and an additional $475,000 grant from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF), to bolster development of innovative fishing gear technologies, increase ongoing research and monitoring, and provide fishing gear to lobster industry participants to reduce harm to the right whales. As part of a 5-year program, DMF anticipates receiving more than $23 million from NOAA Fisheries between now and the end of 2028 subject to annual Congressional appropriations. more, >>click to read<< 06:59