Tag Archives: environmental factors
Enviro group concerned about decline in capelin abundance in N.L.
A national conservation organization is expressing concerns about what it says is a 70 per cent decline in capelin abundance over the last two years in Newfoundland and Labrador. A news release from WWF Canada says that while environmental factors are driving the decline, it cannot rule out fishing as another factor. It says due to limitations with its surveys, the Fisheries Department cannot accurately estimate the total number of capelin in the water, and therefore cannot conclude with certainty the impact fishing has had on the stock. >click to read<11:23
A raft of issues makes life harder for important fishery – Crabbers need community support as problems mount
The past several crab seasons can’t be described as all bad. For example, as recently as 2014-15, ex-vessel prices reached $4.50 a pound to fishermen in December, spiking to $9 just before Asian new year celebrations. Levels of the marine toxin domoic acid, which have occasionally been elevated, have not appeared to shake consumer confidence in crab. They remain a coveted culinary treat on both side of the Pacific Ocean. Crabbers in Washington and Oregon totaled $52.4 million in sales last year; crab remain a bright spot for the commercial fishing industry. Poke into this rosy picture a little, however, and serious concerns emerge. >click here to read< 12:53
Torrential rainfalls, record flooding across the Gulf may impact this years Brown shrimp harvest
“The unprecedented flooding in Texas forced young shrimp out of their nursery habitats needed for growth and survival and into the mouths of bays,” NOAA said in a news release. “These extreme environmental factors may impact our forecast of harvest of brown shrimp this year since it is unknown whether survival of shrimp was reduced or shrimp just moved out of our sampling area because of the reduced salinities and low oxygen levels.” Brown shrimp is an annual crop. Larval and juvenile brown shrimp enter the Louisiana and Texas estuaries each year from February through July, with peak recruitment occurring from February through early April. As the shrimp grow, they begin to move out of the shallow backwaters in late spring, and are targeted in the bays by Louisiana’s inshore shrimp fleet. This year’s season stretched from May 23 through July 3 across most of the Louisiana coast. Read the rest here 13:57
