Tag Archives: Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Japanese reactor radiation detected off Vancouver Island, B.C.
University of Victoria chemical oceanographer Jay Cullen said Monday that it’s the first time radiation has been found on the shorelines of North America since the quake and tsunami ravaged the Japanese north coast and disabled the nuclear reactor. “We’re more than a thousand-fold below even the drinking water standard in the coastal waters being sampled at this point. Those levels are much, much, much lower than what’s allowable in our drinking water.” Read the rest here 15:28
New Investments in PEI Fishing Harbors Dredging
Recent major projects funded in the province include: Wharf reconstruction, and construction of a wharf extension and shore protection at Tignish Harbor; – Reconstruction of a marginal wharf at North Lake Harbor; and – Reconstruction of the east breakwater and construction of a service area at West Point Harbor. will oversee a total of approximately $551 million in investments across the country, particularly in rural and coastal communities. Read the rest here 08:19
Pregnant orca died of bacterial infection
Cottrell said the infection likely originated with the calf before spreading to the mother. He said the calf weighed 175 kilograms, and it was too soon to say whether the orca suffered long-term starvation. “With the calf dying in the womb, of course J-32 was in distress,” he said, adding it’s unlikely the mother fed for several days because of the infection and dead calf. Read the rest here 20:54
Bay of Fundy lobster season gets off to good start
According to a 2013 report from Fisheries and Oceans Canada, lobster landings in the Bay of Fundy are Each of the past five lobster fishing seasons has yielded a record catch. Read the rest here 09:22
Atlantic Ocean temperatures continue above normal: report – record highs on Grand Banks
Warmer ocean temperatures are continuing in Canada’s Atlantic Ocean zones, according to the latest released by Fisheries and Oceans Canada. Almost no sea ice made it to the Scotian Shelf off Nova Scotia for the fourth consecutive winter, while ice was near normal on the Newfoundland and Labrador shelves. Read the rest here 23:59
Fishery Convictions – Maritimes Region – October 29, 2014 – Dartmouth, Nova Scotia
Fisheries and Oceans Canada, Maritimes Region, announced today that one company and 52 individuals have been convicted and fined nearly half a million dollars for fishery violations from June to August 2014. The fines total approximately $480,000 and were levied upon conviction for violations that took place in waters from the northern tip of Cape Breton to the New Brunswick-Maine border. Big Halibut numbers! Read the rest here 13:18
Canada Wraps-Up Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization Annual Meeting – A Mixed Bag
VIGO, SPAIN — On the heels of this year’s Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) Annual Meeting, Fisheries and Oceans Canada highlighted the various management decisions taken by the Organization, with a view to ensuring conservation and sustainability. Read the rest here 18:38
Nunavut-based marine training helps grow Inuit fishing crews
Nunavut has more then 40 per cent of Canada’s coast line, but very few marine crew members in here are actually from the territory — or even Inuit. The Nunavut Fisheries and Marine Training Consortium wants to change that, starting with the territory’s fishing industry. Read the rest here 14:54
Halibut-tracking test hopes to prove quota increase needed
Impacts of mining spill on Fraser sockeye unknown
“Sockeye are currently migrating towards the Quesnel Lake system,” DFO spokesperson Michelle Imbeau wrote in an email to the Progress this week, responding to questions about local impacts. <Read more here> 08:49
Fall lobster season off to a windy start on P.E.I.
Because of the windy forecast Fisheries and Oceans Canada didn’t make the final decision to go ahead with setting day until Thursday night. The Prince Edward Island Fishermen’s Association says five of 10 Island harbours wanted to wait until Monday. <Read more here> 07:54
Snow Crab and lobster in hot water! Fond of Snow crab? Hurry up! You may see less of this crustacean on your plate by 2070.
With the Snow Crab and Lobster Thermal Habitat Changes in the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence project, funded for one year starting in April 2012, “we wanted to use modelling to study thermal habitat changes in relation to climate change for these to Eastern Canada,” according to Mikio Moriyasu, head of the Snow Crab Section of the Gulf Fisheries Centre, based in Moncton. Read more here 12:41
Fisheries scientists head out for summer sea census – Most of the catch expected to be haddock, dogfish, silver hake and lobster
Ten scientists with Fisheries and Oceans Canada headed out from the dock at the Bedford Institute of Oceanography on Monday for a three-week research trip to conduct a so-called sea census. The goal is to determine the health of Canada’s East Coast fish populations and check on the state of the water they live in. Read more here 07:12
Feds Quintuple Allowed Catch on Endangered Salmon Species
Fisheries and Oceans Canada is allowing commercial fishermen to catch five times as many endangered coho salmon in anticipation of this year’s massive sockeye run on the Fraser River. Read more here 13:18
Canada mulled withdrawing from program that snagged illegal Chinese fishing boat
Canadian authorities last year seriously questioned their continued participation in international efforts to scour the Pacific Ocean for illegal drift net fishing boats. “We internally debated whether we should even continue because we could only identify legitimate fishing vessels,” Fisheries and Oceans Canada conservation and protection director Larry Paike said in an interview. Read more here 18:30
First Nation threatening fisheries blockade waits for DFO’s call
A B.C. First Nation threatening to block commercial fisheries in its traditional waters said it’s still waiting for a meaningful discussion with the federal government about a dispute over the geoduck harvest. Meanwhile, the Stz’uminus Nation is reaching out to commercial fishermen and other involved parties to try and reach an understanding so a blockade can be avoided. Read more here 15:53
Bay of Fundy starting to see fewer young lobster
Scientists are reporting a sharp decline in the number of young lobsters settling off the coast of Maine and in the waters southwest of Nova Scotia. Fisheries and Oceans Canada scientist John Tremblay says landings off of Nova Scotia will be impacted. Read more here 08:46
Fisheries and Oceans Canada wants to create a commercial green crab fishery on Prince Edward Island.
In order to get one of the 22 green crab licences, fishermen need to trade in an eel licence. Eels are a threatened species. “Real potential for a green crab fishery in the east end of the Island,” said Beach Point fisherman Wendell MacKenzie. Read more here 07:27
MOSSOM CREEK: Port Moody hatchery to be a leader in sustainability
Plans to build a state-of-the-art hatchery and education facility on the footprint of the destroyed Mossom Creek Hatchery are taking shape. With a cost initially pegged at $1.2 million, including corporate and community donations and in-kind services, a low-impact, innovative building is set to rise from the ashes and could be open by next spring. Read more here tricitynews 19:46
Greenland telecom goes after Fisheries and Oceans Canada to get Trawler location information
The company wants to know which fishing trawler’s gear broke one of its underwater internet and phone cables. Subsea cables crisscross the ocean so people can make overseas phone calls or surf the web on the other side of the world. Read more here cbcnews 07:55
Huge haddock tows from Georges Bank land in Nova Scotia – Fish sent to U.S., where windfall coincides with lower Canadian dollar
A huge increase in the haddock catch off Georges Bank has the southwestern Nova Scotia port of West Pubnico booming this week. Pubnico’s concrete wharfs have been swarming with forklifts and semi-trailer trucks for days as the fleet lands some of the 16 million kilograms of Georges Bank haddock available for fishermen to catch this year. Fisheries and Oceans Canada has increased the 2014 quota by 250 per cent, to 16,470 metric tons. Read more@cbcnews 19:48
Lobster season off southern N.S. opens after weather delay – optimism as dumping day begins
Fisheries and Oceans Canada had postponed the opening for five days, fearing poor weather during the past week would make it too dangerous for fishermen. The Canadian Coast Guard and dozens of fisheries officers are monitoring the first day. In Meteghan, N.S., crowds gathered at the wharf Saturday morning. Fishermen there say it’s been one of the longest weather delays to the start of the season in recent memory. more@cbcnews
Eel fishery going swimmingly after rocky times
At times, the cramped confines of a 20-foot long and five-foot wide aluminum Dory boat can test the love of this eel fishing couple. But George Dowdle says even when outings from the New London wharf get a bit testy, he and his wife Marlene manage to “leave the office on the water.’’ Getting along with other commercial eel fishermen, however, has been a challenge in the past for Dowdle, a burly, bearded fisherman with a Grizzly Adams-like appearance. more@theguardian 07:03
Biologists from Fisheries and Oceans Canada confirm that a single live Grass Carp has been caught near Dunnville, Ontario in the Grand River
This specimen follows an earlier catch of a grass carp on April 27, 2013 in the same area. Testing has confirmed that this specimen was sterile; and, therefore, not able to reproduce. more@marinelink 13:49
No charges in probe of fishery firm
RCMP have concluded a four-year investigation into the Shubenacadie Band’s fishery without laying charges. Fisheries and Oceans Canada contacted the police in 2009 to look into the management of a contribution agreement between the department and the band. The deal, signed in 2005 and awash in controversy, gave a band-operated company $5 million for a commercial fishery and covered the purchase of gear, boats, licences and other items. continued@chronicleherald
Cod quota pilot project extended
Fisheries and Oceans Canada is announcing an extension to the pilot project for the 2013 season that introduced measures to promote greater utilization. continued@thepacket
Four Nova Scotia cases involving federal fishing violations have resulted in fines totalling $136,420
Convictions resulted from “extensive investigations” involving fishery officers from Sydney, Bridgewater and Meteghan, said a news release. continued@chronicleherald
1,000 lobster boats tie up to protest low prices
thechronicalherald – “We’ve got to stick together,” Dan MacDougall, president of the Gulf Nova Scotia Bonafide Fishermen’s Association, told the crowd. continued
Death of whale found at B.C. salmon farm remains a mystery – Video
Fisheries officials investigating the death of a humpback whale discovered inside a fish farm are hoping to figure out whether the farm’s net played any role in the mammal’s death. continue reading
Wilful Blindness from Fisheries and Oceans Canada
Fisheries and Oceans Canada has put back on the table the idea of reintroducing groundfish trawling, counter to what minister Shea said in 2009. A new presentation from an officer of the Department was made to participants in the Groundfish Advisory Committee in Moncton on March 12 and 13 2012. Furthermore, several scientific reports show that trawlers, in addition to destroying the resource, annihilate everything that is in the seabed, removing any physical structure in their path. continue
