Tag Archives: Government shutdown
Another Government Shutdown Could Sink Scallop Fishery Profits
The world is smitten with scallops. Their subtle sweetness and firm but somehow delicate bite has many wanting more. When I previously worked in seafood sales, I couldn’t believe how much chefs in Los Angeles would pay to put the great New Bedford sea scallop on their menus. We’re talking over $35 per pound for the big ones. I’d think to myself, “These chefs know there are scallops in the Pacific, right?” >click to read<15:39
“Fill Our Xtratuffs” Saturday to benefit Westport Coast Guard families
A Westport nonprofit is collecting donations to help keep unpaid local Coast Guard members and their families afloat during the government shutdown. “WeFish is a nonprofit organization here in Westport formed to support the commercial fishing industry,” said board member Adrienne Jones. “We support the fishermen, the Coast Guard supports us, so we want to make sure their families are taken care of in this time of need, while they are missing their paychecks.” >click to read<13:03
Government shutdown, if it continues, could cost Alaska’s lucrative Bering Sea fisheries
Even if the shutdown does persist, the federal government will allow the Bering Sea fisheries to start as scheduled, with an initial opening for cod Jan. 1, and a second opening for pollock and other species Jan. 20. But the fisheries are heavily regulated, and before boats can start fishing, the federal government requires inspections of things like scales — for weighing fish — and monitoring equipment that tracks the number and types of fish being caught. And the National Marine Fisheries Service, which regulates the Bering Sea fisheries, isn’t doing those inspections during the shutdown. >click to read<20:16
Catch Shares – Costs rise while values fall; season starts uncertain during shutdown
Fishermen in Alaska who own catch shares of halibut, sablefish and Bering Sea crab will pay more to the federal government to cover 2018 management and enforcement costs for those fisheries. ,, “The value of the halibut fishery was down 24 percent year over year, while sablefish was down 21 percent,” Greene said, adding that the decreases stemmed primarily from lower dock prices. ,,, Fish shutdown shaft-Hundreds of boats that are gearing up for the January start of some of Alaska’s largest fisheries could be stuck at the docks due to the government shutdown battle between President Donald Trump and Senate Democrats. >click to read<14:40
Obama administration uses government shutdown to ban fishing off of the Florida Keys
“This is going to put a lot of guys together in a small area close to the park,” Makowski said. “It’s going to be even worse on the weekend when we’re going to have to compete with the recreational anglers.” more@globaldispatch 22:59
“I feel like we’re putting the Russians to work and American fishermen out of work,” Kieth Colburn
Speaking before the Senate Commerce Committee, Colburn said the furloughs of staff from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration mean they won’t be around to assign quotas before the start of Alaska’s crab fishing season next week. The quota assignments, required for all fishermen in the area, are doled out to prevent overfishing, with each fisherman entitled to a percentage of the total catch. [email protected] 23:04
Bering Sea crabbers feel like they’ve been ‘rammed’ by Congress
The scheduled opening of the Bristol Bay red king crab season Tuesday could be delayed because of the shutdown of federal agencies including the National Marine Fisheries Service’s RAM program, which issues individual fishing quota permits. “We’re pretty concerned about it,” said crab fishermen’s representative Jake Jacobsen of the Inter Cooperative Exchange. “We can’t set pots until we have an IFQ permit on board the vessel.” He hopes the RAM staff in Juneau will soon be “unfurloughed.” more@bristolbaytimes 14:13
Murkowski, Young, Hastings, Press Pritzker – “We urge you to use your authority consistent with the Antideficiency Act to responsibly manage the 2013 Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands crab fisheries.
The Bristol Bay red king crab fishery in Alaska is scheduled to open next Tuesday, October 15th, but before crab fishing boats are allowed to fish, they must be issued quota permits by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) – which the Department of Commerce has shuttered for issuing permits until the government is funded. [email protected] 09:27
Government Shutdown: Who is looking out for your food during the shutdown?
Even in the midst of a government shutdown, crises like the current salmonella outbreak occur. But the question on many people’s minds is whether the federal investigators in charge of food safety are still around to protect the public, or if they too have been furloughed. more@cbs19 07:38
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‘Deadliest Catch’-22: Shutdown may ground crabbing fleet, spoil industry’s richest month
The pots are stacked and the boats are packed with crews craving fishing season’s most fruitful frenzy – the one-month, multimillion-dollar harvest of red king crabs from the ocean floors near Alaska’s shores. more@nbcnews 21:52
Government Shutdown: Feds Ticketing Alaska Fishermen With Parks Shut Down
Fish & Wildlife: “You have reached the office of the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. Due to a lapse of appropriations, our office is currently closed until further notice. IRS: “Due to the current budget situation, all IRS offices are closed. Department of Justice: “Due to the government shut down, I have been furloughed and will not be responding to your voicemail in a timely manner.” more@radiokenai 13:22
Government Shutdown: Multi Millions at Stake for Working People in the Alaska Crab Industry – Timing is Critical
Kodiak’s waterfront is bedecked with hundreds of “7-bys,” the big, heavy crab pots, as boats stack their gear for major fisheries in the Bering Sea. The Bristol Bay red king crab season is set to open Oct. 15, with a harvest of 8.6 million pounds, similar to last year. A reopened Tanner crab fishery will produce a 3 million-pound catch; the numbers for Bering Sea snow crab, Alaska’s largest crab fishery, will be out next week. more@adn 12:39
Government Shutdown: Monomoy shellfishing in dispute – U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service,”Harvesting must discontinue – Chatham Balk’s!
CHATHAM — The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fanned an ongoing debate with Chatham when it informed town officials Thursday that the productive shellfish flats off were included in the government shutdown that has paralyzed Washington and halted everything from tours of the White House to roaming the Cape Cod National Seashore. more@capcodtimes 08:56
Gulf Seafood Institute Responds To Seafood Safety Concerns During Government Shutdown
As the government shutdown continues, Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspectors responsible for the safety of the consumer’s food, including seafood, have been furloughed. “It makes me nervous about not having those inspections, in having two small kids and knowing what we’re giving to them is safe,” Jennifer Baur, a New Orlean’s mother told Louisiana’s WWL-TV in a recent interview. “It makes me think twice about buying something,” New Orleans’s Suzy Calamari also told the station. [email protected] 17:44
How Government shutdown will Affect NOAA Emloyees and other agency’s
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, based in Silver Spring, will lose about half of its staff in the face of a shutdown. According to a recent Commerce Department document outlining its shutdown plan, roughly 6,600 NOAA employees would stay on the job. Most of those workers would come from the National Weather Service, which is required to continue functioning because its work can identify “imminent threats to protect life and property.” In addition, about 500 employees from the National Marine Fisheries Service, which regulates and enforces laws related to marine wildlife, would also stay on the job. However, even with those exceptions, approximately 5,400 NOAA employees — about 45 percent of the agency’s workforce — would be sent home. more@thedailyrecord 20:18 4 comments
