Tag Archives: radical environmental groups
Greenpeace says Marine Stewardship Council is Living in Fisheries Fantasyland!
Imagine if you’re sick or injured and your doctor gives you the ‘all clear’ while still developing your treatment plan. You’d get a new doctor, right? Well, the latest tuna fishery recommended for Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification could be given the blue fish tick based on the same faulty logic. There are plans being developed to improve the fishery, but, so far, little evidence of action or results. The certification covers five purse seine vessels currently fishing for skipjack, yellowfin and bigeye tuna in the Indian Ocean,,, Read the rest here 16:04
When Green is Grey
From the article: ONE of the striking things about the “green” movement, from big-G political parties to environmental NGOs, is how little connect it has with anything actually green. “Greys” would be a better collective noun,,, But this is where the Greens got involved: righteous zealots descending on Brussels with money to burn, much of it from shadowy American foundations and, incredibly, the EU itself. Read the rest here 09:20
Cod crisis: Iconic species faces an uncertain future
Our cod crisis has become a sad cliche, ironic enough to catch the eye of the national media, and the truth does indeed hurt. Just ask Chatham and Harwich fishermen, who fished in what was once one of the top cod ports in the country but now catch mostly skates and dogfish and very little cod. Read the rest here 08:18
Drakes Bay Oyster Co. agrees to shut down
The deal ends the high-profile legal fight waged by the Lunny family, which owns the oyster farm and sought to remain in business after federal officials in 2012 did not renew the farm’s lease. The decision by then- prompted a lawsuit by the Lunnys that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Read the rest here 09:56
Conservationists Spar With Fishermen Over World’s Largest Marine Monument
From the article: “It is very likely that the canneries would go away if the proposed monument expands,”, “they are getting squeezed” by increasing regulations and competition from Asia. Monica Medina, the senior director of International Ocean Policy for National Geographic, says the debate over whether to expand the monument really should not hinge on a cost-and-benefit analysis to fisheries. Read the rest here 15:17:34
Nations square off at International Whaling Commission conference
The commission’s 65th meeting kicked off in Slovenia with a vote of 46 to 11, with three abstentions, in favour of Greenland’s proposed 207 kills per year from 2015 to 2018, with conservationists fearing much of the meat meant for aboriginal subsistence was actually being sold. “More than 800 whales were condemned today just in the Greenland vote,” Wendy Higgins of the Humane Society International Shut up Read the rest here 19:51
The Patriot Ledger – OUR OPINION: Save the whales, but don’t kill lobster fishing
At the core of the dispute is the claim by NOAA, the National Marine Fisheries Service and others that the whales traversing the seas not far from our coasts are increasingly at risk of becoming snared by the trap lines and other gear of lobster fishing as they surface and dive while foraging for food. But NOAA hasn’t outlined the specific data showing the need for such action,,, Read more here 13:38
An Article of Interest Leading up to the MAFMC Meeting – Scientists exploring offshore canyons for Atlantic deep-sea corals
The mission of the NOAA vessel Bigelow during its 12-day cruise this month is to explore some of the canyons along the Mid-Atlantic coast.,,”Other places in the world, areas like this have been demolished,” Pew’s Gordon said.,,Commercial fishing interests hope the council doesn’t bar them from current fishing grounds. <Read more here> 11:53
After closing its waters to all fishing for bluefin tuna, Mexico reopened its waters on Sunday
Ken Franke couldn’t explain it, but inexplicably, just as quick as Mexico closed its waters to bluefin fishing, it reopened them Sunday to recreational fishing. Suspect environmental groups, using the usual junk science,,, <Read more here> 08:00
Dead menhaden reported in Chesapeake Bay leads to Inquisition by Sport Fishers, explanation by VRMC
Experts still aren’t sure what killed thousands of dead menhaden that local fishermen reported floating in a long line near the northern stretch of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel over the weekend. And they say they might never know. Read more here Social media posts from area fishermen indicate a commercial boat from Omega Protein was in the area at the time. Read the comments here! 19:15
The EU Discard Ban: Landing all catches is a recipe for disaster
Following a successful campaign by environmental non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and some of their celebrity friends in the catering trade, reforms to the European Union Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) mean that a ban on discarding fish at sea – known as the landings obligation – will come into force from that date. Let me state categorically that nobody, least of all fishermen, wants to see healthy fish being thrown back into the sea. Read more here 09:03
Leona Aglukkaq targets Greenpeace in ICC speech, warns of alignment with the enviros.
Leona Aglukkaq, Nunavut’s MP and Canada’s Minister of Environment, had strong words against Greenpeace in her keynote address at the Inuit Circumpolar Council’s general assembly in Inuvik, N.W.T. “Inuit were victims of misinformation and lies spread by a group that had no regard for their impact on our way of life,” she said of Greenpeace’s campaign against the seal hunt. Read more here 08:33
Inslee Pitches New Water Quality Rules; Groups Hear “More of Same”
OLYMPIA, Wash. – Gov. Jay Inslee is proposing an update to the state’s water quality rules. On its surface, it sounds like good news for fans of Northwest-caught seafood. But commercial fishermen and four ‘water-keeper’ organizations are saying it’s too little, too late. Read more here 15:58
Shark Fin Controversy – The Pew Nuts are Cracked!
NOAA is attempting to strengthen an existing federal law against shark finning. While it would be easy to assume that advocates for the protection of sharks would be greeting these measures warmly, the reality is anything but. Pew, an advocacy group based out of D.C., has been a vocal proponent of ending shark finning,, Read more dogma here 17:13
Steve Urbon: Oceana pitches flawed fishing report undeterred
The environmental group Oceana seeks to impress us this week with Part 2 of a report on fishing bycatch, those fish that are brought up incidentally while fishermen target another species. “Wasted Cash,” the follow-up to “Wasted Catch,” says that fishermen are throwing $1 billion worth of fish away each year, over the side instead of going to auction. Read more here 08:50
Daily Astorian Editorial: Marine areas: Protection or fishing limitation?
No Fishing
Fishermen tend to be a bit like old-fashioned gold prospectors – they resent any limitations on where they can practice their trade, even if they have no intention of actually ever venturing out into that enticing potential area located somewhere over the far horizon. So there is bound to be some local grumbling about President Obama’s move,,, Read more here 19:29
SAFMC halts MPA effort, includes catch shares in top ten list
The SAFMC has been pushed hard for over two years by radical environmental groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council, Environmental Defense Fund, and Pew to approve the proposed MPAs even though the SAFMC’s own scientific advisors have said there is no scientific justification. It is of great concern that at last week’s SAFMC meeting, when council members submitted their top three issues/solutions as part of the snapper-grouper fishery “visioning” process, catch shares made it into the top ten issues for consideration. Read more here 14:04
