Ahab's Journal

Oceans heading for mass extinctions, experts warn

Mass extinctions of species in the world's oceans are inevitable if current trends of overfishing, habitat loss, global warming and pollution continue, a panel of renowned marine scientists warned Tuesday.

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In Honor of World Oceans Day, West Marine Awards $30,000 in Marine Conservation Grants to Non-Profit Organizations Across the Country

In honor of World Oceans Day, West Marine (Nasdaq: WMAR), the largest specialty retailer of boating supplies and accessories, today announced the recipients of their annual Marine Conservation Grants program. Grants for a total amount of $30,000 are being awarded to non-profit organizations throughout the U.S. who are working to "improve and protect marine habitat," which is part of West Marine's mission. This year's grant recipients are located in Florida, North Carolina, New Jersey, Maryland and California.

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State Seeks Applicants for Saltwater Fishing License Projects

MOREHEAD CITY – The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries is accepting applications for proposals for the 2012 funding cycle from the N.C. Marine Resources Fund.

 The fund, which receives proceeds from the sale of Coastal Recreational Fishing Licenses, provides grants for projects that help manage, protect, restore, develop, cultivate and enhance the state’s marine resources.

 Only universities, North Carolina local government entities, the state Division of Marine Fisheries and Wildlife Resources Commission are eligible to apply. Others must partner with one of these eligible entities.

Spawning female Atlantic sturgeon found in James River

A routine fishing trip produced the catch of a lifetime April 20 when it netted the first spawning female Atlantic sturgeon documented on the James River.

The 6-foot, 200-pound fish was netted by watermen George Trice and Jimmy Moore while participating in a study aimed at finding ways to reduce mortality of sturgeon caught in fishing nets.

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Sturgeon's death highlights threat to ancient fish

Sturgeon have thrived in the Danube for 200 million years, migrating from feeding grounds in the Black Sea to Germany 2,000 kms (1,200 miles) upstream. Archaeologists have found wooden sturgeon traps in the ruins of Roman fortresses behind the willow trees on the Danube's banks, along with sturgeon bones dated to the 3rd century.

In the 1970s and '80s Romania built giant dams across the Iron Gates gorge, cutting off half the sturgeons' spawning grounds.

Fishermen, unrestrained after the collapse of order in eastern Europe in 1989, caught them in huge numbers as they began their migration, trapping them before they could reproduce. Pollution from agricultural run-off and expanding cities put them under further pressure, although the construction of water treatment plants in the last decade has lessened the flow of filth.

Now environmentalists are trying to head off the latest threat: a European Union plan to deepen shipping channels in the Danube that they fear could eliminate the last shallows where the sturgeon deposit their eggs, which would doom the fish to vanish in its last stronghold in Europe.

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Fed panel hears from fishery's front lines

Forged in independence, laid low by regulatory constraints, America's original fishing port told its story in many voices from many perspectives Tuesday, appealing to one arm of the U.S. Commerce Department for relief to help survive the harm done by another.

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Kirk: Visits should bring fishing relief

As the U.S. Commerce Department's economic disaster recovery team departed Gloucester after a two-day fact finding tour, the congressional delegation and Mayor Carolyn Kirk Thursday expressed hope for tangible relief and policy changes to remove the causes of the distress.

"My greatest expectation," said the mayor, "is that this process that they have been using across the country in targeted areas can be the beginning of sweeping change for the federal government to rid itself of the disconnect between Washington, D.C. and local communities."

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Commerce city visits pegged for next week

The U.S. Commerce Department's economic assessment team trip to Gloucester, announced at the end of March under pressure from Sen. John Kerry, is scheduled for two full days of sessions next week.

Mayor Carolyn Kirk released an agenda of events without locations that includes a series of tours and "by invitation only" meetings with city, banking, business, fishing and government officials.

The full visit is set for May 2-4, with plans for two lunches and a cocktail party, but there is no venue for the general public to speak its mind.

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BLUE VISION OCEAN SUMMIT 3

A four-day gathering of 500 leaders from the marine community including Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Sylvia Earle, Carl Safina, Admiral Thad Allen (USCG - Ret.), Ralph Nader, Barton Seaver, Jim Toomey, Louie Psihoyos, Celine Cousteau and many others will be taking place from 20 – 23 May in Washington, D.C.

  This year's major themes include “Restoring the Gulf of Mexico” and other endangered waters and seeing the President's new Ocean Policy enacted in areas where people are already working for change and making the links between a healthy ocean and healthy economy.

Dead, injured pelicans appearing on Topsail beaches again

After months without reports, badly injured and dead pelicans have begun to show back up on Topsail Island over the last 10 days, according to officials.

“We’ve had several calls and we have been responding and we are trying to figure out what may be causing the injuries,” said Sara Schweitzer, a biologist with North Carolina Wildlife Resources Commission.

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NCWU Fundraiser in Hatteras Monday

North Carolina Watermen United Fundraiser is today, 5 to 7 pm, at Sonny's Restaurant in Hatteras village. Donations at the door will be appreciated. Great Food - Door Prizes. Lots of Raffle Prizes - Raffle Tickets only $1.00. 

For more information, call Robbi V. at 252423-0898.

North Carolina Sea Grant Fisheries Forum Set for April 29

Recent research results about targeted recreational and commercial fish species are the focus of the upcoming 2011 North Carolina Sea Grant Fisheries Forum. The free, April 29 event is set for 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. at the Northeast Regional Library's David M. Paynter Assembly Room in Wilmington. Registration begins at 9 a.m. Lunch is included.

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Ocean Today: Call for Videos

If you have an ocean-themed educational video that is two minutes or less, consider submitting it to the Ocean Today kiosk program. Video proposals are being accepted on climate change, oceans and coasts, seafood/fisheries, ocean stewardship and recreation.

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US Commerce Department to Deploy Economic Assessment Teams to Six Northeast Fishing Ports

The goal of the visits is to provide customized technical assistance for fishing communities that experienced reductions in groundfish fishing revenues in recent years. The Economic Development Administration (EDA), in partnership with other federal agencies, will meet with local leaders to assess current and emerging economic issues.

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Federal Teams to Study Impact of Fishing Regs on Northeast Ports

The U.S. Commerce Department says it's sending economic development assessment teams to six Northeast fishing communities in April, including Portland, Maine, to help find ways to get the beleaguered industry back on its feet.

In addition to Portland, the teams will visit Seabrook, N.H., New Bedford, Mass., Gloucester, Mass., Point Judith, R.I., and Montauk, N.Y. The teams will meet with local fishermen and others to seek ways to meet the industry's economic challenges, which include federal regulations and infrastructure issues.

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PEW: Overfishing 101: A Beginner's Guide to Understanding U.S. Fishery Management

Fishermen, conservationists and scientists have actively debated how best to manage our ocean fish populations for decades. But with so much at stake, it's critical that as many Americans as possible be actively engaged in this discussion. The "Overfishing 101" blog series aims to do just that by providing a new outlet, in which we hope to open up the discussion to the larger public, cut through the rhetoric and encourage more people to participate in marine fish conservation.

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Japan's fish market reflects human tragedy, economic cost

The tsunami that hit Japan this month took such a huge toll on people, equipment and fish that supplies of some seafood could be cut off for a year or more, industry workers said on Tuesday.

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State Regulatory Reform Meeting in Greenville April 4

The Joint Committee on Regulatory Reform, chaired by Senators Harry Brown (R-Jones) and David Rouzer (R-Johnston) and Representatives Marilyn Avila (R-Wake) and Pat McElraft (R- Carteret), recently announced that it is launching a statewide listening tour to receive feedback from the public on burdensome state regulations. 

The committee is tasked with scrutinizing all state regulations on the private sector and targeting outdated rules and regulations that should be eliminated.  It is comprised of nine Senators and nine Representatives, appointed by Senate President Pro-Tem Berger and Speaker Tillis, respectively. 

Commercial fishermen are asked to attend these meetings and express their concerns about the impact of overregulation on their fishing operations.  Specific examples of how state overregulation and regulatory overreach have hurt fishermen are requested.  The Committee chairs would also like an idea of the cost of state regulations on the private sector.  While Committee chairs expect many of the public comments to focus on environmental regulations, they are also asking for examples where other types of regulations (e.g., transportation, labor) have negatively impacted the private sector.

Maine town becomes first to declare food sovereignty

The town of Sedgwick, Maine, currently leads the pack as far as food sovereignty is concerned. Local residents recently voted unanimously at a town hall meeting to pass an ordinance that reinforces its citizens' God-given rights to "produce, process, sell, purchase, and consume local foods of their choosing," which includes even state- and federally-restricted foods like raw milk.



Learn more: http://www.naturalnews.com/031667_food_freedom_Maine.html#ixzz1GrHpo5XU

Sea Grant, DMF Sponsor Marine Fisheries Management Fellowship

North Carolina Sea Grant is accepting applications until April 20, 2011 for a fellowship opportunity for students nearing completion of an advanced degree program in natural resources or marine sciences.

The one-year N.C. Marine Fisheries Management Fellowship is open to graduate or post-graduate students at southeastern universities and colleges from Maryland to Texas.

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Suit against Pacific Seafood takes hit with ruling

PORTLAND, Ore.—A class-action lawsuit against one of the country's largest seafood processors has taken a hit, after a judge said the plaintiffs failed to show the company used its enormous market share to suppress prices paid to fisherman.

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The State of World Fisheries - Ray Hilborn

Ray Hilborn is a Professor in the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences at the University of Washington. This is his video presentation at the New Zealand Seafood Industry Conference 2010.

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Californian conservationists go trawl fishing

Two weeks earlier, a fishing boat had repeatedly trawled the stretch of muddy floor beneath our ship. "He mowed the lawn five times," says Mary Gleason, a biologist with The Nature Conservancy, an international conservation organisation. Gleason isn't upset, however: the trawl was the conservancy's idea. The impact of trawling on muddy sea floors is poorly understood, and Gleason and her colleagues hope to change that.

Controlled trawl studies like this one are rare as few researchers can dictate when fleets go out and where they go. But the conservancy is in a unique position. Following the collapse of the Pacific Coast bottom fish fishery in 2000, it bought permits from struggling fishers. It now owns 7 per cent of the catch quota for Pacific Coast bottom fish, and has a monopoly over waters extending out from Morro Bay. This has allowed it to launch an ambitious plan: to create a new sustainable fisheries model.

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Alaska harvests most U.S. commercial seafood

(Reuters Life!) - If it were a separate nation, Alaska would rank as the 14th biggest seafood producer in the world, according to a new study.

The report by a fishing organization in the state said Alaska accounted for over 52 percent of the commercial seafood harvest in the U.S. in 2009, producing harvests that totaled over $3.3 billion in wholesale value that year.

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Acquitted American crabber in Russia still caught up in criminal justice system

PETROPAVLOVSK-KAMCHATSKY, RUSSIA -- An American who carved out a place for himself in the rough-and-tumble crab business here ran afoul of a capricious criminal justice system that suddenly turned its sights on him, and after three years in jail and an acquittal, he's still not in the clear.

Russian crabbing is a notoriously corrupt industry, with tight quotas that invite kickbacks and shakedowns.

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Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program floats fishermen training program, seeks public, industry comment

Juneau, Alaska - Fishermen in Alaska represent the state’s largest group of small business owners. But there is some graying going on - the median age of Alaska’s commercial fishermen is now close to 50.

Add to that the flight of limited entry permits from coastal residents to people outside the region and even outside the state, and the general consolidation of the state’s pollock, crab and salmon fishing fleets that has occurred in recent years, and people like Glenn Haight begin to think there might be fewer fishing jobs for people in Alaska’s coastal communities in the future. Haight is a fisheries business specialist with the Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program.

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Fisheries Consultant Gets the Ax

(February 10, 2011)    Arnold Leo, secretary of the East Hampton Town Baymen’s Association for over three decades and the town’s liaison to state and federal regulatory agencies for the past four years, was fired by a three-to-two vote of the town board last week.

    The action was taken despite the fact that the 15-member town fisheries committee, comprised of representatives of the commercial and recreational industries, had voted unanimously to keep him at his post and had written a letter to the town board saying so on Jan. 7.

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Global shark attacks on the rise in 2010; U.S. again leads rest of world

Florida led the nation with 13 reported attacks, but the number marks a steep decline from the state's average of 23 attacks a year over the past decade. Even that news wasn't entirely good, however, since Burgess pegged the trend on fewer tourists hitting the Sunshine State because of the economic downturn. North Carolina proved the second-highest-hit state with five attacks last year.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/world/2011/02/08/2011-02-08_global_shark_attacks_on_the_rise_in_2010_us_again_leads_rest_of_world.html#ixzz1DT32koUr

DNR head comments on use of tracking devices

The secretary of Maryland's Department of Natural Resources told state legislators Friday that his agency has done nothing illegal while investigating poachers on the Eastern Shore.

At least six Dorchester County watermen reported finding tracking devices on their boats in January. Some of the watermen who found the devices have prior poaching convictions and have said they suspect the department of secretly following their movements.

Several have contacted lawyers and the mystery has sparked concern among watermen across the region.

However, DNR Secretary John R. Griffin told state legislators from Maryland's Eastern Shore on Friday that using tracking devices to investigate repeat offenders is allowable when officers have probable cause.

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Chuck Fox to head new international oceans organization

After nearly two years as the "Bay czar" during which the EPA developed a rigorous new cleanup plan and the Obama administration pledged hundreds of actions to bring "a new era of federal leadership" to the Bay and its watershed, J. Charles "Chuck" Fox is moving on, his eyes set on saving the world's oceans.

At the end of December, he announced his departure to head a new organization, Oceans 5, which will pursue international initiatives aimed at protecting the waters that cover three-quarters of the globe. The organization will focus on international projects that are "highly impactful, results-oriented," Fox said. The exact areas for emphasis are still being developed, he said, but "they will tend to be focused on establishing large marine reserves, improving fishing management or more specifically, constraining overfishing."

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Tons of rockfish netted in poaching operations

Natural Resource Police officers uncovered a major fish poaching operation this week: A string of illegal nets the length of nine football fields, anchored off the southern tip of Kent Island.

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Financing Fisheries Conservation

Foundations in the field are now looking to support this transition from fisheries conservation as a purely philanthropic investment to a blended conservation and business investment by encouraging non-profits, social change leaders and business entrepreneurs to create innovatively structured projects that can both build value for private investors and improve the speed and scale of fisheries conservation impacts.

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Hugh saves the Hastings discards

Hugh Joined the Under 10m Hastings Fishing fleet to highlight the discards forced upon them by EU law.

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Join The Fish Fight: www.fishfight.net

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Fish Fight Campaigner Jamie Oliver Leads 380,000 Protesters

The Fish Fight is getting really serious. As at 11.00 this morning, Saturday 15th January, 380,000 people had followed the example of Jamie Oliver and signed up to the campaign to show their disapproval of the ridiculous and wasteful practice of throwing perfectly edible dead fish back into the sea.

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Dead pelicans washing ashore were killed by humans

Rogers says she has a theory that points to commercial fishermen. "The pelicans are coming up with these injuries only when commercial fishermen are active," she said. Pelicans, especially the young and less wise, are attracted to what they would consider a buffet—the deck of a fishing boat. Rogers says this is when the brutalities are probably occurring. O'Neil agrees that the birds are being injured and killed out on the ocean and not on land.

"I could see somebody keeping a box of heads or feet," said O'Neil, who suspects the perpetrators may be keeping trophies.

"Our local fishermen are not doing this," Rogers said. Since most of the carcasses and injured birds seem to be coming from farther up the coast, Rogers points to Moorhead City. She said a lot of new fishermen have come up to North Carolina in 2010 from the Gulf, where they had been losing money ever since the BP oil spill.

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Coast Guard cites striped bass poachers off N.C. coast

PORTSMOUTH, Va. – The Coast Guard boarded and cited several fishing vessels in violation of federal law including one vessel in possession of 58 illegally caught Atlantic striped bass Friday.

During their patrol the crew of the Coast Guard cutter Beluga, homeported in Norfolk, Va., detected and intercepted fishing vessels in the Exclusive Economic Zone in possession of Atlantic striped bass, which is a violation of federal law.

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Saving Salmon

For almost forty years, Alexandra Morton studied orcas near the northern tip of Vancouver Island. Those whales eat sockeye salmon. When Morton learned that these fish were endangered, she decided to save the salmon, in order to protect her whales.

Last fall, during an unanticipated and completely amazing run of Sockeye salmon, Paul Kennedy visited with Alexandra Morton near the shore of a feeder stream of the upper Fraser River, in Northern British Columbia. 

Listen to Saving Salmon

Struggling fishermen targeted by vandals

The FBI is probing Plymouth boat graffiti that has fishermen — already feuding with the federal government over catch limits— fearful they now could be targets of an anarchist environmental group.

“It creates quite a bit of apprehension as to how vulnerable we are,” said Timothy Barrett, owner of the 40-foot dragger Odessa, one of the 12 boats vandalized.

“Commercial fishing first class rape,” and “sea life kidnapped, murdered, maliciously” were among the messages found sprayed across the topsides of fishing boats Monday morning after a late-night attack at Jesse’s Marine in North Plymouth.

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Calling all fishermen's wives

Shed Media US, a Los Angeles television production company, is looking to cast a new reality series called "Alaska Fishermen's Wives."

Casting producer Annette Ivy tells me she's looking to contact women who are "outgoing and have big personalities."

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Top Chef - Gone Fishing

The chefs must catch their own fish for this challenge but some chefs aren't having any luck.

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Boat Vandals Target Fishing Fleet

BOSTON -- At least a dozen commercial fishing boats were vandalized in Plymouth Harbor overnight, according to a fisherman.

Plymouth fisherman Tim Barrett said his boat, the Odessa, was spray-painted with the initials "ELF," believed to stand for an environmental group called Earth Liberation Front. The phrases "death to commercial fishing" and "commercial fishing = slaughter" were also painted on the boats.

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Nominate the Judas' Fisherman & the Good Samaritan of 2010

“For greed all nature is too little.”
Lucious Annaeus Seneca (Roman philosopher)

Fishing has always been under tremendous pressure-greed being a real problem.

In the 70’s, the international fleet was the culprit. NOAA/NMFS’ mistaken solution was to subsidize our fleet. The cycle of overfishing continued compounded by mismanagement. The ENGO’s (environmental, non-government organization) appeared to have the public’s best interest by suing the federal regulators for lax laws.

The eco-fanatics fueled by corporate dollars soon morphed into eco-frauds. These groups are only consoled by money. Fishermen have little money, thus we can’t buy their “greenwash”. The corporate front groups lobby the politicians and have the media’s ear. Now they are buying fishing groups and individual fishermen.

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U.S. crab tycoon faces new criminal charges in Russia

Moscow (CNN) -- An American businessman who lost his company, health and freedom in Russia is now struggling to merely stay alive.

Arkadi Gontmakher is the owner of the company that used to be the largest U.S. crab importer from Russia. Two weeks ago, he was unanimously acquitted by a 12-member jury in a high-profile court case in Russia's remote Kamchatka region. But earlier this week, he was charged with an almost identical set of criminal violations, according to his family and lawyers.

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Donations for Mulder Family

Friends of Roland and Beth Mulder (Owners  of Capt'n Rolo's Restaurant, Frisco) are collecting donations to help with the expenses that are incurring while a hospital stay in Norfolk.  Beth had a serious stroke last week that required surgery.  She is presently in a coma and no new information as to her condition has been released by her family as of today Tuesday, Dec 28. 

 

Checks may be made out to: The Beth Mulder Fund and sent to: The East Carolina Bank, PO Box 279, Hatteras, NC 27943.  

 

Thank you in advance for your generous donation.  

FRIENDS OF THE MULDER FAMILY

 

Bird death count breaks 100

It’s reaching more than a hundred in numbers and represents a slaughter the likes of which officials have never seen.

Doug Jones and two other wildlife officers have been patrolling the beaches and waterways along Topsail Island with scopes and binoculars hoping for some new lead, information or to flat out catch those responsible for shooting, cutting and decapitating more than 150 brown pelicans.

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Speckled Trout Research May Change Fishing Industry

You could say something "fishy" is going on at the Harte Research Institute at Texas A&M Corpus Christi.

Folks there are studying speckled trout, the number one game fish in this area.

Endowed Chair for Fishery of Ocean Health, Dr. Greg Stunz, said, "We're beginning to see a downward trend of these populations and that's what has us concerned."

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Holy Mackerel: Iceland Benefits From Fish Migration

A change in the swimming habits of vast schools of mackerel is causing a diplomatic crisis in Europe. The fish are swimming much farther north this year, and Icelandic fishermen have been scooping them up. That has upset fishing nations that are members of the European Union, and the dispute could harm Iceland's hopes of joining the EU.

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Seafood quota cuts to be fought by national govts

Various governments – including that of France and the UK - are vehemently opposing the European Commission’s (EC) plan to slash the quotas of numerous species such as herring and cod for 2011 to ensure the species’ survival.

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40 TEMP CRAB PICKERS needed

40 TEMP CRAB PICKERS needed 4/1/11-11/30/11. Frog Island Seafood, Inc. - Elizabeth City, NC . No education/experience required. On-the-job training available

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