State and Local

October 29, 2014 — The University of Alaska Southeast is offering an online, self-paced course in marine electrical systems for fishermen who want to be able to work on their own boats and know when to call the pros.

“It’s geared toward people like commercial fishermen, people who own a boat and want to do basic stuff,”  according to Amy Crews at UAS.

It’s also designed to help people see if the work is getting to the point  where they need to have a specialist come and take a look, she said.

The course does not train people to be marine electricians, but addresses basic electrical concepts, as well as specific systems and strategies to troubleshoot problems with them. It also explains best practices.

Participants have three months to complete the course, and access to the online material for up to a year. The cost is $125.

Read the full story Homer News

October 30, 2014 — The issue that Charlie Baker was talking about when he broke down during Tuesday’s debate with gubernatorial rival Martha Coakley referred to a longstanding argument of Massachusetts fishermen: that the state should do more to review the science that goes into estimating the size of fish populations, rather than relying on assessments by the federal government.

Baker, in comments following his story about an encounter with a fisherman who regretted bringing his two sons into the vocation, suggested new federal catch limits are unnecessarily hurting the state’s fishermen.

“We have some of the most talented people in the world who could do analytics around what’s really happening out there in the water,” he said. “We should be all over this.”

He added: “In terms of going after the fundamental question of what’s going on out there in the water, I feel we have not done a good job at all as a commonwealth. I’ll tell you something, as governor, I’ll be all over that one.”

Fishermen from New Bedford to Gloucester have argued for years that federal scientists are relying on shoddy science to determine catch limits, especially for cod, the region’s iconic species.

Coakley last year filed a lawsuit against the federal government after regulators reduced the amount of cod that can be caught in the Gulf of Maine by nearly 80 percent. She argued those cuts were based on “flawed science,” even though repeated assessments by scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have shown that the cod population has plummeted to historic lows in the Gulf of Maine.

Read the full story at the Boston Globe

October 28, 2014 — Republican gubernatorial candidate Republican Charlie Baker gets emotion when telling a story about meeting a local fisherman.

Watch the video from WCVB

BEALS, Maine — October 28, 2014 — The nonprofit Downeast Institute for Applied Marine Research and Education has received a $2 million grant that will be used to expand the institute’s facility on Great Wass Island.

The grant, awarded by Blue Hill-based Next Generation Foundation, will be used to construct additional space for research, including more storage for live marine organisms and more square footage for processing samples collected at sea and along the shore, the institute indicated Monday in a prepared statement. Plans also call for new office space for scientists and their staff, a reception area for visitors, and a 50-seat conference center.

“The grant will allow DEI to expand research opportunities in eastern Maine for marine scientists and their students, to create new opportunities for marine business incubation, and to increase the scope of existing educational programs with K-12 schools,” institute officials indicated in the release.

Lynn Alley, chairman of the institute’s board of directors and a science teacher at Jonesport-Beals High School, said in the release that the grant will help with the institute’s mission to strengthen the viability of coastal Maine communities by fostering applied marine research, collaboration with public and private partners, and promoting public education of marine resources.

“This tremendously generous gift will allow us to begin a process that has been a vision of ours for the past 15 years to create the easternmost marine research laboratory and education center in the United States,” Alley said.

Dr. Brian Beal, director of research at the institute and professor of marine ecology at the University of Maine at Machias, said that the “exciting and important” grant will help fund research in eastern Maine, where it is needed.

“Most marine research in Maine is restricted to areas along the southwest coast where much of the physical infrastructure exists for marine scientists and their research teams,” Beal said. “The near-shore environment from Frenchman Bay to Cobscook Bay is as essential to the downeast economy as Casco Bay is to the coastal towns in Cumberland County, yet few marine scientists venture this far east because they have no facilities from which to conduct their work.”

Downeast Institute’s origins can be traced to 1987, when Beal and six Washington County coastal towns teamed up to start a waterfront softshell clam hatchery on Moosabec Reach in Beals.

The institute moved in 2003 to a former lobster storage facility at Black Duck Cove on Great Wass Island and, in 2010, built and opened an attached 1,000-square-foot marine education center. In 2012, construction of a new 100-foot pier was completed at the site.

Since its early days, research at the institute has expanded to include cultivation and resource management techniques for blue mussels, arctic surf clams, hard-shell clams, green crabs, scallops and lobster.

Read the full story from the Bangor Daily News

GRANTS PASS, Ore. — October 28, 2014 — Last weekend’s storm caused at least $1 million in damages to the port of Port Orford.

Port Commissioner Brett Webb says the fleet based in Port Orford was fishing Monday, but damages to port facilities and the breakwater will make it difficult to maintain operations. One key item damaged was the computerized fuel metering system used to supply the 50-boat fleet.

Webb said the port can do a manual override on the computerized fuel metering system in order to pump fuel, but he does not know how they would be able to charge fishermen for the amount pumped.

Read the full story from The Associated Press at The Columbian

October 27, 2014 — Throughout history, arguments over land and water usages have run the gamut from tussles over fences with next door neighbors to shoot outs over inter-state grazing rights in the old west. But when land and water rights pit one country against another, that’s when things really gets tricky.

That is the situation in Southeast Alaska, where residents find themselves downstream from several massive open pit gold/copper mines being developed in bordering British Columbia. The mines are located in the headwaters of some of Southeast’s largest and most productive wild salmon rivers: the Taku, Stikine, and Unuk.

Canada operates under different permitting and environmental rules than the U.S. and currently, no safeguards are in place to protect Alaska waters and fisheries from chemical and heavy-metal contaminants leaching from the B.C. mines. Recall the Aug. 4 tailings dam breach at the Mt. Polley mine, and it’s easy to understand why Southeast residents are seeing red.

“Right now the U.S. and certainly Alaska have no say in how these watersheds we share with Canada are developed,” said Heather Hardcastle, Trans-boundary Rivers Campaign Director for Trout Unlimited, and co-owner of Taku River Reds in Juneau.

That is unacceptable to the People of the Panhandle, who are being urged to respond with the power of their pens! Meetings are scheduled this week in Juneau, Sitka, Petersburg, Ketchikan and Wrangell to inform people about the threats being posed by the big mines upriver, and to give them a way to take action.

“And that is primarily by writing letters to our Congressional Delegation and the State Department, as well as urging law makers, municipalities, advisory committees, boards and commissions and businesses to send similar letters.

Read the full story from The Fish Site

October 24, 2014 — This is not what Gloucester groundfishermen and fishing advocates want to hear.

NOAA Regional Administrator John Bullard told the Gloucester Daily Times today he anticipates emergency measures for Gulf of Maine cod expected in mid-November will include rolling area and spawning closures and conceded those will have a "serious" and "disproportionate" economic impact on groundfish ports like Gloucester.

"We're trying to follow the cod and that's going to have a disproportionate impact on these ports," he said, naming Gloucester, Scituate and Portsmouth, N.H.

Bullard said he expects those closures also will preclude groundfishermen from fishing for other, more plentiful species such as gray sole, dabs, haddock and flounder in the closed areas.

"It's almost impossible to protect cod while allowing the fishing of other species," he said. "That's one of the real difficulties."

Bullard delivered the same message to fishing advocates and city officials at a Thursday meeting in Gloucester organized by Mayor Carolyn Kirk to express concerns that the emergency measures being discussed are unduly harmful to Gloucester.

Jackie Odell, executive director of the Northeast Seafood Coalition, went even further, characterizing the specter of closures as "punitive" because it also prohibits fishermen from catching other stocks for which they're already allocated.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

WILMINGTON, N.C. — October 24, 2014 — Gov. Pat McCrory says to come up with a vision for coastal North Carolina, state government needs to balance coastal issues such as funding coastal projects, improving dredging of inlets and channels, providing property insurance and addressing federal regulations.

According to a panel of experts, the way to do this is through pursuing federal funds, expanding dredging windows and challenging federal regulatory decisions.

The governor came to the N.C. Coastal Resources Commission’s regular meeting on Wednesday at the Hilton Riverside hotel, making him the first sitting North Carolina governor to attend a CRC meeting.

Over 100 representatives from local coastal governments were in the crowd that packed the meeting room to hear the governor’s comments on coastal issues and presentations from a coastal issue expert panel the CRC assembled to inform Gov. McCrory about the challenges currently facing North Carolina’s coast.

CRC Chairman Frank Gorham said that in the next two months, the commission will send the governor an executive report on the issues discussed. The governor said his primary reason for coming to the meeting Thursday was to listen and learn.

“There are issues here that are very complex,” he said. “At times it’s hard to figure that out … We must walk the fine line between continuing our economic prosperity while also protecting the environment and quality of life which brought many of us here.”

After the presentations, Gov. McCrory said – in response to some audience comments that more environmental research is needed – that the protection of endangered species is critical; he said the state needs a strategy to know what to ask for when pursuing assistance from neighboring states and federal agencies in addressing that and other coastal issues.

Read the full story from Carolina Coast Online

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SCOM] — June 19, 2014 — After a short delay the Alabama shrimp commercial season commenced yesterday at 6 am after officials determined the stocks had grown to harvestable sizes.

Officials from the Alabama Marine Resources Division said commercial shrimping could now take place in waters not permantely closed.  The areas open for fishing include: All waters in the Mississippi Sound; all waters in Mobile Bay and Bon Secour Bay south of N30 28.000’ latitude; all waters east of the charted position of GIWW Marker #103, including all waters of Wolf Bay, Perdido Bay, Arnica Bay, Bay La Launch, and Bayou St. John; and all waters in Little Lagoon.

“The opening of shrimp season is always a joyous time in Coastal Alabama,” said Chris Blankenship, director of Alabama Marine Resources and program administrator for the Alabama Seafood Marketing Commission. “The opening of shrimp season is about a week or two later than usual due the cold winter and spring rains.  The abundances we saw during our sampling look good, so it should be a nice opening. I am looking forward to getting some fresh shrimp this weekend.”

Shrimp are the most abundant type of seafood landed in Alabama and along the Gulf Coast. In fact, over 25

million pounds of Gulf shrimp are landed in Alabama every year.

There are a few different types of shrimp caught here along Alabama’s Gulf Coast. Brown shrimp makes up the vast majority of Alabama shrimp available during the late spring and summer months, while white shrimp serves as the more abundant species in late summer and fall. Pink shrimp and royal red shrimp can also be caught in Alabama’s coastal waterways.

The opening of the 2014 shrimp season is in response to routine shrimp sampling that indicated the average size were larger than 68 head-on shrimp per pound within designated waters.

However, fisherman should be aware that state biologists will continue to sample in the open areas. Should sampling indicate a change in the average size of 68 head-on shrimp per pound, additional announcements will be made to complement the original opening.

All commercial fishermen are also reminded to provide boat registration (or documentation papers), boat owner’s driver’s license, and social security number or tax identification number when purchasing a commercial shrimping license.

This story originally appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It has been reprinted with permission.

October 23, 2014 — The Town of Dartmouth was recently able to procure 40,000 seed quahogs from a private aquaculture venture in Dennis, and used the windfall opportunity to help jump-start the effort to replenish the shellfish beds in several sites in Apponagansett Bay.

Early season storm-related damages left viable shellfish seed in short supply this year, but a last-minute cancellation from another municipality presented this unexpected opportunity to buy 60 pounds of quahog seed, said Dartmouth Harbormaster Steve Melo, who doubles as the town's shellfish warden.

The harbormaster said he was able to obtain the necessary propagation license from the State Division of Marine Fisheries in an expedited manner, and immediately planted the seed stock into Apponagansett Bay with the help of Assistant Harbormaster Steven Camara.

The seed was broadcast into a mix of sandy bottom areas in "both the inner and outer harbor area," Melo said, where it will be available for future harvest by recreational and commercial license holders, either by hand-digging or by boat access, once the seed stock matures.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times