State and Local

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — July 24, 2014 — Some area marinas collecting increased bushel fees from oyster harvesters as baywide delicacy rebounds.

On a cloudy muggy morning along the shores of Deep Creek in Newport News' Menchville area, third generation marina operator Lonnell Perok-Coffen carries on the business left in her hands nearly five years ago by her father Steven Perok.

"Business has been very good," Coffen said, shortly after zooming around on her forklift at Newport News' Menchville Marina. "The watermen are bringing in more, which is good to see."

Oysters, long a major catch along the shores and tributaries of Chesapeake Bay across Hampton Roads, are finally showing signs of a comeback.

Jim Wesson, who oversees the management of oyster fisheries for the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, said the Commonwealth's oyster harvest is expected to top more than 500,000 bushels — its highest level since 1987, but millions of bushels short of totals that once topped 10 to 11 million in the late 1890s and 1930s, Wesson said.

"The state of oysters is very good," Wesson said of Virginia's current production. "I started in 1992, and I've never seen this many in my career."

The end result could mean a bounty of oysters for the winter, but big bucks for marina operators lucky enough to land harvesters unloading oysters from private beds this summer.

As the blue crab industry struggles, Wesson said the number of new leases for private oysters beds has skyrocketed. The end result is more summer business for harvest marinas across the region.

Another boon for the Chesapeake Bay delicacy has been its demand along the Gulf Coast, an area still reeling from the BP oil spill, and oyster beds, both public and private, that sustained significant damage from Hurricane Katrina nearly 10 years ago, Wesson said.

"That has pushed early demand for Virginia oysters up," Wesson said.

Read the full story at the Daily Press

 

July 24, 2014 — Alaska Department of Fish and Game officials said that as July 18, there were an estimated 480 drift gillnet and 26 set gillnet permits participating in the Copper River and Prince William Sound gillnet fisheries.

Statewide commercial harvests of wild salmon rose above 71 million fish on July 22, including nearly 29 million salmon in Bristol Bay, but Copper River sockeye prices were holding their own, despite the increasing competition.

The best deals were at box stores like Costco Wholesale, in Anchorage, where fillets of neatly packaged Copper River reds were $9.95 a pound.

At Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle, whole fresh Copper River sockeyes were $77.94 per fish, and fresh Copper River sockeye fillets were $19.99 a pound.

FishEx in Anchorage had frozen Copper River king filets for $33.71 a pound, down from $44.95 a pound.

Also online, Copper River Seafoods had two pound packages of four 8-ounce portions of Copper River sockeye salmon for $59.95.

The preliminary harvest from the Copper River stood at over 2 million fish, including 1,998,000 sockeye, 42,000 chum, 10,000 kings, 2,000 pink and fewer than 1,000 silver salmon.

For Prince William Sound overall, the harvest reached 26.6 million salmon, including more than 22 million humpies, 3.2 million red, more than 1 million chum, 10,000 king and 8,000 silver salmon.

Many online and other retail outlets were offering other wild Alaska fresh salmon, both whole and fillets, at more competitive prices.

Read the full story at The Cordova Times 

 

DILLINGHAM, Alaska — July 24, 2014 — Alaska has expanded its fish testing data and released new fish consumption guidelines.  The new guidelines increase the number of fish species on the “unrestricted consumption” list.

The State of Alaska Department of Health and Social Services released a report upgrading several species of fish to unrestricted status.  Some of the new fish include halibut up to 40 pounds, lingcod measuring up to 35 inches, big skate, black rockfish, broad whitefish, Dolly Varden, dusky rockfish, grayling, humpback whitefish and rough eye rockfish.

The report states that although the actual guidelines are not different, the department was able to sample a larger amount of fish with greater diversity.  Environmental Public Health Program Manager at the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services Ali Hamade says the first fish consumption guideline came out seven years ago.

Read the full article and listen to the podcast at KDLG

 

LA JOLLA, Calif. — July 22, 2014 — Scientists at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography say it’s the largest such school that’s been seen off the coast of California in 30 years.

It was a massive school of anchovies – “multimillions” of them. Scientists at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography say it’s the largest such school that’s been seen off the coast of California in 30 years.

David Checkley, a professor of oceanography at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at the University of California, San Diego, studies anchovies and went swimming with the school.

“It was fish, fish, fish! There were fish in front of me, below me, to the sides, and behind me,” Checkley told Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson. “And they were beautiful.”

Schools of fish generally swim aligned in one direction. At the edge of the school, the fish create what looks like a hard boundary or, as the professor explains, a beautiful “cliff.”

Beauty aside, questions remain about the sudden appearance of the mass of anchovies.

Read the full story, watch the Scripps Oceanography video, and listen to the audio at Capital Public Radio

 

RICHMOND, Va. — July 22, 2014 — Over the past 12 years, Virginia's oyster harvest has increased from 23,000 bushels in 2001 to about 504,000 bushels last year.

Virginia is marking its largest oyster harvest in more than 25 years.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe announced on Monday that the state's oyster harvest jumped 25 percent last year to the highest seen since 1987.

Over the past 12 years, Virginia's oyster harvest has increased from 23,000 bushels in 2001 to about 504,000 bushels last year. The harvest numbers include wild oysters and those grown in aquaculture farms.

The dockside value of the oyster harvest increased to $22.2 million last year, up from $16.2 million in 2012.

Officials say the milestone harvest is the result of state investments in replenishing oysters in Virginia.

Read the full article from the Associated Press at WSET-TV

 

July 21, 2014 — The following was released by The Maine Department of Natural Resources:

Two lobstermen spent the better part of Tuesday, July 15 floating in a life raft in pea soup fog near Vinalhaven after their fishing vessel, the Kendra and Maysie, reportedly hit a ledge and sank. Luckily for them, a good-Samaritan and the Maine Marine Patrol were nearby.

The two men, Richard Bickford of Vinalhaven and his sternman William Deane Jr. of Friendship later reported to the Marine Patrol that they hit the ledge at approximately 4:45 am Tuesday morning in the stretch between Leadbetter Island and Lawrys Island known as Lawrys Narrows and quickly began taking on water. They deployed their life raft but, without benefit of a radio on the life raft, were exposed to the cold and rain for the next 9 hours while boats passed by in the fog, despite their attempts to call out for help.

On Tuesday, Matt Shannon from Rockland and crew members Rob Stevens and Kristina Whitsell of Arizona were sailing from Carvers Harbor on Vinalhaven to Rockland Harbor aboard Shannon's 23 foot sailboat, the Kanosera, in dense fog that reduced visibility to less than 200 feet. At approximately 1:30 in the afternoon Shannon and his crew members, nearly half way between Vinalhaven and Rockland, heard an unfamiliar sound between blasts on an air horn being used by Stevens to signal the Kanosera's location to other boaters. “We heard someone screaming for help,” said Shannon. “At first I thought it was people messing with us.”

But within minutes, a life raft appeared through the mist with two men aboard. “It was a very surreal experience,” said Shannon.

Fortunately for Bickford and Deane, the sailboat made no sound other than the air horn, which allowed Shannon and his crew to hear the men yell for help. “If we had a motor, we would not have heard them.”

Shannon and his crew brought the two on board and gave them food, water and dry clothes. “They were both in jeans and t-shirts and the sternman was cold and shivering, so we put him in a sleeping bag to warm him up,” said Shannon.

Both were starting to feel better when Marine Patrol Officers Matthew Wyman and Brandon Bezio arrived at 2:30 in the afternoon. “We got a call from Mr. Bickford’s girlfriend who had been called by him from a cell phone on-board the sail boat,” said Officer Wyman. “When we arrived, they were both recovering but still feeling the effects of being exposed to the cold and rain for 9 hours. We brought them aboard to transport them to Rockland and made sure they were comfortable and warm.  We contacted the Rockland Fire/EMS, which met us at the dock.”

“Kudos to the two Marine Patrol officers,” said Shannon. “They took over and did a really great job. It’s nice to know they are out there when you’re on the water.”

The Marine Patrol transported the two men to Rockland where they were checked out by Rockland Fire/EMS personnel and released. Neither was transported to the hospital.

The US Coast Guard continues to investigate the cause of the incident.

The Marine Patrol is a Bureau of the Maine Department of Marine Resource that provides law enforcement, search and rescue, public health, maritime security, and public safety services on Maine’s coastal and tidal waters. More information about the Maine Marine Patrol can be found at http://www.maine.gov/dmr/bmp/homepage.html.

July 21, 2014 — Unless you're a stranger to these parts, you've certainly heard that the highly anticipated Florida scalloping season rides in on summer's coattails.

Each year from June 28 to Sept. 24, residents of the Sunshine State and visitors from around the world flock to the unspoiled waters of the Nature Coast, near the open bay, to hunt for these delightfully tasty mollusks — and afterward cool off in the refreshing 72-degree springs.

Although there are more than 700 natural springs in Florida, the waters of Homosassa Springs and Crystal River are considered among the most enchanting, with moss-covered oaks, cedars and palms lining the shores. Only 90 minutes north of the Tampa Bay area, they're also some of the closest springs to home.

Scalloping is an aquatic adventure suitable for all ages. All you need is access to a boat, a snorkel and mask, fins, a $17 Florida fishing license (easily obtained same-day online), a required dive flag and a handy-dandy mesh bag in which to stash your scallop bounty.

Read the full story at The Tampa Tribune

 

July 21, 2014 — Andy Gove has figured out a surefire solution to staying warm while lobstering in the icy waters of Penobscot Bay.

“I take my long johns off on the Fourth of July,” Gove says, “and put ‘em back on on the fifth.”

That’s advice from a man who knows what he’s talking about. Gove got his first lobster license in 1937.

“I haven’t missed a year since,” he says.

When he was young boy, his grandfather wouldn’t let him out on the water until he was strong enough to row a boat by himself. So, at age 6 …

“My grandfather tied me to a piece of pipe,” he says, “I remember it being 6, 8 feet long, … and when I got good enough so I could drag it down the beach a little, he let me go.”

On a calm, sunny morning in June, Gove, 84, stands on the spotless deck of Uncle’s UFO – his 36-foot lobster boat.

Gove was nicknamed “uncle” years ago by some of the younger fishermen. UFO stands for unidentified floating object.

He counts the other boats bobbing in the water nearby.

“One, two, three, four, five, six, seven,” he says. “Seven boats ahead of us.”

Read the full story and watch the video from The Portland Press Herald

DAUPHIN ISLAND, Ala. — July 21, 2014 — NBC Sports has a new reality show coming up this month, and the star crew stopped by the 81st Alabama Deep Sea Fishing Rodeo to try their luck in the Gulf.

The show is "Fish Mavericks" – the boat, the Fish Circus. Led by Captain Dave Schunke, the motley crew is rounded out by brothers Jerry and Jon Harris, and brothers Rob and Chris Pami.

"I could have picked better fishermen, but I could never pick anybody I would trust more than the group that I have here," Schunke said.

"Mavericks" premiers July 30, and Schunke and his crew have been touring a wide range of waters, catching fish and shooting footage.

"We've fished everything from New Jersey shark tournaments to Virginia Beach tuna tournaments, and then all fun trips in between, from the Bahamas all the way up to Manhattan," he said.

Read the full story at AL.com

 

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — July 21, 2014 — UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Divina Grossman will lead a university delegation in a Monday session with lawmakers to emphasize the importance of funding fishing research.

UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Divina Grossman will lead a university delegation in a Monday session with lawmakers to emphasize the importance of funding fishing research.

Grossman will be joined by state Rep. Antonio F.D. Cabral, state Sen. Mark Montigny, UMass Dartmouth School for Marine Science & Technology (SMAST) Dean Steven Lohrenz, and the chairman of SMAST's Department of Fisheries Oceanography, Dr. Kevin Stokesbury.

The meeting is scheduled for 9 a.m. at the SMAST campus in the South End of New Bedford.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard Times