Jes Hathaway is the editor in chief of National Fisherman magazine and NationalFisherman.com.
Friday, 28 September 2012
U.S. fishermen have seen it many times over. The federal government intervenes with a poorly managed industry, and the results run the gamut. Sometimes, it's gangbusters, and sometimes it's a flop.
But when the government fails in a major way as a result of alleged corruption (as we have seen on both coasts with NOAA's Office of Law Enforcement) or simply neglect, out comes the giant broom and rug. Sweep. Sweep.
It's as if admitting a failing and learning from it is worse than living under a halo of lies that anyone who's paying attention can see right through. (It may indeed be the best course of action, as federal governments face the prospect of lawsuits from all angles.)
But this week, an activist in British Columbia said no more to Canada's Department of Fisheries and Ocean and the Cohen Commission's continuous delays in publishing their findings of what led to the collapse of the 2009 Fraser River sockeye run.
“I'm not going to waste my time and energy praying and hoping and begging Mr. DFO to do something right,” said Alexandra Morton, according to the CBC.
“It's never going to happen. DFO is downsizing and my thought is: ‘Right on. Bye, bye. Step out of the way. Step away from the fish. We can deal with this.’”
Morton is a vocal advocate of the preservation of wild salmon and is vowing to establish private sector group comprising First Nations, fisheries managers, stream keepers and commercial fishermen that monitors wild salmon on Canada's West Coast.
“What I see in DFO is a lot of really wonderful people who would like to do the right thing, but they can't,” Morton told the CBC.
And when that happens, we have nothing left to do but take matters into our own hands. Kudos to Morton and her colleagues who are stepping in to make a difference where the federal government is hamstrung by formalities, process and quite possibly the monumental task of covering tracks.
Callifornia crabbing: Here's a fun video shot on the decks of the Majestik while catching Dungeness crab off the coast of northern California.
Over 500 lots of seafood processing equipment formerly owned by Adak Seafood will be sold at auction on Tuesday, June 18, starting at 10 a.m. Hawaiian-Aleutian Daylight Time at the Hilton Garden Inn in Anchorage Alaska.
The equipment is located in a recently updated 250,000 square foot state-of-the-art processing facility in Adak, Alaska. Farmington Hills, Mich.-based Hilco Industrial, which conducts 75 machinery and equipment auctions in a wide range of industries annually, will conduct the auction.
Adak Seafood opened originally as Ada Fisheries in Anchorage in 1986. The facility, updated in 2005, is located on the island of Adak, the southernmost city in Alaska near the western end of the Aleutian Islands. The facility processed cod primarily, as well as halibut, blackcod, crab and pollock, Hilco says.
Alaska fisherman and commercial fisheries activist Kevin Adams was elected chairman at the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute board of directors meeting on May 9 in Anchorage.
The governor-appointed board consists of seven members: five seafood processors and two industry representatives actively engaged in commercial fishing. Adams was appointed to fill a harvester seat by Gov. Frank Murkowski in 2004.
With 38 years of fishing experience in Bristol Bay, Adams has long been an active member in the Alaska fishing industry, ASMI says. He has worked for both the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation and the Bering Sea Fisherman's Association, and represents Alaska fishermen on numerous boards.
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