Humans weren't the only ones shaken up when Superstorm Sandy tore through New Jersey last fall. Wind, waves and storm surge re-sculpted much of the state's coastline, with potentially disastrous consequences for two of our state's iconic critters: horseshoe crabs and the Red Knot sandpipers whose lives depend on them.
The Red Knot is the ultramarathoner of shore birds, migrating each spring from one end of the Earth to the other, from its winter home in Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of South America to its summer breeding grounds in the North American Arctic. The most crucial stop in this incredible journey is a layover in New Jersey's Delaware Bayshore to gorge on eggs laid by horseshoe crabs.
Sandy damaged many of the best crab nesting beaches along the Bayshore, pushing sand into high dunes on the salt marshes and exposing mudflats, vegetative mats of marsh plant roots and age-old debris from abandoned fishing shacks. According to New Jersey Conservation biologist Dr. Emile DeVito, horseshoe crab nesting sites will likely be in short supply this spring.
Talk about bad timing! The state Senate and Assembly just introduced bills to lift the moratorium on the harvest of horseshoe crabs for bait. Bleeding horseshoe crabs for lysate, an important pharmaceutical need, is allowed, but many of those crabs also die upon return to the bay. According to Dr. DeVito, understanding the scientific evidence gathered on the near-extinct Red Knot might help our legislators and citizens realize exactly what's at stake.
Read the full story at the Times of Trenton>>
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.
National Fisherman has been the industry standard for over 50 years. Readers from coast to coast depend on it to stay up to date on news, regulations, fish stocks, to research purchasing decisions and to stay informed of the newest vessel and product technology.
