COMMENT: Dismiss the ‘let’s ban it’ mindset
Sadly, we live in censorious times, when tolerance for differing viewpoints, activities, words even, is sometimes non-existent. You can be ostracized, cancelled, or subject to a raid by several police officers at the crack of dawn, depending on what you’ve done or said. Now I’m not suggesting for a moment that the Scottish government ever thought of an early-morning swoop by Scotland’s finest on the offices of Shetland Fishermen’s Association. But the recent revelation that, prior to a meeting with us and our members, First Minister John Swinney was told by his minders to avoid using the phrase “spatial squeeze” demonstrates that the “let’s ban it” mindset swirls around the corridors of St Andrew’s House like a miasma on a cold, still Edinburgh night. Do they compare notes with the anti-fishing environmental lobbyists? By Daniel Lawson. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:01
As other industries bristle, Louisiana shrimpers voice support for tariffs
Louisiana shrimpers have spent years trying to keep their industry afloat amid a flood of cheap imported shrimp. They think the sweeping new tariffs announced this week could help, though they are still pushing for a more permanent solution. “If you break down you can’t even afford to put your boat back out, that’s how serious it is,” said Acy Cooper, President of the Louisiana Shrimp Association. In his decades as a commercial shrimper, he has seen the price of local shrimp plummet. “Last year, we had more closures and lower prices than we’ve ever had before,” he said. While leaders of other industries worry about the impact of the tariffs announced by President Trump this week, he expects them to help shrimpers like him compete in U.S. markets. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:03
Inspired by great-grandfathers near death, scholarship winner hopes to make life safer for fishermen
Ben Collings-Mackay says he knows how he’s going to spend the $45,000 he received for the prestigious Frank H. Sobey scholarship. Collings-Mackay, a fourth-year business student at St. Francis Xavier University in Antigonish, N.S., and a fourth-generation lobster fisherman, is one of eight recipients this year of the scholarship for Atlantic Canadian business students. He has a business focused on creating a lifejacket for commercial fishermen that is less cumbersome than traditional ones. The lifejacket would inflate automatically when someone hits the water and would have a GPS feature that sends out pings to nearby boats and emergency services detailing the overboard person’s location, said Collings-Mackay. A strobe light on the jacket would also help make it easier to locate the person. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:31
Sonoma County crabbers face new limits as state restricts season for 7th year — but can keep working
For the seventh year in a row, California officials are limiting commercial Dungeness crab fishing along the coast — including off Sonoma County — to protect humpback whales from becoming entangled in fishing gear. Dick Ogg, a commercial fisherman who represents Bodega Bay in the Dungeness Crab Gear Working Group, said the decision was difficult but reflects a fair compromise between conservation and livelihoods. “It is an awkward situation, but every chance that we can get to help guys be able to continue to fish a little bit safely, we’re gonna take it,” he said. “We have made good logical decisions based on data.” Ogg said most crabbers are relieved to be able to keep working — even in a limited capacity. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:49
More fish, for now: Offshore welcomes latest NL northern cod assessment, union questions DFO science
The latest scientific assessment of northern cod is being touted as good news by companies with stakes in the offshore fishery but is being met with condemnation from the union representing inshore harvesters. The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) announced its findings during a Thursday, April 3, technical briefing. One year ago, DFO’s stock assessment moved northern cod out of what’s known as the critical zone — a level where serious harm is occurring to the stock — to the cautious zone, a designation in which the stock can sustain some fishing pressure. That led to the lifting of the moratorium on commercially fishing for northern cod — the stock of the species found in the waters off Newfoundland’s eastern coast and as far north as the southern shores of Labrador. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:49
To be determined: Tariffs threat gone, but NL crab price still a contentious issue
The immediate threat of tariffs has dissipated, but there is no word that the fish processors and harvesters might head back to the negotiating table to hammer out a new price for crab to get the season going. The sides have been caught up in a legal drama since Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture Minister Gerry Byrne approved a delay in the date the parties involved were to have a pricing arrangement in place. The Association of Seafood Producers (ASP), which represents most of the processing companies in Newfoundland and Labrador, took exception to the minister’s decision because it was not a joint request to change the date. Byrne changed the date from April 1 to April 13 due to the extenuating and unforeseen circumstances when FFAW-Unifor, the union that represents most fish harvesters and plant workers, had to change its lead negotiator. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:58
Alabama’s ‘demolished’ seafood industry could be saved by Trump’s ‘Liberation Day’ tariffs
President Donald Trump rolled out his tariff regime on Wednesday, also known as “Liberation Day,” by raising tariffs, including 34% more on imports from China, 46% on Vietnam and 32% on Taiwan. While the world reacted, people in Alabama’s coastal community are hopeful the move could save a dying industry. Billy Parks, the owner of Billy’s Seafood in Bon Secour, said his business has struggled for nearly two decades. “We’ve had a lot of influx of the imported, farm-raised Asian shrimp coming in and has pretty much demolished the shrimp seafood market as far as the local shrimp sales,” Parks explained. “So, when the fuel price started spiking real high, the shrimp prices started going way down, then it just put a lot of boats out of business.” Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:41
Carl Wilson gets committee nod to lead Maine Department of Marine Resources
A legislative panel on Thursday voted unanimously to advance the nomination of Carl Wilson to lead the Maine Department of Marine Resources. Fishermen and the aquaculture industry told lawmakers that Wilson’s long tenure with the department and experience as a scientist make him a good fit to lead DMR. He joined the department in 1999 as lead lobster biologist and since 2015 has led the Bureau of Marine Science. “We need somebody who can hit the ground running,” said Patrice McCarron of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association. “He is well prepared to lead on day one.” He said the industry may not always agree with him, but that he’s willing to listen and wants to work more closely with them. “As a scientist, I was always the one throwing a hand grenade into the room and now I’m the one who has to jump on it,” Wilson said. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:20
Lobster industry breathes sigh of relief as tariff threat walked back for now
The ongoing threat of U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods and exports has been unpredictable. While lobster fishers are used to navigating rough waters, some say this level of uncertainty is becoming hard to navigate. “We’re definitely watching the bottom-line more,” said Tommy Amirault, a lobster and halibut fisherman from Lower East Pubnico, N.S. “We’re watching what we’re spending on bait, what we’re spending on traps and some of those are baked in.” Fishers like Amirault have been keeping a close eye on Canada-U.S. trade relations. The threat of a 25 per cent U.S. tariffs on seafood exports would be devastating, he said. “I don’t know any part of the industry that can handle a 25 per cent loss,” said Amirault. When U.S. President Donald Trump held back on imposing tariffs on the seafood industry yesterday it came as a huge relief. Video, more, >>Click TO READ<< 19:05
DFO releases ‘optimistic’ northern cod stock assessment
The latest northern cod stock assessment from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is more optimistic than last year’s, according to scientists. The stock is currently about twice the limit reference point, and the department says there’s a greater than 99 per cent probability it’s still above the critical zone in Newfoundland and Labrador. The limit reference point marks the boundary between what’s considered critical and cautious. Cautious and healthy zones were not specified in the assessment’s release on Thursday because an upper stock reference has not been established yet. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 16:03
U.S. Shrimp Industry Hails New Tariffs as Crucial Lifeline
In a move aimed at protecting American jobs and ensuring food security, the Trump Administration has announced new tariffs on major shrimp-supplying countries, a decision praised by the Southern Shrimp Alliance. “We’ve watched as multigenerational family businesses tie up their boats, unable to compete with foreign producers who play by a completely different set of rules,” said John Williams, executive director of the Southern Shrimp Alliance. “We are grateful for the Trump Administration’s actions today, which will preserve American jobs, food security, and our commitment to ethical production.“ Unfair trade policies that disadvantage American shrimpers include billions of dollars in subsidies from international financial institutions to develop foreign shrimp aquaculture, along with widespread use of forced labor, banned antibiotics, and environmental destruction that reduce the cost of shrimp production in major supplying countries. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:39
First Nations convoy targeting N.S. elver rivers to protest DFO as lawlessness returns to fishery
A convoy of dozens of vehicles has been showing up at rivers along the Eastern and South shores, where its occupants have fished elvers en masse without licences. Commercial elver licence holders and sources within DFO have said the fishers originate from the Sipekne’katik First Nation. The convoy appears to be targeting rivers assigned to commercial licence holders, including the Fitzroy River in Hubbards, the Medway River near Liverpool and the Meteghan River in Southwest Nova Scotia. Stanley King of Atlantic Elver said that his fishers were met by a convoy of 40 vehicles when they showed up to fish the Fitzroy River on Sunday. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:42
Seafood producers confident in court challenge against N.L. government, fisheries union
The Association of Seafood Producers had its first day in court on Wednesday, challenging the Newfoundland and Labrador government and fisheries union over what it calls “political interference” during price setting negotiations ahead of the snow crab season. The court challenge was prompted when Fisheries Minister Gerry Byrne moved the price setting deadline to April 13, following a request from the Fish, Food and Allied Workers union. The ASP says Byrne acted contrary to the Fishing Industry Collective Bargaining Act and turned to the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador to quash the date change. “If the minister’s decision is quashed, and we expect it to be because he broke the law, then we’re in the situation where we don’t have a minister’s date,” ASP executive director Jeff Loder told reporters outside of the courthouse on Wednesday. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:40
Rebuilding, Maine-Style
Last winter, after more than 40 years of selling lobster out of the red-trimmed shack right by the ferry terminal at Lincolnville Beach, Rick McLaughlin was moving his business into a full-blown restaurant space. The Maine Department of Transportation had agreed to buy his shack — a frequent hub for no-nonsense Islesboro commuters and meandering tourists alike — to make room for more ferry terminal parking. Rick was moving just up and over Route 1 to take over the old Chez Michele building, where an upstairs dining room, seasoned with years of service, offered a view of the water and plenty of small-town charm. But days after the sale closed, the first of last winter’s massive storms tore through, flooding the restaurant. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:14
Anti-offshore wind fishing group backed by right-wing money eyes support from Maine towns
Since its founding three years ago, the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association has been a vocal opponent of offshore wind and relied on funding from a right-wing advocacy group connected to one of the most influential conservative activists in the U.S. Now, the fishermen’s organization known as NEFSA is looking to diversify its revenue sources by asking coastal communities in Maine for financial support. Jerry Leeman is the founder and CEO of NEFSA. And for the past three years he’s been the star of an advocacy campaign that’s led him up and down the northeast coast to preach against offshore wind. Leeman and NEFSA have been making some noise. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:23
Chinook harvest limit down nearly 40 percent from last year
The harvest allocation for king salmon in Southeast Alaska is lower than the region’s commercial trollers expected. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced Tuesday (4-1-25) that 130,800 treaty Chinook salmon will be available this year for all Southeast fisheries, down almost 40% from last year’s allocation. From that total, trollers are allowed to catch 92,700 king salmon. The balance of treaty salmon goes primarily to sport anglers. Sitkan Matt Donohoe is the vice chair of the Alaska Trollers Association. “We heard that it’s going to be lower than last year, but we didn’t know how much,” “It’s a devastating number. It’s the worst ever. I mean, what industry can afford a 40% reduction?” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 19:11
Alaskan Communities Use Flexibility in Snow Crab Fishery Alaskan Communities for Economic Relief
The Alaska Bering Sea snow crab fishery is open for the first time in 2 years after a sharp decline in the crab population caused fishery closures. Participants have banded together with NOAA Fisheries to use regulatory flexibilities to help the fishery operate smoothly. While the species shows signs of recovery, it is still in low abundance. There are continued challenges for harvesters, processors, and small coastal communities who depend on the fishery for their income and way of life. We estimate that more than 10 billion snow crabs disappeared from the Bering Sea from 2018 to 2021 due to a marine heatwave and ecological shifts in the region. The snow crab fishery is an important economic driver in Alaska, generating an average of $150 million annually from 2012 to 2021. Disaster relief funding from the Department of Commerce in 2022–2023 provided some assistance to fishing communities. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:47
Hopes for Offshore Wind Are Blowing Away
Welders are hard at work at the Paulsboro Marine Terminal, four years after New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy announced a $250 million investment from offshore wind energy companies in a new manufacturing facility. But instead of putting together massive monopiles to prop up wind turbines off the Jersey Shore, they’re taking them apart to sell for scrap. In 2023, Ørsted, a Danish wind developer, announced it was pulling out of two planned wind projects that would have provided about 2,200 megawatts of energy to New Jersey. Earlier this year, Shell announced it was canceling a $1 billion investment in another offshore wind project in the state. A few days later, Murphy announced that his administration wouldn’t put any more state money into offshore wind. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:28
Macduff Shipyards completes latest new build fishing vessel Gracious
Macduff Shipyards has completed its latest new build fishing vessel. Gracious (PD 103) is a new design of fishing boat arranged for twin rig trawling and is expected to fish in the North Sea region, primarily targeting prawns. Upon initial discussion of the new build, the decision was taken to develop a new hull form, with the aim of providing good sea keeping qualities, high propulsion efficiency, as well as improved living conditions for the crew onboard. Photos, specifications, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:36
Judge says DFO acted unfairly in coming to 2023 elver quota decision
A federal judge has ruled the Department of Fisheries and Oceans did not adequately consult with commercial groups that fish for juvenile eels along Maritime rivers when in 2023 it plucked nearly 14 per cent of their quota and gave it to First Nations. The ruling, which found the quota decision to be “procedurally unfair,” is a small victory in Federal Court for licence holders who have been at loggerheads with DFO over its handling of the fishery and have launched several legal challenges in recent years. The lucrative fishery has been the source of tension and violence in recent years as prices soared due to demand in Asia where the tiny eels, known as elvers, are shipped live and then raised in aquaculture facilities for food. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:21
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 50′ x 23′ 6″ Novi Lobster/Scalloper, 650HP CAT C18-ACERT Diesel
To review specifications, information, with 56 photos, >click here<. To see all the boats in this series >click here<. 06:09
Gulf Coast shrimpers say bring on Trump’s tariffs: ‘This industry is dying’
It’s been four months since Henry Barnes, the mayor of this struggling fishing village in southern Alabama, wrote to Donald Trump for help. A flood of cheap imported shrimp is killing the local seafood market, he wrote, thanks to “low and non-existent tariffs.” He invited Trump, for whom he voted, to come visit Bayou La Batre, known as Alabama’s Seafood Capital. But thus far he hasn’t heard back. “He’ll eventually get around to us,” said Barnes, a third-generation net-maker. “I mean, we’re just a small town.” In February, Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., sent a letter asking Trump to assist the state’s seafood industry by imposing tariffs of up to 100% on shrimp and crawfish imports. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:39
UK rejects EU plan to tie defense pact tie defense pact
The British government has rejected an EU plan to tie talks on fishing rights to other topics in Keir Starmer’s EU reset — including a defense and security pact. Speaking on Tuesday U.K. Fishing Minister Daniel Zeichner told a parliamentary committee there would be “no linkage” between fishing negotiations and talks in other areas like security or reduced border checks for goods. EU governments have hinted that agreement on fishing is their price to give ground on Keir Starmer’s own priorities and say the issues should be dealt with as a package. But Zeichner told a hearing of the U.K. parliament’s Environment Committee: “The French will say what they will say, but we are absolutely determined to stand up for the interests of the U.K. fishing industry.” more. >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:27
Oregon’s Dungeness crab fuels families, $68M a year industry
For many people, when Dungeness crab is on the menu, it’s a go-to in Oregon. It’s a savory treat that fuels a multi-million dollar a year industry in the state. “If I could, I’d eat it every day,” said Jared Reeves, a crab fisherman out of Coos Bay, whose spent much of his life on a boat, fishing with family. It’s a tradition that not only supports the state economy, but also families up and down the Oregon coast, like Reeves’. According to numbers from the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission, commercial crabbing has over the last decade pulled in an average of more than $68 million a year. Typically, Dungeness crab fishing brings in more money than every other type of fishing in Oregon, said Crystal Adams, the executive director of the commission, which supports and promotes the state’s crabbing industry. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:39
Off to court: Why NL crab processors have filed a Supreme Court application claiming political interference
The Association of Seafood Producers has formally taken legal action against Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture Minister Gerry Byrne and FFAW-Unifor over the delay in determining a pricing formula for snow crab. The ASP has filed an application before the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador, seeking a prerogative order in respect of Byrne’s decision to allow a delay of the decision to be made by the province’s Standing Fish Price-Setting Panel. The decision was already bumped back once to allow representatives to attend the Boston seafood show, considered a key event due to the tariff war, but was bumped back again shortly before the deadline this past weekend. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:47
All Sides Struggling to Find Common Ground for Potential Compensation Package
Compensation talks among the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, US Wind, Worcester County and commercial fishermen have reached a stalemate. As US Wind continues its efforts to buy two properties in the West Ocean City harbor, DNR is working on a deal for commercial fishermen who would be impacted. Those talks have been ongoing for nearly a year, and on Friday, March 28, DNR met with Worcester County officials and commercial fishermen, hoping to iron out the details before coming to a final agreement. Commercial fisherman Sonny Gwin was at Friday’s meeting. He said money and a new fish house are not the solution here. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:45
DOGE DISCOVERS SHOCKING EXPERIMENTS TO TURN MANATEE’S INTO MANASHE’S By Jane Lovgren
In a shocking revelation today, Elon Musk announced that his Department of Government Efficiency had discovered an incredibly disturbing use of taxpayer money by the National Institute of Health to transform endangered Manatee’s into Manashe’s. The project has been ongoing since 2012, starting during the Obama administration, at the urging of “Big Mike”, a shadowy figure with close ties to the President. While DOGE is still wading through the complex funding mechanisms, they have documented over fifty million dollars spent on this experiment, the purpose of which was to save the Manatees from extinction by allowing them to impregnate themselves, thus eliminating the need for males altogether. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 05:30
Jack Merrill steps down from lobster board after 40 years
After roughly 40 years, Jack Merrill has stepped down from his seat on the Board of Directors of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA), where he has spent the last several decades representing the lobstering community of Little Cranberry Island. The MLA, which according to its website is the oldest fishing industry association on the East Coast, “advocates for a sustainable lobster resource and the fishermen and communities that depend on it.” The decision to leave his post with the MLA was one Merrill had been contemplating for some time. “It is quite a time commitment,” he said, “But well worth it.” But before leaving, he wanted to make sure there would still be a voice on the board for the Little Cranberry lobstering community. “I wanted the island to still have representation,” he said, adding that a younger perspective will be a valuable addition to the board. He found that in Richard Howland of Islesford, who was elected to the board to take Merrill’s place. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 16:36
ASP takes provincial government to court, alleging ‘political interference’ over pushing crab price deadline
The Association of Seafood Producers is accusing the Newfoundland and Labrador government of interfering in the price setting process for the annual snow crab harvest, and it’s launching legal action against the province as well as the Fish, Food and Allied Workers union. The deadline for price setting was April 1, but last week Fisheries Minister Gerry Byrne shifted the date to April 13. According to documents filed at the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador, the ASP has turned to the courts to quash that order. “This matter is urgent. The fishery was to have started on April 1, 2025. The fisheries minister had improperly interfered with the operation of the panel as the purported date change in ultra vires,” wrote lawyer Stephen Penney in the ASP’s application. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:06
Blue crab management plan revision runs into rough waters
A proposal to limit commercial fishers’ harvest of blue crabs treads rough waters after advisory committees to the state Marine Fisheries Commission agreed the rule should not move forward. The North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries’ recommendation targets catch of mature female crabs. The proposed move comes as fisheries officials are looking to manage a species they say has been on a decline in the state’s coastal waters. Earlier this month, the commission’s northern and southern regional advisory committees and the shellfish/crustacean advisory committee, voted in separate meetings to keep the current rules detailed in Amendment 3 of the Blue Crab Fishery Management Plan. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:45
