Daily Archives: May 28, 2019
Yorkshire shellfishermen call for action as valuable gear destroyed by visiting scallopers
Jason Harrison, from Filey, said local boats had again had hundreds of lobster and crab pots towed away by visiting scallop dredgers from around the UK, as well as French fishing boats. In recent years fishermen have repeatedly complained about losing gear to visiting boats. Mr Harrison also said that as a result of “every man and his dog ploughing the seabed” for the past three months there was nothing left for the handful of local boats. >click to read<19:25
No criminality found in fatal fishing boat sinking
A criminal investigation into the sinking of a fishing boat in which two men died has been dropped, prosecutors have said. The Nancy Glen went down in Loch Fyne near Tarbert, Argyll and Bute, on January 18 last year. Duncan MacDougall, 46, and Przemek Krawczyk, 38, who lived in the village, were on board when the trawler sank. The alarm had been raised by a third fisherman who was pulled from the water by the crew of a passing boat. Now 18 months later, the Crown Office has said there will be no criminal proceedings. >click to read<17:52
Three years on from the Brexit poll NI fishermen still determined to leave EU
For nearly 50 years Northern Ireland’s fishing industry has felt trapped by European Union restrictions on catch quotas and the rights of foreign trawlers to operate in local waters. But Britain’s decision to leave the EU and the effects it will have on local trawlermen now looms large on the horizon for many local skippers. Will Brexit ultimately allow our fleet to free itself from the net of Brussels bureaucracy? Or will local fishermen, who depend heavily on selling highly profitable local prawns to European countries, instead be left in deep water to face the introduction of potentially crippling new export tariffs? >click to read<17:01
Warming waters spark marine migration, fish wars
The warming waters associated with climate change are creating big ripple effects across fishing communities, including in this picturesque seaside town with a long fishing history. Take Joel Hovanesian, who last fall docked his 40-foot trawler at the Port of Galilee, calling it quits after a 42-year career of chasing fish.,,, Up and down the Atlantic coast, commercial fishermen are heading for the exits these days, irked by government rules and regulations that they say haven’t kept pace with the changes. Fishermen have long battled over fish allocations, but the fights have become more intense and complicated due to climate change. As more fish head north in search of cooler waters, fishermen complain that quotas have not kept pace with shifting stocks, making it harder for them to make a living and bring fish to market. >click to read<15:46
The Annual Fleet of Flowers, Depoe Bay on Memorial Day
The annual Fleet of Flowers ceremony originated in Depoe Bay in 1936 to honor Depoe Bay Fishermen Ray Bower and Jack Chamber, who lost their lives in an effort to save their friend Ernest McQueen who with two teenage boys aboard the Norwester, got caught in a storm, Bower and Chamber, just back from a fishing trip on the Cara Lou, spotted the trouble from the bridge and immediately went to help. >Photo’s, click to read<14:30
Electric companies seek proposals for round of wind energy
The three electric distribution companies in Massachusetts have together issued a request for a second round of offshore wind energy, as the winner of the first round – Vineyard Wind – looks to start its project later this year. Eversource, National Grid and Unitil issued the request for proposals May 23. Initial, confidential responses from offshore wind developers are expected by Aug. 9. The utility companies are seeking contracts running from 15 to 20 years for at least 400 megawatts of offshore wind energy. Proposals from 200 megawatts up to 800 megawatts may be submitted. >click to read<13:42
Hit-or-miss hauls end another unpredictable Florida stone crab season
“We knew guys who were fishing 500 traps and would catch less than six or seven pounds,” Gandy said. “Lots of (crabbers) just didn’t do it this year.” Meanwhile, those crabbing to the north, from around New Port Richey to the panhandle, saw some giant hauls, especially early in the season, which started in October. The director of one commercial fishing association described Florida’s season overall as “pretty disastrous,” unless you were between Hudson and Crystal River where “they were breaking records.” “What’s crazy is the rest of the world had a horrible crab season,” >click to read<12:57
How to wreck an industry – Catch shares lead to consolidation of Alaskan fisheries
A recent study documenting consolidation and specialization in Alaska’s fisheries over the past three decades illustrates a broader trend taking hold in coastal communities across the country. Catch share programs, a new fisheries management system, are turning fishing rights into tradable commodities, driving up the cost to fish and consolidating fishing rights into the hands of a few wealthy owners. For instance, in Alaska’s Bering Sea crab fishery, just four companies own 77 percent of the rights to fish a single crab species. >click to read<11:30
