Daily Archives: October 11, 2019

USCG offers Commercial Fishermen Marine Safety/Survival Training, asking Oregon fishermen to sign up

The Coast Guard has scheduled marine safety and survival training in five different cities along the Oregon Coast and is offering six separate two-day trainings beginning Oct. 24. The trainings are designed for commercial fishermen, not the general public, and are scheduled to be held on the following dates, at the following locations and with the following contacts for scheduling and questions: >click here to read more information<  18:02

U.S., China Reach Substantial ‘Phase One’ Trade Deal

The U.S. and China agreed on the outlines of a partial trade accord Friday that President Donald Trump said he and China’s Xi Jinping could sign as soon as next month. As part of the deal, China would significantly step up purchases of U.S. agricultural commodities, agree to certain intellectual-property measures and concessions related to financial services and currency,  The agreement marks the largest breakthrough in the 18-month trade war that has hurt the economies of both nations. Importantly, Trump said the deal was the first phase of a broader agreement. >click to read< 16:34

Bill to ban catching perch for profit has Saginaw Bay fishing company worried

Despite the sunny skies and the good catch, a shadow hangs over the boat. A trio of bills in the state House would, in part, stop commercial fishing of yellow perch and impose stricter regulations on commercial fishing. That worries Lakon Williams, whose family operates Bay Port Fish Co., which is based on the western shore of the Thumb, about 40 miles northeast of Bay City. “It would take away a fishery that we’ve had rights to since the 1800s, the yellow perch fishery. It’s always been a commercial fish in Saginaw Bay for us, it’s never been taken away,” she said. Video, 50 photo’s. >click to read< 15:16

Candidates Face Off for East Hampton Town supervisor and town board

The debate, sponsored by the East Hampton Group for Good Government, saw discussion of a familiar range of topics including the proposed offshore wind farm, affordable housing, the board’s plan to relocate the town’s shellfish hatchery from Montauk to a residential area in Springs, the near-constant traffic to and from East Hampton Airport in the summer months, and other environmental and quality-of-life issues. Bonnie Brady, executive director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, said that “the whole point” of the wind farm “is to shave peak,” or offset electricity demand during peak periods, “and improve resiliency. It does neither.” >click to read< 13:47

North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for October 10, 2019

Legislative updates, Bill updates, Calendar, >Click here to read the Weekly Update<, to read all the updates >click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here< 12:47

Collision Course: Offshore Wind Turbines Destroying Scotland’s Fishing Industry

Britain’s trawlermen are tough, but not invincible. Giant industrial wind turbines and their associated infrastructure have wrecked once productive fishing grounds, including the scallop beds of the Moray Firth. Dodging turbines in rough seas is bad enough: Collision Course: Offshore Wind Turbines Present New (Unnecessary) Mortal Danger for Trawlermen,  But having nets and fishing gear snagged on and destroyed by the turbines’ transmission cables is a bridge too far. >click to read< 11:26

Huffman Gets Bleak Input on Fisheries

On Oct. 5, North Coast Congressman Jared Huffman held a public meeting in Arcata to discuss updating the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA), the federal legislation that governs ocean fishing. Huffman brought together a roundtable of regional and local officials, a Humboldt State University professor and a few representatives of the local fishing industry to offer feedback on the failings — and successes — of the MSA.  >click to read< 10:22

New York sues U.S. Commerce Department over commercial fluke fishery quotas

New York State has filed a federal lawsuit against the U.S. Commerce Department challenging the “unlawful and unfair” 2020-2021 quota allocated to New York in the commercial fluke (summer flounder) fishery, Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Attorney General Letitia James announced yesterday. New York is seeking a revised allocation that would give the state’s commercial fishing industry an equitable share based on current — not 40-year-old — fluke fisheries data. >click to read< 09:48

Green Party responds to FISH-NL questionnaire

When it comes to issues impacting Newfoundland and Labrador’s inshore fishery, the Green Party of Canada opposes a seal cull, but is open to the concept of an Atlantic Fisheries Accord. The Green party made its stand known in response to a September questionnaire prepared by the Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL), and sent to the federal parties in a lead up to the Oct. 21st federal election. >click to read<  08:53