Daily Archives: May 4, 2020

Cape Breton: Lobster fishermen protest delay to the season

About 75 lobster fishermen took to the Canso Causeway Monday, protesting the delay of the lobster season. The fishermen – who motorists going by said weren’t interfering with traffic — held signs on the Cape Breton side, while a few were beyond the bridge behind the guardrail. “The season hasn’t opened, that’s the main reason they are upset,” said Jordan MacDougall, president Inverness South Fisherman’s Association, adding May 1 is their usual season opening. “The Gulf area and P.E.I. have been delayed until May 15. Everyone’s upset about that.” >click to read< 20:12

Md. crabbing industry fears long-term impacts of 2020 visa shortages – “Finding Americans that are willing to do this job, it’s not happening.”

Maryland’s famous crab industry is facing an uphill battle. With another year of visa caps, there’s a severe shortage of migrant workers to work as crab pickers ― and few Americans willing to do the job. This year, Maryland crabbers fear for the life of an industry that has been in their families for generations. Only nine crab processors ― which represent 95% of the state’s crab meat production ― remain in Maryland. The processors ― or picking houses ― rely on about 500 foreign seasonal workers to pick crabmeat each year. To work in the United States those workers need H-2B visas designated for temporary non-agricultural workers. >click to read< 18:54

‘I cannot believe how much we’ve lost.’ N.J. fishermen face tough times with restaurants shut down.

Fish of all shapes, sizes and stripes glisten from stainless holding bins at Belford Seafood Co-Op, reached by a narrow bumpy road that seems to head to the marshy middle of nowhere.,, “The dorado (mahi-mahi) is wild caught from Spain,,, “The rest of it is local, from our boats. We have six different draggers…’’ So expect no punches to be pulled when you ask how the coronavirus has affected the seafood co-op, and the fishermen on its 10 boats. Most of the restaurants that depended on Belford’s fish have shut down, which has wreaked havoc on the co-op’s business. >click to read< 15:31

British Columbia: Independent Seafoods Canada adds second vessel to base in Alberni Inlet

Independent Seafoods Canada Corporation (ISCC) owns the 56-metre (184-foot) Sunderoey, and says it will almost double employment by the time the new trawler is at full deployment. Independent Seafoods has moored the Raw Spirit at the Port Alberni Port Authority (PAPA) property since 2013, and has provided more than 50 direct local jobs to crew as well as 20 more onshore when the ship comes back from its offshore fishing grounds to offload. >click to read< 14:18

2020 Boothbay Harbor lobster boat races canceled

Event organizer Ashlee Lowery announced Sunday, May 3 that the 35th annual Charles Begin Memorial Boothbay Harbor Lobster Boat Races, scheduled for June 20, will be canceled this year, in conjunction with many other local events, due to the recent pandemic. >click to read< 11:19

Queensland Government says it’s done enough for the domestic fishing fleet to weather the coronavirus storm

QSIA CEO Eric Perez described the state government’s response as a shameful position, saying commercial fishermen were only asking for a waiver for 12 months, not forever, and it would significantly assist a struggling industry. “The government knows what pressure we’re under,” he said. “Domestic markets have taken a massive hit that we didn’t see coming, because tourists aren’t going to restaurants to eat.” He said the industry wasn’t seeking a handout, rather relief from regulatory fees. “It appears the state government is hesitant to part with $5.1-$5.2 million to help an industry that generates over $350 million to the state economy.” >click to read< 10:07

Coronavirus: Commercial fishing industry on the ropes as pandemic-era shoppers avoid seafood

Fisherman Marty Scanlon has not returned to his Long Island home since leaving for North Carolina at the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic in New York. Scanlon, a longliner captain from Hauppauge left for North Carolina in early March — roughly the same time the first case of Covid-19 emerged in Manhattan. In the weeks that followed, Gov. Andrew Cuomo ordered most businesses to close, effective March 22, casting a pall over New York City restaurants in a once-bustling culinary capital. Business for Scanlon has been brutal ever since.  “We basically don’t have the money to go home,” Scanlon said, over the phone. “We can’t go home til we pay our bills.” >click to read< 08:32

Why one Islander has been giving palliative care patients lobster for two decades

In 1999 Ray Campbell dropped off his first delivery of lobsters for patients being treated at the palliative care unit in Charlottetown. It’s been an annual tradition ever since. “It’s just the right thing to do, I guess,” said Campbell.  Campbell said up until last year, he was a lobster fisherman operating out of Covehead, P.E.I. Every year he took about 10 market-sized lobsters out of his catch, cooked them and delivered them to the palliative patients.,, Campbell sold his lobster boat last year, and this year P.E.I.’s lobster season has been delayed because of COVID-19, but that didn’t prevent Campbell from making his first delivery. >click to read< 07:53