Daily Archives: July 21, 2020
Snow crabbing case over Latvia ends up in international court of arbitration
Peteris Pildegovics and his company North Start LTD, whose trawler was arrested by Norwegian authorities as it was crabbing around the Svalbard (Spitzbergen) archipelago, have filed a complaint with the International Centre for Settlement of Investment Disputes. The applicant argues that by detaining the vessel, Norway has violated Latvia-Norway agreement on the promotion and protection of mutual investment. As reported, a Latvian crab trawler, the Senator, was arrested on January 16, 2017, for fishing snow crab in Norwegian waters around the Svalbard (Spitzbergen) archipelago. The Norwegians insist that the Latvian vessel had been fishing there illegally >click to read< 21:15
Drilling fluid spill from Hibernia platform shuts down production
Newfoundland and Labrador’s offshore regulatory board is reporting a spill of drilling and production fluid from the Hibernia platform during well operations on Sunday, leading to an immediate shutdown of production. The Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board said the spill was reported Monday by the Hibernia Management and Development Company after water sampling indicated an “exceedance of produced water discharge.” Produced water is a mixture of seawater from the reservoir, used in injection, with drilling and production fluids for normal production operations, according to a press release from the C-NLOPB. >click to read< 16:49
Spanish F/V Pesorsa Dos detained in Irish waters and escorted to Killybegs
The F/V Pesorsa Dos was detained by the Irish Naval Service for alleged breaches to fishing regulations in Irish waters around 25 miles off Malin Head on Friday. She arrived at Killybegs on Tuesday morning after it had taken a few days to recover all of her gear. The Spanish owned gill-netter stands accused of attempting to foul the propeller of the local trawler F/V Alison Kay at the end of June during a confrontation 30 miles to the west of Shetland. At the time fishermen shared a number of video clips showing the incident,,, >click to read< 15:50
With demands for an investigation, Skipper describes how local boats are pushed out of fishing grounds – >click to read<
Offshore Wind Farms are new danger for Lake Erie through Governor Cuomo’s Green New Deal
The proposal to install offshore wind turbines on the Eastern side of Lake Erie was brought to my attention during the annual Woodlawn Beach cleanup last September. Since then I have learned much about how negative this would be for Lake Erie and the people and wildlife that depend on it, the protests around the world against these types of projects and the media paywalls that are stifling our knowledge of them. Global developers have called the Great Lakes the “Saudi Arabia of Wind,” and surprisingly, the Sierra Club and other environmental groups that oppose Peace Bridge reconstruction and shoreline development endorse the turbines. Can you see the dollar signs? Can you trust a global industry with our fresh water? By Mary Henson, >click to read< 14:22
Bristol Bay Fisheries Report: July 20, 2020
At 52.6 million, the total bay-wide run is now almost four million above the preseason forecast. It’s also more than a million fish over where it was at this point last year! Almost half of the total run is in the Naknek-Kvichak — at 23 million fish, that district has seen the largest run in the bay, followed by Egegik, at 13.9 million fish. All rivers except Togiak have reached or exceeded their escapement goals. >click to read< 13:08
Stonington 67th Annual Blessing of the Fleet will go on despite Coronavirus pandemic
The 67th annual Blessing of the Fleet with not be a casualty of the COVID-19 pandemic. Unlike other traditional events across the region that have been canceled due to the virus, organizers of the Blessing will hold a scaled back event Sunday morning in the borough that is designed to preserve its most meaningful parts. “It will be short but we want to make sure we honor the fishermen especially since we lost one fishermen this year,” said Mike Crowley of the Blessing of the Fleet Committee. “This is why we do this.” The Blessing prays for the success and safety of local fishermen over the coming year and remembers Town Dock fleet members who have died at sea. Their names are listed on the memorial at the dock. This year’s event will be even more solemn than usual because it was just in April that fisherman Charles Lathrop, 50, of Westerly, died after falling overboard from the local scallop boat F/V Invictus off the coast of New Jersey. >click to read< 11:49
Coronavirus: Commercial Fishing During A Pandemic
My name’s Jake Bunch and I’m a commercial fisherman based out of Half Moon Bay, California. Jake started fishing in 2012. He fishes for king salmon, Dungeness crab, and sablefish, or black cod. Jake says he hasn’t been fishing anywhere near as much as he usually would this time of year. With shelter-in-place and other coronavirus related restrictions there just haven’t been enough buyers and reliable markets to make it worth it. Before COVID, about 75% of commercially fished salmon in California went to restaurants. Now, that market has mostly dried up. >click to read< 10:36
Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak crew medevacs an injured fisherman north of Kodiak Island
At approximately 12:45p.m., Sector Anchorage command center personnel received notification from the wife of the fishing vessel’s master requesting a medevac for an injured crew member. District 17 command center personnel directed the launch of an Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew to respond. At approximately 1:42 p.m., the aircrew landed on a nearby beach and further transported the man to local EMS. “Good communications from the boat, excellent flexibility and the captain’s expert seamanship enabled a very quick pick-up and transfer of the injured fisherman to medical care.” >click to read< 08:02
