Daily Archives: October 20, 2020

Coast Guard medevacs fisherman 100 miles off Cold Bay, Alaska

The Coast Guard medevaced a man from a fishing vessel Tuesday approximately 100 miles northwest of Cold Bay. An Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew hoisted the man at 6:55 a.m. and transferred him to awaiting emergency medical services in Cold Bay for further transport to Anchorage. Watchstanders in the 17th District command center in Juneau received the request for the medevac from the fishing vessel Defender at approximately 7 p.m. Monday for a 26 year-old crew member who was experiencing eye and head pain. >click to read< 21:11

CARES Act Funding Available for Maryland Fishing Industry

The Maryland Department of Natural Resources announces applications will be available Nov. 4 for economic relief funds for the commercial seafood industry through the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES), for those who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The application will be available to eligible members of the seafood industry on the Maryland OneStop website. The deadline to apply is Feb. 28, 2021. >click to read< 16:20

Seafood Billionaire Donates To Trump

In the southwest corner of Alaska, next to a line of islands that point across the Bering Sea, sits Bristol Bay, home to one of the most plentiful salmon runs on earth. Nearly 20 years ago, a Canadian company named Northern Dynasty Minerals, started planning for a gold and copper mine nearby, which it has said would create jobs.  While the Canadian company was eager to extract riches from the ground, Chuck Bundrant, the billionaire founder of Trident Seafoods was apparently concerned about how the mine would affect his ability to extract riches from the sea.  “It poses a significant risk to the many families, businesses, and communities that rely upon the natural resources of Bristol Bay,” >click to read< 13:29

We need Stephanie Hawke – Mark Jones

Dear Editor: Being a lobsterman for the last 45 years, I would ask you to support Stephanie Hawke for House Seat 89 in the Maine legislature. In my opinion, never during those years, has the Maine lobster business been in such jeopardy as it is now. The proof is found in several arenas. One is the new rules coming into effect to protect whales at the federal level. Another involves politicians, including our governor, and her green new deal coalition, who are advocating to industrialize the Gulf of Maine with offshore wind power by foreign energy corporations who will be competing for the same area that many lobstermen are currently fishing. >click to read< 11:11

How an Ill-Fated Fishing Voyage Helped Us Understand Coronavirus

F/V American Dynasty, a commercial trawler, departed Seattle one day in May to fish for hake off the Washington coast. Before leaving, its 122 crew members were screened for the coronavirus using the highly accurate polymerase chain reaction (P.C.R.) method, and all the results came back negative. But because those tests are “good but not perfect,” they missed at least one case: Somehow SARS-CoV-2 found its way on board. When a crew member fell seriously ill, the vessel returned to port, and almost everyone was tested for the virus again,,, The finding is believed to be the first direct evidence that antibodies protect against SARS-CoV-2 infection in humans, and it offers clues about what sort of concentrations might be needed to confer immunity. >click to read< 10:24

Sea lions take big bite out of early salmon runs

Early runs of wild spring Chinook salmon returning to the Columbia River are bearing the brunt of sea lion attacks, a new study suggests. The fish arrive in early spring before sea lions have left for summer breeding grounds and when the pinniped population is especially high at the river’s mouth. These salmon see higher mortality rates compared to later runs and the numbers have started to climb even over prior years, corresponding with a growing number of sea lions recorded near Astoria. >click to read< 08:56

Nova Scotia restaurants boycott lobster in response to violence – Steelworkers Union Calls for Resolution

Kourosh Rad, owner of Garden Food Bar and Lounge in Halifax, says he removed his popular lobster-based menu items in support of the province’s Mi’kmaq fishers. Matt Boyle, co-owner of Dear Friend bar in Dartmouth, N.S., removed lobster from his restaurant’s menu last month. “We wanted to remove the lobster roll as a sign of our solidarity but to also expedite conversations of peace or just spread some more awareness,” Boyle said in an interview Monday. >click to read<

Steelworkers Union Calls for Resolution to Lobster Fisheries Dispute – The United Steelworkers union (USW) calls on the federal government to find a resolution to the Nova Scotia lobster fisheries dispute that respects Indigenous treaty rights and ensures community safety. “The federal government cannot stand by as tensions and violence escalate. >click to read< 07:54