Daily Archives: November 20, 2020

Maine Governor Janet Mills plans to create 1st floating offshore wind research farm in US

Gov. Janet Mills said Friday that she plans to create the nation’s first floating offshore wind research farm in the Gulf of Maine,,, The site of the array, which is expected to contain up to a dozen floating wind turbines, is undetermined but will be 20 to 40 miles offshore in an area that would allow a connection to the mainland electric grid for the southern half of the state.,, Mills has directed the Governor’s Energy Office to collaborate with the commercial fishing industry and other state agencies,,, >click to read< 18:10

Whitby’s trawlermen urge the government to stand firm in the ongoing Brexit fishing rights negotiations

Richard Brewer has fished out of Whitby for decades. In the last 22 years he has had his son by his side, also called Richard. During those years both say they have seen the destruction of the British fishing industry, which they now want back. Indeed Richard Jr. said “when I was at school this harbour had more than 20 trawlers, now there’s only one… ours. That can’t be right.” His father has always felt that the fishing industry was “sold down the river” when Britain first entered the EU and he blames the European quota system for ruining the sector. Video, >click to read< 14:52

Shipwrecked in storm, retired fisherman gets unexpected rescue in Southeast Alaska

When a retired Southeast Alaska fisherman found himself adrift after his boat suddenly sank in a storm, he didn’t expect to be rescued. But a gadget on board alerted the Coast Guard, saving the 70-year-old man’s life. The man was 70-year-old retired fisherman Kurt Brodersen. “It never occurred to me anybody was gonna come and get me,” The hatch cover was floating off, and I got on the hatch cover,” But when I got about halfway across Union Bay, I saw this red light in the sky,,,  Although Brodersen says he hadn’t checked the batteries in the rescue beacon in a few years, his EPIRB was still working. >click to read< 11:51

Florida: One month into stone crab season, and there’s good news from the docks and markets

Fishermen are reporting a strong supply while markets and restaurants are saying customer demand is just as promising. “It’s been an outstanding season so far,” said Kelly Kirk, owner of Kirk Fish Company.  For customers, that means good news: Prices have held steady compared to last year. And large claws, usually more elusive, have been especially abundant, Kirk said.  The strong landings come despite new restrictions imposed by the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission aimed at protecting the stone crab population after years of declining harvests. Kirk said those declines aren’t being seen this season. “We’re seeing the opposite of that, actually,” Kirk said. “Had COVID not hit and the whole market turned upside down (last year), we probably would have broken records as far as production. >click to read< 10:34

I am a Fisherman! WTF are you? Not a fisherperson, or a fisher!

Chloe-Louise Chesswas, 29, prefers to be known as a fisherman and says the politically correct alternative will never catch on. Chloe-Louise is believed to be one of just six female fishermen in Britain and has been doing the job for three years. The 5ft 4in mother of two is a deckhand and potter on a crab potting boat based out of Salcombe, Devon. But she said the term championed by the BBC would not catch on and that, if anything, it took away from equality. “I am 100 per cent a fisherman. There is no such thing as a fisherwoman. We are all fishermen. “It is a gender neutral word. >click to read< 09:25

True stories from a fishing photographer – The lens doesn’t lie. Fishermen on the otherhand…

Photographing commercial fishing takes a special sort of person — one who doesn’t mind the salty spray of waves, the blood and slime of fish and the “colorful” nature many fishermen possess. Chris Miller, an acclaimed photographer who lives in Douglas, is such a man. Some say Neptune himself molded Miller in his own form and set him forth on his destiny to roam the oceans with a camera in one hand and a trident in the other. When asked about this legend, Miller gets a faraway look as he stares out on the ocean. “I’m a fisherman. I’ll only lie to you,” he says. photos, >click to read< 08:12