Daily Archives: May 6, 2021

Tributes to Cove Fisherman Peter Gray, 64, who died at sea ‘doing the job he loved’

Lifeboat crews from Dunbar and St Abbs, a rescue helicopter from Prestwick and local fishing vessels joined the search for Peter Gray, of Cove, south-east of Dunbar. The 64-year-old dad-of-two and grandfather-of-two was located in the sea,,, His wife of 42 years Betty was very grateful to all the fishermen and volunteers who had joined the search for her husband. She told the Courier “he loved a holiday in the sun” but, as a fisherman, had “no time for hobbies”. Rev Dr. Suzie Fletcher said, “Peter Gray was one of the fifth generation of his family to fish from Cove, and had been out to sea doing the job he loved day in and day out for decades. His loss has left his family, the local community, many circles of fishermen and countless friends in shock. >click to read< 20:06

New Jersey: Testa Bill that Exempts Commercial Fishermen from State Unemployment Tax Advances

The bill, S-3501, would exempt commercial fisherman who are paid on the percentage of fish caught or a percentage of the selling price of those fish from the state unemployment law and its costly tax on earnings. “This bill will be a big help for New Jersey fisheries, an industry that has been hit hard by the pandemic and one that the state’s economy depends on,” said Michael Testa (R-1). “It will allow hard working, skilled fisherman to keep more of their hard-earned income, a change that suits the independent nature of the proud individuals who make their living at sea.” >click to read< 18:34

Joe Biden’s Offshore Wind Farm Mirage – a scam. The costs and impacts are enormous.

The only existing U.S. offshore wind operation features five 6-MW turbines off Rhode Island. Their combined capacity (what they could generate if they worked full-bore, round the clock 24/7) is 30 MW. Mr. Biden is planning 1,000 times more offshore electricity, perhaps split three ways: 10,000 MW for each coast. While that might sound impressive, it isn’t. It means total wind capacity for the entire Atlantic coast, under Biden’s plan, would only meet three-fourths of the peak summertime electricity needed to power New York City. Again, this assumes the blades are fully spinning 24/7.,, How many millions of tons of steel, copper, lithium, cobalt, rare earth elements, concrete, petroleum-based composites (for turbine blades), and other raw materials would be required to manufacture and install the turbines and undersea electrical cables, especially where deep-water turbines are involved? How many billions of tons of ore would have to be mined, crushed,,, not very green, these things! >click to read< 14:43

Two North Atlantic Right Whales detected in the Gulf of St. Lawrence cause a season long fishing area closure

As a result, an area east of the Iles-de-la-Madeleine is closed to fishing activities until Nov. 15, while some surrounding areas will close at 5 p.m. on Saturday until further notice. DFO provided a 72-hour notice because of the weather forecast and to allow time for fishing gear to be removed. The crab fishing area known as 12F, east of the Iles-de-la-Madeleine, remains under a 15-day closure that began after the first whale of the year was spotted in late April. >click to read< 13:22

Council Comment Cancel Culture – NPFMC, citing profanity, tightens public comment policy

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council says recent profane comments had prompted the move. Some fishermen and community organizers say that’s a bunch of bull. For all the controversy and emotion that can accompany fisheries debates, the federal council that manages fisheries in the North Pacific says it hadn’t ever received public comments with explicit language, until last month.,, Linda Behnken, says she’s never seen the council move so quickly. “I mean, never seen them bring something up, take action, boom, done without more opportunity for meaningful engagement,” >click to read< 11:42

F/V Nicola Faith: Family of fishermen who died on sunken vessel donate £11,500 to RNLI

Family members of Carl McGrath, the skipper of Nicola Faith presented the gift to staff at Llandudno Station. The £11,500 was raised by family and friends of the three crew members who all died when the boat went missing off the coast of Conwy in January. The family met some of the volunteers who helped search for Carl and his two crewmates Ross Ballantine and Alan Minard. Llandudno RNLI volunteers, along with Rhyl, Conwy, Beaumaris and Hoylake RNLI crews collectively spent over 90 hours searching for the missing vessel. On Wednesday 5 May, Carl’s mum Julie, sister Lauren and partner Jake Cox said a personal thank you to the crew whilst handing over the donation. >video, photos, click to read< 10:17

CRASH, BANG, SCALLOP! – Warships off the coast! French trawler rams UK boat as Jersey fishing stand-off escalates

Britain and France have both dispatched warships to the Channel island of Jersey Thursday amid concerns of a possible blockade of the island by French boats, a dramatic escalation in a row over rights to fish in the waters post-Brexit. >click to read<French trawler rams UK boat – The British ship owned by Jonathan Ruff was hit by the French vessel Lasgot as he went out to sea as a blockade of French boats arrived near St Helier marina. Fisherman Josh Dearing described the appearance of the French boats, some letting off flares, as “like an invasion” and he welcomed the presence of Royal Navy ships in the region. video, photos, >click to read<  CRASH, BANG, SCALLOPS – Jonathan Ruff’s boat was bashed in the stern by the French vessel Lasgot as he bravely went out to sea to face the group of 100 “invaders”. Video, photos, >click to read<   09:04

Taking a Pause – Ropeless fishing gear bill gets put on hold

The legislative push for ropeless gear in the Dungeness crab fishing industry is taking a pause after the Assembly bill’s author was sworn in as California’s 34th attorney general. Authored by Assembly member Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) in collaboration with Social Compassion in Legislation and the Center for Biological Diversity, the bill argued that fishermen use antiquated trapping gear that harms marine life. California Coast Crab Association President Benjamin Platt said the Center for Biological Diversity “lobbied hard to find somebody else to carry that bill. Platt calls the pause on the Whale Entangle Prevention Act a “David and Goliath moment for California fishers.” >click to read< 07:46