Daily Archives: August 29, 2021
Mismanaged Since 1949 II: DFO wants to clear the air about the role of seals and focus on ecosystems. Lol.
DFO estimates the Northwest Atlantic harp seal population at 7.6 million, the highest on record (based on 2017 data), at more than triple the population of 50 years ago and still steadily increasing. But Mr. Russell’s concerns are at odds with DFO science, which says the harp seal population is not a major factor in declining fish stocks. Instead, DFO officials offer a different explanation, one that’s harder for local fishermen to accept: that climate change is at the root of the problem. DFO officials held a technical briefing at the end of June to address what they described as “misinformation” about the impacts of seals on fish such as Atlantic cod and capelin in Newfoundland and Labrador waters. During the one-hour briefing, geared toward media, the officials presented the North Atlantic seal as less of a scoundrel and more of a scapegoat. >click to read< 21:12
Protest Photo’s: More than 125 boats in “Save the Bay” flotilla today
More than 125 boats participated in a “Save the Bay” flotilla today to protest plans by American Aquafarms to place a massive industrial salmon farm in Frenchman Bay, just off Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. The boat parade included many working lobster boats and a variety of pleasure craft. Organizers called the size of the boat parade unprecedented and said it demonstrates the depth of opposition to the salmon farm from people all around the bay. >click to see the photos< 17:50
Mismanaged Since 1949! – A primer on fishing failures
Both the federal and municipal elections heighten our interest in whether or not fishery issues will, at last, be tackled in this province. Perhaps those running for elected positions need a primer on how our fishery was decimated over the past 70 years since Canada took over management of this resource following Newfoundland and Labrador’s Confederation entry in 1949. Hopefully, it will counter the current PR that is being disseminated by DFO, which wants Canadians to believe that it is not the department that has failed our province and our communities, but that the destruction has come from climate change, changes in water temperatures and other uncontrollable factors accounting for the demise of our once great fishery resource. There are still many, including myself, who have worked in the industry all these decades and witnessed first-hand and know full well that DFO has mismanaged our fishery since 1949. >click to read<, By Gus Etchegary, St. John’s 13:30
PFD Reminder for Fishing Crews Following Report on Scallop Boat Sinking Incident That Cost Two Lives
The Department of Transport has issued a new Marine Notice on the correct use of lifejackets or personal flotation devices PFD’s on fishing vessels. It follows the report earlier this month from the Maritime Casualty Investigation Board into the sinking of the FV Alize off Hook Head early last year. Two fishermen died after the F/V Alize sank while fishing for scallops out of Duncannon, Co Wexford on 4 January 2020. Joe Sinnott was recovered from the scene by the Irish Coast Guard’s Waterford-based helicopter Rescue 117 but was later pronounced dead at University Hospital Waterford. >click to read< 12:04
Why Are The Chum Runs So Low? It’s not just an Alaskan/Yukon phenomenon.
The State of Alaska has closed fishing for chum to protect the runs. For Yukon River families, chum is particularly important. Chinook salmon have been low for decades, but chum were the fish families could depend on until last year, when the summer chum run dropped below half of its usual numbers. This year the run dropped even further, to record lows. Biologist Katie Howard with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game said that the chum declines are not just occurring in the Yukon River. “When we talk to colleagues in the lower 48 and Canada, Japan, Russia, they are all reporting really poor chum runs. So it’s not just a Yukon phenomenon. It’s not just an Alaska phenomenon, but pretty much everywhere,” So why are the chum numbers so low? The short answer is no one really knows for sure. >click to read< 10:38
Hurricane Ida at near-Category 5 intensity as Louisiana braces for landfall
Hurricane Ida explosively intensified overnight into a high-end Category 4 storm, and is bringing “catastrophic effects” to Louisiana as it gears up to be the strongest hurricane to make landfall in the state’s recorded history. The latest: As of 8 a.m. ET, the storm’s center was located about 100 miles southeast of Houma, Louisiana, and was moving northwest at 15 mph. Maximum sustained winds were measured by aircraft to be 150 mph, just shy of Category 5 intensity. The big picture: Ida intensified at an astonishing rate early Sunday, leaping from a 105 mph Category 2 storm at 11 p.m. ET Saturday to the cusp of Category 5 intensity as it spun closer to the southeastern coast of Louisiana. >click to read< 09:32
Kids in Elsipogtog sponsored to play hockey in honour of late fisherman, ‘Our Jumbo’
Captain Craig (Jumbo) Sock was a hockey defenceman and lifelong hockey fan, his favourite team being the Chicago Blackhawks. So when fellow fisherman Joshua Noel Millea decided to do something to honour his friend, who is believed to have died when his fishing boat capsized last year, it only made sense to incorporate hockey. “In memory of my brother man Jumbo … I would like to sponsor one kid for the upcoming hockey season,” >click to read< 08:42
