Daily Archives: February 5, 2022
Newport Rhode Island’s commercial fishing industry faces challenging times
“Different? How are things different? Just look at it.” Gazing out over the water toward downtown Newport from a dock on Long Wharf, Denny Ingram, the burly captain of Blue Moon, is answering my question with a question. “Nothing’s the way it used to be. Nothing.” We’re standing on the last remaining pier dedicated to the city’s commercial fishing industry. The view is crowded with pleasure boats, mid-rise condos and high-end hotels. When Ingram started fishing nearly 40 years ago, the scene was quite different. Today, all of the businesses serving the commercial fishing industry have evaporated. You can’t even get ice locally. >click to read< 17:21
Florida governor to investigate GoFundMe over Canada trucker donations
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis said on Saturday it was fraud for GoFundMe to “commandeer” $9 million in donations sent to support protesting truckdrivers in Canada and that he will investigate what he called “deceptive practices” by the website. GoFundMe took down the so-called Freedom Convoy’s page on Friday, saying it violated its terms of service. It said donors had two weeks to request a refund, then remaining funds would be disbursed to “credible and established charities.” >click to read< 11:44
Plans underway by mother, Yarmouth for memorials to six Nova Scotia fishermen lost at sea
Plans are underway by a mother and the town of Yarmouth, N.S., for memorials to six fishermen who died when their scallop dragger sank off the province’s southwestern coast 14 months ago. Lori Phillips, Aaron Cogswell’s mother, has ordered a stone monument to be installed in the Delaps Cove area as a place to remember her son, and it also has the names and images of the other fishermen on it. She used funeral funds provided by the Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia, and some of her own money, to pay the $6,000 cost of the stone monument, which was delivered at a reduced price. On the stone is a photo of the dragger and photos of all the crew, and it is written, “these six men held important roles in the lives near and dear to them.” >click to read< 10:26
Salmon runs: Remove sea lions
Breaching the Snake River dams will not guarantee an improved salmon run. A better suggestion might be to remove the sea lions from the Columbia River and severely restrict fishing as our Canadian neighbors are doing for their Fraser River run. It is difficult for more salmon to get upstream when they are being overfished, and each sea lion consumes 15 to 40 pounds of fish per day. By John Crawford >click to read< 09:21
Graves seeks Federal Fishery Disaster Determination for Louisiana
U.S. Rep. Garret Graves recently urged the Biden Administration to declare a Fishery Disaster Determination that would provide targeted relief to one of Louisiana’s most impacted sectors and help both commercial and recreational fishers begin to recover from myriad disasters. “Our fishermen have taken a pounding over the last several years. Hurricanes, floods, unfair trade practices, over-regulation, and a global pandemic have delivered a major blow to our workforce and consumer demand,” Rep. Graves wrote in a Jan. 20 letter sent to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. Under law, only the Commerce Secretary can make this determination,,, >click to read< 08:18
