Daily Archives: October 20, 2022
BBC documentary examines mass crab die off on Teesside coast and what has happened since
A TV documentary examining the impact of the mass crab and lobster die off on the Teesside coast is set to air. We Are England: Trouble at Sea looks at the events of last October and what has happened since. In it, film makers speak to fishermen, conservationists, the Tees port authority PD Ports and scientists to document the effects of the worrying occurrence, the subsequent investigation and the theories on its cause that have been an ongoing source of dispute. Teessiders will know huge piles of crabs, lobsters and shellfish began to wash up on beaches around the Redcar and Markse areas as well as Hartlepool a year ago before washing down the coast as far as Whitby. They were seen in piles that were waist deep in some places and most were dead or dying.>click to read< 21:32
A fish that sparked a national obsession
Bacalhau (salt cod) is a deep part of Portugal’s culinary identity. But for a fish that is found only in the icy depths of the North Atlantic Ocean, far from Portugal’s shores, the country’s love affair with salt cod is a puzzling one. How exactly did it end up on Portuguese plates? The answer is wrapped up in more than 500 years of intriguing history. In the mid-1500s, during Portugal’s maritime explorations and hunt to find the coast of India, they stumbled across waters rich with cod around Canada and Greenland; a major discovery that kickstarted Portuguese cod fishing. But by the 16th Century, Portuguese fishermen were pushed out by the French and English. >click to read< 18:14
Science fishery or FFAW quota, DFO refusal to release catch data from sentinel fisheries raises conflict of interest concerns
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador accuses Fisheries and Oceans of treating the FFAW-run, science-based sentinel cod fisheries like a commercial quota in refusing to release catch data — raises serious conflict of interest concerns. “DFO says on one hand the sentinel fisheries are for science, but on the other hand refuses to release details under federal Treasury Board guidelines for the release of commercial catch information,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director. “DFO seems to be saying the FFAW has a cod quota, which raises serious questions of conflict of interest between the union and inshore owner-operators.” >click to read< 15:16
ODFW public meeting highlights whale entanglement
Caren Braby, Marine Resources Program Manager for ODFW says the annual meeting covers vast topics relevant to the crabbing fleet, but it’s now become more urgent to focus the conversation on entanglements. “There have been an increased level of entanglements in crab gear over about the last seven years.” And as crabbers prepare for the upcoming Dungeness Crab season open on December 1, ODFW is gathering input from crabbers on just how well efforts are going to decide if a change in approach is needed. >click to read< 14:08
A good story about a good man – Legendary Captain Joe Rose
Captain Joe Rose of Beaufort is a rare breed of fisherman. He is one of the few remaining owner-operators in the Atlantic Coast fleet of ocean-going draggers that ply the waters from Cape Hatteras to the Grand Banks near Nova Scotia. He talks about underwater topography and place names unfamiliar to the average landlubber: Hudson Canyon. New York Gully. Monster Ledge. Baltimore Canyon. Closing in on his 72nd birthday, Captain Rose is hanging up his oilskins. He took his last trip before Christmas. He sold his 86 foot steel trawler Susan Rose to The Town Doc in Port Judith, Rhode Island, a wholesale seafood company whose motto is Holding Squid to a Higher Standard. >click to read< 09:23
Boycott the avoiders
It’s time to boycott restaurants and other places that take lobster off their menu to save the North Atlantic right whale. Restaurants and stores that take their advice from the Monterey Bay Aquarium, 3,280 miles down the line, and put lobster on their avoid list should be boycotted. This action should be directed at places such as the compliant Whole Food Stores and The Cheesecake Factory, both with franchises on the North Shore. In addition, for those using meal kits from the New York-based Blue Apron, or the largest meal kit operator in America, the German HelloFresh company — stop. If you travel, shun establishments which avoid lobster. and tell your friends and relatives at home and around the country to do the same. Why? Because lobstermen play by the rules, fish by the rules, and shouldn’t be punished for doing so. By Jack Clarke, >click to read< 08:22
Wind turbine goes on fire off Wicklow coast after lightning strike
Dramatic images showing a wind turbine on fire off the Wicklow coast have been shared on social media after lightning strikes and thunder across the country. It has been reported the offshore turbine, located approximately 10km off the coast of Arklow, caught fire after being struck by lightning earlier today. A spokesperson for the Irish Coast Guard confirmed that they had responded to reports of the fire, which began to circulate at approximately 12.30pm. It has been reported that the owners/operators of the turbine, GE Energy, decided to let the fire run its course. >click to read< 07:18
