Tag Archives: federal lawsuit
Bering Sea fish bounty brings help, headaches for trawlers
A federal lawsuit filed this year by two Alaska tribal organizations — the Association of Village Council Presidents and Tanana Chiefs Conference — seeks a court order to force federal regulators to reassess pollock harvest levels. The plaintiffs note the pollock nets, which often touch bottom, may harm crabs and other sea life and also cite the trawlers’ incidental take of salmon. The lawsuit is opposed by the At-Sea Processors Association, a group that includes Coastal Villages and had intervened in the case on the side of the federal government. “We felt compelled to do it. We don’t have any negative feelings towards them. But we think it’s kind of a misguided effort,” said Eric Deakin, Coastal Villages CEO, who works out of an Anchorage headquarters office. Photos, >>click to read<< 09:20
Rhode Island fishermen fear offshore wind farm project could jeopardize thriving squid industry
On the coast of Narragansett lies the pulse of the Rhode Island fishing industry. Dozens of boats travel to sea multiple times a day to reel in fish, which are then brought back to shore to be processed at fish houses and packaged for sale. Squid dominates the fishing industry in Rhode Island, but a group of fishermen worry a major wind farm project will put everything they work for at risk. The concerns prompted SeaFreeze to file a federal lawsuit in 2021 to stop the project, which will place 62 turbines off Martha’s Vineyard to power 400,000 homes. Construction is already well underway and by the end of the year, the installation could produce up to 300 megawatts of power. Video, photos, >>click to read<< 07:53
F/V Orin C Lawsuit – Lawyers say Samaritan, mayor threatened consultant
On Dec. 3, 2015, Capt. David “Heavy D” Sutherland died in the water after his disabled slime-eel boat, the Orin C, sank while under tow by the Coast Guard back into Gloucester Harbor. Now, an ongoing federal lawsuit filed by two surviving Orin C crew members and Sutherland’s estate has erupted with accusations of witness tampering involving Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken and fisherman Philip Powell of Swampscott, the good Samaritan who is a co-defendant in the case and whose vessel F/V Foxy Lady was the first to come to the aid of the Orin C. The witness is Gloucester Harbormaster T.J. Ciarametaro, who through his Five Fathoms Consulting firm, is retained as an expert witness by plaintiffs’ attorney, Joseph M. Orlando Jr. of the Gloucester firm Orlando & Associates. Orlando’s motion also accuses Gloucester lobsterman Arthur “Sooky” Sawyer, the current president of the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association, of contributing to a pressure campaign against Ciarametaro, a Coast Guard veteran. >click to read< 08:05
How fishermen could thwart Cuomo’s offshore wind master plan
In the mist off New England’s coast, towering alien monoliths pierce the surging waters, soaring 600 to 850 feet above the Atlantic Ocean. Hundreds of these titans, rising up to 200 feet taller than Trump Tower, chop the air with massive blades that are taller than Albany’s Capitol building. Offshore wind turbines like these, Gov. Andrew Cuomo says, are a critical part of his clean energy mandate to generate 50 percent of the state’s electricity from renewable energy. But those humble fishermen are threatening to derail the governor’s goals with a federal lawsuit they believe is their last best shot to save their livelihoods. >click to read<21:41
Vessel owner countersues Cape Ann Seafood Exchange
And this is why they call it a counterclaim. Longtime Gloucester fisherman Giuseppe “Joe” DiMaio has responded to the federal lawsuit filed against him by Kristian Kristensen of the Cape Ann Seafood Exchange, refuting many of the details of Kristensen’s initial action and stating the rift between the two business associates originated with a dispute over fish prices. On Jan. 19, Kristensen sued DiMaio and the ownership corporations of his four fishing boats in U.S. District Court in Boston, alleging DiMaio has failed to pay the approximately $710,000 balance remaining on two personal and corporate loans from Kristensen and his related businesses. >click to read< 21:27
Fishing for Felony
Not often do Alaska’s notorious fish wars take a turn toward jail. Usually they are the source of much stomping and snorting at public meetings, and maybe some gunwale banging at sea. Most often they feature angry set-gillnet fishermen snarling at anglers or troll fishermen ranting against purse seiners and drift gillnetters, or subsistence fishermen mad at everyone not a subsistence fishermen. Rarely, almost never, do these battles turn violent. Unprecedented is the only word to describe a violent encounter at sea that features as the villian a friendly young woman who stars in her own music video and is locally known for her prowess as a downhill skier. >click to read< 09:09
Republican presidential candidate John Kasich to meet with N.H. fishermen
The Ohio governor will meet privately with commercial and recreational fishermen and industry members from 3 to 4 p.m. at Yankee Fisherman’s Cooperative after he holds a noon town hall event at the Lane Memorial Library in Hampton. Kasich became aware of the fishermen’s concern about regulations via a Wall Street Journal op-ed written by David Goethel. The op-ed ran Dec. 27 and detailed Goethel’s current federal lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Commerce and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Read the article here 16:18
Over-regulation threatens New England fishing industry
New Hampshire fishermen locked horns with a federal agency this year over fishing regulations and mandatory costs they said would put them out of business for good. The fight ultimately led to a federal lawsuit filed in December against the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees the nation’s fisheries. The suit challenged the legality of NOAA’s intent to make fishermen pay for observers to monitor their compliance with federal regulations. Fishermen said it was unfair they would be forced to pay for their own policing. Read the article here 11:25
