Tag Archives: Gulf of Saint Lawrence

Where Did All the Mackerel Go?

Summer in Atlantic Canada can be unreliable, emerging reluctantly from the damp cold of spring. But a sure sign of its arrival is the sudden presence of Atlantic Mackerel, Slipping away is already something of a mackerel specialty as they dart from their winter habitat, in the deep water along the continental shelf stretching from Nova Scotia to North Carolina, to their inshore summer spawning grounds. For the so-called northern contingent, from which the Canadian catch is derived, these spawning grounds are in the Gulf of Saint Lawrence; for their southern counterparts, summer is spent on the mid-Atlantic coast up to the Gulf of Maine. >click to read< 09:55

Crab fishing season off to early start on the Acadian Peninsula

New Brunswick’s snow crab fishers have begun their season. At the wharf in Shippagan, boats prepared to take to the Gulf of Saint Lawrence late Friday despite frigid temperatures and the presence of ice in some places. The season officially began at midnight. For Capt. Renald Guignard, it marked the continuation of a family tradition. The Acadian Peninsula received help from icebreakers from the Canadian Coast Guard and contracted boats to allow access to the waters before endangered North Atlantic right whales arrive. >click to read< 17:30

From the sea floor to the courtroom, the fight to save right whales

The North Atlantic right whale is one of the most endangered species on the planet. Scientists announced last month that there are only about 360 of the animals left, down roughly 50 from the previous year’s survey. They live along the East Coast, from northern Florida to Canada, where the 50-foot-long, 140,000-pound leviathans must navigate through millions of commercial fishing lines primarily, lobster traps, and one of the world’s most crowded shipping channels. Too often they become tangled in those lines, or are struck by a ship, (Ships, A LOT of ships). The fight to save them, led by biologists and conservation groups, has grown urgent — in the water and in the courts. >click to read< 11:28

Coronavirus: Concerns raised about pending Cheticamp snow crab fishery

Setting day for the lucrative fishery is Friday and it runs until June 30. “Residents of Cheticamp are really scared and upset about the coming of the crab fishery,” Cheticamp resident Yolande LeVert said.  “I’m not sure what’s happening here, I don’t know why there is not more communication with the residents of Cheticamp. Are there rules on the wharf when the fishermen come in for the ones that unload the boats?” ,, LeVert noted the snow crab fishery will see more than 30 boats arrive from around the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, mainly from New Brunswick and Quebec, for the Zone 12F snow crab fishery. That equates to about 120 fishermen, in addition to dozens of plant workers, many of whom arrive from Mexico. >click to read< 08:35

Listuguj Mi’kmaq plan to sell lobster without commercial licence from DFO, Ottawa monitoring situation closely

The Listuguj Mi’kmaq government says Fisheries and Oceans Canada refused to grant the First Nation a commercial licence for the fall lobster fishery in the arm of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence, located between New Brunswick and Quebec.,,, members took to the waters Monday without a commercial licence and will be “regulated by the community’s own law and fishing plan,” according to a statement. The Listuguj Mi’kmaq government, which signed a Framework Agreement on Reconciliation and the Fisheries with Ottawa last November, remains committed to negotiating a long-term arrangement, said Chief Darcy Gray. “But we cannot be made to wait indefinitely,,, >click to read<  20:03

Lobstermen at NOAA meeting oppose new fishing regulations

The Ellsworth High School auditorium was packed during one of a series of meetings held near fishing communities in Maine. The crowd was made up of conservationists, scientists and politicians, but mostly fishermen. U.S. Sen. Angus King, I-Maine, and State Rep. Genevieve McDonald, D-Deer Isle, attended the event, while Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and U.S. Rep. Jared Golden, D-2nd Dist., sent staff representatives.,, NOAA research indicates that large vessel strikes are the predominant cause of whale deaths.“If you would just give us a chance to prove our innocence,” one person said.   >click to read<  20:11