Opinion: Fighting whale-safe gear rules won’t ‘save Maine lobstermen’

February 6, 2022 Canada, National, New England

The Maine Lobstermen’s Association has stepped up an advocacy campaign to “#Save Maine Lobstermen.” They and their political allies claim that new regulations to make fishing gear safer for right whales will put the lobster fishery out of business. Where is the evidence? Massachusetts and Canadian lobster fisheries are already investing in changes that the Maine Lobstermen’s Association claims are impossible. Indeed, Canada has invested $20 million to transition its trap fisheries to whale-safe gear by 2023. Digging in for a fight means that Maine lobstermen fall behind the competition. >click to read< 10:03

Brenna Sowder, Canadian lobster fisheries, Maine Lobstermen’s Association, massachusetts, Opinion, whale-safe gear rules

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Ocean Resource Privatization

Articles Posted by Date
April 2024

M T W T F S S

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

8 9 10 11 12 13 14

15 16 17 18 19 20 21

22 23 24 25 26 27 28

29 30

« Mar

April 2024
M	T	W	T	F	S	S
1	2	3	4	5	6	7
8	9	10	11	12	13	14
15	16	17	18	19	20	21
22	23	24	25	26	27	28
29	30

The New England groundfish debacle (Part III): who or what is at fault? Nils E. Stolpe/FishNet

It took me a while to decide how to most accurately describe the situation that has been visited upon the New England fishing communities that are and since colonial times have been dependent on the groundfish fisheries.

NILS STOLPE: The New England groundfish debacle (Part IV): Is cutting back harvest really the answer?

While it’s a fact that’s hardly ever acknowledged, the assumption in fisheries management is that if the population of a stock of fish isn’t at some arbitrary level, it’s because of too much fishing. Hence the term “overfished.” Hence the mandated knee jerk reaction of the fisheries managers to not enough fish; cut back on fishing. What of other factors? They don’t count. It’s all about fishing, because fishing is all that the managers can control; it’s their Maslow’s Hammer. When it comes to the oceans it seems as if it’s about all that the industry connected mega-foundations that support the anti-fishing ENGOs with hundreds of millions of dollars a year in “donations” are interested in controlling. Read the article here

Recent Posts
- Clark’s Harbour wharf: Lobster landings looking good
  
  It looks as though lobster landings have been holding their own for the first two weeks of the season, with estimates that the catch is on Read More »
- People on the northern peninsula are concerned about potential cuts to the shrimp fishery
  
  The 60,000t quota in 2012 and 2013 was split between the inshore fishery – which supports the shore based shrimp plants in Newfoundland that produce cooked Read More »
- Conservation groups want to halt sardine fishing
  
  GRANTS PASS, Ore. (AP) – Concerned that the sardine industry is collapsing, conservation groups are calling on federal fisheries managers to halt West Coast commercial fishing Read More »
- Please send me to jail: Fisherman begs judge
  
  A FISHERMAN has begged a Maroochydore District Court judge to jail him rather than impose a massive fine. Peter John Grennell could be fined up to Read More »
- Nearly 30 years into the moratorium, Newfoundlanders look for ways to rebuild Cod
  
  Atlantic cod, the species better known by its population name, Northern cod, is the fish of choice for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians. On a day spent handlining Read More »
- Scientists Stumped By Die-Off Of Bluefish In Shinnecock Bay
  
  Scientists say they are at a loss to identify what might have killed hundreds of bluefish in eastern Shinnecock Bay last week. [email protected] Read More »
- Commercial fishing crews in B.C. now required to wear life-jackets on deck
  
  The organization that oversees worker safety in British Columbia is taking steps to reduce risks faced by commercial fishing crews. WorkSafeBC says all crew members on Read More »
- Queens DA candidate pledged to crack down on live lobster boiling, campaign walks it back.
  
  In May, the left-wing candidate (Tiffany Caban) filled out a questionnaire from the Brooklyn-based group Voters for Animal Rights which included a checklist of activities the Read More »
- Shrimp Boat Named ‘Big John’ Washes Ashore in OBX, 3-Man Crew Rescued
  
  Three men were found alive after their shrimp boat named “Big John” washed ashore in the Outer Banks, the National Park Service said Monday. Just after Read More »
- Our View: Fishery managers need management | SouthCoastToday.com
  
  UMass Dartmouth’s School of Marine Science and Technology, housed in New Bedford’s South End, wrote the book on scallop surveys. SMAST’s peer-reviewed survey data convinced federal regulators Read More »
- Bipartisan Members of Congress file solution to Gulf red snapper mess
  
  Federal management of red snapper has been broken for years, and reached rock bottom in 2013 when frustration over status quo management compelled several Gulf states Read More »
- North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for Thanksgiving 2017
  
  Click here to read the Weekly Update, to read all the updates Click here, for older updates listed as NCFA click here13:34 Read More »
- BREAKING: Multi-alarm fire erupts on fishing vessel docked in San Diego Bay
  
  A fire on a 120-foot fishing vessel billowed smoke over the San Diego Harbor area early Friday. Crews from U.S. Coast Guard San Diego, San Diego Read More »
- Seal product ban in Europe upheld by WTO panel – Video
  
  A World Trade Organization panel today upheld a European ban against Canadian seal products, even though it found the European Union had also violated international trade rules. Read More »
- Groundfish Catch Share Program Review: Public Meetings Scheduled for July/August in Ports From Maine to New York
  
  The New England Fishery Management Council is conducting a review of the groundfish sector system, which is a catch share program under the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Read More »
- Fishermen press Scotland Office minister on Brexit plans
  
  Shetland fishermen have reiterated their desire to see the UK take control of its waters post-Brexit after meeting with Scotland Office minister Lord Duncan on Friday. Read More »
- La. State Sen. Bret Allain steadfast on Louisiana Red Snapper flame war with NOAA’s southeast region fisheries administrator Roy Crabtree
  
  Tri-Parish Times – Sen. Bret Allain (R-Patterson) maintains that he will continue pressing passage of his bill, SB 157, which would prohibit the sale or possession of Read More »
- Coronavirus: Fishing community takes precautions as it readies for salmon season
  
  “We know the fish are coming regardless of COVID-19 or not and we can’t ask them to stay home.” Alaska Chief Medical Officer Dr. Anne Zink Read More »
- Riding Alongside One of the World’s Last Whaling Tribes
  
  An up-close look at the Lamalerans of Indonesia, one of the last hunter-gatherer societies on the planet Baleo! Baleo! — “The hunt is on!” The cry Read More »
- Commercial fisherman guilty in man’s sea cucumber diving death
  
  Jurors found Joshua J. Wodyga guilty of criminally negligent homicide in the death of Levi Adams, 32, in a trial that ended on Friday in Ketchikan Read More »
- Montana investigating Walker’s former Alaska Fish Board appointee
  
  Jim Kropp, the director of law enforcement for Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks, said in a phone interview Monday that Roland Maw was under an active Read More »
- Yellowtail Snapper harvest might increase – Allocation for the commercial segment would rise by nearly 460,000 pounds
  
  keysnet.com – After it took an emergency rule to keep Florida’s commercial harvest of yellowtail snapper open through all of 2012, federal managers want to boost the Read More »
- A comprehensive article about Massachusetts DMF Industry-Based Survey underway in Gulf of Maine
  
  Massachusetts received more than $21 million in federal fisheries disaster aid, most of which was distributed to fishermen. But the state kept some for research projects, Read More »
- Mississippi Commission on Marine Resources talk Bonnet Carré Spillway, CARES Act funding
  
  Many fishermen got some help from that $1.5 million of CARES Act money that was granted to the state of Mississippi, with most of that going Read More »
- It’s Friday! Try the “Of the Sea” brew! Brewing Company Used 30 Lobsters to Make This Beer
  
  Founded by Andrew Cooper and Brett Ellis, The Wild Beer Co. has come out with several eclectic flavors, including sake, toffee apples, and mushrooms. However, their Read More »