Despite strong winds and cold, pelting rain, hundreds attend the 18th annual Blessing of the Fleet

October 7, 2015 Mid Atlantic

MOREHEAD CITY – “The Blessing of the Fleet is always filled with pride and homesickness for the local people; today was especially so,” Ms. Amspacher said. “ I think it was the weather, not just today’s rain and wind, but also the fear and threat of a storm we had all worried about for days. All that brought us closer to the realities of a fisherman’s life every day. Over and over today I heard people saying, ‘this is their life – I couldn’t let the weather keep me away,’ and that understanding set the tone for today’s service.” Read the rest here 16:22

18th annual Blessing of the Fleet, Blessing of the Fleet, Morehead City

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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

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