Category Archives: International
A new Battle Between Worcester County and U.S. Wind
The offshore wind company is still moving forward with plans for a facility in the West Ocean City Harbor. County leaders have taken issue with this, because U.S. Wind’s desired location could uproot the commercial fishing industry. The packhouse at the end of the harbor allows commercial fisherman to make their living in West Ocean City. That packhouse however, sits on the property where U.S. plans on building a new facility. Dave Wilson with U.S. Wind told us on Wednesday, they didn’t find the property on their own. “We were approached by the two property owners at the harbor, we did not approach them they approached us, and we needed some space there,” said Wilson. Worcester County Commissioner Joe Mitrecic said the size of that pier, in relation to U.S. Wind’s overall plans, makes him skeptical. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:17
Fishers excited as opening of fall lobster season arrives
As the fall lobster season approaches, fishers in LFA 25 are looking forward to hitting the waves. “It’s always a challenge,” said Kristian Bernard, who fishes out of Skinners Pond. “You’ve always got to try and do your best at what you can catch, and it’s nice to be on the water.” This year, fishers will be starting earlier than what was originally planned, something that hasn’t received much complaint. “Everybody was really pushing for earlier because of bad weather at the end of the season,” said Travis Shea, who also fishes out of Skinners Pond. “Due to weather, the last few seasons, we’ve all been pushed back a few days extra, so we’re trying to get a bit of leeway.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:55
Vineyard Wind turbine debris makes it to Cape Cod
Debris from the failed Vineyard Wind Turbine has washed ashore in Falmouth, town officials said, weeks after a blade broke off and fell into the ocean. The turbine, manufactured by GE Vernova and part of the Vineyard Wind project, failed on July 13. The debris has scattered across nearby beaches, angering residents on Nantucket. A preliminary investigation by GE found that the failure was due to a manufacturing deviation. In a statement, Falmouth says it found what they believe to be wind turbine debris in the water and on the shoreline at Black Beach, Cahpoquoit Beach, Woodneck Beach, and Old Silver Beach. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:51
Lawsuit alleges Cooke Aquaculture using shell companies to skirt U.S. law
Cooke Aquaculture, one of New Brunswick’s largest companies, has asked for dismissal of a U.S. lawsuit accusing it of using a complex web of shell companies to break anti-foreign ownership laws. Saint John-based Cooke Aquaculture has owned Omega Protein, in Virginia, since 2017. Omega is affiliated with another company that operates a Chesapeake Bay menhaden fishery, a small baitfish used to make fishmeal, fish oil and other products. The menhaden fishery under Omega has concerned environmental activists, who say the company is overfishing a fish that many species up the food chain depend on in the Chesapeake Bay, which is slightly smaller than the Bay of Fundy. The lawsuit alleges Cooke is violating the American Fisheries Act, which requires 75 per cent of a company fishing in the U.S. to be owned by a U.S. citizen. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:35
Argos Helena Crew Hold Memorial at Sinking Site of Argos Georgia
On Friday, 02 August, the vessel Argos Helena paid a poignant visit to the site where the Argos Georgia tragically sank on Monday, 22 July 2024. The sombre occasion saw Captain Leif Petter Hoddevik lay flowers on the sea in a heartfelt tribute to those who perished and those still missing from the ill-fated Argos Georgia. “A last greeting from Argos Froyanes and Ervik Havfiske,” expressed the part-owners, marking a moment of collective mourning and remembrance. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:38
EU seal ban causing more harm than good, says Swedish researcher
Danny Pottle is an Inuk elder, who experienced first hand the impacts of the anti-sealing movement growing up in Rigolet, Labrador.
A Swedish researcher says the European Union’s ban on the import and sale of all seal products has caused more harm than good, and now is the time to lift the 15-year-old ban. Sven-Gunnar Lunneryd, who researches aquatic resources at the Swedish University for Agricultural Sciences, says ending the ban would help seal hunters and restore depleted fish stocks. His research demonstrates that in the Baltic Sea, where the grey seal population has recently increased rapidly, having a negative impact coastal fisheries in the region. “We maybe need to half the seal population to get the chance for depleted fish stocks to recover,” said Lunneryd. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:53
Fishermen’s dismay as funds diverted to port upgrade
Fishermen in Thanet say they have been “pushed to one side, forgotten about and ignored” after money for new facilities was redirected to a plan to reopen a Kent port. Thanet District Council (TDC) said it had no choice but to reallocate £3.5m slated for fishing upgrades to reopening Ramsgate’s port due to government rules. Some £3.5m from the fishing facilities upgrade programme was proposed to instead be redirected to the port and for a £4.5m grant to be given to any prospective operator of the port. John Nichols, a committee member and a former chairman of the Thanet Fishermen’s Association, said the loss of funding was “extremely disappointing”. “We need these very basic facilities, we don’t need to be pushed to one side, forgotten about and ignored,” he said. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:39
Will Labour betray Scotland’s fisherman in order to win concessions from the EU?
On July 18, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, after only a fortnight in the job, hosted a summit meeting of the European Political Community (EPC) at Blenheim Palace in Oxfordshire, the birthplace of Winston Churchill. The meeting, involving more than 40 of the continent’s leaders, was billed as a way for the UK prime minister to re-boot Brexit and negotiate a more favourable trade deal for Britain. The summit concluded with a private dinner between Sir Keir and the French President Emmanuel Macron at Chequers. Scottish fishermen are deeply suspicious that Labour may be planning a major betrayal of their industry. Sir Keir has a long list of concessions that he wants from the EU, including progress on cross-channel migration, increased freedom of movement for UK citizens, a major revision to Boris Johnson’s “botched” Brexit trade deal and a new security and intelligence-sharing agreement. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 16: 19
Outgoing fishing leader warns of challenges facing local fleet
The outgoing head of the Jersey Fishermen’s Association has laid bare the sobering reality of the challenges facing the fleet – as he looks back on nearly two decades as a voice for the industry. Don Thompson said he had “mixed emotions” about his recent decision to step down as JFA president, a role he has held for approximately 17 years. This, he explained, was partly because there are still a number of “big decisions” to be taken by Island fishermen concerning future management of local fish stocks. While no immediate successor has stepped up to replace Mr. Thompson, the 69-year-old stressed that the fleet needed to maintain a “close working relationship” with government “at all levels”. His comments came shortly after States Members unanimously approved an amendment to sea fisheries legislation, lodged by Environment Minister Steve Luce, to raise the minimum landing size for lobster from 87mm to 88mm. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:40
Opinion: Rhode Island needs to call a hiatus on offshore wind projects amid blade failures
The recent spate of offshore wind turbine blade failures should be a wake-up call for both the industry and our policymakers. Recently, a Vineyard Wind turbine off Nantucket suffered a catastrophic failure of a 350-foot-long fiberglass turbine blade that dumped 110,000 pounds of fiberglass, epoxy and foam into the ocean. The Vineyard Wind project has been ordered by the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement to cease operation and halt further construction activities pending an investigation. Public support for these projects has collapsed. A flash poll conducted by a Providence television station showed 85% of respondents do not support building these turbines. more, >>CLICK TO READ<<, by Martin Kits van Heyningen 06:58
Cocaine sharks: The hidden drug problem in the Gulf of Maine and oceans
An article on the BBC and subsequently picked up by the New York Times just reinforced what I have been teaching for a long time. The article reports on a finding from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, which found high levels of cocaine in 13 Brazilian sharp-nosed sharks tested near Rio de Janeiro. So, how did the drugs get into the livers and muscles of the sharks? I can think of three possibilities. First, illegal drug labs might be discharging wastewater into the harbor. Second, sharks could have ingested floating cocaine packets dumped to evade authorities. Lastly, and most likely, local sewage discharge might be releasing large quantities of urine from drug users. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:12
The fallout from Vineyard Wind’s broken turbine blade
When Nantucket residents began posting photos of the fiberglass and foam littering their beaches on the morning of July 16, everyone in the offshore wind world — proponents and opponents, alike — knew the industry was about to face a very public test in confidence. The debris had fallen from a damaged turbine blade at the nearby Vineyard Wind project. The part, made and installed by GE Vernova, had broken three days earlier, and no one really knew why. The project’s developer, also called Vineyard Wind, scrambled to clean up the mess and assure the public that the material all over their pristine beaches was “non-toxic.” But more and more photos of the bright green debris washed up on social media, many carrying captions like “It’s everywhere” and “STOP #Bigwind!” Soon, a picture of the broken turbine itself surfaced. The 351-foot blade had snapped about 65 feet from the base and what remained of it hung slackly, dangling over the ocean. photos, links, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:48
Infamous sandbar so high some boats forced to wait hours at sea
A lack of rainfall has left fishing boats unable to cross the notoriously dangerous Grey River mouth, except at high tide. The Grey River’s infamous sandbar, a hot spot for boating tragedies, is now so high some boats have had to wait at sea for hours to berth during the lucrative hoki season. Port manager Franco Horridge said the last sounding recorded the depth of water at 2.7m at the mean low tide level. “It’s shallower than it has been for the last few years. The bar had caused similar issues for boats in 2017. “We recommend that boats only cross it at or around high tide. It’s an inconvenience to the fishing boats but skippers know it very well. We’re a long way away from being unnavigable at high tide,” he said. Westfleet Seafoods general manager fishing Colin Smith said the high bar was having an effect on boats. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:07
Federal regulators issue revised suspension order for Vineyard Wind as more debris falls from damaged turbine
“This maintenance work has already begun, reinforcing the stability and security of the turbines,” Nantucket officials said in an update on the town’s website. The BSEE said it will publicly release the findings of its investigation when it is complete. Fiberglass debris from the damaged turbine has continued to fall into the ocean in recent days. Nantucket officials said “several sections” of the damaged blade detached from the hub and sank to the ocean floor on Monday. Town officials said the debris “primarily consists of small, popcorn-sized pieces of foam, with some larger pieces and limited fiberglass fragments possibly mixed in.” Vineyard Wind crews were collecting debris from the water on Tuesday but warned that some debris may wash onto Nantucket’s southern beaches Wednesday and Thursday, town officials said. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:24
One in 100 million cotton candy lobster caught in New Hampshire
A rare cotton candy lobster was the catch of the day recently off the coast of New Castle, New Hampshire. This candy-colored crustaceans was caught by a local lobsterman and donated to the Seacoast Science Center, a marine science education organization in Rye, New Hampshire’s Odiorne Point State Park. The wild color does not mean that it actually tastes sweet or like candy. It’s the result of a very rare genetic mutation. In May, a fisherman off the coast of England found a blue lobster in one of its traps. Rather than risk the lobster ending up on a dinner plate, the specimen was donated to a local aquarium, similar to what happened with New Hampshire’s cotton candy lobster. Blue lobsters have also been spotted in Marblehead, Massachusetts and France. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:53
MAIB Releases Report into F/V Angelena Capsize off Exmouth
A The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) investigation report into the sinking of a 14-metre-long trawler eight nautical miles south-east of Exmouth, England turned up major concerns regarding the understanding of stability performance, the dangers of operating a fishing vessel alone and the proper installation of safety equipment. On June 18, 2021, the fishing vessel Angelena (BM271) capsized and sank approximately 8 nautical miles southeast of Exmouth, England. The vessel was operated by its lone skipper who managed to escape and was rescued after spending 40 minutes in the water. The MAIB conducted a thorough investigation into the incident to uncover the underlying causes and provide recommendations to prevent similar occurrences in the future. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:53
Vineyard Wind Resumes Some Construction During Investigation
Though pieces of the broken Vineyard Wind turbine continued to fall into the ocean south of the Island this week, federal regulators have approved the wind farm to restart some construction work. On Monday, several sections of the malfunctioning turbine blade that were still attached to the turbine split off and sunk to the ocean floor. Boats were dispatched to the area and both GE Vernova, the turbine manufacturer, and Vineyard Wind were working to clean up the blade pieces and popcorn-sized chunks of styrofoam that had spread into the water. While Vineyard Wind cannot generate any power from the turbines, the company has turned to other work around the rest of the planned 62-turbine wind farm with the blessing of the federal government. The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, which oversees offshore wind projects in the U.S., had previously said operations at the wind farm 14 miles south of the Vineyard had shut down until further notice after the 107-meter turbine blade broke. On Saturday, the federal agency clarified that Vineyard Wind could do some work not directly connected to the turbines, such as installing cables in the sea floor. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 16:05
UK fishermen ‘at the very bottom of the heap’
A paper published in the scientific journal Marine Policy, with a wide group of authors, some attached to anti-fishing NGOs, shows starkly how bad a deal UK fishermen have in Europe. The UK EEZ is a key fishing ground for fleets from the EU and Norway, which are provided with huge amounts of government support to fish in British and, to a lesser extent, Irish waters. Ireland is the only country remaining within the EU that is a net ‘subsidy sink’, with vessels fishing what would be the Irish EEZ – were Ireland independent – receiving more financial support to fish there than the Irish fleet itself receives. But the figures for Ireland are dwarfed by those for the UK, which, the study says, is an ‘outlier’ worldwide. There is otherwise a pattern of richer nations – in particular China, Spain, Korea, Japan and the USA – being given support to extract fish from much poorer developing countries. The paper doesn’t attempt to explain quite why the UK is such an outlier. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:29
Massachusetts political contributions from Nantucket wind farm developer scrutinized
As Nantucket continues to reel from the Vineyard Wind turbine blade failure, critics are raising concerns around how the project’s parent company, Avangrid, has donated thousands of dollars in campaign money to state elected officials. A Herald analysis found that employees who list Avangrid as their employer have made 217 donations totaling $57,677 to dozens of state and local campaigns since March 2018, two months before the Baker administration selected a Vineyard Wind bid for contract negotiation. Notable figures include project supporters Gov. Maura Healey receiving 38 donations totaling $16,425 since 2018, and state Sen. Julian Cyr, a Democrat whose district represents the Cape and Islands, collecting 17 contributions for $3,036 since 2021, according to the state Office of Campaign and Political Finance. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:29
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 60′ Steel Scalloper, 425HP, Cummins KT19-M Diesel
To review specifications, information, and 26 photos’, >click here< To see all the boats in this series, >click here< 06:30
Broken Turbine Blade Near Nantucket Prompts a ‘Told You So!’
A broken turbine blade in the Vineyard Wind offshore wind farm led federal officials to suspend its operations in Nantucket. The incident resulted in large and small fiberglass and foam pieces from the turbine blade washing ashore on Nantucket’s southern beaches, more than 15 miles away. On Thursday, July 25, Cape May County released a statement by Commissioner Director Leonard Desiderio calling the incident in Massachusetts “an environmental catastrophe akin to an oil spill.” Desiderio said that “we were right to oppose offshore wind,” referencing the county’s strong opposition to the Danish firm Orsted’s plans for Ocean Wind I and II off the southern New Jersey coast. He added, “We will continue our opposition moving forward.” Desiderio’s statement recapped the county’s actions in opposition to the Orsted wind farm projects. He took pains to say that opposition by the county government was never based on a denial of climate change or incentivized by the oil industry. “Our opposition to offshore wind was always about protecting our local economy, our fishing industry and our way of life,” he said. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:08
F/V Argos Georgia, unsuccessful search for missing mariners; nine bodies on Tuesday to be flown to UK for Autopsies
As part of the ongoing recovery effort for those crew members still missing from the fishing vessel Argos Georgia, over the weekend MV Pharos SG and one other vessel conducted a search of the datum area. This search unfortunately provided no further results of anyone missing or debris, points out the latest report from the Falkland Islands Government. On Saturday 27 July 2024, 13 crew members left the Islands on a military flight which was provided by the Government of Spain. The remaining crew member remains in Stanley and will return to their home country in due course. The bodies of the 9 deceased crew members remain under the care of the Coroner and will be taken to the UK to undergo the required formalities, before being released to their loved ones. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:12
Vineyard Wind Installed the Largest Offshore Turbines in the World. Were They Ready for Primetime?
When Vineyard Wind completed the installation of the first GE Vernova Haliade-X 13-megawatt wind turbine in the waters southwest of Nantucket in October 2023, the company trumpeted it as “the largest turbine in the western world.” It was supposed to be one of the 62 turbines that would make up the first large-scale, commercial offshore wind farm in the United States. But just nine months later, the project has been suspended by the federal government after the now infamous turbine blade failure on July 13th that left Nantucket’s beaches and the waters surrounding the island littered with fiberglass and styrofoam debris that is still being recovered. While offshore wind energy production has a decades-long track record in Europe and Asia, the Vineyard Wind project was the first of its kind in the United States, and the turbines Vineyard Wind is installing are larger and more powerful than any that have come before it. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:55
Fisherman rescues mysterious ‘ghost boat’ drifting off Pembrokeshire coast
A fisherman rescued a mysterious ghost boat drifting eight miles off the Pembrokeshire coast this morning (July 27). Milford Coastguard were contacted about an adrift vessel which prompted a Fishguard lifeboat to locate the boat and confirm no-one was on board. This was before Matt Lewis and his crew proceeded to the last known position of the vessel and the boat was towed in eight miles northwest of Strumble Head back to Fishguard Harbour where the ship was safely moored. In a Facebook post, Matt said: “Not the usual morning fishing. Myself, Vince Gyseman, Iwan Davies and Jack Wallace located and towed in a ghost boat drifting. “The ten metre steel fishing boat was initially reported by Stena Nordica some eight miles northwest of Strumble Head. It had parted ways with its tow vessel twice between Plymouth and St David’s Head. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:17
James Watt: ‘My father is dying, I do not want to go through life without him’
My father’s journey to end-of-life care has been both sudden and tragic. Having lost one of my closest friends, Dan Bolton, to pancreatic cancer only in January, my dad’s stage four pancreatic cancer diagnosison June 22 hit our family like a sledgehammer. I still can’t imagine my life without my father playing a very prominent role in it. I still can’t quite wrap my head around the fact that up until a few weeks ago my dad was working full time on his lobster fishing boat, hauling 300 lobster pots every single day. Lobster fishing is incredibly hard and manual work, and the north Atlantic is an infamously dangerous and difficult place to work — my dad was fitter and stronger than I am. That strength forged through hard graft in the face of unforgiving northerly gales. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:09
TX Fishing Industry Under Threat From BlackRock Wind Farm Project
The massive destruction wrought on Massachusetts’ Vineyard Wind project has raised new questions about the safety and prudence of a similar BlackRock-backed project planned off the coasts of Louisiana and Texas near Port Arthur. Bonnie Brady of the Long Island Commercial Fisherman’s Association posted several pictures of broken and mangled offshore wind turbines from a recent storm to her X account on July 20. The images depict turbines with snapped blades hanging from their mounts. They also show large shards of metal and other debris washing ashore. Brady directed her post to every East Coast governor and the major presidential contenders, save for Vice President Kamala Harris, who had not yet announced her presidential candidacy, warning of what could happen to the fishing industry. “Stop the madness while you still can, because when the fiberglass lands on your shores you will (eventually) be out of the job. Ps we will never forget you threw US commercial fishing industries under the bus,” she wrote. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:14
Vineyard Wind crisis: Fishermen blast feds for saying they don’t care about whales
The claim came during a Thursday hearing in Boston federal appeals court as two fishing groups look to toss Vineyard Wind’s underlying permit, arguing regulators failed to analyze how the project would impact the environment and fishermen. “The alliance, as a trade association representing the fishing industry, does not have any interest in protecting right whales,” said attorney Thekla Hansen-Young, representing the Department of the Interior, the National Marine Fisheries Service, among other federal agencies, in the dispute. Hansen-Young was referring to the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, one of the groups fighting the feds and Vineyard Wind. Seafreeze Shoreside Inc. is the other. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:06
F/V Argos Georgia: Montevideo port fishing vessels turn sirens on to remember fallen mariners
At mid-morning Thursday, fishing vessels in the port of Montevideo turned their sirens on for a few minutes to the memory of the lost mariners from longliner Argos Georgia, believed to be almost unsinkable given its sturdy complexion and modern technology, which sunk in the middle of a dramatic storm in the deep south Atlantic. Earlier in the year she had called in Montevideo for fuel and provisions before sailing to the Falklands and from there east with its South Georgia toothfish license- But on this occasion the dramatic storm, 35 knots wind and eight meter high waves raging now for a week turned into a tragedy when the vessel called for help and all of the crew members took to live rafts in the midst of challenging consequences that finally only allowed 14 out of 27 to survive, with the loss of nine mariners and four still missing. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:33
Hartlepool fishermen reveal how they are still feeling impact of mass crustacean die-offs with fears for entire future
Hartlepool fishermen have spoken of their heartbreak as they say hundreds of years of heritage face being wiped out. Inshore fishers say stocks of crab, lobster and other marine life have not recovered since the sudden and huge crustacean die-offs witnessed from Seaham to Whitby in 2021. Several recent smaller die-offs have been reported in Hartlepool Bay and Teesmouth including a large number of razor clams and cockles on the beach at Seaton Carew. Dead and twitching crabs, similar to those seen in 2021, have also been picked up at sea. Fishermen, together with scientists and supporters, are continuing to fight for answers and are investigating to establish the cause of the ‘ecocide’ that has destroyed livelihoods. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09″25Fishermen Join Lawsuit Against Vineyard Wind After Blade Failure
The New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) has called for the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider the dismissal of a lawsuit against the Department of the Interior regarding the safety of Vineyard Wind’s turbines. The case, RODA v. Department of the Interior, is scheduled for oral arguments on Thursday. Jerry Leeman, CEO of NEFSA, highlighted recent issues related to the Vineyard Wind project, particularly a blade malfunction that resulted in debris being scattered across important fishing areas. “The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) put the government on notice over two years ago that Vineyard Wind’s turbines aren’t safe. The recent blade disaster has scattered debris over a huge swath of historic fishing grounds, creating serious hazards for mariners and marine life,” Leeman stated. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:59
