Daily Archives: October 22, 2015
‘Objects thrown’ as Brixham fishermen are threatened by French vessels in the English Channel
BRIXHAM fishermen have been involved in a fracas with their French counterparts in the English Channel this morning. The scallop trawler Joanna C was surrounded by ten French vessels in the Baie de Seine, off Le Harve, with the Brixham fishermen then claiming that objects were thrown at them.The vessel has now been forced to abandon its fishing trip and return to port in Devon. Derek Meredith, who owns the Joanna C,He said: “The French fishermen surrounded my trawler and threatened to smash it up.” Read the rest here 18:29
Tri Marine disappointed with NMFS decision – Purse seiners will continue to fish but…
The decision by the National Marine Fisheries Service not to issue an emergency rule to exempt purse seiners that deliver at least half of their catch to the local canneries from the ban on fishing in the high seas, puts fish supply for the canneries in jeopardy. In early statements Tri Marine said that locally based purse seiners would have to fish in waters close to Papua New Guinea and would find it uneconomical to travel all the way to Pago Pago to off load. Read the rest here, Meanwhile, The president of the American Tunaboat Association Brian Hallman says the ban on high seas fishing is very costly to US purse seiners, and while they will continue to fight on, at some point boat owners cannot continue to lose money and stay in business. Read the rest here 17:29
Little Compton fisherman awarded $2.6 million for arm injury
A Superior Court jury awarded a Little Compton fisherman and his wife about $2.6 million with interest after the fisherman lost his right forearm when it got caught in a winch in April 2013. The Newport County jury awarded $1.88 million plus $554,600 interest to and $200,000, plus $59,000, to his wife, Debra L. Lambert, following a two-week trial earlier this month before Judge Walter Stone, court records show. The Lamberts sued N. Parascandolo & Sons, Inc., and H.N. Wilcox Fishing Inc. in March 2014, alleging that they failed to safely,,, Read the rest here 16:38
FishNet USA/Update – So how’s that “catch shares” revolution working out for groundfish?
From Nils Stolpe – Alternating with original FishNet USA articles I will be going back to pieces I’ve written (for FishNet and other outlets) over the past 19 years – isn’t it amazing how fast time goes when you’re having fun? – to see how accurate I was in identifying industry trends and predicting what their impacts were going to be. Rather than redistributing the original articles I’ll link to them on the web and try to keep these updates to two pages or under. The original for this update from March, 2014 can be read here Read the rest here. 13:31
Insults and heated rhetoric fly before House Natural Resources Committee red snapper hearing
A charter boat captain from Florida has angered commercial fishermen by comparing them to “old-time” plantation owners and sharecroppers in prepared testimony to Congress. Bob Zales is scheduled to appear before the today to testify about a bill that would allow states to manage the Gulf of Mexico’s red snapper fishery. H.R. 3094 is a controversial bill on a controversial issue — one that has pitted commercial fishermen against recreational anglers and some charter boat captains. Read the rest here 12:26
Defense attorney: Texas lawyer indicted over oil spill fraud
A Texas lawyer, San Antonio attorney Mikal Watts, faces criminal charges after he was accused of submitting thousands of false claims for damages from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. The British oil giant sued Watts in 2013, alleging that more than half the clients were “phantoms,” people whom Watts never properly signed up, people who weren’t commercial fishermen or people who were dead. BP said claims officials could verify the Social Security numbers of only 42 percent of Watts’ claimants, and Read the rest here 09:56
Prominent fisherman ‘hit the ceiling’ after Gail Shea election loss
Some leaders in the Newfoundland and Labrador fishing industry can hardly contain their enthusiasm about this week’s convincing election win by the federal Liberals and their leader, prime minister-designate Justin Trudeau. During the 11-week campaign, Trudeau made a number of commitments that many say will help transform the fishery and inject renewed life and confidence into some rural communities. One of those Liberal pledges includes a commitment to review the controversial last in, first out policy in the shrimp fishery. The policy, better known as LIFO, Read the rest here 08:38
New England fishermen fear looming costs for at-sea monitors
New England fishermen, running out of time before the federal government hands them the cost of monitoring the industry at sea, say emergency intervention is needed or many of them will be out of business. Several New England congressmen said they are looking for ways to reduce the burden for fishermen. U.S. Sen. Kelly Ayotte, a New Hampshire Republican, has submitted a bill to terminate the independent, third-party monitoring program unless it is fully funded by NOAA. She and., requested an investigation of the monitoring program,,, Read the rest here 08:02
Maine Department of Marine Resources approves reduction to scallop fishing days
The Department of Marine Resources has voted in favor of a 10-day reduction for the upcoming season. Scallop season runs from early December to mid-April, at a time when lobster fishing is not as lucrative. The area that will see a change this year, called Zone 1, runs from New Hampshire to the Penobscot River. Last season, scallop fishing in that zone was allowed on 70 days. This season, it’ll only be allowed on 60. Last year, though, the fishery saw an 18-year high in terms of profit. Maine scallops were worth almost $7.5 million. Read the rest here 07:36
