Daily Archives: October 9, 2017
Indigenous fisherman’s boat vanishes after wharf fire in Saulnierville, N.S.
When Alex McDonald arrived at Comeauville wharf in Saulnierville, N.S., Monday afternoon and saw his fishing boat was missing, he said he was “stunned.” The part of the wharf where McDonald’s boat — Buck and Doe — had been tied up was burned and the seven thick ropes that kept it there were also burned off. “It’s obvious they burnt it off because they couldn’t untie it. Whoever did it, it was well planned, they had to come there with torches to burn that rope off,” said McDonald. “There had to be more than person and then they would have towed the boat out or they would have hotwired it.” click here to read the story 19:00
The Ocean’s Low-Oxygen Dead Zones Are Getting Worse
Along the West Coast, low-oxygen levels in bottom layers of the ocean, known as hypoxia, have become a big concern for scientists and fishers alike—fish and crabs are vital to ecosystems, research, and an entire industry. “We’re always on the lookout to see, is this going to be a bad year?” says Francis Chan, a marine ecologist at Oregon State University who studies the effects of ocean chemistry. And by all accounts, 2017 shaped up to be a bad year. Scientists first got reports of crabs dying in pots off the Oregon coast back in 2002. Since then, says Chan, there have been some years when the oxygen levels in some places drop to zero and stay that way for weeks or even months. Video, click here to read the story 17:16
Why are fishermen guilty until proven innocent? A case against putting video cameras on every boat
As many of you may know, my husband filed a lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service to stop them from requiring the fishermen to pay for the At-Sea monitors that the Fisheries Service requires ground fishermen to take on their boats. The cost is upwards of $700 a day, which is more than the small family owned fishing boats make here in New England. The Supreme Court decided not to hear their case which the lower courts had dismissed on a technicality because the suit was not filed within a 30 day time frame. Some people have suggested video monitoring as an alternative. I have addressed that in my comments below click here to read Ellen Goethels post 15:01
Penzance fishing trawler Algrie which crashed into Plymouth rocks once caught a nuclear attack submarine
The Cornish fishing trawler that crashed into rocks in front of spectators in Plymouth this weekend has run into trouble before – when it caught a nuclear submarine. The 70ft Algrie dangerously dragged the nuclear attack sub HMS Spartan in the waters off Land’s End in 1982 for several minutes before the sub surfaced. The captain at the time was then ordered to cut free his nets and tackle before the sub moved on. It was understood to have cost £8,000. click here to read the story 14:01
£39 million of fish landed at Scrabster during 2016
Scrabster Harbour is the third most valuable landing port in Scotland, according to newly released figures. The 2016 Scottish Sea Fisheries statistics revealed £39.4 million worth of fish and shellfish was landed in the Scrabster fishing district during 2016. The results are based on 19,713 tonnes of fish which were landed at the harbour last year which makes it the fourth largest landing port in the country. Peterhead is once again the largest fishing district,,, click here to read the story 11:30
The ‘Mercedes of lobster traps’
A new company in Yarmouth, N.S., has designed a recyclable lobster trap made from plastic that it says has a longer life than traditional wire devices and stacks easily. Scott Dauphinee, managing director of The Lobster Trap Company, said they’ve been working on designing and testing the traps over the last year and a half. LasTrap is the “Mercedes of lobster traps,” he said.”Lobster fishing gear has not really changed … the actual material used, in almost half a century,” Dauphinee said. click here to read the story 10:23
Pebble rising?
Once thought to be on the verge of death, Alaska’s proposed Pebble prospect copper and gold mine seems to be taking on a new life. First came the July announcement by the Environmental Protection Agency of President Donald Trump that it planned to lift a proposed ban on the mine ordered by the EPA of President Barrack Obama.,,, The Pebble Limited Partnership sued the Obama administration and the EPA of Trump – taking a page from the playbook of enviromental organizations fond of filing lawsuits to leverage legal settlements – in this case negotiated an agreement allowing Pebble to apply for the necessary permits. click here to read the story 09:37
Trump official says government won’t stand in the way of removing Klamath dams
After the Obama administration helped broker a deal last year to tear down four dams straddling the California-Oregon border, practically everyone involved figured President Donald Trump would undermine it. They assumed Trump would side with conservative activists and Republican congressmen who thwarted an earlier version of the same agreement in 2015. Those assumptions are proving wrong. The fight over the Klamath River is one of country’s fiercest, longest-running water wars. click here to read the story 08:26
Gulf Coast spared the worst as Hurricane Nate rapidly weakens
Hurricane Nate brought a burst of flooding and power cuts to the US Gulf Coast – but spared the region the kind of catastrophic damage left by a series of hurricanes in recent weeks. Nate – the first hurricane to make landfall in Mississippi since Katrina in 2005 – quickly lost strength, with its winds diminishing to a tropical depression as it pushed northward into Alabama and towards Georgia with heavy rain. click here to read the story 08:03
