April 21, 2018 – fisherynation.com

Daily Archives: April 21, 2018

BP granted approval to start drilling off Nova Scotia’s coast

April 21, 2018 Canada

BP Canada has been given the green light to start drilling off Nova Scotia’s coast. On Saturday, the Canada-Nova Scotia Offshore Petroleum Board (CNSOPB) granted approval for the company to begin drilling one deepwater exploration well about 300 kilometres offshore. BP has applied to drill a total of four wells in the area, but Mi’kmaq communities have opposed the project saying it poses a serious risk to food, social and ceremonial fishing areas. >click to read<15:37

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New Jersey: Murphy signs offshore drilling ban into law

April 21, 2018 Mid Atlantic

Phil Murphy (D) signed into law Friday a bill meant to block offshore drilling for oil and natural gas in state-controlled waters. The new law is in response to Trump’s executive order a year ago that encouraged oil and natural gas exploration in United States coastal waters.,, The bill, which also bans permitting of any infrastructure to serve drilling farther offshore in federally controlled waters, is meant as a direct rebuke to the Trump administration’s proposal to allow drilling off of almost all of the nation’s coasts, including off of New Jersey. >click to read<14:27

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Thousands of cleanup workers that claim BP oil spill made them sick haven’t had day in court

April 21, 2018 Gulf of Mexico

In the sea of fines, fees and compensation BP has paid to individuals, businesses, governments and lawyers for its 2010 oil spill, one group of claimants stands out for missing out on the billions.,,, Another claimant is shrimper George Barisich. He received compensation for his seafood business losses under a separate settlement, and he filed a claim for a chronic illness from exposure to the oil and chemical dispersants used to break up oil particles in the Gulf. “There’s no justice here for people who actually worked, went out there to clean up their mess,, >click to read<12:49

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Throw out FISH-NL application, FFAW says after labour board ruling

April 21, 2018 Canada

The results of an investigation by the Labour Relations Board is proof that FISH-NL has insufficient support to trigger a ratification vote and its application to represent inshore fish harvesters should be dismissed, says Fish Food and Allied Workers union president Keith Sullivan. FISH-NL president Ryan Cleary, however, says the latest development is just more “smoke and mirrors” by the FFAW. Sullivan issued a news release Friday saying an investigation by the provincial government board has confirmed that membership numbers presented by the FFAW are accurate. >click to read<12:14

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2018 lobster boat race calendar is released

April 21, 2018 New England

Icy weather notwithstanding, the release last week of the Maine Lobster Boat Racing Association calendar poster is an absolute sign that summer is just around the corner. The poster features a striking photo of big, diesel-powered boats thundering up Moosabec Reach during last year’s Jonesport/Beals Island Lobster Boat Races with Winter Harbor fisherman Billy Bob Faulkingaham’s 51 front and center, leading the Class M pack. This year’s calendar includes 11 events, with the season bookended by June 16 racing in Boothbay Harbor and an Aug. 19 finale in Portland. >click to read<

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Fisherman Jack Troake recalls a life on the water

April 21, 2018 Canada

Jack Troake acknowledges the work was gruesome, but said it had to be done. “No, I don’t miss seal hunting,” the veteran sealer based in Twillingate said. “Turns me stomach there when I talk about it. That’s how much I hates it. But you do it because it is part of your culture and your way of life.” The isolation of rural outports in Newfoundland made life difficult. For the most part, the communities living there had to be self-reliant by growing their own vegetables, and turned to fishing for their livelihoods. “It’s the way of life you know, b’y,,, >click to read<10:33

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FISH-NL: Paper names and paper numbers; FFAW-Unifor’s dues-paying list more smoke and mirrors

April 21, 2018 Canada

The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) says the FFAW-Unifor is playing its usual smoke and mirrors with regards to a report released this afternoon by the province’s Labour Relations Board. The report — prepared by the Board’s investigator into FISH-NL’s Dec. 30, 2016 application for certification — includes information on the number of people who paid FFAW-Unifor union dues in 2015 and 2016. >click to read<09:21

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Ocean Resource Privatization

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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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