Daily Archives: May 10, 2018
Zinke Tells Panel Definitive Word on Offshore Drilling Plan Months Away
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Thursday reiterated that no new oil and gas exploration will be allowed off the Florida coast, but said the Trump administration’s plans for other offshore areas won’t be announced until the fall. Zinke appeared before the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Thursday to discuss a wide range of budgetary issues. But his talk with lawmakers hit a rough patch when Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., grilled him over the Interior Department’s plans to open up waters around the U.S. for oil exploration. >click to read<20:13
Proposal for tighter oversight of recreational striped bass catch dies
Commercial fishermen asked state regulators Tuesday night to make recreational fishermen tag their striped bass the way commercial operators do, to make sure they’re not taking too many fish. But the idea died when Doug Jenkins, president of the Twin Rivers Watermen’s group, in Warsaw, outlined his proposal to the Virginia Marine Resources Commission’s finfish management advisory committee. “We’re losing our rockfish (striped bass) quota and losing our crab industry,” Jenkins told the committee. >click to read< 18:32
5 things to know about Canadian Tire’s new acquisition, Helly Hansen
Canadian Tire Corp. announced Thursday its plans to acquire Norwegian outdoor apparel brand Helly Hansen in a $985-million deal. Here are five things to know about the skier and sailor-focused clothing company: Sea Captain Helly Juell Hansen and his wife Margrethe launched the company in 1877 out of Moss, Norway after the captain discovered a better way to protect himself from Norwegian weather by applying linseed oil to cotton canvas, according to the company’s website. That trick resulted in supple, waterproof clothing and the duo started producing and selling jackets, trousers and other items made this way. >click to read<16:28
LI fishermen object to black sea bass quota deal
Fishermen critical of a recent deal to ease black-sea bass regulations demanded further state action at a fisheries meeting Tuesday, but officials said the interstate agreement was the best they could get this year. Around a dozen angry party- and charter-boat captains attended a meeting of the Marine Resources Advisory Council in Setauket Tuesday night to raise objections to the deal, which effectively nixed a planned 12 percent reduction in the state’s recreational black sea bass quota this year. They and a supporting lawmaker cited a more lenient quota for competing New Jersey fishermen, saying anglers would favor the Garden State given its earlier season open and ability to keep more fish at a smaller size. >click to read<15:20
FFAW-Unifor bans thousands of members from running for executive positions in communist-like move: FISH-NL
The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) accuses the FFAW-Unifor executive of manipulating the union Constitution to project their own jobs, and punish the inshore harvesters who took a stand against them. “The upwards of 3,000 harvesters who support FISH-NL have been banned from running for executive FFAW positions — including president, and vice-president,” says Ryan Cleary, President of FISH-NL. “So much for democracy — the labour situation in the Newfoundland and Labrador fishery is as bad as any communist regime ever was, and yet another reason why the Labour Relations Board must proceed with a vote.” >click to read<13:53
DFO scientists clarify the decline of cod
In a province where the fishery is foundational to its survival, the decline in cod stocks has many worried and searching for clear answers. This announcement was a particular shock as the same assessment in 2016 predicted a considerable increase in cod numbers for this year. But scientists and harvesters who had noted the declines in the cod’s food source, and the many starving fish of last year’s cod fishery, were not as surprised. Research scientist with the department of Fisheries and Oceans Dr. Mariano Koen-Alonso says the sudden and sharp decline in cod stock is something being seen across the ecosystem. >click to read<11:30
Raising the bar in a single hoist, Cadets redesign modern helicopter rescue basket
Coast Guard Academy Mechanical Engineering cadets have been prototyping a new and improved rescue basket, which could revolutionize the way the Coast Guard conducts search and rescue missions onboard the MH-60 Jayhawk helicopters. First Class Cadets Christian Breviario, Riely Brande, Benjamin Crutchfield, Nolan Richerson and Spencer Smith spent the last year working closely with the U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center to improve upon the current rescue basket design, after receiving input from search and rescue operators in the fleet.,, The new design, which is roomy enough for two individuals to comfortably sit in the basket, allows Coast Guard operators to shave off precious time during mass rescue situations. >click to read<10:40
Links between minister’s wife and surf clam deal lead to renewed calls for ethics probe
The ethics commissioner has rebuffed a request from a Conservative MP to investigate Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc’s decision to award a license for the Arctic surf clam fishery to a group with federal Liberal ties. But Conservatives are now asking Mario Dion to take a second look at the deal — because they say they now have evidence that a member of LeBlanc’s wife’s family had a financial stake in the winning bid. The Conservatives claim that link may have influenced LeBlanc’s decision — an suggestion the minister calls “ludicrous.” >click to read<09:58
N.J. Governor asks feds for six-month extension to assess impact of offshore wind farms on state’s main fishing grounds
Gov. Phil Murphy is asking the federal government to extend the public comment period on proposed new lease sales for offshore wind in the New York Bight, a step that could delay the process for up to six months. In a letter to Ryan Zinke, Secretary of the Interior, the governor requested more time (180 days) because the areas in New York under consideration for wind-energy development include New Jersey’s main fishing grounds, including two that are closest to its coast. >click to read<08:44
