Daily Archives: May 11, 2018
Ottawa considers dozens more marine protected areas in Maritimes that have not been made public
Ottawa is considering dozens more marine protected areas in Maritime waters, according to maps and other data shared by the federal government with stakeholders. The maps show 24 proposed marine protected areas (MPA) on the Scotian Shelf, including the entire Bras d’Or Lakes in Cape Breton and dozens more in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The maps show 24 proposed marine protected areas (MPA) on the Scotian Shelf, including the entire Bras d’Or Lakes in Cape Breton and dozens more in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. >click to read<18:53
Investor confidence shaken by surf clam controversy: Fisheries Council of Canada
The Fisheries Council of Canada says the Trudeau government’s decision to seize nearly $25 million in surf clam quota from one company and give it to another is causing investors to lose confidence in the industry. Council President Paul Lansbergen said governments have established and maintained a consistent model for applying licensing rules over the years, which has led to expectations of their consistent application — something that’s critical for businesses to make investment decisions. But in the wake of the controversial expropriation of an Arctic surf clam quota by Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc, without any compensation, Lansbergen said “a clear lack of criteria and policy has created a climate of uncertainty and instability in fisheries management.” >click to read<17:23
Maryland’s Crab Country: Not Enough Visas, Not Enough Workers
Music blared as 21 Mexican women methodically cracked open steamed crabs piled high inside a cool, bright room. They picked out the meat and packed it into 1-pound containers that their employer, G.W. Hall & Sons, ships to wholesalers in the mid-Atlantic and as far away as Canada. A half-mile down Old House Point Road, the picking room at a competing company, Russell Hall Seafood, was silent, no workers to be seen. Bare metal tables, normally heaped with crabs this time of year, gleamed. The difference: one firm won the visa lottery, and the other lost. “It trickles all the way down the line,” said fisherman Burl Lewis, who normally sells a large amount of menhaden to Russell Hall Seafood but recently laid off a crew member from his 52-foot boat, the Trying Times. “The Mexican labor creates jobs for Americans. It’s creating my job.” >click to read<16:49
Quit blaming the commercial fishermen
The recent letter by Gary Mills from Terrace on the Department of Fisheries & Oceans (DFO) management of the West Coast fisheries (B.C. getting East-Coast treatment) is misinformed and disrespectful to the hundreds of men and women working in the commercial fishing industry on the North Coast. Through 10 years working as a biologist, fisheries observer and commercial fisher on both the East and West Coast, my experience has been much different. First, casting blame solely on commercial fishing for declining fish stocks is not fair. >click to read<14:46
Why is it that so many prominent environmental campaigners turn out to be such scumbags, sleazebags, hypocrites or frauds?
The latest to be exposed is, of course, New York’s ex-Attorney General Eric Schneiderman. When Schneiderman wasn’t busy – allegedly – “choking, beating and threatening” women, he was busy bullying the people he calls “climate deniers”. Here he is on a video in 2014 declaring that “climate deniers have no place in public life.” Let me give you a few more examples: Al Gore and the Portland massage therapist (one of several victims, allegedly, of his tentacular groping…) Rajendra Pachauri, former head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, exposed as a serial sex pest. David Suzuki – Canada’s most feted eco-campaigner who just happens to be a dick who is extremely rude and – see also Gore – an appalling hypocrite: >click to read<12:40
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for May 11, 2018
>Click here to read the Weekly Update<, to read all the updates >Click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here<11:50
Mysterious South Carolina fish with humanlike teeth stumps the internet
The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources on Wednesday asked its social media followers to identify a fish with “humanlike incisors.” he department posted a riddle to its Facebook page, which reads: “You’ll need a saltwater fishing license to catch me! I like to hang out near rocks, jetties, reefs, and even bridges … The coolest thing about me? I have human-like incisors and molars to help crush my food. I like shrimp and oysters just like you do!” >click to read<11:19
Hawaii’s commercial swordfish fleet shut down for rest of year
Hawaii’s commercial swordfish fleet has been shut down for the rest of the year following a court order aimed at protecting endangered loggerhead sea turtles. The National Marine Fisheries Service closed the Hawaii shallow-set longline fishery in a move heralded Wednesday by conservation groups that sued for the turtle protections. Under the court order the swordfish fishery will close, and a new biological assessment will determine what the limit will be next year. “It’s a good result for all parties,” said Jim Cook, board member with the Hawaii Longline Association. >click to read<10:51
No mutiny: FFAW bans all FISH-NL supporters from running in its elections
All fish harvesters and processors who tried to split from Newfoundland and Labrador’s only fisheries union are now banned from running for executive positions. The Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union (FFAW) has altered its constitution to require anyone running in this summer’s election to sign an affidavit stating they have never signed a card with another organization. “If there’s people out there who are looking to tear down the organization, those people certainly cannot run for office,” Sullivan said.>click to read<10:00
