Daily Archives: June 12, 2018
Latest fishing area closures raise fears about fights over shrinking territory
About 300 fishermen from across the Acadian Peninsula held an emergency meeting Tuesday to discuss the latest fishing area closure and their options. Exasperated by the federal government’s closures of fishing grounds, fishermen and plant workers from across New Brunswick’s Acadian Peninsula held an emergency meeting Tuesday on Lameque Island to discuss their options. Afterwards, some said they were worried the latest closure would lead to fights over what little territory they have left. The meeting came after another round of fishing area closures was announced Monday, after five North American right whales were seen between Miscou and the Gaspe Peninsula. >click to read<21:41
Ottawa considers help for Gulf of St. Lawrence fisheries after right whale protection measures
“At the moment we are not talking about compensating with actual financial compensation the fishermen,” LeBlanc said in a telephone interview. New Brunswick Fisheries Minister Rick Doucet called Monday for measures to address lost revenue, and LeBlanc said that is “entirely consistent” with his department’s approach to the developing situation in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. LeBlanc said it includes looking at ways to help processing plant workers qualify for Employment Insurance, and a possible fall opening of the lobster fishery to make up for lost days. >click to read<Meanwhile, Lobster and crab fishermen in Quebec ‘out of options’ as more zones closed off – “I don’t know how we’re going to get out of this one,” said O’Neil Cloutier, the general manager of the professional fishermen’s association of southern Gaspé. >click to read<19:39
Optimism scarce as commercial fisheries start up in Southeast
Activity is picking up in the harbors in Petersburg this week as fishing boats and tenders prepare for the start of several commercial fishing seasons, but optimism is a little scarce on the docks. Fishermen this summer are feeling the impacts of reduced catches, low forecasts and increasing competition from marine mammals. In South Harbor, Charlie Christensen is readying the Erika Ann for some tendering work in the early summer. Then he’ll switch over to seining once pink salmon start coming in. He has a long list of bad news for his fishing season, stretching back to management decisions by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game for golden or brown king crab. He also points to whale predation on black cod,,, >click to read< 17:22
58-year-old Chris Melanson identified as 2nd victim in weekend lobster boat crash
58-year-old Chris Melanson, of Weymouth, N.S., has been identified as the second victim in a fishing boat crash off southeastern P.E.I. over the weekend.,,, 20-year-old Justin MacKay, of Montague, P.E.I., has been identified as the other victim in the boat crash. The two men died when two fishing boats collided, nine kilometres off of P.E.I. One of the boats sank. The accident is being investigated by the Transportation Safety Board and Transport Canada, the P.E.I. Department of Labour, the RCMP and the P.E.I. coroner’s office. >click to read<16:13
GoFundMe campaign launched for N.S. victim of fatal P.E.I. boat collision – One of the victims of a tragic boating accident was a Nova Scotia man who was visiting his daughter in P.E.I. for the weekend. Chris Melanson was on the boat with one of his three daughters, Isabella, during the fatal collision near Beach Point on the weekend. >click to read< >click to donate<
Ocracoke’s Two Blanches
Blanche Howard Joliff was a young teenager when her father, Stacy Howard, decided in 1934 that he needed another boat. He commissioned a master boatbuilder, Tom O’Neal, to begin building him a fine skiff. The work was finished by another island boatbuilder, Homer Howard, who added a rounded cabin near the prow. Proud of his well-designed craft – a traditional deadriser with a V-shaped hull at the bow that’s flatter toward the stern – Howard gave it the name of his daughter, Blanche. >click to read<13:47
Administration looks offshore for wind energy boom
The Trump administration is “bullish” about offshore wind, working with governors in the Northeast to transform what was once a fringe and costly investment into America’s newest energy-producing industry. “When the president said energy dominance, it was made without reference to a type of energy,” Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke told the Washington Examiner in an interview. “It was making sure as a country we are American energy first and that includes offshore wind. There is enormous opportunity, especially off the East Coast, for wind. I am very bullish.” On a recent tour of coastal states, Zinke found “magnitudes” more interest in offshore wind than oil and natural gas drilling. >click to read<11:20
South Carolina shrimping season may open partially Wednesday
Commercial shrimping in waters off the South Carolina coast could resume on a limited scale as early as this week, but don’t expect an abundance of the coveted white “roe” shrimp. Mel Bell, marine fisheries director for the S.C. Dept. of Natural Resources, says the fisheries division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) likely will open federal waters to commercial shrimp trawling this week, possibly as early as Wednesday. Bell says DNR asked NOAA last week to reopen federal waters, which start about three miles offshore,,, >click to read<10:44
Offshore Wind Project Planned for California
Following its recent entry into Taiwan, German energy company EnBW has now expanded its activities to the U.S. with the formation of a joint venture with Trident Winds to develop an offshore wind project off the coast of central California. EnBW North America and Trident Winds, based in Seattle, have formed a joint venture to advance the 650–1,000 megawatt Morro Bay offshore wind project off the central coast of California. EnBW sees floating technology as a key technology as it opens new areas with greater water depth and better wind conditions. >click to read<09:26
New England Fishery Management Council meeting in Portland, ME June 12 -14, 2018
The New England Fishery Management Council will be meeting at Holiday Inn by the Bay, Portland, ME, To read the final agenda, >click here< Register for webinar >click here< to listen live. 08:13
