Daily Archives: July 9, 2018
Former seafood company manager alleges he was fired after reporting illegal actions
The former general manager of a Spruce Head Island seafood company claims he was fired after raising concerns to the president of the parent corporation about illegal actions that included repackaging expired seafood as new. The claims are included in a lawsuit filed June 18 in the Knox County court by Corey Thompson of St. George against Atwood Lobster, LLC; Maine Lobster & Processing, Inc.; Jorzac, Inc.; Mazzetta Company, LLC; Beach Point, LLC; Londonderry Freezer, LLC; Highwood Cold Storage; and Gloucester Seafood Processing. The attorney representing Atwood Lobster and the related firms said the companies deny any violation of the law when it terminated Thompson’s employment. Attorney Tawny Alvarez of Portland said the companies also deny claims made by Thompson about repackaging expired seafood. >click to read< 21:22
Southeast Dungeness crab fishermen will have full season in 2018
Southeast Alaska’s Dungeness crab fishery had a strong first week and will not have a shortened season like last year. The summer season for most of the region started June 15. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced in late June that crabbers would have a full two-month summer season. Fishermen caught more than 871,000 lbs. during the first week. The agency uses the first week’s catch to estimate how many crab will be harvested during the season. Tessa Bergmann with Fish and Game in Petersburg said this year’s estimate is the third highest on record. “Our harvest estimate for the 2018 season is just over 3.7 million lbs.,” Bergmann said. That is well above the 2.25 million lb. estimate required for a full season in Southeast Alaska. It will mean crabbers can keep fishing through Aug. 15. >click to read<15:08
Nordic Lady: Keeping a Good Boat Up to Date
When Trygve Westergard bought the 98- by 28-foot Judi B in the spring of 2016 he was entering a new chapter in a varied marine career. Growing up on a remote island off Ketchikan, Alaska as the third generation of Norwegian-Danish family, he had fishing in his blood and his environment. A stint at the California Maritime Academy earned him an unlimited masters license and a BS in marine transportation. After a decade of running everything from ferries to off-shore boats and filling the gaps with fishing, Westergard decided it was time to come home. Given the price of quota the logical entry to the Alaskan fishery was with a tender to collect fish from other boats. This business would also allow his family on board for part of the year. In the Judi B,,, >click to read<12:45
Florida Keys fishermen talk impact of President Trump’s tariffs
Jeff Cramer is a longtime Keys commercial fisherman who operates a fish house in Marathon. He buys lobster from as many as 20 different boat captains and then sells them all to his Chinese buyer. “I’m just hoping our president can resolve this little trade war he’s got going with Europe and China. A lot of us voted for him and maybe this will work out in the long run, but for the short term, it’s really going to devastate us after we had that hurricane last year. A lot of guys are living off the SBA loans that they have to start paying back in a little bit,” Cramer said. “Let’s see what happens. He got Rocket Man to back down, let’s see if he can get the Chinese president to back down,” Cramer added. Gary Nichols also voted for Trump and is standing by him. >click to read<11:44
Mesothelioma Victims Center Urges any Commercial Fisherman with mesothelioma due to asbestos exposure to call.
The Mesothelioma Victims Center says, “We are reaching out to a commercial fisherman who now has mesothelioma due to asbestos exposure while working on a fishing boat(s) that had a home port on the west coast, east coast, the Gulf of Mexico, or Alaska. A commercial fisherman with mesothelioma typically did not work on just one fishing boat. Typically, we find that these men did everything on the boat from mechanics, repairs, or upgrades. If you are a commercial fisherman and you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, or their family, please call us anytime at 800-714-0303. What we want to do it simply ensure a victim of mesothelioma receives the very best possible financial compensation.” >click to read<11:11
California water wars: Its fish vs big agriculture once again
Citing nine years of research and extensive public outreach, the Board announced the increased water flows were designed to “prevent an ecological crisis, including the total collapse of fisheries,” according to a statement from the Board. “The San Francisco Bay-Delta is an ecosystem in crisis. The Board’s challenge is to balance multiple valuable uses of water—for fish and wildlife, agriculture, urban, recreation, and other uses,” said State Water Board Chair Felicia Marcus. “Californians want a healthy environment, healthy agriculture, and healthy communities, not one at the expense of the others. That requires the water wars to yield to collective efforts to help fish and wildlife through voluntary action, which the proposed plan seeks to reward.” >click to read<10:39
Pulp fiction on a glorious summer weekend
The province churned out a little pulp fiction as another glorious summer weekend began. “Any decision,” according to the scripted words of Nova Scotia’s Environment Department, “must be based on science and the best available evidence.” Any decision, of course, is one decision, namely whether effluent from the Northern Pulp Mill will be pumped out into the middle of the Northumberland Strait for dispersal with the currents. Having shuffled the cabinet the day before Friday’s mass rally to protest the pipe plan crowded the old town of Pictou and its harbour, the government could pretend it didn’t have a minister briefed-up to speak to the issue. >click to read<10:00
New law ‘turns on the spigot’ at old plant that treats wastewater on Delaware River
A South Jersey company could soon again be processing millions of gallons of hazardous wastewater and dumping the residue into the Delaware River thanks to a bill signed into law by Gov. Phil Murphy. The measure updates the definition of what an existing hazardous waste facility is under state law, basically grandfathering in Chemours’ wastewater treatment plant in Carneys Point, enabling it to possibly resume again accepting outside waste to treat. During the multi-step process, solids are removed and the cleaned water is dumped into the nearby Delaware River. >click to read<08:58
