Daily Archives: August 24, 2018
FFAW seeking clarification on EI extension for fishery – Fish harvester wants answers
President Keith Sullivan says his impression was that all fishery workers would be covered by the extension that was announced earlier this week, but now he’s hearing concern that plant workers are covered but fish harvesters are not. Alfred Fitzpatrick is an inshore fisherman out of Garnish on the Burin Peninsula. He says that the extra five weeks of EI would greatly benefit fish harvesters. He questioned an FFAW decision to issue a press release about the EI victory when doubts still remain about whether harvesters will qualify as well. “There’s a good news story for some of the membership but not all. And some of the most vulnerable are being left behind again. I don’t like it,” said Fitzpatrick, who sits on the FFAW’s inshore council. >click to read<21:31
Will La.’s shrimpers strike? ‘It’s a last resort’
Acy Cooper bought his first shrimping vessel, an old wooden flatboat, when he was 15. Cooper followed his father and grandfather before him into the rich gumbo Gulf of Mexico waters from the fishing community of Venice on the coast of southern Louisiana. Today Cooper and his two sons and son-in-law operate two Laffite skiffs — one 35-footer and one 30-footer — docked in the same community for another generation. But although many American business owners are bracing for potential negative impacts of a trade war triggered by President Donald Trump’s tariffs, Cooper and his fellow shrimpers are pleading for such protections as foreign producers dump shrimp in the U.S. and cratering prices in the process. >click to read<18:51
Fishing vessel catches fire at sea, crewmembers rescued
Three fishing vessels rescued the crew of the Rose Marie, a 77-foot stern trawler, which caught fire at sea Thursday, Coast Guard officials said. Crewmembers from the fishing vessel Alexis Martina radioed watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England about 1 p.m., reporting the Rose Marie was on fire, according to U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Second Class Nicole J. Groll. The crew abandoned ship into a life raft, she said. The Rose Marie was about 65 miles east of Chatham when the fire started between noon and 12:30 p.m. Thursday. The Seven Seas, another fishing vessel that was nearby, rescued the four crewmembers from their life raft, she said. >click to read< >click for video<15:13
FISH-NL – Labour Relations Board agrees to consider arguments for proceeding with immediate vote
The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) is encouraged that the province’s Labour Relations Board has agreed to consider its arguments to proceed with an immediate vote for inshore harvesters to decide their union fate. “We are confident harvesters will get the vote they’ve been waiting almost 21 months for once the Board considers all evidence,” says Ryan Cleary, President of FISH-NL. “A vote is the only way to determine the true wishes of inshore harvesters.” >click to read<12:52
Trident Seafoods fined a third time for polluting Newport’s Yaquina Bay
Oregon environmental regulators have fined Trident Seafoods Corp. $43,200 for wastewater violations at its Newport surimi factory. It’s the third time since 2015 the state Department of Environmental Quality has fined the company for polluting Yaquina Bay. Seattle-based Trident Seafoods is the largest seafood company in the United States and among the largest in the world.
In Newport, the company holds a permit to discharge treated fish-processing wastewater into the bay from its factory, at 623 Yaquina Bay Boulevard, which processes fish into the imitation crab meat. >click to read<11:52
Gov. Walker declares economic disaster for Chignik fisheries
Citing a preliminary harvest count of 128 sockeye salmon and rapidly declining escapement counts, Gov. Walker declared an economic disaster for the Chignik fisheries region Thursday. According to a Thursday release, the governor’s decision is a result of harvest numbers that pose a threat to communities in the region that rely on subsistence and commercial salmon fishing, including Chignik, Chignik Lake, Chignik Lagoon, Ivanof Bay and Perryville. >click to read<10:06
PETA is coming after Baltimore’s beloved crab
The animal rights group selected the local crustacean as the mascot for its latest pro-vegan campaign. A billboard in Baltimore pictures a crab with the words, “I’m me, not meat. See the individual. Go vegan.” Danielle Ohl, a reporter for the Capital Gazette, tweeted a picture of the billboard Thursday, and it set off some strong reactions. Locals took to Twitter to share their reactions to the billboard that was erected yesterday on the corner of East Baltimore Street near the Shot Tower. Jimmy’s Famous Seafood chimed in, too. “I thought it was fake, honestly,” said Tony Minadakis, owner of the restaurant. “I was shocked. It was pretty tone-deaf.”>click to read<08:58
