Daily Archives: January 8, 2019
RI fishing professionals worry offshore wind farm would harm industry
Fishermen across the Ocean State are worried a proposed offshore wind farm in the Rhode Island Sound would harm the state’s fishing industry. The Coastal Resources Management Council will vote on Jan. 22 whether to approve Vineyard Wind’s proposal to install 84 wind turbines off of Martha’s Vineyard to supply power to Massachusetts. “This is a losing proposition for the fishing industry- big time,” said Lanny Dellinger, who is the chair of the state’s fisheries advisory board. >click to read<20:33
Government Officials Ignore Public Comment, Create New Financial Burden on Fisherman
In a letter acquired by Cause of Action Institute (CoA Institute), it appears that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Department of Commerce have approved a controversial fishery management proposal while ignoring public comments critical of the plan. This approval also seems to have been issued before the close of a second public comment period for implementing regulations. The NOAA rulemaking is expected to seriously impact commercial fishing on the Eastern seaboard by applying costly new burdens on fishermen. >click to read<19:23
Crab season off to a stormy start
Local commercial Dungeness crab fishermen overcame challenging weather conditions over the weekend in delivering their first catch of the season. Washington and Oregon crabbers set gear during the three-day “soak” period over the New Year’s holiday under blue skies, but then faced stormy weather leading up to the official opening of the fishery on Friday. “It wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies,” said Buck & Ann captain Dennis Rice, who delivered a vessel “plugged” with estimated 35,000 pounds of Dungeness crab Monday, Dec. 7 at Ilwaco Landing. >click to read<15:54
All right whales survived visit to Canadian waters last year
No North Atlantic right whales died in Canadian waters in 2018, so protective measures will continue, a Fisheries spokesperson says. The year free of deaths means the protective measures implemented last year are working, said Adam Burns, director general for fisheries resource management with Department of Fisheries and Oceans. “In 2018 there were at least as many North Atlantic right whales in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence as there were in 2017, when we had all of those incidents, and we continued to have fishing activity in those same areas,” Burns said. In 2017, the death toll came to 18. Twelve of the whales died in Canadian waters. >click to read<14:17
Newfoundland town fears for safety of seals swarming its streets
Seals have been swarming the streets of a northern Newfoundland town, with residents fearing for the animals’ safety but being warned to stay away. Brendon Fitzpatrick of Roddickton said seals had been spotted in the area as early as October, but in recent weeks the animals have wandered into town, sometimes in the middle of the road. >click to read<11:24
FISH-NL renews call for halt to seismic testing – ‘If plankton isn’t protected you might as well say goodbye to the fish’
The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) is once again calling on the Canada/Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB) to suspend offshore seismic work in light of new research that reveals plankton productivity has plunged. The research by the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) doesn’t link the dramatic and persistent drop in plankton to seismic activity, but other research has found the intense acoustic signals may damage the critical elements of the food chain. “It’s highly coincidental that as seismic activity ramped up plankton productivity plunged,” says Ryan Cleary, President of FISH-NL. “Seismic activity may be necessary for offshore oil and gas development, but it must not come at the expense of our wild fisheries and marine ecosystem — cutting off our nose to spite our face.” >click to read<10:43
Riding Alongside One of the World’s Last Whaling Tribes
An up-close look at the Lamalerans of Indonesia, one of the last hunter-gatherer societies on the planet Baleo! Baleo! — “The hunt is on!” The cry resounded through the village. A minute before, a motorboat had raced into the bay, and its crew had screamed the signal to the men on the beach, who themselves had taken up the cry. Now every man, woman, and child who had heard their alarm was adding a voice to the shouted relay, until all fifteen hundred souls in the ramshackle houses and surrounding jungle chorused that the sperm whales had been sighted. >click to read<10:02
