Daily Archives: February 22, 2019
‘Life-Threatening’ Emergency on Humboldt Bay as Harbor Entrance Silts Up; Commercial Shipping Closed Down
The entrance to Humboldt Bay Harbor is dangerously shallow at the moment — so shallow that commercial ships are unable to traverse the channel leading to local docks. Commercial fishermen, whose boats don’t draft as much, are still able to get in and out of the bay, but a shallow channel means dangerous conditions, with waves breaking against their craft. It’s so bad right now that if the channel silts in much further, Humboldt County’s fuel supply, most of which comes in by barge, could be at risk. That was the message delivered at an emergency meeting,,, >click to read<20:46
FISH-NL: C-NLOPB ‘waking up’ to concerns over impact of offshore seismic activity
The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) is frustrated the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board isn’t prepared to suspend offshore seismic work, but encouraged the offshore oil and gas regulator is waking up to concerns. “Ottawa takes a precautionary approach to fisheries management — which means being cautious when science is uncertain — but there’s nothing precautionary about allowing seismic to continue until the potential risks are understood. ,” says Ryan Cleary, President of FISH-NL. “The hypocrisy doesn’t escape inshore harvesters.” >click to read<20:06
Squid fishermen in Narragansett concerned about offshore wind farm
With calamari being Rhode Island’s official appetizer, there’s no doubt squid is a lucrative industry in the Ocean State. Ask a group of squid fishermen what it’s worth and they’ll be the first tell you that it’s priceless. Then they’ll say it’s worth about $1.2 billion. However, those fishermen and the fish houses that process and freeze the squid are concerned about an offshore wind farm that will be built in the waters where they make their livelihood. “Getting the public aware of what is potentially happening to their food source is crucial,” said Meghan Lapp of Fisheries Liason of SeaFreeze Limited, one of the many fish houses in Narragansett. >click to read<18:18
NTSB says clam tank flooding likely caused fatal sinking
Federal investigators have determined that the likely cause of the sinking of fishing boat off the coast of Nantucket in 2017 that claimed the lives of two crewmembers was flooding in one of the vessel’s clam tanks. The National Transportation Safety Board in its Feb. 6 report said although flooding in the Misty Blue’s port clam tank was the “probable cause” of the sinking, how the water got in remains undetermined. >click to read<15:50
Central harvesters dig in on state of groundfish
Given the plentiful signs and successful catch rates, Herring Neck harvester Eldred Woodford says the reduction in last year’s cod quota was unnecessary. “The fish was never so thick around here, not in my 40 years. I don’t say John Cabot seen it,” Woodford said. “You go back to the 1980s when fishermen were crying out to DFO that there’s no fish, nobody listened. Now we’re telling them there’s lots of fish and still nobody listens.” ,,, Less than a dozen fishermen attended, as well as two representatives from Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union (FFAW) and FISH-NL president Ryan Cleary.>click to read<15:20
F/V Mary B II – Coast Guard seeks additional information for investigation
The Coast Guard continues the marine casualty investigation of the fishing vessel Mary B II, which capsized off Newport, Oregon, on Jan. 9, 2019, and resulted in the loss of the three crew members and the vessel. A public hearing will be held in Newport around mid-Spring and it is highly encouraged that anyone with information pertaining to the loss of the Mary B II provide it to the investigation team at [email protected]. >click to read<14:08
Fish processor seethes in court over RCMP actions during Shippagan riots
The former owner of a Shippagan crab processing plant testified Thursday about the damage caused by rioters during the 2003 protests. Newfoundland’s Daley Brothers are suing the RCMP for $38 million, alleging the force didn’t do its job during the fires that destroyed their fish plant, warehouse, several crab fishing boats and hundreds of traps. Hundreds of angry fishermen from the Acadian Peninsula descended on Shippagan that May to protest against the federal government’s move to reduce their crab quotas to recognize First Nations’ right to live off fishing. >click to read<13:30
Whales and license laws top lobster industry agenda
The blowy weather that made lobster fishing a hard chance recently might well have been a blessing in disguise. The wind and cold certainly have given shorebound Maine lobstermen a good chance to learn about the tempests engulfing their industry in the Legislature and the world of fisheries regulation. Already beset by limits on how they fish — trap numbers, trawl length, the kind and strength of rope used for groundlines and buoy end lines are all regulated in the name of conservation or protecting endangered northern right whales — lobstermen are waiting to see what new rules regulators may impose on the fishery. >click to read<11:45
Vineyard Wind project in RI moves forward
The future of the Rhode Island commercial fishing industry is hanging in the balance, as the proposal to build the massive Vineyard Wind project moved forward. The media was kicked out of a meeting between the Fisheries Advisory Board Thursday afternoon in Galilee that was presenting the proposed deal with Vineyard Wind to local fisherman that would mitigate the impacts of constructing the offshore $2 billion wind farm. “The clock is ticking,” said Rich Fuka. “They’re trying to expedite this project, and the fishing industry is going to be on the receiving end of a failure.”>click to read<10:50
