Daily Archives: April 28, 2019
Sandwich lobsterman raises concerns about offshore wind farms
After 40 years in the business, Sandwich commercial lobsterman Marc Palombo foresees the presence of fog in the summer months as his biggest worry as he considers whether or not to navigate through the proposed swath of offshore wind turbines south of the Islands.,,,The Coast Guard has begun a study of vessel traffic — a Port Access Route Study, or PARS — in and around the seven offshore energy lease areas south of the Islands, off both Massachusetts and Rhode Island, to determine if any new vessel travel routes are necessary to improve navigational safety,,, >click to read<22:17
Spring lobster season on P.E.I. delayed due to weather
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans will decide Monday whether to open P.E.I.’s spring lobster fishery on Tuesday. Setting day was originally scheduled for Monday, but DFO has delayed the opening due to high winds, according to a department spokesperson Steve Hachey. He said the decision came after consulting with industry representatives on Saturday. A conference call between DFO and industry representatives is scheduled for Monday morning to discuss if it is safe to open the lobster season on Tuesday. About 1,100 fishermen take part in the spring fishery. >click to read<16:22
Inside the cultural shift in commercial fishing, one of Canada’s deadliest industries
For the men and women working in Canada’s commercial fishing industry, every day on the open ocean brings with it life-threatening risks.
The nature of the job — long hours in wet, freezing cold temperatures — and the risks posed by going overboard when workers don’t wear safety gear have made it one of the deadliest industries in the country. Last year was one of the worst on record, with the Transportation and Safety Board (TSB) saying that during the first 10 months of 2018, 17 people died — an all-time high in the industry. But a push to make commercial fishing safer continues. Leonard LeBlanc, chair of the Fisheries Safety Association of Nova Scotia, is leading the charge. >click to read/Video<15:10
An explosion of lucrative banana prawns – Flood disaster turns a profit downstream in the Gulf of Carpentaria
Raptis Pearl skipper Mick McGillivray, with one of his deckhands, celebrated the best start to the banana prawn season in the Gulf of Carpentaria since 1974. A two billion dollar damage bill to Queensland graziers, with an AgForce estimate of 664,000 head dead after February floods – the worst since 1974 – has been compensated to some degree by the best start to the banana prawn harvest in the southern end of the Gulf of Carpentaria for decades. Hardest hit areas, like Julia Creek and McKinlay Shire where 274,000 head were lost, drain into the Flinders River which has nourished an explosion of lucrative banana prawns in warm shallow waters just beyond its mouth. >photo’s, click to read<14:03
This Is Why ‘Deadliest Catch’ Won’t Feature the Time Bandit Anymore
Discovery’s Deadliest Catch season 15 returned earlier this month, with plenty of veteran stars taking the helm for another round of high-stakes crab fishing. Even Captain Sig Hansen made a comeback to the docuseries, despite his big on-screen reveal that he suffered a second heart attack last year. However, there’s one major player that unfortunately won’t be gracing our television screens this time around—the Time Bandit commercial fishing boat. So, with the current Deadliest Catch season well underway, where’s the Time Bandit now, and could we finally see it back on TV next year?>click to read< Sadly, no—it’s currently getting sold. >click for listing<13:05
House Bill 335 – Louisiana seafood labeling bill clears hurdle
Louisiana seafood processors are claiming victory after an early win for a measure they’ve sought for years. They say in many Louisiana restaurants, you’re eating at your own risk, and they hope state lawmakers are going to pass laws to change that. When it comes to the production of shrimp and crawfish, few states measure up. “If you’re looking at shirmp and crawfish, it’s a $500 million industry,” said Louisiana Agriculture Commissioner Mike Strain.,,, “For every 10 shrimp you eat, no matter where you live, including Louisiana, nine and a half of those are imported from somewhere else,” said David Veal with the American Shrimp Association. >Video, click to read<11:21
Alaskan halibut, caught by a century-old Seattle boat, provides a glimpse of Amazon’s strategy with Whole Foods
From the deck of his 106-year-old halibut schooner, undergoing a seasonal overhaul at Fisherman’s Terminal in Seattle, skipper Wade Bassi has better insight than most into what’s happening at Amazon-owned Whole Foods Market, at least as pertains to the product he knows best. While he doesn’t buy halibut much — he’s got a freezer full of it — Bassi, 43 years a fisherman, keeps an eye on how it’s handled and presented in the grocery stores and fish markets. >click to read<09:53
‘Neither country can save the species on its own’ – Reduce amount of rope in water to protect right whales, says U.S. advisory group
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team held four days of meetings ending Friday.
The group proposes the number of lines in the water be reduced by up to 50 per cent in some jurisdictions and that the breaking strength of buoy lines be reduced to 1,700 pounds (771 kilograms) or less. Now the onus is on the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service to consider acting on those recommendations. While researchers from both countries agree that there needs to be less rope in the water, the recommendations are a different approach to that of the Canadian government, which imposed fisheries closures in the Gulf of St. Lawrence last year and again in 2019. >click to read<09:20
