Daily Archives: December 7, 2019

Cuomo requests federal disaster declaration, aid for scallop die-off

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on Friday requested the U.S. Department of Commerce issue a disaster declaration for the Peconic Bay scallop fishery, following a catastrophic die-off of scallops in East End waterways. An immediate declaration of a disaster is needed, he said, to provide “direct economic relief for the New York fishing industry.” In a letter to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, Cuomo requested that the federal government formally declare a fishery failure in the bay scallop fishery in the Peconic Bay Estuary due to a “fishery resource disaster.” >click to read< 15:19

New rule allows NB and Southern NE fishermen to stop throwing away fish

The change, which is also expected to be made in Rhode Island and Connecticut, will allow fishermen to make one trip and then return to the three states and offload their catches without going back to sea after every offload,,The conditions are that they must have licenses to catch fluke in the states where they offload, and the states must be open for catching fluke. “We just want to go from state to state and not kill fish unnecessarily. Anyone who thinks fishermen don’t care about fish is wrong,” said Tony Borges, owner and captain of Sao Paulo, Photos, >click to read< 14:12

Instead of throwing their catch overboard, fishermen are feeding the hungry in N.J.

Despite its health benefits, fresh seafood has been a rarity at soup kitchens and food pantries up to now,, Though gleaning of meats and fresh vegetables has been happening for centuries — Hunters for the Hungry has provided 2 million pounds of venison in New Jersey — the aptly named Seafood Gleaning Program is the brainchild of longtime Jersey Shore fisherman Brick Wenzel,, It includes the Fisherman’s Dock Cooperative in Point Pleasant Beach, the Trinity Seafood processing plant in Lakewood, and the nonprofit Fulfill food pantry,,  A $50,000 grant from the Tyson Foods Protein Innovation Fund pays for boxing and labeling. >click to read< 11:56

CLF says nothing short of an end to directed fishing – Another cut in cod fishing not enough for environmentalists

Fishing regulators are proposing another cutback to the catch limits for Atlantic cod, but some environmentalists say the move isn’t significant enough to slow the loss of the species. Atlantic cod fishing was once one of the biggest marine industries in New England, but the fishery has deteriorated after years of overfishing and environmental changes. Fishermen caught less than 2 million pounds of the fish in 2017, decades after routinely catching more than 100 million pounds annually in the early 1980s. It was the worst year for the fishery in its history. >click to read< 10:31

Proposed land trade may turn the tide for Sitka’s maritime industry

A private business has proposed building a new marine haulout in Sitka, in exchange for 17 acres of city-owned waterfront just north of its private cruise ship terminal. The deal was well-received by the board of Sitka’s industrial park at its latest meeting on Wednesday (12-4-19), and by the large number of Sitka’s commercial fishing fleet who attended. >click to read< 08:25

After three years at the helm of FISH-NL, Ryan Cleary contemplates his future

The large FISH-NL banner that hung behind the head table at every membership meeting lies on the floor, half rolled up.“You can tell how many meetings we had,” Cleary said, pointing to the numerous pin holes in the corners of the vinyl sign. Cleary may be dismantling his office and walking away from FISH-NL, but he’s far from done fighting for what he believes in.,,, In 2016, when several fishermen, one by one, approached him for help to start a new union, apart from the FFAW-Unifor, Cleary was full steam ahead. >click to read< 07:46

On the 78th Anniversary, Pearl Harbor Veteran to Be Interred on Sunken Ship

It was an attack that shaped history, leaving more than 2,400 Americans dead and forcing the United States to enter a war it had been reluctant to join. On Saturday, the 78th anniversary of the 1941 sneak attack by Japan on Pearl Harbor, the remains of one of the survivors of the assault will be interred on his sunken ship, the USS Arizona. Lauren Bruner, who was among the last sailors rescued from the Arizona as it exploded into flames and sank, died in September at age 98. >click to read< 07:06