Monthly Archives: December 2019
B.C. fish farm fire may have allowed non-native salmon to escape
A Vancouver Island fish farm company says it’s still trying to determine whether any farmed Atlantic salmon escaped into B.C. waters after a fire damaged one of their pens. There were 21,000 Atlantic salmon in the pen when it was damaged on Dec. 20, according to Mowi, the company that operates the fish farm near Port Hardy on Vancouver Island. >click to read< 12:09
Gear Wars: Scallop dredgers accused of sabotaging creel fishing gear
A minority of skippers vying to dredge for scallops off Peterhead and Fraserburgh have threatened creel fishermen and towed away their gear, resulting in miles of rope and tonnes of plastic left dumped in the ocean. At least 100 tonnes of crabs and lobsters are lost every year from gear vandalism off the east coast, according to creel fishermen who have accused Marine Scotland of complicity by failing to act. >click to read< 08:24
Court: Trump Administration Unlawfully OK’d Longline Fishing Off California
The ruling released late Friday responds to a lawsuit filed by the Center for Biological Diversity and Turtle Island Restoration Network after the fishing permit issued in April exempted vessels from the federal ban on longline gear off California. Longlines stretch up to 60 miles, with thousand of baited hooks intended to catch swordfish and tuna. >click to read< 07:52
In Nova Scotia, extremes of elation and despair in wake of the Northern Pulp mill closure
There was despair and elation in northeastern Nova Scotia on Saturday,,, For Warren Francis, a lobster fisherman, and his sister, Chief Andrea Paul, this was a long anticipated moment., However, in nearby New Glasgow, Northern Pulp co-workers Kim MacLaughlin and Wanda Skinner say they are fearful for their families’ well-being. >click to read< 07:05
Army Corps of Engineers’ Draft Environmental Impact Statement for Pebble Project is inadequate and underestimates potential impacts
Congress yesterday completed a spending deal that includes a stern warning to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers regarding its rushed and flawed permitting process for the proposed Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska. The warning, included in a report to the appropriations bill that covers the Department of Interior’s spending,,, >click to read< 15:39
Have you had enough?
Since its inception in 1976, the agency charged with managing our fisheries, the NMFS, has overseen their decline, a decline which in most cases was a product of their own machinations.Usually most ideas the government has for managing our lives are well intended but terribly executed, this was a prime example. NMFS, for all that it was intended to be and do for our fisheries, has failed and in some cases, this wasn’t by mistake, but by design. By John Rice, >click to read< , and the comment venue is open there! 13:37
Gov. Inslee Report Weighs Future of Snake River
It’s designed to increase understanding on both sides of the issue. Amy Grondin, a commercial fisher in Port Townsend, was interviewed for the report and says the salmon industry continues to be hurt because of the dams’ effect on fish migration. “Over the last 50 years, the commercial fishing fleet has been asked to compromise and to not fish and cut back their numbers, and annually we see what we’re allowed to catch become less and less,” says Grondin. “We’re really at a tipping point for the fish and the fleets.” Audio, >click to read/listen<11:00
Rare one-in-100million albino lobster caught off the Yorkshire coast
An incredibly rare albino lobster has gone on display after being caught off the coast of Scarborough. The National Trust have taken custody of the crustacean, whose pigmentation is so rare that only one in 100 million lobsters have the same colouring. It is living in a display tank at the Old Coastguard Station in Robin Hood’s Bay after a fishing trawler caught it near Scarborough. >click to read< 08:21
A California dilemma: Save the whales or eat the crabs?
I had always assumed Californians loved whales, and that measures to save the gigantic, federally protected creatures would be universally applauded. I was wrong. “There are so many whales out there! When we stopped shooting them with exploding harpoon tips, the whale population started to increase,” Collins said. “The gray whales are at historical levels!” Singling out the commercial crab fleet feels extremely unfair to Collins. After all, he said, ship strikes kill more whales than crab lines. “But we are the only ones paying for that!” >click to read< 06:56
Head-turning new scallop boat Viking Power arrives in New Bedford
Among the half-dozen people who gathered on the Fairhaven Bridge at 9 a.m. to watch the scallop vessel come into port were friends of Captain Marty Harris, sharing the event with his hospitalized father via a live video call. “We were concerned he wasn’t going to see it,” said Jean Jones of Mattapoisett, whose daughter was running the video. “I think it’s incredible, I have to admit.” Commissioned by Fleet Fisheries owner Lars Vinjerud II, the boat has a hull that slopes outward at the bow, creating a rounded point below the water line, like the nose of rocket. 13 Photo’s, >click to read< 15:44
The Next Generation: Fleet Fisheries’ new scallop boat is turning heads – more photos! >click to read< 10/3/2019
UPDATED: Charleston Ice Dock on fire; Charleston Ice House a complete loss
According to a press release from the Coos County Sheriff’s Office, the ice house fire began releasing ammonia at 9 a.m. today and is why the public is being told to keep a distance. The ice house is located across from the US. Coast Guard Boat Station. Video, photos, >click to read< Crews respond to ammonia spill in Coos Bay -The facility produces commercial ice for the area’s commercial fishing fleet. >click to read< 14:26
Update 6:30 p.m.: Charleston Ice House a complete loss; toxic smoke evacuation order lifted – >click to read< 12/21/2019 07:52
Northern Pulp: Nova Scotia rejects pulp mill’s plea for more time, offers $50M for workers
Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil has rejected a pulp mill’s plea for a deadline extension that would have allowed it to continue dumping wastewater near a First Nation after Jan. 31.,,An emotional McNeil told a news conference that the mill has been given ample time to clean up its act and stop dumping effluent into the Boat Harbour lagoon near the Pictou Landing First Nation. >click to read< 13:33
UK-wide funding scheme supports purchase of life-saving safety equipment for fishermen
The new UK-wide funding scheme, which is being delivered by Seafish in co-operation with the MCA and Trinity House, is open to owners of active UK registered commercial fishing vessels who have not previously received support to purchase PLBs from elsewhere. It allows them to claim a reimbursement of £200 on the cost of each item purchased for their crew,, >click to read< For further details and information on how to apply, >click here< 11:22
NOAA Issues Final Rule to Require Turtle Excluder Device Use for all Skimmer Trawl Vessels 40 Feet and Greater in Length
NOAA originally published a proposed rule in December 2016 that would have required all skimmer trawl, pusher-head trawl, and wing net vessels to use TEDs in their nets. In response to public comment and further deliberation, however, the final rule was revised. >click to read details<, Meanwhile, the enviro groups Plan to Save Sea Turtles From Shrimp Boats Scaled Way Back – “We’re scratching our heads on why this change happened,” said Gib Brogan, fishery campaign manager for Oceana, which sued to get the devices into inshore shrimp nets in NOAA’s Southeast Region. >click to read< 10:20
Meet the business elite who took up the fight to get fish farms out of B.C.’s water
In classic West Coast style, Allard is wearing jeans and a blue Arcteryx zip up, but it’s his red trucker hat that really stands out. It says Wild First. Allard is the president of Hearthstone Investments, a private investment firm he runs out of a small house-turned-office a block from the beach. He’s also the chairman of Wild Salmon Forever, a group of influential business-types who’ve taken a particular interest in the future of salmon farming. >click to read< 08:35
Coast Guard says it will continue rescues near wind farms
State Sen. Susan Sosnowski said last week that the U.S. Coast Guard will continue to conduct its search-and-rescue missions in and near wind farms.,, The Coast Guard confirmed the information last week as well.,, Two other agencies, the U.S. Navy and the Federal Aviation Administration, also responded to the task force’s concerns relating to the displacement of vessel traffic, collision risks and radar interference. >click to read< 07:44
Coast Guard rescues five people from a fishing vessel southwest of the Golden Gate Bridge
The Coast Guard rescued five people from a fishing vessel approximately 14 miles southwest of the Golden Gate Bridge, Wednesday. At approximately 4:45 p.m., the boat captain of the Mandy Jane fishing vessel issued a mayday call for assistance via VHF-FM channel 16 to Coast Guard Sector San Francisco command center watchstanders after his boat began taking on water with four additional people aboard. >click to read< 20:17
Seabrook: New Hampshire Fishermen deserve voice in offshore wind plans
Selectmen are abandoning a task force looking at offshore wind turbines in the Gulf of Maine, demanding their local fishermen have more direct inclusion.,, Fishing communities like in Seabrook have expressed strong concerns about the turbines’ impact on the ocean and the fish they harvest for a living.,, They said in their letter to the OSI they wanted fishermen to have a direct seat on the task force, which is comprised of elected officials from New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine. >click to read< 18:08
Omega Protein Statement on Menhaden Fishery Moratorium
Omega Protein is disappointed in today’s decision by the Secretary of Commerce to impose a moratorium on Virginia’s menhaden fishery. This is the first time that a moratorium has been placed on a fishery that is not overfished and is healthy by every measure. The ruling is the result of a requested federal non-compliance review from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC),,, >click to read< 15:52
Coast Guard rescues 3 fishermen from vessel taking on water near Calibogue Sound
The Coast Guard rescued three people from a vessel taking on water in the vicinity of Calibogue Sound, Thursday. A Coast Guard Station Tybee Island 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew arrived on scene with the vessel taking on water and removed one crewman from the vessel. While attempting to remove the other two crewmen, the vessel began to sink, and the two crewmen went into the water where they were recovered by the RBM crew. >click to read< 11:11
Cod could choke catch of other fish
The New England Fishery Management Council approved the management framework that sets Northeast multispecies groundfish catch limits for 2020-2022 earlier this month. And local groundfishermen are looking at significant increases in several flounder stocks, American plaice and haddock. But the state of the cod fishery in the Gulf of Maine and on Georges Bank remains a point of contention. >click to read< 09:06
Large land-based salmon farms face opposition in Maine
“There’s a lot of things wrong with this project,” said neighbour Ellie Daniels. “But one of the major [problems] is water use, the discharge. And then the carbon footprint is gigantic on these things.” Daniels said Nordic Aquafarms proposes to use 7.7 million gallons of water a day, 30 per cent fresh, and 70 per cent seawater. On top of that, a series of onsite diesel generators will be required to create the energy to pump and circulate water in roofed and enclosed oval pens rising several storeys from ground level. >click to read< 08:14
Your View: Turning fishery into police state won’t stop fraudsters like Carlos Rafael
First, I want to point out that none of this is to defend Carlos Rafael. The nicest thing he ever said about honest, small boat fishermen like me was to compare us to mosquitoes to his elephant. (“The maggots screaming on the sidelines, they’re done. They can scream all they want. Nobody can save them,”>click to read<) I do, however, think this case has one notable shortcoming in that the New York dealer who delivered his “bags of jingles” was never charged. Why? Maybe it is because enforcement used a crooked dealer as its star witness,,, by David Goethel >click to read< 22:23
Video: Emergency crews battle shrimp trawler fire near Core Creek bridge
Emergency crews from several departments battled a boat fire near the Core Creek bridge Tuesday evening. Carteret County Fire Marshall Eddie Lewis says the fire was reported at about 4:45 p.m. and crews arrived to find a shrimp trawler burning near the dock. The trawler– which Lewis says he can comfortably confirm was a fishing vessel — was a 1987 built, 56-foot boat named the Melissa Ann II– and was occupied by two people at the time of the fire. Video, photo’s >click to read< 20:05
Ocean Beauty accepts offer on seafood plant for sale in Petersburg
Ocean Beauty Seafoods says it has accepted an offer on the shuttered seafood processing plant on the Petersburg waterfront, but is not identifying the buyer. The former cannery and seafood plant has been on the market for over a year. Recently, the price was reduced on both that facility and a nearby bunkhouse for the plant workers. >click to read< 15:42
Coast Guard medevacs man 90 miles southeast of Charleston
A Coast Guard Air Facility Charleston MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew medevaced a man from the 72-foot fishing vessel, Seneca, Tuesday, approximately 90 miles southeast of Charleston. The Dolphin helicopter crew safely hoisted a 33-year old man using a rescue basket and transported him to the Charleston Executive Airport where emergency medical services took him to Medical University of South Carolina for further medical care. >click to read< 14:52
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 68′ Steel Longliner, 500HP Cummins, 30-kw gensets, Federal Permits
Specifications, information and 25 photos >click here< To see all the boats in this series, >click here<13:47
Study: offshore renewable energy installations rough on marine life
Researchers suggest that if marine renewable energy devices (MREDs) – such as wave energy converters and wind turbines – are placed in marine environments without consideration of environmental consequences, marine life could be severely damaged. That stands in stark contrast to the environmentally friendly mindset that drives such devices in the first place. The study insists that these energy devices can greatly advance climate goals but cautions that greater thought must be given to when, where and how they are implemented. >click to read< 12:41
Energy conglomerate spent $14.5M to bury subsea cables as result of unexpected redfish population boom!
It’s a fish story no one saw coming, at least not Halifax-based energy conglomerate Emera. The parent company of Nova Scotia Power disclosed this week to the Utility and Review Board that it spent almost $14,492,000 this summer to bury its Maritime Link cables lying on the floor of the Cabot Strait between Newfoundland and Cape Breton. The cables were protected because an unprecedented explosion in the redfish population in the Gulf of St Lawrence is about to trigger a corresponding boom in bottom trawling in the area. >click to read< 10:09
P.E.I. fishermen, Indigenous groups pleased with Northern Pulp decision
P.E.I. fisheries and Indigenous rights organizations, and the province say they are pleased the Nova Scotia government has rejected a plan by Pictou’s Northern Pulp plant to pipe treated effluent into the Northumberland Strait between Nova Scotia and P.E.I. Nova Scotia had until Tuesday to decide whether or not to approve Northern Pulp’s proposal for a new treatment facility that would pump up to 85 million litres of treated effluent daily into the strait. >click to read< 09:31
