Monthly Archives: February 2020
Deal emerges to bring 1st offshore wind farms to California Coast, but a fleshed-out deal could be elusive
For years, the military has managed to block the establishment of offshore wind lease areas off of Southern and central California, effectively holding back development across the entire state.,, Now, a tentative compromise is being floated by Rep. Salud Carbajal (D-Calif.) with backing from the military and federal and state agencies: Let developers produce wind power in central California waters that the military had once ruled incompatible with its own operations, But a fleshed-out deal could be elusive. Military spokespeople and state officials who oversee coastal land use were quick to downplay suggestions that a breakthrough is afoot. >click to read< 17:40
Know your ENGO History! Pew’s Conquest Of The Ocean
This is the story of how a handful of scientists set out from Oregon with an unshakable belief that they knew what was best for the rest of us. They ended up conquering the world (or at least the watery portions of it) and got rich along the way, while the fishermen and their families only worked harder and got poorer. When their scientific dogma connected with nearly unlimited resources, the earth quaked and the resulting tidal wave swept aside all the usual checks and balances. It carried along the media, the politicians, the government agencies and the non-governmental organizations with such force that seemingly no one could stand against the tide. By David Lincoln, >click to read< 15:25
Water War: Florida and Georgia battle over water, as panhandle oystermen struggle to survive
Michael Dasher lowered a long pair of tongs into the water,,, His 53-year-old calloused hands grasped not just the 12-foot-long (3.7-m-long) tool but a way of life that Florida panhandle oystermen say is dying: Last year, they hauled in 16,000 pounds (7,257 kg) of oysters worth $130,000, according to state figures, a fraction of the 2012 catch of 3 million pounds (1.4 million kg) worth $8.8 million. “It’s like dumping sacks of rocks every day, but I don’t know how to do anything else,” said Dasher, who fretted that his 32-year-old son nicknamed “Little Mike,” a fifth-generation oysterman in the family, may also be its last. Their future may be determined by the U.S. Supreme Court, >click to read< 13:08
Maine will create a commercial menhaden fishing license in 2021, won’t close growing bait fishery as previously planned.
Stories of those who had hoped to jump into menhaden fishing, and pleas from lobstermen in search of affordable bait, persuaded state lawmakers to keep the menhaden fishery open while the state works out details of its proposed licensing system.,, A legislative committee voted in favor of the Department of Marine Resources’ menhaden licensing bill, but only after deleting a section of the bill that would have set a “control date” for the menhaden fishery. A control date is a cutoff date that can be used to decide who is eligible to fish. >click to read< 11:08
Salmon fishing closures won’t save the whales. Federal government accused of going after salmon fishery as ‘low hanging fruit’
“We (recreational fishers) are taking one per cent of the chinook salmon stock. That’s not the problem. The real problem is these whales are swimming in waters full of human waste,” said Peter Hovey. “It’s all the drugs going down the drain, the human waste, toxic runoff from agricultural operations, and everything else we’re putting into the water. Between that and the inbreeding that we caused, it’s no wonder their numbers are in decline.” Connie and Peter Hovey, >click to read< 10:19
Always Top Quality! Your Seafreeze Ltd. Price Sheet for February 2020 Has Arrived!
Contact our sales team today! To review the complete price list from Seafreeze Ltd., >Click here< – “The only thing we treat our fish with, is respect” Seafreeze Ltd! >Click here< to visit our website!
F/V New Age: Fluke Run From Montauk Turns Into Close Encounter With Hypothermia
Capt. Bill Carman was on a routine fluke run with Mitchell Lester of East Hampton and Mike Havens of Springs, all experienced fishermen, when the seas came up in the early morning hours of Feb. 12. Their boat, the New Age, a Montauk-based 50-foot fishing vessel owned by Chris Winkler, stayed afloat, but listed to one side so much they feared it would roll over. The men refuted an early report from the Coast Guard last week that they were in the water when help arrived. >click to read< 08:48
New Commercial Fishing License Opportunities Available This Year For RI Residents
The Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) is accepting applications for new and renewed commercial fishing licenses through Friday, February 28. New endorsement opportunities for Rhode Island residents are as follows: 36 new quahog endorsements will be issued on the Commercial Fishing License (CFL) that allow for the commercial harvest of quahogs. Six new soft shell clam endorsements will be issued on the CFL that allow for the commercial harvest of soft shell clams. In addition, 15 new restricted finfish endorsements, available to both residents and non-residents, will be issued this year on the Principal Effort License (PEL). For more, >click to read< 07:22
The $2 million fish? Jersey fishermen calling on government to allow targeting the bluefin tuna market
Don Thompson, president of the Jersey Fishermen’s Association, said Jersey should look to Prince Edward Island, the smallest Canadian province, whose industry for commercial and charter boat tuna fishing is worth about $2 million a year. In recent years, fishermen have reported seeing an ‘abundance’ of Atlantic blue fin tuna – which are classified as endangered – around the Island in the summer months but there is a total ban on catching them for Jersey vessels. No such ban applies to French boats. French newspaper Ouest France reported that 5.4 tonnes of tuna were landed at Granville market last year. A single fish can be worth thousands of pounds. >click to read< 21:18
This Fishing Life – Six-part documentary gave viewers insight of the struggles facing the Cornish fishing industry
These are the faces of a new BBC Two documentary giving viewers an unprecedented look into the Cornish fishing industry. Cornwall: This Fishing Life was a six part series on BBC Two that finished earlier this week, which touched upon everything from Brexit to banning the sale of second homes. The first episode was focused on Mevagissey, one of the few remaining working fishing villages in the county, which has been tackling the issues posed by tourism. It was followed by a second part which focused on Newlyn and the community’s strong support for Brexit – with over 90% of the UK fishing industry voting to leave the European Union. This page has 38 great photos, >click to read, view< 18:50
Lobster trap tag from sunken Newport boat washes up on an English beach
When the lobster boat Holly & Alexander sunk south of Nantucket in 2003, the crew had been hauling from 1,954 lobster traps located on the bottom of the ocean, 100 miles offshore along the continental shelf. Each trap had its own lobster trap tag, according to the boat’s owner, William “Bill” Palombo. At least one of those lobster tags floated the more than 3,000 miles from the Nantucket area to the coast of Cornwall, England, where it was recently recovered by a volunteer from Friends of Portheras Cove, which conducts regular beach cleanups. >click to read< 15:12
Council passes legislation ending zoning dispute between watermen and a neighbor
When boys in the Whitehall Beach neighborhood reach teenage years, they go and work for the watermen. Some stay for a long time, some don’t, but Pat Donoho, who has lived across the street from the creek for 51 years, said the length of time is not as important as what they learn: a good work ethic. Donoho’s son was one of them — which is why she turned up to the Anne Arundel County Council chambers Tuesday night to testify in support of a bill that allows for watermen’s commercial use in certain residential areas, which were at risk due to zoning challenges. The council unanimously passed the bill following public comments. >click to read< 13:28
P.E.I. fishermen adjust to newly imposed gear markings
The P.E.I. Fisherman’s Association said it’s receiving calls from local fishermen asking for clarification over the new gear markings imposed by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Like any new management measure, Griffin said, it will take time to get used to. “Prior to this there were no gear markings,” she said. “It’s a brand new … management measure in place, so there’s always a little bit confusion when a new management measure comes in,” Griffin said. To reflect the United States Marine Mammal Protection Act, fixed gear fishermen on P.E.I. will now be required to have specially-coloured fishing gear rope. One piece to represent the Gulf region, one to represent the species they are fishing and one to represent the location of their trap. >click to read< 11:48
Carlos Rafael: Twelve fishing vessels sold to Blue Harvest Fisheries to stay in New Bedford
“Today’s acquisition by Blue Harvest represents a level of investment in New Bedford and the groundfish fishery we haven’t seen in years,” said Port of New Bedford Director Ed Anthes-Washburn. “The Port is pleased to see that Blue Harvest is continuing to invest in vessels, processing and facilities.”
Rafael, dubbed ‘The Codfather,’ controlled a significant portion of New Bedford’s fishing fleet before a federal investigation and ensuing guilty plea led to a 46-month prison sentence for falsifying fishing quota, cash smuggling, and tax evasion which he started in November 2017. >click to read< 11:02
Orsted and Eversource Wind Farm Plan Is Paused. What about those jobs promised by the mult-national wind farmers?!!
Orsted, the Danish energy company that acquired Deepwater Wind of Providence, R.I., in 2018 and then joined with the Connecticut energy company Eversource on the South Fork Wind Farm and other offshore wind projects, has set a timeline that would have the wind farm operational by December 2022. The federal government’s pause on it and on Vineyard Wind, a proposed wind farm jointly under development by Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners and Avangrid Renewables, have put their respective timelines in doubt. Vineyard Wind, based in New Bedford, Mass., issued a statement last week in which Lars Pedersen, its chief executive officer, said that its 2022 target date for completion “is no longer expected.” >click to read< 09:48
Scots offshore wind farm revolution has created just 6% of jobs forecast by ministers – At the time of the 2010 strategy, it was said that Scotland had the natural resources to become the “green energy powerhouse of Europe” and said: “It is critical that Scotland exploits the opportunities being made available by the offshore wind industry.” Sound like the crap todays carnival barking politicians are spewing today! >click to read< 09:50
A new fish processor is buoying King Cove’s fishermen. But,,
King Cove has long been a company town. For decades, its fishermen were frustrated by Peter Pan Seafoods, Inc., the private company that runs King Cove’s own massive processing plant. Especially vexing were the limits: While another processor in the region was buying far more salmon, Peter Pan would only buy 35,000 pounds from each boat, each day, said A.J. Newman, a King Cove city council member who skippers the 58-foot Lady Lee Dawn.“It’s hard to watch your friends catch double what you caught,” said Newman. “Peter Pan had too many boats,,, >click to read< 08:44
PFDs: Encourage fishermen to wear lifejackets while on deck – Safety training and equipment saved lives
The Polaris sank so rapidly that skipper Gordon Mills only had time to send out a Mayday to the coastguard before the vessel became submerged. But it was local fishing vessel, the Lynn Marie, which arrived first on scene. The skipper and a crew member from Polaris had been in the water for at least 15-20 minutes before help arrived. Skipper of the Lynn Marie feared the worst as they arrived at the scene as the Polaris had already gone below the water. He stopped his engine and heard two men in the water shouting. >click to read< 07:38
Australia: Senate inquiry on impacts of seismic testing starts in Hobart
An inquiry into the impact of seismic testing in Australian waters has heard there is little scientific research into the effects it has on marine life and commercial fisheries. A Senate committee conducting the inquiry held its first hearing on Hobart on Wednesday. The state’s fishing industry has claimed that 24,000 tonnes of scallops, with a retail value of more than $70 million, were killed in 2010 after seismic testing was conducted in the Bass Strait. John Hammond, from the Scallop Fishermen’s Association of Tasmania, said an area north-west of Flinders Island used to provide an enormous bounty of scallops for fishers, but had been barren since 2010. >click to read< 22:49
21 Oct 2016, Scallop deaths linked to seismic surveys being carried out on seabed, Tasmanian report finds – >click to read<
Wrangell fisherman dies at sea near Nemo Point
A veteran fisherman from Wrangell has been found dead aboard his fishing boat 12 miles south of town. Authorities ID’d the deceased as 53-year-old Randall Ferdinand, a professional salmon troller. His body was recovered aboard his boat, the Chase River, which had run aground. Wrangell Search and Rescue chief Tim Buness says 12 members of his crew responded Sunday to a report of a vessel in apparent distress. “A local trapper was going by and observed it, that a boat was partially submerged >click to read< 18:36
Family Fishermen Challenge Illegal, Industry-Killing At-Sea Monitoring Rule from Department of Commerce
Cause of Action Institute (“CoA Institute”) today filed a lawsuit on behalf of a group of New Jersey family fishermen to block a new regulation that would force them to pay for third-party “at-sea monitors.” The industry-killing rule—which was designed by the New England Fishery Management Council and promulgated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and U.S. Department of Commerce—will require certain boats in the Atlantic herring fishery to carry “at-sea monitors” and at their own cost. >click to read< 14:40
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 48 x 20 Dixon Lobster/Tuna/Longliner, 750HP Volvo, 20 kw Northern Lights
To see specifications, information and 15 photos >click here< To see all the boats in this series, >click here<14:08
Fish processors brace for reductions after Board of Fish decisions
Over the past two weeks the Alaska Board of Fisheries has adopted changes to fishing regulations and management plans in Upper Cook Inlet that aim to put more fish into the Kenai River and streams and the MatSu valley. The plans the board passed to increase both sockeye and king salmon escapement goals in the Kenai River came with restrictions for setnet fishermen, and the plan to allow more fish to the MatSu valley took away an area traditionally fished by the drift gillnet fleet. >click to read<
Some Enviros Disappointed With Newsom – seemed reluctant to help protect rivers and fisheries if actions anger agricultural interests.
“He’s a complete disappointment on water policy, and it appears he’s in the pocket of Westlands Water District and the Metropolitan Water District of Southern California,” Stokely said. “At the rate he’s going, he’s likely going to be responsible for the extinction of several species of salmon in California.” Another environmental advocate, the California program director for Defenders of Wildlife Kim Delfino, said she was cautiously optimistic about Newsom’s environmental stance until two weeks ago, when he announced a plan to allow water users to voluntarily cut back on their own water use — a plan that she and others warn will fail to meet the ecological needs of rivers. >click to read< 11:59
US-China Trade Deal: US lobster dealers anxious to resume business with China
Hugh Reynolds, a lobster dealer from Stonington, Maine, was excited to learn that the China-US phase-one economic and trade deal came into effect on Feb 14. According to the deal, China promises to purchase more agricultural products from the United States, and lobster is highlighted in the sector.,, Annie Tselikis, executive director of the Maine Lobster Dealers’ Association, said China accounted for 15 percent to 20 percent of the export value of US lobsters at the time. >click to read< 09:43
U.S. seafood exports dry up while cheap Russian crab is undercutting local industry
Fishermen in Alaska claim they have been caught up in Russia’s counter-sanctions, with Moscow’s ban on western food imports blocking sales to one of their key markets while allowing cheap Russian seafood to flood into the U.S. Russian seafood exports to the U.S. have jumped 69% since 2013 — the year before Russia blocked most imports of agricultural products from the U.S. and the EU in a tit-for-tat response to sanctions levelled against Russia after it annexed Crimea. >click to read< 08:11
Lobster fisherman hopes to survive impact of coronavirus, rising costs
In Tasmania’s north-west, fisherman Scott Inkson is one of the lucky ones who may survive the impact of the coronavirus on the lobster industry. As COVID-19, as it is now known, continues to prevent live fish exports to China — his main market — he has decided to set up shop off his boat in Wynyard and give the community a cheap treat., “After 90 minutes on the wharf we completely sold out., King Island fisherman Mark Smith, 28, has struggled to sell his lobsters this season. >click to read< 23:15
Access To Information docs from DFO shine light on collapse of Atlantic Harp seal harvest
As first reported by Blacklock’s Reporter, the harp seal harvest last year was halved from 2016 despite subsidies paid to processors to promote seal meat recipes. A total 30,435 harp seals were hunted last year, a fraction of the 217,850 taken annually prior to a European Union ban on Canadian seal exports. Legislators have blamed the 2009 E.U. ban on exports of Atlantic pelts, oil and other Atlantic seal products for the death of the industry.,, The Commons fisheries committee in a 2017 report Newfoundland & Labrador’s Northern Cod Fishery said Canada should promote a larger seal hunt, >click to read< 22:30
A fowl wind blows offshore
With the increased science available, showing a variety of impacts, The BOEM (Bureau Of Ocean Energy Management) Lease schedule through 2024 within the Department of Interior should be reevaluated. Since there is no official BOEM Atlantic, director, or administrator that has ever been permanently appointed, the request for a Atlantic review has not been initiated. A reliance on the bidders financial review of the lease sites is how BOEM is determining the viability for development. ( A buyer beware mentality ). This policy is a mistake and is costing the taxpayers millions. Brick Wenzel >click to read< 21:17
F/V Jamie Lynn stuck ashore due to tides, strong winds, and a needed plan to release her
Feb. 6 when high-speed winds howled through the Lowcountry, a shrimp trawler was pushed into the mud. It remains there until a plan can be made to release it. The Jamie Lynn was anchored on the Mount Pleasant side of Crab Bank and blew onto the bank of the Old Village, just southeast of the mouth of Shem Creek between two privately-owned docks. The boat was purchased by captain Wayne Pye and his fiancé, Jamie Lynn Kennedy,,, According to Kennedy, that’s right about the same time that the shrimp stopped showing up. photos, >click to read< 16:20
Central Gulf of Alaska halibut catch limit cut
Halibut catch limits for 2020 have been trimmed overall by seven percent by the International Pacific Halibut Commission, with the Central Gulf of Alaska, Area 3A, allocated a harvest of 7.05 million pounds, down 12.53 percent from 8.06 million pounds in 2019. The largest area percentage cut was for Area CDE, the Bering Sea, where the quota was cut 15.20 percent, from 2.04 million pounds to 1.73 million pounds. Area 4A, in the Aleutians, likewise received a 14.55 percent cut, from 1.65 million pounds in 2019 to 1.41 million pounds for 2020. >click to read< 12:03
