Daily Archives: March 5, 2020
Quinlan Brothers Ltd. Tenacity and community can overcome adversity
Eight hours. That’s all it took to put an entire season of production, hundreds of jobs and 62 years of work by three generations of the Quinlan family in jeopardy. On April 11, 2016, a massive fire at the Quinlan Brothers’ flagship plant in Bay de Verde, Nfld., sent smoke billowing,, and though no lives were lost, nothing remained of the plant. Now, a fire is never convenient, but to hear president Robin Quinlan tell it, the timing couldn’t have been worse. “It was the start of snow crab season and that was the plant where we processed it,” he says. “There were boats in the ocean full of crab, ready to go. And we had no facility.” more >click to read< 16:45
NCLA Sues Commerce, NOAA, NMFS over Its Unlawful New at-Sea Monitor Mandate
The New Civil Liberties Alliance today filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court of Rhode Island,,, The suit challenges the agencies’ unconstitutional and statutorily unauthorized effort to force fishing companies to pay for a new agency enforcement program. NCLA represents Relentless Inc., Huntress Inc., and their related company, Seafreeze Fleet LLC,,, The at-sea monitor mandate for the nation’s Atlantic herring fleet violates the U.S. Constitution’s Article I, and the agencies have exceeded the bounds of their statutory authority because Congress never allowed these agencies to create or to require the industry to finance at-sea monitors or an at-sea monitoring program in the Atlantic herring fishery. more >click to read< 15:07
Clearwater Seafoods explores possible sale or merger
Nova Scotia-based seafood giant Clearwater Seafoods Inc. (TSX:CLR) says it is exploring a possible sale of the company after receiving several expressions of interest. In a news release issued Thursday, the company says it has formed a special committee of independent directors as part of a strategic review. It says the committee’s options include a sale of all or a portion of Clearwater’s assets in either one transaction or a series of transactions, an outright sale of the company, or a merger. more >click to read< 13:21
The Honourable Bernadette Jordan names members of the Atlantic Seal Science Task Team
The Atlantic Seal Science Task Team was established to gather fishing industry and stakeholder input on the Department’s current science activities on Atlantic seals, relating to seal predation on commercial fish stocks. The Task Team will serve for a maximum of one year and will provide: input on the priorities of the Department’s Atlantic seal science program, input on how to increase the involvement of the fishing industry in seal science projects, advice on how the Department could better communicate its scientific findings to the fishing industry and other stakeholders >click to read< 12:25
Notice Regarding Loss of Vessel Monitoring Service
The McMurdo (formerly Boatracs) Omnitracs Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) operated by vessels with Greater Atlantic Region (GAR) permits will not be supported by its satellite provider after March 31, 2020. All current owners of the Omnitracs unit were notified via a letter from McMurdo dated December 19, 2019 about this issue. What should you know if you own an Omnitracs unit? >click to read< 10:27
Good Samaritan Vessel Rescues Three Fishermen from Capsized Trawler off Le Havre
At about 1245 hours Tuesday, the Regional Operational Center for Surveillance and Rescue (CROSS) Jobourg received an alert from the trawler La Rose des Vents (Compass Rose) reporting that the fishing vessel Antarès had capsized just off Cap de la Heve, a cape northwest of the port of Le Havre.,, Minutes later, the three crew members of the capsized fishing vessel were picked up by La Rose des Vents. The motor lifeboat rendezvoused with the good samaritan vessel and collected the survivors, along with the Antarès’ life raft and distress beacon. >click to read< 09:48
Watermen protest on Manokin River and call for Oyster Sanctuary to be re-opened
Watermen gathered on the Manokin River Wednesday, calling for the oyster sanctuary to be opened up for harvesting. In 2019, the Manokin River was chosen as the 10th Chesapeake Bay tributary for large-scale oyster reef restoration. According to the Maryland Department of Natural Resources, the Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement calls for the restoration of the native oyster population in 10 tributaries by 2025. The Manokin River is the final tributary to be selected for this Chesapeake Bay Program partnership effort. Video, >click to read< 09:00
PFDs: Too few commercial fishermen wear life jackets
I recall a great quote from the late Molly Benjamin, a Cape Cod Times fishing columnist and well-known voice for the New England fishing community. In one of her articles on a marine casualty, she wrote, “the Sea is not the home element of humans; we visit at our own risk.” Not wearing a lifejacket while fishing is the equivalent of driving down the most dangerous road in Maine, at high speed, with your seatbelt in the trunk of your car. The frustrating thing is fishermen know the hazards but continue to flout the lifejacket’s indisputable life-saving value. by Capt. Brian LeFebvre, USCG >click to read< 07:22
