Daily Archives: March 28, 2020
In a Stalled Sports World, Everyone’s Day with Coronavirus Comes
Captain Tommy has the best stories. The one about the giant squid he snared in his net. The shark flopping around on the boat’s deck. Embellished or not, Captain Tommy has real fish tales, gathered from 40 years as a shrimper on the waters of the Gulf of Mexico, gone months at a time and returning to stink like the inside of a trout. In those days, Captain Tommy was more comfortable on the ocean than the land. He understood it out there, embraced its solitary nature. While most struggle to gain sea legs, Captain Tommy, later in life, had to find land legs. He eventually found them, then stumbled upon a twice-divorced mother of three, married her, cared for her children and finally had his only child. He named his shrimp boat after her. >click to read< 20:34
Coronavirus: Fears fuel assault on Bering Sea fishing boat, federal prosecutors charge
Federal prosecutors have charged a worker on a Bering Sea factory fishing boat with assault after he allegedly broke the eye socket of another person who criticized him for serving food without gloves during the coronavirus pandemic. Prosecutors say Maurice Young was a housekeeper and galley assistant on the 235-foot SeaFreeze America, which has about 65 crew members and is homeported in Seattle. At the time of the alleged assault, on Monday, the ship was underway about 120 miles east of the Pribilof Islands. >click to read< 16:00
How do you apply for small business funds from stimulus package?
Small businesses around the country got a $370 billion lifeline in the $2 trillion Coronavirus Aid bill,, But those businesses want to know what kind of relief will it provide? Dave Ketchen is the Harbert Eminent Scholar and Professor of Management at Auburn University, and he has been looking over the legislation. He said time is perhaps the biggest factor in question. “I definitely think it’s a much needed life preserver,” he said. “A big question is on the implementation side. If you throw a life preserver to somebody and they drown before they get it, it didn’t do them any good. A big question is how quickly is this money going to get into small business people’s hands.” >click to read< 14:47
Fake News claim: Coronavirus has been found in crab legs
Social media users have been sharing an image online that purports to be a screen grab of a news report claiming that the coronavirus has been found in crab legs. Examples can be seen here and here. The screen grab image appears to have been created with an application called “News Maker – Create The News.” It is available on the Apple App Store and provides different options for styles and fake news station names.,, Both the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control say food is not connected to coronavirus transmission,, >click to read< 13:37
Coronavirus: Nova Scotia lobster industry gets creative during pandemic to sell their catch
Lobster was Nova Scotia’s most valuable export in 2019, but this year, export markets have ground to a halt due to COVID-19. That has left the province’s lobster fisherman finding creative ways to sell their catch — with safety measures in place. “I’ve asked people to call ahead, so I can have their order ready. That way, I just take it to their vehicle and they open up their trunk and I just set it in their trunk,” said Bryce Hirtle, a fisherman on Nova Scotia’s south shore. 4 Videos, >click to read< 10:34
‘Too early to tell’ impact of Coronavirus on New Bedford fishing industry
Since the fishing industry was deemed part of the food supply chain, it is allowed to keep operating as an essential service under Gov. Charlie Baker’s stay-at-home advisory. “Immediate impacts have been minimal,” scalloper Eric Hansen said Thursday, “The market is a little bit depressed but nothing crazy. My bigger concern is the future, what’s going to happen in the next couple of months.” What worries Hansen about the future is the April 1 start of the next scalloping season, which will bring back scallopers that hadn’t been fishing because they used up their 2019 allocations. >click to read< 09:16
First Circuit Upholds Conviction of ‘Codfather’ Associate
The conviction of a former sheriff’s department captain for his role in the overseas money laundering of a notorious New England fishing magnate known as “the Codfather” was upheld,, Jamie Melo was accused of distributing envelopes containing large amounts of cash to associates in the men’s room of Boston’s Logan Airport before the group went through security. The group, including the Codfather, was traveling to Portugal for a charitable fundraiser called “Thanksgiving in the Azores” that was sponsored by the Bristol County Sheriff’s Department. Once in the Azores, the Codfather, real name Carlos Rafael, allegedly received the envelopes back and then deposited $76,000 in cash in a bank account. >click to read< 08:31
Scientists score salmon bonanza
On March 11, the chartered commercial trawler Pacific Legacy No. 1 left Victoria Harbour for a 25-day trip, carrying a large net to haul in salmon for examination. The vessel had been carrying three American scientists, along with three Russian and six Canadian researchers. U.S. scientists decided to return home when the vessel made a scheduled stop this week in Prince Rupert, said Nanaimo’s Richard Beamish, who is organizing the $1.45-million voyage with fellow scientist Brian Riddell. So far, catches have been “remarkable,” he said. “The science is going to be outstanding.” >click to read< 07:32
Trump signs $2T coronavirus relief package to help American workers and businesses
President Trump on Friday signed a bipartisan $2 trillion economic relief package aimed at helping American workers and businesses impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. The bill includes $1,200 one-time payments to many Americans; sets up a $500 billion corporate liquidity fund to help struggling industries like airlines; allocated $377 billion for aid to small businesses; and boosts the maximum unemployment benefit by $600 per week for four months, among other provisions. Trump signed the legislation hours after it passed the House, thanking Republicans and Democrats “for coming together, setting aside their differences and putting America first” with the legislation. >click to read< 06:52
