Daily Archives: April 28, 2020

Right whale sighting pushes back start of South Shore lobster season

Lobster season in southern Massachusetts has been put off for an additional seven days after endangered right whales were spotted feeding in the southern Cape Cod Bay. The Division of Marine Fisheries announced Tuesday that most of Cape Cod Bay and the Outer Cape will remain closed to lobster fishing until May 8. The area is is closed annually from February to the end of April to protect right whales. It was initially set to open on Friday. The lobstering season on the South Shore is limited by the season and by the lobster’s life cycle. They shed their shells in June and are not active again until mid-July, John Haviland, president of the South Shore Lobster Fishermen’s Association, said.  The bay closures started six years ago and increased the length of time lobstermen are out of the water. Before the closures,,, >click to read< 18:18

Troy Turner photo

Crab trucks roll toward Triton after confrontation in South Brook – Crab fishery delayed until at least May 11

By noon on Tuesday, the trucks began to roll toward the fish plant, but were being slowed by protesters. RCMP were on hand ticketing the drivers who were interfering with their progress. >click to read< 16:56

Crab fishery delayed until at least May 11, following days of protests – After two days of protests by fish harvesters, the snow crab fishery in Newfoundland and Labrador has been delayed until at least May 11. DFO issued a media release at 5 p.m. Tuesday saying the exact start of the season has not yet been determined. That delay comes after several days of protests in several different locations in the province.  The protests started late Sunday in Port aux Basques when the Fish, Food & Allied Workers union, which represents fish harvesters, learned snow crab was being brought in from outside the province to be processed. Late Tuesday afternoon, two transport trucks were able to offload crab,, >click to read< 17:03

Chesapeake Bay’s menhaden catch cut drastically, along with Omega Protein quota

Virginia is cutting this year’s Chesapeake Bay menhaden catch by more than 80% from last year’s landings in order to end a federal moratorium.
Federal fisheries officials said they’d bar fishing for menhaden in the Bay this year — as long as the fish were headed for Omega Protein’s fish oil and fishmeal plant in Reedville — because the state had not enacted a 41.5% cut to 51,000 tons in Omega’s quota, which had been imposed by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission in 2017. But the Atlantic States commission has not found that menhaden were overfished. “To be perfectly clear, there is no conservation basis for the Chesapeake Bay cap. No scientific methodology was used in setting the Chesapeake Bay cap by the ASMFC, ,,, >click to read< 15:35

Maine Department of Labor to Accept Unemployment Applications from Self Employed and Others 8 a.m. May 1

The Maine Department of Labor will begin accepting applications for the new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) at 8 a.m. Friday, May 1. People whose claim does not require further review should begin receiving benefits within seven days of filing. Pandemic Unemployment Assistance is a new federal program which expanded eligibility for unemployment benefits to certain categories of workers not typically able to receive unemployment in the past, such as: ,Self-employed workers ,Farmers/Fishermen, Independent contractors, Nonprofit employees not already covered by regular state unemployment benefits, Gig economy workers, Workers who do not have enough work history and earnings to be eligible for traditional unemployment benefits, Others who have been determined ineligible for regular unemployment benefits. >click for links, and more information< 14:10

Salmon cannon to help fish get around landslide on Fraser River

Plans are underway for a pneumatic fish pump, also known as a salmon cannon, to be used to help fish migrate past a landslide on British Columbia’s Fraser River, officials with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans said Monday. A fish ladder is under construction that will direct salmon to a holding pool where they’ll be pumped through a series of tubes suspended above the river, said Gwil Roberts, director of the department’s landslide response team.,, The slide was discovered in the remote canyon north of Lillooet last June. Huge pieces of rock from a 125-metre cliff had sheared off and crashed into the river, creating a five-metre waterfall. >click to read< 11:46

What’s that? Alaska fishing boats to fly quarantine flag

The “Lima flag” is not something most of them have probably ever seen in person. And the requirement is only if they or their crew members are coming from out of state. If they have a crew member who needs to self-quarantine on board for any reason, that yellow and black flag (or maybe a Pittsburgh Steeler’s sweatshirt, if no quarantine flag is to be found) has to go up the mast to warn people to stay away for 14 days. The details of how independent fishing vessels will have to protect coastal communities from incoming coronavirus contamination are laid out in Health Mandate 17,,, >click to read< 08:50

Commercial fishing vessels get COVID-19 mandates – Independent commercial fishermen got their COVID-19 marching orders from state officials Thursday, April 23, a list of protective measures, procedures, travel and access measures they must abide to protect themselves and coastal communities. >click to read< 10:48

The Silent War on Fishing

The hustle and bustle of Peterhead’s harbour has quietened these last few weeks. Doors of businesses are locked and boats at berth have signs warning that no one will be permitted on board because of new safety measures. Its fish market continues to operate, however, in what is becoming a new normal. While it once welcomed tourists and eager locals alike, it now restricts access to only key workers in order to protect stakeholders. It’s a familiar story across all ports in Scotland. They are steps that have been introduced to help the country battle COVID-19, but it has had an inevitable impact on the market. >click to read< 08:07