Daily Archives: April 30, 2020
Nordic Aquafarms Expands Facility Plans, Releases Images Showing What the Fish Farm Would Look Like
Nordic Aquafarms and the Harbor District have agreed to expand the lease area with approx. 3 acres including the Machine building and the Shops & Store building. The Harbor District Board approved a Letter of Intent (LOI) to finalize an amendment to the lease agreement at an extra board meeting today. This allows Nordic to increase the production capacity to the same size as its Maine facility resulting in more local jobs in Humboldt. Nordic Aquafarms also releases the first pictures of the proposed facility. photo’s, >click to read< 16:05
Canadian Independent Fish Harvesters Federation calling on Ottawa for Coronavirus aid
The Canadian Independent Fish Harvesters Federation says the federal government needs to do more to help people who work on the water sooner rather than later, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The federation represents fishing groups from across the country, including the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association. “The time for some assistance that we heard the minister speak about is now,” said Melanie Sonnenberg, president of the federation. Earlier this week, federal Minister of Fisheries Bernadette Jordan announced Ottawa’s plan to help processors during the pandemic and said the federal government is working on help for fishermen. >click to read< 14:53
Humpback whales, large ships on deadly collision course at the mouth of Chesapeake Bay
Attracted by a relative abundance of fish, growing numbers of humpback whales spend the winter in the waters where the Chesapeake Bay empties into the Atlantic Ocean. No. 166675 was one of them. Researchers tracked the young male with a satellite tag for 10 days in January 2017 as he dodged huge vessels in one of the busiest shipping lanes on the East Coast. The next month, the whale’s body washed ashore on Virginia Beach. A necropsy confirmed the scientists’ fears: He had been struck by a large ship. After six years of monitoring humpbacks’ movements in the Hampton Roads region, the team conducting the Navy-funded study has published its first peer-reviewed paper. It shows that many more humpbacks are at risk from ship strikes and suggests that authorities may need to take more actions to protect them. >click to read< 13:45
America’s Food Distribution Chain Is Essential
The disruptions in the food supply chains can be attributed to two primary causes – outbreaks of Coronavirus at some meat-processing and other food-packaging plants have led to closures across the country, and meanwhile, the sweeping closures of restaurants by state and local governments have disrupted the demand for a wide variety of food items. Over the past few days, fifteen percent of the pork processors have closed their doors. America’s fish supply provides a powerful example of what happens when states unilaterally shutter dine-in services at restaurants. The fishing industry knows something the central planners seem not to have known: Americans have a strong preference for eating fish in restaurants, rather than cooking it. >click to read<
Meat processing plants across the US are closing due to the pandemic. Will consumers feel the impact? – video, >click to read< 11:56
“Food security is right here”: Sea-to-table sales keep fishing business afloat
For 18 years Hodge was a partner in an auto mechanic shop. About 10 years ago, he got back into commercial fishing. Today he operates two fishing boats, the Rough Draft and the Just Enough, that are launched from Oxnard, Santa Barbara and Santa Cruz. His haul, with a federal long-line permit, is mainly four species: vermillion rockfish, blackgill rockfish, ling cod and black cod. “It’s fished on Monday, on Wednesday morning it’s packed and we are delivering 600 pounds of fish,” Hodge explained. He hasn’t had to lay anyone off, and in fact has promoted from within to meet the demand. “My daughters help as deckhands. Orders are growing every week.” He’s catching and selling about 4,000 pounds a month, about half of which is now sold direct and delivered to customers’ doorsteps. >click to read< 09:44
RCMP seek public’s help in arson and mischief investigation
Yarmouth RCMP are asking for the public’s help in identifying two persons of interest in relation to an arson and mischief,, Just after 1 a.m. on Saturday, RCMP responded to a truck fire at a wharf on Water Street in Yarmouth. In a news release Wednesday, RCMP said their investigation has revealed that the truck was deliberately set on fire and completely destroyed. “The next day, police were made aware of a nearby fishing boat from the same wharf that washed up on nearby rocks causing damage to the vessel,” the release said. “It appears as the boat’s lines to the wharf were disconnected around the same time as the arson.” photos, video, >click to read< 08:22
‘Another punch in the gut’: Gulf Coast shrimpers navigate the coronavirus crisis
Shrimping is a hard business. Gulf Coast shrimpers, who bring in three quarters of the nation’s catch, have been battered with waves of bad luck. Hurricanes. A flood of cheap imports. The BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010. Fresh water diversions that kill seafood. And now the coronavirus. Restaurants buy 80% of both imported and domestic shrimp, according to the Southern Shrimp Alliance. With restaurants closed or offering only takeout, no one is buying much shrimp. Next month would typically launch the peak of shrimp season as Gulf states begin their annual opening of nearshore waters to shrimping. >click to read< 07:45
