Daily Archives: June 1, 2020
Oregon Fishing Industry Tells Lawmakers Of Economic Hardships – Murkowski pushes for an another Billion in federal fisheries relief funds
The coronavirus has hit Oregon’s commercial fishing industry hard. That was the message to state lawmakers during a recent meeting of the House Interim Committee on Natural Resources. Anthony Dal Ponte is with Pacific Seafood, which is based in Clackamas and has several facilities on the Oregon coast. He said the company had to lay off more than 500 employees after their restaurant and hospitality industry markets dried up virtually overnight. >click to read< Meanwhile, Murkowski pushes for an additional $1 billion in federal fisheries relief funds – Additional money could 
be on the way for the fishing industry. Senator Lisa Murkowski said that she is working to add more fisheries funding in the next round of pandemic relief legislation. “As we think about the impact to our fisheries, $50 million is not going to be sufficient to address the need,” she said. “I have been working with colleagues to urge us in this next round of relief to include $1 billion in fishery assistance funds.” >click to read< 15:07
My dad wasn’t the mastermind behind a coke smuggling plot, he was just lobster fishing with pals
Maisie Beere was a child when her father Jonathan was jailed for being one of the so-called lobster-pot drug smugglers, dubbed the Freshwater Five. Ten years on from the bust, she is speaking for the first time,, “I don’t know how we would have got through it if my mum hadn’t been such a pillar of strength since Dad went to jail.” Today we can reveal the incredible story of the Freshwater Five — jailed for a combined 104 years — through the eyes of two of their children. >click to read< 11:36
‘Leave the diplomats out’ and put fishermen in charge of Brexit talks
As the UK and EU teams begin their final round of negotiations this week, Pascal Lamy called for “the politics and legal complexities” to be taken out of the fisheries talks, which are at an impasse. The UK team has accused the EU of not “accepting the reality” that Britain will be an independent coastal state at the end of the year, while the EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, has rejected UK proposals for annual negotiations on quotas, saying EU fishermen needed “predictability” in the form of continued “status quo” access to UK fishing grounds after Brexit. >click to read< 10:27
Irish fishermen warn of violent clashes with UK boats ‘Give us an agreement! – Irish fishing chiefs have warned of violent clashes with British boats if the European Union fails to reach an agreement for continued access to UK’s fishing waters. Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation has claimed the industry would be plagued by thousands of job loses if Irish boats are locked out of the UK’s fishing grounds. >click to read< 10:35
Photos & video: 2019-2020 lobster fishery comes to a close in southwest N.S.
The six-month 2019-2020 commercial lobster fishery in southwestern N.S. and along the province’s south shore came to a close on Sunday, May 31. Here is a look at some of the activity at the wharves a the Yarmouth Bar and in Pinkney’s Point in Yarmouth County. Here’s a few images from Yarmouth County on the last day on May 31. Photos and video by Tina Comeau. >click to read< 09:00
UPDATED: 86 crew members of F/V American Dynasty test positive for Coronavirus
Eighty-six crew members of the American Dynasty trawler that docked in Bellingham last week have tested positive for COVID-19, according to operator American Seafoods in a press release Sunday evening, May 31. Nine tests are still outstanding. The Seattle-based crew are not showing symptoms of the disease and stayed on the ship when it was in Bellingham, according to American Seafoods. The American Dynasty has returned to the Port of Seattle and is under quarantine, the press release said. >click to read< 07:22
