Daily Archives: August 21, 2020
Cape Breton snow crab fishery escapes impact of right whale closures, Different story in New Brunswick
While a right whale sighting earlier this month triggered a closure to the snow crab fishery in western Cape Breton, the closure had virtually no impact. But unlike closures in other parts of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, these shutdowns had virtually no impact on the area’s lucrative fishery. “That’s something we’re discussing. Are we lucky or are we just in that sweet spot?” said Basil MacLean, a Cape Breton snow crab fisherman and president of the Area 19 Snow Crab Fishermen’s Association. In New Brunswick, where the boats and quotas are larger, it’s been a different story in 2020. “24 out of 45 members from the Acadian Crabbers Association each left significant amounts of crab in the water this spring,” >click to read< 19:15
Trade Agreement Reached! European Union to eliminate tariffs on American lobsters
The United States and the European Union have reached an agreement to eliminate tariffs on American lobster, federal officials announced Friday, which could boost exports for Maine’s industry hit hard by trade wars and, more recently, the coronavirus pandemic. Reducing the tariffs has been a priority as Maine lobstermen have been at a disadvantage compared to their Canadian counterparts with respect to exports to the E.U. since the E.U. and Canada signed a trade agreement in 2018. United States Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and European Union Trade Commissioner Phil Hogan jointly announced the agreement Friday afternoon. >click to read< 15:10
Feds select Gulf of Mexico Southern, California as potential zones for fish farming in the EEZ
The gulf joins Southern California in becoming a region for “Aquaculture Opportunity Areas,” the first two in the United States. President Donald Trump issued an executive order earlier this year outlining the concept as a way of boosting the country’s seafood industry and reducing its reliance on imported fish. The selection covers federal waters but does not identify more specific locations. “The creation of Aquaculture Opportunity Areas will foster the U.S. aquaculture industry as a needed complement to our wild capture fisheries,” said Chris Oliver, the assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries, in a statement. >click to read< 14:14
Commissioner Fried Welcomes NOAA Announcement – The announcement comes after Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried sent a letter to the U.S. Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, asking that the department consider designating waters off Florida’s coast as an Aquaculture Opportunity Area. Echoing Commissioner Fried’s call were U.S. Senators Marco Rubio and Rick Scott, the National Aquaculture Association, the Florida Aquaculture Ass,,, >click to read<
A Fishery Observer Liability Form Letter to be signed by the observer before the observer accesses the Fishing Vessel
Thanks for your help in fighting the observer redeployment issue. I have just put together a Liability letter that every boat should print out and have onboard and make any observer sign before stepping foot on their vessel. I, _____________, in my capacity as a fishery observer, fully accept any and all legal consequences if in some way my actions and interactions cause the spread of the to the crew of the vessel in which I am deployed to. >Click to read, copy, reproduce, the letter, and have signed< Since NOAA and the observer companies are refusing to accept liability if any crewmen get sick from an observer, then we must put the onus on the observer himself. Thanks, Jim Lovgren 11:22
Federal judge gives NOAA time to craft new whale rules
A federal district court judge, in a decision issued late on Wednesday, Aug. 19, gave the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) nine more months to craft new rules to protect endangered right whales from entanglement in lobster fishing gear. Judge James E. Boasberg also denied a request by conservation organizations for an immediate ban on lobster fishing in a vast area of the ocean south of Nantucket Island in Massachusetts. >click to read< 09:45
Tragedy as Blackburn Rovers war efforts ended in minefield
Before football fans raise a quizzical eyebrow, the Blackburn Rovers in question was not the town’s team but a trawler which bore the team’s name. Blackburn Rovers was one of five new ships built in 1934 for Consolidated Fisheries of Grimsby at a cost of £20,00 each, each of the trawlers carrying the name of a football club – Arsenal and Aston Villa were two other trawlers and one was even named Real Madrid.,, In anticipation of war, the Admiralty requisitioned a number of trawlers including Blackburn Rovers which were taken to the Cammel Laird shipyard in Birkenhead and equipped with submarine detection equipment, depth charge racks and a cannon mounted on her foredeck. >click to read< 08:58
Coronavirus: Pacific Seafood reopens closed plant to process shrimp
The $9.6 million plant built by BC Fisheries LLC in 2016 closed earlier this year, leaving 30-some people without jobs and 15 local shrimp trawlers without convenient access to a buyer. But recently the Clackamas-based Pacific Seafood, which is one of the largest seafood companies in North America, took over the lease and reopened the plant to begin processing shrimp, at least for the remainder of the season. “Part of the mission of the Oregon Trawl Commission is to increase opportunities to ensure a sustainable and profitable trawl fishing industry,” Nowak said. “It’s in this spirit that we would like to recognize and thank the Port of Brookings, the state Department of Environmental Quality, Pacific Seafood and the State of Oregon for their efforts to ensure that 15 local shrimp trawlers have a buyer and processor here in our community.” >click to read< 07:27
