Daily Archives: December 21, 2020
Russia’s New Long-Endurance Arctic Research Vessel Might Be The Ugliest Ship We’ve Seen
The Admiralty Shipyard in Saint Petersburg, which is part of Russia’s United Shipbuilding Corporation, launched the North Pole on December 18, almost exactly two years after construction began. The vessel has been built for the Federal Service for Hydrometeorology and Environmental Monitoring, better known as Roshydromet, at a reported cost of $100 million. It is being run as a joint project between Roshydromet and Russia’s Arctic and Antarctic Research Institute. Measuring 276 feet long by 74 feet wide, and with a displacement of 10,225 tons, the North Pole is intended to be the first vessel of its kind to be permanently based in the high Arctic. photos, >click to read< 18:34
Researchers find new toxin hot spot
As high levels of domoic acid once again delay the opening of the commercial Dungeness crab fishery in Washington state and along Oregon’s North Coast, researchers say they have zeroed in on a like cause of marine toxin issues farther south. They recently identified a new highly toxic hot spot between California’s Cape Mendocino, several hundred miles north of San Francisco, and Oregon’s Cape Blanco, north of Port Orford, according to a study published this month. >click to read< 16:04
Chief William Saulis: RCMP continues search for missing fishermen on Monday, say unidentified debris found
The RCMP says it is continuing the recovery mission for five scallop fishers and a vessel missing off the Nova Scotia shore on Monday. Police say helicopter crews did an aerial search of the coastline spanning approximately 100 kilometres, from Digby Gut to Harbourville. The search did not locate the missing fishermen nor the debris from the Chief William Saulis fishing vessel. video, >click to read< 14:06
Monkfish Price Tumble in Scotland Shows Pain of French Shutdown
At the Peterhead fishing port in Scotland, prices for haddock and monkfish were inverted on Monday, skewed by a closed border with France and a ticking clock that threatened to render some of its catch worthless. The price gyrations mark the latest setback for the U.K. fishing industry, With French borders closed since Sunday, thousands of pounds of seafood could be left to rot in lorries that would normally speed through the Port of Dover to Europe. “This is the most important sales week of the year and it’s been caught up in a hurricane,” said Jimmy Buchan, chief executive officer of the Scottish Seafood Association. “We’ve got Brexit, we’ve got Covid and now on the back of Covid we’ve got this further restriction.” >click to read< 10:34
Report on Fishery Failures: Urgently Needed Disaster Declarations Act, S. 2346
Purpose of the Bill: The purpose of S. 2346, the Fishery Failures: Urgently Needed Disaster Declarations Act, is to clarify and expedite the disaster declaration process, establish certain deadlines for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), reduce delays, and clarify eligibility for assistance to ensure that charter, recreational, and Tribal fishers have access to disaster funds. Additionally, the bill would provide employment opportunities for fishery employees displaced by a fishery disaster by prioritizing their hiring to undertake restoration, conservation, and other fishery rebuilding activities funded by disaster relief funds. >click to read< 09:22
Sipekne’katik lobster fishery closed for the season
Over the course of the season, Sack said Sipekne’katik harvesters caught and sold close to 55,000 kilograms of lobster. Selling their catches had been a problem for Mi’kmaw harvesters earlier in their season because provincial regulations prohibit buyers from purchasing anything caught outside a commercial fishing license. But in the end, Sack said everything his community caught was sold — although he wouldn’t say exactly where. >click to read< 08:05
