Monthly Archives: December 2020
Vineyard Wind Withdraws From Federal Permitting Process
The first announcement that Vineyard Wind would withdraw from federal review was buried in a public statement that went out Dec. 1 about the company’s selection of General Electric’s Haliade-X as its preferred wind turbine generator model. Vineyard Wind is a joint wind energy venture between Copenhagen Infrastructure Projects and Avangrid Renewables. The process had seen repeated delays and slowdowns, but had nearly reached the finish line late last month, with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) expected to release a final environmental impact statement by Jan. 15, five days before President Trump leaves office. Now Vineyard Wind appears to be betting on the Biden administration for a fresh start. >click to read< 08:40
(Vineyard Wind 1 Project) is no longer necessary and the process is hereby terminated– >click to read<
RCMP arrest four men after alleged shots fired at Indigenous fisher
Officers said they responded to a call of gunfire in the Northumberland Strait near the First Nation at around 5:30 p.m. yesterday. After arriving at the scene, RCMP said they learned a man from the Indigenous band had seen crew members on a fishing vessel removing lobster traps from the water. A 51-year-old man from Pictou County turned himself in Monday evening and was arrested. The other three men from the area were arrested this morning without incident. >click to read< 07:10
Coast Guard rescues 4 from fishing vessel fire near Fort Morgan, Alabama
The Coast Guard rescued four people Monday aboard a vessel on fire near Fort Morgan, Alabama. The four people were safely recovered and transported to shore in stable condition. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Mobile received a report around 6:45 p.m. from the commercial vessel F/V Alexandria Pearl that it was on fire and in need of assistance, about a half mile south of Fort Morgan. Short video, >click to read< 23:57
Newlyn: Monday morning’s final-end-of-an-era fish auction.
One hundred years ago the fish market moved from the plinth in front of the harbour offices to a covered market and auction building… by the 1980s things had hardly changed with boats landing straight into the market building when they could get alongside at high water… the market was fully exposed to the elements and walking on boxes was de rigueur behaviour for the buyers before a major rebuild of the market in the early 1980s saw an access road added to the harbourside and fully enclosed,,, A great selection of photos, >click to read< 21:46
Lobster pound owner fined $100K for offence stemming from DFO sting operation in 2017
In handing down the sentence, provincial court judge Tim Landry said the offence was “intentional illegal act” and rejected Zheng’s claim that it was an accident. “The accused in his defence at trial made mention that mistakes were made either by incompetent employees or language barriers,” Landry said in provincial court in Digby, N.S. “The evidence in my view overwhelmingly pointed to the fact that this was an intentional act. That fact in my view is an aggravating feature. The potential for lucrative profits obviously existed for the accused in this case. “The penalty cannot simply be the cost of doing business. The penalty has to be significant.” >click to read< 18:58
NPFMC decision puts Cook Inlet commercial salmon fishery in jeopardy
Final action by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council on commercial salmon fishing in Cook Inlet threatens to exclude drift gillnet harvesters from fishing in the inlet’s commercial waters at the start of the 2022 fishing season. In a near unanimous decision reached during the council’s virtual meeting on Monday, Dec. 7, the panel selected an alternative that would close off to the commercial fleet federal waters outside of three miles from shore, an area where most of the fleet get the bulk of its catch. >click to read< 16:43
Jeffrey A. Jones of Owls Head has passed away
Jeffrey A. Jones, 50, passed away peacefully Saturday, Dec. 5, 2020, after a year long battle with cancer. He leaves behind his sons Benjamin and Carter and their mother, Anne Edmands of Owls Head. During his illness, he lived with and was cared for by his mother, Frances Stone Jones of Owls Head. His beloved circle of close friends were inspired by his loyalty, tenacity and perseverance and offered him great support. Jeff learned to fish for lobster at a young age with his grandfather on the Rolling Stone. He fished full time from Criehaven on Top Chop. >click to read< 14:41
UK fishermen mock ‘laughable’ EU demand to extend Common Fisheries Policy for a year
In a statement this morning, Ms MacDonald made clear EU vessels landed 10 times more fish from UK waters than UK vessels do from theirs. It comes EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier stressed a trade deal between the UK and European Union was still possible Talks were extended on Sunday after Boris Johnson and European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen agreed to continue the process despite major differences still remaining. For months, the talks have been deadlocked on the issues of fishing rights which have plagued fishing chiefs as well as state aid and the level playing field. >click to read< 11:59
Electronic Monitoring in New Zealand: “not excusable” some skippers are fishing in protected areas
It comes as data obtained under the Official Information Act shows the Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) is investigating a set netting vessel in the South Island. It alleges it fished in both a dolphin-protected area and a marine reserve. “It’s not excusable at all,” chief executive Dr Jeremy Helson says. “We will work with MPI and the companies to make sure skippers and crew understand their responsibilities.” In December last year, new electronic monitoring rules came into place for 860 commercial fishing vessels, meaning the movements of vessels were tracked by the Ministry for Primary Industries. >click to read< 09:16 – Commercial fishing vessel offences 10-times higher after Ministry for Primary Industries starts tracking location information – >click to read<
New Bedford businesses growing despite coronavirus pandemic
There will be a world after COVID-19 has passed. With the future in mind, the Mitchell Administration has been working to grow private capital investment and encourage the creation of wealth and jobs in the Whaling City. There are now three serious proposals in front of the New Bedford City Council for approval. Eastern Fisheries, Inc. is going to invest $12 million in a new facility and create 50 new well-paying jobs while retaining 275 jobs in the city if the proposal is approved. >click to read< 08:07
RCMP Investigates – Pictou Landing chief says lobster fisher was shot at on the water
RCMP in Pictou County, N.S. have one person in custody after reports of shots fired Sunday in the area of Pictou Landing First Nation. RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Lisa Croteau said RCMP responded to the incident around 5:30 p.m. She said she could not provide an exact location of the incident, only that it was “in the Pictou Landing area.” Croteau said no injuries have been reported and a police investigation is ongoing. >click to read< 06:30
The nations oldest fishing port’s lobster trap tree survives
The country’s oldest fishing port is celebrating the holidays once again with a community Christmas tree made from a stack of lobster traps, ornamented with lights and, soon enough, buoys painted by local children. “There is something really special about the whole thing,” said David Brooks,,, The lobster trap tree outside the Gloucester police station was put together this year during a nor’easter,,, Brooks and eight elves assembled the tree, The traps used to assemble the tree are supplied by the Brooks Trap Mill in Thomaston, Maine, and coordinated by a local supplier, Three Lantern Marine. “They have been huge supporters,” Brooks said. (Thank You!) photos, >click to read< 17:58
Are Temperatures and Sea Levels Rising Dangerously? Hardly
There are two widely held climate-change beliefs that are simply not accurate. The first is that there has been a statistically significant warming trend in the U.S. over the last 20 years. The second is that average ocean levels are rising alarmingly due to man-made global warming. Neither of these perspectives is true; yet both remain important, nonetheless, since both are loaded with very expensive public policy implications. To refute the first view, we turn to data generated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for the relevant years under discussion. >click to read< 14:24
Harbour seals prime suspect in decline of steelhead populations in Thompson watershed
Rob Bison, a fish stock biologist, gave a live-streamed presentation on factors that could be contributing to the steelhead’s decline,,, The fish populations in the two rivers have been declining over the last 30-40 years, but it’s likely not their stream habitats that have led to the decline, he said. The drastic decline in steelhead appears to happen when the fish reach inshore waters and are eaten by harbour seals,,, Bison estimated that by reducing seal populations, steelhead populations could increase by 486%. >click to read< 13:03
Scientists cast doubt on seismic testing environmental mitigations in N.L.’s offshore
Jack Lawson spent part of this past summer listening for whales around Newfoundland, using recorders moored underwater to track their movements and hear what man-made sounds they may encounter. “All you can hear 24 hours a day, for months on end, every 10 seconds is the boom of a seismic array going off at various distances from our acoustic receivers, and this has made it very hard for us to detect some species, The guns make it hard for Lawson and his team’s recorders, with the technology confusing the pulsing calls of right whales with seismic activity in the distance, DFO scientists thought they’d recorded tens of thousands of instances of right whale calls in the Flemish Pass in 2019, Lawson said. “[But] when we actually went through and manually reviewed these, none of them turned out to be real.” >click to read< 10:41
California Dungeness Crab season opens Dec. 23
The official opening date of Nov. 15 had been delayed for weeks in the central California zone, from the Sonoma/Mendocino county line south, because of the possibility of migrating whales getting tangled in fishing lines. And it had been delayed in the northern zone, which consists of Humboldt, Mendocino and Del Norte counties, because the sample catch failed to reach the poundage required for testing.,, Since 2015, there have been delays in all but one commercial Dungeness season. A toxin, domoic acid, that could sicken anyone who eats the tainted crab destroyed Northern California’s 2015-2016 commercial season and created delays in other years. >click to read< 09:52
Deadline for Brexit Trade Talks Is Extended. Again.
Britain’s grinding negotiations with the European Union for a post-Brexit trade agreement won a reprieve on Sunday, as Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, agreed to extend the talks despite divisions between the two sides that had looked impossible to bridge. In a joint statement issued after a midday phone call, Mr. Johnson and Ms. von der Leyen said, “We think it is responsible at this point to go the extra mile.” Mr. Johnson and Ms. von der Leyen did not set a new deadline for the negotiations, though as a practical matter, the two sides have only until Dec. 31,,, >click to read< 09:02
Mourners gathered, Families of lost fishermen remember a dedicated, hardy crew
Friends and relatives of four fishermen lost at sea gathered at the Portland Fish Pier on Saturday to remember a captain and crew who worked hard, loved their families and felt a deep connection to the sea. The Portland-based fishing vessel Emmy Rose sank off the coast of Massachusetts during a gale on Nov. 23, prompting a search by the U.S. Coast Guard that was later suspended. Robert Blethen Jr. of Georgetown, Jeff Matthews of Portland, Ethan Ward of Pownal, and Mike Porper of Gloucester, Massachusetts, are presumed lost at sea. At Saturday’s service, family members rose in turn to celebrate the life of each man, starting with the captain, Blethen, who went by Bobby. >click to read< 07:39
Huh!!! Massachusetts Lobster Poachers Charged!
You can call it the “Illegalest Catch” after a lobster boat docked in Beverly was caught taking in illegal and undersized lobsters.,, Massachusetts Environmental Police Officers, responding to a tip from a concerned citizen, conducted surveillance of lobster boats offloading their catch at a facility in Beverly. Officers subsequently conducted an inspection of the lobster crates they had observed being offloaded. The first lobster measured was found to be undersized; after finding several violations within the first crate,,, it gets better! >click to read< 15:04
U.S. Coast Guard admits it failed to warn Bering Sea fishing fleet about known Russian military exercises
Adm. Charles Ray told a U.S. Senate panel Tuesday that the Coast Guard knew Russia was conducting military exercises in August and failed to inform members of the U.S. Bering Sea fishing sector, Alaska Public Media reported. “This was not our best day with regards to doing our role to look after American fishermen,” Ray said. “I’ll just be quite frank: We own some of this.” The captain of the fishing vessel, Northern Jaeger, believed he had no choice but to comply and sail five hours south,,, >click to read< 13:10
U.S. Coast Guard crew tows New Bedford fishing vessel 5 days, 160 miles
The crew of Coast Guard Cutter Tahoma safely towed a disabled fishing vessel located 160 nautical miles East of Nantucket, Massachusetts, Friday. Tahoma received a report at 10:26 p.m. Sunday night from Coast Guard First District Command Center. Fishing vessel F/V Fearless was reported to be disabled with the crew requesting assistance. Tahoma’s crew conducted the tow of F/V Fearless over the course of 5 days, taking the vessel into tow Monday and rendezvousing with a commercial towing company near Buzzard’s Bay on Friday. Video, photos, >click to read< 10:54
Tales a tree tells: Murray Harbour’s Christmas monument remembers fishermen lost at sea
On a stormy afternoon in August of 1940, three fishermen were returning to the harbour when their boat capsized about a mile off of Beach Point. It’s said that the waves were high that day. The boat – which had relatives Vernon Jordan, John White and Bobby Nelson on board ¬– was overturned after being swept away by a strong wind. Today, the impact of the tragedy is remembered as part of Murray Harbour’s history. This year, residents of eastern P.E.I are honouring those tragedies with Murray Harbour’s new Christmas monument. Video, photos, >click to read< 09:35
Ben Platt: Whales aren’t at risk from crab fishing along California’s coast
Anyone who lives in or near California’s many historic fishing communities like Morro Bay, Monterey, or Half Moon Bay, has probably heard the term “ropeless” crab fishing gear. That’s the new buzzword for equipment being promoted by environmental groups to solve the perceived problem of whale interactions with fishing gear.,,, Both the East Coast Lobster fishery and the West Coast Dungeness crab fishery, each of which are made up of thousands of independent fishermen, have tested the pop-up “ropeless” gear and found it to be faulty. Meanwhile, strikes by large ships likely cause 50-150 whale deaths a year off the West Coast,,, >click to read< 07:31
21 arrested in N.S. lobster conflict; Mounties release photos of persons of interest
Nova Scotia RCMP have arrested 21 people so far in relation to criminal activity by a large group at a southwestern, N.S. lobster pound on Oct. 13, and are asking the public for help in continuing to identify persons of interest. RCMP confirmed that about 200 people were present at two incidents Oct. 13 outside a facility in Middle West Pubnico, N.S., which was storing lobster caught by members of the Sipekne’katik First Nation,,, On Friday, the Mounties issued a brief statement with photos, saying they were seeking public’s help in identifying suspects who engaged in criminal activity. Video, >click to read< 15:58
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for December 11, 2020
Legislative updates, Bill updates, Calendar, >Click here to read the Weekly Update<, The North Carolina Fisheries Association Officers, Members and Staff offer our prayers and most sincere condolences to Representative Michael and Hazel Speciale and their family on the death of their daughter, Dawn April Stewart on November 30th… to read all the updates >click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here< 14:31
Coast Guard rescues 3 from commercial fishing vessel fire near Pascagoula, Mississippi
The Coast Guard rescued three people from a commercial fishing vessel on fire offshore Pascagoula, Mississippi, Thursday. All three people aboard F/V Lucky Angel were returned to shore safely. One person was transported to Singing River Hospital in stable condition after being evaluated by EMS. Watch standers at the Eighth Coast Guard District received a report around 10:30 p.m. from one of the crew members aboard the Lucky Angel that the vessel was on fire approximately 10 nautical miles south of Pascagoula Channel. >click to read< 14:08
Dungeness Crab Season opens Dec.16th From Cape Falcon to the California border!
Fishing vessels can start setting gear for the pre-soak period as soon as Dec. 13 and see their first pulls hit the docks on opening day. The season is normally scheduled to open Dec. 1, but is often delayed for quality assurance reasons and toxin testing. Testing this year showed a low meat yield in crab specimens, prompting the two-week delay to allow the crabs to fill with meat. Last year’s opening day was delayed until Dec. 31 for similar reasons. Domoic acid levels in crab across the coast were found to be safe for human consumption,,, >click to read< 12:55
Western rock lobster head to supermarkets across Australia amid China trade woes
It is a deal that would have been unimaginable last Christmas, when Chinese customers were snapping up western rock lobster at jaw-dropping prices and locals in the port city of Geraldton, where they were caught, often missed out. But the fishers’ co-operative has now signed a contract with a supermarket giant to put the prized shellfish on retail shelves across Australia at the relative bargain price of $20 each for a cooked lobster. The coronavirus pandemic and worsening trade crisis with China has seen rock lobster fishers focus on the market closer to home. Video, >click to read< 11:05
From the “Where the Rubber Meets the Road” Department: Automobile Tires Are Killing West Coast Salmon, Not Climate Change
Just last year, PBS and Popular Science were screaming about “climate change” being the cause of salmon deaths with headlines like “Climate Change is Killing Salmon in the Pacific Northwest” and “Climate change is cooking salmon in the Pacific Northwest.” It seems they were wrong. Dead wrong. New research from the University of Washington published December 3 in the journal Science, exonerates “climate change” in the salmon-killing caper and finds a surprise villain: an additive to automobile tires, not “climate change.” In fact, the researchers specifically ruled out climate change-driven water temperature increases as a cause. >click to read< 09:35
A legal war, a Biden win: What’s next for Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Marine Monument?
Lobstering groups say they aren’t opposed to protecting the natural habitats that sustain their industry. But they question whether the 5,000-square-mile monument is consistent with the Antiquities Act’s provision that designations be limited to the “smallest area compatible” with protecting the rich supply of marine life and corals that populate the Atlantic site. They also questioned the Obama administration’s position, which Trump officials have defended in court,,, Blocking off industry’s access to thousands of square miles of the Atlantic Ocean should require a little more public input, the fishing groups argue. Trump instead chose to preserve the site, although he traveled this summer to Maine to announce that he would lift all fishing restrictions in the monument.,, And in a matter of weeks, President-elect Joe Biden, who was vice president when Obama created the Atlantic monument, will be sitting in the White House. >click to read< 08:05
