Daily Archives: January 22, 2021
Failed policies, decisions on the fly: How the moderate livelihood fishery file blew up
Documents obtained through a freedom of information request show the federal Fisheries Department knew that 21 years of kicking the moderate livelihood issue down the election cycle had resulted in there being little rule of law on St. Mary’s Bay. The feds knew that the bay had become a pressure cooker as two communities were pitted against one another over a limited resource. When the top blew off, they turned to coming up with new policy on the fly while seeking a daily scorecard on evolving public opinion. “This is about a culture (in Ottawa) that would rather avoid any conflict at all,” said Thomas Isaac, an aboriginal rights lawyer who has served as British Columbia’s chief treaty negotiator,,,>click to read< 13:49
President Biden’s flurry of actions to protect the environment reignites a controversy about the Atlantic’s only marine monument
Last June, as part of a concerted campaign to dismantle the environmental policies of the Obama administration, Donald Trump met with fishermen in Maine and signed a proclamation that allowed commercial fishing in nearly 5,000 square miles of federally protected waters southeast of Cape Cod. In all, Biden ordered federal agencies to begin reviewing and restoring more than 100 environmental regulations that were dismantled or weakened by the Trump administration. While many of Biden’s orders could have a significant impact on New England, the review of the (Northeast Canyons and Seamounts) marine monument, a Connecticut-sized area that lies about 130 miles southeast of Provincetown, has stirred immediate controversy. >click to read< 11:44
Dakota Creek Industries co-founder Dick Nelson dead at 78
Dick Nelson, who co-founded Dakota Creek Industries, died Thursday, the Anacortes shipyard announced. He was 78. Nelson’s passing was announced in a company statement read by Port of Anacortes Executive Director Dan Worra at the port’s commission meeting on Thursday evening. Dakota Creek Industries was founded in 1975 in Blaine and initially focused on repair and conversion work before relocating in 1977 to Anacortes, where it began building new vessels, including fishing vessels, tug boats, commercial and government vessels, according to the company’s website. >click to read< 10:13
Oyster Prices Plummet As Diners Stay Home Amid Pandemic
With several hours of daylight to spare, Ronnie Robbins and his son, Jason, had already docked their 36-foot deadrise workboat on Hooper’s Island and started unloading their briny cargo.,,, It isn’t a supply problem. Watermen in Maryland and Virginia alike say they are having no trouble landing their daily wild oyster quotas.,,, “We got lots of oysters, and they’re excellent quality,” said Bill Sieling,,, The problem is decreased demand caused by the coronavirus pandemic. >click to read< 09:31
Gulf of Alaska Pollock fishermen agree to delay season, will allow roe to ripen, making fish more valuable.
Trawl fishermen targeting pollock in the Gulf of Alaska have collectively agreed to stand down from the Jan. 20 start of the fishery in order to target the fish in their more lucrative phase of harvesting the roe, instead of the flesh of the fish which is used more in fish sticks and surimi. The fishermen want to wait for two weeks to allow the roe to ripen, making the fish more valuable.,, In June 2019, the North Pacific Management Council voted to combine the four pollock seasons — two in spring and two in fall — to just two seasons: one that runs from Jan. 20 to May 31, and another that runs from Sept. 1 to Nov. 1. >click to read< 08:20
Five Days In, Crescent City Fishermen Continue To Pull Up Empty Crab Pots
“It’s a bleak year”,,, After a delay initially due to poor quality crab and later because of price negotiations with seafood processors, Del Norte County fishermen and others on the North Coast were able to pull their crab pots at 8 a.m. on Saturday. But four hours into the season, when dock workers and fishermen should have been offloading the first of their catch, Citizens Dock was still quiet.,, Since fishermen went to work, Pacific Choice Seafoods and other processors raised the price they were offering to $4 per pound,,, >click to read< 07:32
