Daily Archives: February 22, 2021
Forfeited: Seafood firm loses $20m vessel after trawling in protected area
Seafood company Sanford Limited has lost a $20 million fishing vessel after it admitted trawling in a protected fishing area off the coast of Stewart Island. The Christchurch District Court has ordered the company to forfeit the San Waitaki, a 64m deep water stern trawler with a processing factory and freezer facilities on board, to the Crown. The company has also been fined $36,000. In February, Sanford pleaded guilty to trawling in a lower buffer zone of a benthic protected area (BPA). >click to read< 21:39
Norwegian Crab Fisherman Renat Besolov
“I like the sea and my job as “deck manager” on board the Northeastern. It is great to be outside, even if it is both stormy and snowy,” says Renat Besolov. For the past five years, he has worked onboard four different vessels. Onboard the Northeastern, the crew varies slightly according to the season, but normally there are 23 people on board. “We go eight hours to work and eight hours off. This is how we go the whole trip, which is normally four to five weeks. And as we usually say when we are at sea – crabs on the tank make money in the bank,” >click to read< 20:35
New research suggests 70% decline in diversity of B.C. sockeye salmon stock in past century
There are at least 13 genetically different sockeye salmon that spawn in the rivers or tributaries of the Skeena River watershed and that has not changed in 100 years, the study found. However Price and co-author John Reynolds show that the vast majority of sockeye salmon now returning to the Skeena River to spawn, some 90 per cent, are of one type that originates in the Babine River, a tributary of the Skeena River. Price says the 
predominant strain of sockeye in the Skeena River is wild, meaning fish that were not born in a hatchery or in a human controlled spawning channel, which could affect the fish’s ability to thrive as climate change and other pressures on the fish progress. >Click to read< Loss of Sockeye Diversity Threatens Skeena Salmon, Study Finds – A century ago, the Babine accounted for 68 per cent of all wild sockeye returning to the Skeena, according to the study. At the time, gillnetting on the coast favored larger fish,,, photos, >click to read< 16:24
A Fundraiser to Support Zach & Darby
It is with a heavy heart that we let everyone know about our dear friend Zach. We lost the most amazing man yesterday doing what he loved the absolute most. He took his last trip on the F/V Coastal Reign and now he is fishing with God. We lost an amazing soul just 5 days before his 42nd birthday. He loved what he did,,, Zachs other half Darby is with close family and friends at this time. Zach was the main financial support in their home. Jasmine Sleutel is organizing this fundraiser. >click to read, and please, donate if you can<. 13:55
Strait of Georgia: DFO sets herring fishing quota at 20 per cent, cons call for ban
Herring fishermen Quincy Sample in Comox look forward to being back on the water after the Department of Fisheries and Oceans announced a 20 per cent harvest rate for this year’s return in the Strait of Georgia. For Sample and many others, it’s an important part of their livelihoods. “It’s a very important part of our year,” said Sample. “It supplies a good income for us, our families, and our deckhand’s families. It probably accounts for 35-40 per cent of my overall year.” >click to read< 09:15
From boat to table: Family starts direct-to-consumer scallop business
At the beginning of the pandemic and over 1,000 miles from New Bedford, Britt St. George and Madison Lees quarantined in Florida with their father, John Lees, founder of Mar-Lees Seafood and current president of New England Marine; their mother; and their significant others, Zack St. George and Edward Smith. It was a time in which scallops were a part of nearly every conversation, Madison Lees said, and not just because their father is in the business. It was because the family business was growing. They also figured it would be the perfect time to sell scallops directly to consumers online as restaurants were either closed or running at limited capacity, he said. “Now or never, now is the time to do it,” >click to read< 07:57
Its Deadline for Comments Day on South Fork Wind Farm Environmental Report
BOEM, which recently finished its draft environmental review of the South Fork Wind Farm, gave the public a chance to weigh in on the document at three virtual public hearings in mid-February, and is accepting further written public comment through midnight tonight… Meghan Lapp of Seafreeze Ltd. in Narragansett, Rhode Island, “Our vessels will have to fish in the area, which will be impossible if this goes through as planned,” she said, adding that the DEIS “does not contain any cumulative impact analysis” of how the offshore wind industry will affect the fishing industry. Bonnie Brady of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, based in Montauk, agreed with Ms. Lapp, adding,,, >click to read< 12:05
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