Daily Archives: March 10, 2021
Forgotten industries – Auctioning off enormous areas of precious fishing grounds to offshore wind farm developers
At a time when Scottish fishing communities are still trying to come to terms with the regulations they face after the Westminster Government’s adoption of a Brexit deal,,, The Scottish Government appear to be intent on heaping more pressure on the Scottish fishing communities, as they are presently auctioning off enormous areas of precious fishing grounds to wind farm developers and are creating massive Marine Protected Areas, that prohibits fishing activities. This will concentrate the fishing effort in other areas, putting more pressure on the available fish stocks in what fishing grounds are left. By William Polson, Whalsay, Shetland. >click to read< 18:12
Coronavirus: UK Fishing industry shrank ‘dramatically’ during pandemic
Activity fell sharply in Britain and China in 2020 but increased in US, Japan and South Korea. In a year of unprecedented decline, the UK and China saw the most “dramatic declines” in fishing activity,, In Britain, whose fishing industry was badly hit by storms in the months before the pandemic, there was a drop,,, while in China there was a fall,, . Fishing activity also decreased in Italy, Spain, France and Norway, mostly in the first months of 2020. Early on in the pandemic, boats were tied up and many workers in the Scottish fishing industry were forced to use food banks as export demand fell, restaurants were closed and lockdown restrictions were introduced all over the UK. >click to read< 16:02
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 1995 60′ Steel Shrimper, Cat 3408, Fed Permit
To review specifications, information, and 10 photos, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here<12:02
Deadliest Catch season 17 – What a Time to be Alive!
In season 17, Discovery says that “half the crab boats of the Bering Sea fleet are tied up in Seattle” while “an existential threat faces the fishermen who make the long-haul trip to Dutch Harbor, Alaska,” because they face “a potential closure of the entire fishery” for the 2021 season. The crab survey conducted during the summer by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game didn’t happen because of C0VID-19, and that means “the captains will be fishing blind with no charts or guidance on where to find crab on the grounds, making an already challenging season even more difficult,” short trailer, >click to read< 10:03
B.C. frozen-at-sea spot prawns would be illegal – could be off the market
An interpretation of a new ruling by the DFO, would find the sale of any spot prawns frozen-at-sea illegal. The ruling, as written, indicates the following: “No person who catches and retains a fish under the authority of a license issued for the purpose of commercial fishing shall have the fish in possession if the fish is skinned, cut, packed or otherwise dealt with in such a manner that […] where size limits are applicable, the size of the fish cannot be readily determined.” That means tubs of frozen-at-sea spot prawn tails could be off the market. Members of the industry are asking for public support in challenging the decision, supporting B.C. harvesters, and giving consumers the ability to continue the movement to access Canadian prawns and eat locally. >click to read< 08:49
State and local agencies continue work to address grounded vessel at Dillon Beach
Officials said the Coast Guard Sector San Francisco watchstanders received initial reports at 8:45 a.m. Friday, March 5, that the American Challenger was being towed southward by the Tug Hunter from Puget Sound, Washington, when the Tug Hunter lost propulsion due to a rope entangling the propeller. On Tuesday, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife said marine surveyors boarded the American Challenger to continue their inspection of the vessel’s fuel tanks by using sound tapes and paste to get an accurate reading of the amount of fuel aboard. >click to read< 07:45
