Daily Archives: April 29, 2021
Obituary: Neil H. Brewer, of Freeman Twp, Maine, Commercial Fisherman
Neil “Pops” “Papa” Hugh Brewer, 71, of Freeman Twp., passed away April 25, 2021 at home with his family by his side after a long battle with cancer. He was born on June 27, 1949 a son of Carl “Bo” and Carrie Brewer in Boothbay Harbor. He attended school in Boothbay and became a commercial fisherman and a lobsterman after graduating high school. He worked many years on the boat side by side with his brothers and son, Keith. His heart was always on the water. He married Simone Cook on Nov. 6, 1971. In 1978 they moved to Freeman TWP on Cook Hill, where he lived the rest of his life. >click to read< 19:18
A “very black day for Britain” – Yorkshire’s last distant-water fishery has been scuppered
The failure to land a deal allowing the UK to fish in Norwegian sub-Arctic waters means the crew of the £52m Kirkella, which lands into Hull, has no work. UK Fisheries CEO Jane Sandell said they had been promised a “sea of opportunity, not the scuppering of an entire industry.” She said: “George Eustice owes our crews and the Humberside region an explanation as to why the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) was unable even to maintain the rights we have had to fish in Norwegian waters for decades, never mind land the boasts of a ‘Brexit Bonus’, which has turned to disaster. >click to read< 15:45
No Ocean Industrialization: Shut coal power plants would be ripe for new generation of small nuclear reactors
Recently shut U.S. coal-fired power plants could serve as sites for a new generation of small nuclear reactors, the head of the nation’s largest public power utility and a U.S. senator from West Virginia said on Wednesday. “I see those sites as very viable small modular reactor (SMR) sites,” Jeff Lyash, president and chief executive of the TVA,,, Shut coal power plants would be ripe for SMR development because of their available water resources and existing power grid connections, Lyash said. SMRs are regarded by some as a critical carbon-free technology that power grids will need to supplement intermittent sources like wind and solar. >click to read< 13:52
Lobster season delayed on P.E.I.’s North Shore, now, Southern P.E.I. lobster crews as well
Setting day was scheduled for Friday, but that has been moved to Monday for lobster fishing area 24, which includes the North Shore of P.E.I. A decision on the opening for LFA 26A, which encompasses the southeastern shore from Point Prim to Victoria, is expected Thursday. Ian MacPherson, executive director of the P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association, says delays are not uncommon, but fishermen were hoping for a good start this year after the season was delayed two weeks last year due to COVID-19. >click to read< – The opening of the spring lobster season is being delayed for southern Prince Edward Island because of high winds in the forecast, a day after a similar decision was made for North Shore boats. >click to read< 12:19
New York: $6.7 million in Coronavirus relief to marine fishing industries
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced $6.7 million in relief aid is being distributed starting today to New York’s seafood, marine commercial, and for-hire fishing industries after excessive business losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. New York State will distribute an additional $5.7 million in the coming months, for a total of $12.4 million, through the Marine Fisheries Relief Program, which administers federal funding provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. >click to read< From ny.gov, >click to read< 11:40
Captain Edward Johnson Sears of Lower Wood’s Harbour, has passed away
Captain Edward Johnson Sears, 71, of Lower Wood’s Harbour, passed away on April 26, 2021 at Surf Lodge. Born on April 27, 1949 he was a son of the late Lindsey and Helen (Jeffery) Sears. In his younger years he enjoyed playing softball with friends and coworkers. Edward work as a fisherman for 50 plus years, he loved fishing and being on the open waters with his sons, grandsons and crew. He enjoyed spending time with his family at his cottage. Were ever Edward was he always had a grandchild, great grandchild, or his dog, Shania in tow. >click to read< 11:14
Mainers rally to oppose offshore wind development in the Gulf of Maine
Close to 500 Mainers gathered at the Civic Center in Augusta Wednesday, April 28 to oppose offshore wind development in the Gulf of Maine. Fishermen voiced concerns regarding the unknown impacts to ocean ecosystems, marine habitats, and the fisheries,,, “Rome wasn’t built in a day and we will not stop offshore wind with one rally,” said Virginia Olson of the Maine Lobstermen’s Union, “Augusta knew fishermen were here today, they know we are paying attention, and they know we are asking to be heard. We voiced our legitimate concerns about the impacts that this development will have on the Gulf of Maine which has been our home and supported our fishing families for generations. We are not going to be pushed out of the way.” >click to read< 08:57
Made for Bristol Bay: A Conversation with Sockeye Salmon Guru Steve Kurian
In 2002, when Steve Kurian graduated from college in Pennsylvania, he moved west to Idaho to take a job in forest management. There, Steve rented an apartment from an old, crusty commercial Alaska fisherman who told stories of an ocean chocked-full of salmon, sea monsters and a real-son-of-a-buzzard white whale that ate one of his crewmembers the season before. Steve wasn’t quite shanghaied, but the old man’s stories were enough to make him quit his job and go setnetting in the Naknek district of Bristol Bay. His then girlfriend and now wife, Jenn—the two have been together since they were 15—got a job fishing a neighboring setnet. >click to read< 08:10
