Daily Archives: June 11, 2021
Fisheries Survival Fund: Change Offshore Wind Farm Areas to Protect Scallops
The Fisheries Survival Fund , is requesting that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, which is responsible for leasing areas for offshore development, incrementally change its lease plans for the New York Bight. Currently, two BOEM Wind Energy Areas, Hudson South and Central Bight, are located in particularly sensitive areas for scallops. In their current form, these areas, including hundreds of thousands of acres of ocean, will have a serious negative impact on the fishery. BOEM’s proposed eastern-most lease areas in Hudson South are directly adjacent to the Hudson Canyon Scallop Access Area, one of the most important scallop grounds in the Northeast. >click to read< 19:06
Commercial Lobster diver caught in the mouth of a humpback whale off Provincetown Friday morning
A commercial lobster diver was seriously injured Friday morning when he was caught in the mouth of a humpback whale feeding off Race Point, his sister said. Michael Packard, 56, of Wellfleet, is in stable condition at Cape Cod Hospital with at least one broken leg, Cynthia Packard said. “He was swallowed by the whale, he was in his mouth for about 20 seconds,” Cynthia Packard said in a phone interview Friday morning. Packard spoke with J ‘an J crewman Josiah Mayo, who relayed some of the details to her. >click to read< 14:46
SEA-NL up and running as ‘distinct’ voice of owner-operators; membership sign-up has begun
For Immediate Release – The Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador Inc. >(SEA-NL)< has been formed to serve as the distinct voice of the province’s more than 3,000 licensed, commercial inshore fish harvesters — with membership signup officially starting today. “It’s high time independent owner-operators were recognized as a distinct group within the Newfoundland and Labrador fishery, with a say on all decisions that impact their enterprises,”,,, >click to read< 13:18
Fishermen oppose offshore wind farm, opposition to construction on fishing grounds continues,,,
The construction of the Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm with 62 wind turbines, each with an 8mW generating capacity, began on the 3rd May this year, while the fishing industry continues to voice its opposition to the project. The Normandy fishermen held a demonstration both on shore and on the water, while others in the Hauts-de-France region and elsewhere, demonstrated in solidarity with their colleagues in Brittany. In a demonstration of anger, on 7th May fishermen took their protests against the construction out to the offshore site. 70 fishing boats surrounded the Aeolus installation vessel in the Bay of Saint-Brieu,,, photos, >click to read< 11:40
Sundance Award-Winning Film CODA Filmed in Gloucester
Paul Vitale of Gloucester has been fishing off his boat, the F/V Angela Rose for 24 years. Most of the time, these days, he heads out to sea alone. Then, in the summer of 2019, a movie crew came to town. “All of a sudden you have the actors, the interpreters, the producers, the cameramen—all these people are on the boat,” Vitale says. “It was a little overwhelming, but not in a bad way.” Vitale and his boat weren’t the only locals to find their way onto the screen. The city harbormaster appeared in the film, as did local businessman Sam Parisi. The state fish pier, a city elementary school, and a popular harborside watering hole all served as shooting locations,, The movie’s title is an acronym for “child of deaf adults,” >click to read< 10:28
Workers respond to a fishing boat that ran aground in Homer Harbor
Quick action by salvage crews last Wednesday, June 2, prevented a Homer fishing boat from flooding and sinking when it ran aground on the wood grid in the Homer Harbor. The 40-foot F/V Redoubt heeled over after the boat got stuck on the edge of the grid as the tide went out.,, “With the tide flooding, without those bags it would have filled the boat,” Hawkins said. “”He (the boat owner) was so fortunate in that everybody and everything was in place to make it work so they could save his boat.” >photos, click to read< 09:16
Lobstermen And Conservationists To Closely Watch Right Whale Court Case
Conservationists and fishermen will be closely watching a federal court case closely over the next 12 days. “Arguably, the existence of the Massachusetts lobster fishery is at stake today,” The case is being pushed by activist Max Strahan, who wants a judge to ban Massachusetts from authorizing fisheries that use vertical ropes that can entangle and kill North Atlantic right whales. >click to read< 08:07
