Daily Archives: July 24, 2021
Maine Fishermen slow offshore wind farm development – Keep Fighting
Actions by Maine fishermen directly affected the process of offshore wind development in the Gulf of Maine with a bill signed into law on July 7 by Governor Janet Mills. The measure was a response to plans that surfaced last year for a 16-square-mile, 12-turbine wind farm, called a “research array,” off the southern coast of Maine. Proponents promised good jobs and cheap, green electricity. Fishermen weren’t so sure. They envisioned wind farms springing up throughout the Gulf of Maine, harming marine life and damaging coastal communities. “We as fishermen work and take care of the water,” said Virginia Olsen, a Maine Lobstering Union director who lives in Stonington. “We feel these things will get dumped on the water and then someone will say, ‘Just leave them there, it’ll be a coral reef.’ But it will just be trash left for us.” >click to read< 16:55
The Herring Girl Collection: Barra Knitwear brand honours the Herring Girls legacy
It takes its name from the band of formidable young women from the Outer Hebrides who followed the shoals of herring around the British coast undertaking gruelling work to gut, cure and pack the fish for local merchants. While away from their families, the “Herring Girls” would pass the time knitting using patterns incorporating anchors, ship’s wheels, hearts, or marriage lines that were handed down through the years. Hundreds of young 
women, some as young as 15, left their homes in Barra, Lewis, Orkney and Shetland in the 1880s and the early 1900s to travel to industrial ports around the UK. The work that they carried out was gruelling,,, The women went on strike, twice, and were successful in achieving modest pay rises. Many of the girls met their future husbands at one or other of the fishing ports. >click to read< 12:57
‘This film is a love letter to Gloucester’ – Sundance winner ‘CODA’ premieres before local crowd
The charms of Gloucester exploded on the big screen at the local unveiling of the film “CODA,” a four-time winner at this year’s Sundance Film Festival. The special event Thursday evening, intended for those who worked or assisted in some way with the film, turned out to be “the” premiere after director Sian Heder learned that the West Coast screening was canceled.,, Heder thanked everyone involved in the film and the support of her family. “You don’t make a movie alone, and this was not an easy film to make,” she told the full house. “All this fishing stuff is such a crazy undertaking.” >click to read< 09:35
Tribal fishermen claim WDFW targeting tribal members in new age of Fish Wars
It’s been more than five years since two Tulalip Tribe members were taken into custody at a marina in Everett; but what led up to that moment is still a debate that’ll be settled in court. What’s clear is that regardless of how the court system plays out, neither side will ever see eye-to-eye. Hazen Shopbell, one of the tribal members, says it’s the new age of the Fish Wars, an era when tribal fishermen were beaten and battered for attempting to fulfill their treaty rights in Puget Sound. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife says what played out is a standard investigation, that two fishermen violated state laws and trafficked in illegal shellfish trade. >click to read< 08:41
Fishing fleet lives a productive but unstable existence in New London
The 96-foot trawler Mystic Way is back home from a four-day stint at sea and its crew is unloading a 35,000-pound haul, using a crane to swing to shore containers overflowing with whiting and a variety of other fish species. The crew members join with dock workers to move the fish, shovel ice and pack the fish into hundreds of wax-coated boxes. A teen on a forklift hauls the pallets of boxes into an awaiting refrigerated truck headed to a fish market in New York. Workers are tired and sweating but focused on moving the fish out of the summer heat before too much of the ice melts. Overseeing the operations at Fisherman’s Landing is Gary Yerman, 71, owner and president of New London Seafood Distributors and one of the two men credited with bringing this modern-day fishing fleet to New London. >click to read< 08:20
