Daily Archives: September 10, 2021
Hurricane Ida: A Bad Time on the Bayou
Hurricane Ida struck the heart of Louisiana’s seafood industry as a Category 4 hurricane, wiping out homes, boats, trucks, plants and icehouses…. ‘This is just a bad time to be on the bayou it seems,’ said Venice shrimper Acy Cooper, a member of the Louisiana Shrimp Task Force. ‘Before the storm we were being hit hard by Covid. Covid is still here, but now we have to face the difficulties brought on by Ida,’ he said, adding that he has been fortunate compared to those to the east of him. ‘Here in Venice, we lost three or four shrimp boats, but over in Chauvin and Dulac, it’s more like half that fleet. People have lost their homes, their boats. They don’t have power, gas or food. These are people that aren’t going to ask for anything, but let me tell you they need it, and they need it now.’ Click to read >Pt.1< and >Pt.2< 18:55
Turtle excluders
A federal court in Louisiana granted Attorney General Jeff Landry’s request to preliminarily enjoin implementation of a National Marine Fisheries Service’s rule requiring “Turtle Excluder Devices” on certain skimmer trawl boats operating in inshore waters. Landry’s office called it a “major win” for shrimpers, which were having difficulty complying with the rule due to pandemic-related supply chain issues. >click to read the order< 16:55
Delaware lobsterman ‘Captain Bill’ Melvin Ernest Rice has passed away
Ernest “Bill” Melvin Rice, 81, of Lewes passed away at home Sunday, Aug. 22, 2021. He was born June 17, 1940, in Lewes, son of the late Ernest M. and Charlotte (Smith) Rice. Bill was a proud veteran, having honorably served in the U.S. Marine Corps. After his military service, he started his own business along with his wife, Jean, called Indian River Lobster Co., where they provided seafood to the area. Bill started first clamming commercially, then fishing, and then went on to become one of Delaware’s first lobsterman. >click to read< 15:34
Appeal and application process frustrates – Fish Harvester Benefit and Grant Program extended
The appeal deadline for the Fish Harvester Benefit and Grant Program has been extended by DFO to Oct.1 from Sept.15 following months of delays and online application issues. The appeal process has been plagued by an “online application nightmare” and a “communication cluster,” Problems included multiple vague error messages prompting harvesters to call Service Canada for help. The error messages numbered seven, 10 and 12, offered no definition. This left many harvesters clueless,,, >click to read< 14:20
Due to current expansion, the Dutch fleet faces loss of fishing grounds to offshore wind farms
The number of windmills in Dutch waters is set to increase rapidly, not only in the North Sea, but also in the fresh waters of the IJsselmeer where a fleet of small fishing boats catches eel, perch, pike perch and roach. In a demonstration of their anger and frustration, last month fishermen took their protests against the energy sector to a gathering off the coast along Breezanddijk. This is a remote location in the middle of the huge Afsluitdijk, but close to a huge wind mill park. About sixty fishing vessels gathered for the demonstration. Wind farms have been taking over productive fishing grounds for several years now,,, photo’s, >click to read< 12:55
Lobster captain found guilty on lesser charge in 2018 deaths of 2 men
Justice Gregory Cann has found lobster boat captain Clarence Barry White not guilty on two counts of criminal negligence causing death over a boat collision that left two men dead. He did find White guilty of dangerous operation of a vehicle causing death, however. Sobs broke out in a Charlottetown courtroom on Friday as the judge announced his decision. White’s boat, Forever Chasin’ Tail, collided with Joel ’98, killing two of the five people on that vessel: Justin MacKay and Chris Melanson. During the trial, court heard that White’s boat was on autopilot at the time of the crash, >click to read< 11:42
Accused of poaching crabs in a marine reserve area on Oregon coast
Two men are accused of poaching crab in the protected Cape Falcon Marine Reserve south of Cannon Beach using gear stolen from other crabbers. Scott Giles, most recently of Ilwaco, Wash., and deckhand Travis Westerlund, of Astoria, face criminal charges including theft, criminal mischief, unlawful take and fishing in a prohibited area, following an indictment in August. Given the alleged amount of stolen gear found in his possession, Giles, captain of the commercial fishing vessel The Baranof, faces felony theft charges. >click to read< 10:22
Hurricane Ida: Dozens of Groundings and Sinkings Block Louisiana’s Inland Waterways
Thursday, the U.S. Coast Guard released an update on the full extent of the impact of Hurricane Ida in the vicinity of Bayou Lafourche, the working waterway that leads inland from Port Fourchon. The area was right in the path of the hurricane’s eye, and while Port Fourchon has reopened, navigation remains closed on Bayou Lafourche because of dozens of sunken and grounded vessels.,, So far, 25 vessels requiring salvage and removal – fishing vessels, crew boats and OSVs – have been found in the Bayou Lafourche channel. 30 more submerged targets have been identified in the Houma Navigation Canal, including 15 that have recently been cleared or removed. photos, >click to read< 09:51
Fin whale entangled in a navigation buoy near Grand Manan last week is presumed dead
A fin whale spotted near Grand Manan is believed to have died after becoming entangled in a navigation buoy, something rescuers say they have never seen before. Campobello Whale Rescue Team with the Canadian Whale Institute, said the rescue team responded to a report of an entangled whale spotted from the Grand Manan Ferry at around 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 1. The ferry was travelling from Blacks Harbour to Grand Manan. Brown said the team went searching with two boats, joined by a boat and aircraft from the Fisheries and Oceans Canada team. >click to read< 08:26
