Daily Archives: October 14, 2021
UPDATED: Search continues for 54-year-old missing fisherman off Yarmouth
Crews with the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre are searching for a missing fisherman in the waters off southern Nova Scotia. The centre said they were notified at about 4 a.m. AT of a man who had gone overboard from a fishing vessel about 27 kilometres off the coast of Yarmouth, N.S. Lt. Cmdr. Brian Owens said there were initially four people on board the vessel. Three of them went to sleep, leaving the captain in the wheelhouse. The band office of the Sipekne’katik First Nation confirmed the missing man is a member of the community. Several fishermen from Sipekne’katik were out on the water assisting in the search Thursday. >click to read< 17:32
Newly Launched New Bedford Foundation Aims to Keep Fishermen Safe
A new charitable foundation in New Bedford is getting started on its mission to keep fishermen safe by supporting the creation of safety standards in one of the most dangerous industries in the country. Board members yesterday announced the launch of the Seaworthy Foundation, which advocates for safe working conditions on fishing vessels. The foundation was started by family members of fishermen Michael Roberts and Jonathan Saraiva, who died in December 2017 when their boat, the F/V Misty Blue, sank off the coast of Nantucket. >click to read< 15:20
Crews search for missing fisherman off southern Nova Scotia
Crews with the Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre are searching for a missing fisherman in the waters off southern Nova Scotia. The centre said they were notified at about 4 a.m. AT of a man who had gone overboard from a fishing vessel about 27 kilometres off the coast of Yarmouth, N.S. Lt.-Cmdr. Brian Owens said there were initially four people on board the vessel. Three of them went to sleep, leaving the captain in the wheelhouse. When one of them woke up at about 3:30 a.m. AT, the captain was no longer in the wheelhouse. They searched the boat, but he wasn’t on board. >click to read< 12:03
Canada demands $25M in COVID relief assistance back from thousands of fishers
The federal government is demanding 4,193 Canadian fishers repay $25.8 million in COVID-19 relief assistance paid out in 2020 under the Fish Harvester Benefit and Grant Program,,, DFO said many harvesters were ineligible because they were regular wage-earning employees rather than self-employed sharepersons, as required under program rules. Travis Nickerson of Clarks Harbour, N.S., received an overpayment letter. “It’s a mess,” said Nickerson, a lobster boat crewman. “They gave me something when I really needed it, and now they want it back.” >click to read< 10:40
Offshore Wind Farms: As turbines rise, small-scale fishermen have the most to lose
David Aripotch is 65, a weathered man with gray hair, just tall enough to see over the helm. He has been fishing for almost a half-century, but he still gets excited every time the net is lifted from the ocean. It’s all the other things that eat at him. The federal fishing quotas that sometimes make him steam as far south as North Carolina to catch fish he can find off Long Island. The mind-boggling expenses of running a fishing boat: $5,000 a month for insurance, $30,000 for a new net, $60,000 for a paint job. Worst of all are the wind farms. “There’s so many things going against you as a commercial fisherman in the United States,” he said. “And now these wind farms, it’s almost like that’s the final nail in the coffin.” >click to read< (2nd article of 2 parts, >part 1<) 09:20
Biden plans to expand offshore wind farms to all US coasts
The Biden administration has unveiled plans to expand offshore wind energy farms in a move that could see turbines built along much of the US coastline.,,, The plan is expected to meet a backlash from some coastal and fishing communities, and it needs approval from state, local and environmental groups before any construction begins. Commercial fishing companies have argued such offshore wind projects would make it difficult to harvest valuable seafood species, like lobsters. Some conservation groups also fear the large turbines will kill thousands of birds and affect marine life. >click to read< 08:31
Inquest: No evidence British submarine sank French trawler in 2004
Ever since the boat sank, the families of the sailors have demanded a proper investigation into the men’s deaths. They have maintained over the years that the sinking could have been caused by a submarine becoming caught in the ship’s nets, something the Ministry of Defence has denied. The inquest heard on Wednesday that the Royal Navy Police Special Investigation Branch (RNPSIB) would not have been blocked from investigating the potential involvement of British combat vessels. >click to read< 07:51
