Daily Archives: March 23, 2022
Golden asks for more lobstermen on panel
U.S. Rep. Jared Golden (ME-02) called on the National Marine Fisheries Services March 16 to expand representation of lobstermen on its Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team by including members of Maine Lobstering Union Local 207. The Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team is charged with making recommendations to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for addressing rising North Atlantic right whale mortalities. Only four of the members of the 60-person team are Maine lobstermen. >click to read< 17:46
Coast Guard medevacs man from fish processing vessel near Cold Bay, Alaska
The Coast Guard medevaced a man from a fish processing vessel approximately 50 miles north of Cold Bay Monday. A Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew deployed aboard Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley hoisted the 62-year-old man from the 254-foot fish processor, Phoenix, at 3:10 p.m. The patient was flown to Cold Bay and placed in the care of an air ambulance crew. “It’s been a busy few days for the Alex Haley crew and their embarked aircrew,” >click to read< 15:29
B.C. groups call on Alaska to halt interception of Canadian salmon
In a letter addressed to Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, four salmon conservation groups presented data indicating that in 2021 more than 650,000 Canadian-origin sockeye salmon were caught in the waters of southeast Alaska. That is six times the 110,000 sockeye B.C. commercial fishers caught last year. “We’re just talking about the fish we know that are getting killed up there,” said Greg Taylor, a longtime consultant with commercial and First Nations fisheries. B.C. salmon populations have plummeted to record lows in recent years. In response, the federal government closed 60 per cent of B.C.’s commercial salmon harvest in June 2021 and announced a fishing licence buy-back program under its $647-million Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative. The result for B.C., says Taylor: “It makes us a spawning ground for Alaska.” >click to read< 13:12
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 42’x16′ Novi Lobster Boat with Traps and Permits
To review specifications, information, and 35 photos’, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here< 11:38
Left and Right oppose an offshore wind farm – People are asking questions.
Developers are selling us impossible promises about offshore wind farms. “This reliable renewable energy resource is a game-changer for the New England grid,” says an advocacy group called New England for Offshore Wind. “It is our best chance to address the climate crisis, meet our future energy needs, and grow our economy simultaneously.” But people are asking questions, and it’s not just about the questions, but also about who is asking them. When the liberal environmental group Natural Resources Defense Council, a coalition of U.S. senators led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, and a conservative Texas institute like mine come together to question an ocean-based wind farm project, something must be fishy. >click to read< 10:20
Brady hits out at Ministers for ‘passing buck’ as Arklow fisherman flounders in debt
The criticism by the Wicklow TD addresses the failure of both Ministers to take leadership with “neither prepared to do the decent thing and deal with the issue” that has seen Mr Gaffney lose his fishing boat and license and wrack up debts of more than €1million. “What we have witnessed is a case of ‘passing the buck’ between government departments, as they work to avoid taking responsibility for the matter,” said Mr Brady. Explaining his current situation, Mr Gaffney said: “I have no life anymore. Every week there is costs, and every week is like a knife cut. >click to read< 08:50
Whales entangled in fishing gear could prompt early end to Dungeness crab season
On Tuesday, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced that one of the entangled whales had been spotted near Moss Beach, just north of Half Moon Bay, on March 11. The other was spotted on March 19 in Monterey Bay. Both were alive at the time. “In anticipation of increasing risk due to migrating humpback and blue whales, a closure will help minimize additional entanglement risk,” read a report from the department,,, However, the Dungeness crab fishing fleet in the affected areas may already be shutting itself down preemptively, said Sonoma County fisherman Dick Ogg, who is on a working group organized by the Department of Fish and Wildlife to assess risk to whales and make recommendations on when it’s time to close the season. >click to read< 07:35
