Daily Archives: May 28, 2022
Avoiding ship strikes – Robotic buoys developed to keep Atlantic right whales safe
A Cape Cod science center and one of the world’s largest shipping businesses are collaborating on a project to use robotic buoys to protect a vanishing whale from lethal collisions with ships. A lab at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution developed the technology, which uses buoys and underwater gliders to record whale sounds in near real time. The robotic recorders give scientists, mariners and the public an idea of the location of rare North Atlantic right whales, said Mark Baumgartner, a marine ecologist with Woods Hole whose lab also operates the buoys. >click to read< 14:00
Lobster prices dropping
The price of lobster and seafood at large has shot up in recent years, and the price to lobster fishermen at the docks increased by about 60% last year. But lobster prices appear to be leveling off, and some retailers are selling the prized crustaceans for a couple dollars less than last year. Members of the industry said the price to fishermen is also falling at a time when they are struggling with high bait and fuel prices and costly gear conversations intended to try to protect rare whales. “And that’s why it’s hard, if bait was up and fuel was up and the price of lobsters was up, you’d be where you always are,” said Kristan Porter, president of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association. “But with those down, that makes it hard to justify going in.” >click to read< 12:08
Fisherman hits jackpot, becomes millionaire overnight
A fisherman in the Jevani area of Gwadar hit a jackpot and became a millionaire overnight after he caught a rare croaker fish weighing 48 kilogrammes and sold it for millions in an auction. A rare Sowa (locally known as Kiri) fish got entangled in the net of a Jevani fisherman, according to a local fisherman. It was afterwards reported to have sold at auction for a staggering Rs 13.5 million. Pharmaceutical companies use a unique form of substance present in fish that is considered more valuable than the meat in the creation of surgical products. >click to read< 11:13
Brixham Fish Market protesters accept offer of meeting
Campaigners from the Ocean Rebellion protest group have accepted an offer to talk to Brixham fish industry leaders about sustainability and the environment. Brixham Fish Market managing director Barry Young made the offer after a high-profile protest at the market gates in which Ocean Rebellion raised concerns about the effect of beam trawling on the seabed. Mr Young said the industry was rigorously policed for its environmental impact, and with a £43m annual turnover it supported hundreds of jobs in the local economy. He said he would welcome the chance to brief Ocean Rebellion and explain the industry’s position. >click to read< 08:49
Massachusetts weighs relief fund to the lobster industry
Lawmakers want to create a new fund to help commercial lobstermen whose livelihoods are being impacted by state and federal regulations aimed at protecting critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. An amendment added to the Senate version of the $49.7 billion state budget, approved Thursday, May 26, would set up a lobstering closure mitigation fund through the state’s unemployment system with at least $12 million in initial funding. The amendment was co-sponsored by Sens. Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, and Patrick O’Connor, R-Weymouth, who say the move will provide “much needed relief” for the lobster industry. “It is absolutely critical that we provide relief to the people in this industry which is so important to the commonwealth,” Tarr said. “As the second largest provider of lobster in the nation these workers are needed for another day, another year, and another generation.” >click to read< 08:03
