Daily Archives: June 5, 2022
New England lobster, crab boats could begin using experimental ropeless gear with federal permits
Henry Milliken supervises a prototyping program for the so-called “ropeless” gear at the Northeast Marine Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole. “Our goal is to work with the fishermen, get them experienced with the gear outside of the closed areas, outside of the times when the right whales are present, and then when everyone is experienced, everyone is comfortable, then permit them to fish in the closed areas,” Milliken says. Most Maine fishermen dismiss the technology as unworkable in the state’s diverse fishing grounds. But a handful are quietly trying it out. >click to read< 19:36
Barataria Crabber isn’t Giving Up
A large majority of Louisiana’s crabs comes from the waters of the Barataria Estuary, situated between the Mississippi River and Bayou Lafourche. Scott Sugasti has been on those waters working his traps since an early age, and as one of the younger crabbers on the bayou he knows hard work is the key to success. Since Hurricane Ida he has had to work harder at avoiding numerous pitfalls the storm has caused for local fishermen. Now 23, he started crabbing on his own at the age of 13, never afraid to be alone on the water. While in high school he would get up at the crack of dawn and head out in his boat. ‘I used to go before and after school. I would wake up at three in the morning all the time and head out to run my traps.’ Over the years he has started and stopped a number of times, but it became his daily occupation when he bought his first boat from his grandfather, Jimmy Matherne, two years ago. Photos, >click to read<13:21
Are seafood wholesalers filling their pockets?
Where are the huge profits of seafood wholesalers going? Or the difference between the price paid to fishermen and the price charged to consumers, for example for crab and lobster? “It’s never easy to say who is pocketing the profits,” immediately replies Jean Côté, biologist and scientific director of the Association of Professional Fishermen of Southern Gaspésie. There are cases where there are no “staggering profits”, he insists. For example, Mr. Côté recalls that at the start of the lobster fishing season, the fisherman received $8 per pound for his catch and his displayed price in the supermarket was $8.77. >click to read< 10:41
DFO undertaking major hiring wave for enforcement officers
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is looking to hire more enforcement officers in departments all across Canada. In a hiring notice posted on Friday DFO indicated they need more staff in all seven of the nation’s fisheries. No word yet on how many positions they are looking to fill. Once fully trained DFO enforcement officers make between $66,610-$75,733 per year (DFO salaries are currently under review). Fisheries Critic and South Shore-St.Margarets MP Rick Perkins, “Since the first Trudeua government, there has been an increase in DFO executive positions from 65 to 178, with all those earning the highest pay available in the DFO.”. He wonders why that is nessecary as more fisheries have closed in that period. >click to read< 08:14
