Daily Archives: July 14, 2022
FFAW RALLY NOTICE – PORT AU CHOIX JULY 15
European parliament votes to ban ‘fly shooting’ fishing in part of Channel
While the European parliament does not have the power to ban the fishing method, MEPs said the vote on Tuesday sent an important message to decision-makers about the impact of fly-shooting on coastal fishing communities. The vote on an amendment to the common fisheries policy, involving access to territorial waters, will now be considered by the European Commission, the parliament and EU member states. Last year the UK was accused of allowing vessels using the fishing method “unfettered access” to the Channel without proper assessment of the impact on fish, the seabed or the livelihoods of coastal communities. >click to read< 15:12
Removing DFO from Indigenous fishery negotiations an ‘integral’ step forward
Chief Mike Sack of the Sipekne’katik First Nation said the report, titled Peace on the Water, validates what he and his band have been saying about their right to fish since they launched a moderate livelihood fishery two years ago. The report calls for negotiations involving the Indigenous fishery to be handled by Crown-Indigenous Relations and Northern Affairs Canada, which Sack described as “the most integral” of the committee’s recommendations. “The treaty fishery model we presented over two years ago now is reinforced by each recommendation from the Senate,” Sack said in a statement. >click to read< 13:52
Man whose boat was seized for illegal crab fishing in Burrard Inlet nets further $6,000 fine
Judge Lyndsay Smith handed the fine to Sammy Alvin-Raymond John Williams, 32, of Gold River, B.C., July 13, in North Vancouver provincial court. Smith found Williams guilty in November of several fishing offences including setting gear in Burrard Inlet during a closed time, fishing for Dungeness crab in waters during a closed time, fishing without a licence, and possessing crab in contravention of the Federal Fisheries Act. Fisheries officers netted three men on fisheries charges following a high-speed chase of a fishing boat in Burrard Inlet on the night of March 1, 2020. The trio on board the boat had been fishing at night in the inlet, with no navigation lights on, using unmarked crab traps attached to a line that they pulled up from the bottom of the harbour, including fishing in the path of the SeaBus, a Crown prosecutor said. >click to read< 11:58
Mills & Maine Congressional Delegation Respond to First Circuit Court’s Decision
Portland, Maine – Governor Janet Mills and U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King and U.S. Representatives Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden issued the following statement today in response to the First Circuit Court of Appeals’ decision reinstating a ban on lobster fishing gear in nearly 1,000 square miles in the Gulf of Maine: “Once again, Maine’s lobstermen have been unfairly targeted by a misguided court decision. Today’s ruling fails to acknowledge the substantial steps that Maine’s lobster industry has already taken to comply with gear change rules to protect the North Atlantic Right Whale. We are deeply disappointed and will continue to strongly advocate for our state’s lobster industry.” >link<
Maine politicians blast ‘unfair’ court decision targeting lobster gear – A federal circuit court has reinstated a ban on lobster fishing gear in a nearly 1,000-square-mile area off New England to try to protect endangered whales. The U.S. District Court for the District of Maine issued a preliminary injunction to halt enforcement of the rules. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit in Boston vacated that ruling Tuesday. >click to read< 11:09
Fishing vessel crew member alleges inadequate medical treatment after cutting hand with machete
Nicholas A. Lester filed a complaint June 28 in Galveston County 56th District Court against Katie’s Seafood LLC and the F/V Pisces LLC alleging negligence, unseaworthiness and other claims. According to his complaint, Lester was employed by the defendants and was a crew member on the F/V Bottom Line commercial fishing vessel which was operating in the Gulf of Mexico on April 14, 2021. He claims that as he was chopping eels to prep for baiting hooks, he cut his left hand with the machete and began to bleed “profusely.” Lester further claims that he received no assistance from crew members until a half hour later when the vessel’s captain treated his wound with iodine and Gorilla Glue and wrapped it with gauze and electrical tape. >click to read< 08:41
Prince Edward Island: Fishermen wary of new gear mandated by DFO to protect whales
The federal government is making it mandatory for fishing crews to use the new gear as of January 2023. The ropes are designed to break more easily so whales won’t become entangled and suffer injuries if they swim into it. Lobster fisher Charlie McGeoghegan said it’s causing some concern in the fishing community who wonders if the gear is safe to use, if it will be lost more easily and how much it will cost to replace. The P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association asked the Department of Fisheries and Oceans for an exemption for lobster fishers but was denied. >click to read< 07:50
