Daily Archives: August 3, 2022
Annual fisheries meeting tackles lobster lawsuits, whale protections
Tuesday in Washington D.C., key players from Maine’s lobster fishery tackled what it considers its most pressing issues. The first issue was an update regarding Judge James Boasberg’s July ruling in the U.S. District Court case involving the Center for Biological Diversity versus Secretary Raimondo and the Maine Lobstermen’s Association. This case made the news in early July after Boasberg ruled regulators aren’t doing enough to protect the right whale. Just days after, he sided with environmental groups in another lawsuit to allow Area 1 to close again to fishermen this coming fall and winter. Another issue was a proposal to shrink the size limit for lobsters over the course of five years in order to replenish the declining population of young lobsters. Also, reduced boat speeds and the future of ropeless lobster traps. >click to read< 20:15
A one-two punch – Lobster prices reach pre-pandemic cost
It’s more unwelcoming news for lobstermen and women the price of soft shell lobster has dropped to pre-pandemic levels. Beal’s Lobster Pier dock manager Justin Snyder says its a one-two punch for lobstermen. “What’s really affecting them is the increase in costs in everything else, so the lobster prices have fallen back to normal, but everything else is just as expensive bait and fuel mostly,” said Snyder. Not only is inflation a primary reason, but Snyder said it also has to do with supply and demand. “We’re seeing a reduction in the demand compared to last year. We’re in the high supply part of the lobster season. If the demand is not there and there’s no more supply, the lobster prices are going to go down,” Video, >click to read< 17:14
Shrimp fishermen catch pristine 17th century wooden head
A crew of shrimp fishermen made an unusual catch earlier this week when they pulled up a 17th century wooden head which may have formed part of the adornments of a large ship. The fisherman caught the head, which is in pristine condition, in their nets when fishing off the coast of the Wadden island of Texel on Monday morning. Crew member Victor Ayal put the find on Twitter, sparking a lively discussion about its possible origin, from the work of Vikings to that of Northern European shipbuilders. photos, >click to read< 15:48
Strong sockeye salmon runs bode well for famed Fraser fishery
“The last bunch of years have just been nothing but doom and gloom when it comes to B.C. salmon,” said Granville-Island based fisher Steve Johansen, who just returned from “crazy” commercial fishing in Barkley Sound a week ago where sockeye returns were more than double Department of Fisheries and Oceans estimates. On the Skeena River, a key B.C. salmon river, returns have been 50 per cent higher than estimates. “I think everything else (that has) happened this summer before the Fraser runs is just making everybody’s anticipation and excitement just up a couple more notches,” Johansen said. >click to read< 12:50
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 46′ Wesmac Scallop/Tuna/Lobster, 750HP John Deere Diesel
To review specifications, information, and 12 photos’, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here< 11:45
PEI halibut season half over
According to Danny Arsenault, who co-chairs the PEI Ground Fish Advisory Board, catches in 4T5 and 4T7H (an area off the west coast previously closed) show promise this year. Ten boats fished the area during the July opening and got their quota. The partial opening of the area is allowed by DFO to see if there can be a viable halibut fishery in the area without influencing the cod stocks. Quota for halibut, an Atlantic flat fish that can grow up to 400 lbs, has been doled out a little differently for the past several years for PEI license holders, explained Mr Arsenault. >click to read< 11:02
Protect Our Coast NJ cites offshore wind farm’s ‘negative impacts’
Protect Our Coast NJ, a group dedicated to stopping the Ocean Wind 1 wind turbine project, has weighed in on the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement, pointing out the areas the 1,400-page document shows dangers to the region. Meanwhile, Ocean Wind said it is finalizing comments that it plans to publicly release on points the project developers believe should be addressed in the Final Environmental Impact Statement. A statement released Monday said it has already taken steps to minimize the project’s impact. The public comment period on the draft statement, or DEIS, closes Aug. 8. Most commenters either roundly supported the job creation they expect from Ocean Wind 1 and a series of other wind turbine projects off the coast, or they attacked the project for the harm they believe it will cause to marine mammals and the tourism, commercial fishing and recreational fishing industries. >click to read< 09:09
F/V Gabby G: Collision with cruise ship under investigation
There will be a U.S. Coast Guard investigation into a collision early Saturday morning involving a fishing vessel out of New Bedford and a cruise ship. The F/V Gabby G, which had been fishing for whiting, was returning to port when it struck the Norwegian Pearl, which had been bound for Bermuda, according to the Coast Guard. The collision occurred at 2:25 a.m. in rainy conditions about 35 miles southeast of Nantucket. Dan Farnham, manager of vessel owner Gabby G Fisheries Inc. out of Montauk, N.Y., said there was one minor injury aboard the fishing vessel. “He’s all fine, just a little scrape,” he said. >click to read< 07:26
