Daily Archives: August 12, 2022
Excitement in B.C. Indigenous communities as salmon get past Fraser slide zone
Thousands of migrating sockeye and chinook salmon appear to be making it through a massive slide area on the Fraser River on their way to spawn in central British Columbia. Fisheries and Oceans Canada says 280,000 salmon have already been counted above the slide site north of Lillooet, contrasting greatly from three years ago when barely 100 salmon were counted. In 2019, a rock slide of about 110,000 cubic metres fell into the river canyon, creating an almost impassable barrier for migrating salmon. >click to read< 19:31
Portland lobstermen catch rare blue lobster
A father and son fishing in Casco Bay Thursday morning caught a rare, blue lobster that will be preserved in a tank at one of the Portland waterfront’s best-known restaurants. The lobster, which is bright blue, was caught in the ocean waters beyond Peaks Island, said Luke Rand, who serves as sternman on his father’s boat, the Audrey B. Rand. Rand, 36, has been fishing since he was 16. “We’ve never pulled one this color or even seen one to throw back,” said Rand, who lives in Falmouth. His dad, Mark Rand, has been fishing for more than 40 years. Video, photo, >click to read< 14:44
The Dead Zone – Nothing Here Gets Out Alive
With an easy drawl, Dean Blanchard, the owner of Dean Blanchard Seafood in the barrier-island town of Grand Isle, Louisiana, makes an understated observation: “There’s a reason they call it a dead zone. When the dead zone comes, everything’s dead. We can’t catch dead stuff. We’re in the live stuff business.” What Blanchard is talking about is the Gulf of Mexico “dead zone,” an enormous area in which, every spring, an overgrowth of algae and other vegetation absorbs dissolved oxygen from the water and kills all animal life. “This year,” Blanchard says, “we had shrimp jumping on the beach, committing suicide, trying to get out of the water because there’s no oxygen.” The result is an economic disaster. To find live shrimp, fishers have to ply their boats as far as fifty miles from shore. “With the price of fuel, you don’t want to go too far,” Blanchard says. His company’s annual haul has declined from twelve million pounds of shrimp a year to under five million. He used to employ sixty workers—now he’s down to thirty. >click to read< 11:49
Oregon Senators, Governor responds to offshore wind farms concerns during clean energy tour
During a clean energy tour of Oregon, KATU questioned the US Secretary of Energy, Jennifer Granholm, Oregon Senators Ron Wyden, Jeff Merkley and Governor Kate Brown on issues surrounding wind farms slated for the Southern Oregon Coast. “It’s too early honestly we don’t know it’s a lot like the wave energy technology it’s still being built it’s still being created,” said Oregon Gov. Kate Brown when asked if she would advocate funding for preliminary wind farm testing ahead of federal leases planed for Southern Oregon offshore areas. “We really need to understand all of the impacts upfront before we rush into this,” said Heather Mann Executive Director of the Midwater Trawlers’ cooperative. >click to read< 09:56
Lennox Island treaty fishers join P.E.I.’s fall lobster fishery for 1st time
For the first time, and possibly the last time, treaty fishers from Lennox Island First Nation are taking part in Prince Edward Island’s fall lobster fishery. Crews in two boats began setting out the first 400 treaty traps Thursday morning from the wharf at Borden on the Island’s south shore. “There are some fishermen there who we spoke to and who are opening their arms and welcoming us there. So we’re really appreciative of that,” said Lennox Island Chief Darlene Bernard. In the future, Bernard said Lennox Island intends to fish all of its 1,000 treaty traps during the spring season – when boats can operate out of their own wharf. >click to read< 08:30
F/V Captain Billy Haver: Virginia Man Sentenced for Assault, Murdering Co-Worker on Scallop Boat
On Sept. 23, 2018, F/V Captain Billy Haver scalloping vessel was sailing approximately 50 miles off the Nantucket coast with seven crew members, including Meave Vasquez and his three future victims, prosecutors said. While working inside the shucking house, officials said that Meave Vasquez used a hammer to strike his first victim in the head, knocking him unconscious. As part of his guilty plea, Meave Vasquez admitted that he then walked onto the deck and stabbed a second victim repeatedly with a long fishing knife, at which point a third man climbed up from the ice hold and was struck in the head with the hammer. Prosecutors said that the third victim fell back down the ladder with a head wound into the ice hold, which 
Meave Vasquez closed and covered with a heavy basket of scallops to prevent the third crew member from escaping. Meave Vasquez was then confronted by the ship’s captain, who he stabbed during a struggle, then climbed on top of the rigging of the boat with the suspect hammer. >click to read< 07:07
Press Release from the Department of Justice – >click to read<
