Daily Archives: August 20, 2022
Steps continue to remove sunken boat from seafloor near San Juan Island
Response teams continue to take gradual steps to remove the F/V Aleutian Isle from the seafloor after the 49-foot fishing vessel sank last weekend west of San Juan Island. Teams are moving forward with a plan to remove the whole commercial vessel and have it placed onto a barge, where contaminants can be safely removed, according to a Friday news release from the U.S. Coast Guard 13th District Pacific Northwest. “This is the best course of action to ensure the removal of as much pollutants and contamination as possible from the environmentally sensitive area,” the statement said. >click to read< 20:20
Mr. Robert Dixon of Tiverton, Rhode Island, has passed away
Mr. Robert Dixon, age 77, of Tiverton, Rhode Island, passed away on August 19, 2022. Robert was born in Fall River, MA to George and Edith Dixon of Riverside, RI. Robert was the husband of the late Mary McCarthy of Cranston, RI. Mr. Dixon graduated from East Providence High School in 1963. Robert retired from the United States Coast Guard in 1983 after serving 20 years. Mr. Dixon formed Commercial Marine Electronics to continue his passion of serving the marine industry by his expertise of the equipment and in the late 1980s became owner of Chris Electronics of New Bedford, MA. Robert’s knowledge and experience with repairing the marine electronics created a well-known reputation within the marine industry. >click to read<, 19:0z
Vermilion Bay shrimper says local shrimp industry is struggling, calls on lawmakers for solutions
“I’ve been commercially fishing since 1974, so it’s been a little over forty years I’ve been doing this,” said Thomas Olander. “I am a third generation, my father did it, my grandfather did it,” he said. “Hurricanes have been a big issue for us. The BP oil spill was a real big issue for us here.” “In 2022, we’re down to 4,000 commercial fishermen.” “We’re being overregulated, we’re paying way too much for fuel, and we’re getting the absolute worst price of my whole career doing this,” he added. According to Olander, the cause is imported shrimp, as imported shrimp floods the market and domestic shrimpers are getting a smaller share and getting squeezed out. Video, >click to read< 17:03
Chinese company First Catch builds advanced lobster storage at Halifax airport
If ever there was proof lobster is king of Nova Scotia seafood, it’s the new $36-million freight facility at Halifax Stanfield International Airport. The Air Cargo Logistics Park that opened earlier this month is a big bet that will continue. It’s doubling cold storage capacity and adding apron space to park five 747-sized cargo planes. “It increases the efficiency, the capacity and the ability to actually move and export more product from Nova Scotia,” said Marie Manning, Halifax International Airport Authority’s business development manager. “That benefits not only the airport, but certainly all of our stakeholders, the industry and the region itself. The economic impact is significant.” >click to read< 14:45
Decommissioning Irish Fishing Fleet Will Not Preserve Fish Stocks
Plans which will cut the Irish whitefish fleet by over 30% will not preserve fish stocks in Irish waters. That’s according to the Irish Fish Producers Organisation, who say European vessels will fish these stocks in our waters instead. The IFPO are responding to the €60m decommissioning scheme announced by the Minister for the Marine. IFPO chief executive, Aodh O Donnell, says the scheme must be accompanied by plans to develop and support a greener and more innovative Irish fishing industry. “Many fish producers are being forced to decommission because fuel costs mean they simply cannot afford to put to sea any longer. We estimate that around 60 whitefish vessels will be scrapped under decommissioning. This will create up to 500 permanent redundancies and directly impact on the livelihoods of up to 300 coastal community families. There will also be a knock-on effect on the marine services industry and the wider coastal economy.”>click to read< 13:30
Fishermen, Con Groups Appeal Nordic Aquafarms’ Environmental Report Certification
Two weeks after the Humboldt County Planning Commission certified the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for Nordic Aquafarms’ planned land-based fish factory on the Samoa Peninsula, the decision is being appealed to the Board of Supervisors. On Thursday, leaders of three local nonprofits, the Redwood Region Audubon Society Chapter, the Humboldt Fishermen’s Marketing Association and 350 Humboldt, submitted a letter to the supervisors and to John Ford, the county’s director of planning and building, initiating the appeal. The letter alleges that the environmental report, which was prepared for the county by local engineering firm GHD, violates the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) by understating several of the project’s impacts, including its greenhouse gas emissions, its energy use and the threats it poses to commercial fisheries and coastal and bay ecosystems. >click to read< 11:44
TAC goes from 12,000 to10,000 tonnes – Reduction to herring quota will impact Maritimes, Quebec
The quota for major parts of the herring fishery in the Maritimes and Quebec is being reduced in an effort to increase the stock. The total allowable catch for herring in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence fishing zone, which includes parts of New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Quebec and all of Prince Edward Island, is being cut from 12,000 tonnes to 10,000 tonnes. The fall herring stock in the area remains in the “cautious zone,” according to a statement released Friday by Fisheries and Oceans Canada. “The number of spawning adults is declining, and recruitment is at the lowest level ever observed,” DFO said. >click to read< 10:17
B.C. Commercial fishermen on tenterhooks
B.C. commercial fisherman, who had hoped for a green light today, now have to wait until next week for a go-ahead to fish for Fraser River sockeye, while American commercial fishermen are already catching sockeye. “They’re fishing on the American side, but we’re not fishing on the Canadian side,” said Mitch Dudoward, a commercial fisherman and spokesperson for the UFAWU-Unifor fishermen’s union. Returns so far appear to be healthy enough for a commercial opening this year, and fisherman had expected commercial openings to be announced today. But they now have to wait until Tuesday. >click to read< 9:16
Olde Bristol Days Returns from Virus Hiatus with the annual Merritt Brackett Lobster Boat Races
The 2022 festival officially opened Wednesday, Aug. 10 when the Bath Jazz Band played Pemaquid Beach Park. Clayton Bank and the Stoney Coast played The Harbor Room in New Harbor on Thursday, Aug. 11 and the Dukes of Windsor, formally known as the Pete Collins Jazz Band, played the park Friday night, Aug. 12. Saturday featured the Olde Bristol Days parade, kids games, vendors, music acts, food, and more at the beach park. Saturday night concluded with fireworks. On Sunday, Aug. 14, Olde Bristol Days concluded with the annual Merritt Brackett Lobster Boat Races, contested again off Fort William Henry. Photo gallery >click to read< 08:09
