Daily Archives: August 31, 2022
Website shines a light on offshore wind farms
Fishermen, an informal coalition of more than two dozen organizations concerned about the environmental and economic impacts of proposed offshore wind farms in the Pacific Ocean, launched a new website on Monday. Visitors to protectUSfishermen.org will find details not only on the current push to place wind turbine farms off the coast of Oregon, but also learn about the sustainable seafood industry and its positive impacts on the economy and food security. For those wishing to gain a broad understanding of the debate surrounding offshore wind, the site provides a comprehensive overview. Those wishing to take a “deep dive” into the issue can click on a variety of links to well-documented studies and positions from credible sources around the world. >click to read< 16:00
Captain Joseph James Henry “The Fox” of Stonington, Ct. has passed away
One more of the original fishermen from the heart of the Borough has bid us adieu. Captain Joseph James Henry, born July 18, 1926, lived to the age of 96, and passed away on Saturday August 27, 2022. Those who knew Joe were aware of his good-natured kindness to all. As one of the initial commercial lobstermen of Stonington’s fishing fleet, he had many stories and adventures to tell. He was a well-known fisherman who knew that “the sea, like a woman, had a mind of its own.” >click to read< 15:00
Prices down for Lennox Island, P.E.I. treaty fishery in fall season after challenges securing harbour
After opening with fewer than 300 traps in the spring of 2022, the band set the rest of its 1,000 traps on the south shore of P.E.I. this fall. Island fishers, though, have been facing the country’s highest inflation in that time, with costs for fishing expenses continuing to rise. And on top of that, prices have gone down since spring. Darlene Bernard, Lennox Island’s chief, says issues started with finding a harbour to launch the fall treaty lobster season. While the spring fishery opened in Lennox’s harbour without much issue, the fall fishery is on the Island’s south shore, where the band had to find a non-Indigenous harbour master willing to take them on. >click to read< 14:07
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 68′ Desco Dragger with Permits, CAT 3408
To review specifications, information, and 64 photos’, and video tour, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here< 11:31
Oregon fishermen learn to face emergencies at sea through 2-day course
When things go wrong at sea, it may take time for first responders to reach those in trouble. That’s why non-profit Charleston Fishing Families partnered with Oregon State University Sea Grant Extension Office to offer two days of free Coast Guard approved first aid and CPR classes. The Fisherman First Aid and Safety Training course used in class and hands-on boat sessions to teach fishermen how to respond to events like head injuries, wounds, burns, and environmental illnesses. Video, photos, >click to read< 10:17
Fishermen begin legal campaign over dead shellfish
A report suggested algae was to blame, but the fishermen fear the deaths were linked to the release of the chemical pyridine as a result of dredging in the River Tees in October. Smaller catches are threatening their livelihoods, they say. Paul Widdowfield, who has fished all his adult life in the waters by Hartlepool, said his daily catches could now be 50 times smaller than three years ago, losing him £1,000 a day. Stan Rennie, whose family has been fishing for 500 years, said: “It means absolutely everything to me. It’s all I’ve ever done. “Now, we’re facing hardship because of the catches. The boat will probably have to go by the end of the year.” It was an “environmental disaster”, Mr Widdowfield and Mr Rennie said. >click to read< 09:10
Catch Shares Enable Wealthy Landlords to Gobble Up Local Fisheries
A recent investigative report has reignited public discussion over catch shares, a controversial approach to fisheries management that privatizes the rights to fish. The investigation exposed how Blue Harvest Fisheries, owned by a billionaire Dutch family, became the largest holder of commercial fishing rights in New England, benefiting from lax antitrust regulations and pilfering profits from the local fishermen who work under them. As a commercial fisherman in Mississippi, I know these dynamics go well beyond New England. Here in the Gulf of Mexico, private equity firms and other large investors have come in and gobbled up the rights to fish, driving up the cost of fishing access and making it prohibitively expensive for fishermen like me to harvest fish in our own backyards. >click to read< 07:55
