Daily Archives: September 2, 2022
Innovative ropeless fishing gear helps prevent whale entanglements
When fishing zones get closed down due to whale sightings, fish harvesters now have a new place to turn. Can Fish is a program set up by the Canadian Wildlife Federation to allow fishers to test out and use groundbreaking ropeless technology for free. The North Atlantic right whale is one of many marine species being impacted by the changing ocean temperatures in a warming world. The whales have been swimming northward moving from the Bay of Fundy to the Gulf of St. Lawrence,,, The Canadian Wildlife federation is trying to lessen this risk by popularizing the use of ropeless fishing gear through its newly introduced Can Fish program. At a warehouse in Halifax, Nova Scotia, fish harvesters can show up and borrow innovative ropeless fishing gear for free. The catch? These fishers need to provide data collected as they use the innovative technology in order to help build future designs of the equipment. Video, photos, >click to read< 17:30
‘A life on the mud’ for setnetter who fishes from Bristol Bay beach
Liz Moore spends most of the year working from her Shoreline, Wash., home office, where she helps evaluate programs run by governments and nonprofits. In the late spring of each year, she returns to this Southwest Alaska community, where she was raised, to pick sockeye out of setnets that stretch from a muddy beach. The shoreline setnet operation she runs includes a half-dozen skiffs and a crew of 10 men and women, some of whom come from as far away as New York. “When we get back to Seattle … it’s a life on pavement,” Moore said. “Here, it’s a life on mud, and I think I’m much more suited for a life on the mud.” >click to read< 15:04
Canada and Nova Scotia help support adoption of new and improved on-board lobster handling/holding technologies
On behalf of the Honourable Joyce Murray, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship and Member of Parliament for Central Nova, and the Honourable Steve Craig, Nova Scotia Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, announced a total contribution of over $400,000 to help the Maritime Fishermen’s Union deliver a project to its members that will improve the quality, vitality and value of harvested lobster. This funding will help the lobster fishery in the Southeastern Northumberland Strait, Eastern Cape Breton and Southwest Nova Scotia improve the quality of lobster being marketed, the efficiency of fishing activities, and the onboard safety of crew. Live-well systems, which measure water quality, will be installed or upgraded on vessels. >click to read< 13:16
Funding announced to help support quality of harvested lobster – >click to read<
Ecuador signs agreement with FDA to facilitate more shrimp imports into the US
An agreement between the United States and Ecuador could impact Alabama’s seafood capital, Bayou La Batre. Officials said the agreement is to help facilitate growth of shrimp exports to the U.S. “It’s really going to affect us a lot more. Shrimp prices are already low, fuel prices are high. It’s going to hurt the fishing industry more than anything,” Local shrimper Trey Bonin said. “It’s crazy. I guess President Joe Biden can sign some paperwork to forgive all the boat loans and the loans that the shrimp shops have to take out. Like he’s doing for the college folks,” Bayou La Batre Mayor Henry Barnes said. Video, >click to read< 10:24
Fisherman lost at sea for 11 days survived in an upturned freezer
A fisherman who was lost at sea managed to survive for 11 days by climbing into an upturned freezer. Romualdo Macedo Rodrigues, 44, was sailing off the coast of French Guiana in a seven-metre wooden boat when it began taking on water and promptly sank. To make matters worse, the Brazillian native couldn’t swim – but luckily, he had a freezer on board so he climbed into that and hoped it would float. He then managed to stay afloat in the floating freezer for 11 days, with no food or water, before he was eventually spotted and pulled from the sea by the crew of another vessel off the coast of Suriname, which borders French Guiana. >click to read< 09:04
F/V Aleutian Isle: Recovery operation ongoing for fishing vessel that sank off San Juan Island
On Thursday, the Coast Guard gave an update on a 49-foot commercial fishing vessel that sank west of San Juan Island on Aug. 13. It was carrying around 2,500 gallons of diesel fuel and a combined 100 gallons of hydraulic fluid and lubricant oil aboard when it sank. The Coast Guard said divers had cut away the ship’s netting to find fuel vents and to prevent entanglement during the scheduled recovery. Four valves were also secured, including valves for waste oil and hydraulic fluid. The Aleutian Isle, which is around 200 feet down, is lying on its starboard side. >click to read< 07:49
