Daily Archives: September 9, 2022
F/V Aleutian Isle: Diesel oil from sunken vessel is ‘nonrecoverable’
More than 200 feet below the surface of Haro Strait, a major shipway for British Columbia, a fishing vessel has settled on the sea floor near Sunset Point off the west coast of San Juan Island. The 49-foot purse seiner F/V Aleutian Isle began sinking on Aug. 13, sending waves of a glossy diesel sheen two miles north of the sink. What was initially a search-and-rescue response quickly turned into minimizing the environmental impact. Initial reports of the sinking said there were about 2.500 gallons of diesel on board the Aleutian Isle. This diesel, and the sheen it creates, poses a unique issue for agencies tasked with its maintenance and cleanup. Photos, >click to read< 21:22
NMFS survey delivers more bad news to Bering Sea crab fleet
A Bering Sea survey by federal scientists contains more bad news for Alaska, Washington and Oregon-based crabbers hoping for an upturn in upcoming harvests that last year fell to rock-bottom levels. The federal survey results for Bristol Bay king crab are bleak and crabbers have been warned that for a second consecutive year there may not be a fall harvest, according to Jamie Goen, executive director of the Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers. “We have got an emergency,” Goen said. “I’m trying to get Congress to act to help.” The National Marine Fisheries Service survey does offer hope for improved harvests three to five years from now, as young snow crabs grow to adult size. >click to read< 12:20
Appeals court says lawsuit over trawling can move forward
A lawsuit challenging how North Carolina manages coastal fisheries can go to court, the state Court of Appeals ruled earlier this week. The three-judge appellate court unanimously affirmed Tuesday a Wake County trial judge’s 2021 ruling that denied the state’s request to dismiss the suit brought by the Coastal Conservation Association North Carolina, or CCA NC, and 86 individuals in 2020. Commercial fishermen by and large hope state Department of Justice lawyers choose to appeal to the higher court. North Carolina Fisheries Association Executive Director Glenn Skinner told Coastal Review in a telephone interview that the lawsuit could set a dangerous precedent for overregulation of industry in the state. >click to read< 09:29
Statement from the Maine Lobstermen’s Association
The Maine Lobstermen’s Association has issued the following statement following the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia’s decision in Maine Lobstermen’s Association v National Marine Fisheries Service. “The federal district court and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) have failed Maine’s lobster industry. It has become crystal clear that neither grasp the devastating impacts their decisions will have on the Maine lobster industry, our coastal communities, and the State of Maine. The court’s decision provides a blank check for NMFS to continue to use admitted “worst case scenarios” and disregard actual data in its regulation of a fishery that has zero documented right whale entanglements over the last 18 years. This disappointing decision puts the future of Maine’s lobstering heritage at great risk, and along with it, the livelihoods of thousands of hard-working men and women. But this is not the end. We won’t go down without a fight.” 08:48
Lobster prices up slightly 3 weeks after protest
Lobster prices have rebounded a bit as the fishing season nears the halfway point in the Northumberland Strait area. Fishermen are now getting about $6/pound for their catches, said Luc LeBlanc of the Maritime Fishermen’s Union. That’s up from about $4.50 a few weeks ago, when hundreds of fishermen from along the east coast of New Brunswick protested in Shediac. Some of them said they would not be going out fishing because it would cost them more than they would get paid to do so. Most are fishing, however, because they need the cash flow. >click to read< 07:49
Seafaring Community Mourns Death of Queen Elizabeth II
MARITIME charities and the shipping community are mourning the death of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, who died on Thursday. Queen Elizabeth II was the patron of more than 500 charitable organisations including Mission to Seafarers, The Seafarers’ Charity and the Sailor’s Society. She is today being remembered for her service to the maritime community and to the welfare of seafarers. The Merchant Navy Welfare Board paid tribute with a message highlighting the Queen’s work as Master of the Merchant Navy and Fishing Fleets. >click to read< 06:59
