Daily Archives: September 24, 2022
Menhaden fleet provides flashback in Lewes history
Although the industry has roots as far back as the late 19th century in Lewes, it was Otis Smith, who was also elected mayor, who revolutionized the industry during the first half of the 20th century up until the mid-1960s when the fishery was depleted. It’s hard to believe today, but in 1953, Lewes was the largest seafood port in the United States, processing more than 390 million pounds of fish, of which 360 million pounds was menhaden. Lewes was a factory town. There was no discrimination in the industry as good-paying jobs were provided for whites and Blacks. Many seasonal workers, mostly from Virginia and North Carolina, also came to Lewes to work during the fishing season from April through October. At its zenith, the Lewes operation landed more pounds of fish than any other fishery in the United States. Photos, >click to read< 15:26
Port aux Basques declares state of emergency as Hurricane Fiona destroys multiple homes, floods streets
A social media post by former provincial cabinet minister Steve Kent claiming one person had been swept out to sea in Port aux Basques because of Hurricane Fiona has been shared nearly 3000 times as of 12:42 p.m. According to RCMP media relations officer Jolene Garland, a report has been received that a woman was washed out into the ocean in Port aux Basques when her home collapsed. Photos, Video clips, >click to read< 13:00
These young black men catch more than lobsters. They also catch a break
At 15, Cristiano Silva thought he might spend the summer working at a McDonald’s near his home on the outskirts of Portland, Maine, and help with household expenses. Instead, he found himself on a lobster boat called the Sea Smoke, out among Casco Bay’s rocky islands. One breezy day on the boat last month, Cris scrunched his nose and placed a fist-size mesh bait bag full of smelly herring inside a wire lobster trap. This spring he and three other Black teens were recruited from area high schools to learn how to lobster in a new program called “Lift All Boats.” >click to read< 11:06
Southeastern fishery closures floated for 2023 federal right whale rule
Don’t call them “proposals,” but four draft packages arose this week in high-level brainstorming sessions among scientists and fishers on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team. The task force’s purpose is to lead the effort to save North Atlantic right whales from extinction. The ultimate goal is a 90% risk reduction to North Atlantic right whales in U.S. waters. “It’s mandated by the Marine Mammal Protection Act, so this isn’t optional,” said Colleen Coogan, branch chief for the Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Team in the Protected Resources Division of the NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office. “This is a legal mandate.” >click to read< 10:01
Hundreds of thousands without power in Atlantic Canada as Fiona makes landfall
Hundreds of thousands of customers in eastern Canada are without power as post-tropical storm Fiona brings intense, hurricane-strength winds and torrential rains to swaths of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Quebec’s Magdalen Islands. Fiona made landfall in Nova Scotia shortly after 4 a.m. AT between Canso and Guysborough. >click to read< – New Brunswick – While the eye of the storm is well east of the province, post-tropical storm Fiona is causing widespread power outages through much of New Brunswick. >click to read< – Prince Edward Island – Tens of thousands of Maritime Electric customers are without power in P.E.I. as Fiona passes through the region, with wind gusts hitting 150 km/h and almost 100 mm of rain down. >click to read< – Nova Scotia – Hundreds of thousands of customers in Eastern Canada are without power as post-tropical storm Fiona brings intense, hurricane-strength winds and torrential rains to swaths of Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Quebec’s Magdalen Islands. >click to read< – Newfoundland – Homes lost, residents flee as Hurricane Fiona approaches Newfoundland. >click to read< 08:40
