Daily Archives: November 4, 2022
SEA-NL renews call for improved search and rescue for Labrador, federal inquiry into fishing vessel safety
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) joins in the renewed call for more search and rescue resources for Labrador and a federal inquiry into fishing vessel safety — encouraging other stakeholders like the FFAW-Unifor to do the same. “Safety at sea is a life-and-death issue that demands all hands on deck,” says Merv Wiseman, a member of SEA-NL’s board of directors, and an outspoken advocate for search and rescue/fishing vessel safety. “The lives of mariners off Labrador are as important as the lives of mariners off Newfoundland, and search and rescue resources must reflect that.” >click to read< 21:03
Dungeness crab die-off underway along US West Coast
An important species of crab found primarily along the West Coast is fighting off a combination of stressors that experts at the North Atlantic and Atmospheric Administration say has fishermen finding piles of dead shellfish, and the impacts are affecting the economy. Dungeness crabs are typically found along water beds, and their harvest can be worth a quarter-billion dollars annually. NOAA Fisheries believes the combination of a lack of oxygen, harmful algal blooms, water temperatures and ocean acidification are playing a role in the animal’s disappearance. >click to read< 16:12
Fishermen take federal government to court over right to sell Class B licences again
A law firm representing a little over half of the 75 remaining fishermen in the Maritimes with Class B licences is taking the federal government to court for a second time. Class B licences were created in 1976 by the federal government with the goal of reducing fishing in the name of conservation. They were assigned to fishermen who had another primary source of income and can’t be reassigned or sold. Class B licences only allow for 30 per cent of the fishing that Class A licences allow. Donald Publicover, 71, of Nova Scotia wants the ability to sell or transfer his licence to ensure financial stability for his family, which includes two adult children with cerebral palsy. >click to read< 11:04
New Research Supports Opening of Currently Closed Scallop Areas
Data presented to the New England Fishery Management Council last month provide the latest evidence that long-closed areas of the Northwest Atlantic can be sustainably opened to the scallop fishery. The Fisheries Survival Fund, which represents the vast majority of full-time Atlantic Sea scallop fishermen, has long believed that these areas can be safely opened, and supports efforts to do so in light of this new evidence. The Northern Edge of Georges Bank (more formally known as Closed Area II Habitat Area of Particular Concern), has been closed to all commercial fishing activity since 1994. >click to read< 10:00
New Zealand: Abandoned shipwreck finally removed from East Coast beach
An abandoned boat that proved a thorn in the side of both Gisborne District Council and the police has finally been removed from a remote East Coast beach – six months after it washed ashore. However the owner remained elusive, meaning the council has been left with an invoice of over $10,000 for the clean-up. On 9 April, the former fishing trawler San Rosa was abandoned at sea after its three crew members were winched to safety by helicopter. The boat was recently purchased in Tauranga and was just two days into its maiden voyage with its new owners when it ran into difficulty. Photos, >click to read< 09:14
At 102, Virginia Oliver is a Maine lobstering legend
Virginia Oliver, who was born in 1920, has been harvesting lobsters since the age of 10. At the age of 102, she still works side-by-side with her 79-year-old son. “My father was a lobster dealer,” she said. “It’s just my whole life.” Her boat, the Virginia, docks at Spruce Head on Maine’s St. George Peninsula from spring to fall. Three times a week during the lobster season, she gets up for work at 3 a.m. “She’s been lobstering for about 92 years,” her son said. Video, >click to read< 08:28
