Monthly Archives: November 2022
PFD’s: New Brunswick to make personal flotation devices mandatory for commercial fishing industry
The New Brunswick government has introduced legislation to make personal flotation devices or life jackets mandatory for the commercial fishing industry, answering a recommendation issued after two fishermen drowned in 2016. There is no requirement for fishers to wear life jackets, or PFDs, under current legislation, something the Transportation Safety Board of Canada said should change given the frequency of drowning in the industry. Fishing vessels are not considered workplaces under the province’s Occupational Health and Safety Act, leaving WorkSafeNB unable to enforce safety standards. >click to read< 21:43
Letter: Columbia River Non-Tribal Gillnet Fishery Is No Threat to Recovery of ESA-Listed Salmon
Salmon management should be based on the best available science, but the efforts Sen. Wilson praises are not supported by the science. The commercial gillnet fishery harvests within all management guidelines, The non-tribal gillnet fishery in the lower Columbia is an important part of the cultural fabric of Washington state. It is a component of a commercial fishing industry that provides hundreds of year-round jobs in rural Washington and has for 150 years. Commercial fishermen were deemed “essential workers” during the pandemic because they harvest protein to feed residents of the Northwest and of the world and contribute substantially to Washington’s food security and the state economy. >click to read< By Robert Sudar, Longview 19:58
Jeanette Russell lost her son at sea a year ago. Now she’s starting a coalition.
Jeanette Russell is the mother of Marc Russell, who disappeared off the coast of Mary’s Harbour with crew mate Joey Jenkins aboard his fishing boat the Island Lady just over a year ago. “Labrador has twice the amount of coastline as the island portion of Newfoundland. It has three times the land mass compared to the island of Newfoundland.” “A secondary search and rescue unit does not have the accountability to always be able to respond.” That’s why Russell says she’s starting her own group, called the Labrador Coalition for Search and Rescue, to keep the pressure on government. >click to read< 13:38
‘We tried it your way, it didn’t work’: First Nation calls on Ottawa to end fisheries dispute
Catching and selling lobster during the fall season is how some Mi’kmaw fishermen of Potlotek First Nation make a living. Craig Doucette and a few others from Potlotek have been fishing in the St. Peter’s Bay area of Nova Scotia since the beginning of October. Doucette says he is fishing under his inherent Treaty Right to fish, hunt and gather in pursuit of a moderate livelihood, with those rights upheld by a Supreme Court ruling. Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) sees what Doucette is doing as illegal because he is fishing out of season and will affect lobster conservation. >click to read< 09:51
Massachusetts offshore wind project “no longer viable”
A major offshore wind project in the Massachusetts pipeline “is no longer viable and would not be able to move forward” under the terms of contracts filed in May. Both developers behind the state’s next two offshore wind projects are asking state regulators to pause review of the contracts for one month amid price increases, supply shortages and interest rate hikes. There’s an obvious bit of irony in seeing the same state and federal government actors who have pushed “green energy” down everyone’s throats sitting on this particular sideline. Those same people whose policies helped drive this collapse in the supply chain and the labor market, along with the spike in the prices of pretty much everything, are now watching as one of their signature “clean energy” achievements fall victim to the conditions they created. >click to read< 08:48
Commercial Fisherman Hurt in Fall at Sandwich Marina
A commercial fisherman was taken by medical helicopter to a hospital after falling 10 feet at the Sandwich Marina on Monday morning, October 31. Nicholas Giordano, director of marina operations, said he called 911 at 10:03 AM as soon as he saw the man struggling on the dock. “No one actually saw him fall,” said Mr. Giordano. “But someone was rushing to him as I was making the call.” The man had been working on the upper rigging of the F/V Tempest, when he apparently slipped and fell onto the dock below, potentially hitting his head on a cleat. >click to read< 07:50
Size of fishing fleet cut as Isle of Man king scallop season opens
Fewer boats will take to Manx waters for the start of the Isle of Man king scallop season as part of efforts to protect the fishery’s future. Sixty vessels have been authorised to fish by the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture (DEFA), which is down from 75 last year. The cut in the fleet’s size is part of a plan to make the fishery sustainable. DEFA member Michelle Haywood said boat numbers had to be limited or there would “not be enough to go round”. The king scallop fishery, which runs each year from November to May, has opened with an allowable catch of 2,049 tonnes, mirroring the previous season’s total. >click to read< 07:10
