Daily Archives: February 28, 2023
Ottawa signs new deal to charter fishing boats for science surveys
The agreement with the Atlantic Groundfish Council, which represents the region’s largest seafood companies, allows DFO to charter industry vessels for two to six weeks a year for fisheries or ecosystem surveys in Atlantic Canada. “We’ve been distressed in the fishing industry for two or three years now because DFO research vessel surveys were not getting done,’ said Bruce Chapman, president of the Atlantic Groundfish Council. DFO scientists returned last week from the first mission under the new charter agreement. It was a two-week survey on Georges Bank aboard the Mersey Venture, a 58-metre factory freezer trawler owned by Nova Scotia seafood company Mersey Seafoods. The Mersey Venture gathered data used by both Canada and the United States to jointly manage trans-boundary haddock, cod and yellowtail flounder stocks on the shared fishing grounds. Photos, >click to read< 17:35
Stop By and See Us at the 48th Maine Fishermen’s Forum
48th Maine Fishermen’s Forum-2023 Seminar Short Listing (Times and Titles) Final: (Word) (PDF)-2023 Seminar Detailed Descriptions (PDF) Final: (Word) (PDF)-2023 Thursday Seminars and Events Schedule Final: (PDF)-2023 Friday Seminars and Events Schedule Final: (PDF)-2023 Saturday Seminars and Events Schedule Final: (PDF)-15:29
Many voices weigh in on offshore wind plan
Three days after Governor Janet Mills unveiled an offshore wind roadmap, a “comprehensive plan that offers detailed strategies” for offshore wind power in the Gulf of Maine, a handful of unconvinced citizens gathered at the Sustainable Maine Fishing Foundation Feb. 26 on Bar Harbor Road in Trenton. The idea was to inform lobstermen and interested people on offshore wind development before a Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) presentation that opens the Fishermen’s Forum March 2 in Rockport, board member Ginny Olsen said. Energy operations consultant George Stover of Freeport, who has worked in the state’s energy industry for decades, discussed the Maine power grid and its energy sources and why, to his mind, offshore wind power is not a good fit or needed here. “If they continue down this road, it scares me,” he said. He is not alone. The idea of floating offshore wind installations in the Gulf of Maine has raised fears and concerns from environmentalists and fishermen alike. >click to read< 12:42
Maine lobster industry wages legal battle over recent regulations, while new ones remain frozen
The Maine Lobstermen’s Association in September appealed a ruling in a lawsuit against federal regulators in which a judge rejected the association’s attempt to block the National Marine Fisheries Service’s 10-year plan to reduce the risk posed by fishing gear to North Atlantic right whales. The animals risk injury or death when they become entangled in lines or gear. The case has been moving with relative speed through the court system, with oral arguments presented in the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C., last week. The association argued that the National Marine Fisheries Service, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, failed to rely on the best scientific information available and did not account for the impact of conservation measures already adopted by the Maine lobster fishery. In effect, the lobstermen argue, the federal government placed its thumb on the scale in favor of the whales. >click to read< 10:56
Fisheries Department scrambled to claw back ‘ill-timed’ lobster tweet during Fiona
Some people can’t see the forest for the trees. Others can’t see the hurricane for the lobsters. On Sept. 24, around 9 a.m. Atlantic time, a few hours after Hurricane Fiona had slowed slightly into a post-tropical cyclone and slammed into Nova Scotia, the federal Fisheries Department issued two preplanned posts on Twitter and Facebook. The first urged everyone to avoid the coastline and stay safe. The second warned them off helping themselves to wayward lobsters. “As well, if you find lobsters washed up on the shore after the storm, remember it is illegal to harvest them,” it read. “Simply leave them there.” >click to read< 10:17
Salvors to Raise Trawler that Sank Following Deadly Collision off Jersey
The wreckage of the trawler L’Ecume II, which sank in Jersey waters on December 8, 2022 following a collision with a commercial cargo vessel, is to be raised for evidential and humanitarian reasons, the Jersey government confirmed via an official statement. The States of Jersey Police made the recommendation to raise the wreck as it may assist in both the forensic and overall investigation. The collision involving L’Ecume II and the Condor Ferries Ro-Ro Commodore Goodwill occurred at 05:30 local time on December 8. The trawler sank shortly afterwards with its crew of three still on board. Search and rescue/recovery teams pulled the bodies of Filipino crewmen Jervis Baligat and Larry Simyunn out of the water in the days following the sinking. No trace of Micheal Michieli, the boat’s captain, has yet been found. >click to read< 09:07
UK fishermen feeling ‘widespread shock and betrayal’ at Boris Johnson’s ‘broken promises’
Brexit fury has erupted after UK fishermen raged they have been left with a “widespread feeling of shock and betrayal” while claiming Boris Johnson broke “promises” made to the industry. The former Prime Minister promises the country’s fishermen they would be protected in the event of any post-Brexit trade deal with the European Union, which was signed at the end of 2020. The agreement states there would be a five-year transition period during which little would change that would see EU boats continue to gain access to UK waters until 2026. >click to read< 08:12
