Daily Archives: March 18, 2023
Fishermen sail new boat into harbour four months after devastating sinking
Less than four months after their livelihood sunk to the bottom of the sea, skipper Brett Jose and crew member Callum Hardwick sailed into Cadgwith on a new fishing boat. Amid the celebrations, present in the minds of all watching was the day of November 12 last year, when the Lizard Lifeboat made one of their most difficult rescues in recent memory, saving two of their own crew after their fishing boat sunk. With no time to issue a mayday call, an EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) signal thankfully alerted Falmouth Coastguard, who were then able to notify the Lizard Lifeboat. Now Brett and Callum have sailed their new boat, Sante Fe, into Cadgwith on St Piran’s Day no less, to cheers and applause from those watching in the close-knit community. >click to read< 15:15
French industry asks government to intervene on seine netting
Discussions have been in progress since 2019 between the French industry and representatives of the operators of Dutch, Belgian, and UK-flagged seine netters operating in the Eastern Channel and have more than once broken down. This has happened again as a latest attempt to reach agreement has not been possible. French industry body CNPMEM has stated that the representatives of the Dutch, Belgian and UK seine netters have not changed their position and talks ended last month. Consequently, it is seeking to elevate the negotiations to government level. >click to read< 13:35
California sustainability group told people to stop eating lobster, so Massachusetts lobstermen file suit
Standing on a dock in his hometown of Gloucester, Mass., lobsterman Arthur Sawyer looked out at the peaceful, calm waters off of Cape Ann. Sawyer, president of the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association, and three other Bay State lobster fishers filed a class action lawsuit earlier this month against Monterey Bay Aquarium and the international Marine Stewardship Council, groups that consider lobstering a major risk to North Atlantic right whales and, hence, people shouldn’t buy lobsters anymore. “They have gone overboard targeting Massachusetts when we’ve been doing everything,” Sawyer told the Herald. “We have 100 percent closure right now. There is no place safer for right whales right now on the east coast than in Massachusetts waters.” >click to read< 11:12
I’m a fishing boat captain. Green energy companies, government want to put me out of business
Offshore wind energy might be killing whales, but there’s no question it’s killing American fishermen. I’ve been a fishing boat captain for over 20 years. I live on an island in Maine and sail out of New Bedford, Mass. My brothers and cousins are lobstermen. Fishing is the trade our family has plied for generations. We’re proud to practice the founding craft of our nation. When colonists first settled New England, they looked to the sea to sustain them. And so it is for our coastal communities four 
centuries on. But for how much longer? Federal regulators and foreign green energy companies seem determined to drive us off the water and lay waste to the communities that depend on fishing. If their well-laid development plans succeed, biblical calamity will follow for working people across New England. Consider the mechanics of fishing. Photos, Video, >click to read< 10:06
Maryland, Virginia race to save dwindling commercial fisheries in the Chesapeake Bay
Alarmed by plummeting stocks of commercial fisheries in the Chesapeake Bay, officials in Maryland and Virginia are scrambling to control invasive fish species that are causing at least part of the problem. On Thursday, Gov. Wes Moore asked the federal government to carry out an evaluation to determine if the situation amounts to a declaration of a “commercial fishery disaster,” which would qualify the state for federal assistance. In a letter to Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, Moore said the state is increasingly concerned about the explosive growth of invasive fish species in the Chesapeake Bay, including blue catfish, flathead catfish and snakehead. >click to read< 09:11
Fisheries and Oceans Canada faces deluge of calls to improve ‘suspect’ science
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is being flooded with calls for change after a parliamentary committee examined how the federal agency conducts, interprets and acts on its own science. The investigation ended with 49 recommendations to address concerns about how DFO science is presented to the fisheries minister and the public before important political decisions are made — particularly those involving B.C. salmon farms or commercial fisheries on either coast. Insufficient funding for critical research, not incorporating data from Indigenous people, fish harvesters or independent academics, and a lack of transparency about DFO’s scientific research and outcomes also surfaced as key issues in a recent report from the Standing Committee on Fisheries and Oceans (FOPO). >click to read< 08:07
