Daily Archives: March 26, 2023
EXCLUSIVE: Federal Regulator Acknowledges Danger to Wildlife Caused by Offshore Wind Farms
Captain Jerry Leeman, who heads the fishing vessel F/V Teresa Marie IV, sent a copy of the Norwegian haddock study to Nies in a January 9 letter. “Thank you for your January 9 letter … A federal fisheries council acknowledged that some power cables for offshore wind turbines could harm certain fish, according to a letter seen by the DCNF. Multiple recent studies have demonstrated that a variety of commercially popular fish can be negatively impacted by their exposure to magnetic fields emitted by high voltage direct current cables, which can confuse their ability to navigate and, in some cases, leave them exposed to predators. “We were previously aware of this study and agree that it has concerning implications for the possible effects of high voltage direct current cabling on larval behavior and resulting predation rates,” Thomas Nies, executive director of the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC), said in a January 18 letter. >click to read< 20:01
‘The people’s fish’: Atlantic mackerel stocks have collapsed – can a moratorium bring them back?
Canada’s Atlantic mackerel population is a shadow of what it once was, and its decline threatens the well-being of the people who depend on it. Mackerel supports one of Atlantic Canada’s top recreational fisheries, and one of its oldest commercial fisheries. The fish is also used for bait, and it has an important place in Indigenous cultures. The same migratory stock supports recreational and commercial fisheries in the U.S. Last March, the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans closed Canada’s commercial and bait mackerel fisheries for one year and placed daily personal limits on the recreational fishery, to give the population time to rebound. But the U.S. fishery remains open, albeit with a reduced quota. Next week, federal Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray will decide whether to reopen the Canadian fishery. The DFO’s latest studies have found no sign of recovery in the mackerel stock. Photos, >click to read< 13:09
Starvation price for snow crab fishermen
A week into the snow crab fishing season, processors in Quebec, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia on Friday agreed to a temporary dock price of $2.25/lb to $2.50/lb. “There’s more inventory on the market now than we thought, says Jean-Paul Gagne, Director General of the Quebec Fisheries Industry Association (AQIP). For his part, Marc-Olivier des Îles-de-la-Madeleine’s captain, Marco Turbide, promises to put his cages back this spring. “Expecting a price of only two or three dollars a pound doesn’t give ambition, he comments. It’s not fun. For a heavily indebted fisherman like me, we can’t expect to make a profit in 2023 because of the significant loss from crab last year. If we agree to $4/lb, I’m very I’ll be happy!” >click to read< 11:45
Another Dead Whale Washes Up – This Time in Ocean City, N.J.
It’s become like a broken record, where people are starting to become numb to it all … but, for what it’s worth, another whale has washed up. This time in Ocean City, New Jersey. It’s a badly decomposed 9 foot Pygmy Sperm Whale, which our Brigantine source said may have been dead for many months. We caught up with Brigantine Mayor Vince Sera regarding the latest whale washing ashore. Sera provided us with comprehensive and thoughtful comments as follows: “It’s absolutely heartbreaking to see yet another dead whale wash up on our shore.” “How many more whales and dolphins need to die before Governor Murphy pauses these offshore wind activities?” >click to read< 09:40
French Master and fishing vessel owner fined at Plymouth Magistrates
The owner and the master of France-registered fishing vessel ‘Felir’ SB918511 were fined a total of £8,000 and ordered to pay £6000 in costs plus £380 in victim surcharges by Plymouth magistrates. The financial penalties were imposed after the vessel’s owner Felir SAS and master Ludovic Fourgault admitted using fishing gear to which was attached a device, namely a piece of diamond shaped mesh placed over the square mesh panel, that obstructed or otherwise diminished the mesh size of part of the towed gear. >click to read< 08:43
Resistance to Offshore Wind Is Growing on US Coasts
A growing chorus of interest groups is calling for a pause in offshore wind activities to allow further assessment of the sector’s impacts on the marine ecosystem. Fishing groups and local residents have filed five lawsuits against proposed or under-construction wind projects along the Atlantic seaboard. A leading body for the U.S. Pacific fishing industry is urging the federal government to call off its proposed auction for offshore wind off the Oregon coast. And the United States’ largest lobbying group for Native Americans recently called for a halt to all offshore wind scoping and permitting. Wind energy is a key component of the Biden Administration’s climate agenda. >click to read< 08:10
Linda Greenlaw to be featured on upcoming season of ‘Deadliest Catch’
The state’s most famous living fishing boat captain will be featured on the upcoming season of the popular reality television series, “Deadliest Catch.” Greenlaw said Friday that she went to Alaska last fall with “a positive attitude, strong work ethic and the good sense to know what I didn’t know” about the particular challenges of fishing for Bering Sea crab. She said she learned a lot from ‘Wild’ Bill Wichrowski, the notoriously grumpy captain and owner of F/V Summer Bay who has appeared on the show for 13 seasons. “I wanted to learn from the best — and I did,” Greenlaw became well known 30 years ago after being written about in “The Perfect Storm,” a nonfiction book by Sebastian Junger about a powerful Nor’easter storm that sank the sword fishing boat F/V Andrea Gail in 1991. >click to read< 07:15
