Daily Archives: March 31, 2023
Darien, preparing for the 55th Blessing of the Fleet
The City of Darien is gearing up for their biggest event of the year – that’s the annual Blessing of the Fleet! Every year, local shrimpers drive their boats under the Darien Bridge and clergy members at the top of the bridge bless the boats for a prosperous fishing season. Organizers say they’re looking forward to bigger crowds and some new additions this year. It’s the 55th year of the Darien tradition. The three-day long festival features vendors, musical performances, a worship service, parade through town, and of course, the shrimping boat parade. Video, schedule, >click to read< 18:48
Rye, N.H. fisherman Keper Connell hooks consumer wave with his Gulf of Maine tinned tuna
Each tin of Gulf of Maine Conservas tuna begins with fisherman Keper Connell boarding Figment, his 45-foot Novi, long before sunrise to make the two-hour, 25 mile journey from Rye Harbor in New Hampshire to Jeffreys Ledge. Connell doesn’t catch tuna on every trip to the ledge, but when a giant bluefin does strike his line, he 
still gets a rush of adrenaline. In 2019, he began experimenting with canning some of his catch, getting the right blend of fresh fish, Calivirgin olive oil and salt. He contracted with a cannery in Oregon and launched his business, Gulf of Maine Conservas. “I’m catching the fish, I’m portioning it, I’m cooking it and then I’m containing it,” he said. “All you as the consumer have to do is open it and enjoy it.” >click to read< 16:34
Offshore Wind Farm Company Vinyard Wind Begins Construction
Vineyard Wind hosted a tour on Monday at the Marine Commerce Terminal in New Bedford to show members of the media and the local business leaders of One SouthCoast Chamber the early construction of the Vineyard Wind 1 Project, the first offshore commercial-scale offshore wind project in the United States. The Vineyard Wind 1 project aims to construct an 800-megawatt, 62-turbine wind farm south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. The project is expected to be completed and delivering power by the end of the year. >click to read< 11:50
Salmon fishermen reflect on causes, future as closure looms
Earlier this year, Governor Gavin Newsom signed an executive order urging California’s water board to waive environmental laws and reserve water for future agricultural use, that would otherwise be released to help insure the survival of native fish and wildlife species. “The politics of water mismanagement readily and consistently traverses party lines,” Davis said. “So we’re trying to get equitable allocation of the resource to the different sectors, agricultural, residential, and environmental, which supports the salmon.” Tim Obert, a salmon fisherman based out of Santa Cruz, said the ramifications of the closure could be devastating. >click to read< 10:16
Nantucket Scallop Harvest Nearly Doubles Over Last Season
Late Thursday morning, scalloper Keith Day was unloading his catch at the Nantucket Boat Basin, one of the few fishermen still dropping dredges at the end of the season. His assessment? “It’s been the best year I’ve had in 10 years,” Day said. “Even with the price where it is now, if you still fish and you still grind out on it, it equals out or you can make more than you made last year. There was just not enough last year. It’s been a pretty good season. I’m still getting my limit on the second to last day. Overall, it’s been a good season for me.” >click to read< 09:36
No wonder communities are worried
Thank you for your report on fishing industry concerns over the potential loss of fishing grounds to offshore wind developments, which gives rise to several questions: Mr Newcombe of the Orion project boldly demands the equivalent of 67 Viking Energy (VE) wind farms (30GW) be installed on fishing grounds around Shetland so that he can produce humongous amounts of hydrogen at Sullom Voe. Throw in the SNP-Greens’ forthcoming ‘highly-protected marine areas’ (HPMAs) and is it any wonder Shetland’s biggest industry and the communities dependent on it are worried? Is it appropriate to impose development on such a scale on a small, island community that has no control over the planning of it? Does the SIC accept the implied destruction of the fishing grounds, effectively, forever, as a direct result? >click to read< 08:41
French fishermen begin two-day strike to highlight ‘plague of crises’
Many French fishermen have begun a two-day strike to highlight a “plague of crises” hitting their sector, including EU regulation and post-Brexit turmoil. They are being called to walk out on Thursday (March 30) and Friday (March 31) to call for more government support. Industry group le Comité national des pêches (CNP) says the journées mortes (dead days) in French ports would mean no fishing boats going out, no fish sales, and no processing of fish food items. >click to read< 08:00
CDFW Announces Closure Of Commercial Dungeness Crab Fishery Off Central California To Protect Humpback Whales
California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Director Charlton H. Bonham has assessed entanglement risk under the Risk Assessment Mitigation Program (RAMP) and announced a fishery closure for the commercial Dungeness crab fishery in fishing zones 3, 4, 5 and 6 (Sonoma/Mendocino county line to the U.S./Mexico border) effective at noon on April 15, 2023. The take and possession of Dungeness crab is therefore prohibited after noon on April 15, 2023, in fishing zones 3-6. This season closure is being implemented to minimize entanglement risk for humpback whales as they return to forage off the coast of California and in response to several entanglements that occurred during March and April of 2022. >click to read< 06:53
