Daily Archives: May 14, 2023
How warming waters around P.E.I. could affect snow crab and lobster
Research scientist Joël Chassé says as the atmosphere warms, the ocean waters around P.E.I. are also heating up. “Changes are happening. It’s not deniable anymore. And if the these changes don’t slow down, we will have to adapt to these changes.” Chassé said there are implications for some fish species, some positive and some negative. Fisheries and Oceans biologist Tobie Surette said that while lobster is a warm water coastal species, snow crab prefer deeper, colder waters. “Lobster has largely benefited from the warming climates, at least so far,” he said. Surette said they don’t know exactly why that is. (Snow Crab) And for now, they are doing well: “We’re at the third-highest biomass in the history of the survey right now.” But Surette knows that could change. He has been in contact with snow crab scientists from Alaska. Photos, >click to read< 18:51
Old lumber port preps for new life as California offshore wind hub
Eureka’s halcyon days as the “timber capital” of California are long gone, but the deepwater port city 270 miles north of San Francisco may see its fortunes turn as the hub of the state’s first foray in offshore wind energy. Eureka sits across two of the five swaths of Pacific Ocean along the California coast that the federal government auctioned off to offshore wind developers this past December for a total of $757 million. The three other leases are on the Central Coast across from Morro Bay. Humboldt Bay, the second-largest bay in California after the San Francisco Bay, is ideally suited to become the final assembly port for the massive turbines. >click to read< 15:43
New Norwegian combined trawler, purse seine and crab vessel heads north
It is the Norwegian fishing company Asbjørn Selsbane who, after a few months delay in delivery from Karstensen Shipyard in Skagen, has now been handed over their new combined and very versatile trawler and purse seine vessel, which can also be rigged for crab fishing. The vessel is named ‘Stødig’ and will have its home port in Tromsø. It is rigged with shrimp trawls and Danish seines as well as for crab fishing and also packed with massive high-tech equipment, with smart solutions incorporated into the 39.30-metre-long and 11.50-metre-wide vessel. >click to read< 11:08
HPMAs: Tiree’s economy could sink unless plans are scrapped
In Tiree, there are good years and bad years. Years when crab and lobster are plentiful, years when they are not. Small boats work using fixed-line, static gear. Tiree fishermen place their creels with the precision afforded by sonar technology. There is no bycatch. Anything which will not be landed is thrown back alive. Many are voluntarily notching lobsters to ensure future stocks. Now, with the government’s proposals for statutory HPMAs, we are being told that our seas must be even more highly protected – from the people who live and work here. From us. >click to read< 10:01
New Bedford fisherman sentenced for evading $431,000 in federal taxes
A New Bedford man was sentenced in federal court in Boston for evading more than $431,000 in federal income taxes over the course of seven years. Victor M. Cruz, 43, was sentenced on May 9 by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel to time served (10 months in prison) followed by one year of supervised release. Cruz was also ordered to pay $431,835 in restitution to the IRS. On Feb. 12, 2023, Cruz pleaded guilty to three counts of tax evasion. >click to read< 09:11
Environmental Regulations and Wind Turbines Are Backing New England Fishermen into a Corner
Just three weeks ago, Jerry Leeman was a commercial fishing captain in New England and a very successful one at that. Now, as executive director of the newly formed New England Fishermen Stewardship Association, he’s leading the charge against Biden administration policies that threaten the industry he loves, including overregulation and wind-turbine development in the Gulf of Maine. Leeman said that he and fellow New England fishermen have serious concerns about the accuracy of the NOAA data. Fish-population assessments fell to the wayside during the Covid years — 2021 and 2022 — and the data-collection process has not yet been corrected. “Whether you’re a lobsterman or a ground fisherman, a trend up and down the coast here is that nobody wants wind turbines placed in our environment. It’s going to mess up our stocks and our species. Not to mention it’s going to change the viability for generations to come in the fishing grounds,” Leeman said. Photos, >click to read< 07:51
