Daily Archives: May 31, 2023
Offshore Wind Litigation: Court Declines to Halt Vineyard Wind Construction
A federal court has denied a request by members of the fishing industry to pause offshore construction of the Vineyard Wind Project (Project), the first modern utility-scale offshore wind project in the United States to receive all permits and approvals necessary to begin construction. On May 25, 2023, Judge Indira Talwani of the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts denied a motion for stay, or in the alternative, for preliminary injunction,,, In Seafreeze Shoreside, Inc. et al. v. US Department of the Interior et al., the plaintiffs alleged that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and various other federal permitting agencies violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), and a variety of other statutes and regulations by issuing the Project’s lease and its final approvals. >click to read< 16:57
South Carolina’s shrimp harvest to open June 1
Commercial shrimp trawling is set to open in all legal South Carolina waterways on Thursday morning. Harvesting season typically opens in full by mid-to-late May after the opening of eight smaller provisional areas in the outer waters. But officials with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) said those provisional waters opened at the end of April, which allowed shrimpers to begin harvesting some larger white shrimp further offshore while “still protecting most of the spawning population closer to shore.” >click to read< 14:07
N.L. inshore crab boats accuse Royal Greenland of giving them the cold shoulder
In a crab fishing season that has been contentious from the start, allegations continue to be levelled by Newfoundland and Labrador fish harvesters against processing companies. The latest accusation is against Royal Greenland, the Danish-owned company that owns three processing plants in the province. A handful of harvesters took to social media in recent days, posting on the Fishermen’s Forum Facebook Page, that Royal Greenland has been refusing to buy crab from some boats in the under 40 ft fleet. However, Simon Jarding, manager of Royal Greenland operations in Newfoundland and Labrador, says those allegations are not accurate. >click to read< 12:21
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 65′ Steel Gladding and Hearn Lobster Boat, Cummins 855 Diesel
To review specifications, information, and 23 photos’, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here< 11:28
Death by a Thousand Cuts – ‘We Have Fish, That’s Our Currency’
Just before midnight, David O’Neill navigated his trawler into the harbor in Union Hall, a small port in southwestern Ireland, the wake from the vessel sending tiny waves slapping against the pier. The crew swiftly unloaded their catch, using a crane to lift ice-packed crates of haddock and hake from the hold of the Aquila under bright spotlights. Less than an hour later, the Aquila would depart for its final trip. Two days later, the crew stripped the vessel’s contents — chains, buoys, ropes, steel cables, and hooks — and ejected them onto the pier, on their way to a shipyard to be scrapped. “This is coming with me,” Mr. O’Neill said as he unscrewed the Aquila’s wooden steering wheel. “It reminds you of all you’ve been through on this boat.” Photos, >click to read< 10:20
Benefit planned for captain whose boat caught on fire
A benefit for the captain who was injured in a boat fire leaving the Blessing of the Fleet parade in April is set for June 4. Larry Cobb was returning from the Blessing of the Fleet Parade on April 30 when a fire broke out on his shrimp trawler, The F/V Bridget. Unable to extinguish the flames, Cobb, who is 78 years old, was forced to abandon the ship, jumping from the boat into the pluff mud below. He suffered burns to his hands and face, and the ship was destroyed. The loss of The Bridget was upsetting, but the tight-knit fishing and shrimping community quickly rose to the occasion to support Cobb. >click to read< 09:28
Fishermen Face Unloading Delays After Fish Pier Packing House Tenant Departs
The packing house at the municipal fish pier has space for two companies to operate, receiving and packing the local catch for transport to market. But when Marder Trawling, one of the two fish buyers, departed last year, fishermen were lined up to unload with Red’s Best Seafood in the north bay. The south bay remains empty as commercial fishing ramps up for the season in the next few weeks. Last year, boats were “stacked up down the harbor to get offloaded,” Harbormaster Stuart Smith said. He has proposed allowing fishermen to use the south bay to unload their own fish to their own trucks or buyers of their choice, much as is currently done on the outdoor dock at the fish pier’s south jog. Smith told the select board that he’s making the proposal only after the town was unable to find a new fish packer to lease the south bay. >click to read< 8:47
Blue Harvest Fisheries’ Newest Vessel, F/V Nobska, Successfully Completes First Series of Fishing Trips
The newest, most modern vessel in the New England groundfish fishery, the F/V Nobska, has returned to port after its successful inaugural deployment. The vessel was acquired earlier this year by Blue Harvest Fisheries, as part of the company’s investment in the future of its groundfish operations. The Nobska embarked on four back-to-back trips between April 7 and May 10, and landed 335,000 pounds of fish in its home port of New Bedford, Massachusetts, with additional landings in Gloucester, Massachusetts. The catch included several groundfish species, including monkfish, flounder, haddock, Acadian redfish, hake, and pollock. A series of three to four back-to-back trips, followed by a short break for maintenance and crew rest, is a typical operational plan for this vessel. Video, photos, >click to read< 07:45
