Daily Archives: July 14, 2023
Linda Greenlaw’s Favorite Maine Place
It was while piloting a tour a few years back that she found her favorite Maine place, a little cove on the eastern side of Morgan Bay that she appreciates for its quietude. These days, whenever she has time, she likes to hike to the cove at low tide to go clamming. . She considers herself retired from chasing swordfish, but when pressed, she takes a “never say never” stance on someday unretiring. “Swordfish are alive and colorful when they come on board,” she says. “With their big bills, it’s like catching unicorns.” Last fall, she flew to Alaska to join the cast of season 19 of Discovery Channel’s Deadliest Catch, a series that follows the day-to-day dramas of crab-fishing crews on the Bering Sea. >click to read< 20:26
Whale detection shuts down major portion of Cape Breton snow crab fishery
The detection of an endangered North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence has forced the temporary closure of a major portion of the snow crab fishery off western Cape Breton. It comes just days after the season opened. The whale was detected by an acoustic sensor. Fishermen have until 5 p.m. Monday to move their gear out of a large closure zone. Many had just dropped their pots. The closure is set for 15 days. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans posted a notice of the closure to harvesters on Friday. It affects about 140 licence holders in what is known as Crab Fishing Area 19. >click to read< 17:22
BOEM Schedules In-Person Informational Meetings on Offshore Wind in the Gulf of Maine
BOEM invites you to attend in-person meetings in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine in July 2023. BOEM is seeking feedback and local knowledge from the Gulf of Maine fishing community to facilitate improvements in spatial models used to inform draft Wind Energy Areas in the Gulf of Maine. The in-person meetings will provide opportunities to meet with BOEM staff, learn about the data BOEM has received for the models, and provide feedback on how their spatial models are incorporating the data. The meetings will include a mixture of small-group conversations and plenary speakers. Additional opportunities to comment will be available after the meetings. >click for schedule and locations< 16:49
Sons of fishing family to deliver Stories on Deck in Gloucester
Two brothers, sons of an extended Gloucester Sicilian fishing family, will be the storytellers when Gloucester 400+ presents Stories on Deck this Saturday. Stories on Deck will take place July 15 from 10:30 a.m. to noon on the deck of schooner Adventure, at 23 Harbor Loop, with storytellers Capt. Salvatore “Sam” Novello and his brother Peter Novello. The event is free and no reservations are required. The son of Capt. Joe Novello and Lena (nee Parisi) Novello, Sam Novello is a Vietnam-era Navy veteran, past president of Gloucester Marine Railways Corp., and current president of Gulf of Maine Ocean Resource Alliance. Sam went to sea with his father, uncles, and cousins — more than 100 family members — on family fleet of fishing vessels. >click to read< 12:47
Fishermen fear future fishery management, delisting in SE Alaska
Chinook fishermen are celebrating the start of the 2023 summer troll season in Southeast Alaska after months of lawsuits and uncertainty blocked the fishery. Since the fishery opened two weeks ago, fishermen, some based in Bellingham, have been out in droves, keeping the $85 million industry afloat for another season. But the celebration, some say, may be premature. Fishermen across the region are keeping a close eye on the final decision in the lawsuit, anticipated later this year, and they expect more legal challenges next year. “I’m worried this is going to happen again and again and again and again,” Whatcom resident and fisherman Michael Jackson said from the deck of his fishing vessel in Alaskan waters. “To have this [fishery] turned into a political argument, and shut down people’s livelihoods, it makes me sick. It makes me absolutely sick.” >click to read< 11:51
Nicola Faith: Fishermen were probably ‘trapped on deck’ when boat capsized, inquest hears
Three fishermen who drowned probably died because they were trapped on deck when their boat capsized, an inquest has heard. Ross Ballantine, 39, Alan Minard, 20, and skipper Carl McGrath, 34, all died after the Nicola Faith fishing boat went down off the Conwy coast in January 2021. All three men’s bodies were recovered from the coastline off the Wirral and Blackpool in March 2021. The boat itself was discovered a month later on 13 April 2021, and was eventually raised in May 2021 using a 43m long crane barrage. A report following their deaths revealed the boat was not fit to sail, and there were “various faults” with the ship, including a lack of proper safety equipment. >click to read< 11:14
Rhode Island puts pause on key part of offshore wind project
State regulators have hit the pause button on permitting for a transmission line that would run up the Sakonnet River from SouthCoast Wind’s large offshore wind farm proposed in ocean waters south of Martha’s Vineyard. The Rhode Island Energy Facility Siting Board voted unanimously on Thursday to stay the application process for the cable that SouthCoast Wind needs to deliver electricity to the mainland grid from its proposed $5-billion project that would power more than a million homes. The three-member board made the decision in response to the company’s decision to terminate a set of long-term contracts it signed to sell power to Massachusetts utilities. >click to read< 10:21
95-Yr-Old Pours Decades Of Wisdom About Maine Island’s “Good Old Days” Into Memoir.
Donnie MacVane has lived in the same house off the coast of Long Island for his entire life. At 95, you can bet that he’s gathered a story or two about the place! Now, he’s ready to share those stories with the world. Donnie recently published his first book, and it’s a memoir. It’s called “Memories That Linger: An Anecdotal History of Long Island, Maine.” Some of Donnie’s stories offer a unique look at historic events from his personal experience; for example, what it was like to be a child during World War II. Other reminiscences deal with significant moments in his own life, such as the unusual way that he met his wife, Carol. Video, >click to read< 09:11
Suffolk and Essex fish industry revitalized by selling at Brixham
Fishermen on the Suffolk and Essex coast have begun selling their catches to a market 350 miles away and said the move has been “a game changer”. Brixham market in Devon now regularly collects fish from the east coast and sells it through its online auction. Those involved said it revitalised the fortunes of an industry whose expansion hopes were dashed after Brexit. But critics fear its success will make it harder for Lowestoft to set up its own fishing hub. Three times a week a lorry from the Brixham Fish Market visits a refrigerated lock-up at Southwold harbour in Suffolk.”It’s been a game changer for all of us,” said Fran French from Mersea Fishermen’s Association on the Essex coast. Photos, >click to read< 08:25
Nova Scotia: New Lifeboat Enters Service for the Canadian Coast Guard
The Canadian Coast Guard on Wednesday welcomed the CCGS Chedabucto Bay into its fleet at the Lifeboat Station in Clarks Harbour, Nova Scotia. The Bay Class vessel, built by Chantier Naval Forillon in Gaspé, Quebec and delivered earlier this year, is the 14th of 20 new search and rescue lifeboats that will be dedicated into service by the Canadian Coast Guard across the country. The shore-stationed self-righting lifeboats are specifically designed, equipped and crewed to respond to search and rescue incidents at sea. These vessels will operate up to 100 nautical miles from shore, maintain a maximum 30 minute state-of-readiness, and are typically ready to respond the moment an alert is received. Eah has a top speed of 25 knots and is manned by a four-person crew. >click to read< 07:43
