Daily Archives: July 16, 2023
Seafood’s Inflated and Leveling Prices, Revisited
We decided to revisit the “Why Seafood Prices Are So Inflated” story and those whom we had interviewed to see where prices have landed in the summer of 2023, post-pandemic and post-historic inflation. Generally, the first place one goes with this topic is up to Viking Village, the docks of our working commercial fishing fleet in Barnegat Light, which holds a fleet of 40 boats up to 110 feet long. Viking Village states that its mission is to work only with U.S.-based fishermen and practice sustainable harvesting. In 2021, Viking Village General Manager Ernie Panacek primarily talked about the price of scallops, which were more affected by catch quotas than by the pandemic. Scallops were a hot topic then, and they’re still relatively expensive, but like two years ago, it has little to do with the pandemic and everything to do with those quotas set by the Fisheries Management. >click to read< 20:30
If these stories aren’t told right
George Olsen passed away Saturday night. The following story includes an interview with Olsen in 2014, and is running this week in honor and celebration of his memory.
The Olsen’s home is across from the new elementary school built just above Main Street. If you follow the road down its steep decline, you’ll reach the harbor where the docks are lined with fishing boats and the gulls squawk mercilessly lured to the salty stench of the day’s catch being hauled in. The fishermen, he says, are worried about next year’s salmon runs with the low water levels. He used to be one. A fisherman, that is. “Was your father a fisherman too?” I ask. He scrunches his brow and cocks his head ever so slightly, staring at me as if I had just asked him whether the ocean was filled with water. “Of course,” he enunciates, making clear the stupidity in asking such a question. >click to read< 11:16
‘The Bad Day’: Two maritime disasters that shook the Shetland Islands
By a terrible grim coincidence, this week sees the anniversary of two of the worst disasters ever to happen in the Scottish fishing industry, and on both occasions it was the Shetland Islands which were afflicted by the tragic calamities that took place almost 50 years apart and cost the lives of 163 men. On both occasions, wild storms caught fishermen out at sea and led to the destruction of fishing boats, often with the loss of all on board. The first disaster took place 191 years ago today on July 16, 1832, in the midst of what became a summer of mourning on Scotland’s northern archipelago. >click to read< 09:54
N.H. Lawmakers pass bill to address abandoned fishing gear, with limitations
New Hampshire’s marine wildlife may soon be rescued from “ghost gear” haunting coastal waters, thanks to a bill passed by the Legislature last month. But it won’t be by individuals working on their own to find and remove abandoned gear this summer, as some House members had hoped. The version of House Bill 442 that passed last month directs Fish and Game to report to lawmakers by September with a strategic cleanup plan for derelict fishing gear, traps, and nets that have been abandoned by their owners but continue to ensnare fish, lobsters, and other marine organisms, leading to their death. Some House members hoped to allow individual divers to remove gear on their own, in addition to a larger effort by the state. >click to read< 09:09
Viking Village Is A Uniquely Jersey Shore Experience
Viking Village seems like a place where time has stood still at the Jersey Shore and gives visitors a glimpse of what life was like during a time when fishing dominated the scene, long before tourism became the driving factor at the shore. The Viking Village, initially known as the Independent Fish Company, was founded as a lobster fishing co-op by first-generation Norwegian fishermen. As the lobster population began to decline, the fishermen adapted their gear and turned to sea bass fishing, which proved to be prosperous until the 1950s. Over the years, the fishing practices at the Viking Village evolved, incorporating scallop, gillnet, and longline fishing, which remain the backbone of its operations today. >click to read< 08:07
