Daily Archives: August 6, 2023
Three Fishermen Rescued by Coast Guard After Boat Sinks Off Nantucket
Three fishermen were rescued off Nantucket Saturday afternoon when their 55-foot vessel sank approximately eight miles east of the island. Coast Guard Station Brant Point along with a Coast Guard helicopter from Air Station Cape Cod responded to the area around 1:45 p.m. and found that the 55-foot fishing vessel, F/V Miss Kara out of Hyannis – had already sunk and its crew was in the water. It has not yet been determined why the commercial fishing vessel sank in the waters off Nantucket. Austin said the Coast Guard was alerted to the situation when one member of the Miss Kara crew set off an EPIRB (emergency position indicating radio beacon), which provided the rescue crew with their location. Photos, >click to read< 12:36
OFFSHORE WIND OPPONENTS NEED A MASS PROTEST IN WASHINGTON DC – BY JIM LOVGREN
In 2010 and 2012 fishermen held two different successful protests in Washington DC with thousands of fishermen travelling from around the country to attend. Both commercial and recreational fishermen voiced their concerns regarding catch shares and Magnuson Act reauthorization, among the multitude of issues that threatened their livelihoods. Today, the fishing industry is facing a far worse enemy then fishery management, as thousands of square miles of their historic fishing grounds have been auctioned off to the highest bidder in order to make way for the wildlife killing machines called wind turbines. These auctions have been held by BOEM, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, a part of the Department of the Interior. They are charged with the selling or leasing of US natural resources in our offshore waters, and apparently, they have absolutely no regard for any wildlife that may exist within them, or any people who might derive a living from catching said wildlife. >click to read< 11:50
Former commercial fisherman Samuel “Sammie” Elton Leonard of Calabash, NC. has passed away
He was born on May 26, 1939 in Shallotte Point, NC. He was the son of the late Lloyd Leonard and Pauline Grissett Leonard. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by sisters Joyce Skeen and Dorit Teeters, and brothers Elroy Leonard and Etheridge Leonard. Sammie was quite a successful commercial fisherman, owning a fleet of shrimp boats. He was well respected in the shrimping industry as one of the best. He even designed and took part in the building process of his largest boat, The Big Mama, which dwarfed other boats of its kind. He later owned and operated True Value Hardware in Calabash, NC. Sammie was a jack of all trades and always willing to lend a hand when needed. >click to read< 10:40
Why offshore wind jobs may just be a lot of hot air
Offshore wind developers in the U.S. have promised to create thousands of “million-dollar” jobs. But those dollars won’t flow into New York workers’ paychecks. Rather, they’re just the sum total of the subsidies local taxpayers and utility ratepayers will expend to keep offshore wind afloat, as if New Yorkers’ electric bills aren’t high enough. Consider Ørsted, the Danish government-owned company that is developing the 12-turbine, 132-megawatt Southfork Wind and the 84-turbine, 924-megawatt Sunrise Wind projects, which will be built 30 miles east of Montauk Point, Long Island. Ørsted is also behind the 98-turbine, 1,100 megawatt Ocean Wind project along the southern New Jersey shore, which just rewarded it with several billion dollars in tax credits that were supposed to have been returned to New Jersey ratepayers According to Ørsted’s Southfork Construction and Operations Plan (COP), Southfork will require 166 construction workers each year during the two-year construction period and another 10 jobs each year for operation and maintenance over the project’s 25-year expected lifespan. >click to read< 09:35
Hundreds of Scots fisherman face losing jobs as new rules brand them too fat to fish
UK Government regulations which are about to come into force will mean seafarers must have a medical certificate showing a body mass index (BMI) of under 35 – or risk being banned from their own trawlers. Crewmen fear they will not be able to go to sea because of the draconian requirements. Furious fishermen branded the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) rules “discrimination”. Bob Dunsire, 49, who has been skippering prawn boats out of Pittenweem, Fife, since he was a teenager, said he can barely believe what is being done to the industry. He said: “I know I don’t have a BMI under 35 and I’m furious at these new medical requirements. They could see me out of my job and put my entire crew out of work, too. Photos, >click to read< 08:00
