Daily Archives: August 7, 2023
Santa Barbara Fisherman Seriously Injured in Freak Accident Aboard Commercial Fishing Boat in Alaska
Shaun Roche, a commercial fisherman and urchin diver from Santa Barbara, became the victim of a freak accident on a commercial fishing boat in the final hours of the sockeye salmon season in Bristol Bay, Alaska, this July. Roche’s job was just another routine end-of-season task that fishermen have, in the past, completed without issue: spray-paint the engine room to prevent wintertime corrosion. However, a spark of unknown origin ignited the fumes mingling in the tight space around him, causing a small explosion. Rauche was able to scramble out of the engine room and strip off his respirator and clothes, but he sustained third-degree burns on 16 percent of his body in the process. A GoFundMe has been established. Please donate if you can. >click to read< 19:36
Cormac Burke: Desperation is turning to anger in Ireland’s fishing industry
As readers see this article, there’ll be a temptation to think its just another fishing industry sob story, and indeed who could blame them? It is decades since we’ve heard anything positive and yet this sector consists of thousands of people in coastal communities crying out that their traditional way of life is being gradually eliminated and eradicated by government. I could launch into the tragic list of catastrophes that have befallen the fishing sector over the last 20 years due to blatant mismanagement by successive governments, marine ministers, and senior civil servants but these tragedies were more by design than by accident. The Irish public rarely gets to see the true face of the fishing sector and how our politicians managed to get Ireland’s fishermen the worst possible deal from Brexit negotiations,,, >click to read< 15:48
Herring disaster funds should be used to phase out harmful trawling
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is releasing $11 million in disaster relief funds to Atlantic herring harvesters, of which $7 million will go to Maine. These funds should be used to phase out herring trawling by buying back fishing permits in an effort to increase herring stocks and to protect other marine life. U.S. Atlantic herring landings in the 2000s averaged 206 million pounds annually but have since decreased to below 22 million pounds in 2020 and 2021. The New England Fishery Management Council led a process to craft a 10-year rebuilding plan. This dramatic downturn in herring is likely because variables with climate change are reducing ocean productivity resulting in seven consecutive years of low numbers of young fish surviving to maturity. >click to read< 12:58
Fisheries in Focus: Busting misconceptions about bottom trawling and its environmental impacts
In a new review paper published in the ICES Journal of Marine Science, researchers argue that well-managed bottom trawling produces sustainable and environmentally friendly food. A review paper is a roundup of all the latest info on a topic – a deep dive into a pool of research papers to pull out the most important aspects. In this case, Hilborn et al., 2023 went over all recent research on the environmental impacts of bottom trawling and boiled them down to four major impacts: Sustainability of target species, Impact on the seafloor, Bycatch and discards, Carbon emissions. The review also compared bottom-trawled seafood to other forms of food production. It concluded that well-managed bottom trawling can produce food with less environmental impact than chicken or pork production. Good, effective management is the key. >click to read< 11:44
‘Pirate’ ship which was attacked by Spanish fisherman sinks in Penzance harbour
A former fishing boat which was turned into a floating pirate shop has sunk in Penzance harbour in the wake of Storm Antoni. The sad demise of the vessel comes after a remarkable career which began in the early 70s when the Ar Bageergan – which means ‘the eye of the wind’ – worked as a tuna boat and crabber off the French coast, having been built in Brittany in the early 1970s. However she was later sold to a Newlyn fisherman who worked her until 2000 as a drift netter catching cod off the Irish coast, hake in the South West and tuna in the Bay of Biscay. Photos, >click to read< 09:35
Emotional tribute to Devon fishermen lost at sea
A service has been held in a Devon fishing port to remember the lives of fishermen lost at sea. The tribute in Brixham, organised by the charity Fishermen’s Mission, saw the names of those who have died in Devon waters read out to ensure they are not forgotten. The charity collated a list of 158 names dating back to the Great Gale of Brixham in 1866. The names will be added to a memorial book to be kept at All Saints Church. Helen Lovell-Smith, from the charity, said she began collating names after a conversation with a grieving mother. >click to read< 08:15
