Monthly Archives: September 2023
This board advises the state on offshore wind’s impacts on fisheries. They all just resigned.
All the members of the panel that advises state coastal regulators on the impacts of offshore wind on fisheries have resigned in protest of what they charge is a process that unfairly favors developers. A resignation letter signed by the nine members of the Fishermen’s Advisory Board was sent to the Coastal Resources Management Council Thursday night. “It has become abundantly clear that the Rhode Island CRMC has made deference to offshore wind developers its top priority regardless of the requirements of the Ocean SAMP, the cost to the environment, or the impacts to Rhode Island’s fishing industry,” they wrote, referring to the Ocean Special Area Management Plan, the state document that guides offshore wind permitting. >>click to read<< 07:47
Commercial crab fishery closed for 2023-2024 season
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has closed the commercial red and blue king crab fishery for the 2023-2024 season, the sixth year in a row, citing stock survey numbers that remain well below the regulatory threshold. The announcement made Wednesday is a blow to commercial fishers, who saw a significant drop in prices for chum (dog) and pink (humpback) salmon this year. “If they would open up the crab season for 10-15 days it would help bail us out of a terrible season,” said Norval Nelson, owner and operator of Star of the Sea, which was in Aurora Harbor. He made his comments before he learned of the news. >>click to read<<17:27
2 Nova Scotians arrested after crates of live lobster seized in N.B.
Two people from Saulnierville, N.S., were arrested and released Wednesday for Fisheries Act infractions following the seizure of live lobster in Moncton, N.B. Fisheries officers seized 110 crates containing about 8,000 lobster, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans posted on social media. Officials returned the lobster to Nova Scotia and released them back into the ocean near Meteghan, N.S., on St. Marys Bay. The department did not release any further information about who was arrested or where the lobster were originally harvested. >>click to read<< 15:28
Fishing Industry Icon Francis J. O’Hara, Sr., of Camden, Maine, has passed away
Francis “Frank” Joseph O’Hara Sr., 91, died on August 3, 2023, at his home in Camden, Maine surrounded by his family. Born in Boston, Massachusetts on October 29, 1931, he was the son of Francis Joseph and Dorothy (MacCalduff) O’Hara. He married Donna “Jill” Hildreth in Portland, Maine, on January 11, 1953. Frank was a devoted family man and a devout Catholic. He supported many local organizations and causes and was a strong believer in public service. He flipped pancakes at the Camden Snow Bowl, sat on the Camden National Bank and Owls Head Transportation Museum boards, and served on the New England Fishery Management Council. Under his leadership, O’Hara Corporation, a 115-year-old, fifth-generation family-owned and operated commercial fishing company, expanded its influence from the coast of Maine to the Pacific NW, Alaska and China. >>click to read<< 13:57
Study: Marine heat waves do not affect fish populations
The lead author of the study, Assistant Professor in the Department of Oceanography at the University of California, Alexa L Fredston said she was surprised by these results. She added: “We know that fish communities faced long-term ocean warming by moving towards the poles, which can change the biomass and composition of fish in a given location. So I expected similar result, i.e. more fish species in “Warmer waters and fewer fish in colder waters after these marine heatwaves.” The American, Canadian and European researchers who conducted the study analyzed more than 82,000 bottom trawl fish catches collected as part of scientific expeditions in the North Atlantic and Northeast Pacific Oceans. >>click to read<< 13:01
Trawl Fishing Resumes off Fukushima amid N-Plant Water Release
The offshore trawl fishing season kicked off in the northeastern Japan prefecture of Fukushima on Friday, about a week after the country began discharging treated wastewater from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant. Some 20 fishing vessels left Matsukawaura port in the city of Soma early in the morning. They began returning to the port from before noon for fish landings and auctions. “It’s regrettable we have to resume fishing while the treated water is being released, but I hope everyone will do their best,” Masahiro Kikuchi, vice head of the local Soma Futaba fisheries cooperative association, said at a departure ceremony held at the port from 1:30 a.m. >>click to read<< 12:18
BP & Equinor Demand 54% Hike In Offshore Wind Power Price Increases
BP PlcBP and partner Equinor ASA EQNR are demanding a 54% hike in electricity prices produced at three offshore wind farms in the United States, per a Reuters report. The companies obtained the rights to develop the Empire Wind 1, Empire Wind 2 and Beacon Wind farms offshore New York. Several projects were awarded, and spikes in inflation forced energy companies to hedge equipment and labor at much higher prices than expected. The strike price for Empire Wind 1 would rise from $118.38 per megawatt hour (MWh) to $159.64 per MWh and for Empire Wind 2 from $107.50 per MWh to $177.84 per MWh. Beacon Wind would witness the strike price increase from 118.00 per MWh to 190.82 per MWh. >>click to read<< 11:29
Lobster season underway, but South Australian fishers still missing out on Chinese trade
Lobster fishers in South Australia’s southern zone are heading out today to set their pots for the start of the season. After a two-year trial, the season’s September 1 start date has become permanent in the hope it will help get lobsters onto the plates of those celebrating the Chinese Mid-Autumn Festival. Robe lobster fisher Paul Regnier supports the change. “It has been a real bonus for us,” he said. But China is still not allowing Mr Regnier’s catch into the country — officially, at least. China’s 2020 ban on Australian lobsters sent prices crashing and exporters were forced to find new markets for the crustaceans. >>click to read<< 10:34
Free dental care offered to fisherman and their families
Between 14 September and 14 December 2023, Smiles at Sea – now in its seventh year – will open its doors to fishermen suffering from dental problems in Cornwall and Devon. Along with their dependent families, they will have access to free dental checks, emergency treatment and oral cancer screenings from a mobile dental unit in eight fishing ports. The treatment will relieve any urgent dental problems including simple tooth extraction, permanent fillings and scale and polish. There will also be referrals through NHS routes where more complex oral surgery is required. >>click to read<< 09:37
Nova Scotia fishers, Indigenous stakeholders call for more dialogue amid violence
As Nova Scotia RCMP continues to investigate violence on a wharf in St. Mary’s Bay, stakeholders on both sides are calling for more conversation instead of violence. The Maritime Fishermen Union called on all levels of government, including fishers on both sides to get to the table. “Our largest concern is the conservation of the stock on St. Mary’s Bay,” Ruth Inniss, a fisheries adviser with the Maritime Fishermen Union, said. “We tried to bring all the players of the problem to the table to solve the problem. The problem clearly hasn’t been solved.” Video, >>click to read<< 09:04
Blue Harvest to shut down, ending reign over New England groundfish
Blue Harvest Fisheries is set to shut down all fishing operations on Friday, its fishermen were told this week. It marks the last in a cascade of sales and closures for the billionaire-backed business venture that once aimed to “dominate” the New England fishing industry but ended up overcapitalized and belly up on the dock. The company launched in 2015, flush with private equity capital, and expanded at a rapid clip to become the single-largest groundfish permit holder in New England. It still owns the permits and vessels, but seafood industry sources say, after the shut down, a quick sale or bankruptcy filing is likely. “A big rise leads to a big fall,” said Luke deWildt, captain of the Teresa Marie IV, >>click to read<< 07:52
