Daily Archives: November 2, 2023
Will bankruptcy auction break up New Bedford’s fishing fleet?
Blue Harvest Fisheries’ last assets could be sold at a bankruptcy auction as early as Wednesday, court filings show. Mayor Jon Mitchell and the New Bedford Port Authority have urged the bankruptcy trustee to ensure both the boats and permits remain in New Bedford, the nation’s top-earning commercial fishing port. Some fisherman and advocacy groups say regulators should seize the moment to break up the permits and enact stricter antitrust rules to limit future consolidation of the fishing business. The assets up for auction include eight commercial fishing vessels and 48 state and federal fishing permits, representing about 13% of all quota in the New England groundfish industry. Blue Harvest is the region’s single-largest groundfish permit holder. >>click to read<< 20:42
Alaska seafood harvesting jobs decline as fish crashes, pandemic and other factors take toll
Alaska fish-harvesting employment declined in 2022, a continuing yearslong slide caused by a variety of factors, according to an analysis by the state Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Employment for people harvesting seafood dropped by about a quarter from 2015 to 2022, according to the analysis, published in the November issue of Alaska Economic Trends, the department’s monthly research magazine. The industry lost ground compared to other sectors of the Alaska economy, the analysis found. Seafood harvesting accounted for 7.3% of Alaska jobs in July of 2021, but only 5.7% of Alaska jobs were in seafood harvesting in the following July. Fishery work is highly seasonal, and July is the peak month for it. >>click to read<< 16:15
Incredible herring haul means viable Isle of Man fishery ‘could be a reality’ for the first time in 25 years
Local fishermen have successfully caught the allocated 100 tonne quota of herring in Manx waters within weeks of receiving Government support to diversify. Three local crews took advantage of the financial support provided by the Department of Environment, Food and Agriculture following new UK quotas earlier this year. Clare Barber Mallocated 100 tonne quotaHK, Environment, Food and Agriculture Minister said: ‘It’s been a real success story.’ The recent catch has led to great optimism across the industry that a commercially viable Manx fishery could be a reality for the first time in 25 years – especially as the quota could quadruple by 2026. >>click to read<< 14:28
Maine Lobsterman a Social Media Star
By all appearances, Jacob Knowles lives the life of a typical Maine lobsterman. Knowles, 30, is a fifth generation Maine lobsterman; he’s been going out on lobster boats since he was in elementary school. He’s been working on his own since he graduated from high school. But lately Knowles, who’s married with two young children, has been working in a different universe. He’s been posting video clips while he’s out lobstering, and they’ve gone viral. Knowles is now a social media star, with 3.5 million followers on TikTok and 400,000 on Instagram. As of this week, Knowles has 1.24 million subscribers on You Tube, and a total of 782,273,399 views. 8 minute video, >>click to read<< 11:39
Cape May County Declares Victory Against Wind Farms
Jubilant Cape May County officials Wednesday celebrated the decision by Danish energy giant Orsted to scrap plans for two wind energy farms off the South Jersey coast, but expressed caution about the possibility that the projects could be resurrected later. “You know, there were many people that said to us, ‘Don’t take on this company. Don’t take on Orsted. They have the White House. They have the Statehouse.’ But unfortunately, they didn’t know about the courthouse,” Cape May County Board of Commissioners Director Leonard Desiderio said. During a news conference, Desiderio and other Republican Cape May County officials repeatedly said the tiny county was able to overcome the political support of President Joe Biden’s Democratic administration and Gov. Phil Murphy in favor of Orsted and the wind farm industry. >>click to read<< 10:32
‘Catastrophic crisis’: Imported shrimp flood US market
Foreign shrimp imports are overwhelming the country’s inventories of shrimp and driving market prices for locally sourced shrimp to record lows, prompting widespread calls from elected officials and organizations throughout southern Atlantic and Gulf Coast states for the federal government to declare a fishery resource disaster. Governors of coastal states from North Carolina to Florida to Texas are being pressed to ask U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to determine a fishery resource disaster for the South Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico shrimp fishery. In what one North Carolina coastal county’s board of commissioners refer to as an “unprecedented catastrophic crisis,” shrimpers are struggling to maintain operations because they’re making substantially less for their catch while paying historically high fuel prices and other inflation-driven costs. Shrimpers are also being forced to dock their freezer boats, or vessels with onboard freezers, because they can’t move their product in a market flooded with frozen shrimp from overseas. >>click to read<< 09:40
New regulations aim to protect Florida’s stone crab population
For Floridians, October has one more holiday than what might be on most calendars: the start of stone crab season. Starting Oct. 15, recreational and commercial fishermen are able to harvest the species that holds a spot as one of the five most important fisheries in Florida, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Although stone crabs are found from North Carolina to Belize, 99% of the stone crab harvest for the entire United States come from Florida. And this year, the FWC began implementing new regulations in an effort to conserve the longevity of this important fishery. >>click to read<< 08:29
Suffolk farmers plan major expansion of fishing venture
The Suffolk farmers – based at Ramsholt – has been farming for 10 generations. But when Harry Simper – now aged 28 – left school his heart was set on a life at sea. As they live on the banks of the River Deben, the Simpers, of Lodge Farm, have always combined their farming life with sailing and fishing. As they live on the banks of the River Deben, the Simpers, of Lodge Farm, have always combined their farming life with sailing and fishing. The Simpers run two trawlers and are planning to get larger vessels so they can operate a fleet of three or four within the next couple of years. The Simpers run two trawlers and are planning to get larger vessels so they can operate a fleet of three or four within the next couple of years. Photos, >>click to read<< 07:18
