Daily Archives: November 9, 2023
Report on L’Ecume trawler sinking goes to Law Officers
A ‘complex’ file of evidence on the fatal collision between Condor’s Commodore Goodwill and the L’Ecume II trawler has been handed to the Law Officers Department by the States police. A similar file on the Pier Road explosion will be submitted to the department in due course, Chief Minister Kristina Moore has confirmed. The L’Ecume II sank on Thursday 8 December following a collision with the Goodwill freight ship off Jersey’s west coast. The boat’s skipper and two crew died in the tragedy. Given the “size and complexity” of the evidence file relating to the L’Ecume II collision, Deputy Moore noted that “it will take some time to consider the evidence” – although specific timelines for completion were not provided. >>click to read<< 14:21
Lobsterman Ray Merriman Sleeper of South Thomaston, Me., has passed away
Ray Merriman Sleeper, 64, passed away surrounded by his loving family, Tuesday, October 31, 2023 at the Sussman House in Rockport, following a brief but courageous battle with cancer. Ray began his career as a lobsterman on Criehaven with Sonny Davis, and later with Parker Jackson. After Parker retired, Ray bought the boat from him, striking out on his own. Both of his children went out with him on many well-remembered trips. His daughter remembered Ray letting them save the extra things that came up in his traps in a bucket to explore later. When his son, Cyrus, eventually followed in his footsteps, becoming a lobsterman himself, they rigged a few boats together for him. >>click to read<< 13:22
Community rallies for NC shrimper after boat fire
A local shrimper in Beaufort lost everything in a boat fire last weekend. Now, the community is rallying behind him to help get him back on the water. The F/V Lady Logan was owned by Jerry Kellum for the last eight years. “When I started shrimping, I played in the creek when I was about 6 years old and I loved it,” said Jerry. He’s carried on the shrimping tradition of his family for over 50 years. Then, last Friday, his most prized possession and way of income was destroyed. “I got in about 10:30 from shrimping on the straits, and I left and the boat was fine. They call me about three o’clock, it was on fire and that was it from there,” said Kellum. >>click to read<< 11:47
Ireland’s Regulator in Eye of Storm Over Weighing System
An Irish parliamentary committee may summon the Sea Fisheries Protection Authority (SFPA) before it to explain its weighing system, reports Lorna Siggins. This follows a recent parliamentary (Oireachtas) agriculture, food and marine committee debate when Independent TD for Cork South-West Michael Collins called for an independent review of the current system run by the SFPA. Collins referred to a “crisis” in the system and quoted from an Irish Examiner newspaper report, which claimed that a recording system initiated by the SFPA in December 2022 may be flawed and that 40% of by-catch sampling could be out by as much as 80%. >>click to read<< 09:21
Maine Lobstermen to donate Tuesday haul, restaurants will donate proceeds to Lewiston
As the Lewiston community tries to heal since the mass shootings that took place two weeks ago, some Mainers in Portland are uniting Tuesday to raise money the best way they know how. Luke’s Lobster, J’s Oyster, DiMillo’s, and The Porthole are collaborating with lobstermen and dealers to raise funds for the victims and their families. Lobstermen and dealers will donate lobsters, and each restaurant will serve up its own unique lobster special, donating all proceeds. “If we can just do what we do and the lobster dealers can separate out the product and the restaurants can cook and serve it, then by just doing what we do, we can help Lewiston somehow,” Steve Train, a lobsterman from Long Island, ME, said. Video, >>click to read<< 07:53
Dockside monitor charged with taking bribes in crab, falsifying catch records
A dockside monitor in Newfoundland is being accused of accepting crab as a bribe and falsifying documents to undercount the quantity of product being harvested. Scott Fortune, 33, of St. David’s has been charged with five criminal counts: two counts of fraud, one count of breach of trust by a public officer, and two related to forged or falsified documents. The criminal charges were laid in October. The alleged offences took place in Stephenville and Crabbes River, on Newfoundland’s west coast, over a period of nearly 2½ years, between Jan. 1, 2021, and June 7 of this year. >>click to read<< 06:48
