Daily Archives: January 23, 2024
Maine Beer Co. donates $30,000 to Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association for storm recovery
Freeport’s Maine Beer Co. donated over $30,000 this weekend to the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association to help coastal communities address the aftermath of a pair of January storms that caused widespread damage and flooding. “We’re all very well aware of the record high tides that we’ve experienced over [that] weekend, and we’ve all read about the damage that has happened to our coastal communities,” said Maine Beer Co. CEO Steve Mills. “It seemed like a very natural fit to partner up [with the MCFA].” The funds will go to help fishermen and waterfront businesses clean up and rebuild, according to Susan Olcott, director of operations at MCFA. more, >>click to read<< 18:40
Change to minimum U.S. lobster size ‘a big jump,’ says P.E.I. marketing board
Pending increases in the legal size of lobster that can be sold in the U.S. are something to watch, says the chair of the Lobster Fishers of P.E.I. Marketing Board. But Charlie McGeoghegan says it likely won’t be as much of a problem as some other groups in the Maritimes fear. Studies of the state of the lobster stock on the Eastern Seaboard have triggered an automatic increase in the size of lobster that can be harvested for the U.S. market. The studies found a decline in the number of young lobsters, and the change is designed to give them more time to mature and reproduce. Currently, U.S. fishermen must throw back any lobster that has a carapace (the hard shell extending from the eyes to the end of the tail) measuring under 82 millimetres. In January 2025, that will increase to 84 millimetres, and it will go up another two millimetres in 2027. Photos, more, >>click to read<< 13:31
Fishermen urged to take part in medical exemptions consultation
Banff and Buchan MP David Duguid has urged fishermen to take part in an industry-wide consultation to explore medical exemptions for crews operating on vessels 10 metres and under. Mr Duguid has been in discussions with the UK Government to highlight concerns about the impact of medical certificates on lone workers and small businesses around the north-east coast. In November 2023, regulations came into effect requiring fishermen working on small UK-flagged vessels to have a certificate of medical fitness. The UK Government, which already grants concessions for factors such as eyesight, diabetes and BMI, has worked to support those who can still fish but would otherwise be unduly forced ashore. more, >>click to read<< 11:10
Vessel Review: Daystar – North Sea Prawn Trawler Delivered to Scottish Owner
UK boatbuilder Parkol Marine Engineering has handed over a new trawler to fishing boat owner and skipper Stephen West based in Fraserburgh on Scotland’s east coast. The 25.09- by eight-metre Daystar replaces an earlier, similarly named but slightly smaller Parkol-built trawler in the owner’s fleet. The newbuild was designed by SC McAllister and Co for twin-rig trawling of prawns in the North Sea as was the case with its 2017-built predecessor. Photos, more, >>click to read<< 08:25
Frustrated fishermen get good news: good rockfishing, salmon fishing to return in 2024
With an oversized head, bulbous eyes and narrow body, the quillback rockfish looks like a golden bullfrog armed with a quiver full of arrows on its back. Few sport fishermen want to keep, much less eat, the famously sharp and ouchy and skinny quillback, which are reeled by those seeking meatier rockfish. But it was the quillback, which is often tossed back into the sea, whose population plummet caused a shutdown that impacted the entire rockfish industry, both for commercial and for party boats operating out of Mendocino Coast’s Noyo Harbor. That mysterious plunge in quillback numbers cut off all near-shore rockfish fishing last year, causing an organized outcry by fishermen and a new plan for 2024. Photos, more, >>click to read<< 07:15
Fire devastates Ilwaco seafood facility
A massive fire broke out at a crab-landing facility on Monday, inflicting significant damage and destroying fishing gear ahead of the commercial Dungeness crab season. No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is unknown. However, witnesses said that hundreds of crab harvesting pots stacked in preparation for the upcoming opener of the commercial Dungeness crab season were destroyed in the blaze. The commercial Dungeness season, among the most lucrative fisheries, is set to open Feb. 1 following multiple delays. more, >>click to read<< 06:15
