Daily Archives: January 27, 2024
Month-long closure paralyses Lorient fleet
Following the decision by the French Council of State to order a closure of fishing grounds in the Bay of Biscay to protect cetaceans, more than half of the Lorient fleet expects to remain tied up until the end of February. The closure applies to around 450 gillnetters, pelagic trawlers and other fishing vessels from 22nd January to 20th February, throughout the Bay of Biscay, as well as applying to fishing vessels operating under other flags. The measure is affecting around forty of the Lorient Keroman fleet, and the effects go down the chain to hit the port’s seafood trade. more, >>click to read<< 20:27
Fish farming fouls fjords, faces fines
Norway’s huge fish-farming industry has become almost as controversial as the country’s oil and gas. Salmon producers in particular have long been accused of endangering wild salmon, but now Norwegian media have also reported how some fish hatcheries have polluted fjords while fish farms have neglected fish welfare. This week six of Norway’s major salmon producers also found themselves facing charges of collusion lodged by the European Commission. Norway is home to the world’s largest salmon producers and the EU is their biggest market. On Thursday, EU competition authorities sent out a “Statement of Objections” to six Norwegian salmon producers including Lerøy, Mowi, SalMar, Cermaq, Grieg Seafood and Bremnes. All are suspected of having “breached EU antitrust rules by colluding to distort competition in the market for spot sales of Norwegian farmed Atlantic salmon in the EU.” photos, more, >>click to read<< 12:26
Tributes pour in for Whitstable harbour ‘legend’ Derrick West believed to be Britain’s oldest fisherman
A “local legend” believed to be Britain’s oldest fisherman who spent more than 70 years working at a town’s harbour has died. Tributes have flooded in for Derrick West, dubbed the ‘Whelkman of Whitstable’, following his death aged 95. Derrick was just 14 when he first started working at the town’s harbour, initially as a trainee boat builder in the then-shipyard. After a period of national service, he returned to Whitstable to work in the family shellfish industry, West Whelks, which became his life. photos, more, >>click to read<< 09:49
Offshore Wind and the Stress on Commercial Fishermen
Congressional Republicans are sounding the Mayday alarm this weekend to the grave challenges commercial fishermen face resulting from the Biden administration’s offshore wind agenda. Offshore wind development is placing enormous stress on the American commercial fishing fleet, which may not survive these challenges. A trio of coastal lawmakers, Reps. Andy. Harris (R-Md.), Chris Smith (R.-N.J.), and Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) will explore offshore wind farm interactions at an upcoming hearing, which their colleagues and the public should heed. President Joe Biden casts himself as a friend to American workers, but his poor treatment of fishermen and their communities puts the lie to this claim. Biden’s plan to produce 30 GW of offshore wind energy by the year 2030 is based solely on political goals, not any true scientific investigation of our ocean’s offshore ecosystems. The science is unresolved. Coastal economies are forgotten. Energy and food security questions are ignored. And that’s just for starters. more, >>click to read<< 08:16
‘Ludicrous’ fishing ban hits Plymouth dad as he fears for future
A Plymouth fisherman with a five-month-old daughter at home is one of many being hit hard by a tough new quota for pollack, which was agreed by the UK Government and the EU late last year. James Strevens said 70 per cent of his income has been ‘taken away’ since the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) introduced changes which saw the pollack catch quota effectively at zero from the start of 2024 to preserve stocks, leaving James and many other fishermen “stressed” and feeling “pushed backwards”. The stock of pollack in the Channel is shared between the EU and UK. In 2022, the quota for the UK was 1,821 tonnes, and in 2023 it was 1,506 tonnes, the BBC reported last month. While Defra argue it was better to put in place restrictions rather than see fish stocks exhausted, Plymouth’s inshore fleet says it is in a “dire situation”. photos, more, >>click to read<< 07:18
