Daily Archives: April 2, 2024
Crab harvesters will lose out on $30M because price-setting panel sided with processors, says Efford
With the time-sensitive snow crab season set to begin in a few days, fish harvesters in Newfoundland and Labrador are once again talking about tying up their boats due to the price of crab. One vocal critic says the new decision will cost harvesters as much as $30 million from a lucrative fishery that has become the economic mainstay in the industry since the cod collapse of the early 1990s. The province’s price-setting panel sided with the Association of Seafood Producers on Monday evening, setting a price floor of $2.60 per pound with the ability go up as market factors change. John Efford, the Port de Grave fisherman who led protests throughout March, said when he heard the price setting panel had chosen the ASP formula his first reaction was one of disbelief. Photos, Video, more, >>click to read<< 16:35
Fishermen challenge fishing ban, Antiquities Act abuse
Fishermen in New York and Vermont have filed a lawsuit against President Biden and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) challenging a ban on commercial fishing in the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, as well as the unlawful creation of the monument itself. “President Obama abused his authority when he created this monument in 2016, President Biden abused his authority when he reinstated it in 2021, and now NOAA has abused its authority with this fishing ban,” said Frank Garrison, an attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation. “We’ve now seen three Supreme Court Justices express interest in taking a case on presidential abuse of the Antiquities Act. This case is another example of the presidential abuse that has the Justices’ attention.” more, >>click to read<< 14:36
Mount Pleasant invests in improved safety, functionality of shrimp boat docks
Much needed upgrades are coming to an important part of Mount Pleasant’s legacy. Town leaders are allocating money to renovate its shrimp boat docks in preparation for a busy shrimping season. “The more boats, the better the dock needs to be,” Rocky Magwood, President of SC Shrimpers Association said. The process of bringing shrimp from the deck to the table is a vision that’s coming to life as the Town of Mount Pleasant’s budget for shrimp boat docks will allocate funding for an updated look and safety upgrades. Magwood says that the docks are wearing out and it’s necessary for a refresh. Video, more, >>click to read<< 13:01
FFAW blasts price-setting panel after it sides with ASP on crab-pricing formula
With the time-sensitive snow crab season set to begin in a few days, fish harvesters in Newfoundland and Labrador are once again talking about tying up their boats due to the price of crab. The province’s price-setting panel sided with the Association of Seafood Producers on Monday evening, setting a price floor of $2.60 per pound with the ability go up as market factors change. The panel rejected a formula proposed by the Food, Fish & Allied Workers union, which was closely tied to the formula suggested by an independent report at the end of last season. “There was a better way to do this,” said FFAW president Greg Pretty. “The work was already done by Glen Blackwood in his report. The Blackwood formula provided a way for harvesters to be paid a fair market share, but that was tossed aside for a formula that is not tied to information harvesters can trust.” more, >>click to read<< 11:26
Alaska fishermen and processing plants are in limbo as a state-backed seafood company teeters
The fishing fleet in the Southwest Alaska town of King Cove would have been harvesting Pacific cod this winter. But they couldn’t: Skippers had nowhere to sell their catch. The enormous plant that usually buys and processes their fish never opened for the winter season. The company that runs the plant, Peter Pan Seafoods, is facing six-figure legal claims from fishermen who say they haven’t been paid for catches they delivered months ago. King Cove’s city administrator says the company is behind on its utility payments. And now, residents fear the plant may stay closed through the summer salmon season, which would leave the village with just half of the revenue that normally funds its yearly budget. “We should be fishing right now,” said Ken Mack, a longtime King Cove fisherman. more, >>click to read<< 09:36
East End fishermen uneasy over wind farm South Fork Wind
Late last year, Gov. Kathy Hochul called South Fork Wind, which is projected to eliminate hundreds of millions of tons of carbon emissions annually, a “major milestone” in the state’s “nation-leading effort to generate reliable, renewable clean energy. “But at least one East End community remains staunchly opposed to wind farms: commercial fishermen — who say that the massive, 50-story turbines could irreparably damage the local marine ecosystem and displace them from areas they’ve fished for decades or even generations. more, >>click to read<< 08:12
Fisherman missing in water off Hawke’s Bay coast, colleagues join search
The colleagues of a fishing vessel crew member missing off the coast of Hawke’s Bay were on the water aiding search efforts more than 17 hours in. The man was reported overboard from a boat around 11km offshore of Waimārama, around 8pm on Easter Monday. Maritime NZ’s Rescue Coordination Centre was running the search, which included rescue helicopter services from Auckland, Gisborne and Hastings, Coastguard Hawke’s Bay and other vessels in the area. Coastguard Hawke’s Bay president Henry van Tuel said the vessel from which the man had gone missing was the Pacific Challenger. more, >>click to read<< 06:48
