Daily Archives: June 17, 2024
Offshore wind farm: Business owner fumes over controversial $10billion project on NSW south coast
A commercial fisherman fears his livelihood is under threat after last-minute amendments to a new offshore wind farm were given the green light. The final amendments to the 100-hectare plot of sea where the $10billion project will be built were completed by the federal government on Saturday. The project was initially planned to be just 10km off the coast, where local fisherman Mark Horne caught lobsters for a living, but was changed at the last minute. Fearing that his fishing spot would disappear, Mr Horne invested $500,000 in a new boat to expand into new fishing areas, which is now obsolete following the amendments. photos, charts, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:32
Norway: Protection zone’s unexpected consequences hit local fishermen
Norway’s Directorate of Fisheries is being urged to issue a dispensation allowing commercial fishermen to fish for wrasse and crab inside a newly created conservation area for lobster near Stavanger. The Norwegian Fishermen’s Association (Norges Fiscella) believes that such a dispensation can be made without any negative effects on conservation. These measures were introduced to protect over-exploited lobster stocks, but this has had unforeseen consequences for local fishermen, as Norges Fiskarkag and local association Sør-Norges-Fiskarlag have taken the initiative in drawing attention to this issue. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:54
Inside the Slimy, Smelly, Secretive World of Glass-Eel Fishing
The Sargasso Sea, a warm, calm expanse of the North Atlantic Ocean, is bordered not by land but by four strong currents—a gyre. Vast mats of prickly brown seaweed float so thickly on the windless surface that Christopher Columbus worried about his ships getting stuck. The biodiverse sanctuary within and beneath the sargassum produces Anguilla rostrata, the American eel. Each female lays some eight million eggs. The eggs hatch as ribbonlike larvae that drift to the Gulf Stream, which carries them to the continental shelf. By the time they reach Maine, the larvae have transformed into swimmers about the length of an index finger, with the circumference of a bean sprout and the translucence of a jellyfish. Hence their nickname, glass eels, also known as elvers. The glass eel is barely visible, but for a dark stripe—its developing backbone—and a couple of chia seeds for eyes. “Ghosts on the water,” a Maine fisherman once called them. Travelling almost as one, like a swarm or a murmuration, glass eels enter tidal rivers and push upstream, pursuing the scent of freshwater until, ideally, they reach a pond and commence a long, tranquil life of bottom-feeding. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:50
Conservative groups cleared to continue legal fight to protect whales from Biden-backed offshore wind farm
A coalition of conservative organizations have standing to continue fighting a Biden administration wind project in Virginia, a federal judge determined. However, U.S. District Judge Loren L. AliKhan of the District of Columbia, a Biden appointee, denied the plaintiff’s petition for a preliminary injunction to halt construction of the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project from going forward. The plaintiffs sued the Biden administration and Dominion Energy to protect the North Atlantic right whale under the Endangered Species Act. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:56
Cornwall Community funds new boat for 12-year-old fisherman
A boy who lost his fishing boat to a storm has bought a new one with the help of his community in Cornwall. Antony, 12, is a known entrepreneur in Cawsand who sells his catch of fish, crabs and lobsters on the beach. At the beginning of 2023, his boat was washed away during a storm – returning to the shore shattered. “He was really distressed that it was gone; really upset, really angry that it was broken and that was it,” his mum Michal said. The new boat was christened and named the Ocean Harvester 1. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:22
