Daily Archives: June 26, 2024
‘Dark day for fishery’; inshore advocates say lifting 32-year northern cod moratorium wrong way forward
DFO’s decision to lift the northern cod moratorium and unleash foreign and domestic offshore draggers on the iconic stock when all signs point to proceeding with extreme caution amounts to a dark day for the province’s commercial fisheries. “We have learned nothing after 32 years of moratorium,” says inshore advocate Ryan Cleary. “The only thing historic about today is the relentless fisheries management failure.” Released unexpectedly Wednesday morning, DFO’s 2024 northern cod management plan reestablishes a commercial fishery for northern cod, the first since 1992, setting the total allowable catch (TAC) at 18,000 tonnes. That’s only a 5,000-tonne increase from 2023’s maximum harvest level of 12,999 tonnes, but that was under a small-scale stewardship fishery limited to inshore handlines, longlines, gillnets, and cod pots. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:04
Lobster boats race in rain and fog in Bass Harbor
This year the big winner was Jeff Eaton’s La Bella Vita. The Northern Bay 38-foot, 815 horsepower vessel took first in its class and then topped the most competitive races of the day, Jon Johansen photos.
Drizzle, downpours and at times dense fog delayed but did not stop the roar of gas- and diesel-powered lobster boats racing through the harbor when the Maine Lobster Boat Races touched down in Bass Harbor on June 23. “It was an exciting day!” Race Committee Chairperson Elean Mitchell said, despite the cold, wet weather. “We handed out prizes during off-and-on downpours.” Douglas Cornman performed the blessing of the fleet at 9:45 a.m., with the first race starting around 10:30, Mitchell said. The 31st and final race finished just after noon. across the 31 races, with winners receiving $200 in prize money. Lobstermen race for bragging rights as much as prizes. The Maine Lobster Boat Races next land in Moosabec Reach in Jonesport on June 29 and Stonington on July 14. 7Photos, results, more, >>CLIC TO READ<< 10:35
End of cod moratorium touted after 32 years as Ottawa approves small increase in commercial catch
Thirty-two years after the federal government announced a moratorium that shut down Newfoundland and Labrador’s cod industry, Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier said Wednesday that it is reopening. But what the federal government described in a statement as the “historic return of the commercial northern cod fishery” will amount to just a small increase in fishing activity that had been allowed during the recent years of the moratorium. “Ending the northern cod moratorium is a historic milestone for Newfoundlanders and Labradorians,” Lebouthillier said in a statement. “We will cautiously but optimistically build back this fishery with the prime beneficiaries being coastal and Indigenous communities throughout Newfoundland and Labrador.” The Fisheries and Oceans announcement comes with political overtones. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:40
A fishing conglomerate created a fake company to facilitate a merger. It could now be on the hook for billions of dollars.
Commercial fishers are one of the professions that’s been nickeled-and-dimed in recent decades, right up there with long-haul truckers and chicken farmers. In New Bedford, Massachusetts, the most lucrative port for seafood catches in the country, a fisherman profiled by ProPublica in 2022 was forced to contract with one of the world’s seafood powerhouses, Blue Harvest, because it had become the only buyer in the local market. Per the contract, fishers have to lease fishing permits from the company; the costs for vessel maintenance, fuel, gear, and repairs on company-owned boats are taken out from fishers’ own paychecks, called settlement sheets. After fishing around the clock for ten days to meet quotas, Jerry Leeman only made 14 cents on the pound and his crew 7 cents, even as their haddock catch sold for $2.28 per pound at market. Blue Harvest took the lion’s share of earnings, while placing all the risks of the trade onto fishers. “Tell me how I can catch 50,000 pounds of fish yet I don’t know what my kids are going to have for dinner,” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:59
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 39′ x 15.5 Novi Lobster/ Gillnetter, 375HP, John Deere 8.1 Diesel
To review specifications, information, and 30 photos’, >click here< To see all the boats in this series, >click here< 06:59
Petersburg seiner overturns in Anita Bay; one crew member injured
A Petersburg seiner overturned just south of Wrangell in Anita Bay at about 10 a.m. this morning. Multiple entities responded – the U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Forest Service, and Wrangell Search and Rescue helped evacuate all five crewmembers aboard the 58-foot F/V Pamela Rae. The crew made it out unharmed, except for one person who sustained a minor injury. Lieutenant Matt Naylor, a spokesperson for the U.S. Coast Guard, said they don’t know what caused the Pamela Rae to overturn, but it could have been a mechanical problem. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:05
