Daily Archives: July 12, 2024
Nantucket Group Fighting Vineyard Wind Will Take Case To U.S. Supreme Court
After its arguments against the Vineyard Wind project were rejected by a federal judge in April, the Nantucket group ACK 4 Whales will attempt to take its case to the U.S. Supreme Court. “There are no do-overs when the last whale is killed off,” said Val Oliver, president of ACK 4 Whales. “We will be seeking a writ of certiorari to the Supreme Court to ask for the reversal of the First Circuit’s legal errors made in our case,” Oliver added. “We believe this is the first cert. petition being filed in the wake of the Supreme Court’s decision in Loper Bright to challenge offshore wind development..” After its arguments against the Vineyard Wind project were rejected by a federal judge in April, the Nantucket group ACK 4 Whales will attempt to take its case to the U.S. Supreme Court. more. >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:45
Long Island Fisherman Sentenced for Role in Fisheries Fraud Conspiracy
A Long Island, New York, fisherman was sentenced yesterday to 30 months in prison and two years of supervised release for his role in a fisheries fraud conspiracy associated with his captainship of the trawler F/V New Age from 2014 to 2017. In October 2023, a jury convicted Christopher Winkler, of Montauk of one count of federal criminal conspiracy, two counts of mail fraud and two counts of obstruction of justice. On at least 200 fishing trips, Winkler targeted summer flounder (fluke) and black sea bass and harvested those fish in excess of quotas and state trip limits. He also falsified Fishing Vessel Trip Reports for those trips. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:45
Ocean Wise pulls eco-labels from southeast Alaskan salmon
Canada’s largest sustainable seafood label has pulled its recommendation for southeast Alaskan salmon fisheries amid ongoing claims they are intercepting millions of B.C.-bound fish before they reach endangered southern resident killer whales. Ocean Wise quietly delisted the Alaskan fisheries last week, and on Monday, sent emails to restaurants and grocery chains that sell the fish. The decision, which targets chinook, chum, coho, pink and sockeye salmon in Alaska’s District 104, comes within weeks of the Vancouver-based eco-label adding a handful of B.C. salmon fisheries to its sustainable list. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:47
Scientists plan climate engineering experiment in ocean off Cape Cod
Scientists from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution are seeking a federal permit to experiment in the waters off Cape Cod and see if tweaking the ocean’s chemistry could help slow climate change. If the project moves forward, it will likely be the first ocean field test of this technology in the U.S. But the plan faces resistance from both environmentalists and the commercial fishing industry. The scientists want to disperse 6,600 gallons of sodium hydroxide — a strong base — into the ocean about 10 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. Groups including the Stellwagen Bank Charter Boat Association, the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association and the Maine Department of Marine Resources have expressed concerns about, or outright opposition to the project. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:52
Meet One of Maine’s Youngest Lobstermen
A month after Tommy was born, his parents strapped him into a car seat and began bringing him on Seth’s lobsterboat,Irish Lady. “He’s always gone with me,” Seth said. “I did the same with my grandfather and father.” As he grew older, Tommy took to the work intuitively. He was banding lobster claws by age two and has helped steer the boat since he could walk, standing first on a bait barrel, then on a five-gallon bucket, and now on a milk crate. As soon as he was eligible, at age 8, he received a lobstering license entitling him to 10 traps; shortly after, his parents bought him his own boat. Today, he’s one of 84 licensed lobstermen aged 10 and under, according to the Maine Department of Marine Resources. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:47
Letter to Prime Minister Trudeau and Minister Lebouthillier Re: Northern Cod
Dear Prime Minister Trudeau and Minister Lebouthillier, We write today on a serious matter needing your attention. On behalf of 320,000 workers across the country, including more than 14,000 members of the Fish, Food and Allied Workers (FFAW) Union in Newfoundland and Labrador, we are calling on you to reverse a recent decision with respect to the northern cod moratorium. The decision to end the moratorium and grant access to corporate offshore interests flies in the face of what was committed by your government and decades of past fisheries management practice. We also are concerned with the impact this will have on a fishery that is still recovering. Your government must uphold its 2015 commitment to allocate the first 115,000 tonnes of northern cod quota to inshore harvesters and Indigenous groups and immediately reinstate the Northern cod stewardship fishery under the same conditions as 2023. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:53
Annual Blessing of the Fleet Returns to Stonington Borough
As Stonington has done for over 60 years, the St. Mary community will celebrate the annual Blessing of the Fleet. This is to honor present and past commercial fishermen, lobstermen and their families. The traditional celebration returns this year. The annual Blessing of the Fleet will take place beginning at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, July 28, at St. Mary Church in Stonington Borough to honor and remember those who have died at sea on our local commercial fishing fleet, as well as to honor and bless the vessels–along with their captains, owners, crews and families–that will go out to sea in the year ahead. Following the 10:30 Mass, a procession will take place through Stonington Borough that will include the statue of Saint Peter, the patron saint of fishermen. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:33
