Daily Archives: August 10, 2024
Gulf of Maine lobsters are experiencing a housing crisis
Lobster fishing has been a good business in the Gulf of Maine for a long time. With the exception of a few notable dips, both the landings and value of the catch have been on an upward swing for decades. Between 1984 and 2014, the lobster population in the Gulf of Maine jumped an estimated 515 percent, while simultaneously declining by 78 percent in southern New England as the water warmed in both regions. While it’s started to decline in recent years, numbers are still far higher than they were several decades ago. The result? A lobster housing crisis. “The warming sea temperatures have actually created a real sweet spot for lobster reproduction,” said Brian Skerry, a National Geographic photographer and producer on the recent GBH/PBS series Sea Change, which explores the impact of climate change on the Gulf of Maine. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 17:51
St. Mary Parish shrimpers raise concerns over the future of their industry
If you’re in the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway of St. Mary Parish, you may notice fewer shrimp boats out this year during Shrimp Season. I caught up with two shrimpers who told me why we don’t see as many people as we are used to working in this industry. Donald Ribardi had people coming and going all afternoon to purchase his shrimp at the dock in Berwick. He takes his boat “Mama D” out anywhere from two to three days a week. “Wherever it takes to go I mean all on the Gulf Coast, Vermillion Bay, along the gulf, back of Houma, Dulac, whatever it takes you know?” Ribardi said. “What’s hurting us right now is all that imported shrimp,” Ribardi said. “It’s a shame right now we gotta suffer over here and like I said people losing their homes. They don’t know when they’re gonna pay their next bill cause of them all imported.” Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:14
‘Huge disaster’: Historically weak pink salmon runs strain Alaska’s seine fishermen
Expectations were low this year for the pink salmon runs that power Prince William Sound’s commercial fishing industry. But no one expected them to be as bad as they’ve been. With just a few weeks left in the season, the sound’s seine fleet has harvested just one-fourth the number of pinks that it would have caught by now in a typical year. The small runs have forced 
managers to close fishing for longer periods than usual. And even during openers, fishermen are reporting abysmal harvests. Some have quit early. Others are thinking about new jobs.” It is incredibly slow,” said Megan Corazza, a Homer-based seine fisherman who has fished in the sound for more than two decades. “It is the worst year I have ever seen with my own operation.” It’s a big blow to an industry already reeling from a global market crisis that sent dock prices plummeting last year. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:31
Wind turbine blade on tractor-trailer hits Maine bridge, shutting down part of Route 1 for hours
Maine State Police officials say a section of Route 1 in the Mid-Coast region has temporarily reopened after a tractor-trailer transporting a wind turbine blade struck a railroad bridge in Stockton Springs, shutting down that part of the roadway for nearly 11 hours. Police said the tractor-trailer was hauling the wind turbine blade to Columbia when the crash happened at about 5:30 a.m. Friday. According to investigators, the driver of the tractor-trailer did not position the vehicle far enough into the left lane in order to clear the lower side of the train trestle, which crosses over Route 1. The wind turbine blade, which was mounted onto the trailer with large brackets, struck the trestle. The collision caused the truck and trailer carrying the blade to roll over, police said. Video, photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:41
