Daily Archives: August 27, 2024
Chatham Man Dies In Brewster Crash
Edward Footer is being remembered as the consummate Chatham commercial fisherman, the sort who would switch from gillnetting to clamming or another fishery as demand and opportunity dictated. “Everybody in the industry knew Eddie,” said fellow fisherman and neighbor Luther Bates. “He was very resourceful.” The 57-year-old West Chatham resident died Monday in a three-vehicle accident on Route 6 in Brewster. Friends said Mr. Footer was a hard worker who spent most of his time fishing and clamming, sometimes crewing with other fisherman, including his brother James, and sometimes working on his gillnetter Dorothy Ann, named for his mother. “He was down here every day,” said Wharfinger Craig Pennypacker, who supervises the town’s commercial fish pier. “Everybody down here is quite saddened.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 17:04
‘We’ve Been Steamrolled’: Fishermen Protest Offshore Wind Following Turbine Failure That Shed Debris Into Atlantic
Scores of fishermen took to the seas Sunday to protest offshore wind developments after a damaged wind blade scattered toxic debris off the coast of Massachusetts. The blade, a part of the Vineyard Wind development, broke on July 13, spilling Styrofoam, fiberglass and other debris, some of which ended up on Nantucket’s pristine beaches. The flotilla protested the effects of offshore wind on fish stocks and ocean navigation, with roughly 20 ships making a sixty-mile round trip from New Bedford, Massachusetts, to the site of the broken turbine, Jerry Leeman, CEO of the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) and captain of the fishing vessel Teresa Marie. “Vineyard Wind was supposed to be one of the premier offshore wind locations in the United States, and it failed before it even got started,” Leeman said. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:04
Vattenfall in conflict over compensation with Danish fishermen
Fisherman Jens ‘Buller’ Frich believes Vattenfall is acting “provocatively” with its demand.
A legal formality has created a deep rift between Danish fishermen and Swedish energy company Vattenfall,,, A demand that frustrates Thomas Rahbek Sloth, chairman of the association’s committee on marine environment and offshore installations. He calls it an “unnecessary bureaucratic process.” “Vattenfall is playing the fishermen against each other. The fishermen supported the turbines. We thought we were supposed to be partners. Now Vattenfall is acting provocatively. They want every single fisherman to seek compensation. That’s clever. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:56
Wind Power: Broken Blades and (Maybe) Green Gouging
Say what you will about wind turbines, the steampunk wing of our glorious renewable future, their most dramatic failures have an epic quality about them — the toppling, the crumpling, the buckling, the bits and pieces flying through the air. The owner-operators of the two farms — Equinor for Empire and Orsted for Sunrise — are two of the top five global wind-farm investors and operators. They presumably know what they are doing, have access to attractively priced capital, good supply chains, and so on. In the last week, there has been a lot of talk from Democrats about greedflation, a convenient myth. They might want to turn their attention to greenflation, which is not, and indeed to any evidence of “gouging,” another of their supposed concerns, in this area. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:28
Effort builds to save historic legacy of sardine carrier ‘Jacob Pike’
At one stretch in Maine’s maritime history, the sardine was as mighty as the lobster, a fishery that employed thousands along the coast. Sardine canneries were a common sight beside busy harbors, and carriers plied the Gulf of Maine, especially in the warmer months. Thomaston was in the thick of the industry, a boatbuilding hub for sturdy fishing vessels that included the Jacob Pike. “The sardine industry back in the days was a big deal, rivaling what lobsters are today,” said Rockport Marine owner Taylor Allen, who himself spent several years restoring and then relaunching in 2020 the William Underwood, a sardine carrier built in 1941. “A lot of real estate along the coast was bought up by captains back in the day.” The Jacob Pike, built in 1949 at the Newbert and Wallace yard in Thomaston, was in the thick of it all from launching day. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:41
