Daily Archives: September 5, 2024
Layoffs at Connors Bros. seafood plant ‘punch in the gut’ for community
Connors Bros., a leading supplier of canned herring and a major employer in southwestern New Brunswick, is laying off 20 per cent of its workers, the company announced Thursday. The plant in Blacks Harbour, near St. George, employs up to 450 people, depending on the season. A Connors spokesperson did not respond when asked exactly how many people had been laid off. A news release from the company blames the federal government’s July decision to cut the herring quota in the Bay of Fundy. “We’ve been operating in this community for over 130 years and this is a heartbreaking decision, but it’s necessary to keep our plant viable moving forward,” Connors Bros. general Manager Chad Baum said in the release. A southwest New Brunswick fishing association is warning of tumble-down effects on the lobster fishery this fall after the herring quota reduction. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 19:00
PWS, Cook Inlet sockeye catch exceeded harvest projections
As the sockeye salmon harvest season comes to a close, only Bristol Bay, Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet surpassed their pre-season predictions, with harvests of 31.1 million, 3.1 million and 2 million reds respectively. Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound were also the only two regions to show year-over-year growth and exceeding harvest projections, says Simon Marks, a research analyst for McKinley Research Group in Juneau, who writes the weekly in-season commercial wild Alaska salmon report on behalf of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. While Bristol Bay has already surpassed the pre-season sockeye prediction by 19%, year-to-date harvest remains 23% behind 2023, Marks said on Aug. 27. Initial predictions for the 2025 season indicate an expected harvest of 32.4 million fish, a 2.8% gain if realized. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 16:26
Icelandic fishing company Thorbjörn, based in the volcano-stricken port of Grindavík, to split up
The company operates two factory trawlers and one fresher trawler, as well as having a new vessel under construction at a Spanish shipyard. Thorbjörn’s shore-based processing was halted this summer to the situation on Grindavík, with intermittent volcanic activity taking place sometimes within metres of the town’s outskirts. Grindavík was evacuated earlier this year, and residents have moved to other communities in Iceland, although some commercial activity remains in the town and around the harbour areas, subject to restrictions. According to the company, the aim of this restructuring is to put the focus on vessel operations, and to make more effective use of operational finance and fishing opportunities. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:21
Turbine blade fails on Dogger Bank installation
Reports of the failure of a 107m long wind turbine blade during commissioning of the Dogger Bank wind farm – the world’s largest – have been confirmed by the operators. They remain tight- lipped, however, about any detail of the incident. The blade was built by GE Vernova, and is of the same design as the one that failed spectacularly in the Vineyard Wind development off the east coast of the USA in July, where thousands of sharp fragments of the blade washed up on nearby tourist beaches, leading to them being closed for several days during an emergency clean-up. Last week’s incident on the Dogger Bank was the third for this particular type of blade in three months. An earlier failure at the same site in May was, said GE Vernova at the time, ‘the result of an installation failure’. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:44
All NL MPs Supported Breaking Historical Agreement for Northern Cod, Injunction Documents Show
Documents submitted by the Government of Canada as part of the federal injunction filed by FFAW-Unifor in July show that all Liberal MPs in the province supported breaking the longstanding agreement on Northern cod to allow offshore draggers access while the stock remains in the cautious zone. “Documents are quickly coming in from DFO staffers via the federal court process. What we’ve seen thus far is a Liberal caucus of NL politicians who supported breaking the 40-plus year agreement to our province – and while it’s certainly not shocking at this point, it should be a real eye opener to the people of our province who elected these individuals to office,” says FFAW-Unifor Greg Pretty. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:30
Bluffton mayor’s shrimp boat saved after capsizing off coast of Hilton Head Island
Larry Toomer was guided by a feeling when he sailed his shrimp boat off the coast last weekend. “It was a feeling that I needed to go there, and I was right,” Toomer said. “We found the shrimp.” Then misfortune found the longtime shrimper and mayor of Bluffton. A cable snapped Sept. 1 as Toomer and his friend lifted a heavy net of shrimp and jellyfish onto their boat, the Red Baron. The shrimp had to be thrown back to sea before the 25-foot fiberglass boat could sail onward. Toomer had just pushed the last of the haul off the side when a large rogue wave hit and overtook the vessel’s stern. There was too much water for the two men to bail out. Their only option was to get the boat as close to the Hilton Head beach as possible even as it began to capsize. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:23
Safety Warning Issued After Fatal Incident onboard F/V Kingfisher
A safety warning has been issued to fishing vessel owners and crew following a tragic incident aboard the potting vessel Kingfisher (DH110), resulting in the loss of one life. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) has released a bulletin urging those involved in the fishing industry to reassess deck risk assessments, particularly focusing on the hazards associated with shooting or recovering creels. On 12 July 2024, the crew of Kingfisher were engaged in manually shooting a string of creels when a deckhand became entangled in a creel’s leg rope. On 12 July 2024, the crew of Kingfisher were engaged in manually shooting a string of creels when a deckhand became entangled in a creel’s leg rope. The entanglement caused the deckhand to be pulled overboard. Upon entering the water, his personal flotation device (PFD) inflated as designed. The crew swiftly used the vessel’s hauling winch to recover the submerged deckhand within seven minutes.more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:07
