Daily Archives: November 30, 2024
What happened to the 3,000 pounds of haddock seized in a fish-plant bust?
Acting Colonel Patrick Moran of the Massachusetts Environmental Police had a problem: 3,000 pounds of confiscated haddock on the New Bedford waterfront. The law against undersized catch had been enforced, but now what? Out of a total load of 11,000 pounds that came off the boat, the seized fish had come up short of the required 16-inch length, Moran said at the time. Seized on Thursday, June 20, as Moran was making rounds of local fish processing houses, there it sat in a plant that the MEP declined to name. He knew Shelley Edmundson, a founding member and executive director of the Martha’s Vineyard Fishermen’s Preservation Trust, a nonprofit devoted to sustaining the island’s fishing culture. He made a call. His timing could have been better, and it could have been worse. But, this big load of haddock would be complicated, she said. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:54
Carmichael leads backbench fisheries debate
Isles MP Alistair Carmichael has called for he termed “the modern gangsters of the sea” to be tackled more effectively by the UK’s marine enforcement agencies. His comments came after a German registered/Spanish owned gill netter, well known to local fishermen, were handed heavy fines by an Irish court for breaching fisheries legislation. The Orkney and Shetland MP led a three hour fisheries debate in parliament on Friday, which raised a wide range of issues important to the sector. Carmichael described the F/V Pesorsa Dos and [French long liner] F/V Antonio Maria as “notorious examples” engaged in dangerous behaviour towards local fishing vessels in the waters around Shetland in recent years. However, efforts by the local industry and the Northern Isles MP to get Marine Scotland, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) as well as the UK Government to act were largely unsuccessful. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:51
A lobster season Q&A: Supply and demand, price volatility and challenges in markets
It’s never smooth sailing for the Atlantic Canada lobster industry. Each year there are issues and challenges to contend with. The weather and catches are beyond anyone’s control. But the one constant is how important this industry is economically to the region, and to the communities that rely on it. Tasked with such things as marketing and advocacy of the industry is the Lobster Council of Canada. In this Q&A, the council’s executive director, Geoff Irvine, talks about the industry, the upcoming lobster season in southwestern Nova Scotia, and the challenges that continue to stack up on the menu. Q: How does the fall opening of the LFA 33 and 34 districts look in comparison to previous seasons? more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:28
Beloved MS Coast Hall of Fame shrimper remembered as kind, humble and ‘full of grace’
Day after day, Richard Kopszywa shrimped from his old wooden boat named F/V Linda K, and carefully repaired it so the vessel still ran after decades. “He used to tell me, ‘If I can’t shrimp or if I can’t get out on the water, I think I will probably just die,” his wife, Shelley Kopszywa, said. “It was in his veins.” Now, his family is grieving after authorities found Kopszywa near Deer Island last week, two days after his wife reported him missing and the Coast Guard found the Linda K empty, five miles from shore. Shelley Kopszywa said she believes her husband died doing what he loved, so she is at peace. Kopszywa was humble, his wife said, and probably would not have liked all this attention. But she loves him too much to listen. He was the kind of man who helped her down the steps, she said, and always opened the door for her. “Full of grace,” she said. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:47
