Daily Archives: December 15, 2024
Researcher urges caution on rock lobster catch limit increase
Seafood industry players say they will welcome an increase in catch limits for rock lobster and Pacific bluefin tuna if a proposal by the Oceans and Fisheries Minister gets the green light. However, a researcher is warning that increasing catch limits for rock lobsters is too risky. Oceans and Fisheries Minister Shane Jones has reviewed catch limits for spiny red rock lobster in the Hauraki Gulf, Coromandel and Bay of Plenty region, known as CRA 2, as well as Otago or CRA 7, and for Pacific bluefin tuna in TOR 1 (all of New Zealand). Consultation opened on Friday. The rock lobster fisheries were valuable for the economy and culturally, Jones said. “The fisheries provide jobs, bring significant export income for New Zealand, and are popular with recreational fishers. It’s important that we strike the right balance between getting the most value possible from these fisheries while ensuring their sustainability. This is reflected in the proposals.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:52
Man charged with having stolen fishing trawler in Greencastle
A man has appeared in court charged with handling a stolen fishing trawler in Donegal. David Paterson appeared at a sitting of Buncrana District Court. The 48-year-old Scottish national was charged in connection with the alleged incident at Greencastle Pier, Greencastle on November 22, 2024. Paterson is charged that he did handle stolen property, to wit a fishing vessel, namely the ‘Linda Louise’ knowing the property was stolen or were reckless as to whether it was stolen. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:38
Frankenfish ‘culled’ – Financial collapse kills AquaBounty salmon plans
Score one for Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska. AquaBounty Technologies, the Massachusetts-based company that claimed to have found “a better way to feed the world” with a genetically modified, faster-growing salmon, has gone bust. Always a faithful booster of Alaska’s commercial fishing industry, which saw genetically engineered (GE) fish yet another threat in market that has been running away from Alaska for a couple decades, Murkowski had branded the company’s salmon “Frankenfish” and spent years trying to get the federal government to ban it. She never succeeded in the regulatory arena, but victory appears to now have come thanks to in part to the public relations war she waged. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:52
BOEM admits potentially irreversible harm to whales, fisheries, and seabirds
A government regulator recognizing offshore wind’s destructive environmental effects is as rare as a North Atlantic right whale. But a recent, 600-plus page report from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) admits that the offshore wind development planned for the New York Bight, the triangular area bordered by the New Jersey and Long Island coastlines may irreversibly harm whales, commercial and recreational fisheries, and seabirds. The BOEM report is the agency’s first to evaluate the cumulative impacts of offshore wind development. Its authors cite a wide range of potential effects, from negligible (or even beneficial) to major. Acknowledging potentially “major” harms is a radical departure from the agency’s previously accepted Environmental Impact Statements for offshore wind projects, which have always focused on the impacts of individual projects, rather than the cumulative impacts of multiple projects. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:28
