Daily Archives: December 20, 2024
Nova Scotia against proposal to reallocate commercial elver quota
“We just don’t agree,” Houston said about Ottawa’s proposal, which he called a shining example of the government’s “inability to properly understand and manage the fishery. It’s been communicated to them that we are not a fan of what they are trying to do there.” The elver fishery in the Maritimes has been tainted in recent years by drama and violence because of how profitable it is — the baby eels had reached market values as high as about $5,000 per kilogram in recent years. Under the proposed pilot allocation, the federal Fisheries Department is offering licences to 120 fishers currently employed by commercial licence holders, granting them 27 per cent of the overall quota. A further 1.5 per cent would be allocated to licences offered to 30 fishers who currently catch adult eels. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:49
Tension grows among Bay Area crab fishermen to find whale-safe alternative crabbing methods
State regulators say the prevalence of marine life including humpback whales is too high for crab fishing to begin. Now there’s a growing tension among crab fishermen about alternative methods of whale-safe fishing to offset the losses of increasingly shortened seasons. Dick Ogg is a crab fisherman who also spends countless hours driving up and down the coast, advocating for others in the business without getting paid. Fishing is in the 72-year-old’s veins. Between calls with regulators and industry decision makers, Ogg prepares his own crab pots, employing just two deckhands who work in the side-yard of his home to save costs. But the Bodega Bay resident is concerned about a years-long push to promote high-tech “pop-up” fishing gear as the solution for whale-safe harvesting in the spring after the season ends. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:26
Fishing advocates alarmed at offshore wind development
The Massachusetts Fishermen’s Partnership is urging lawmakers to reconsider the Gulf of Maine Offshore Wind Lease because of its effect on marine life, ecosystems and fishing communities. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management held a lease sale in the fall and selected nearly $22 million in winning bids from two businesses to develop wind power in four lease areas off the coast of New England. Gloucester’s Angela Sanfilippo, executive director of the Massachusetts Fishermen’s Partnership and president of the Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association, wants to sound the alarm not only among lawmakers but the public as well, questioning who really benefits from this move. “It is with a broken heart that I am sending this message,” she said. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:49
With right-wing backing, New England offshore wind opponents gain strength
Jerry Leeman III is a fifth generation Maine fisherman and looks the part: broad shoulders, muscular hands, scraggly black beard with streaks of gray. Sitting at the head of an empty boardroom table in his South Portland office, he rails against the buildout of offshore wind currently getting underway in the Northeast. Leeman has read the government’s environmental assessments, and he’s heard scientific experts say turbines won’t destroy the marine ecosystem — but he doesn’t trust them. Plenty of fishermen in the Northeast feel they’re being squeezed out of existence by federal regulations and offshore wind development. But Leeman has a bigger platform than most. He founded and now leads the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association, better known as NEFSA. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:18
