Daily Archives: December 30, 2024
NCFA Weekly Update for December 30, 2024
NCFA BOARD AND STAFF WISH YOU AND YOURS A VERY SAFE AND HAPPY NEW YEAR! Oyster and Clam FMP Public Comment,,, The Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) is recommending phasing out mechanical clam harvest (clam kicking) and closing large areas to mechanical oyster harvest in their latest oyster and clam fishery management plan (FMP) update. Public comment is open and advisory committee meetings are scheduled starting next week. Clam FMP- The biggest change DMF recommends for mechanical clam harvest is to phase out clam kicking in three years unless the number of participants in the fishery increases to 10 and landings exceed 1 million clams. If participants and landings increase to the threshold, the Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) will reconsider the phase out at their May 2027 business meeting. More details can be found at the links below. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:45
UHI Shetland pays tribute to ‘greatly missed’ Ian Napier
Dr Napier, who worked as a senior fisheries policy advisor, was found in the water at Scousburgh on Saturday morning after being reported missing. UHI Shetland said its staff were “devastated” by the loss of their colleague. It said Dr Napier was a “well-respected scientist in his field”, as well as a “valued member of the marine science team”. Shetland Fishermen’s Association chairman James Anderson also paid tribute to Dr Napier, calling him a stalwart supporter of the local fishing industry. “Ian was passionate in his support of fishing, and literally wrote the book on Shetland’s fishing history,” he said. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:59
Jimmy Carter, the 39th US president, has died at 100
Jimmy Carter, the peanut farmer who won the presidency in the wake of the Watergate scandal and Vietnam War, endured humbling defeat after one tumultuous term and then redefined life after the White House as a global humanitarian, has died. He was 100 years old. The longest-lived American president died on Sunday, roughly 22 months after entering hospice care, at his home in the small town of Plains, Georgia, where he and his wife, Rosalynn, who died at 96 in November 2023, spent most of their lives, The Carter Center said. “My faith demands — this is not optional — my faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can, with whatever I have to try to make a difference,” Carter once said. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:46
Winners and losers – but no real surprises on 2025 UK fishing TACs
The UK minister with responsibility for fisheries, food security minster Daniel Zeichner, greeted the 2025 TAC agreement with the EU in what is now time-honoured style: a Defra press release that could have been written in any year since Brexit. The release welcomed the agreement, pointing out that the 150,000t of quota agreed for the UK was 10% higher than in 2024, with a value, if fully caught, of £360m, on top of additional fishing opportunities already agreed with Norway and NEAFC states. “From these three negotiating forums,” the Defra statement said, “the UK has gained up to 120,000t more quota from the 2025 annual negotiations than it would have as an EU member state.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:02
2024 in review: Major milestones and epic failures mark offshore wind industry
Offshore wind did reach major milestones in 2024, with “steel in the water” at four projects. But due to an unexpected failure at sea off the Massachusetts coast, the country remains under one gigawatt of operating offshore wind power — a long way from its 2030 goal. The expected 800-megawatt contribution from Vineyard Wind 1 didn’t happen, in large part due to a catastrophic blade failure over the summer that made headlines and brought the 62-turbine project and its partial power generation to a halt. Despite this incident — and the re-election of Donald Trump, a vocal critic of offshore wind — the industry celebrated breakthroughs and earned significant investments this year, both locally and nationally. In Massachusetts, officials remain bullish. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:31
