Monthly Archives: February 2025

Halifax fisherman remembered after boat capsized

A Halifax fisherman is being remembered as one of the good ones. Phil Macinnis was one of the two men who died after the Fortune Pride capsized Friday off Sambro. In a show of support, a GoFundMe campaign has raised thousands of dollars to help his family. On the fundraiser’s page, organizer and best friend Brad Sullivan writes, “one of the hardest things in our fishing industry is losing good men to the sea.”  more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:38

Honesty in seafood labeling law advances in MS for restaurants. Here’s what’s next

Mississippi consumers would know whether their seafood and crawfish are domestic or foreign under a law the House unanimously passed Monday, months after two Biloxi businesses pleaded guilty in a federal case to selling foreign fish as Gulf fresh. The seafood labeling law expands a current state law that applies only to shrimp and crawfish served in restaurants. The proposed law makes it illegal in Mississippi for wholesalers, processors, retailers, restaurants and other food service establishments to represent foreign seafood and crawfish as domestic, either verbally or in writing. If the measure becomes law, Mississippi would join Louisiana and Alabama in requiring that seafood be labeled. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:36

Amid ongoing trade tensions, there’s still no timeline on N.L.’s Boston trade office

A new trade office recently announced by Newfoundland and Labrador Premier Andrew Furey to strengthen commercial relations with New England still isn’t off the ground, as a trade war looms with the United States. Furey announced in September that the provincial government would open a trade office in Boston, located inside the city’s Canadian consulate. Last week, Fisheries Minister Gerry Byrne said the Boston office will play a key role in the province’s navigation of the current economic climate. “One of the key roles of the Boston office [is to] constantly, constantly engage U.S. consumers, U.S. business groups, U.S. congressmen, [U.S.] influencers … to get them to tell the White House that Trump’s decisions are hurting Americans,” Byrne said, appearing on a segment of VOCM’s Open Line. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:29

Two more NJ Offshore Wind Setbacks push wind further away from the Jersey Shore

Offshore wind, one of the most debated topics along the Jersey Shore in 2024, is now facing significant challenges as the economic landscape grows more difficult and political uncertainty mounts. Following the results of the November 5 election and a continued challenge to the economics of offshore wind, a flurry of changes has emerged, signaling a shift in momentum for offshore wind projects in the state.  Offshore wind, one of the most debated topics along the Jersey Shore in 2024, is now facing significant challenges as the economic landscape grows more difficult and political uncertainty mounts. Following the results of the November 5 election and a continued challenge to the economics of offshore wind, a flurry of changes has emerged, signaling a shift in momentum for offshore wind projects in the state. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:44

NCFA Weekly Update for February 10, 2025 – Six Fisheries on the Chopping Block at Upcoming MFC Meeting

The North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) meets February 19th-21st to discuss and vote on cutting harvest, time closures, closing large areas, and even eliminating usable gears in six vital NC fisheries. Blue crab, false albacore, flounder, speckled trout, oysters, and clams. As there are so many issues being brought forward at this one meeting, I will try to give a quick overview of each species on the agenda and follow up with additional updates with more detailed information about each issue before the meeting. more, >>CLICKTO READ<< 20:40

Stricter lobster fishing rules scrapped after complaints from fishermen about harm to industry

Fishing industry regulators have decided to scrap stricter new lobster fishing standards off New England in the wake of months of protest from lobster fishermen that the rules were unnecessary and would bankrupt harvesters. The regulators were planning to institute new rules this summer that increased the minimum legal harvest size for lobsters in some of the most important fishing grounds in the world. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Council, which manages the fishery, said the changes were important to preserve the future of a lobster population that has shown recent signs of decline. Many commercial fishermen adamantly opposed the changes, which would have required them to throw back previously market-ready lobsters. Links, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:39

‘He was a legend, one of the best’: North Atlantic claims two N.S. fishermen

On Thursday evening, Jerome Wilson got a call from the sea. It was his friend, Capt. John Baker. The Fortune Pride had a full load of silver hake aboard and was steaming for Riverport. “He hadn’t been in Riverport for a while, so he was going to wait until morning and steam up the river in the light,” remembered Wilson, who does mechanical work on fishing boats. “Wanted me to meet him there, check a few things over. He was happy. There was no indication he expected trouble.” “I’ve never felt a pain like this in my life,” said Rejeanne Hollett on Sunday, who went from planning her wedding to crewman Phil MacInnis on Thursday morning to planning his funeral that evening. “I would give anything to have him back. Anything.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:19

Hurricane DOGE Sweeps into the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) has been actively involved in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, embracing them tightly during the last 4 years.  This is the federal agency responsible for e federal agency for forecasting the weather, researching and analyzing climate data. and tracking storms. So, it is a little perplexing that the staff was distracted by social justice initiatives, rather than the meteorological science American expected them to focus on. Now the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), led by Elon Musk, has gained access to NOAA’s IT systems and is currently reviewing the agency’s DEI program after having been initially denied entry. Links, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:17

California loves Dungeness crab. But concerns over whale safety have put the industry in peril

The Dungeness crab season had opened just a few weeks earlier, two months behind schedule, and was off to a slow start. “We’re working very hard to basically get nothing,” said Ogg. Early on a Thursday in late January, Ogg readied his 54-foot fiberglass boat, the Karen Jeanne, for a 16-hour day of hauling 200 crab pots. It was barely 4:30 a.m. at the Spud Point Marina, and Ogg’s crew, Bradlee Titus, 34, and Axel Bjorklund, 22, both multi-generational fishermen, prepared the deck by washing equipment, filling water buckets and packing jars with bait — a stinky, oily mashup of mackerel and squid. At the helm, Ogg tracked water currents and the weather forecast as he moved the boat out of Bodega Bay, past Point Reyes toward the Farallon Islands and San Francisco skyline. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:09

N.B.’s favourite seafood threatened by Trump: lobster industry

Fishermen would be forced to swallow a depressed price for their catch and processors would have a lot less work, shaking up a commercial enterprise that employs about 5,000 New Brunswickers on boats and another 5,000 in seafood plants. Behind the scenes, the lobster lobby is working feverishly to convince officials in the White House administration and other top Republican officials that imposing a 25 per cent tariff on seafood would be a big mistake for American consumers already reeling from the higher cost of living. The lobster market has long been deeply integrated between Canada and the United States and would be badly wounded by a trade war between the two nations. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 19:53

Fire at Sand Point Trident plant halts operations, leaves locals without fuel

Sand Point is without access to fuel after a fire broke out at the local Trident Seafoods plant. The fire started early Thursday morning, pausing the processor’s operations, including its fuel sales, which the small eastern Aleutian community relies on. Sand Point Police Chief Benjamin Allen said the lack of fuel is the biggest concern at the moment. “Nobody can get gas right now,” Allen said. “[Trident] has to get clearance from the Coast Guard before they can start the gas pumps back up again.” “During the incident, their generator threw a connecting rod out the side of the engine block and it ruptured the fuel line to the generator,” Allen said. “And there was a good bit of diesel on the surface of the water that Trident’s been cleaning up.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:28

Seafood-testing campaign ahead of Super Bowl raises awareness of foreign shrimp

A new round of genetic seafood testing conducted for a state advisory panel detected foreign shrimp that was falsely presented as domestic in a small percentage of the restaurants sampled in New Orleans, despite a new state law that forbids the practice. SeaD Consulting, a Houston, Texas, company, made headlines last year when it detected mostly foreign shrimp served at the Louisiana Shrimp and Petroleum Festival in Morgan City. It announced Monday that it tested seafood at 24 randomly selected restaurants ahead of Super Bowl LIX and found three had served foreign, farm-raised shrimp while billing their catch as local. “Customers deserve to know exactly what they’re eating, and our shrimping communities must be able to trust that restaurants using local shrimp imagery and language are genuinely selling that product,” Louisiana Shrimp Task Force member Andrew Blanchard said in a statement. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:42

In memory of Martin “Skooky” Parsons

Martin Parsons, born Nov. 6, 1937, in Cordova, Alaska, passed away peacefully on Jan. 11, 2025, in Kirkland Washington, at the age of 87 where he lived a “Hell of a life!” He was known affectionately as “Skooky,” a nickname given by the Arvidson family when he was a kid, which stuck with him throughout his life. He was loved, cherished, and respected by his family and countless friends.  Born of Scandinavian and Aleut descent, he was the son of Martin and May Parsons. Skooky lived in Alice Cove, grew up in Cordova, and graduated from Cordova High School. Following his education, he enlisted in the Army before returning to Cordova to pursue a career as a commercial fisherman. He spent many years gillnetting on the Copper River Flats and seining in Prince William Sound, embodying the hardworking spirit of Alaska’s fishing community. He was well known for his “marker sets” in Castle, or “round hauling” dogs in Sheep Bay. By Martin Parsons, Jr. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:04

F.V. Fortune Pride: Company owner identifies two N.S. fishermen who died after boat capsized off coast

The captain who died when a fishing boat capsized off the coast of eastern Nova Scotia on Thursday was an experienced fisherman who was returning to harbour with a full catch on board, says the vessel’s owner. Jose Teixeira, owner of the 18-metre F/V Fortune Pride, confirmed Saturday that John Allen Baker was the captain who died, and in a later email he identified deckhand Phil MacInnis as the second fisherman who didn’t survive after the Fortune Pride overturned. Teixeira said during an interview that the two other deckhands on board had been released from hospital, adding that when he saw them “they were in a state of shock, but they seemed to be (physically) fine.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:23

Western Flyer scheduled to make historic expedition 85 years after Steinbeck and Ricketts

The historic Western Flyer will return to the Gulf of California this spring, marking 85 years since the famous expedition with John Steinbeck, Ed Ricketts and their crew. Local scientists, educators and conservationists will team up to study the Gulf of California’s ecosystems, exchange knowledge and brainstorm new ideas to protect the marine world. The expedition starts at 3 p.m. March 16, departing from Old Fisherman’s Wharf. The send-off celebration will mark nearly 85 year to the day since the now-famous journey that inspired the book ‘Sea of Cortez. ’more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:04

Judge allows Maine lobstermen’s lawsuit over ‘red listing’ to advance

After almost two years in limbo, a defamation lawsuit Maine lobstering groups filed against a California aquarium can move forward, a federal judge ruled Friday. The Maine Lobsterman’s Association, the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association and three lobster businesses sued the Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation in 2023 after the organization’s Seafood Watch program put lobster on a “red list” of seafood consumers should avoid. The Monterey Bay Aquarium Foundation argued that it has a right to make its rating based on Maine’s free speech laws. But U.S. District Judge John Woodcock disagreed. Maine lobstermen have said that the red listing not only is false but also has caused significant economic harm to them and the Maine lobster brand. Companies like Whole Foods, Hello Fresh and Blue Apron subsequently pulled Gulf of Maine lobster from their menus, in line with Seafood Watch’s allegations. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:42

LETTER: A possible solution to tariffs and the snow crab fishery by Barry Darby and Helen Forsey

In regard to the current discussions around the crab fishery as it faces potential U.S. tariffs, we want to suggest a solution. Both the Fish Food and Allied Workers union and the Association of Seafood Processors acknowledge that the threat of those tariffs creates significant challenges around developing a price-setting formula and setting wharf prices. The tariffs pose a risk that the harvest and processing might be severely disrupted, with serious impacts on all involved. We have been studying and observing this harvest and processing for decades, and this year it is especially difficult. Our suggestions are that for the 2025 season, harvesters and processors would agree to the following: more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:23

Offshore wind farm areas ‘reduced’ following campaign by fishing sector

In what will be seen as a victory for fishermen, various alterations (reductions) have been made to offshore wind farm concessions. The Ericeira area has been removed from the Offshore Renewable Energy Allocation Plan (PAER), while the northern part of the Viana do Castelo area has been reduced and the southern area removed altogether. “As a result of the weighting carried out, the need to reduce the impact on fishing activity and the environment was recognised,” says the document published today in state gazette Diário da República – pointing out that “the area north of Viana do Castelo has been reduced, the area south of Viana do Castelo has been eliminated, the Leixões area has been adjusted slightly, and the Ericeira area has been eliminated”.Links, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:57

2 crew members dead after fishing boat capsizes near Halifax, 2 others released from hospital

Two crew members are dead after their fishing boat capsized late Thursday off Halifax amid four-metre waves and strong winds. Two others who were pulled from the frigid waters after the 18-metre Fortune Pride foundered have been released from hospital. Jose Teixeira, whose company owns the vessel, confirmed in a brief interview that Capt. John Allen Baker was one of the deceased. He said the vessel’s deckhand also died. Three crew members were pulled from the water on Thursday night and one at 11:30 a.m. AT Friday, according to Kelsey Marshall of the Canadian Coast Guard.Video,  more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 19:23

UPDATE: Fourth crew member rescued off N.S. coast after fishing vessel capsizes

The fourth and final missing crew member has been recovered and is being flown to hospital in Halifax after an 18-metre fishing vessel capsized off the coast of Nova Scotia Thursday night. In a Friday morning update, Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) Halifax said the crew member was found in a life raft by search and rescue technicians and was unresponsive when taken onboard a Cormorant helicopter. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:45

US taxpayer funds went to foreign competition for domestic shrimpers

Fishermen and shrimpers in the United States have been in a decades-long battle with the very institutions meant to protect them, specifically the U.S. Treasury Department and its World Bank delegation. U.S. trade law bars the support of competing industries in which there is excess supply. Despite such laws, U.S. taxpayers spent two decades funding “aquaculture” projects in Vietnam, India, Ecuador and Indonesia, countries that now supply the overwhelming majority of shrimp to U.S. consumers. “There’s a law on the books that requires the United States, their directors that are at these international financial institutions, to use their voice and vote to oppose any project that where there’s a commodity that’s produced in surplus and where export to the United States would seriously injure a domestic industry,” Nathan Rickard, a trade lawyer who represents the Southern Shrimp Alliance,,, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:45

1 person missing, 3 others brought to shore after fishing boat capsizes near Halifax

One person is missing and three have been brought to shore after a fishing vessel capsized near Halifax Thursday night. The vessel in question is the 18-metre Fortune Pride. The Joint Rescue Coordination Centre in Halifax said Friday that it responded to an emergency beacon at around 10 p.m. The location of the beacon was approximately 18 kilometres southeast of Sambro, N.S. Two coast guard vessels, the CCGS Hare Bay and the CCGS Sir William Alexander, were involved in the rescue efforts, in addition to a Cormorant helicopter and a Hercules fixed-wing aircraft, said the JRCC. The JRCC said the CCGS Hare Bay “recovered” three people, two conscious and the third unconscious. They were all taken to hospital. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:08

Low stock numbers usher in a ‘devastating’ Dungeness crab season

One month after the Dungeness crab season opened on the Central Coast, Santa Cruz fishers are grappling with an extremely low number of crabs. “It’s devastating,” said fisher Valerie Phillips, who splits her time fishing out of Santa Cruz and Half Moon Bay harbors. She said she and her crew, which includes her husband, father and a crew member, have caught only about a third of what they would normally catch in a season. “We’re talking about pulling the pots already. We’re probably going to switch to our next fishery.” “It’s a down year up and down the coast, even in Oregon,” said Tim Obert, a Santa Cruz-based fisher with more than 25 years of experience. “In the Santa Cruz area and Monterey Bay, there’s almost nothing.” Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:02

Fish harvester says possible tariffs leave N.L.’s fishery with a lot of uncertainty

A pause in the tariff dispute with the United States is not bringing any comfort to Lee Melindy. “We’ve got to have fishing, we’ve got to have processors, and we got a company to send it into the States,” he said. “Those are all a circle. And if one of those pieces of the circle falls apart, it is detrimental on the rest of it.” Melindy is a fish harvester based in Lumsden, N.L. He’s a full-time crew member, deck boss and helps his father — the enterprise owner — in the wheelhouse. It’s been almost 30 years since he first entered the fishery, and he’s seen a lot of changes.  “Over the years, I mean, we’ve had uphill battles and we’ve been good and whatnot, but when you’re looking at a possible four years, it could be very serious into the operating of an enterprise,” he said. This week, U.S. president Donald Trump said he would put a hold on his proposed 25 per cent tariffs on Canadian goods for 30 days. With that, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau paused Canada’s counter-tariffs. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<<07:30

Elon, it’s time to sic the DOGE on BOEM, and NMFS By Jim Lovgren

The Trump administration has begun a long overdue financial analysis of the spending habits of federal agencies, looking to weed out waste, fraud, incompetence, bureaucratic overlap of different agencies, and unnecessary regulations. To do this he has recruited Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, who earned his wealth by his shear brilliance, to lead a new agency, called DOGE, Department of Governmental Efficiency. While there are plenty of federal departments that need cleaning up, or elimination, let’s hope that Elon doesn’t overlook BOEM and the NMFS. Let’s start with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the agency that cavalierly sells the ocean bottom and its non-renewable resources to the highest bidder. This is an agency that has always been surrounded by controversy and corruption so bad that they had to change their name years ago from the Marine Minerals Service to its present BOEM. More, >>CLICK TO READ<< 18:57

Fishers Make the Most of a Better Crab Season

The rain is misting over Woodley Island Marina’s Dock B, where the F/V Jenna Lee is moored. Kristen Pinto, in a bright yellow slicker, pulls three Dungeness crabs from the trickling bin on the deck of the adjacent home-built pontoon boat from which the Pinto family sells to the public as Jenna Lee’s Seafood. “It’s been a little slower,” she says, lifting a half shrug and noting the strained economy and higher price of crab — $8 per pound — have kept some away. “They’re a nice size and all, but it adds up. A nice size crab can be $20.” The jump in price from last year has been a boon for crab fishers who’ve been stuck selling their hard-won catches for less and less over shortened seasons in recent years. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 17:43

N.B. lobster processors living with uncertainty as clock ticks on U.S. tariffs reprieve

Lobster processors in New Brunswick are relieved that U.S. tariffs on Canadian imports have been postponed, but there is still a possibility they will be implemented in March, creating anxiety in the industry. “That’s the frustrating bit,” Nat Richard, executive director of the Lobster Processors Association in the region, said. “It just extends the uncertainty, which is not great for business for sure.” The United States is by far the largest consumer of Canadian lobster. The concern for the lobster industry extends into the United States, as well. Chellie Pingree, the Democratic congresswoman for Maine’s 1st district, said lobster often goes back and forth between the two countries for processing. While diversification of markets is something Richard supports, he said it won’t be simple.”We’re not going to walk away from the U.S. market, whether this is a tariff or not,” said Richard.  more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:21

Interior Department Cancels Wind Project Meetings Following Trump’s Order

The first demonstration of the new Trump administration’s efforts to derail the offshore wind energy sector emerged as the Department of Interior began reversing steps taken in the last days of the Biden administration. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management canceled meetings for the review of an offshore wind project while the Department of the Interior highlighted that it was taking “steps to streamline processes that will enhance efficiency and innovation.” BOEM announced it was canceling the virtual public meetings scheduled by the Biden administration to begin comments and review of the Construction and Operations Plan submitted by Vineyard Mid-Atlantic. The first meeting had been scheduled for February 6, followed by sessions on February 11 and 19 for comments on the plan. It, however, noted that written comments could still be submitted before the March 3 deadline. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:19

Democrats accuse DOGE of going after NOAA

Democratic lawmakers on Wednesday accused Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) of improperly inserting itself into the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). In a joint statement, Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) and Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) said Musk’s cost-cutting group of accessing NOAA’s computer systems. NOAA is charged with forecasting weather, monitoring atmospheric conditions and mapping the seas, among other things. “Elon Musk and his DOGE hackers are ransacking their way through the federal government, unlawfully gaining unfettered access to Americans’ private information and gutting programs people depend on,” said Huffman and Lofgren, the top Democrats on the House Natural Resources and Science, Space and Technology committees, respectively. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:57

Emergency Dredging in the Works for Montauk Inlet

Finally. After years of effort, accelerated recently because of dangerous conditions, the inlet at Lake Montauk will undergo emergency dredging, perhaps by the end of the month. At the East Hampton Town Board meeting on Tuesday, Councilman David Lys announced the development during his liaison reports, saying he was “very pleasantly surprised.” “This is the greatest indication that we will have some temporary relief there,” he told the board. The United States Army Corps of Engineers posted a public notice to its website Monday announcing the project that will remove shoals down to a depth of 12 feet below the mean low-water level (plus an allowable two feet over depth), and place 10,500 cubic yards of dredged sand on the beach immediately west of the inlet. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:22