Daily Archives: February 9, 2025
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
