Daily Archives: April 8, 2025
Long-Running Sea Scallop Survey Diversifies for the Future
Our sea scallop survey has been providing data on population status since 1979. Over that time, the stock has recovered from very low levels to a population large enough to support one of the nation’s most valuable single-species fisheries. The status of the population isn’t the only thing that’s changed. Increasingly sophisticated ways to track sea scallop populations have come along. We have adapted and diversified our survey methods to take advantage of them. While we started with one vessel surveying the entire area with a dredge. The area is now divided among our science center and several partners, including the sea scallop industry. They use both dredges and optical (photographic) instruments deployed from research and commercial scallop vessels. All these data are used for stock assessments and for quota setting. Photos, links, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:08
Save LBI Petitions Federal Agencies to Create a Safe Migration Corridor from Georgia to Maine to Save the North Atlantic Right Whale from Extinction
Save LBI, the non-partisan organization dedicated to protecting our oceans from the destructive impacts of offshore wind projects, has filed a petition urging the U.S. Department of Commerce (DOC)/National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and Department of the Interior (DOI)/Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to create a safe migration corridor from Maine to Georgia that will allow the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale (NARW) to survive as a species. With a population that has dwindled to 340, the magnificent right whale is perilously close to extinction and faces a new, greater and ominous threat from numerous proposed offshore wind-turbine complexes up and down the East Coast. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:55
In a Tiny Gulf Town, Big Cheers for Trump’s Tariffs
“When I saw the announcement, I could hardly believe it at first,” said Jeremy Zirlott, a commercial shrimper in town. “It seemed too good to be true.” In Bayou La Batre and small shrimping towns like it, the economy has cratered in recent years on the back of a deluge of cheap, farmed shrimp. Fishermen unable to sell their shrimp to break even on gas, labor and supplies have had to tie up their boats. Supply shops, seafood processors, marine technicians and others in the industry have suffered, too. More than 90% of the millions of pounds of shrimp consumed annually in the U.S. is imported, according to the Southern Shrimp Alliance, based on an analysis of data from the U.S. International Trade Commission. Video, photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:53
Ready to fish: Harvesters, plant workers and processors await panel decision on NL snow crab pricing
Crab harvesters in most areas of Newfoundland and Labrador were able to start heading to their respective fishing grounds as of Monday, April 7, even though the price they’ll be getting for their catches has yet to be settled. The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans announced the 2025 snow crab season will open on Thursday, April 10 in parts of fishing zones 3LNO, 3Ps, 3K and 4R3Pn, which collectively take in the waters off the coast of the island of Newfoundland. Harvesters in some areas within those zones could begin heading to the fishing grounds on Monday, though no pots could be set and no crab possessed until 6 a.m. Thursday. more, >>CLICK TO READ<<07:43
Developer halts negotiations for Gulf of Maine floating wind farm. Here’s why.
Three years after they began, negotiations over a proposed power contract for an offshore floating wind farm in the Gulf of Maine have come to an abrupt halt, with the developer citing “recent shifts in the energy landscape that have in particular caused uncertainty in the offshore wind industry.” In a March 28 filing at the Public Utilities Commission, the PUC staff explained that Pine Tree Offshore Wind LLC has requested that the talks be temporarily suspended. When asked specifically why it was putting talks on hold, Pine Tree Offshore Wind declined to comment and referred questions to the GEO. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:28
