April 14, 2025 – fisherynation.com

Daily Archives: April 14, 2025

Government watchdog study finds some problems – and much uncertainty – in offshore wind industry

April 14, 2025 International, Mid Atlantic, National

A study on offshore wind development by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) – one that’s been nearly two years in the making – was at last released today, and it identifies a number of potential problems with the industry but few concrete answers. The 68-page report acknowledges that building massive wind turbines off America’s coastline, including along the Jersey Shore, could have a variety of impacts on commercial fishing, marine ecosystems, defense radar systems, and local communities. But it also stresses how much is still uncertain about what’s still a relatively new industry. “Development and operation of offshore wind energy facilities could affect marine life and ecosystems, including through acoustic disturbance and changes to marine habitats,” the GAO report declares in its introduction. “Wind development could bring jobs and investment to communities. At the same time, it could disrupt commercial fishing to varying degrees. Turbines could also affect radar system performance, alter search and rescue methods, and alter historic and cultural landscapes.” Links. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 18:36

Comment

Massachusetts Commercial Fisheries Commission Holds Inaugural Meeting

April 14, 2025 New England

On April 8, 2025, the Massachusetts Commercial Fisheries Commission (CFC) met for the first time to discuss the purpose, role, and direction of this new public body created to strengthen coordination, communication, and support for Massachusetts nation-leading seafood industry for generations to come. “The Healey-Driscoll Administration fully supports Massachusetts’ vibrant, iconic and economically valuable commercial fishing industry,” said Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Secretary Rebecca Tepper. “We are proud to establish Commercial Fisheries Commission and look forward to working with the seafood industry representatives to improve opportunities for our commercial fishers, seafood processors, dealers, restaurants and other industry participants.” “Commercial fishing is the oldest of industries in Massachusetts and critically important to the culture, economy, and identity of our coastal communities,” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:58

Comment

Captain Joseph S. Giacalone of Gloucester, Massachusetts has passed away

April 14, 2025 New England

Captain Joseph S. Giacalone, 91, of Gloucester, husband of Marie G. (Pallazola) Giacalone, passed away peacefully on Thursday, April 10, 2025, at Lahey Hospital in Burlington, MA, surrounded by his loving family. Born in Gloucester on January 10, 1934, he was the son of the late Vito and Jennie (Militello) Giacalone. A proud graduate of Gloucester High School’s Class of 1951-where he held the rank of First Lieutenant in ROTC and participated in the school band-Joe began his lifelong vocation as a commercial fisherman. Following in the footsteps of his childhood friends, his father, and his brothers-in-law, he served in various roles from deckhand to mate and hold man aboard the offshore trawlers of New England’s booming fishing industry in the late 1950s and 1960s. This was during the height of Gloucester’s prominence as New England’s dominant groundfish fleet, working the productive fishing grounds of the Gulf of Maine, Georges and Browns Banks, and the Bay of Fundy. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:11

Comment

Fifty-foot shrimp boat runs aground north of Flagler Beach drawing onlookers and questions

April 14, 2025 Featured, South Atlantic

A 50-foot shrimp boat ran aground on Beverly Beach, just north of Flagler Beach, on Sunday, a jarring sight that attracted onlookers who were wondering how and why it happened. The crew of the Miss Montie had already been removed from the approximately boat before it ran aground, said Coast Guard Marine Science Technician Brendan Blackwell, who went to the scene Sunday to check on the boat. He said he did not have details on why the crew was removed, but believed they were taken off the boat on Saturday. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:55

Comment

Thousands celebrate local shrimp industry in McIntosh County

April 14, 2025 South Atlantic

Darien celebrated their 57th annual Blessing of the Fleet festival this weekend. Thousands headed to the small town to celebrate the history that the local shrimp industry has in McIntosh County. People WTOC spoke with at this year’s Blessing of the Fleet event said this is the largest crowd they’ve seen in years and everyone’s out here to support local fishermen, the shrimping industry, and wish them luck in their next shrimping season. “Everybody loves the festival, and we’re able to tie in the importance of our commercial fishing industry, particularly our shrimpers, in all the fun,” said Darien-McIntosh Chamber of Commerce, President & CEO, Kat Hoyt. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:29

Comment

Ocean Resource Privatization

Articles Posted by Date
April 2025

M T W T F S S

1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16 17 18 19 20

21 22 23 24 25 26 27

28 29 30

« Mar

April 2025
M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	1	2	3	4	5	6
7	8	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
28	29	30

The New England groundfish debacle (Part III): who or what is at fault? Nils E. Stolpe/FishNet

It took me a while to decide how to most accurately describe the situation that has been visited upon the New England fishing communities that are and since colonial times have been dependent on the groundfish fisheries.

NILS STOLPE: The New England groundfish debacle (Part IV): Is cutting back harvest really the answer?

While it’s a fact that’s hardly ever acknowledged, the assumption in fisheries management is that if the population of a stock of fish isn’t at some arbitrary level, it’s because of too much fishing. Hence the term “overfished.” Hence the mandated knee jerk reaction of the fisheries managers to not enough fish; cut back on fishing. What of other factors? They don’t count. It’s all about fishing, because fishing is all that the managers can control; it’s their Maslow’s Hammer. When it comes to the oceans it seems as if it’s about all that the industry connected mega-foundations that support the anti-fishing ENGOs with hundreds of millions of dollars a year in “donations” are interested in controlling. Read the article here

Recent Posts
- This 53-year-old ‘fish mongress’ earns $200,000 a year
  
  Laura Foley Ramsden’s passion for fish is in her DNA. The 53-year-old is a fourth-generation fish mongress in Massachusetts. Her great-grandfather founded Foley Fish back in Read More »
- Bermagui boat wreck salvage ‘complex’, clean-up likely to take weeks
  
  The fallout from fishing vessel F/V Volition running aground at Bermagui’s Dickinson Point will likely continue for some time. Bermagui’s main beach in town, Horseshoe Bay, Read More »
- Orca task force gives recommendations to Gov. Inslee
  
  The state’s Southern Resident orca task force on Friday released its final recommendations for protecting and restoring the region’s endangered whales. The task force submitted the Read More »
- Provincial government creating more opportunity for Newfoundland and Labrador shrimp processors
  
  The provincial government has struck a deal with offshore shrimp companies and onshore processors that will see more product handled in Newfoundland and Labrador. As of Read More »
- ‘We experienced a hard border’ – post Brexit fishing tensions surface
  
  A fishing vessel from the deep south arrived to unload its catch in a port at the other end of the island this weekend. According to Read More »
- Study: Captive-bred salmon in wild may do more harm than good
  
  Releasing captive-bred Atlantic salmon into the ocean, a long-standing practice to boost stocks for commercial fishing, reduces the rate at which wild populations reproduce and may Read More »
- Revisited: Americas Finest – Floating Steel Follow the construction of a Bering Sea Fishing Trawler from start to finsh
  
  The Big Move! This image encapsulates this monumental event for me as Americas Finest moves laterally (West) to get into a northern launch position as she points towards Read More »
- 7th right whale found dead in Gulf of St. Lawrence
  
  The carcass of a seventh North Atlantic right whale has been found off the Magdalen Islands in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, reports Radio-Canada. The Canadian Read More »
- Pew on retailers using MSC logo: We’d prefer they didn’t use word ‘sustainable’
  
  “We would prefer they didn’t use the word sustainable,” said Gerry Leape, an oceans specialist at the Pew Environment Group, one of the major foundations working Read More »
- Northern Pulp opponents question how province can be ‘lender, regulator and judge and jury’
  
  With the province’s two highest courts questioning Gordon Wilson’s ability to make an unbiased decision on Northern Pulp’s effluent treatment plant, the Department of Environment offered Read More »
- First in Maine, Now in Massachusetts. Toxic algae outbreak halts shellfishing in Buzzards Bay, Mount Hope Bay
  
  The state’s Division of Marine Fisheries has banned shellfishing in the west side of Buzzards Bay and in Mount Hope Bay because of a breakout of Read More »
- Oregon seeks compromise on Columbia salmon fishing reforms
  
  The chairman of the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission has offered to compromise with the Washington commission over their differences regarding the Columbia River salmon reforms. Read More »
- Fine quadrupled for repeat offender “paper captain” violation
  
  Further investigation after a vessel operator declined an October notice of violation issued by the Coast Guard uncovered the operator in question had previous violations of Read More »
- Will offshore wind ever come to the Great Lakes?
  
  Wind turbines in the Great Lakes have the potential to produce huge amounts of clean energy in one of the most populated regions in North America. Read More »
- SpaceX to launch $180 million NOAA ocean satellite, data to be used to aid fisheries management
  
  A $180 million satellite to study the world’s oceans in a changing climate will blast off Sunday atop a Falcon 9 rocket, which SpaceX will try Read More »
- BP Bashes Oil Spill Victims to Distract From Own Criminal Behavior
  
  In recent corporate public relations attempts, BP has tried to shift the public’s focus from its corporate wrongdoing and outright criminal behavior to criticizing BP’s victims Read More »
- Wild Alaskan Salmon and Seafood: Quality over quantity
  
  Wild Alaskan Salmon and Seafood is a family owned business, processing 25,000 pounds of salmon per day. Inside the plant 13 workers are hard at work. Read More »
- North Carolina: Less seafood harvested in 2013
  
  MOREHEAD CITY | A variety of factors contributed to an overall decrease in seafood harvested in North Carolina in 2013, but the dockside value showed an Read More »
- Researchers find new toxin hot spot
  
  As high levels of domoic acid once again delay the opening of the commercial Dungeness crab fishery in Washington state and along Oregon’s North Coast, researchers Read More »
- Newport News man convicted for drunken fake distress call to Coast Guard
  
  A Newport News man who drunkenly cried wolf out on the open water now faces up to 12 years in prison. 39-year-old Justin P. Stahmer was convicted Read More »
- Happy Anniversary to Vital Ocean Policy – Andreas Merkl – President and CEO of Ocean Conservancy
  
  This policy directly addresses the key challenge of our time: how to meet the enormous resource demands of a rapidly growing global population without destroying the Read More »
- Eight crew ‘safe and well’ after fishing vessel sinks following collision with another vessel
  
  The crew of the Peterhead based F/V Guiding Star H360 declared a mayday before abandoning ship to a life-raft after a collision with another vessel – their Read More »
- Fraser sockeye shun U.S. waters, fill B.C. nets
  
  A quirk of nature has handed B.C. commercial fishermen a huge catch of sockeye salmon this summer, while leaving their American counterparts almost empty handed. Commercial Read More »
- ‘Catastrophic failure’: Efforts to salvage fishing trawler Susan Rose end with it sinking
  
  The salvage of the Susan Rose, the fishing boat that ran aground in Point Pleasant Beach, was going as planned early Sunday when water started coursing into Read More »
- Massachusetts Fishermen need Attorney General Maura Healey’s help
  
  When touring the North Shore a year and a half ago, then-candidate for attorney general Maura Healey made it a point to mention her family ties Read More »