Daily Archives: June 9, 2025
Commercial fishing group to call on courts to define moderate livlihood
An organization that represents commercial fishermen says it’s steaming ahead with a lawsuit aiming to define the terms of a moderate livelihood fishery now that a Nova Scotia-based First Nation has dropped its own lawsuit against the federal government. “It is critically important for all participants in the fishery to understand what the moderate livelihood right is and what its scope is and just as important to understand what it isn’t,” Colin Sproul, president of the United Fisheries Conservation Alliance, said in an interview. “We really need that clarity for everyone.” Sproul was responding after his organization learned late Friday that lawyers for Sipekne’katik First Nation filed a notice of discontinuance in a lawsuit the band launched against the Attorney General of Canada in 2021. The Chronicle Herald first reported the development. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 18:25
70th anniversary of Bayou La Batre, Seafood Capital June 21. You’re Invited!
On June 21, it will be 70 years since Bayou La Batre was incorporated as a municipality. The 2,000-resident fishing village had been there for two centuries or more before a municipal government was thought to be needed. In 1955, it officially became the City of Bayou La Batre. Preferred local pronunciation: “By-luh-BA-tree.” There will be some good-natured disagreement about that pronunciation, so here is the official website about the town, including the local pronunciation. The fishing capital of the South will celebrate its 70th birthday. Here is your official invitation: more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 16:02
Chesapeake Bay’s blue crab population falls to ‘distressing low’
Blue crabs in the Chesapeake Bay have dropped to a “distressing low” number, experts say, marking several years of repeated declines and raising concern about their long-term health. The estimated number of crabs was 238 million, the second-lowest point since an annual blue crab dredge survey to measure their population started in the 1990s and coming shortly after 2022’s record low of 226 million crabs, according to experts. The survey found that the decline hit all of the crustaceans, regardless of maturity or gender. Another problem for juvenile crabs is one of their biggest predators, the invasive blue catfish, which is known to eat “whatever they can get their hands on,” Bromilow said. Longtime waterman Chuckie White, who has been in the commercial fishing business for 46 years in Rock Hall on Maryland’s Eastern Shore, said he has noticed juvenile crabs “aren’t getting ample time to make it to legal size because of all the predators.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<<13:56
South Carolina Shrimp Season Officially Open
The highly anticipated commercial shrimp trawling season in South Carolina officially opened last week, allowing shrimpers to begin harvesting the state’s popular crustacean. This annual event is a significant boost for South Carolina’s seafood industry and promises fresh, local shrimp for consumers. The opening date for the statewide season is determined annually by marine biologists with the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR). Their decision is based on extensive biological sampling of white shrimp populations, with a crucial focus on ensuring that a majority of female shrimp have completed at least one spawning cycle before harvesting begins. This practice is vital for protecting the shrimp population and ensuring a robust fall crop. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:38
Offshore wind power company asks to cancel its New Jersey project
A company developing an offshore wind power project for New Jersey has filed a request to cancel its plans, citing economic and political headwinds. Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, based in Brooklyn, petitioned the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities on June 4 to terminate its OREC order, or Offshore Renewable Energy Certificates order. The company, which is a partnership between power and fuel company Shell and EDF Renewables North America, was in the process of developing a 1.5-gigawatt wind turbine power project east of Atlantic City. Had it been constructed, the project would have powered about 700,000 homes across the state. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:35
Taking ‘Moderate livelihood’ back to court: N.S. First Nation drops suit, commercial fishermen launching their own
The Sipekne’katik First Nation band has dropped its lawsuit against the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans and the attorney general of Canada. The suit alleged that DFO had violated the moderate-livelihood rights of two of its members when it seized their traps set under a self-governed fishery on St. Marys Bay. Sipekne’katik claimed in the suit and in subsequent letters to DFO brass that a series of Supreme Court of Canada rights-based decisions, including the 1999 Marshall decision, and under the United Nations Declaration of the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the federal government does not have the authority to interfere in its self-managed fisheries. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:27
