Tag Archives: American Sword and Tuna Harvesters

Hudson Canyon to Be New Marine Sanctuary

Hudson Canyon is America’s deepest canyon in the Atlantic Ocean. NOAA will seek public comment on the potential boundaries for the sanctuary and other factors related to its future management through Aug. 8. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York called for the sanctuary designation in an April letter to Richard Spinrad, NOAA’s administrator. But commercial fishermen harbor an inherent suspicion of government-imposed management. Dan Farnham Sr., who has caught tilefish in the area for more than 40 years, said on Monday. “I would say 60 to 70 percent of our catch comes from the canyon area.” Mr. Farnham said that he worries that the ultimate goal is to ban commercial fishing in the proposed sanctuary, which “would be financially devastating to us.” >click to read< 14:08

American Fishermen Call on State Department to Help Captain Illegally Detained in British Virgin Islands

During the week of June 8, the government of the island of Tortola, in the British Virgin Islands (BVI), detained the documented U.S. fishing boat Rebel Lady, arrested Captain Michael Foy, held the foreign crew without charge, and confiscated 8,000 pounds of tuna and swordfish valued at more than $60,000. Captain Foy was initially denied bail by the local magistrate, Later today, the Tortola High Court will decide on his appeal of that decision. Captain Foy has been imprisoned 67 days as of this writing. The American Sword and Tuna Harvesters urge all relevant agencies of the United States Government, and specifically the Department of State, to take all possible actions to obtain justice for Captain Foy. >click to read< 12:14