Tag Archives: Dan Fleck
Solar energy and more: Seeking to improve energy efficiency, sustainability in the fishing fleet
Through two provincially funded programs, Nova Scotia’s fishing fleet is becoming more energy efficient and sustainable. The Fisheries and Aquaculture Energy Efficiency Innovation Fund (FAEEIF) offers $6.5 million over three years in incentives to help prepare the commercial fisheries and aquaculture sectors in Nova Scotia to reduce their energy use and mitigate climate change impacts. The Nova Scotia Seafood Innovation and Technology Adoption Program (NS-ITAP) provides non-repayable financial assistance to Nova Scotia commercial entities in the fishing, aquaculture, marine plant harvesting, and seafood buying and processing sector to increase productivity, competitiveness, quality and sustainability. The Brazil Rock 33 34 Lobster Association has been busy helping its members fill out applications for the two programs. “We’re going for a second run,” says Dan Fleck, executive director of the association. The off-grid energy systems keep the vessel’s batteries charged, the bilge pumps working, and a heater running when it is berthed at its home port without running the main engine or connecting to shore power. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 17:37
‘Dumping Day’ for southwest N.S. lobster season fast approaching
Lobster fishers in southwestern Nova Scotia are ‘gearing’ up their boats. Dumping Day for fishing areas 33 and 34, which stretches from Digby around to Halifax is scheduled for Monday. Dan Fleck with the Brazil Rock 33/34 Lobster Association says weather calls with port reps and DFO begin this Friday. “Any winds greater than 26 knots in any direction within the area, DFO will implement a closure for the day. It’s also possible port reps can open or close it, depending on what is safest for all, as safety is most important,” said Fleck. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:04
Federal fisheries officers refusing duties because of violence on the water in N.S.
Federal fisheries officers in Nova Scotia say they’re refusing some enforcement duties because of threats to their safety, as they await Ottawa’s response to their complaints. The union representing the officers says its members have been shot at, that people have tried to steal their firearms, and that officers — and their families — have been threatened for trying to stop illegal fishing. Commercial fishers, meanwhile, are calling for increased enforcement, saying that illegal and unregulated fishing is becoming more frequent across the province. “We want real, tangible enforcement activity placed upon the illegal, black market lobster activity that’s ongoing throughout the Maritimes,” said Dan Fleck, executive director of the Brazil Rock 33/34 Lobster Association, in a recent telephone interview. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:52
DFO: Some fishery officers refusing work in N.S., citing dangerous conditions
Some fishery officers with Fisheries and Oceans Canada are refusing work in Nova Scotia out of concern for their safety, the federal department said Thursday. While DFO said in a statement it is “making every effort to minimize operational impacts,” a group representing fishermen in southwest Nova Scotia said enforcement officers are nowhere to be seen to prevent illegal fishing during the off-season. “There’s illegal fishing occurring and there is no enforcement staff on the road or on the water or on the wharfs. And it’s out of hand,” Dan Fleck, executive director of the Brazil Rock Lobster Association, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 20:33
Catches up as LFA 33/34 season ends
Catches are up as lobster season comes to a close. Fishers will haul up their traps Friday for the last time until late November. Dan Fleck is the executive director of the Brazil Rock 33/34 Lobster Association. He says prices have fallen to over eight dollars a pound. “The past several weeks, catch rates have increased. It’s believed this is due to the water warming up. We believe the lobsters were there in the fall, but they weren’t crawling because the water was so cold,” said Fleck. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:01
MPA’s: DFO seeks to reassure fishermen after ‘scary’ map released of potential protected areas
A member of the Fisheries Department’s marine planning group was publicly challenged in Nova Scotia this week to guarantee marine protected areas will not harm the region’s inshore lobster fishery. Marty King appeared Thursday before Argyle municipal council in southwestern Nova Scotia where several areas are under consideration for protection. His appearance followed the release of DFO’s marine conservation network plan — a map with dozens of potential protected sites on the Atlantic coast of Nova Scotia and the Bay of Fundy. King repeatedly stressed coastal conservation areas would have no effect on the lobster fishery. “Hopefully we’re getting the message out more and more that an MPA [marine protected area] doesn’t mean no fishing,” he said. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:49
Lobster prices hit record high in southwest N.S.
A record high for lobster prices in southwestern Nova Scotia. It’s going for about 19 dollars a pound on the wharf. It’s a great price for captains, but catches are reportedly down this year. Dan Fleck with the Brazil Rock 33/34 Lobster Association says the price is great, but they have to consider the market. “Will some restaurants or buyers in overseas markets take lobster off their menu because it’s being priced out of range? That’s something that’s being dealt with,” said Fleck. more, >> click to read<< 14:28
Nova Scotia Fishermen happy with aid offer but not with timing of announcement
The largest wildfire ever in Nova Scotia hit fishermen Kasey DeMings hard. “I built something for 10 years and I watched it all get taken from me in about four hours,” he recalled. The Shelburne Forest fire tore through the gear he was storing outside, next to his home in Carleton Village, N.S. He estimated he lost nearly 400 traps, over 100 herring nets and related gear along with this house. “It wiped one fishery right out,” he said. Fishing gear stored outside is not eligible for insurance. Although he still had about 240 traps that were in the water the day the fire swept through his home community, DeMings said he has been unable to head back out on the water since then. >>click to read<< 16:32
Canada, Nova Scotia move to improve fishing vessel safety
On the eve of the most lucrative fishery in Canada, federal and provincial authorities are ramping up fishing vessel inspections in Nova Scotia seeking proof of safety procedures and annual inspections of hoists and other lifting devices. Lobster season in southwest Nova Scotia opens in two weeks. Some of the increased scrutiny is being attributed to the sinking of the Chief William Saulis, a scallop dragger that went down in heavy seas near Digby in December 2020. All six men on board died. Transport Canada has served notice that its marine inspectors want to see written safety procedures on board and proof crew members are familiar with them. “Failure will result in a deficiency notice or detention of the vessel,” says spokesperson Sau Sau Liu. Video,>>click to read<< 07:08
Nova Scotia fishermen on the hook for gear destroyed by historic wildfires
A volunteer firefighter who battled one of Nova Scotia’s biggest wildfires must now shell out thousands of dollars to replace the fishing gear he lost to the flames. Kevin Doane says the fire that burned more than 200 square kilometres in southwest Nova Scotia in late May and June destroyed about $61,000 worth of his lobster fishing gear. Recently, the Nova Scotia government announced a $2,500 grant for aquaculture operators, harvesting businesses, and licensed fish buyers and processors affected by the wildfires. Doane, a lobster fisherman of nearly 50 years, equates the $2,500 grant to “a really big insult.” >click to read< 15:29
‘Woefully inadequate’: N.S. announces $2,500 grant for fishers impacted by wildfires
More than two months after the Shelburne County wildfire, local fishers are still facing uncertainty around what gear they will have ready in time for lobster season. The loss of one million dollars’ worth of all types of fishing gear for 17 local fishers means an impact on the industry can be expected come fall. “For lobster season, it’s not like it just happens,” explained Dan Fleck. “The gear has to be received in plenty of time and to be repaired and to make the trawls, to rig it, to get everything done. “It’s a busy time. It’s not just the opening of the season, it’s the month or two leading up to it to get everything ready.” >click to read< 17:53
N.S. fishermen say province isn’t doing enough to cover wildfire losses
Kevin Doane was living in Roseway, N.S., when the fire broke out in late May. He said his losses include 100 lobster traps, rope and fishing gear. With the cost of a new trap sitting at around $300, he said he needs roughly $30,000 for traps alone. Some fishermen are out hundreds of thousands of dollars, he said. “This is a big loss and all we’re asking for is some of the money, our tax dollars back that we’ve paid in,” said Doane, who was living in Roseway, N.S., at the time of the fires. Fisherman Kasey DeMings said the support is inadequate. “It’s not enough to do anything,” he said. “It really isn’t. It wouldn’t even be a drop in the bucket to start rebuilding.” DeMings is a volunteer firefighter whose Carleton Village, N.S., home burned down in the wildfires while he was out fighting fires. >click to read< 07:43
Stock assessments show Maritime lobster population strong, fishery sustainable
Adam Cook is a DFO biologist who tracks lobster populations along the Scotian Shelf and Bay of Fundy, waters that support nearly 3,000 commercial licence holders in 12 lobster fishing areas (LFAs). Cook and his colleagues recently posted stock assessments for 2022. He said all LFAs in the Maritimes are in a healthy zone for stock status. “Which suggests there’s still enough lobster to not raise any sort of conservation concerns. The commercial biomass is doing quite well,” Cook said. It’s the same story in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, although DFO’s stock assessments for five fishings area in that region have not been posted. >click to read< 10:17
Nova Scotia: Indigenous lobster fishermen not required to observe whale closure
A Department of Fisheries and Oceans fishery closure in Nova Scotia this week to protect endangered North Atlantic Right Whales will not apply to Indigenous lobster fishermen in the area. The department is allowing ceremonial lobster fishing in St. Marys Bay to continue, raising concerns about conservation and fairness. All commercial crab and herring fisheries with unattended gear in the water are being ordered out of St. Marys Bay effective 5 p.m. on Thursday, which is standard practice after sightings. Dan Fleck of the Brazil Rock 33/34 Lobster Association represents commercial fishermen in the area. He said he’s been getting calls from concerned fishermen this week. “I would expect that the rules would be applied fairly and equitably amongst all resource users,” Fleck said. >click to read< 08:01
Lobster Season Comes to an end in LFA’s 33 & 34
Today is the last day in the season. It was a season of record prices according to the executive director of the Brazil Rock 33/34 Lobster Association, Dan Fleck. He says prices reached over $17 and discussed where they are at the close of the season “I would say $10. There are certain deals where people might be offered more in certain areas but we’re looking between $10 and $11 for a closing price in LFA 33 and 34.” Fleck is looking back on the season. While it was marked by rising fuel costs, he says it was also very safe. >click to read< 08:18
‘Alarm bells’ ring in N.S. lobster fishery decision after DFO’s move involving baby eels
A group representing more than 500 lobster fishermen in southwest Nova Scotia is raising concerns about Ottawa’s commitment to voluntary licence buyouts to increase Indigenous access to the fishery. Late last month, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans cancelled bargaining with commercial licence holders in the elver, or baby eel, fishery, claiming they wanted too much money to exit the business. DFO is now looking at an across the board commercial quota cut for elvers without compensation to make room for Mi’kmaw harvesters. >click to read< 13:23
