Tag Archives: EDITORIAL
Editorial: Save commercial fishing industry
Commercial fishing operators working out of the harbor in West Ocean City have been cast adrift, as the push to build an offshore wind farm about 12 miles east of Ocean City has rolled over their concerns. As was noted in a meeting Tuesday between Department of Natural Resources officials and commercial fishing operators, the construction of a maintenance facility at the commercial harbor could leave the few boats still operating there without space to unload their catch. No one, outside of the fishing community itself, apparently thought of that problem and one suspects that the state and federal governments would advise members of that industry to produce their own solution, which they don’t have the resources to do. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:35
PD Editorial: Listen to fishermen: Skip salmon season
When people call for action that goes against their own short-term interests, something bigger must be at stake. The public should pay attention. So, it is with three associations of West Coast fishermen that have called for a shutdown of this year’s California salmon fishing season. Members of all three associations know that a closure will cost them dearly, but they understand that this year’s pain is the best chance for long-term survival. But the people who know salmon best and rely on them most — members of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, the Golden Gate Fishermen’s Association and the Northern California Guides and Sportsmen’s Association — say that it’s time for a pause. >click to read< 11:44
Boycott the avoiders
It’s time to boycott restaurants and other places that take lobster off their menu to save the North Atlantic right whale. Restaurants and stores that take their advice from the Monterey Bay Aquarium, 3,280 miles down the line, and put lobster on their avoid list should be boycotted. This action should be directed at places such as the compliant Whole Food Stores and The Cheesecake Factory, both with franchises on the North Shore. In addition, for those using meal kits from the New York-based Blue Apron, or the largest meal kit operator in America, the German HelloFresh company — stop. If you travel, shun establishments which avoid lobster. and tell your friends and relatives at home and around the country to do the same. Why? Because lobstermen play by the rules, fish by the rules, and shouldn’t be punished for doing so. By Jack Clarke, >click to read< 08:22
Who’s really in the trap? How new right whale regs are hurting Maine’s lobster industry
I was five years old, opening my family’s refrigerator door in search of a juice box, when a live lobster fell out and started thrashing around on the floor. Naturally, I immediately screamed and ran out of the kitchen at the sight of this crustacean monster. That was the first time I really put the pieces together of what my father did for a living. As a local Maine lobsterman, he would often bring home portions of his catch while I was growing up. I’m not sure if that would be the case now if he were still in the industry. Even in the short span of my lifetime, the Maine fishing industry has faced new challenges as the world changes around us. >click to read < By Hajna Nagy15:43
Patrice McCarron: Maine lobstermen are committed to protecting our ocean
In-depth, investigative reporting is increasingly rare these days. The resulting series, “The Lobster Trap” missed the boat, however, in its quest to invent a drama that places Maine’s lobster industry on the front line in the “battle over climate change.” From the lobster industry’s perspective, the series doesn’t accurately tell their story. Its seven key takeaways are disconnected from the people who were just a means to an end. This reporting dismisses, dehumanizes and minimizes fishermen’s role in mitigation and adaptation strategies, and it perpetuates a narrative that they are unwilling to engage in climate change conversations. >click to read< 09:21
NOAA Fisheries Needs to Declare Fishery Disaster for Northeast Fisheries
NOAA Fisheries needs to declare a fishery disaster for the north Atlantic fisheries of the east coast due to complications caused by the Coronavirus pandemic. Due to government shutdowns of the primary market for US seafood, the restaurants, the fishing industry has been suffering not from a shortage of fish, but from a shortage of markets to sell them. 70% of the sea food consumed in the United States is sold in restaurants, the Corona pandemic has caused complete shutdowns of indoor dining in many states or reduced capacity seating in others. This has resulted in no demand for fresh local US caught fish, a very perishable product, and the resultant low prices that haven’t been seen in 50 years. By Jim Lovgren, >click to read< 07:38
Rooting for fishermen
I am a retired commercial fisherman from Gloucester, and I am very concerned regarding these fishing grounds of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts. Back in the 60s, I fished for whiting there with may dad. We had a 90-foot vessel. The canyons are about 100 miles from land. We would go through the canal and than head east to the canyons. It would take us all day to get there. I remember seeing a small lobster boat fishing off shore next to us and remember my dad said, quote, “What a nut to be out here in March with such a small boat.” That was Capt. Bob Brown of Swampscott. He was the first lobster boat to set traps in the canyons, and he did well. >click to read< 08:54
Coronavirus: The country is shutting down. Shutdown NOAA’s Fisheries Observer Program, nationally. Right Now.
I am writing this editorial today as a responsible, conscientious American fishermen and citizen, in complete disbelief of the irresponsibility of a U.S. government agency during the current international coronavirus crisis. While the nation is in national emergency mode, states are closing public spaces, schools, universities, daycares, restaurants, encouraging social distancing, putting people in quarantine, outlawing large gatherings, and taking unprecedented emergency measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, NOAA Fisheries is pursuing the complete opposite when it comes to the fishing industry and ignoring all public safety precautions. more by Hank Lackner, F/V Jason and Danielle >click to read<06:03
State of Maine: Real consequences of whale rules
Here we go again. Federal fisheries regulators have been tightening the screws on Maine lobstermen for decades. Now they are planning to take another turn in an effort to reduce “the risk of death or injury” to right whales by 60 percent. In the late 1990s, a trap limit was introduced in the fishery for the first time. It was controversial on the coast, though many lobstermen were willing to go along. The initial limit was set at 1,200, which even the fishermen said was too high, but anything lower was likely to fail in a skeptical Legislature. Shortly after the passage of that,,,By Jill Goldthwait >click to read<09:57
Editorial: What fate for fishermen
A few weeks ago folks got a chuckle out of the fallout from Charlie Baker’s emotional story about a fisherman who felt he had ruined his sons’ lives by guiding them into the family business. Who’s laughing now? Read the rest here 08:53
EDITORIAL – Fish Protection Rules In Jeopardy
Every few years, the law is amended and reauthorized. In 1996 and 2006, it was changed to add greater protection for dwindling fish populations. Those changes might be undone in part by proposals put forth by U.S. Rep. Richard “Doc” Hastings, R-Washington, chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee. Read more here 10:12
