Tag Archives: fishing industry
Who is Jim Pattison? Empire builder and billionaire
At 92 he heads a sprawling empire spanning everything from farm equipment to groceries to Ripley’s Believe It or Not! Pattison is 92, a billionaire many times over, and still helms as chief executive and chairman the company he founded in 1961: the Jim Pattison Group. It would be difficult to find a Canadian entrepreneur with more diverse business holdings. The Jim Pattison Group, owned 100-per cent by Pattison himself, is an umbrella company covering businesses in industries spanning agricultural equipment, signs, packaging, groceries, wine, West Coast fishing, and forestry. He even owns the Ripley’s Believe It or Not! franchise and Guinness World Records. According to Pattison, his group of companies recorded total sales of $12.7 billion in 2020, while employing 51,000 workers, and doing business in 95 countries. >click to read< 09:09
Biden Harris Admin scheme to buy off/ buy out, displace the fishing industry for offshore wind farms!
The Biden administration is considering ways to ensure the U.S. commercial fishing industry is paid for any losses it incurs from the planned expansion of offshore wind power in the Atlantic Ocean, according to state and federal officials involved in the matter. Discussions between state and federal officials, which participants described as being at a very early stage, are aimed at addressing the top threat to President Joe Biden’s efforts to grow offshore wind, a centerpiece of his clean energy agenda to fight climate change. Commercial fishing fleets have vehemently opposed offshore wind projects,,, >click to read< 09:55
Long Island: When will bay scallops once again be plentiful?
After years of up and down harvests, 2021 is shaping up as another potentially poor year for bay scallops. Bay scallops have been a multi-million-dollar crop for the fishing industry, from the baymen or women who work hard to harvest them in, to the markets that sell them and the restaurants that feature them prominently on menus. The loss of this cash crop, such an iconic symbol of our bays, hurts many people and calls into question the present and future health of our bays, as changes in water temperatures and steady sea rise continue. For perspective, consider this: After the huge crops of previous years, a die-off in 1985 caused by algae blooms brought the scallop almost to extinction. >click to read< 11:07
Shellenberger Discusses Offshore Wind Farm Proposal – “This is literally the worst project I have ever seen,”
The California resident, author and environmental advocate spoke about how an offshore wind farm project planned 15 miles off the coast from Atlantic City to Stone Harbor is bad for the environment, wildlife, marine life and the fishing industry. Shellenberger, who is a proponent for nuclear energy, spoke of how the wind farm would not be an efficient way to receive power, would take up too much real estate and not be a consistent source of power. Tricia Conte, of Ocean City, founder of Save Our Shoreline, said in an interview prior to the program, “We are very excited to have Michael Shellenberger here in Ocean City. He is presenting the side that no one else is telling us.” Video >click to read<10:27
UK: Fishing industry is ‘drowning in sea of government incompetence’ following Brexit
North MP Jamie Stone has warned that the fishing industry is “drowning in a sea of government incompetence” following Brexit. Highlighting the plight of fishermen in the Highlands since the UK left the European Union, Mr Stone accused of Boris Johnston’s government of a “negligent attitude” towards the industry.,, One skipper has informed him there are “increased stand-offs between boats which pose serious risks to life”, while another wants aggressive boats banned from landing their fish in British ports. >click to read< 09:16
Profit and turnover down as UK fishing fleet weathers a challenging year.
Our first economic performance estimates for 2020 show impact of pandemic on fishing industry. Fishing fleet performance in 2020 The total operating profit of the UK fishing fleet fell by almost a fifth in 2020 as the sector dealt with the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. The data we’re publishing today shows that: Operating profit fell by 19% from £264 million in 2019 to £214 million in 2020. Turnover, which had been above the £1 billion mark for the previous three years, fell to £843 million. This is a 17% reduction. These totals,,, photos, >click to read<22:26
‘Why is the fishing industry having to fight their own government for survival?’
The fishing industry is seeking urgent clarification from government in the light of growing evidence that local vessels are being prevented from fishing traditional grounds by foreign owned and crewed fishing vessels. The issue was raised by Northern Isles MP Alistair Carmichael during a fishing debate in parliament on Tuesday morning. The Orkney and Shetland MP told UK fishing minister Victoria Prentis that he had urged her to give powers to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) to police the waters out to the 200-mile limit at the time the post Brexit fisheries bill was passing through parliament last autumn. >click to read< 13:22
Brexit: Deep and growing anger – “I cannot think of a single red line that was not crossed.”
Those were the words put to me by a senior figure in the fishing industry last week, a sentiment shared by fishermen across the country who feel betrayed by Boris Johnson. Indeed I cannot remember a time when I saw every sector of the fishing industry this despondent about the future. That is why this morning we are – together – challenging the government to change course. A year or two ago, you couldn’t find a harbour in the country that didn’t have a Tory politician standing on the deck of a trawler posing for pictures. >click to read< Brexit: Fishing industry faces ‘existential threat’ over export costs – Seafood firms have seen export costs “treble” in the six months following Brexit, leading MPs to warn that the industry now faces an “existential threat”. >click to read< 08:40
‘Fishing in Ireland was sold out during the Brexit talks’ – Fishing families to stage rally in Dublin
Adrian McClenaghan is deeply proud of the fact four generations of his family have fished off the Irish coast. “But none of us faced the crisis that Shaun now faces in the industry. Fishing in Ireland was sold out during the Brexit talks. If this continues without the Government taking firm action to save our industry, there won’t be a future in the sector for the next generation of young fishermen.” The Donegal skipper and father-of-four will be one of the keynote speakers at a rally in Dublin on Wednesday,,,>click to read< 07:40
N.J. fishing industry to get another $9.5M for Coronavirus relief
An incoming tide of federal dollars aims to lift a few boats, bait shops and seafood markets in the Garden State. New Jersey is set to receive another $9.5 million in COVID-19 relief money for the state’s fishing industry,,, The influx of cash comes from the $900 billion relief package passed by Congress and signed by former President Donald Trump in December. The money will be given to New Jersey by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, after the state Department of Environmental Protection gets a spending plan for the money approved. The DEP plans to submit its plan in coming days. >click to read< 17:50
Time to hit the brakes on offshore wind farms
2017, offshore wind generation appeared to be a dead issue in Maine. The Public Utilities Commission (PUC) had just completed an extensive study that deemed it too expensive for ratepayers. Now it is moving again at the speed of light. What I would like to know is, why haven’t we started an independent study on the environmental impacts of offshore wind development? We have been told that we need to move quickly given the Governor’s ambitious goals. I have heard this repeatedly and from many people in the Legislature, the bureaucracy, special interest groups and from high-paid lobbyists working for foreign corporations. Where did these goals come from, and why are we using these goals as a target? >click to read< 16:55
Fishing industry ‘sold down river’ by Brexit
When I read that those fish and chip shops supplied by our trawler fleet some years ago are now being supplied by Norwegian trawlers, I have to ask myself…how in heaven’s name did we allow this to happen? And when I read in the same article that good quality fish, caught by our own fisherman, were left rotting on the quayside, almost mirroring fish caught by British fishermen having to be thrown back although dead, but perfectly fit to enter our food chain, I considered both a criminal act, and if they weren’t they should have been. >click to read< 11:55
Letter: Brexit mess will last for decades
Last-minute negotiations were all about the fishing industry. Instead of helping them the fishermen have been badly let down, being paid £23million in compensation. We are unable to sell our shellfish to the EU which is the main market. Not to mention problems for farmers and dairy and processed meat exporters. We are now no longer allowed to fish for cod in Arctic waters after a failed deal with Norway, which was an automatic right while part of the EU. Your fish and chips will certainly go up in price now I’m afraid folks!,,, Then there’s Northern Ireland. >click to read< 16:41
Women of New Bedford’s Waterfront
Captain Jessica Walker, 34, first stepped foot on a commercial fishing vessel, which happened to be the Legacy, when she was 19. The college history major was looking for a summer job and this one was far from “potato country”, the place in Northern Maine she called home. She started with summer trips that eventually became full-time work. She worked her way up to mate and learned everything from the boat owner and previous captain, David Wilhelmsen. When he stepped down, Walker assumed the role of captain in the summer of 2013. Further up in the harbor, fishing vessel Reliance was docked earlier in the week for maintenance before departing for the next scalloping trip. Two men with welding helmets sat on the deck repairing the metal gear while Crystal Vaughan stood up in the wheelhouse attending to inventory. 21 photos, >click to read< 10:20
SPECIAL REPORT: Winds of change Part II – Windfalls! With more windfalls to come!
Energy efficiency projects and third level scholarships, sports clubs, active retired groups and local festivals were just some of those to benefit from almost €3.5m dished out by the developers of Irish windfarms in 2019.,,, One local firm that sees the danger of alienating the fishing industry is Green Rebel Marine, the Cork-based business established to service the future needs of offshore wind farms. In January it announced what it called ‘a new strategic partnership’ with a company, formerly based in Cobh, but which will now be working out of Green Rebel Marine’s offices in Crosshaven, called Fisheries Liaisons Ltd. Fisheries Liaisons staff will negotiate with fishing interests on Green Rebel Marine’s behalf, thereby smoothing the way for developers who are planning offshore windfarms. >click to read< 13:22
Nunavut’s fishing industry gets $3.2 million for exploration, promotion of six fishing and sealing projects
The Canadian Northern Economic Development Agency, also known as CanNor, announced the new funding on Thursday. The money will be distributed to six fishing and sealing projects throughout the territory. CanNor said that some of the funding is meant for promoting Nunavut’s fishing and sealing industries to new markets as well as for the promotion of redfish and char markets. A portion of the funding will be dedicated to studying the potential of small-scale inshore fisheries for three communities: Arviat, Kinngait and Sanikiluaq. >click to read< 18:55
Fishing industry unimpressed with Biden Harris’s NOAA/NMFS climate crisis notions. (Offshore Wind Farms, either!)
President Biden ordered NOAA to collect information from a wide range of groups on increasing the resilience of fisheries as part of his plan to address climate change and to protect 30% of U.S. ocean areas by the year 2030. The NOAA directive is included in the sweeping executive order Biden signed his first week in office that made “the climate crisis” a centerpiece of his presidency. “Fisheries, protected resources, habitats and ecosystem are being affected by climate change,” acting NOAA Fisheries chief Paul Doremus said at the beginning of yesterday’s conference call. >click to read< 07:55
1,500 Wind Turbines. 2,700 Square Miles. Atlantic Offshore Wind Farms Will Be Big.
American offshore wind farms, (built of foreign components) of which there are 17 in the works for the Atlantic Ocean, are no longer far off on the horizon. Dire predictions of climate change and how to most quickly pivot to clean energy have fueled the embrace of offshore wind. And while most stakeholders seem on board with the nearly Eiffel Tower-sized turbines, the fishing industry remains a holdout. Meanwhile, the cumulative effect of so many turbines spread across the Mid-Atlantic Bight remains unknown. The bight stretches from the Outer Banks of North Carolina to the Gulf of Maine. video, notable quotes, >click to read< 10:50
Brexit has left us all at sea – even the fishing industry
Teething troubles? Bumps in the road? Pull the other one, Mr Gove. As the daily news from fishing crews, farmers, road hauliers, wine merchants, musicians and thousands of businesses up and down the land, not least in Northern Ireland, confirms, Brexit tier 3 is indeed a disaster. Far from having teething troubles that disappear, many of these businesses are having their commercial teeth extracted. It becomes increasingly manifest by the day that this is a Conservative act of conscious economic self-harm which, in an ideal world, would be rescinded before things get a lot worse. >click to read< 08:50
Federal Relief: Great Lakes fisheries finally get a cut of Coronavirus relief funds
After being snubbed in 2020, the folks who make their living by fishing the Great Lakes – both commercially and for sport – have been included in the latest round of federal relief from the economic ravages of COVID-19.,, Neither group was included in the massive Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act that passed in March 2020, even though $300 million was specifically earmarked for U.S. fisheries.,, Getting the Great Lakes included in CRRSA was just the beginning. Now comes the harder work of figuring out how to access the money. Video, >click to read< 16:10
Stocks head for weekly loss as economy’s coronavirus pain deepens – Seafood industry hit hard
A federal report says the coronavirus pandemic has taken away about a third of the commercial fishing industry’s revenue. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says revenues from catch brought to the docks by commercial fishermen fell 29% over the course of the first seven months of the year. The report says revenues declined every month from March to July, including a 45% decrease in July. The NOAA report says the seafood industry at large has been hit hard by restaurant closures, social distancing protocols and the need for safety measures. >click to read< 09:15
If Brexit is to mean anything we must end fraud of EU fishing boats registering as British
Last week, with surprisingly little fanfare given the years of high-profile politicking over our territorial waters, the Fisheries Bill was written into UK Law. The long awaited Bill slipped quietly into legislation,,, The fact that the fishing industry was the first industry to be sold out by Labour and Conservative governments as we entered the European Economic Community means, I firmly believe, it must be the first industry to be returned to the status demanded by full sovereignty. I watched hours of debate, as the Bill passed through the commons onto the House of Lords, in which more attention was given to marine conservation and sustainability than to how this bill will affect the United Kingdom’s fishing industry and coastal communities. >click to read< 15:25
Fears in France for future of fishing industry after Brexit
Fishermen in northern France have enjoyed nearly 50 years of shared seas during Britain’s membership of the European Union. But a no-deal Brexit is threatening to sink the livelihoods of people in Boulogne-sur-Mer who have been fishing all their lives. “If we don’t have an agreement it will be catastrophic,” says fisherman Laurent Merlin. His haul of flatfish and crabs will be at risk if any deal between the UK and the EU does not guarantee access to the seas off Britain. >video, click to read< 19:45
Russians jet in to save New Zealand’s beleaguered deep-sea fishing industry
Hundreds of Russian and Ukrainian seamen will fly into Christchurch in the coming weeks to save the country’s beleaguered deep-sea fishing industry, which has been haemorrhaging cash and is on the brink of mass layoffs. About 440 fishermen will arrive on two flights chartered by fishing companies – the first of which touches down from Moscow via Singapore on Friday. New Zealand’s deep-sea fishing industry, largely reliant on overseas workers, has been crippled by Covid travel restrictions that have left operators unable to crew their boats, costing tens of millions of dollars.>click to read< 09:21
Fishing industry leaders voice offshore wind farm concerns to Trump interior secretary
Industry representatives voiced a raft of concerns with offshore wind, including the safety of commercial and recreational boaters navigating the waters, issues towing fishing nets through the farms and the potential for disrupting marine life.,, “In the West, we do wind. You know where we don’t put a windmill? In the middle of a highway,” Bernhardt said. “I need a development program that is done in a way that is sustainable for everybody.” Members of New England’s commercial fishing industry who feel they’ve been cast aside in the rush toward offshore wind took their concerns straight to the top of the Trump administration Tuesday in a Seaport sit-down with Interior Secretary David Bernhardt. >click to read< 12:57
Fishing industry seeks emergency waiver from federal fishery observer requirement.
West Coast trawlers and fishing industry leaders looking to minimize the risk of exposure to the coronavirus are asking for an emergency waiver from a requirement to carry human observers. The National Marine Fisheries Service provided a two-week waiver from observer coverage in the spring. Chris Oliver, assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries, clarified in a message posted Thursday that waivers remain available on a vessel-by-vessel basis. According to a spokesman, the federal agency has issued some individual vessel waivers for trips in the past three months — all were for times when observers were not available, not for other reasons, such as a vessel operator’s concerns about the coronavirus. >click to read< 15:54
Yorkshire looks to Canada to boost fortunes of ‘Europe’s lobster capital’
Landings of lobsters into Bridlington are the largest in the UK and Europe The 310 tonnes caught last year represents 17.5 per cent of the European lobsters landed into England and 9.5 per cent of the global landings for the species.. But with the vast majority of its catch exported to France and Spain and visitors to the town eating imported Canadian lobster, its significance goes by largely unremarked. In January a group of fishing industry representatives and academics visited Shediac in New Brunswick. >click to read< 11:04
New Jersey’s Commercial Fishing Industry Struggles to Stay Afloat
In the wake of the pandemic, the industry—the fifth largest in the country—has been in rough waters. Will July and August bring relief? Atlantic Cape Fisheries, of which Sam Martin is chief operating officer, is a large commercial fishery as well as New Jersey’s largest producer of farmed oysters. “Last year we sold 2.5 million oysters, and we planned to sell 5 million this year, but sales so far are down about 80 percent compared to last year.” The bottleneck that Martin spoke of has throttled not only oystering, but New Jersey’s entire commercial fishing industry, “When I tell my boats to go fishing, I tell them, ‘Don’t bring in a lot,’” says David Tauro, general manager of the docks at the Belford Seafood Co-Op Belford, founded in 1953, is the smallest of New Jersey’s six commercial fisheries, but its pain is shared by the larger ones, such as Viking Village in Barnegat Light and Lund’s Fisheries in the state’s largest commercial fishing port, Cape May. >click to read< 17:53
Oregon Fishing Industry Tells Lawmakers Of Economic Hardships – Murkowski pushes for an another Billion in federal fisheries relief funds
The coronavirus has hit Oregon’s commercial fishing industry hard. That was the message to state lawmakers during a recent meeting of the House Interim Committee on Natural Resources. Anthony Dal Ponte is with Pacific Seafood, which is based in Clackamas and has several facilities on the Oregon coast. He said the company had to lay off more than 500 employees after their restaurant and hospitality industry markets dried up virtually overnight. >click to read< Meanwhile, Murkowski pushes for an additional $1 billion in federal fisheries relief funds – Additional money could 
be on the way for the fishing industry. Senator Lisa Murkowski said that she is working to add more fisheries funding in the next round of pandemic relief legislation. “As we think about the impact to our fisheries, $50 million is not going to be sufficient to address the need,” she said. “I have been working with colleagues to urge us in this next round of relief to include $1 billion in fishery assistance funds.” >click to read< 15:07
Legal battle brewing over where shrimp trawlers can fish in North Carolina
One conservation group in North Carolina is taking a stand, saying fish like Gray Trout and Croaker can’t survive if commercial shrimp trawlers are allowed to run their nets in the Pamlico Sound. “We’ve seen a decline in the past 40 years in our fin fish populations, most recently the southern flounder, which is probably the most favorite fish we have here in North Carolina,” said Joe Albea, a spokesperson for the NC Coastal Fisheries Reform Group. A representative from the Division of Marine Fisheries tells Nine on Your Side they have received the notice and are reviewing it. video, >click to read< 19:32
