Tag Archives: Jersey Fishermen’s Association
Outgoing fishing leader warns of challenges facing local fleet
The outgoing head of the Jersey Fishermen’s Association has laid bare the sobering reality of the challenges facing the fleet – as he looks back on nearly two decades as a voice for the industry. Don Thompson said he had “mixed emotions” about his recent decision to step down as JFA president, a role he has held for approximately 17 years. This, he explained, was partly because there are still a number of “big decisions” to be taken by Island fishermen concerning future management of local fish stocks. While no immediate successor has stepped up to replace Mr. Thompson, the 69-year-old stressed that the fleet needed to maintain a “close working relationship” with government “at all levels”. His comments came shortly after States Members unanimously approved an amendment to sea fisheries legislation, lodged by Environment Minister Steve Luce, to raise the minimum landing size for lobster from 87mm to 88mm. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:40
Fishing boat sinks in St Helier Harbour during second-biggest tide ever recorded in Jersey
The big spring tides appeared to have claimed another casualty yesterday… when a fishing boat sank in St Helier Harbour. Jersey Coastguard launched a recovery operation and put pollution-control measures in place to prevent oil from the vessel spreading throughout the Old Harbour. Jersey Fishermen’s Association president Don Thompson said that, although it was not clear what had caused the boat to sink, the particularly high tide could have been a contributing factor. more, >>click to read<< 10:22
Fishing licence plan ‘bordering on naive’
The government’s plan to prevent French fishing boats depleting stocks in Jersey’s waters is ‘bordering on the naive’, according to local fishermen – as temporary licences allowing European vessels access to local waters expire next week. Jersey Fishermen’s Association president Don Thompson said he feared the 136 French boats licensed to fish in the Island’s territorial waters might decrease in number over time but retiring boats would be replaced by larger, more efficient vessels. These boats would quickly be able to wipe out rich grounds around the Island, such as scallop beds near the Minquiers, leaving Jersey fishermen with little to catch, Mr Thompson told the Environment, Housing and Infrastructure Scrutiny Panel yesterday. >click to read< 12:37
Search for skipper and crew of sunk Jersey fishing boat called off
The search for a skipper and two crew lost when their Jersey fishing boat collided with a freight vessel in the Channel and sank has been called off after rescuers concluded there was no chance of them still being alive. A support vessel with a remotely controlled underwater craft is heading to the area to survey the spot where the boat is resting 40 metres down on the seabed to establish the best way of recovering it. The Jersey coastguard offered its sympathies to the family and friends of the skipper, Michael “Mick” Michieli and the two unnamed crew members, who are from the Philippines. >click to read< 15:10
Wreck of trawler which collided with Condor freight ship ‘located on seabed’
The wreck of the trawler involved in a collision with the Commodore Goodwill has been located on the seabed in up to 50 metres of water, according to the head of the Jersey Fishermen’s Association. The vessel went down off the west coast after colliding with the freight ship at about 5.30am. Jersey Coastguard has confirmed that the vessel has sunk. A major search and rescue operation involving more than a dozen boats and aircraft is under way for three missing fishermen. >click to read< 07:03
French and Jersey fishermen meet for first time since Harbour blockade
The meeting this month was the first since Norman and Breton fishing vessels blockaded the Harbour in May last year in a protest over post-Brexit fishing rights. Relations deteriorated to such an extent last summer that the UK sent two naval vessels to Jersey in response to the blockade and some French politicians threatened to cut off the Island’s electricity supply. The president of the Jersey Fishermen’s Association, Don Thompson, said the meetings were an important first step in improving relations with their French counterparts. ‘We invited the French fishermen and representatives to Jersey for this first meeting,’ Mr Thompson said. ‘We are working for solutions. Typical of fishermen, the meeting was very forthright. We got right to the point and did not hold back.’ >click to read< 10:20
Fishermen turning back to port early as fuel costs rise
Jersey’s fishing fleet is struggling amid huge increases in fuel costs and is unable to compete on a level playing field with its French counterparts, who are receiving emergency government subsidies, according to an industry representative. ‘The rises over the last two weeks have been the biggest seen in history. The price of fuel is getting close to treble what it was at the start of the year,’ he said. This week the French government announced it would be providing fuel subsidies as various sectors and the population struggle to cope with rising costs brought on by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. >click to read< 09:07
Coronavirus: Fishermen ‘humbled’ by the support for industry in crisis, hope to continue direct to the public sales
Fishermen say they have been humbled by the public reaction and support as the market for local produce has boomed amid the coronavirus crisis. But despite a busy weekend of trade for pop-up stalls and deliveries across the Island, industry leaders have warned that it is not enough to sustain the whole 130-vessel fleet. Crews hope they can continue to sell produce direct to the public despite the Island going into lockdown yesterday morning. Fishing has been deemed an essential industry meaning crews can still continue to catch. >click to read< 09:28
The $2 million fish? Jersey fishermen calling on government to allow targeting the bluefin tuna market
Don Thompson, president of the Jersey Fishermen’s Association, said Jersey should look to Prince Edward Island, the smallest Canadian province, whose industry for commercial and charter boat tuna fishing is worth about $2 million a year. In recent years, fishermen have reported seeing an ‘abundance’ of Atlantic blue fin tuna – which are classified as endangered – around the Island in the summer months but there is a total ban on catching them for Jersey vessels. No such ban applies to French boats. French newspaper Ouest France reported that 5.4 tonnes of tuna were landed at Granville market last year. A single fish can be worth thousands of pounds. >click to read< 21:18
Riders of the storm: The Islanders keeping fish on the menu
Lobster fisherman Scott Samson is one of many who has been left perplexed and frustrated by the apparent lack of lobsters in Jersey’s waters. Earlier this week Don Thompson, the president of the Jersey Fishermen’s Association, said that rough seas and bad weather had led to the worst period of fishing for ‘12 to 15 years’. Scott agrees, even going so far as to say that in the 20 years he has worked as a commercial fisherman, the past 12 months have been the toughest he has experienced. >click here to read< 11:11
