Tag Archives: Memorial University
Eastern Canada: Engineers say ditching length limits would mean safer, ‘greener’ fishing boats
Engineers Canada, a national organization that represents professional engineers and engineering associations in each province has declared federal regulations of fishing vessel design an issue of importance. The Fisheries and Oceans rules that were built on the logic of limiting catch capacity have had “unintended consequences”, Vessel proportions have become extreme, with some boats more than half as wide as they are long. McDonald said if Canada is sincere about the goal of fighting climate change and is interested in enabling the fishing industry to adopt fuel-reduction strategies, the vessel length rule needs to be changed. Then there’s the safety issue. photos, >click to read< 14:51
Seal bait returns crab catch rates comparable to squid, MUN study reveals
A new study from Memorial University has found that seal bait can be used to catch snow crab. The study, first conducted as a student thesis by Tomas Araya-Schmidt at Memorial University in 2017, found that seal fat, used as bait for crab, returned catch rates comparable to squid, the traditional bait used by snow crab harvesters.,,, Five different types of bait were compared in the study, using harp seal and minke whale: seal fat, seal fat with skin, seal meat with bone, whale fat with skin and whale meat with fat. But it was only seal fat and seal fat with skin that produced catch rates similar to squid.>click to read<14:04
Civil war rifles recovered by Canadian fishermen
The future for a crate of rifled muskets that have spent the past 150 years underwater is starting to look bright after years of conservation work. The archaeology department at Memorial University in St. John’s Newfoundland has been working since 2011 to save a crate of 20 Pattern 1853 Enfield rifled muskets that were delivered to Canada via fishing trawler after an extended period on the bottom of the Atlantic. Great photo’s, click here to read the story 21:59
Industry has too much sway in Marine Protected Areas, says scientist
After a decade of deliberation, an ecologically sensitive area in the Laurentian Channel in the Gulf of St. Lawrence is entering the final stage of Marine Protected Area (MPA) status approval.
But Rodolphe Devillers, a geography professor at Memorial University who specializes in marine conservation, is skeptical about just how much protection the designation will provide. At just under 12,000 square kilometres, the Laurentian Channel Marine Protected Area will be the largest in Canada, and the third protected area in Newfoundland and Labrador. It falls between Cape Breton and Newfoundland’s southern shore, along the edge of the 3PS fishing zone.,,, But Devillers said the industry has far too much influence on the establishment of these areas. click here to read the story 09:35
DFO needs to make science a priority in decision making, geography prof says
Following the recent protests at DFO, a geography professor at Memorial University is speaking out. Rodolphe Devillers, who specializes in marine conservation, says the Department of Fisheries and Oceans needs to make science more important in decision making. “I’m very sympathetic for fishers. I understand that they’re angry and they have to talk and DFO has to listen to them,” he said. “What I’m less sympathetic with is the organizations that are around the fisheries that are very strong at lobbying and that can pressure DFO to actually modify and increase the quota systematically despite the advice of science.” Devillers said if the scientific data states what is acceptable, the fishing industry will then push to make the quota higher. click here to read the story 17:35
Shrinking shrimp fishery could be as detrimental as cod collapse: professor
The economic, social and political stakes involved in the shrimp fishery are high and the uncertainty around the resource’s allocations draws parallels to the shutdown of the cod fishery 22 years ago. That was one point made in Paul Foley’s presentation at the final session of the,, Read the rest here 09:40
“Memorial Presents” Public Forum – Moving Forward: Building Resilient Fisheries and Coastal Communities in NL
Wednesday, April 16, 2014, 7:30pm NST – Join us for a dynamic discussion of the strengths and vulnerabilities of our fisheries and coastal communities, and help launch an urgently needed discussion on how we can build economically, socially and ecologically resilient fisheries and coastal communities for the future. Watch the live webcast here April 16th. Read more here mun.ca 16:44
