Tag Archives: prawn
DFO backtracks on rule that harvesters warned would destroy the local spot prawn industry
“The Minister has been informed that for this season, [conservation and protection’s] enforcement posture toward the practice of tubbing will be one of outreach and education,” reads a statement from the office of Minister Bernadette Jordan. James Lawson, a prawn harvester from Heiltsuk First Nation, says the latest announcement is cold comfort to fishermen like him. “They know the solution: just don’t bring [the change] in. Everyone is furious, the consumers, the prawn fishermen, it’s just ridiculous. People want local seafood and we want to supply it.” >click to read< 21:08
British Columbia: Prawn harvesters furious over DFO ‘tubbing’ ban – “Why are they reinventing the wheel?”
For decades harvesters in remote locations have flash-frozen one-pound tubs of a couple-dozen prawns in native sea water,,, This week Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced the practice of tubbing will be prohibited, as the block of ice prevents DFO inspectors from having ready access to the prawns inside.,, “Prawn harvesters have been using this method to store their catch for more than 50 years. “It would be just horrible for us,” said Prince Rupert prawn harvester Peter Haugen. “Why are they reinventing the wheel?” >click to read< 13:06
Gold Coast prawn prices ‘highest in 35 years’ ahead of Christmas according to seafood shops
Seafood lovers have been told to brace for an expensive festive season with Gold Coast prawn prices already at a 35-year high at some retailers. The price of large king prawns, at $40 a kilogram, are already at Christmas peak levels.“I’ve never seen prices this high at this time of year,” said Tasman Star Seafoods co-owner Peter Duncombe. The price hike has been blamed on major reforms in the NSW commercial fishing industry have resulted in fewer prawn boats out on the water, a “fizzer” start to the season for trawlers, and a fallout from the devastating white spot disease which shut down Gold Coast prawn farms this year. click here to read the story 15:45
Prawn trawlers sit idle as fishermen turn to 457 visas for labour
It’s a boom season for the Carnarvon fishing fleet with colder water than usual in Western Australia’s protected Shark Bay spawning a bountiful king prawn and scallop catch. James Clement, marine biologist, former AFL footballer and head of the biggest trawler fleet licenced to fish Shark Bay, owned by ASX-listed company Mareterram, isn’t celebrating just yet. Despite the plentiful high-priced prawn harvest pouring into Mareterram’s Carnarvon wharf and packing sheds — the Shark Bay prawn season runs from late March to October — Mr Clement is having trouble keeping his 10 trawlers at sea for their 21-days-a-month continuous fishing time. A shortage of reliable labour and experienced fishing crew is hampering Mareterram’s total prawn catch, with issues including stress, inexperience, drugs and alcohol forcing some boats to return to port early mid-month to offload jittery crew before the scheduled full moon 10-day lay-off. click here to read the story 10:43
Commercial prawn season opens in Powell River B.C.
Commercial prawn fishers will be heading out to sea on Thursday, May 11, when the annual fishery opens. For the fishers, it is an expensive entry, hard work during the short season, and sometimes lucrative. Few prawn fishers will actually divulge the size of the catch and the association representing them does not have the answer. “It must be somewhat profitable because licensed fishers continue to do it and there is significant interest in the industry,” said Pacific Prawn Fisherman’s Association executive director Steven Richards. “To become a commercially licensed prawn fisher, you need to purchase a commercial prawn licence, which is a commodity traded and available on the open market through brokers.” A total of 247 prawn boats are licensed in the province, 59 of which are first nations. click here to read the story 12:00
Disease outbreak in Logan River prawns turns ugly as politicians go to war on compensation
PROFESSIONAL fishermen have called for a total Logan River fishing ban in an attempt to control the spread of an exotic disease in prawns. It comes as a brawl breaks out between politicians over compensation for prawn farmers and trawler operators whose businesses have closed due to white spot disease. The disease has been found in a Logan River prawn farm, prompting the closure of it and two of the eight others nearby in the $88 million a year industry. A ban on fishing for crustaceans is already in place. Fisheries Minister Bill Byrne said no compensation would be paid but Logan River farmers and fishermen would have costs reimbursed for any work carried out under the direction of Biosecurity Queensland. Read the story here 19:46
