Tag Archives: U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy
Conecticut lobstermen fighting for survival
Connecticut’s Congressional Delegation wants to make sure that Connecticut Lobster Fishermen get their two cents in before they change any fishing plans for Southern New England. Lobster fishermen, fighting for survival, are being asked to speak up before federal regulators make a new lobster management plan for Southern New England. U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy and the Connecticut Congressional Delegation want the local lobster industry to survive long-term. But, lobstermen said new regulations could put them out of business at a time they see lobster catches growing. “Our records indicate it went up for the last three years not a lot, but a little bit,” Ted Whipple, who is a lobster buyer, said. Whipple said despite what government regulators claim, lobster fishing is improving. click here to read the story 08:49
Connecticut’s fishing fleet facing potentially ‘disastrous’ quota cuts for fluke
“It’s going to put us out of business,” Stonington fisherman Robert Guzzo, vice president of the Southern New England Fishermen and Lobstermen’s Association, said Wednesday. “I’ve never seen so many fish in the ocean. The fish are out there, but the science and the regulators haven’t caught up with what’s actually out there.” On Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., pressed commerce secretary nominee Wilbur Ross to use his authority to change how quotas for fish species including fluke — also called summer flounder — are allocated among states from the mid-Atlantic to New England. In response, Ross said he is interested in helping the fisheries and ensuring quotas are allocated properly. The Department of Commerce includes the National Marine Fisheries Service. Blumenthal’s statements during the hearing came a day after he and U.S. Sen. Chris Murphy, D-Conn., and U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, sent a letter to the current commerce secretary urging that the new quotas be withdrawn. Read the story here 10:30
Roger Frate of Darien has a simple answer to improving the lobster stock in Long Island Sound.
Frate said it was pesticide used to combat the West Nile Virus in 1998 and 1999 that decimated the Sound’s lobster population and sent it into a tailspin from which it has yet to recover. Connecticut banned the use of some pesticides, but New York hasn’t, he said. But Carlo said he’s noticed a rebound in the number of lobsters. “The lobsters right now are looking nice and healthy,” he said. “There’s been a huge improvement since 2012.” However, Frate said fishermen still believe pesticides are harming lobsters. Read the rest here 12:20
