Saving Seafood

Brexit Deal Puts UK Fishermen in Uncharted Waters

December 29, 2020 — The fishermen of Ramsgate, a once thriving seaside town in southern England, had high hopes that Brexit would bring back the pre-EU glory days of teeming catches and lively fish auctions.

Britain had insisted it wanted to take back control of its waters while EU coastal states sought guarantees that their fleets could keep fishing in U.K. waters.

“We’ve been sold out by Boris!” fumed John Nichols in his Ramsgate cottage overlooking the English Channel, referring to Prime Minister Johnson.

Nichols, president of the Thanet Fishermen’s Association representing around 40 boats, said they were looking forward to a return to the days before frozen rectangles of cod could be imported from far away.

They fought for stricter quotas and stepped-up checks, especially against Dutch “electric pulse fleets”, a method that Nichols said sterilizes fish stocks.

Read the full story at Courthouse News Service

New England fishermen worry that wind turbines could impact their catch

December 26, 2017 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — East Coast fishermen are turning a wary eye toward an emerging upstart: the offshore wind industry.

In New Bedford, fishermen dread the possibility of navigating a forest of turbines as they make their way to the fishing grounds that have made it the nation’s most lucrative fishing port for 17 years running.

The state envisions hundreds of wind turbines spinning off the city’s shores in about a decade, enough to power more than 1 million homes.

‘‘You ever see a radar picture of a wind farm? It’s just one big blob, basically,’’ said Eric Hansen, 56, a New Bedford scallop boat owner whose family has been in the business for generations. ‘‘Transit through it will be next to impossible, especially in heavy wind and fog.’’

Off New York’s Long Island, an organization representing East Coast scallopers has sued the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to try to halt a proposal for a nearly 200-turbine wind farm. Commercial fishermen in Maryland’s Ocean City and North Carolina’s Outer Banks have also sounded the alarm about losing access to fishing grounds.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Boston Globe