The Squid Return
Numerous Eastern Newfoundland ports witnessed the return of squid this past summer. Bay de Verde was one community where fishermen got their squid jiggers out of storage to haul up a few of the inky cephalopods.
Photos by Mark Blundon
World-Class Sea Cucumber Processing Technology on Display
The Newfoundland and Labrador Association of Technology Industries (NATI), together with the Town of St. Lawrence and Ocean Choice International, recently hosted the first in a series of NATI Innovation Days.
The event demonstrated how technology and innovation is being embraced in traditional industries to modernize operations, increase competitiveness, expand markets and create greater economic opportunity for communities in Newfoundland and Labrador.
The world is changing and so ...
A Changing Tide for the Golden Cod of Gilbert Bay
Scientists Proposing New Initiatives to Help Save the Unique Fish
Dr. Corey Morris would rather spend his vacations on the coast of Labrador than Florida.
For 21 years, Morris has been to Gilbert Bay three times a year for weeks at a time, working on conserving the famous Gilbert Bay cod, known for its golden colour.
Geographically, the area around Gilbert Bay is a coastal fiord in Southern Labrador, isolated from the coast by a bunch of islands. It covers 60 square kilometers. ...
Annual Tuna Tournament – Important to Scientific Research
A total of 37 tuna were landed during the 15th annual Wedgeport Tuna Tournament and Festival weigh-in on Aug. 18–25, with a 680-pound bluefin caught by the captain (Cory Nickerson) and crew of Keepin’ Busy topping the scale to win the Milton J. Comeau Memorial Cup for heaviest fish.
Sixteen vessels participated in this year’s tournament, catching 16 bluefin, 20 big eye and one albacore. The heaviest bluefin caught in the Hell Hole weighed in at 360 pounds and was caught by the Jasmine ...
Another Successful Yarmouth Shark Scramble
Except for a rainy weigh-in, all was well with the 20th annual Yarmouth Shark Scramble, held Aug. 15 – 18, with 50 blue sharks being landed, more than 80 tagged and released and only 1.1 pounds difference between the first and second place prize winning fish.
Chris Cushing aboard the Lurcher Shoal edged out Corey Irons from the vessel Sea Fever III for top place in the scramble, landing a 347.2-pound blue shark. Irons’ shark weighed in at 346.1-pounds. In third spot was Ryan Leblanc from ...
Oil Successfully Removed from Manolis L
(Above Photo) The Tidewater Enabler offloading the oil removed from the Manolis L.
Coast Guard Will Continue to Monitor Wreck Site
After sitting on the seafloor for 33 years, the oil has finally been removed from the sunken paper carrier Manolis L.
The Canadian Coast Guard announced on Sept. 8 that oil recovery operations by Ardent Global LLC had been successful and were now complete.
Ardent Global LLC, the company that raised and salvaged the ill-fated Costa Concordia ...
Smart Buoy Technology Aiming to Provide Ropeless Gear Option for Fishermen
(Above photo) The co-founders of Ashored Innovations (from left): Aaron Stevenson (CEO), Ross Arsenault (COO) and Maxwell Poole (VP Marketing and Product Development). Contributed photo
A smart buoy that will provide a ropeless gear option for crab and lobster fishermen is set to be unveiled this fall by Halifax-based Ashored Innovations.
Initial testing of the smart buoy, which has been designed from a fishermen’s perspective, was slated to began in September. “At the current ...
Survivor Extreme – Part III
On Wednesday, November 1, 1995, an 85-foot tug struck a rocky shoal about 10 miles south of Nain, Labrador. The Sea Alert sank within 10-12 minutes. The captain and two other crewmembers were lost with the vessel. The engineer, 30-year old Dave Barnes made it off the boat, but his journey to survival defies logic and some would say also defies medical science. This is the continuation of Survivor Extreme.
After two agonizing hours swimming and paddling a wooden crate-like raft ...
Fate of FISH-NL Remains Uncertain
No Decisions from Aug. 20 Labour Relations Board Hearing
The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) is remaining positive that its mission to represent inshore fish harvesters in the province is still alive and well.
On August 20, the Labour Relations Board held a hearing in St. John’s to determine the definition of an inshore harvester and FISH-NL said it is encouraged that the Board has agreed to consider its arguments to proceed with an ...
Feasibility of ITQs Focus of Industry Research
Are individual transferrable quotas (ITQs) really the best tool for fisheries management, or have they just become a one-size fits all solution?
This was the question pursued in a paper released this summer by the University of Alaska Fairbanks entitled Moving beyond panaceas in fisheries governance.
Published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the paper reflects a discussion by social scientists from around the world at a workshop hosted by the Institute of Arctic ...
