Air Cargo Activity “Steadily Growing” at Halifax Airport
While not fully recovered to pre-pandemic activity levels, cargo export volumes in 2022 increased by six per cent compared to 2021 at Halifax Stanfield International Airport.
“Air cargo activity is steadily growing and global demand for Nova Scotia’s live lobster remains high,” says Leah Batstone, Communications and Marketing Advisor for the Halifax International Airport Authority.
“We’ve seen some of our carriers add more frequent flights this year as the industry starts to ...
Use of Propeller Clams as Lobster Bait Growing in Atlantic Canada
With rising prices and issues with sustainability in the shellfish bait market, alternative bait is on the minds of many and propeller clams may present an effective solution to fish harvesters’ bait-based woes.
Right now, propeller clams are a popular food item in Asia, which is where Nova Scotia-based Clearwater Seafoods sells most of its product. Given the issues Atlantic Canada is having with bait right now, the people at Clearwater saw an opportunity to expand the propeller clam ...
Fisheries Management Agreement Signed with Abegweit First Nation
Another First Nation in Atlantic Canada has entered into an agreement with the federal government that will support its Indigenous and Treaty rights to fish.
The Abegweit First Nation, Scotchfort, Prince Edward Island, signed a five-year renewable Collaborative Fisheries Management Agreement on April 14 that will provide it with funding to support implementation and governance related to its fisheries management activities.
The agreement recognizes the Mi’kmaq Indigenous and Treaty ...
U.S. Company Providing Ropeless Gear Options for Fishermen
Above: Puget Buoy CEO Dylan Diefendorf (left) and COO Evan Kim showcasing a Puget Buoy product.
photos submitted by Dylan Diefendorf
Seattle-based Puget Buoy is trying to bring cost-effective, fast, durable and compact ropeless fishing tech to the commercial fishery.
As one of many different sorts of ropeless fishing gear appearing on the market, Puget Buoy’s goals align with their contemporaries — in the age of fisheries closures due to whale safety, ropeless technologies ...
Switching to Whale-Safe Gear is a Heavy Subject for the N.L. Snow Crab Fishery
To protect critically endangered whales from threats posed by entanglement, the Government of Canada is expected to mandate the use of whale-safe gear in Canadian fixed gear fisheries by 2024.
Whale-safe gear involves incorporating weak elements in the design of standard fishing gear which will break with a specified amount of force, lower than the ropes currently in use. While whale-safe gear may protect whales and avoid fishing area closures, as well as shortened or modified fishing ...
2023 Right Whale Regulations Released
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) has released its 2023 fisheries regulations to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale from entanglements in gear.
The hotspots for closure protocols are the Bay of Fundy, the Roseway and Grand Manan Basins and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. In these zones, any right whale that is detected — whether acoustically or visually — will result in a 15-day closure for all non-tended fixed gear within 2,000 square kilometres of the detection.
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Elver Fishery Shutdown Devastating for Licence Holders
Citing conservation and safety concerns, the elver fishery in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick was shut down by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) this spring, leaving licence holders with empty nets and unanswered questions.
By way of a Fisheries Management Order, the elver fishery was closed on April 15 by DFO for 45 days, ending the season.
“All elver harvesting is now prohibited and subject to enforcement action. DFO will continue to work closely with the RCMP and local police to ...
Challenging Season Winding Down in LFA 33/34
Above: The Ryer Lake II and the Sonia Dianne steam into the Falls Point wharf in Woods Harbour after a day on the lobster fishing grounds in LFA 34. Kathy Johnson photos
With a month to go before the traps come ashore, low landings were still being reported in lobster fishing areas (LFAs) 33 and 34.
“There’s nothing to write home about this season,” says Tommy Amirault, president of the Coldwater Lobster Association. “It’s been a tough go this spring.”
Going into ...
Snow Crab Stalemate – Price Dispute Shuts Down Valuable N.L. Fishery
A price of $2.20 per pound for snow crab is not sitting well with Newfoundland and Labrador fish harvesters, with the majority showing a willingness to sit this crab season out if prices don’t change.
Harvesters are saying that fishing at $2.20 is unaffordable. This attitude towards the current economic climate was made abundantly clear at a recent rally held at the Confederation Building, Newfoundland’s seat of government, by the Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union (FFAW).
The ...
From Fisheries Mismanagement to Oceans Management
Imagine if the future of the planet was being decided by a small group of bureaucrats and mining bosses in closed meetings in far-flung parts of the world.
Rather than looking at the overall impacts, these meetings only looked at things from one perspective — making sure that the mining companies could increase their takings — and ignoring other consequences, be they environmental, social or economic.
If that were the case, wouldn’t you think there would be an outcry, massive ...
