Page 10. MAINE COASTAL NEWS December 2013 Commercial Fishing News
From the Director – Here’s hoping that every one had a good
Thanksgiving. The fall is fast turning into winter and before we know it, Christmas will be here. Most of the boats in our area are up and covered. Our harbor went from full to empty in a “heartbeat.” Even the Weathervane at the Belfast town landing is closed for the season. It is very quiet, but yet it is peaceful after the chaos of the summer traffi c…a good time to refl ect on our Thanksgiving blessings. We had a very good meeting on at Jasper’s in Ellsworth. Mike
November 14th
Giles of Atlantic Insurance and Benefi ts and the Spencer Agency of Deer Isle spoke to us about the changes with the new Obamacare. He had very informative information with him and answered any questions that we had. If you need further assistance with your health -insurance, Mike and his agency will be happy to assist you. Mike’s contact information is 207-348-6156 – 1-866-348- 6156,
mikegiles@atlantic-insurance.com. Mike is an associate member of D.E.L.A. and provides membership benefi ts to our members, so give him a call. We’d like to “Thank Mike” for his help with our meeting.
D.E.L.A. - REPORT FROM THE DIRECTOR
We would like to welcome Ethan Turner to our D.E.L.A. Board of Directors. With the passing of our long time friend and director Kenny Dennison, this was a diffi cult seat to replace. We are all pleased and proud to have Ethan fi ll that particular seat on the board. Most of you know Ethan, but to give a little background, he is our president, Hilton Turner’s son, which also is keeping with tradition. As a matter of fact, we have a lot of family representation on our board and attending the meetings. We would also like to “Welcome Aboard” new members: Richard P. Alley of Jonesport, Ethan Turner of Stonington and Clayton Philbrook of Matinicus. Please feel free to contact us any time if you have questions about membership:
downeastlobstermen.org or dassatt711@
yahoo.com and 207 338-1406. All members are welcome to attend our meetings. Our next meeting will be scheduled for January 9th
, 2014 at Jasper’s in Ellsworth. The new Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative has named 10 members to the marketing promotion board.
These
representatives were nominated by the zone councils with the fi nal decision made by our Department of Marine Resources Commissioner, Patrick Keliher and the Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner George Gervais, who are both ex-offi cio members of the committee.
11th
The group will also announce an member after further review.
The
appointees named this week are: Karan Cushman, president of Cushman Creative, a cross-media branding company. Frank Gotwals, commercial lobsterman and board member of the Stonington Lobster Co-op. Luke Holden, president and founder of
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Luke’s Lobster and a managing partner and co-founder of Cape Seafood LLC. Emily Lane, vice president of sales, Calendar Island Maine lobster and former MLPC board member. Peter Miller, commercial lobster harvester, owner of Miller’s Wharf Lobster and former MLPC board member. Paul Paradis, Bar Harbor town councilor and owner of Paradis True Value in Bar Harbor. Hugh Reynolds, owner of Greenhead Lobster in Stonington, one of Maine’s largest dealers of live, fresh lobster. Vaughn A. Stinson, chief executive of the Maine Tourism Association.
This new entity will be funded by the harvesters, dealers and processors and will have a $2 million budget for the fi rst year. We (as our own industry) have chosen to give this new collaborative a try with the fi rst report to be held at the Maine Fishermen’s Forum.
that was allocated. This allotment also went to other commodities like blueberries and gulf coast shrimp which were in this same group. So this amount must be divided by all of the producers (fi shermen and otherwise) in the program. So when this is all settled, we will be notifi ed if there will be a percentage left for that “third check.”
The 2014 shrimping season may be
cancelled. A complete moratorium has been recommended by regional regulators for the Gulf. The shrimp stock is at its lowest levels since the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has been keeping records. The group will meet December 3 at Holiday Inn by the Bay in Portland to make recommendations. The next fi sheries function coming up
The update will keep all of us informed as to how things are progressing. John Suave of the Food and Wellness Group has also been the advisor to get everyone off to a good start. Also remember, the public is welcome to attend the meetings of the new Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative. If you want fi rst hand information, feel free to attend the meetings as an observer. I have been contacted about concerns with the “third check” of the TAA Program. Dana Morse of Sea Grant promptly answered my plea for an answer. At this point in time, he has an inquiry in with the Maine Farm Service Agency, the people that handle all of the payments. If there is any news, he will pass it along to us. According to approximate calculations, there has already been around $9 million paid out to the lobster industry from this round of TAA, out of approximately $22.5 million
is “Fisheries Tourism” hosted by Maine Sea Grant, University of Maine Cooperative Extension, the Lobster Institute and the Maine Aquaculture Association on how commercial fi shermen and aquaculturists can tap into the tourism industry – and vice versa – to diversify everyone’s sources of income. The meetings are:
Belfast,
Dec. 11, 2013 at Hutchinson Center 5 – 8; Machias, Dec. 12, 2013 at Machias Savings Bank Community Rm 5-8; Portland, Dec. 13, 2013 at USM Abromson Bldg. 1 -4; Refreshments will be provided. For further information contact: http://
www.seagrant.umaine.edu/fi sheries This is about all that I can muster for information for now. This should be enough to keep us busy for a while. Don’t forget, we are also preparing for the next Maine Fishermen’s Forum! We have a special guest coming this year. Please stay tuned! See you around, Sheila
CANADIAN FISHING NEWS
Harper Government to Appeal WTO Decision on EU Ban on Seal Products November 25, 2013 OTTAWA, ONTARIO – The Honourable Ed Fast, Minister of International Trade, the Honourable Gail Shea, Minister of Fisher- ies and Oceans, and the Honourable Leona Aglukkaq, Minister of the Environment, Minister of the Canadian Northern Eco- nomic Development Agency and Minister for the Arctic Council, issued the following statement:
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“On February 11, 2011, our govern- ment requested the establishment of a World Trade Organization ( WTO) dispute settlement panel to challenge the European Union’s (EU)unfair ban on seal products in order to stand up for Canadian sealers and to vigorously defend the interests of Canada’s Inuit and Indigenous communities. “Today the WTO panel found that the European Union’s import ban on Canadian seal products violates its international trade obligations. Canada will appeal to the WTO Appellate Body any fi ndings that would allow this unfair ban to continue. “The WTO panel confi rmed Canada’s long-standing position that the EU ban is discriminatory and treats Canadian seal products unfairly. However, the panel also took the view that such a ban can be justifi ed due to some of the public’s concerns regard- ing seal harvesting.
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“Canada remains steadfast in its po- sition that the seal harvest is a humane, sustainable and well-regulated activity. Any views to the contrary are based on myths and misinformation, and the Panel’s fi ndings should be of concern to all WTO members. “As we said in the Speech from the Throne, our government will continue to defend the seal hunt, an important source
of food and income for coastal and Inuit communities. In appealing any fi ndings al- lowing this unfair ban to continue, we stand behind the thousands of Canadians in coastal and northern communities who depend on the seal harvest to provide a livelihood for their families and to maintain their culture, traditions and quality of life.
“The Canadian government, with the full support and active engagement of Ca- nadian industry, will continue to consult and work closely with stakeholders and our co-complainant, Norway.”
Minister Shea Highlights the Govern- ment’s Support for the Oyster Industry on PEI
November 15, 2013 WOODSTOCK, PRINCE EDWARD ISLAND – The Honourable Gail Shea, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, met with participants at the PEI Oyster Conference to talk about the Government of Canada’s support for the Prince Edward Island oyster industry. This commitment includes work- ing toward a more effective and effi cient regulatory system, opening new markets for Canadian products as well as investing in in- frastructure such as the Malpeque Harbour. “Canada has one of the most rigorous regulatory systems in the world to ensure the aquaculture industry is safe, healthy and sustainable,” said Minister Shea. “To build on that, our Government is proud to invest $57.5 million over fi ve years to improve the regulatory system for the aquaculture sector to ensure it is always more effi cient and effective, protects our environment, but is not unnecessarily cumbersome.” Minister Shea also noted that the re-
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