A day after the NBC Nightly News highlighted the economic disaster facing small fishing boat businesses in Gloucester, Congressman John Tierney once again called on his colleagues Thursday to support disaster relief legislation for the Northeast groundfishery.
Congress stripped $150 million in disaster assistance from a Senate approved $60 billion Hurricane Sandy relief bill at the end of the 112th Congress. Despite having acknowledged the disaster in a legal finding declared by the Department of Commerce last September, the Obama administration has not advocated publicly for disaster assistance to address the issue.
“As public outcry intensifies, I urge my colleagues to join me in pressing for relief for our fishermen,” said Tierney in a prepared statement. “The fishing industry is one of the oldest and most relied upon in the country, and it is facing near catastrophe. The Department of Commerce has recognized this and designated fisheries disasters in Massachusetts and several other states last year. Yet, sufficient relief for our fishermen still has not been provided.
”Fishermen in my district and across the country deserve better,” Tierney said.
Read the full story at Gloucester Times>>
Callifornia crabbing: Here's a fun video shot on the decks of the Majestik while catching Dungeness crab off the coast of northern California.
Over 500 lots of seafood processing equipment formerly owned by Adak Seafood will be sold at auction on Tuesday, June 18, starting at 10 a.m. Hawaiian-Aleutian Daylight Time at the Hilton Garden Inn in Anchorage Alaska.
The equipment is located in a recently updated 250,000 square foot state-of-the-art processing facility in Adak, Alaska. Farmington Hills, Mich.-based Hilco Industrial, which conducts 75 machinery and equipment auctions in a wide range of industries annually, will conduct the auction.
Adak Seafood opened originally as Ada Fisheries in Anchorage in 1986. The facility, updated in 2005, is located on the island of Adak, the southernmost city in Alaska near the western end of the Aleutian Islands. The facility processed cod primarily, as well as halibut, blackcod, crab and pollock, Hilco says.
Alaska fisherman and commercial fisheries activist Kevin Adams was elected chairman at the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute board of directors meeting on May 9 in Anchorage.
The governor-appointed board consists of seven members: five seafood processors and two industry representatives actively engaged in commercial fishing. Adams was appointed to fill a harvester seat by Gov. Frank Murkowski in 2004.
With 38 years of fishing experience in Bristol Bay, Adams has long been an active member in the Alaska fishing industry, ASMI says. He has worked for both the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation and the Bering Sea Fisherman's Association, and represents Alaska fishermen on numerous boards.
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