News Summary February 7, 2018
Today's Main Story: Canada Unveils Updates to Fisheries Act to Cautious Praise from Industry, Environmentalists
Opening the news is a focus on how Canada’s Fishery Minister unveiled major changes to Canada’s 100-year-old fisheries act on Tuesday. The legislation was met with cautious optimism by both the industry and the environmental community. The bill does a lot to restore fishery habitat protections gutted under the previous government, but also updates the Canadian fishery management system and provides direct protection for social and economic interests of harvesters. John Sackton has written our analysis of the bill, and we also have many Canadian reactions that you can find here.
Meanwhile, harvesters in Newfoundland generally liked the fisheries bill, with Keith Sullivan, president of the FFAW, claiming the bill contained their input regarding the importance of prioritizing and legally protecting inshore fisheries. Read what Sullivan said regarding the amendments here.
In other news, Carlos Rafael’s two fishing vessels — Dinah Jane and Nemesis, which sank at the dock earlier this week — will be raised Thursday morning, according to the Mattapoisett company doing the work. Find the full story here.
Commercial fishermen in the Stand for Salmon coalition delivered nearly 200 letters from their colleagues to the State Legislature in support of House Bill 199, the Stand for Salmon Bill. The bill, sponsored by House Fisheries Committee Chair Rep. Louise Stutes (R-Kodiak), was reintroduced to the Legislature last week at a hearing that drew a standing-room-only audience. Click here for more on the initiative.
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