Tuesday, July 28, 2009

How about this deal?

Now here's an intriguing concept for commercial fishermen facing the prospect of sharing Bristol Bay waters with oil and gas explorers following a possible federal offshore lease sale in 2011.

It seems that Norway will pay about 100 fishermen not to fish as oil hunters conduct seismic surveys.

"The agreement entails that the fishers will be compensated for refraining from fishing when this could impede the seismic acquisition activities," says this press release. "The fishers can still fish when the seismic survey vessels are not in their particular fishing areas."

1 comment:

Verner Wilson III said...

No way, no how, no drilling in my home waters! As a lifelong fishermen who calls Bristol Bay home, I'm concerned. Those Norwegians can blast the sea as much as they want to continue the climate-change causing oil addiction, but there's one thing for certain; their fisheries have gone down 39% since they started doing seismic. Bristol Bay fisheries (pollock, king crab, salmon, halibut, etc.) are one of the last remaining wild, sustainable and healthy left in the world. The fisheries here are worth billions each year, and the amount of oil/gas found here compared to other places is small and finite. Coupled with postulated oil spills, rough Bering Sea weather and little benefits to locals or fishermen, I don't think this is a good idea for us. Email me if you want more information as I have a lot on how seismic tests and offshore drilling could impact our fisheries. Verner.Wilson@WWFUS.org