Daily Archives: August 3, 2016
Gloucester’s Angela Sanfilippo, A Fisherman’s Wife, named to Seafood Hall of Fame
Angela Sanfilippo has spent this week, just as she did last year, helping plan the annual foray by the city and its fishing community into Sunday’s fifth Boston Seafood Festival. This year, however, will be different. While the Gloucester contingent will be dishing out its wildly popular redfish soup, Sanfilippo will also be on the receiving end of a distinctive honor when she is ushered into the Boston Seafood Hall of Fame at the festival’s opening ceremony on the Boston Fish Pier. “I was surprised and pleased at the same time,” Sanfilippo said Wednesday. “I had no idea.”Citing her life’s work as an unwavering voice of the Gloucester and Massachusetts fishing communities, the Boston Fisheries Foundation said her induction is due to her role with the Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association (GFWA) and the Fishing Partnership Support Services as a “tireless protector” of the oceans those communities rely upon. Read the story here 21:35
Crew member on F/V Odin dies of unknown causes
A crew member on the fishing vessel Odin was found dead Saturday morning. Wrangell Search and Rescue responded to the scene after the Coast Guard was notified around 5:47 am Saturday. Charles Richards of Seattle, who went by Rhett, was found unresponsive in his bunk by a crew member. He was 28 years old. Richards was taken to the Wrangell clinic where he was pronounced dead and was transferred to the state medical examiner’s office in Anchorage for autopsy. The cause of death is not known. Mark Severson of Petersburg is the owner of the Odin. He says Richards went to college with his son Cameron. “That’s how he came to get on the boat,” Severson said. “I needed a guy, and he filled in. He was a great hard worker and a happy go-lucky kid.” Severson says his son Cameron recently took over operating the boat. Read the rest here 18:52:
Rules tightened on shark fin removal at sea
Interstate regulators are tightening the restrictions on the last species of shark that can have its fins removed at sea in the U.S. Smooth dogfish are the only sharks from which American fishermen can remove fins at sea. Many other sharks can be hunted, but fins can’t be removed until processing on land. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted Tuesday to approve a new rule that allows fishermen to bring smooth dogfish to land with fins removed, as long as their total retained catch is at least 25 percent smooth dogfish. Right now, they can bring ashore as many as they choose. The rule change would better incorporate the Shark Conservation Act of 2010 into management of the dogfish, staff with the fisheries commission said. The dogfish are harvested from Rhode Island to North Carolina, and are among the many shark species that fishermen bring to land in states from Maine to Texas. Sharks are also hunted for their meat, but their greatest value is in their fins, which are used to make shark fin soup. Read the rest here 17:33
The Menemsha Fish House. What’s going on in there?!!
Alec Gale is well-known in the world of Martha’s Vineyard commercial fishing. The Island native started a business, the Menemsha Fish House, in 2006 with the goal of providing fresh fish to local buyers, with extra product being shipped to the mainland. A lot has happened along the way; you might say the fates have been kind. Also kind has been the town of Menemsha, which has supported his efforts in various ways. A decade of long hours and hard work paved the way. Where he once had a crew of four working just the summer months, Alec now has 12 people working year-round. He also has two very sharp guys named Mike who oversee the business end of things. Experience has brought insights and new ideas. Necessity has brought inventive — even funky — gadgetry with which to process thousands of pounds of fish every day. A generous spirit, considerable knowledge, and an unflinching sense of fairness and trust have brought 300 local fishermen as providers as well as countless loyal customers from Aquinnah to Edgartown. Read the story here 17:05
PETA protester sheds shell for cause!
A crowd of curious spectators and journalists gathered at the corner of Park and Main Streets Aug. 3 to witness a supporter of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) shed most of her clothes and lie on plate like a lobster in protest of the annual Maine Lobster Festival. Mysti Lee (sounds exotic!)of Chicago, painted all in red and wearing lobster claws but little else, emulated Maine’s famous crustacean on a plate with to-scale cutlery, a garnish of cilantro and a side of butter across the street from the Maine Lobster Festival. Lobster Festival President Brian Plourde said Aug. 2 the festival has had protests from PETA in years past. “PETA has every right to protest,” he said. “…We’re here to support the fishing community.” Read the story here 16:28
‘Sea change:’ NOAA to shift fish surveys to Commercial Fishing Vessels
In what one advocate called “a potential sea change” for the commercial fishing industry, NOAA Fisheries announced intentions Tuesday to shift all or part of long-controversial stock surveys from its Bigelow research vessel to commercial boats, saying a transition over the next five years could bring “greater shared confidence” in survey results. “We have to learn to work better with the (commercial fishing) industry — we have to open up better lines of communication,” Dr. Bill Karp, director of NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, said of the transition. Don Cuddy, program director for the Center for Sustainable Fisheries in New Bedford, said fishermen also have felt the Bigelow is unable to accurately count “flatfish,” such as yellowtail flounder, because of the type of gear it tows. “This is going to affect everything across the board — the fishermen have been saying for years that the catch limits and stock assessments do not reflect what they’re seeing on the water,” said Cuddy, who used the “sea change” phrase. Read the story here 15:57
Transportation Safety Board: Culture shift needed to make Canadian fishing industry less deadly
The fishing industry has cost more than 30 Canadian lives since 2000 and must improve its culture of safety, the Transportation Safety Board said as it released a report into a Newfoundland accident that left three people dead. The board said the tragedy near Placentia Bay last year demonstrates the need for increased regulations around fishing safety and a change of attitudes among fishermen. “The number of accidents involving loss of life on fishing vessels remains too high,” the report said, adding there were 31 deaths involving commercial fishing vessels between 2000 and 2015. “Concerted and co-ordinated action is required by federal and provincial authorities and by leaders in the fishing community to improve the safety culture in fishing operations.” Read the rest here 13:32
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 42′ Duffy Lobster/Scalloper, 500HP, 6 Cylinder Lugger
Specifications, information and 14 photo’s click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 13:18
Southern New England Crustacean frustrations ahead of ASMFC Lobster Board meeting
Fisheries regulators this week will weigh the need for new restrictions on lobster catches in the southern New England coastal area in the wake of steep drops in lobster populations that many scientists attribute to warming ocean waters. Some New England fishermen, however, dispute the assessment by the Atlantic State Marine Fisheries Commission, arguing that the situation is not as dire as the regulators fear. Greg Mataronas, president of the Rhode Island Lobstermen’s Association, told AMI Newswire that his members are nervous about what steps the commission will take. In the area where he fishes – the ocean waters between the Rhode Island-Connecticut border and Chatham, Mass. – lobster fishermen have already imposed trap restrictions on themselves, he said. Asked about the size of his lobster catches, Mataronas said: “It’s been better and better every year since 2012.” He also expressed some uncertainty about scientists’ view that warming waters were an overriding factor in the challenges facing the lobster population. Read the story here 11:47
Grand Manan Fisherman’s Association welcomes $4.9 million to expand the Fundy Marine Service Centre
After about a decade of lobbying the New Brunswick government, fishermen in Grand Manan celebrated an investment announcement yesterday of $4.9 million to expand the Fundy Marine Service Centre. The centre, located at Ingalls Head, is owned by the province, but operated by the Grand Manan Fishermen’s Association. The money will be used for extensive site upgrades, which includes a new 200-tonne boat lift, better lighting, paving a portion of the outdoor lot, better access to electricity, and better water access for firefighting. “It’s a very busy place, and this time of year, given the weather that we’ve had, everybody wants to get their vessels in and do maintenance before we get into our winter fishery,” said Melanie Sonnenberg, the association’s project manager. Read the rest here 10:30
Couple “Tie’s the Knot” on the deck of the bride’s longliner
As part of the ceremony for Tracy LaCosta of Campbell’s Creek and her husband Ben Hickey, a rope knot tying took place. While the fisherman’s knot came natural for LaCosta, who seasonally works day to day on the Aggie Jane II they got married on, it was more of a challenge for landlubber husband Hickey, who got seasick for about six hours the first and only time he went out on the water to witness his partner’s work. “I didn’t even make it out to the first crab pot when I was over the side puking up,” he said. LaCosta said there is great symbolism in the fisherman’s knot as it’s the strongest and is unbreakable and that’s why they decided on it as part of the ceremony. Read the story here 10:04
Noon Time Today! PETA plans ‘nude’ protest against Lobster Festival
Representatives from PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) alerted media Aug. 2 of their intention to launch a nude, or at least mostly nude, protest against the Maine Lobster Festival Wednesday, Aug. 3. “Wearing claws and almost nothing else, a sexy PETA supporter will lie on a giant plate — complete with to-scale cutlery, a garnish of cilantro and lemon, and a side of vegan butter — right across the street from the Maine Lobster Festival in Rockland,” the statement said. “PETA’s message to festival attendees is ‘Try to Relate to Who’s on Your Plate.'” The group plans to hold the protest at the intersection of Main and Park streets at noon. The organization has argued for years that eating any meat is cruel to animals. Read the rest here 08:53
The seemingly ‘unstoppable’ lionfish flooding Florida’s coast and beyond
In 2011, when Rachel Bowman saw an abundance of large, pretty reddish fish while riding in a boat across the Florida coast, she didn’t think much of it. But a year later, once she got certified to dive, she speared the exotic fish and recognized an opportunity. Three years later, the fisherwoman, who was born in North Carolina and whose father was a shrimper, is selling this creature, called lionfish, to restaurants, local markets and 26 Whole Foods Markets across Florida. “I’m the first person to sell [lionfish] to Whole Foods and to set up that deal,” Bowman told CNBC. And in the Sunshine State, many other commercial fishing operations have begun to sell lionfish as well. The fish’s reproductive habits may bolster their successful invasion. Females may be able to spawn as often as every four days, which could result in the release of up to 2 million eggs a year from a single fish, according to USGS. Read the story here 08:05
