Daily Archives: January 7, 2017
Lobster prices high as catch drops and China imports climb
Lobster lovers are used to adjusting to high prices, but this winter, they’re shelling out even more for the cherished crustaceans because of a lack of catch off of New England and Canada and heavy exports to China. Winter is typically a slow season for U.S. lobster fishermen and an active one off Atlantic Canada. But catch is slow in both countries this year, in part because of bad weather, industry sources said. And the winter months are also an important time for exports to lobster-crazy China, which celebrates its New Year holiday Jan. 28. It’s increasingly popular to celebrate the Chinese New Year with American lobster. That’s causing demand at a time when supply is low. Read the story here 17:54
Coast Guard, crew of the F/V Sea Ballad rescue 5 fishermen near Columbia River
The Coast Guard and a good Samaritan commercial fishing crew rescued five people from the water after the fishing vessel Star King, a 55-foot stern trawler homeported in Astoria, capsized and sank near the entrance to the Columbia River early Saturday morning. All five fishermen were pulled from the water by the crew of the fishing vessel Sea Ballad and were transferred to the Coast Guard 47-foot Motor Life Boat crew, from Station Cape Disappointment, who transported them to the station in Ilwaco, Wash., where they did not need medical attention. Watchstanders at the Sector Columbia River command center received the first mayday calls from the Star King via VHF-FM radio channel 16 at 4:31 a.m. All five fishermen were accounted for by 5:10 a.m. The fishing trawler’s captain first reported they were taking on water and listing hard to starboard before suddenly capsizing and sending all five crewmembers into the water. “The quick, selfless actions taken by the crew of the good Samaritan crab vessel Sea Ballad and the fact that the Star King’s crew put on survival suits saved five lives today,” said Chief Petty Officer Justin Urbano, command duty officer, Sector Columbia River. “The Coast Guard had a quick response, but these fishermen were out of the water before we arrived on scene.” The sunken Star King is not blocking navigation, but is a hazard to navigation and all mariners need to be on the lookout if they transit the area. Link Watch video here 12:23
Letter: Fish harvesters deserve better – Jim Radford, St. John’s
Fish harvesters: are they entrepreneurs, employees or employers? They belong to the Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union (FFAW), which looks to me like an employees union. Now they want to form their own new union; that puzzles me because the title “union” has been captured by governments and organized groups of employees to act in negotiations between employees and employers. Why does it matter if they call FISH-NL a union, or something different? I think it is a matter of focus. Back to the first question, are they entrepreneurs? As a retired entrepreneur, I have always thought that an entrepreneur is a person or entity that has investment at risk for entrepreneurial gain. That is the bedrock of a free enterprise system. Great letter. Read the rest here 11:38
Feds Take Controversial Mid and South Atlantic Seismic Air Gun Testing Off Table
Federal officials announced on Friday a controversial plan to allow dangerous seismic air gun testing in a vast section off the mid-Atlantic coast including an area as close as 20 miles off the coast of Ocean City has been removed from consideration. With a proposal to lease a vast area totaling roughly three million acres off the mid-Atlantic coast to offshore drilling for oil and natural gas reserves already taken off the table last spring, the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced on Friday a companion plan to open the same area to seismic airgun testing has been denied. Seismic airgun testing is used to determine what oil and natural gas reserves lie beneath the ocean floor. However, once the plan to allow offshore drilling off the mid-Atlantic coast was removed from consideration, at least for the next five years, BOEM officials determined there was no good reason to allow potentially dangerous seismic testing in the same areas off the mid-Atlantic coast including Ocean City and Assateague, for example. Read the story here 10:12
South Shore Lobstermen brace for third year of fishing ban
It’s a classic New England scene, colorful lobster traps stacked up along a dock. But for fishermen in South Shore lobster ports, those grounded traps are a symbol of hard times ahead. Aban that keeps most of their gear out of the water for the winter is entering its third year, despite arguments that it causes them unfair economic hardship. “If it made sense, that would be one thing,” Irvine Nash, a lobsterman for 48 years, said as he stood on a dock in Green Harbor. “But it don’t,” he said. Behind him, fishermen were pulling traps out of the water and loading them on trucks. They will sit empty in yards and garages until May, when the government lifts the ban. Under a recent rule from the National Marine Fisheries Service, all traps from outer Cape Cod to Cape Cod Bay and parts of Massachusetts Bay must be out of the water by Feb. 1. That’s an area just under 3,000 square nautical miles. The federal agency first imposed the ban in 2015, to decrease the likelihood of endangered North Atlantic right whales, which come to Cape Cod Bay every winter, from entangling themselves in lobster lines. Read the story here 08:36
West Coast Crab Strike is Over
Oregon crab fishermen Friday came to an agreement with processors, ending an 11-day strike over the cost companies will pay this season for their harvest. In December, processors — primarily Pacific Choice Seafood, the largest on the West Coast — agreed to $3 a pound, but on Dec. 26 backed off that price, offering $2.75. At that point, crab fishermen tied up their boats and refused to fish. This week’s negotiations resulted in a $2.875 price — right down the middle, said Brookings fisherman Bernie Lindley. “Happy? I don’t know,” Lindley said of the final price. “In a successful negotiation, nobody’s happy and nobody’s pissed. For me, personally, I wish it would’ve been resolved more fairly for the fishermen, but we’re back to work, and so be it.” Read the story here, 08:10
Whither the crab? Monterey Bay pulls empty pots Click here
Crab strike ends; crabbers, Pacific Group agree to $2.875 per pound price Click here
‘Today is a Good Result’: Dan Occhipinti, general counsel at Pacific Seafood Group Click here
Coast Guard rescues 4 from disabled fishing vessel 230 miles off Kodiak
The Coast Guard rescued four people from a disabled fishing vessel in heavy seas 230 miles east-southeast of Kodiak, Friday. A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak MH-60T Jayhawk crew hoisted the four people from the Lady Gudny and transported them to Air Station Kodiak in good health. The Coast Guard Cutter SPAR, a 225-foot seagoing buoytender home ported in Kodiak, arrived on scene Friday morning. The SPAR prepared to bring the Lady Gudny into tow when the towline separated, causing the SPAR to become disabled. Watchstanders at the 17th Coast Guard District Command Center received notification from Coast Guard Communications Detachment Kodiak at 1:43 a.m. Thursday that the Lady Gudny experienced fuel filter issues at sea. At approximately 7:30 a.m. Thursday the Lady Gudny became dead in the water 230 miles east of Kodiak after it exhausted their supply of fuel filters and were unable to run the engine. The 17th Coast Guard District directed the launch of the Coast Guard Cutters Hickory and Douglas Munro, and diverted the Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley to respond and provide assistance to the SPAR. The tug vessels Chahunta and Anna-T are also responding to assist. Weather on scene was reported as 20 to 22-foot seas with 49-mph winds and 9 miles visibility. Link 07:34
