Daily Archives: January 8, 2017
Coast Guard assists 6 aboard disabled fishing vessel off Long Beach, Wash.
The Coast Guard assisted a commercial fishing vessel
safely back to shore after the crew of the vessel reported taking on water approximately 4 miles offshore of Long Beach, Washington, Sunday afternoon. The crew of the Tracer was uninjured and the vessel was safely moored in the Port of Ilwaco, Washington. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Columbia River Command Center received a mayday call via satellite phone at 11:35 a.m. The original report was a loss of engine power and taking on water with six people on board. An aircrew aboard anMH-60 Jayhawk helicopter was diverted to assist but was unable to communicate with the Tracer’s crew, so they passed a radio to the crew. The aircrew remained on scene until a crew aboard a47-foot MLB from Station Cape Disappointment arrived on scene. The MLB’s crew delivered a dewatering pump and assisted the Tracer in regaining engine power and then helped the crew control the flooding. The vessel’s crew started back toward Ilwaco with a precautionary escort from the MLB crew once it was safe to transit. The sea conditions encountered on scene were 5-foot swells and 30 MPH winds. Link 20:07
Louisiana: Launch of new shrimp boat a testament of faith
Some people have lost faith in the traditions and possibilities of the shrimp industry here in the Bayou Region. But Chad and Angela Portier and the rest of their family are not among those. They proved their faith – in more than one way – with the Tuesday launch of the Louisiana shrimp fleet’s newest addition, the 72-foot trawler they named “Jesus Lives.” The boat rolled into the waters of Bayou Petit Caillou with a dignified slide, a testament to the family’s tradition and tenacity. Chad Portier learned to build boats from his late father, Russell, whose name on the bayou is legendary. During the project Chad taught his sons, Chad Jr., 15, and Jenson Engebretson, 19, how to build alongside him. It was for the boys, the veteran shrimper said, that the project happened at all. Watch the launch video, and read the story here 15:20
Shelburne lobster fisherman dies after falling overboard
A 44-year-old Nova Scotia lobster fisherman died Saturday after he fell overboard when the crew was setting traps. Jimmy Buchanan was working about 50 kilometres southeast of Cape Sable Island. RCMP received a call around 6 p.m. Saturday, about three hours after the incident took place. They investigated the incident and deemed it non-suspicious, said Cpl. Andrew Joyce. As it was a workplace death, the case is now being handled by the provincial Labour Department. Read the story here 14:40
Keep NC seafood (especially SHRIMP) on our tables online petition gains support
An Ocracoke resident has started an online petition to oppose a request from the N.C. Wildlife Federation before the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission for new rules that may put more restrictions on shrimp trawling. These petitions have come out while a fishing industry work group is about to receive information on bycatch reducing gear tests, and set priorities for additional tests this year. Megan Spencer of Ocracoke began a petition at the website change.org, a site dedicated to hosting petitions of all sorts, in early December. This petition, titled “Keep N.C. seafood (especially shrimp) on our tables,” calls for the MFC to deny a petition for rulemaking from the NCWF that, if granted, would designate all coastal fishing waters in the state not otherwise designated as nursery areas as special secondary nursery areas. As of Saturday, Ms. Spencer’s petition has received 1,427 signatures. In her petition, she says that local businesses, fishing families and coastal communities depend on catches from trawlers – namely shrimp – as a source of economic commerce and locally-grown, organic protein. Read the story here To read and sign the “Keep NC seafood (especially SHRIMP) on our tables”, Click here 12:26
Carapace Size Increase – Craig Avery: PEIFA follows democratic vote
There seems to be inconsistency in Egmont MP Morrissey’s approach to what constitutes due process. In one case he is advocating that a vote should have been taken before any carapace increase was decided upon in LFA 25, but challenges the recent votes that did not support a carapace size increase in LFA 24 and 26A. Mr. Morrissey states there should have been stronger leadership in favour of an increase. The vote process was led by the respective Lobster Advisory Chairs and included open information meetings, detailed mail-outs to all fishers in these areas and secret ballot votes. This is a valid democratic process and the results reflect the wishes of the “constituents” in these fishing communities. Read the rest here 11:01
UPDATE: Tugs tow Coast Guard cutter, disabled fishing vessel back to Kodiak
The commercial tug Anna-T took the Coast Guard Cutter SPAR into tow 230 miles southeast of Kodiak Saturday afternoon and is in transit to Kodiak. The Coast Guard Cutter Hickory, a 225-foot seagoing buoytender home ported in Homer, arrived on scene and will escort the Anna-T and SPAR during the transit to Kodiak. The commercial tug Chahunta is scheduled to take the fishing vessel Lady Gudny into tow later this evening. Initially, the Lady Gudny experienced fuel filter issues at sea after midnight Thursday and became disabled and adrift. The SPAR was directed to get underway to provide assistance. As the SPAR prepared to bring the Lady Gudny into tow Friday afternoon the towline separated, which entangled the SPAR’s propellers and caused the cutter to become disabled. The four people aboard the Lady Gudny were airlifted by an Air Station Kodiak MH-60T aircrew and safely transported to Kodiak with no medical concerns, Friday afternoon. Link 10:29
Coast Guard, local agencies rescue fisherman near MacMillan Pier in Provincetown
A Coast Guard 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew along with the Provincetown Harbormaster and Provincetown Police and Fire Departments rescued a fisherman after he fell overboard Saturday night near MacMillan Pier in Provincetown. Coast Guard watchstanders received a mayday call from the fishing vessel Resolute at around 9:30 pm Saturday stating a crewmember had fell overboard near the pier. The crew of the Resolute threw the man a life ring, which had a strobe light attached to it, but were unable to recover him. A 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew from Coast Guard Station Provincetown arrived on scene at around 9:45 pm, along with the Provincetown Harbor Master. “The weather was nasty,” said Chief Petty Officer James Zerinskas, the coxswain of the 47-foot Motor Lifeboat. “The wind was around 28 knots, visibility was only a quarter mile, and air temperature was 27 degrees at the time.” Despite the conditions, the harbormaster was able to locate the fisherman by seeing the flashing strobe attached to the life ring. Two Coast Guard crewmembers quickly transferred over to the harbormaster’s boat and assisted in pulling the man from the 39-degree water. The man was immediately moved to Provincetown Emergency Medical Services personnel to be treated for hypothermia. “He’s alive because of the life ring and strobe and the fast response of the Provincetown crews,” said Scott Backholm, the command duty officer at Sector Southeastern New England’s command center. “This demonstrates the importance of having a life ring with an operable strobe light.” Link 09:59
Does anyone remember the Wenonah?
The Wenonah was a wooden fishing trawler with an interesting past which included a stint in the Campbell River area in the mid 1950s. She was built in Dartmouth, England, in 1905, by Simpson, Strickland & Co., one of the Country’s foremost builders of steam yachts and launches of the day. She was 43 feet long with a beam of 7 feet. Her polished mahogany hull was double-planked, with oil canvas in between the planks and her steam bent ribs were fashioned from American elm. She had a small trunk cabin, which housed closets, storage lockers, benches and a lavatory, and there was a small glass-enclosed steering cockpit forward, all finished in varnished mahogany. Her machinery included a fire-tube boiler and a quadruple expansion steam engine. In the early 1930s, she was used for salvaging and during the 1940s she was converted to a fishing trawler and taken to Port Alberni. Read the story here 09:23
