Daily Archives: June 13, 2017

Construction project could be a boon for Whatcom commercial fishing fleet

The Port of Bellingham has awarded a $750,000 contract to American Construction of Tacoma to fix three deteriorated piers. Work is expected to be completed on two piers before Sept. 24, prior to the start of the fall commercial salmon and crabbing seasons in early October. Repairs to the Sawtooth Pier will start in early October so it doesn’t impact the commercial fleet during the summer. Both projects are not expected to impact recreation boaters at Blaine Harbor, said Mike Hogan, a spokesman for the port. The improvements will allow for more equipment and weight on the piers. Large areas of the three piers are currently under significant load restrictions, Hogan said. The fixes will also allow for more commercial ships to be tied up. click here to read the story 21:11

Woman Reported Missing in Lake Erie After Falling From a Fishing Boat

Pennsylvania State Police have issued search warrants as they are called in to assist in the case of a woman missing in Lake erie, after her husband reported she fell off a boat Sunday afternoon. She is identified as 51-year-old Karen LeClair of Albion. Her husband 48-year-old Christopher Leclair says it was the commercial fishing vessel he operates, the “Doris M.” that she fell from. According to Sgt. Brook Tolbert of the PA Fish and Boat Commission, Mrs. Leclair, a partner with her husband in a commercial fishing enterprise called, Lake Erie Fishing was not wearing a life vest. . “Mr. Leclair indicated that she was not wearing a life vest, there were plenty of life vests on board the vessel at the time, but she was not wearing it and she’s not required to wear it,” Video, click here to read the story 20:43

Greenstick Tuna Fishing

Inspired by commercial tuna fishermen, a new generation of recreational anglers now targets tuna with a green stick. The boats around us, fishing commercially, were outfitted with a 40-foot vertical pole called a green stick. At the time, only a few commercial boats rigged this way. By the next season, half the charter fleet had joined the stick fight. Lately, green sticks are popping up on private boats, and smaller versions are available for boats less than 30 feet. But installing, rigging and using this deadly tactic is a major investment of time and money. Here’s how to do it right. click here to read the story 16:15

We import 92% of the seafood our nation consumes. Has the time come?

Many  years ago I often wondered what would have happened if the entire nations commercial fishermen went on strike. And I mean all aspects of the commercial fishing industry. All coasts, all fisheries, everything, the whole kit and caboodle. It was at a time when the industry was beginning to feel the effects of legal abuses of the court system by the environmental organizations that were itching to control the way fishermen went about their business. It was probably in the early ninety’s. I always thought that a show of unity on such a grand scale would enlighten the powers that be to realize how much of an economic force the industry represented. Back then, we felt things were getting pretty bad. Our livelihoods were under attack by eco zealots who felt as they do today, that fishermen’s jobs meant less than the food they supplied the nation. If I had to guess, back then American fishermen were probably providing around half of the seafood we consumed as a nation. I recall thinking we could have a profound effect on the way we were perceived  and have greater control of our own destinies. click here to read the story 13:45

FISH-NL raises concerns of conflict of interest over marine escort contract awarded to FFAW executive member 

The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) is calling on the FFAW-Unifor to explain an apparent conflict of interest involving an executive member of the union who won a lucrative marine escort contract with the offshore oil industry. “Fish harvesters demand and deserve an explanation,” says Ryan Cleary, President of FISH-NL. The Eastern Princess II, a fishing vessel owned by Nelson Bussey, who serves on the union’s executive board (Inshore, Avalon Peninsula), was apparently hired in recent weeks to escort the Hebron oil platform out to sea. Marine Escorts are regularly contracted for offshore oil and gas operations to guide marine vessels safely through open water, avoiding fishing gear. The FFAW decides which fishing boats are hired through the union’s Fishing Guide Vessel Program. It’s not known how many fishing boat owners expressed interest in the contract. click here to read the press release 13:11

Local fishermen praise decision to cancel new protection for endangered animals

The new rule would have allowed for suspending swordfish fishermen for two entire fishing seasons if too many endangered animals were getting caught in their nets. After 35 years of fishing out of Morro Bay, Jeremiah O’Brien is breathing a sigh of relief for the industry. “We’ve got 110 permits on the West Coast and under 24 being used,” said O’Brien, who is also vice president of the Morro Bay Commercial Fishermen’s Association. Advocates say taking away the regulation hurts dwindling communities of endangered species, but O’Brien says fisherman already avoid catching endangered species at all costs. “The last thing we want is anything in the world but swordfish,” said O’Brien. The veteran fisherman says in the swordfish industry, they’re required to have observers on board with them, a vessel monitoring system, net limitations and strict off-limits areas in the Pacific Ocean. click here to read the story 12:40

Heavy ice off East Coast 2017 caused by winds, cold temperatures, and icebergs

Heavy sea ice off Newfoundland and southern Labrador has been an issue for months: it brought record-breaking numbers of polar bear visitors onshore in early March and April and since then has hampered the efforts of fisherman to get out to sea. Let’s look back in time at how the ice built up, from early January to today, using ice maps and charts I’ve downloaded from the Canadian Ice Service and news reports published over the last few months. The tour is illuminating because it shows the development of the thick ice over time and shows how strong winds from a May storm combined with an extensive iceberg field contributed to the current situation. Bottom line: I can only conclude that climate change researcher David Barber was grandstanding today when he told the media that global warming is to blame for Newfoundland’s record thick sea ice conditions this year.  I suspect that because Barber’s expensive research expedition was scuttled, he simply had to find a way to garner media attention for his project — and the media obliged. click> Read to the end and decide for yourself.  11:07

Some fishing expected in Egegik and Igushik this week, and Port Moller test effort underway

The Port Moller Test Fishery made its first sets this weekend, catching 12 then 20 sockeye on its out-and-back from stations 2 to 12. A little bit of commercial activity is expected this week in Bristol Bay, with managers and the market trying to get a sense of the early part of the run. The R/V Pandalus went out and back for its first test of the Bristol Bay offshore run over the weekend. On Saturday, (3) sockeye were caught in the 4 1/2 inch mesh, and (9) in the 5 1/8 inch, with most of the activity towards the inshore stations. On Sunday, after six sets, the boat recorded (12) fish caught in the four-and-a-half, and (8) in the five-and-an-eighth. Station 4 saw the most activity. Last year the first sets saw about the same number of fish, but the water temperatures are almost three degrees (Celcius) cooler than they were in the first sets in 2016. Audio report, click here to hear/read the story 10:28

Feds announce emergency funding for ice-impacted harvesters in N.L., Quebec

The federal government has finally stepped in to provide emergency financial assistance to fish harvesters impacted by severe ice conditions in Newfoundland and Labrador.Fisheries and Ocean Minister Dominic LeBlanc announced Friday up to $5 million has been allocated for payments for eligible applicants in Newfoundland and Labrador, and Quebec, under the Ice Assistance Emergency Program. Application forms for the program will be available on the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) website as of June 23. They will also be available at DFO and Service Canada offices in the ice-affected areas.,,, In response to the announcement, the Fish, Food and Allied Workers (FFAW-Unifor) union called it unacceptable to not include fish plant workers in the income support program.,,, “Better late than never,” FISH-NL president Ryan Cleary said in a news release, adding the group has been lobbying for emergency funding since April. click here to read the story 09:53

Inside the Multi-million-Dollar World of Eel Trafficking

The alleged kingpin of one of the biggest domestic wildlife smuggling operations ever to hit the East Coast is exactly where you’d expect to find him on a rainy evening in early May: firmly planted in a swivel chair at a big green metal desk inside his renovated Quonset hut on Foster Street, in Ellsworth, Maine. At this post Bill Sheldon waits day and night for fishermen to come and fill his bowl with writhing masses of baby eels. The 72-year-old fisherman wears glasses, a blue flannel shirt, jeans, duck boots, and a brown L.L. Bean baseball cap. His cell phone goes quack, quack, quack when it rings. The sign above his head reads, “Buying Glass Eels Here,” with the day’s market price: $1,250 per pound. (so much more about the fishery in this article than “trafficking”) click here to read the story 09:26

Monument review includes Northeast Canyons and Seamounts, Papahahanoukuakea National Marine Monument’s

President Donald Trump’s call to review 27 national monuments established by three former presidents,,, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke made his first recommendation Monday: Proposing a reduced size for the Bears Ears National Monument in Utah. He is set to issue a final report in late August for all the monuments. A closer look at five of the monuments that are being re-examined: Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monument, The designation closed the area to commercial fishermen, who go there primarily for lobster, red crab, squid, whiting, butterfish, swordfish and tuna. A coalition of commercial fishing groups filed a lawsuit in March to overturn the designation. They argued the creation of the monument would bring economic distress to fishermen and their families. Papahahanoukuakea National Marine Monument,The decision to expand the monument was the subject of fierce debate within Hawaii, with both sides invoking Native Hawaiian culture to argue why it should or shouldn’t be expanded. click here to read the story 08:30