Monthly Archives: November 2017

One man band(er) in high demand

There’s a growing list of South Shore lobster crews in desperate need of John Cooke’s expertise. Just a few days into the season, catches are currently at their most plentiful and serious money is to be made in the province’s most lucrative fishing zones, LFA 33 and 34. But having a competent lobster bander like Cooke, a guy with 15 years experience (who claims he can rubber band two lobster claws in roughly as many seconds) is a must. Captains are crying out for them. Cooke shot down three offers this fall. click here to read the story 18:40

Baie Verte fisherman says fall crab fishery experiment a success

It was a tough year mentally and financially for offshore fisherman Jamie Seymour, but he was more than happy to get a late-season boost. The Baie Verte man was one of the fish harvesters able to participate in an experimental fall crab fishery this year. The 3K Fall Crab Meat Yield Project was successful for Seymour. As one of the harvesters in NAFO 3K Area 4 with at least 25 per cent of their 2017 crab quota remaining, he was eligible to catch up to 10,000 pounds of crab using 400 pots,,, click here to read the story 16:40

Coast Guard: Russia and U.S. Working Well Together in the Bering Sea, Arctic

Unlike other parts of the world, the U.S. and Russia work well together in the Bering Sea and the Arctic. The pair is enforcing fishing regulations and other laws, conducting search and rescue operations. Moscow and Washington are sending the International Maritime Organization a joint recommendation for safe shipping routes through northern waters, the head of the U.S. Coast Guard in Alaska said on Wednesday. “We see the relationship with Russia [in the Arctic] as a bright spot,” said Rear Adm. Michael McAllister,,, click here to read the story 16:10

Safe opening day to lobster season off southwestern N.S.; some calls for assistance on Day 2

Dumping day, the most risky day of the six-month lobster fishery off southwestern Nova Scotia, was reported to have been a safe day with no incidents occurring. But day two of the season has not been incident free while vessels have been on the water hauling up catches. While the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) says there were no incidents reported to it, and no assets needed to be tasked, on Tuesday, Nov. 28, the day the lobster season got underway, this wasn’t the case the following day. click here to read the story 14:21

Police divers and salvage crews are preparing to raise the sunken fishing vessel Dianne

The Dianne overturned in Bustard Bay overturned in Bustard Bay on October 16 with six crewmen on board.,,, The Observer understands the salvage of the Dianne is being conducted at the direction of Maritime Safety Queensland, though the incident remains a matter for the State Coroner. The divers will be accompanied by officers from the water police, scenes of crime, and disaster victim identification units, as well as the Criminal Investigation Branch. click here to read the story 12:21

Maine: Scallop farm first of its kind in local waters

Just about one year after father-and-son fishermen Marsden and Bob Brewer returned from Japan, where they learned new scallop-farming techniques firsthand, Bob Brewer was granted a 3.23 acre experimental aquaculture lease southwest of Andrews Island. It is the first scallop farm of its kind in Penobscot Bay. The Brewers can grow up to 200,000 Atlantic sea scallops using lantern nets, where mesh nets, each 10 floors deep, hang from a 600-foot longline.  “It’s a big circular tube with floors,” Bob Brewer said. “They’re used in Japan. That’s where we learned how to do it.” click here to read the story 10:42

Remembering the Crew of the New Bedford Fishing Vessel Navigator

On November 30, 1977, the Navigator left New Bedford for a ten-day trip in the waters east of Nantucket. That night, the scalloper made radio contact with the Oceanic, near the Great Round Shoal channel. The Navigator was never heard from again. The ship was reported overdue, and the Coast Guard began an extensive air-sea search on December 12 over 104,000 square nautical miles. The weather had been cold and snowy, with winds up to 40 knots and fifteen-foot seas. The Coast Guard ended the search on December 17, without finding the vessel, a life raft, or any of the thirteen crew members. F/V Navigator page click here   Click here to read the story Visit The Lost Fishermen website click here09:40

‘Tis the Season, Mullet Season that is!

Thanksgiving has come and gone, and with its passing marks the beginning of the most anticipated season of the year, Mullet Season. The fall run of the spawning roe-filled lowly little mullet is what put the small village of Cortez on the map as the largest mullet fishery in Florida.,,, That annual bonanza at the end of the year has become increasingly difficult in the past 20 some years since Article X Section 16, or the “Net Ban” was passed in a Constitutional Amendment that banned the use of entanglement nets in the inshore and near shore waters of Florida. click here to read the story 08:36

Fishermen to managers: Our voices are ignored

The New England Fishery Management Council sent its program review roadshow to Gloucester on Tuesday night to gather opinions on the council’s performance and the fishery managers were not spared the lash. The comments delivered Tuesday night at the sparsely attended meeting at the state Division of Marine Fisheries Annisquam Station facility certainly were not new, at least not to anyone who has spent any time speaking with local fishermen about life under the regulatory gaze of the council. They revolved around a strong belief among local fishermen that management decisions affecting the fishery are made well before the council convenes its public meetings and the scientific data and on-the-water-expertise of local fishermen are ignored or demeaned when it comes to forming policy. click here to read the story 21:37

Steady and sustainable cod fishery needed to supply demand

Other than Icewater Seafoods, in Arnold’s Cove, Newfoundland and Labrador isn’t well positioned for large-scale cod processing. And Icewater president – Alberto Wareham – says a sustainable fishery is needed before progress can be made. “Get harvesting right first and processing will follow,” he advises. Wareham’s message followed a series of presentations at the Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation (CCFI) cod conference in Gander on Wednesday, which highlighted how Norway and Iceland have streamlined production through automation,,, click here to read the story 20:51

Pacific Halibut numbers could drop

Scientists monitoring halibut say there could be a decline in the bottom fish along the coast of the U.S. and Canada in upcoming years if the current level of fishing continues. The International Pacific Halibut Commission oversees management of the fish along the coast from Alaska to California. Commissioners had an interim meeting Tuesday and Wednesday, November 28-29th in Seattle and heard about this year’s catch and the latest estimates of halibut stocks. Scientists found fewer younger halibut in survey fishing done up and down the coast this year. click here to read the story 16:10

Pacific herring: Fisheries and Oceans Canada seeks herring input from the public

Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is drafting its 2018 management plan for Pacific herring and looking for the public’s thoughts. DFO herring resource manager Roger Kanno said the federal fisheries agency is preparing its integrated fisheries plan for the herring, which be available for the public to read and comment on in December. A food and bait herring fishery, the smallest of DFO’s four herring fisheries, is currently open in the Strait of Georgia at Pacific Fisheries Management area 15, the part of the strait around the upper Sunshine Coast, although the main harvesting is happening near Hornby Island and Campbell River. click here to read the story 14:56

UPDATED: Panel recommends reopening New England shrimp fishery – New England shrimp fishing closed for at least 1 more year

An advisory group is recommending regulators reopen New England’s long-shuttered shrimp fishery next year. An arm of the regulatory Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will decide on Wednesday in Portland if there will be a fishery this coming season. The advisory board’s recommendation clashes with an opinion from the commission’s technical committee, which wants to keep the fishery closed. click here to read the story 14:15

New England shrimp fishing closed for at least 1 more yearclick here to read the story 17:15

Puget Sound piracy leaves trail of (salmon) blood

Call it Puget Sound piracy. Thieves boarded a floating salmon farm a few saltwater miles from Anacortes on a Saturday night in September. In their wake, they left a trail of blood. Fish blood, that is. The thieves boated out to one of Cooke Aquaculture’s Atlantic salmon farms, a grid of 40-foot-deep net-pens ringed by a floating walkway bigger than a football field. They hauled away an undisclosed number of fish from two of the 10 pens. They killed more by turning off the farm’s air hoses that help oxygenate the water where the domesticated salmon swim by the thousands. click here to read the story 12:53

Newfoundland and Labrador cod stocks rebounding, but still critical

Cod stocks off Newfoundland and Labrador have shown “tremendous progress” in recovery over the past several years, but the species is still in critical shape. That’s what delegates at a cod conference in Gander heard Tuesday, Nov. 28. The conference, titled “Cod: Building the Future of the Fishery” and organized by the Canadian Centre for Fisheries Innovation (CCFI), provided updated figures from the 2016 cod stock assessment. click here to read the story 12:31

Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 35′ Duffy & Duffy Lobster/Tuna, 430HP, 6 Cylinder Cummins

Specifications, information and 9 photos click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 11:59

TINA COMEAU: Am I ready? Another lobster season begins

Usually there’s a convoy of vehicles all heading in the same direction. It makes me grin every year – rush-hour traffic at 5 a.m. in Melbourne, Yarmouth County. This year as I pull out of our driveway it is just them and I – them being my husband Greg and my son Jacob. I watch their taillights ahead of me, driving to the wharf and away from me. When I asked Jacob the night before if he wanted to drive to the wharf with me or his father I could tell by his expression and response that it was a question I shouldn’t have asked. Of course he would drive with his father – he’s part of the crew. click here to read the story 10:53

Grand Manan fisherman finds lobster with Pepsi can imprinted on claw

Karissa Lindstrand had already spent five hours banding lobster claws on a boat called Honour Bound, off Grand Manan, when a blue and red logo she knew well caught her eye. It was a Pepsi can image “tattooed on the lobster’s claw,” said Lindstrand. Being a huge Pepsi fan — she drinks 12 cans every day — this image would have caught her interest anywhere. But this sight was something she had never seen before. click here to read the story 09:22

Positive trends highlighted in fall sockeye market analysis

Bristol Bay’s commercial fishing industry had a smashing good season in 2017. The massive forecast for next year has stirred a lot of excitement, and drift permit prices are up around $140,000. Now an annual analysis of the sockeye market suggests wholesale and retail prices are up, worldwide supply is down, and farmed salmon producers are still struggling to rebound. Only the prospect of Pebble Mine filing for permits has seemed to dampen the mood of Bristol Bay fishermen this fall. Andy Wink, a senior seafood industry analyst at the McDowell Group, authored the “2017 Sockeye Market Analysis” for the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association. click here to read the story 08:18

Maine lobster industry braces for impact of Canada’s sweet EU deal

More than 1,700 fishing boats raced out of Nova Scotia ports before first light Tuesday morning on what is known as Dumping Day – the opening of Canada’s biggest and most lucrative lobster fishery. It also signals the start of when their U.S. rivals in Maine and Massachusetts will begin to feel the sting of the 8 percent tariff differential created when Canada signed a new trade deal with Europe, leaving American lobstermen to wonder just how much of that valuable market they are about to lose. click here to read the story 07:51

6th Annual Herring Sale to Raise Funds for Fishermen Helping Kids With Cancer

Finest At Sea Victoria will see the once a year arrival of 20,000 pounds of fresh herring. This one-day herring sale is a fundraiser for Fishermen Helping Kids With Cancer (FHKWC) 100% of the proceeds go directly to improving the quality of life of kids with cancer. The sale starts at 7:00am, with the most devout herring lovers lining up hours earlier in the still dark morning. This event runs entirely on the passion of volunteers and goes until we are sold out. Bring your pails and coolers and join us at 27 Erie St across from Fisherman’s Wharf at 7:00am Saturday December 2. WHY KIDS’ CANCER? The spark for Fishermen Helping Kids with Cancer click here to read the story 21:58

Report released about Shea Heights fishermen’s tragedy

The Transportation Safety Board (TSB) released its report Monday about the sinking of the 22-foot open boat Pop’s Pride and the loss of four Shea Heights fishermen in September 2016. The findings have confirmed what many in the tight-knit St. John’s community have believed since the accident — the fishermen went out that morning in questionable weather conditions; the way the cod stewardship fishery was set up caused fishermen to take risks in order to land their weekly quotas; and small fishing vessels do not have sufficient communication and safety equipment onboard. The four Shea Heights fishermen, including three generations of the Walsh family — Eugene, Keith and Keith Jr. — and close friend Billy Humby, were lost after their boat overturned off the coast of Cape Spear. click here to read the story 20:16

DFO talks huge offshore Vancouver Island Marine Protected Area

Alice Cheung, Oceans Program Regional Manager for DFO gave a presentation on Canada’s Marine Conservation Target’s initiative, where she addressed the proposed Marine Protected Area (MPA) at the Regional District of Mount Waddington’s (RDMW) board meeting on Nov.21. “My purpose here is to communicate how fisheries and oceans intend to meet Canada’s commitment,” said Cheung, adding she would discuss “what it actually looks like in the Pacific region and to seek your input as we move forward in the agenda.” click here to read the story 17:13

B.C. fish processors spewing potentially dangerous bloodwater into key salmon migration corridor

Salmon farming in British Columbia has long faced controversy, with concerns about fish escapes, antibiotic use, and the spread of viruses and sea lice. Most of the anger and calls for change have been directed at fish farms, but CTV News has obtained video footage that shows fish processing plants may be contributing to problems as well. The video shows a farmed-salmon processing plant in the Discovery Passage channel off Vancouver Island discharging bloody effluent from a pipe under the water – effluent that tests have shown contains a highly contagious fish virus. click here to read the story 16:26

THE 2018 MAKO SEASON IS SAVED!

The United States and other nations recently finished up a week of tuna, swordfish and shark management discussions at the 2017 annual meeting of International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) in Marrakech, Morocco. The good news from overseas is that there’s a bluefin tuna quota increase coming for U.S. fishermen; perhaps even better news is that motions by some ICCAT delegates to shut down the North Atlantic mako shark fishery failed (though an increase in harvest size is forthcoming.),,, The final agreement focuses on measures to reduce fishing mortality and efforts to further strengthen data collection, while protecting opportunities for U.S. recreational and commercial fishermen to retain small amounts of shortfin mako sharks. click here to read the story 15:35

Leaving crab traps in P.E.I. waters for his wife to haul lands fisherman in court

A decision by a New Brunswick crab fisherman to leave his traps in the water so his wife could pick them up later has proven costly for the couple.  Kenneth J. Gaudet, 54, of Grand-Barachois, N.B., recently pleaded guilty to two counts under the Fisheries Act, one for fishing for crab without authorization and another for possessing fish caught in contravention of the act. The charges were heard in P.E.I. provincial court in Summerside as he was fishing in waters off P.E.I. click here to read the story 15:05

Rescuing a regional treasure: Biologists, baymen bringing back Peconic Bay scallops

Last week the veil was lifted on a question at the center of the East End’s culture as well as its economy: How many Peconic Bay scallops made it through algae blooms, whelk attacks, underwater landslides and onto dinner tables this season? Sunrise on Monday, November 6 marked the opening of New York State waters for fishing this sweet local delicacy, and by 7 a.m. it was clear there were plenty of scallops to be harvested. There are many ways for a scallop to die before its time, and Long Island University biologist Stephen Tettelbach, is familiar with all of them. click here to read the story 13:34

SBA Offers Economic Injury Disaster Loans to Small Businesses In Florida Affected by Hurricane Irma

Small businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture and most private nonprofit organizations located in the declared counties of Florida that have suffered financial losses as the result of Hurricane Irma, should consider applying for an Economic Injury Disaster Loan from the U.S. Small Business Administration.,,,  Examples of eligible industries include but are not limited to the following: bait and tackle shops, charter boats, commercial fisherman, crabbers, fishing guides, hotels, and marinas, owners of rental property, restaurants, retailers, souvenir shops, travel agencies, and wholesalers. click here to read the press release 11:39

Humpback whale washes up in Virginia Beach, aquarium officials conduct necropsy

A humpback whale washed up near the Lynnhaven Fishing Pier on Sunday, the first in the area since National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries declared an Unusual Mortality Event for humpback whale strandings along the Atlantic Coast. The juvenile female was at least 2 years old, measured 30 feet long and weighed about 6 tons, said Susan Barco, research coordinator for the Virginia Aquarium’s research and conservation division. click here to read the story 10:36

Indigenous fishermen hope to be arrested, trigger court case as Nova Scotia lobster season kicks off

As one of the most lucrative fisheries in Canada prepares for opening day, some Mi’kmaq in Nova Scotia are trying to trigger a court battle over Indigenous fishing, hoping it will see them win a greater share of the thriving lobster business. And they are daring the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to arrest them. One of them is Cheryl Maloney, an activist, law school graduate and mother of four boys. She wants her family to be able to earn the “moderate livelihood” she says the Supreme Court of Canada ruled they are entitled to in 1999. click here to read the story 09:19