Daily Archives: June 2, 2018

Vision IV taking on her prawn trawls in Newlyn.

Built at Buckie’s famous shipyard, Zander Jack’s Vision IV is one of the largest prawn trawlers to visit Newlyn this summer…along with the Ocean Vision…trawling, especially twin-rig trawling requires the trawls, bridles and doors to be rigged and maintained to the highest order if they are to fish efficiently and effectively… 22 Photo’s, >click to read<22:42

Sinking fishing boat salvaged at Ventura Harbor

Crews salvaged a commercial fishing boat that was sinking at Ventura Harbor early Saturday. The Ventura Harbor Patrol was notified at 2:10 a.m. about a boat that had started sinking in its slip at the Ventura Harbor Village Marina, 1583 Spinnaker Drive. Patrol officers responded and requested assistance from the city of Ventura Fire Department, the Coast Guard and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. An oil containment boom was deployed around the vessel to minimize the spread of its 1,300 gallons of diesel fuel. >click to read<19:46

Retiring marine radio operator recalls 50 years of triumph and tragedy

His name may not be familiar. But Blair Duhamel’s voice is known by mariners across Eastern Canada. For 50 years, the Glace Bay man has worked as a marine radio operator for the Canadian Coast Guard. At his retirement celebration at the Canadian Coast Guard College in Westmount, N.S., colleagues paid tribute to a man who’s helped “countless” mariners to safety. “I was fresh out of high school and applying for anything I saw in the paper,” he said. ‘So I applied for this job, not knowing what it was. But I’m very glad I did.” When he started in the spring of 1968, at age 19, mariners used Morse code to communicate. >click to read<18:37

“First fish is a celebration of the start of Alaska’s wild salmon season,” – 60° North Seafoods delivers first fish to Anchorage

While the first Copper River salmon hit markets and tables in Seattle on May 18, the first fish arrived in Anchorage on time for dinner on the day of the first opener, thanks to processing newcomer 60° North Seafoods. Out on the Copper River flats, F/V Genevieve Rose captain John Derek Wiese and deckhand Robert Silveira harvested the Chinooks and Reds, quickly offloading them to the waiting helicopter. A helicopter carrying a sling load of the fresh salmon from 60° North, Cordova’s new fisherman-owned seafood processing plant, arrived at the Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith Airport in Cordova on May 17 while the opener was still in progress. The fish were loaded onto a Piper Navajo Chieftain and off to Anchorage. 19 photo’s, >click to read<15:27

Somebody keeps stealing the Coast Guard’s bells and gongs in Maine

Expensive brass gongs and bells are being stolen from navigational buoys off the coast of Maine, and the Coast Guard is asking for help to track down whoever is pilfering them. The sounding devices are used by ships and sailors to navigate, especially in low-visibility conditions. The sounding devices are attached to buoys and “play a vital role in the safe passage of ships and mariners,” the Coast Guard said in a release. Six buoys have been hit over the past six months, according to Lt. Chellsey Phillips, spokeswoman for the South Portland Coast Guard Station,,, >click to read<12:52

Why this Maine lobster boat is cruising Michigan’s Straits of Mackinac

If you’ve seen the Ugly Anne’s flashy red hull cruise past you in the Straits of Mackinac, you’ll be forgiven if you swivel your neck for a second look. What’s a refurbished Maine lobster boat doing carrying tourists in Michigan?,,, Enter the Ugly Anne. A lobster boat since 1975, she’d been used to haul in winter delicacies in the Gulf of Maine. Summers saw the wooden vessel hauling charter fishing groups.,, And the Ugly Anne still has a following in her own right. She was well-known in Perkins Cove, Maine, >click to read<11:28

Shrimpers pressured by import prices, seek legislative change

Charles Robin the third comes from a long line of commercial shrimpers. Robin said the shrimping community is struggling to stay afloat. “The way it is right now you gotta catch a boatload of shrimp every trip. If you don’t, you don’t even pay the bills. That’s all we’re doing is staying above water,” Robin said. Local fisherman say import prices are forcing them to lower prices.,, On top of competing with import prices, shrimpers are also forking out money to upkeep their boats. >click to read<09:56

Developing Machine Vision to Collect More Timely Fisheries Data

Government scientists, academia, and fishermen are working together to develop innovative monitoring tools to identify and measure fish from digital images. This technology could revolutionize the way fisheries data are collected. Machine vision technology advances electronic monitoring systems on fishing vessels, which use cameras to collect video of commercial catches. With this technology, scientists are able to automate image analysis at sea eliminating manual data processing on land, and providing quicker access to data to make management decisions. >click to read<09:15