Monthly Archives: August 2018
Shrimpers Still Impacted by Shortage of Workers
Shrimpers in the Rio Grande Valley say they are still experiencing a shortage of workers. Captain Jesus Moreno tells CHANNEL 5 NEWS it’s a tough job. He explains, new shrimpers quit within days and ask to go home. This year, the number of visas issued under the H2B program expanded. Still, only about 15 to 20 percent of the shrimpers received a visa worker. KRGV’s Christian von Preysing spoke with Andrea Hance with the Texas Shrimp Association. She says Texas shrimpers need a total of 750 workers. >click to watch<15:02
Gloucester’s annual Overdose Vigil grows and glows on waterfront
Down on Stacy Boulevard, over by the Blynman Bridge flagpole, they gathered again and lit their luminaries as the last of the evening’s light left the sky. There were 520 luminaries by Patti Day’s count, up 40 from last year, and she said the counting wouldn’t end till the vigil itself ended. Patti Day — a sister of Kathy Day, an original organizer of the annual Overdose Vigil, now in its eight year — is herself a recovered heroin addict. She is also a tan, fit living contradiction of two common misconceptions about addicts: That they are low-life denizens of some netherworld, and that they are bound to relapse. >click to read<12:18
Fisherman who lost four pals in trawler tragedy returns to water as lifeboatman
A fisherman left devastated when four colleagues died in a trawler tragedy is returning to the sea as a lifeboatman. Tam Fyall, 59, is now deputy second coxswain at Anstruther lifeboat station in Fife after battling post-traumatic stress disorder. The appointment marks a remarkable turnaround after the Meridian disaster in 2006 left him too distressed to leave shore. The accident claimed the lives of Fifers Martin Gardner, 49, Edward Gardner, 50, Ian Donald, 55, and Sidney Low, 52, from Aberdeen. Only Edward’s body has been found. Tam said he would never forget his lost friends but he was sure they would approve of his new role with the RNLI. >click to read<11:46
Research ship with URI students runs aground in the western Gulf of Boothia
A research vessel carrying a team of University of Rhode Island scientists and students ran aground Friday in the western Gulf of Boothia, a body of water in Nunavut, Canada. All passengers and expedition members are safe, and there is no report of any injuries or environmental concerns. The Akademik Ioffe had been refloated by Saturday morning, according to URI. >click to read< More about their adventure,, All ship passengers are safe and being cared for on sister ship, company spokesperson says – Andrea Beaubien, a spokesperson for the One Ocean Expeditions tour company, said Saturday morning that the Akademik Ioffe had “come afloat” and that all its passengers were safe and being cared for on another ship. >click to read< 09:51
New England lobster fishermen are asked to keep an eye out for tagged lobsters
New England’s lobster fishermen are being asked to keep an eye out for tagged lobsters that are part of a survey of the valuable crustaceans. The lobsters are tagged with green bars that say “SNECVTS” and black acoustic tags. They are part of a tagging program that’s part of a southern New England lobster study being conducted from May to November by Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation and the University of Rhode Island. >click to read< If you find a lobster with a green “SNECVTS” t-bar tag behind the carapace or a black acoustic tag on the carapace, please contact: Michael Long at (401) 515-4892 or [email protected] >click to read<08:33
Fraser River sockeye finally catch a break with cooling water temps
Sockeye salmon entering the Fraser River this week will be aided by cooling water temperatures, which should decrease mortality and help them reach their spawning grounds up river in better condition. Commercial fishers are optimistic that the sockeye run will live up to early season predictions as late-season fish start to enter the river. Sockeye migrating into the river this summer are the grandchildren of the record-breaking 2010 run that exceeded 28 million fish. “The fishing we’ve had up to this point has been pretty darn good,” said Chauvel. “You have to make your money in these peak years. The years in between are subsistence, so it’s these sockeye years that put you over the top.” >click to read<22:02
Fish Commissioner Calls For Sharp Increase In Chinook Production For Orcas
Fifty million more Chinook would be released for southern resident killer whales under a plan being pitched by a member of the Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission and which would also provide “shirttail benefits” for salmon anglers. Don McIsaac wants to release 30 million kings in four areas of Puget Sound, and another 20 million from hatcheries in the Columbia River system to help feed the starving pods. Their plight has gripped the region this summer and this past March led Governor Jay Inslee to sign an executive order directing state agencies such as WDFW to do all they can to help save the species. >click to read<20:18
RCMP dog Axel apprehends man responsible for theft of fishing vessel
An RCMP dog caught a suspect accused of stealing a fishing vessel in Lark Harbour on the province’s west coast. Thursday around 8:40 p.m., RCMP in Corner Brook were called out to the scene and found the ropes that were attached to the vessel had been cut. It was unknown if anyone was on board the vessel. A motor vehicle that had been reported stolen to the RNC in Corner Brook earlier that day was found in the area. RCMP police dog services and officers from Corner Brook and Deer Lake Detachment attended the scene with Department of Fisheries. A 31-year-old man was apprehended by police dog Axel, and taken into custody and treated for his injuries. >click to read<16:15
Fewer Pollock, cod found in southern Bering Sea survey
Formal results of this year’s NOAA trawl survey of the southern Bering Sea won’t be announced until mid-September, but preliminary data shows a decided warming trend and the presence of fewer Alaska Pollock and Pacific cod than anticipated. “It appears that conditions are such now that we are moving into a warming phase and there is not clear evidence that we will move back into a cold phase,” said Lyle Britt, a research fisheries biologist with NOAA’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center in Seattle who participated in this year’s survey. >click to read<15:41
Russia to auction half of crab fishing quotas
Russia will e-auction 50% of the crab fishing quotas for 2018-2019 to create conditions for the entry of new players into the sector, Vedomosti daily said on August 24 citing an official government decree. The world famous Kamchatka red crab is Russia’s “other caviar” and fetches high prices in export as well as being highly valued by the Russians themselves as a favourite delicacy. Russian fishing business has been attracting investors’ attention as fishing is one of the fastest growing Russian agricultural segments and several heavyweight Russian tycoons have been investing into the industry. >click to read<15:03
An evening on an Outer Banks shrimp boat with Dana Beasley
For those familiar with how shrimp are harvested, the boats we are most likely to see, especially just off the beach and in deeper sound waters are the larger trawlers,,, But many North Carolina commercial shrimp boats are more modest, and they’re joined by a handful of recreational shrimpers who are allowed to harvest a small amount for personal use only. Most, but not all small-boat commercial shrimpers also work other species of shellfish and finfish. Dana Beasley is no exception. Beasley is 100 percent local, born and raised in Colington. The waterman knows his trade, and generations of his family have worked the waters around Colington and beyond to supply fresh fish to local markets and restaurants. Video, >click to read<10:35
When a ship owner’s dreams die – Recycling Washington’s ghost ships could turn trash into treasure
This is an example of where owning an old boat ends with reality, a case of folks with “great dreams and aspirations, and no money,” says Troy Wood, the man in charge of dealing with derelict vessels in Washington. The unenviable job falls to the Department of Natural Resources, which manages 2.4 million acres of state-owned aquatic lands. There’s an old saying that a boat is simply a hole in the water into which you dump your cash. They can be cheap to buy, but are expensive to maintain, insure, berth, repair and operate. They age, they weather, they often sink. When they do, they create another kind of money hole: a maritime cleanup project often leaves taxpayers with the bill for removal. >click to read<09:36
‘Greedy Poachers’ Face Stiffer Penalties Under New Law Drafted by San Diego Assemblywoman
A bill authored by a San Diego lawmaker that cracks down on illegal poaching in marine protected areas by commercial fishing operators has been signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown. Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez Fletcher‘s bill (AB-2369) takes effect Jan. 1. and was signed by the governor Friday. “These greedy poachers have done an enormous amount of damage, showing that the current penalties are nominal to their bottom line and they don’t seem to work. I’m pretty sure this new law’s threat of a hefty fine will get their attention.” >click to read<08:56
Company widens net in seafood secrets case
National Fish & Seafood and Kathleen A. Scanlon, the former employee the seafood processor is suing for allegedly stealing trade secrets for her new employer, had appeared to be heading for a settlement. Now, not so much. The Gloucester-based seafood processor last week amended its complaint against Scanlon, its former head of research and development and quality assurance, and her new employer, Tampa Bay Fisheries, by adding more defendants and more details of the alleged conspiracy and corporate theft. >click to read<17:50
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for August 24, 2018
>Click here to read the Weekly Update<, to read all the updates >click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here<13:08
UPDATED: Major search operation ends for two missing fishermen – Bodies found by wreckage
Lifeboats from Gorleston and Caister were dispatched around 8pm after a cruise ship found three men in a life raft in the North Sea. An Associated Press journalist onboard the Pacific Princess said the ship turned around to help the men after they sent up a flare. HM coastguard said all three men were rescued, but they reported that two of their colleagues were unaccounted for. Two helicopters, multiple merchant vessels, and two lifeboats from Norfolk are involved in the search. >click to read<11:29 – Search for missing fishermen called off after bodies found by wreckage >click to read<20:18
Whale-watchers ask why herring fishery carries on where right whales sighted
A whale-watching tour operator and one of her customers say they are concerned nothing was done to stop herring seiners after two North Atlantic right whales were spotted in the Bay of Fundy off Brier Island, N.S. ,,”My big concern is the herring fishery,” Blackman said. “The seiners have been moving in every night. The last three nights they have been right in the place we spotted the whale this afternoon. Right in the opening between Brier Island and Long Island. “We’re watching the herring seiners come in, and they set up with these huge nets which are endangering the whale.” >click to read<09:51
John McCain, US senator, war hero, ‘maverick,’ has died at 81
Sen. John McCain, who endured five years in a Vietnamese prisoner of war camp, served for more than 30 years in the U.S. Senate and ran for president of the United States twice, died on Saturday at his home in Arizona, 13 months after he was diagnosed with an aggressive form of brain cancer. McCain died at 4:28 p.m., according to a spokesman. His wife and other family members were with him. >click to read<09:02
Humpback whale killed by ship will become feast for Washington tribe
A 31-foot (9.5-meter) humpback whale struck and killed by a ship is being turned into a feast by the Makah Indian Tribe. The tiny tribe with a reservation on the northwestern tip of the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state has been butchering the whale that was pulled ashore Thursday. “It is sacred,” Nathan Tyler, chairman of the Makah Indian Tribe, told The Seattle Times . “We have deep regrets about the whale being struck by a ship and dying, but it will live on, through our culture.” Tribal fisherman discovered the whale Thursday in the Strait of Juan de Fuca near Sekiu. >click to read<21:58
‘OC Shark Hunter’ arrested for unauthorized shark fishing off Assateague
A Wicomico County man who went by “OCSharkHunter” on social media was charged Sunday with guiding fishing trips without a license, according to Maryland Natural Resources Police. Nicholas Ager, 43, of Willards was arrested and charged after a two-month investigation of complaints about offers of paid shark fishing excursions on Assateague Island, Natural Resources Police said in a release. >click to read<16:08
Advanced Scalloper packed with technology
The 19 metre automated scallopers Ròis Mhàiri OB-45 and Star of Jura OB-278, built by Parkol Marine Engineering in 2005 and 2006 respectively, have given years of good service to the Star Fishing Company, an equal partnership between John McAlister (Oban) Ltd and Seafood Ecosse Ltd in Peterhead. So it was logical for John McAlister to take the order for the new Summer Rose to the same yard. Built by Parkol in Whitby to a new round bilge hull form developed by SC McAllister & Co, Summer Rose is designed to fish up to eleven dredges each side, worked with outer hull tipping doors and a system of catch hoppers and conveyors. >click to read< Summer Rose has an innovative system of handling its fishing gear,>click to read< The electronics package on board Summer Rose, >click to read<15:34
Like Batman and Superman, the fishermen of Kerala are the real ‘superheroes of the flood’
The police asked the parishes to summon boats and crew. The government offered reparations to the fishermen for loss of earnings but they politely refused: “We do not want to be paid for saving our brothers and sisters”. Almost 3 thousand fishermen rescued more than 65 thousand people. >click to read<12:23
Small-scale fishing families are under threat.
In the UK their vessels make up 80% of the nation’s fishing fleet yet they receive only 4% of the total national fishing quota. On the other side of the Atlantic, Newfoundland fisheries have been downsized in response to fisheries closures in the early 1990s. In both locations people who depend upon this industry have been left vulnerable. This includes thousands of women who are vital to the survival of small-scale fishing businesses. To explore and raise their profile, Women in Fisheries’ research project will examine women’s roles, identities and wellbeing in fishing families. >click to read<11:00
Trump administration settles lawsuit, agrees to protect humpback whale habitat
The suit by the Center for Biological Diversity, Turtle Island Restoration Network and the Wishtoyo Chumash Foundation, a nonprofit that represents American Indian tribes, was settled Friday in federal court in San Francisco. The National Marine Fisheries Service agreed to designate critical habitat for the animals by mid-2019 and finalize those boundaries a year later. It means the migration routes of three endangered or threatened populations of humpbacks on the West Coast will be protected. >click to read<09:40
Alaska’s 2018 commercial salmon harvest 30 percent below forecast, yet some fisheries have boomed
The statewide commercial salmon harvest is about 31 percent below the preseason forecast, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game said in a statement Thursday. The 2018 season, it said, “has been unusual.” Preliminary numbers show a statewide commercial salmon harvest of about 103 million fish so far. That’s subject to change, because the fishing season isn’t completely over yet. Fish and Game’s forecast in March projected a total statewide harvest of 147 million fish. >click to read<08:03
FFAW seeking clarification on EI extension for fishery – Fish harvester wants answers
President Keith Sullivan says his impression was that all fishery workers would be covered by the extension that was announced earlier this week, but now he’s hearing concern that plant workers are covered but fish harvesters are not. Alfred Fitzpatrick is an inshore fisherman out of Garnish on the Burin Peninsula. He says that the extra five weeks of EI would greatly benefit fish harvesters. He questioned an FFAW decision to issue a press release about the EI victory when doubts still remain about whether harvesters will qualify as well. “There’s a good news story for some of the membership but not all. And some of the most vulnerable are being left behind again. I don’t like it,” said Fitzpatrick, who sits on the FFAW’s inshore council. >click to read<21:31
Will La.’s shrimpers strike? ‘It’s a last resort’
Acy Cooper bought his first shrimping vessel, an old wooden flatboat, when he was 15. Cooper followed his father and grandfather before him into the rich gumbo Gulf of Mexico waters from the fishing community of Venice on the coast of southern Louisiana. Today Cooper and his two sons and son-in-law operate two Laffite skiffs — one 35-footer and one 30-footer — docked in the same community for another generation. But although many American business owners are bracing for potential negative impacts of a trade war triggered by President Donald Trump’s tariffs, Cooper and his fellow shrimpers are pleading for such protections as foreign producers dump shrimp in the U.S. and cratering prices in the process. >click to read<18:51
Fishing vessel catches fire at sea, crewmembers rescued
Three fishing vessels rescued the crew of the Rose Marie, a 77-foot stern trawler, which caught fire at sea Thursday, Coast Guard officials said. Crewmembers from the fishing vessel Alexis Martina radioed watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England about 1 p.m., reporting the Rose Marie was on fire, according to U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Second Class Nicole J. Groll. The crew abandoned ship into a life raft, she said. The Rose Marie was about 65 miles east of Chatham when the fire started between noon and 12:30 p.m. Thursday. The Seven Seas, another fishing vessel that was nearby, rescued the four crewmembers from their life raft, she said. >click to read< >click for video<15:13
FISH-NL – Labour Relations Board agrees to consider arguments for proceeding with immediate vote
The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) is encouraged that the province’s Labour Relations Board has agreed to consider its arguments to proceed with an immediate vote for inshore harvesters to decide their union fate. “We are confident harvesters will get the vote they’ve been waiting almost 21 months for once the Board considers all evidence,” says Ryan Cleary, President of FISH-NL. “A vote is the only way to determine the true wishes of inshore harvesters.” >click to read<12:52
Trident Seafoods fined a third time for polluting Newport’s Yaquina Bay
Oregon environmental regulators have fined Trident Seafoods Corp. $43,200 for wastewater violations at its Newport surimi factory. It’s the third time since 2015 the state Department of Environmental Quality has fined the company for polluting Yaquina Bay. Seattle-based Trident Seafoods is the largest seafood company in the United States and among the largest in the world.
In Newport, the company holds a permit to discharge treated fish-processing wastewater into the bay from its factory, at 623 Yaquina Bay Boulevard, which processes fish into the imitation crab meat. >click to read<11:52
