Daily Archives: December 17, 2018

Fall season a lifeline for SC shrimpers as NOAA issues glowing fishery report

That big and juicy fresh shrimp served in butter this fall was a tasty break. After a delayed season opening and a spotty summer catch, the fall crop has seemingly made up for what could have been another scraping-the-bottom year, officials report. “They started coming in big in September and they’re still coming in big,” said Rutledge Leland, of Carolina Seafoods at the McClellanville shrimp dock. Shrimpers continue to do really well even though both numbers and size should be dropping off with the colder weather, he said. The catch has been so consistently good that McClellanville shrimpers had to slow down this week because processors cut back for the holidays,,, >click to read<

‘Wicked Tuna’ star William ‘Willbilly’ Hathaway dead at 36

“Wicked Tuna” star William “Willbilly” Hathaway died in a car crash Saturday, Fox News has learned. He was 36 years old. Maryland State Police’s Salisbury Barrack confirmed the reality star’s death on Monday. They declined to provide further comment on the case. According to local outlet WBOC16, police responded to a call from a concerned citizen who saw a truck in a ditch. Police told the outlet that Hathaway allegedly called his wife and said someone turned in front of him, forcing him to swerve into a ditch, but that he was uninjured. His wife told authorities she overheard him telling concerned passersby that he was OK. However, authorities found Williams not breathing and slumped over the center console when EMS services arrived. >click to read<16:10

Changing faces

New Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s appointments to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game are rocking a state agency unaccustomed to dramatic change. Gone is affable Commissioner of Fish and Game Sam Cotten, a one-time state legislator and former commercial fisherman in a land where the latter carries a certain cachet. In his place, pending approval by the Joint Boards of Fish and Game and the Alaska Legislature, is Doug Vincent-Lang, a biologist who spent most of his career working in sport fisheries, which some in the commercial fishing business consider an enemy. And along with Vincent-Lang comes a whole new cast of characters most notably including the former doyen of morning talk-radio in Alaska’s largest city, Rick Rydell – real name Rick Green. >click to read<14:56

‘The Worst I’ve Ever Seen It’: Lean Stone Crab Season Follows Red Tide in Florida

On a good day, in a good year, a captain fishing off the shores of the Florida Everglades might catch 400 pounds of one of the state’s unrivaled delicacies, the stone crab. These are not good days. As the sun began to set on a recent cloudless afternoon, the kind that makes it unthinkable to spend winters anywhere but in Florida, Rick Collins piloted the High Cotton to a dock in Everglades City, the fishing village where three generations of his family have made a living trapping stone crab. His crew offloaded the day’s haul onto a huge scale. Seventy-three pounds. “This is about the worst I’ve ever seen it,” said Mr. Collins, 69, a crabber for more than half a century. >click to read<13:37

Illinois to Michigan: Put your money where the carp is

Gov. Bruce Rauner said today that Illinois is happy to accept $8 million from the State of Michigan to put toward the fight to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes — provided the funds can be used now to advance the effort. Unfortunately, Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder’s current offer of financial assistance isn’t applicable until 2028. Rauner sent a letter today to Snyder with a counterproposal to continue the fight against Asian carp. The Illinois governor said the best way to reduce the risk of Asian carp invasion is to enhance commercial fishing strategies in the Upper Illinois River and the Alton, LaGrange and Peoria pools today. >click to read<12:37

Dwayne Samson, captain in ‘murder for lobster’ case, gets full parole

The Parole Board of Canada has granted full parole to a Cape Breton man convicted in what became known as the “murder for lobster” case. Dwayne Samson, 48, of D’escousse, N.S., is serving a 10-year sentence after pleading guilty to manslaughter in the death of Phillip Boudreau, 43, of Petit-de-Grat, N.S.  His co-accused, Joseph James Landry, 71, was convicted of manslaughter and is serving a 14-year sentence. >click to read<10:58

N.J. fishing industry among country’s strongest

The New Jersey fishing industry is among the country’s most robust, generating billions in sales in 2016. That’s according to a report detailing the impact of the commercial and recreational fishing industry released on Thursday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The report, analyzing the industry’s impact by state in 2016, found that nationwide, it generated $212 billion in sales and supported 1.7 million jobs. The commercial industry accounts for the lion’s share of sales at $144 billion. >click to read<10:01