Monthly Archives: May 2019
Ice compensation? – FISH-NL says rules around ice compensation mean few harvesters will qualify
FISH-NL is calling on Ottawa to amend the $5-million program so that it’s retroactive to early April when fishing EI benefits ran out. “This program was only put in place to make DFO look good because it’s not much help to us,” says Joseph Hynes, a fisherman from Port Saunders on the Great Northern Peninsula. “It’s just for show.” ,,, “The whole idea of the ice assistance was to help out harvesters who couldn’t get out on the water to earn a living,” says Ryan Cleary, President of FISH-NL. “It seems Fisheries and Oceans either missed that point or said the hell with it.” >click to read<09:28
Commercial shrimping season opens today in Georgia and South Carolina
Commercial shrimp trawling will open in all legal South Carolina waters at 8 a.m. on Wednesday, May 29. Georgia state waters will open to trawling at the same time. Hopes are high that 2019 will bring a plentiful harvest after the previous year of relatively poor shrimping. In January 2018, an unusually cold period killed the vast majority of the white shrimp overwintering in South Carolina waters, delaying the 2018 opening of shrimp season until mid-June. Fortunately, according to regular trawl surveys conducted by South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) biologists, white shrimp numbers appear to have returned to at least the 10-year average, hopefully heralding a better season for the state’s commercial fishery. >click to read<08:58
Yorkshire shellfishermen call for action as valuable gear destroyed by visiting scallopers
Jason Harrison, from Filey, said local boats had again had hundreds of lobster and crab pots towed away by visiting scallop dredgers from around the UK, as well as French fishing boats. In recent years fishermen have repeatedly complained about losing gear to visiting boats. Mr Harrison also said that as a result of “every man and his dog ploughing the seabed” for the past three months there was nothing left for the handful of local boats. >click to read<19:25
No criminality found in fatal fishing boat sinking
A criminal investigation into the sinking of a fishing boat in which two men died has been dropped, prosecutors have said. The Nancy Glen went down in Loch Fyne near Tarbert, Argyll and Bute, on January 18 last year. Duncan MacDougall, 46, and Przemek Krawczyk, 38, who lived in the village, were on board when the trawler sank. The alarm had been raised by a third fisherman who was pulled from the water by the crew of a passing boat. Now 18 months later, the Crown Office has said there will be no criminal proceedings. >click to read<17:52
Three years on from the Brexit poll NI fishermen still determined to leave EU
For nearly 50 years Northern Ireland’s fishing industry has felt trapped by European Union restrictions on catch quotas and the rights of foreign trawlers to operate in local waters. But Britain’s decision to leave the EU and the effects it will have on local trawlermen now looms large on the horizon for many local skippers. Will Brexit ultimately allow our fleet to free itself from the net of Brussels bureaucracy? Or will local fishermen, who depend heavily on selling highly profitable local prawns to European countries, instead be left in deep water to face the introduction of potentially crippling new export tariffs? >click to read<17:01
Warming waters spark marine migration, fish wars
The warming waters associated with climate change are creating big ripple effects across fishing communities, including in this picturesque seaside town with a long fishing history. Take Joel Hovanesian, who last fall docked his 40-foot trawler at the Port of Galilee, calling it quits after a 42-year career of chasing fish.,,, Up and down the Atlantic coast, commercial fishermen are heading for the exits these days, irked by government rules and regulations that they say haven’t kept pace with the changes. Fishermen have long battled over fish allocations, but the fights have become more intense and complicated due to climate change. As more fish head north in search of cooler waters, fishermen complain that quotas have not kept pace with shifting stocks, making it harder for them to make a living and bring fish to market. >click to read<15:46
The Annual Fleet of Flowers, Depoe Bay on Memorial Day
The annual Fleet of Flowers ceremony originated in Depoe Bay in 1936 to honor Depoe Bay Fishermen Ray Bower and Jack Chamber, who lost their lives in an effort to save their friend Ernest McQueen who with two teenage boys aboard the Norwester, got caught in a storm, Bower and Chamber, just back from a fishing trip on the Cara Lou, spotted the trouble from the bridge and immediately went to help. >Photo’s, click to read<14:30
Electric companies seek proposals for round of wind energy
The three electric distribution companies in Massachusetts have together issued a request for a second round of offshore wind energy, as the winner of the first round – Vineyard Wind – looks to start its project later this year. Eversource, National Grid and Unitil issued the request for proposals May 23. Initial, confidential responses from offshore wind developers are expected by Aug. 9. The utility companies are seeking contracts running from 15 to 20 years for at least 400 megawatts of offshore wind energy. Proposals from 200 megawatts up to 800 megawatts may be submitted. >click to read<13:42
Hit-or-miss hauls end another unpredictable Florida stone crab season
“We knew guys who were fishing 500 traps and would catch less than six or seven pounds,” Gandy said. “Lots of (crabbers) just didn’t do it this year.” Meanwhile, those crabbing to the north, from around New Port Richey to the panhandle, saw some giant hauls, especially early in the season, which started in October. The director of one commercial fishing association described Florida’s season overall as “pretty disastrous,” unless you were between Hudson and Crystal River where “they were breaking records.” “What’s crazy is the rest of the world had a horrible crab season,” >click to read<12:57
How to wreck an industry – Catch shares lead to consolidation of Alaskan fisheries
A recent study documenting consolidation and specialization in Alaska’s fisheries over the past three decades illustrates a broader trend taking hold in coastal communities across the country. Catch share programs, a new fisheries management system, are turning fishing rights into tradable commodities, driving up the cost to fish and consolidating fishing rights into the hands of a few wealthy owners. For instance, in Alaska’s Bering Sea crab fishery, just four companies own 77 percent of the rights to fish a single crab species. >click to read<11:30
R.I. teenagers survived hell on Earth in D-Day invasion
There aren’t many of them left, and here were two of the last — American soldiers who landed on D-Day. Seventy-five years ago. Ernie Corvese is 93 and Richard Fazzio 94, both among the first to come ashore into German fire on June 6, 1944. They are elderly now, but giants, too — men who stopped tyranny, pushed it back across Europe and killed it. I met them in Wakefield, Rhode Island, in a new museum called the Global Education Center, part of the World War II Foundation created by documentarian Tim Gray, who has put both Corvese and Fazzio in D-Day movies. >Video, click to read< Thank you, Gentlemen, and the Greatest Generation. 20:02
Big claws: Good for lobster sex life, potentially fatal in the fishing season
Between Arendal and Grimstad, researchers tagged 100 lobsters with acoustic transmitters. With the help of numerous stationary receivers, they were able to track the lobsters’ movements during the fishing season. “How lobsters move around indicates something about their personality. Are they cautious or are they risk-takers? There are advantages and disadvantages to both of those traits”, says marine scientist Even Moland. It turned out that lobsters with a big crusher claw were more likely to end up in a crab pot. >Video, click to read<17:42
Maine turns to Canada after losing China lobster market
The Maine lobster industry is switching to other markets – as far away as Thailand and Vietnam and as close as Canada. Maine-based lobster companies are opening operations in Canada and shipping lobsters from Nova Scotia because Canada isn’t affected by the US-China trade dispute. That reflects what Bill Bruns, operations manager of The Lobster Co in Arundel, has seen in his own export business. As a result, trade in lobsters from Canada is booming.,,, Ready Seafood of Portland, Maine, last fall acquired L. Walker Seafoods, >click to read<13:24
Burkhart Fisheries sell assets to Fiordland Lobster Company
A family business crayfishing off the coast of Marlborough for more than 40 years has sold their factory and trucks to Fiordland Lobster Co. Burkhart Fisheries, who hold the biggest family-owned rock lobster quota in New Zealand, have sold their processing assets in exchange for cash. They already owned a 20 per cent share in the company based in Te Anau, Fiordland. Founders Dennis and Trevor Burkhart would continue crayfishing day-to-day, while Fiordland handled their processing and distribution. >click to read< 12:37
The Rise of Calamari, Fueled by Rhode Island’s Dirty Politics
On May 10, 1974, Paul Kalikstein turned in his Master thesis at the Alfred P. Sloan School of Management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was a graduate student in Management Science. The title was succinct: “The Marketability of Squid.” The abstract for the 108-page thesis read:,,, Kalikstein’s research was an attempt at solving the plummeting stocks of traditional seafood resources due to overfishing and overbuying in the 1960s and ’70s.,,, Forty years later and 55 miles south, Rhode Island State Representative Joseph McNamara had suddenly found himself in high demand. >click to read<11:45
FWC: Man selling bait without license jumped in water during arrest near Fort DeSoto
A St. Petersburg man is facing several charges after officers say he jumped off a boat to resist being arrested by state wildlife officials. Officers with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission were out near Fort DeSoto and Bunce’s Pass Saturday when the incident happened. According to an arrest report, the officers were trying to conduct a commercial fisheries inspection involving 39-year-old Ryan Rauch. >click to read<10:49
Continuing search for P.E.I. fisherman to be done by drone
The search for a missing Island fisherman will be mainly done by drone from here on out, but there won’t be much activity today, RCMP said. Jordan Hicken went overboard while fishing out of Naufrage Harbour early last Tuesday morning. RCMP, coast guard and community volunteers have been searching ever since. The RCMP say they plan to continue to monitor the situation but won’t have a big presence in Naufrage on Monday said Staff Sgt. Howard Fitzpatrick. >click to read<10:25
P.E.I. RCMP, Naufrage Harbour fishing community still searching for missing fisherman – “It’s great support,” said Hicken’s great-aunt Lillian MacKenzie, who joined the ground search on Saturday. “People care. They’re all one big happy family here, all the fishermen.” “It’s gut-wrenching for the family,”,,, Local fishermen in the search areas have been keeping an eye on the waters as they continue working. “We’re all keeping our eyes open and safety measures have improved,” said 27-year fishing veteran Ian MacKinnon who docks his boat “Y’Knot” in Naufrage Harbour. “I put PFDs in the boat. We wear them from now on.” >click to read<
Memorial Day
Our debt to the heroic men and valiant women in the service of our country can never be repaid. They have earned our undying gratitude. America will never forget their sacrifices. Harry S. Truman
Eastern Shore residents, fishermen opposed to designation of Marine Protected Area
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is considering implementing higher protections on 2,000 square kilometres off the coast of Nova Scotia.
But not all people who live and work in the communities affected are keen on the project, which would stretch from Clam Harbour to Barren Island. “In a country that has very poor laws and regulations protecting their waters, it may have some benefit, but not in Canada, we’re already protected,” says Tim Kaiser, a homeowner and member of the Eastern Shore Fisherman’s Protection Association. >click to read<13:20
Ground search team back to assist in locating missing Island fisherman
There will be a lot of activity Sunday in the search for a missing Island fisherman, RCMP say. Jordan Hicken was lost while fishing out of Naufrage Harbour early Tuesday morning. The rescue effort was called off Tuesday evening and RCMP took it over as a missing persons case. P.E.I. Ground Search and Rescue took the day off Friday and Saturday but is back out Sunday in full force helping community volunteers. “There will be quite a bit of activity,” said RCMP Staff Sgt. Howard Fitzpatrick. The team has expanded the search area, Fitzpatrick said. >click to read<12:41
Atlantic Herring: Fishermen face another quota cut, could hit lobster prices
Regulators on the East Coast are contending with a drop in the population of herring, a key forage fish species that has been used as lobster bait for generations.,, A fishery management board is due to make a decision about the 2020 catch limits in early June.,, “I’ve heard from other fishermen up and down the coast, from Maine to Massachusetts. It’s going to be survival of the fittest,” Casoni said. “Every year is challenging, and every year just gets a little more.” >click to read<11:16
Vineyard Wind seeks help in protecting right whales! Really??? Let me help. Don’t build it!
Are you really that concerned about the whales, wind farmers? Don’t build it, and vacate the “project”. I suspect some disgusting politicians are making noise about saving the whales to avoid the political damage of enraged whale lovers watching “Big Green” Energy disrupt them, or possibly even kill them! It’s urgent! AOC says we only got then years left to save,,,- The company preparing to build an 84-turbine wind farm off Martha’s Vineyard has put out a call to universities, technology companies and other innovators that could help implement a system to detect the presence of endangered North Atlantic right whales during construction. >click to read<10:43
CRMC skeptical of opponents’ concerns about kelp farm off Napatree Point
Joseph MacAndrew, who wants to establish a seaweed farm off Napatree Point, says the venture would serve as an example of a low impact, sustainable commercial use of the town’s coastal resources. He is facing a considerable amount of opposition, however, from commercial, academic, and Watch Hill interests, who assert that the proposed sugar kelp growing operation would disrupt bird populations, impede recreational and commercial fishing, and pose other environmental risks. >click to read<09:48
Dungeness fleet back off Oregon Coast
Crabbing restrictions were lifted Friday along the South Coast after biotoxin levels in Dungeness were found to be safe again, reinviting the region’s commercial fleet to take full advantage of what is now the second-best Oregon crabbing season on record. Oregon Department of Agriculture tests Friday showed domoic acid levels in Dungeness were back into the safe margins for the second consecutive week, allowing sport crabbers back to the ocean and bays that have been off-limits since May 10. >click to read<19:53
Further city waterfront restrictions won’t benefit fishermen
People who fish for a living need new berthing, enhanced branding, higher catch prices and a vibrant local economy. Having fished commercially for over 30 years, co-founded the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance to help fishermen and served as a board member of the Portland Fish Exchange, I constantly champion the working waterfront. So I fear the mistake Portland’s about to make, surrendering to slick videos from lawyers and lobbyists and approving damaging zoning on the waterfront. >click to read< by Craig A. Pendleton18:51
Carbon monoxide leak at fish plant has union, processors at loggerheads
A carbon monoxide leak at the Ocean Choice International fish plant in Fortune has the union representing workers calling for major change in the industry. But the group that represents processors says the union’s call is nothing but a ploy to receive government money for the Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union. In January, a carbon monoxide leak sent four OCI workers, two of them with serious side effects, to hospital. >click to read<17:23
Fishermen say price is right this year for northern shrimp and lobster
Shrimp and lobster prices have plummeted in recent years, but what about this season? Fishermen say the price is right. Video, >click to watch<13:25
Remembering the incredible life of Bernard Wharam – one of Hull’s greatest ever trawlermen
Bernard The B*****d. He was one of Hull’s untouchable trawlermen – but his death earlier this month has sadly closed the book on an era of one of the city’s best-known fisherman. Bernard Wharam was renowned for his firm but fair attitude at the helm and is one of the city’s greatest trawlermen,,, But his fantastic and colourful life will forever be remembered by his years of domination at sea as one of the last ever Hull trawler skippers. >click to read<09:46
Army Corps approves $778M plan to block Asian carp advance
The head of the Army Corps of Engineers has sent Congress a $778 million plan to fortify an Illinois waterway with noisemakers, electric cables and other devices in the hope that they will prevent Asian carp from reaching the Great Lakes, where the aggressive invaders could leave other fish with too little to eat. The plan represents a compromise between proposals to erect barriers that would seal off Lake Michigan from the river and less drastic measures such as stepped-up commercial fishing.>click to read<09:14
‘This is it’: Cordova fishermen tell harrowing tales of trip home in waves whipped by unseasonable storm
Bill Markowitz has been commercial fishing for over 30 years. But he figured his time was up Thursday when a giant wave caught his 27-foot gillnet boat as he tried to cross the bar at Egg Island Channel near Cordova. “A breaker caught me, flipped me around sideways, and rolled my boat up on its side I’d say at least 45 degrees,” Markowitz said by phone Friday. “It flipped me around … almost 180 degrees. When I went sideways, I thought, ‘This is it.’” >click to read<22:41
