Daily Archives: June 22, 2019

Commercial Fisherman John Christian “Chris” Strawser

John Christian “Chris” Strawser, 64, of Glen Rock, Pa., formerly of Wanchese, NC, passed away Wednesday, June 19, 2019, doing what he loved, aboard the longline fishing vessel, Alexandra Dawn.,,, He attended the United States Military Academy West Point and the University of Maryland. Mating on the F/V Lollypop with Captain Chick Craddock, Chris fell in love with fishing and the sea. When Captain Chick retired and sold the boat, Chris determined to attain his own commercial fishing boat, and name it the F/V Lollipop,,, Chris left behind his best friend, soulmate and beloved wife of 20 years, Marilyn Strawser. Other survivors include his four daughters >click to read<21:28

The Working Waterfront: State may provide grant to Spruce Head Co-op

The Spruce Head Fishermen’s Co-op is in line to get another state grant aimed at preserving working waterfronts. The Land for Maine’s Future Board announced Friday, June 21 in a news release that it has selected six projects that it says will help protect and sustain Maine’s working waterfront.,,, Through the Working Waterfront Access Protection Program, funds have been set-aside to purchase development rights, through a legally binding agreement between the state and working waterfront owners, which will ensure that the property remains available to support commercial fishing or aquaculture activities. The other projects selected by the Board in its June 21 announcement are: >click to read<20:28

Contrary To Civil Beat Claims, Wespac Is Effective And Transparent

In a series of recent articles and an editorial, Honolulu Civil Beat made several allegations against the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, creating a false impression that council members and staff operate with “limited oversight” and violate federal law. Civil Beat called for an investigation into Council operations to address these purported issues. These claims of impropriety are baseless and ignore the myriad laws, regulations, and policies that council members and staff follow to properly implement the Magnuson-Stevens Act, our nation’s primary fisheries law, and related statutes. >click to read< By Taotasi Archie Soliai, Chair, Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council 17:46

Harvest numbers are mixed as season gets underway. Meanwhile, PWS wild salmon harvest tops 1.5M fish

Prince William Sound landings of wild Alaska salmon have been strong, as the fishery gets under way. Meanwhile sockeye production in Kodiak, Cook Inlet and Chignik is off to a slow start, fisheries economist Garrett Evridge says in his first harvest report of the season. “Year-to-date statewide harvest of sockeye is more than three times the prior year,” said Evridge, an economist with the McDowell Group, >click to read<14:08

PWS wild salmon harvest tops 1.5M fish – As more areas of Prince William Sound opened for commercial fishing, preliminary data compiled by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game put the catch at 1.5 million salmon through June 18, including some 813,942 fish caught in the Copper River. >click to read<

Queens DA candidate pledged to crack down on live lobster boiling, campaign walks it back.

In May, the left-wing candidate (Tiffany Caban) filled out a questionnaire from the Brooklyn-based group Voters for Animal Rights which included a checklist of activities the organization believes “may be considered unlawful under New York’s animal cruelty laws.” The survey asked Queens district attorney aspirants whether they would investigate or even prosecute such offenses. The list included “Castration of pigs, cows, and other mammals without painkillers,” “Force-feeding of ducks or geese for foie gras production” and “Boiling lobsters and other crustaceans while alive.” >click to read<12:32

N.J. just gave the green light to build the nation’s largest offshore wind farm

The nation’s largest offshore wind farm is one step closer to reality off the Jersey Shore. On Friday, the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities granted the state’s first award for offshore wind to the Danish energy company Ørsted and Public Service Enterprise Group (PSEG) for the proposed 1,100-megawatt Ocean Wind project. Gov. Phil Murphy declared this will “revolutionize” the offshore wind industry along the East Coast. >click to read< 11:32

Fish harvesters from British Columbia join Unifor with historic vote

In an historic vote that was years in the making, 245 salmon seine boat fish harvesters on Canada’s west coast who fish for the Canadian Fishing Company have voted overwhelmingly to join Unifor.,,, The vote was an overwhelming 92 per cent to join United Fishermen and Allied Workers Union (UFAWU), a Unifor local. The vote was conducted last summer, but counting was held up until this week due to employer challenges when the British Columbia Labour Board ordered the votes be counted. >click to read<10:36  Historic win for B.C. fishermen now bargaining under labour code – Jun. 28, 2019 >click to read<

Lobstermen fed up, facing drastic rules to protect whales, say president should help

More than 100 fishermen attended a meeting with Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher June 20 at Camden Hills Regional High School. Lobstermen said they have already changed to weaker, breakable lines and sinking line in an effort to pacify government regulator’s who say the whales can become entangled in the ropes and die. “The end game is to have us not fish,” one lobsterman said at the meeting. >click to read<10:00

Excluded from the Working Waterfront – Trawlers to blockade €300m Greystones harbour development

A bitter feud in which the fishing fleet in Greystones, Co Wicklow claims it has been excluded from the town’s harbour, which has been redeveloped at a cost of €300 million, is set to come to a head on Saturday. Commercial fishing boats, whose owners have been told they are “illegally” using a pier in recent weeks, are set to blockade the harbour in a mass protest.  Gardaí have already been called in amid accusations of ropes and a boat being impounded,,, Commercial fishers claim their work has been central to Greystones harbour for generations, but that they have been excluded since its redevelopment as a marine leisure and residential quarter. >click to read<09:41

Making the Cut! – Former Wilsonian featured on “Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks”

As a boy, Daniel Blanks fished all the little farm ponds around Wilson County. On Sunday night, Blanks will be featured on the popular National Geographic television series “Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks” as he and commercial fishing partner Zack Shackleton angle for bluefin tuna 40 miles off the North Carolina coast in the Atlantic Ocean.,, Then this year, the “Wicked Tuna” producers were looking for new captains. Blanks’ girlfriend sent in an application to “Wicked Tuna” hoping to get on the show. “We were kind of joking about it saying they would never pick a little boat like us to be on and sure enough, they called us,” >click to read<08:41  9 p.m. Sunday