Daily Archives: August 14, 2019

Investment in a boatyard. Port of Toledo offers strategic lessons for Astoria

Marine workers, business leaders and politicians gathered earlier this month to watch the trawler Pegasus get lowered into the Yaquina River from the former Sturgeon Bend Boat Works, a shuttered boatyard acquired from Fred Wahl Marine Construction in 2010 by the Port of Toledo. Widening and modernizing the vessel took more than 10 months, $3 million and tens of contractors. Purchasing and developing the boatyard has cost Toledo more than $10 million, largely from state grants and loans.Toledo’s vision to turn the boatyard into a thriving economic generator offers lessons to the Port of Astoria. >click to read<  22:55

Boom or bust in Adak? Politics will decide

Adak is 1,200 miles west of Anchorage in the Aleutian Islands in the center of some of Alaska’s last “derby style” fisheries. Now, a great political struggle between some large Seattle-based corporate fishing companies and this Aleut community will determine whether Adak and it’s value-added approach to seafood development survives or if these valuable Alaska fisheries resources are simply added to the portfolios of the consolidated fishing companies. These large fishing companies already have exclusive Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands fishing privileges with an aggregate value in excess of $2 billion. In contrast, if Adak and Alaska lose this struggle, the community is not likely to survive. >click to read< 18:58

Repeat offender poses as worker, tries to steal fishing vessel from Ballard shipyard

Doug Dixon, general manager of Pacific Fishermen Shipyard and PFI Marine Electric just off Shilshole Avenue, said the crime was carefully-planned. He said that a woman who appears to be homeless and spends time around the shipyard took a hardhat from a construction site next door and used it to gain access to the shipyard. “She looked like a worker coming into the yard, so nobody questioned her,” Dixon said. With the hardhat disguise, she climbed aboard Pacific Fishermen’s $12 million North Sea,,, >click to read< 17:24

Government of Canada establishes Atlantic Seal Task Team

The sustainable management of Canadian fisheries is important to fish harvesters whose livelihoods are supported by the ocean. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) ensures that the best available science is considered when making management decisions for seals. However, DFO has continuously heard concerns by fish harvesters about the relationship between seals and fish populations. Listening to these concerns, DFO is taking action to address a concern that encompasses not only Newfoundland and Labrador, but all Atlantic Canada and Quebec coasts. >click to read<16:18

Boris Johnson’s Looming Wind Disaster. Its coming here, and is being sold by huckster politicians

Boris Johnson’s government is shuffling towards a gigantic cliff edge which has nothing to do with Brexit. The looming disaster can be summed up in one word: renewables. The clue came in the form of the widespread power cuts that Britain experienced at the end of last week. Britain’s National Grid — and by extension the nation’s electricity supply — has been horribly compromised by the dash for renewable energy. >click to read< Meanwhile on Cape Cod, John Kerry, Gina McCarthy, and Dylan Fernandes hold forum as Kerry announces World War Zero. Tackling the issue of climate change – Lots of photo’s, and no John Kerry, Jane Lubchenco was no friend of the fishermen. It was another lie. Read the comments @MTV!  >click to read< 15:18

‘Deadliest Catch’ Star Jake Harris Sentenced To Prison After Police Chase

Jacob “Jake” Harris, who headlined the show until 2012, was convicted of driving under the influence and possession with intent to manufacture or distribute heroin. He pleaded guilty to the felony charges and was sentenced on Aug. 1. Harris, 33, is the younger brother of Josh Harris, who currently captains the multi-million dollar fishing vessel, the Cornelia Marie, on “Deadliest Catch.”  He’s being transferred to a Washington state penitentiary today, according to the Skagit County District Attorney’s Office.  >click to read< 13:25

Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 52′ Steel Dragger, Cat 3406, with State and Federal Permits

Specifications, information and 13 photos >click here< To see all the boats in this series, >click here<11:24

In Nova Scotia, an economic boom brings all the boats to the yard

A newly finished lobster fishing boat waits on a trailer in a yard at Wedgeport Boats, like a displaced sea creature ready to return. The Porsche-red hull gleams in the Nova Scotia sun. Standing on the ground in its shadow, the vessel’s owner, Mark Rogers, watches with satisfaction as the vinyl sticker – the kind used for race cars – is applied to the bow, revealing a muscled, smiling cartoon lobster. It’s the afternoon before the official launch of the Katie Anne – named, according to custom, for Mr. Rogers’s now-grown daughter. The launch has been planned for a Friday, which, as grizzled fishermen will say, is traditionally a day best avoided for a new voyage. Photo’s >click to read< 09:24

Opinion: Responsible Offshore Development Alliance Statement on Vineyard Wind Federal Review Process

In light of the recent decision by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to perform a cumulative impacts analysis regarding the proposed Vineyard Wind project, and the recently released communications between that agency and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), RODA would like to clarify certain statements and representations.  >click to read< 08:27