Monthly Archives: November 2019
This tragedy was unimaginable for us, like it is for all fishing families’ — Alisha Marques, sister of lost New Bedford fisherman Mark P. Cormier Jr.
Coping with a tragedy “unimaginable for us, like it is for all fishing families,” Alisha Marques, the sister of Mark P. Cormier Jr., has started a GoFundMe page in honor of her brother and “lost fishermen.” Cormier, 35, is one of three crew members lost at sea Sunday after the New Bedford-based scalloper F/V Leonardo went down in churning waters off Martha’s Vineyard. >Click to read< Please >click here to donate< in the memory of Mark Cormier. 06:36
Letter: We need to find new markets for lobsters
To the editor, At one time I sold thousands of pounds of live lobsters. I shipped not only in the states but also abroad. Twenty years ago we had an advantage here on the East Coast. The Canadians did not allow lobstering in the summer months and would open their season in November. Back then our local boats would call it quits because the lobsters here would go in deeper waters because the water inshore was too cold. So the Canadians would benefit since our lobsterman would wait to spring to trap again. Sam Parisi >click to read< 06:11
Video: Lone fisherman who survived shipwreck off Martha’s Vineyard recalls harrowing ordeal
Ernesto Garcia, 50, was aboard the F/V Leonardo — a 56-foot scallop boat — that capsized and sank on Sunday afternoon as nine-foot swells and gusty winds battered the area. He was later rescued by a helicopter crew. “We caught a rogue sea,” Garcia told 7’s Jonathan Hall. “A wave came across in the opposite direction in which the waves were running.” Video, >click to watch< 20:56
All posts under F/V Leonardo, >click to read< 21:52
Pink salmon disaster relief payments delayed
Federal relief payments to permit holders who participated in the disastrous 2016 Gulf of Alaska pink salmon fishery have hit another snag, and now won’t be forthcoming until March. News of the payment delay, which was slated to be within six to eight weeks of the Oct. 31 deadline for skipper applications for relief reached Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, on Nov. 15. >click to read< 17:14
Radar interference ‘hype,’ Furuno sees no issue with offshore wind turbines and marine radar.
Furuno, a global leader in marine radar systems, does not consider offshore wind turbines an interference threat to maritime radar navigation, according to its U.S. and European representatives. Furuno radar domes are a common sight atop Massachusetts motor yachts and commercial fishing vessels.,, Capt. Dave Aripotch, a trawler captain out of Montauk, Long Island, shared a photograph he and his wife, Bonnie Brady, head of Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, said shows a marine radar screen taken in the vicinity of the Block Island Wind Farm that allegedly depicts interference or scattering. >click to read< 12:29
Joe Gilbert: Wind turbine spacing plan inadequate for fishing safety
From the perspective of Connecticut’s commercial fishermen who provide over $53 million to our state’s economy, nearly 1,000 jobs and food on the table of countless consumers, I wanted to respond to the Nov. 19 Day article, “New England Wind Turbine Plan Proposed to Allay Concerns.,,, “This uniform layout is consistent with the requests of the region’s fisheries industry and other maritime users,”,,, It is unclear to me and other fishermen what industry requests these developers are responding to. >click to read< 11:10
Fishermen’s Alliance: Long-Waged Battle for Herring Won
The formal announcement from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reflected what much of the Cape wanted, a 12-nautical mile territorial sea boundary from the Canadian border to Connecticut and a 20-mile buffer off the peninsula’s backshore as well as catch limits based on the needs of the ecosystem. Supporters believe the buffer that keeps industrial-sized midwater trawl vessels from taking enormous amounts of herring out of local waters will go a long way towards rebuilding the entire inshore ecosystem and therefore boost the maritime economy. >click to read< 10:10
New Jersey Legislature Succumbs to Humane Society’s Misinformation Campaign Against Sustainable Shark Fishing
The Garden State Seafood Association (GSSA) is disappointed with the passage of Assembly Bill A4845/S2905 today, which would prohibit the possession, sale, or trade of legally harvested shark fins in New Jersey.,,, “All this legislation does is to penalize legitimate, hard working fishermen of the state,” said Greg DiDomenico, Executive Director of GSSA. “Instead of acknowledging the leadership of our commercial industry, which operates a globally-recognized sustainable shark fishery, those supporting this legislation will penalize New Jersey fishermen, forcing them to discard a natural resource for no purpose.” >click to read< 09:15
All-female lobster crew making waves
The Nellie Row looks just like any other boat slicing through the waves and darkness of the North Atlantic on the first day of Canada’s most lucrative lobster fishery. But the cheerful red and white vessel is distinct from hundreds of other boats racing out to sea Tuesday morning in one crucial aspect: there are no men aboard. Gail Atkinson is captain of the boat, named after her grandmother — a trailblazer like herself — and is leading what they believe to be Nova Scotia’s first all-female lobster crew. >click to read< 08:32
Photo Gallery: The view from Cape Forchu Lighthouse as Yarmouth Harbour lobster fishing fleet sets sail for the season
Many made the trip to the Cape Forchu Lighthouse to watch the 7 a.m. departure of the lobster fishing fleet from Yarmouth Harbour on Nov. 26. The event has been a long-held tradition and is an impressive sight as vessels, piled high with traps, set sail for the fishing grounds. >click to view< 07:48
Coast Guard suspends search for 3 missing New Bedford fishermen
The search for the three missing men was suspended Monday evening, according to officials. Earlier Monday, the owner of a scalloping vessel that capsized and sank in choppy seas southwest of Martha’s Vineyard on Sunday afternoon said the single fisherman found in a lifeboat a few hours after a distress signal is in the hospital. More information, >click to read< 06:47
Namibia’s ex-minister arrested, freed over fishing graft scandal
A Namibian court on Sunday released an ex-minister after his arrest at the weekend following a Wikileaks report exposing alleged corruption in the fishing industry. Former fisheries minister Bernhard Esau was arrested on Saturday for corruption, but freed,,, Esau and justice minister Sakeus Shanghala resigned last week after they were named in documents published by Wikileaks in which Iceland-based multinational fishing company Samherji is suspected of bribing senior Namibian officials for continued access to the country’s shores. >click to read< 19:23
Owner of New Bedford vessel capsized off Martha’s Vineyard fears 3 crew members perished
Coast Guard crews from Air Station Cape Cod were continuing the search for the three missing fishermen Monday,,, Luis Martins, who owns a fish processing plant called Joe’s Fresh Seafood in New Bedford, said he has owned the 56-foot commercial fishing vessel for about five years. The boat was built in 1967, and Martins said it had been updated. The U.S. Coast Guard has released footage of the rescue of the lone fisherman from the F/V Leonardo. Video, >click to read< 16:07 all F/V Leonardo posts >click here<
Celebrating Small Business: Catch 49 keeping Alaskan fishing local
The brainchild of the Alaska Marine Conservation Council (AMCC), Catch 49 has been working with small-scale fishermen along Alaska’s coastline to provide sustainably-sourced seafood options to the community since 2011. Operating under one of AMCC’s guiding principles, “fisheries management policies should ensure adequate, intergenerational access to fishing opportunities for local residents and communities,” Catch 49 prides itself on providing business opportunities to coastal residents. >click to read< 15:01
Last of the hunters or the next scientists? Arguments for and against the inclusion of fishers and their knowledge in mainstream fisheries management
For years fishermen have decried the world of fisheries research because all too often their experience of scientific research has been frustrated by the perceived gulf between those that research and those that actually go down to the sea every day to fish. Huge research vessels using totally outdated trawls fishing for species in areas known (by the fishermen) to be devoid of said species or at times when said species are less likely to be caught – compare your haddock catch by day and by night on the same grounds! Ed Hinds just published thesis tackles this issue and sets out a vision for how fishermen may play a significant role in fisheries research in the future – there a handful of UK fisheries research vessels and 5,400 fishing vessels – every one capable of [laying a role in research given the resources. >click to read< 13:10
Canada’s cocaine cowboys: How a two-year RCMP sting led all the way to Mexican kingpin El Chapo
It was March 12, 2015, and Stephen Tello was having second thoughts. The following day he was due to meet a man called Joe at a steakhouse in Toronto. Joe was a transportation broker who, for the right price, had told Tello he could smuggle huge amounts of cocaine into Canada. He could have drugs collected at sea in the Caribbean, he said, before swapping them onto fishing trawlers closer to Newfoundland, for safe passage to harbour. The two had met before, but their first deal hadn’t worked out. Now Tello, who lived a double life as a Toronto real estate,,, >click to read< 11:56
Weather delays opening day of lobster season in southwest N.S.
Rather than heading out to sea to set their gear on Monday, Nov. 25, strong winds have kept fishermen ashore an extra day. A decision was made during industry conference calls on Monday morning to go with a Tuesday, Nov. 26 opening. Rather than leaving the wharves at the normal 6 a.m. time in LFA 34 (in southwestern Nova Scotia) the decision was to push the start back to 7 a.m. LFA 33, which stretches along the province’s South Shore, will also have a 7 a.m. start on Tuesday. >click to read< 10:57
Coast Guard continues search for 3 missing fishermen off Martha’s Vineyard
The owner of a scalloping vessel that capsized and sank in choppy seas southwest of Martha’s Vineyard Sunday afternoon said the single fisherman found in a lifeboat a few hours after the distress signal was sent is currently in the hospital. “The other three fishermen are presumed lost,” said Luis Martins, owner of the F/V Leonardo Monday morning. “That’s all I can say.” He declined to provide any names. >click to read< 09:48
Former fish-plant owners lose lawsuit, Daley Brothers’ plant was burned down in a riot by fishermen
On May 2, 2003, arson destroyed Les Fruits de Mer Shippagan Ltée, along with some traps for snow crab fishing, a warehouse, and a crab processing plant. Three Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada boats, on loan to Elsipogtog First Nation, as well as another boat, also burned up that day.,, Hundreds of angry fishermen from the Acadian Peninsula were involved in the riots, which began as a protest against the federal government’s move to reduce their crab quotas to recognize the First Nations’ right to live off fishing., >click to read< 07:56
Fishing boat sinks 24 miles off Vineyard
The fishing boat F/V Leonardo out of New Bedford sank Sunday afternoon 24 miles southwest of the Vineyard. The U.S. Coast Guard rescued one mariner from the vessel. A search and rescue operation is underway for three others. Sector Southeast New England received an EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) signal at 3:18 pm, according to Petty Officer Ryan Noel.,, None of the mariners were wearing survival suits. The person rescued was in a liferaft and did not have a lifevest on, Noel said. >click to read< 06:21
Breaking: 1 Fisherman recovered, 3 missing from capsized vessel 24 NM SW of Martha’s Vinyard
We will be updating the story as we get more information. F/V Leonardo 20:27
Learning finances with a fish boat captain
Teacher Emily Nowack stood at the white board, marker in hand. At the direction of Captain Doug Feeney she scribbled down his business expenses – crew, insurance, permit fees, maintenance, the list went on. Students at the Cape Cod Lighthouse Charter School did the math. They saw that Feeney’s profit was getting smaller as more expenses were subtracted. But what became clear was that transportation costs were taking a big bite out of Feeney’s take-home pay. >click to read< 12:46
Inside The Climate Change Money Machine
For far too long the public has been deluded into believing that groups whose titles indicate their efforts to protect our environment are the Davids in a battle with the Goliath industrial complex of our nation. They tell a story of protecting our air, our water, our forests, and our wildlife. Ron Arnold and Paul Driessen, authors of Cracking Big Green, learned to read IRS form 990 included in the annual reports of non-profit organizations. Here is what they found to have been the incomes of some of the major well-known groups in 2012 alone. The Sierra Club took in $97,757,678,, Environmental Defense Fund took in $111,915,138 (more), But those are the medium-sized incomes, here are the biggies: The Nature Conservancy $949,132,306,,, The U.S. Chamber of Commerce’s report “Sue and Settle: Regulating Behind Closed Doors, >click to read< 10:43
Turtlegate: Net Escape Doors Versus the Doors of Government
This week, a 50 pound Loggerhead was rescued on Cape Cod.,, Kemp’s Ridley turtles are endangered and although it cannot be confirmed if there is a direct connection between these cold-stunning incidents and interaction with fishing boats, trawler net entanglement remains the number one culprit for sea turtle trauma and mortality. huh! Let’s turn our attention to this critical man-made danger that affects all ocean mammals and sea life in general,,, we see where this is going, >click to read< 09:33
Stephanie Lights is the woman in the wheelhouse: How a hairstylist is carrying on her father’s work in the fishery
Lights hasn’t always hauled pots and emptied bait cans for a living. She started off in a hands-on industry with a lot more glamour. For a dozen or so years, she worked as a busy hairstylist. But, after Lights started a family and had two young children, she found working full-time was a challenge. That’s when her father, Wayne Russell, invited her to join him on board his boat, fishing part-time. Russell had spent his entire working life on the water. Sadly, in July 2018, that’s where he died — he had a heart attack while out fishing for capelin. Video, photo’s, >click to read< 08:06
Brixham beam trawler, Margaret of Ladram smashes Brixham port record
Waterdance’s beam trawler Margaret of Ladram smashed Brixham fish market’s record this week, landing the biggest grossing trip the port has ever seen. After landing in Brixham, skipper Adam Cowan-Dickie turned Margaret of Ladram around and was back at sea when the confirmation of the £126,000 grossing came through. This trip was also his first back at sea after travelling to Japan to watch his son Luke play for England in the rugby world cup. >click to read< 22:22
Entrepreneur, Inventor, Lobster Industry Innovator Byron Andrew Crowe
Byron Andrew Crowe, 87, died peacefully in his summer home at Spruce Head on Nov. 19, 2019. He was born in Mt.Vernon, N.Y. and grew up in Coventry, R.I. He graduated from Dean Academy, Franklin, Mass. in 1949. In 1952 Byron married his first love, Ruth Broome. Together they raised three beautiful children,,. Following Ruth’s passing he met his second love, Betty Leach, spending two decades together .Byron helped revolutionize the lobster industry in Maine with the introduction of the first hydraulic pot haulers and synthetic rope to lobstermen up and down the coast. The Hydro Slave pot Hauler and Hydro Slave power steering units that he designed are still in use around the world. >click to read< 18:36
Dumping Day Weather Delay in Southwest Nova Scotia
Dumping day traditionally takes place on the last Monday of November, weather permitting. This year the weather will not permit that to happen. Years ago, DFO and the LFA 34 industry advisory committee put in place an opening day protocol that dictates any winds forecasted above 25 knots will automatically trigger a postponement,, In LFA 33 on the province’s south shore boats will also stay ashore Monday. As an LFA 34 industry conference call was underway Saturday morning, a gale warning for the region,, >click to read< 15:56
The Port of Toledo is busy and doing well
“We’ve been operating from a plan all along,” said Port Manager Bud Shoemake. “Ports in Oregon are required to have a business plan and an investment plan, too.” The board voted unanimously to award the foundation and the erection contracts to industrial general constructor JH Kelly, the Washington company the port purchased the building through. JH Kelly was the only company to bid on the erection of the building and was also the lowest of three bids for the foundation job. Shoemake explained. “We’ve got big boats stacked up in the boatyard right now and not much room. >click to read< 13:27
To All Good People! Destin Fishermen’s Foundation needs your help
In an effort to help provide a little taste of Christmas to Destin fishermen in need, the Destin Fishermen’s Foundation needs help from the community. Last year, the foundation gave out a little more than 200 hams to fishermen and their families, according to Marguerite Parker, treasurer for the non-profit organization.,, Although the distribution at Christmas is the foundations biggest event, they try to help out Destin fishermen throughout the year if there is a need. For example, if a fishermen gets in an accident, the foundation would help pay their bills. >click to read< 11:13
