Daily Archives: April 23, 2020

California crab fishery to close May 15th for whale protection

Commercial fishermen are protesting an order by California wildlife authorities to close the Dungeness crab fishery in mid-May to protect whales and sea turtles from becoming entangled in fishing gear. There have been no confirmed interactions between commercial Dungeness crab gear and any whales during the current crab season, which began in December, Ben Platt, president of the Crescent City-based California Coast Crab Association, said in a statement. The crab association statement characterized harm to migratory whales from commercial crab fishing gear as a “perceived risk.” The group said that cooperative measures between the fishing fleet and the state make it extremely rare for there to be interactions between Dungeness crab gear and subgroups of humpback whales that are categorized as endangered or threatened. >click to read< 18:24

Dungeness Crab Season Closed Early Due to Dubious Whale Crisis, COVID-19 Economic Impact on Coastal Communities Made Worse by Closure – “The risk of crab fishing gear harming endangered whales is statistically insignificant because of low concentrations of whale, as well as the relatively small amounts of gear being deployed along the Central California coast,” said Ben Platt, president of the California Coast Crab Association (CCCA).  >click to read<

A shrimper crashed his boat. Police said they found him with drugs and ready to fight

Ron Ray Anderson, 39, of Merritt Island, ignored officers’ commands and charged at them with a fist, according to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission’s arrest report. The officers said they had to spray him with Mace to take him into custody. FWC officers said they arrived at about 2 p.m. Wednesday to find a large shrimping vessel aground near the green channel marker No. 5 near the Safe Harbor Marina Channel. The vessel was listing to its port side about 100 yards outside the marked channel. >click to read< 14:42

Seafood industry visa fix in question after Coronavirus outbreak

With the aid of lawmakers, seafood businesses in Maryland, Virginia, Alaska and North Carolina last month won federal approval of an additional 35,000 visas for non-immigrant workers, but the timing couldn’t have been worse. Within days, the coronavirus pandemic began shutting down businesses, including restaurants and retail outlets the seafood industry supplies. Some seafood operations let employees go, while others have hired fewer people than they would in a more typical season. Jack Brooks, president of J.M. Clayton Seafood Co. in Cambridge, Maryland, explained that the seafood industry is a seasonal business and the coronavirus has hit the hardest during the industry’s prime time.  >click to read< 13:16

The Sheriff, The Chief, and The Saltwater Cowboy Smugglers from Marco

As it turned out, the Sheriff was a really well-made shrimp boat. She had been made with the classic long leaf yellow pine and she was well balanced because her bilge was filled with concrete poured into her hull before the deck and pilothouse were cobbled on top. As a result, she plied the waters between Marco and Jamaica more times than Frank, Jimmy, and Pete could remember.  The first few runs were uneventful and very profitable for the Chief in Jamaica and everyone else in the saltwater cowboy network of Marco smugglers; Frank and the boys even found themselves waving to the patrol boats as Cuban and American law enforcement cruised alongside.  >click to read< 10:21

David Provencher, longtime lobsterman out of Pine Point, dies at 62

A lifelong Scarborough resident, he began working as a stern man on his friend’s lobster boat when he was 15 years old. He graduated from Scarborough High School in 1976, and later Southern Maine Technical College. Soon after, he pursued a full-time career as a lobsterman. Mr. Provencher had a 32-foot lobster boat named “Robin’s Nest” and fished out of Pine Point for more than 40 years. He was a loving husband and devoted father of two sons, Lucas and Nathan Provencher. Robin Provencher remembered her husband of 38 years as a patient, kind and honest person, who was respected in the community. She said there wasn’t a bad bone in his body. >click to read< 09:13

Gulf of St. Lawrence Spring lobster season begins at 6 a.m. on May 15

Fisheries and Oceans Canada says this year’s spring lobster fishery in the southern Gulf of St. Lawrence will open May 15 and close on June 30. The decision released today delays the traditional April 30 start of the season by about two weeks. The new start date covers fishing areas 23, 24 and 26A and B along the northern coasts of New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, as well as a section of the Northumberland Strait. The season will begin at 6 a.m. on May 15 as long as weather conditions allow. >click to read< 07:34