Daily Archives: May 16, 2020

Trident seafood worker the first positive COVID-19 case in Dillingham

Dillingham has its first case of COVID-19. According to state data, the person is an out-of-state resident who works in the seafood industry. It’s the ninth case of an out-of-state resident testing positive for the disease, and it’s the fourth instance of someone testing positive who works in that industry.  The state said in a news release that the individual is a seasonal worker for Trident Seafoods. Trident is arranging for that worker to leave the community today. That person is doing well and does not require hospitalization. Public health nurses have completed a contact investigation and report that no one at that quarantine site had any outside contacts. “They haven’t exposed the community because they haven’t been out in the community,” public health nurse Gina Carpenter said in the state’s news release. >click to read< 18:51

Coronavirus: A fisherman’s daughter’s perspective

I am a fisherman’s daughter who is very aware of the beauty and the dangers of the ocean. Fishing isn’t for everyone — it is a physical, dangerous, high-risk profession in which generations of fishers have gone out on the water and, all too often, not come home. The fishery is one of Newfoundland and Labrador’s many highly dependent resource sectors employing thousands of people directly and indirectly. This year the obstacles facing this sector are beyond what any industry should have to deal with on their own. Since mid-March, fish harvesters were deeply concerned about the potential impact of COVID-19. Safety was and continues to be top priority as it is impossible to social distance while working in a fishing boat. Meagan Careen, St. Bride’s>click to read< 17:12

Funeral procession for fisherman Gus “Scotch Gus” Graham to pass his regular pubs along Freeman Street Grimsby to honour much-loved town character

Mourners have been urged to line Grimsby streets to say farewell to one of the town’s best-known fishermen. The funeral cortege carrying Angus “Scotch Gus” Graham will leave his home at Banbury Court on Victor Street and travel along Freeman Street where he was known as a regular at most of the pubs. Sadly Gus sadly died aged 68 years. Daughter Claire said he was “a big friendly giant” and will be missed by his family and his many friends. She told how he moved to Grimsby from his native Campeltown on Argyll and Bute when he was just 17 years. He had learned fishing working with his uncles from the age of 14 years. His first job was with Dury Brothers on Grimsby docks. >click to read< 15:57

Trawl fishing in the age of the coronavirus: First, you make it through quarantine

Hundreds of crew members went through two weeks of shore-side quarantine coupled with testing for the novel coronavirus that did identify a few who, if they had gone out to sea, risked sickness and spreading the virus. “There’s no silver bullet. But this is a huge deal,” said Karl Bratvold, a managing partner of Aleutian Spray Fisheries, which operates the catcher-processor vessel Starbound now harvesting whiting in open waters off the Olympic Peninsula. “We have a steady crew. And I’m glad they came back. They work in tight quarters and it’s scary out there. We had to do what we had to do to keep these people safe.” photos, >click to read< 13:27

Activist Seeks Preliminary Injunction To Halt Lobster Fishing In Maine

There are new developments Friday in the legal battle over whether rope used by Maine lobstermen poses a deadly threat of entanglement to endangered North Atlantic right whales. Richard Strahan’s case is similar to one he brought in Massachusetts, where a federal judge ruled recently that the lobster fishery there violates the Endangered Species Act. Strahan says state governments and NOAA have deliberately ignored the law. In another case, a coalition of conservation groups late Friday filed their proposals for protecting the right whales. That’s after a judge’s finding that the federal government violated the Endangered Species Act by failing to stall the whales’ slide toward extinction. The Conservation Law Foundation and others say the judge should immediately bar use of vertical rope,,, >click to read< 11:42

Massachusetts Lobstermen push against whale rules – Aug 22, 2019 >click to read<

F/V Miss Jenna aground on Lobsterville Beach

The Vineyard fishing vessel Miss Jenna ran aground on Lobsterville Beach 11:30 pm, according to the U.S Coast Guard. At 12:30 am the vessel was still stuck in the sand about 20 feet from shore. U.S. Coast Guard personnel could be seen on deck and boats flashing emergency lights could be seen in the distance. Capt. Andrew Wheeler, who runs the Miss Jenna, told The Times Friday morning sleep deprivation was a factor.  “Basically we ran a long trip and fell asleep,” he said. He did not specify who was at the helm. “Pretty embarrassing to be honest with you,” he said. >click to read< 10:47

In the Coronavirus Economy, Texas’ Commercial Fishermen Are Barely Treading Water

Most of Texas’ commercial fishermen have seen similar struggles. As has been the case across food industries, the pandemic’s economic fallout on Gulf Coast commercial anglers and local wholesalers brought their boats and operations ashore like a summer storm. Their financial livelihoods and the industry’s future, as well as generations of rich commercial fishing tradition, are at stake. Without restaurants, in other words, seafood demand plummets. Commercial angler Buddy Guindon, who co-owns Katie’s Seafood Market with his wife, Katie, says their operation in Galveston felt the pandemic’s impact almost immediately. When local restaurants mostly closed up shop, they were forced to cut their employees’ fishing trips short. >click to read< 10:00

New rules for California Dungeness crab fleet

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife on Friday unveiled a batch of complex new rules designed to reduce the risk to endangered whales and sea turtles of becoming entangled in commercial Dungeness crab fishing gear. The draft regulations are set to be finalized before the next commercial season starts in November after a period of public review. Among the provisions are options to restrict fishing in certain depths, require crabbers to set only a share of the traps for which they’re permitted or limit intervention to any of six newly established geographic zones, rather than the larger Northern and Central California management districts that currently exist. >click to read< 09:14

Setting day challenging but ‘better than expected’ say Malpeque fishermen

Despite a two-week delay to P.E.I.’s fishing season because of COVID-19 and added dredging challenges, Malpeque Harbour was still bustling with fishermen on setting day. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans cautioned fishermen in Malpeque Harbour that the yearly dredging effort was still ongoing, as the dredger was unable to create a clear passage through the channel that leads from the harbour to the Gulf of St. Lawrence. “After weeks of stress and sleepless nights, it went much better than expected,” said Justin Pickering, a captain who fishes from the harbour. “The wind let up last night and the dredger was able to get a little bit of a path cut through for us and we were the second boat out,” he said. >click to read< 08:13