Daily Archives: April 4, 2021

1 dead, another presumed dead after fishing boat capsizes off Cape Breton

Four crew members from the Tyhawk fishing vessel were rescued from the water Saturday evening and taken to hospital. But one, identified by community members as Seth Monahan, died. The vessel’s captain, Craig Sock, is missing and presumed dead after an unsuccessful overnight search.  The Tyhawk belongs to the Elsipogtog First Nation in New Brunswick, according to band councillor Ruth Levi. She said Monahan was originally from  nearby Metepenagiag, N.B., and had been living in Elsipogtog for many years. He had two young children, she said. Levi described Sock as a “gentle soul” who loved hockey. He was known as “Jumbo” to his friends. >click to read< 20:42

Florida Spiny lobster season ends

Bill Kelly says the spiny lobster fishery is like real estate. “Location is everything,” said Kelly, executive director of the Florida Keys Fishermen’s Association. “We’re seeing a significant season, a good season for spiny lobster and stone crab harvest in the Upper Keys and [mainland] South Florida. We’re also seeing that in the extreme Lower Keys and down into the Marquesas and the Tortugas.” The lockdowns in China early during the pandemic didn’t help the industry either. Kelly said China buys about 80% of the live spiny lobsters, and they pay top dollar. >click to read< 11:39

Births rates up among North Atlantic Right Whales

North Atlantic right whales gave birth over the winter in greater numbers than scientists have seen since 2015, an encouraging sign for researchers who became alarmed three years ago when the critically endangered species produced no known offspring at all. Survey teams spotted 17 newborn right whale calves swimming with their mothers offshore between Florida and North Carolina from December through March. One of those calves soon died after being hit a boat, a reminder of the high death rate for right whales that experts fear is outpacing births. >click to read< 08:58

Shipwreck lodged on Marin coast probed for pollution threat remains in place

Nearly a month after a 90-foot fishing boat ran aground on the Marin coast, the wreckage remains in place while specialists assess the risk of environmental damage. A team of marine engineers and safety experts has been enlisted to determine how much fuel is aboard the American Challenger, which drifted to shore on March 6. So far, the contractors have evaluated 13 of the 17 tanks onboard, but progress was halted when the ship shifted, making work conditions unsafe,,, >click to read< 08:08

4 crew members found, Search ongoing for missing fisherman off the coast of Cape Breton

A search is ongoing in the waters off the coast of Cape Breton for one of five people from the Tyhawk fishing vessel, A CH149 Cormorant helicopter and a CH130 Hercules aircraft, along with two Coast Guard ships, were sent to search for the missing vessel, which was believed to be about 30 kilometres west of Chéticamp, N.S., according to Owens. Owens said a local vessel was in the area and found four of the people who had been on boat holding onto the hull of the capsized vessel. Ruth Levi said the boat and its crew left waters near the community early on Saturday to fish snow crab off Chéticamp.  >click to read< 07:16

UPDATE: Search ongoing – The two helicopters have since been grounded and one coast guard ship departed the area due to deteriorating weather conditions. Owens said freezing rain and low cloud cover is making for poor visibility. >click to read< 10:20