Daily Archives: April 1, 2022

J. M. Martinac Shipbuilding Corporation (Tacoma)

In January 1917, Martinac, with partners Martin Petrich (1880-1971) and William Vickat, established the Western Boatbuilding Company in Old Tacoma. In April, The Tacoma Daily Ledger reported the company employed 40 men building fishing boats up to 70 feet in length for use “in Alaskan waters, on the Columbia River and on Puget Sound” (“Fishing Vessels Turned Out Here”). Fourteen fishing boats worth $90,000 left the plant by the end of September, and the company found itself “receiving inquiries from all over the Sound” and “points in the Pacific Northwest” (“Builds $90,000 Worth of Boats”). While the venture was a success, In 1924, Martinac founded his own company, the J. M. Martinac Shipbuilding Corporation. While the company built some yachts, it primarily built fishing vessels. Photo gallery, >click to read< 21:08

Canada responds to United Nations after Mi’kmaw treaty fishery complaint

Canada submitted its response last month to a United Nations committee after Sipekne’katik First Nation in Nova Scotia asked the international body to investigate violence against Mi’kmaw fishers during the “moderate livelihood” lobster fishery in the fall of 2020. However, the federal Heritage Department, which is the lead agency handling the human rights reporting file, said Canada’s submission will remain confidential.  >click to read< 19:16

Massachusetts DMF’s Ropeless Fishing Gear Feasibility Report Released

The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries has completed the first phase of a two-year project, funded by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation in partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, to comprehensively characterize the issues and challenges associated with the integration of on-demand fishing gear technology into New England lobster fisheries. On-demand fishing gear, also known as ‘ropeless gear,’ is a type of fishing gear used in ‘fixed gear’ fisheries, or fisheries that use equipment that is left, or ‘fixed’, in place over time to capture fish. On-demand fishing gear replaces traditional vertical buoy lines, which can result in entanglements with marine mammals including North Atlantic right whales, with new gear retrieval and marking methods.  >click to read, and access the report< Assessing the Feasibility of On-Demand Gear in New England Lobster Fisheries, 16:40

Missing fisherman’s house burns down

Hours after authorities suspended the at-sea search for the captain of a Newport fishing vessel, his Logsden house and an adjacent building caught fire and burned to the ground. The structure fire call came in at 5:13 p.m. Sunday,,, The fire compounded tragedy for a local family. The house and shop, on the site of a Christmas tree farm, were owned by fisherman Mike Morgan, whose boat capsized at around midnight Saturday off the coast of Florence. The body of a crew member, Billie Jo Hooton, was recovered by the U.S. Coast Guard, and a search for Morgan was suspended Sunday morning. >click to read< 13:43

Are the whales leaving with the food? Gulf of Maine research raises questions about new lobstering rules

As the Gulf of Maine’s waters warm, recent studies show the main food source of the endangered North Atlantic right whale is moving north, out of Maine waters. And the whales appear to be following them. Such findings haven’t escaped the notice of the Maine lobster industry, which has been referencing them in its legal arguments as to why impending new federal restrictions on lobstering gear won’t help save the whales. Oceanographer Jeffrey Runge, of the University of Maine and the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, said the lipid-rich copepods have been abundant in the Gulf of Maine since Henry Bigelow did his first oceanographic surveys in the early 20th century, but that abundance has dropped by about 70 percent in the past 20 years. >click to read< 11:57

The Last Commercial Fisherman

Phil McAdam has fished sardines in Port Phillip Bay for 45 years, but this week he netted his final catch. McAdam, who runs Vancouver Bait Supply in Williamstown, was the last commercial fisherman left at Port Phillip Bay after the government phased the industry out. photos, >click to read< End of Commercial Netting Signals New Era for Bay Fishers – It is the dawn of a new era for recreational fishing, with today marking the end of commercial net fishing in Port Phillip Bay. The Andrews Labor Government promised at the 2014 election to end commercial net fishing in the bay, and that is exactly what we have delivered, as part of a $71 million investment to improve recreational fishing in Victoria >click to read< 10:35

Lobstermen who harvest federal waters will be required to install electronic trackers

East Coast lobster and Jonah Crab fishermen who harvest federal waters will be required to install electronic trackers on their boats, giving federal regulators unprecedented detail on where fishing activity is taking place. A vote by the regional American Lobster Management Board approved the measure Thursday. Ware and the co-chair of the Maine Legislature’s Marine Resources Committee, Democratic Senator David Mirament, voted for the measure, over objections from the third member of Maine’s delegation, lobsterman Steve Train. >click to read< 09:32

Snow crab prices skyrocket

The price of snow crab jumped last year. It explodes again this year. The price of the first arrivals of the season, which opened on Friday, exceeds $38 a pound for cooked crab in Montreal. Last year it was around $26. Enough for crab legs to stop being part of the springtime ritual for many Quebecers. At the Jean-Talon market, the price of live snow crab is $21.50 per pound. That of cooked crab is $38.50 per pound. This explosion can be explained by several factors: galloping inflation, which increases costs, particularly transport costs, the imposition of quotas on Alaskan crabs by the American government,,, There are practically no Alaskan crabs in the markets. The Russians, with what is happening in Ukraine, will not sell their crabs to the United States. >click to read< 08:35