Daily Archives: April 15, 2022
Project Fisheye Successfully Accelerates Development of New Underwater Camera
Before looking at Project Fisheye let’s go back to the latest in fishing gear technology from the 1990s in Cornwall. Plymouth based fishing gear and net designer Winston Phillips who commissioned Phil Lockley, fisherman, diver and Fishing News journalist to record his work designing flip-over ropes, not to be confused with the John Day designed flip-up rope designed for beam trawls, and stone traps for trawls as well as Net-Tec doors. Remote, underwater cameras were prohibitively expensive in those days so there was only one thing for Phil and Winston to do, don the diving gear 
go over the side and hang on to the headline of the trawl while it was being towed, then slowly pull yourself out to the starboard wing and film the new doors with wheels on (designed in Hull) as they were being towed. How times have changed! Wind the clock forward to 2022 and technology, and ideas about health and safety have moved on somewhat! Photos, Video’s, >click to read< 20:55
Despite war ban, Russian seafood could enter the US anyway
Fishing is big business in Russia, one closely linked to the Kremlin and President Vladimir Putin’s projection of power at sea. The country is one of the world’s top seafood producers and was the eighth-largest exporter to the United States last year, with more than $1.2bn worth of sales, the bulk of it king crab. But it is unknown exactly how much manages to land in the US by way of China, which sent another $1.7bn in fish to the US last year. Nor does the Biden administration’s ban require companies importing from China to find out. But the same species is also harvested in Russia in similar amounts, and once processed and imported from China, fills an important gap in the US market. In lieu of tracing the country of origin, US producers rely on the name recognition of Alaska pollock to signal where the fish was caught. >click to read< 17:31
Shipyards Face Impacts of Inflation and War
With rising inflation and devaluation of the Argentine peso against the US dollar, Argentinian shipyards are beginning to feel the impact of their country’s disturbed economic situation, in addition to the far-reaching effects of the war in Ukraine. Rising food prices have a direct impact on labour costs, something that most employers in Argentina, including shipyards, have been feeling over the past years. But those companies are also having 
to deal with the increasing prices of raw materials, especially steel and aluminium. According to Domingo Contessi, owner of Astillero Contessi, one of the traditional shipyards specialising in fishing boats, steel prices have gone up significantly since last year. ‘It’s a very complex situation. We have faced difficult times like this in the past, but never with such abruptness,‘ he reflected. Photos, Video, >click to read< 14:41
NPFMC wants more information on decline in king crab stocks
Two decades into the decline of Bristol Bay red king crab, with stocks now too low for a commercial fishery, the fight continues at the North Pacific Fishery Management Council over what protections to take for the crab in danger and how soon to do it. Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers had hoped that federal fisheries managers might put restrictions on groundfish fishing in the Red King Crab Savings Area, as well as other measures, during the NPFMC’s April meeting in Anchorage. Instead, the council voted to have staff prepare an expanded discussion paper for its October meeting that includes analysis of the impacts on annual or seasonal closures to pelagic trawl, groundfish, pot and longline gear in the BBRKA, including impacts on target catch, fishing timing relative to crab mating and molting, crab avoidance and other prohibited species catch and non-target species. >click to read< 11:27
Fisherman found guilty of illegal dredging off Scotland’s north west coast
Skipper Alex Murray was convicted yesterday following a three-day trial at Stornoway Sheriff Court. The 56-year-old of Lewis was in charge of the F/V Star of Annan while it was operating within the Wester Ross Marine Protection Area. Sheriff Gordon Lamont deferred sentence for two weeks at the same court. Murray had denied a charge of dredging for scallops in the banned area on 18th July 2019. During the trial he maintained the fishing equipment was stuck underneath the vessel and could not be properly hauled back in due to engine and hydraulic machinery problems. >click to read< 09:03
P.E.I. fishermen ‘optimistic’ about spring lobster season amid record prices
Island fishermen are anticipating the start of the spring lobster season in a few weeks with a heightened sense of optimism. In areas where the season has already begun, the catch is fetching record prices. Some fishermen in the Maritimes are reporting getting as much as $20 a pound for their lobster. “It makes us feel really good. The fishermen are optimistic,” said Charlie McGeoghegan, chair of the Lobster Fishers of P.E.I. marketing board. Last spring, lobster prices in P.E.I. hit record prices, starting the season at the highest they’ve been in 15 years. But expenses have climbed,,, >click to read< 08:09
