Daily Archives: June 9, 2022

Newport Fishing Vessel sinking at Port Dock 5

At 12:02 PM on Thursday, June 9, 2022, Newport Fire Department was dispatched to a report of vessel sinking at Port Dock 5 on Newport’s Bay front. Upon arrival, units observed a commercial fishing vessel tied up near the fuel dock listing to its port side and sinking in water. After ensuring no lives were at risk, fire crews worked with officials from the Port of Newport and USCG Yaquina Bay to set containment and absorbing buoys around the vessel. The cause of the vessel sinking was under investigation. Representatives of the vessel owner are working with Port of Newport Officials to raise the vessel.  >click to read< 19:36

9 Years Later: We Remember Richard Gaines and We Miss Him

The passing of Richard Gaines was catastrophic for many. From an industry perspective, none more so than the Gloucester Daily Times. We were gifted to have the right combination of a great writer that informed of the issues of the day, and an Editor that was supportive, and a crew that did such a wonderful job churning out article after article. To say Richard Gaines is missed is an understatement. I miss him more than ever. >Richard Gaines, click to read< 17:35

Richard Gaines, Staff Writer, Gloucester Daily Times – For years, we found his byline under the headline of every major fishery article that we read at the Gloucester Daily Times.  It told us to read on for the truth and an unbiased perspective that a great journalist presents regarding our livelihoods. Richard’s articles provided the information to the public of the complexities that made up the convoluted issues surrounding the stories of the New England ground fishery — something that was just about impossible. Some of the articles would leave the public confused, but industry insiders knew exactly what he was bringing up. At times, these controversial to insider articles would erupt, causing some noses to get out of joint, generating lively, pointed, and sometimes fierce debate. Those were my favorites, and I know what Richard wrote was on the money, even though some would disagree, of course. By Jim Kendall, June 13, 2013 >click to read<

Huge deep-water area off N.S. declared a marine refuge – will be off limits to almost all fishing

An area off Nova Scotia’s coast nearly four times the size of Cape Breton was declared a marine refuge by Canada on Wednesday — World Oceans Day. Eastern Canyons Marine Refuge is a 44,000 square kilometre swath of ocean running from the edge of the continental shelf near Sable Island to Canada’s exclusive economic zone more than 300 kilometres offshore. All bottom-contact fisheries, including trawls, traps, and longlines, will be prohibited inside the marine refuge, with the exception of one fishing zone for smaller vessels that use longlines. It was criticized by some in Nova Scotia’s lucrative halibut fishery which will be blocked from most of the area. >click to read< 14:55

President Biden’s plan to save the oceans

FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Celebrates World Ocean Day with Actions to Conserve America’s Deepest Atlantic Canyon, Cut Plastic Pollution, and Create America’s First-Ever Ocean Climate Action Plan – >click to read< The following two bullet points are from the Whitehouse Press Release today. Commentary by Nils Stolpe, >click to read< 13:07

Crew from the Grand Manan Adventure ferry sped to the rescue of fishing crew on a life raft

The Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre says it got a mayday call from the Ross Pride around noon on Wednesday. The fishing boat was taking on water and listing, said the centre’s Lt.-Cmdr. Brian Owens. “They indicated that they were going to be abandoning their vessel, getting into their life raft,” he said Thursday. Owens said the centre immediately deployed a helicopter and a Hercules aircraft out of Greenwood, N.S. The centre also asked the Canadian Coast Guard station at Westport, N.S., and the United States Coast Guard in Eastport, Maine, to head to the scene. Video, >click to read< 11:25

Battlefront: Salmon bycatch, electronic monitoring on the table at Sitka meeting of NPFMC

The bycatch of chinook and chum salmon is on the agenda, as the spring meeting of the North Pacific Management Council gets underway in Sitka this week (June 9-14). In addition to hearing how much salmon is being intercepted in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea by the trawl fisheries, the council will review a proposal to supplement the human observer program with electronic monitoring. >click to read< Note: Find links to the Council’s agenda and meeting livestream here.

ENC shrimper thinking of new ways to get his product to customers amid inflation

Inflation is making it harder for fisherman to turn a profit. Now, it’s fueling them to make decision on how they sell their catch. One local boat captain has found a way he could keep more money in local fishermen’s wallets. Frankie Eubanks is a shrimp boat captain and he said it used to cost him $1,500 to fill up his boat, now it’s twice that. To battle the rise in prices, he wants to take his product straight to customers. Video, >click to read< 09:14

Gasoline, diesel prices put squeeze on Hampton Roads commercial fishing

“It’s going to get to a point where the customers won’t want to buy because it’s so outrageously expensive,” said Kyle Robbins. “Everyday it costs me about $150 to $200 just in fuel to leave the dock,” Robbins said. Six days a week, Robbins ventures out on a crabbing boat to haul in hundreds of pounds of crabs from the Chesapeake Bay. But the rising cost of fuel for those boats has caused his crabbing habits to change. “In certain times, maybe we can travel another 10 to 15 miles to catch more crabs, but we’re not wanting to spend the fuel, so we’re traveling only two to three miles,” he said. “It’s a lose-lose situation.” Video, >click to read< 08:15