Daily Archives: December 28, 2022

Condolences pour in for N.S. fisherman lost at sea: ‘It’s heart-wrenching’

A Nova Scotian community, along with people and fishers across the province and beyond, are mourning a fisherman who was lost at sea after what has been described as a “freak accident.”  The man, whom RCMP have identified as 27-year-old Christian Atwood of Barrington, is presumed to have drowned after he went overboard Boxing Day morning about 11 kilometres south of Cape Sable Island, just off the province’s southernmost tip. Halifax’s Joint Rescue Coordination Centre received a mayday about a man overboard at 8:21 a.m. that day. The statement also wished a speedy recovery to the vessel’s captain, who suffered a heart attack and was recently transferred to Halifax. “Christian’s family wishes to thank everyone for their prayers at this time and ask for continued prayer to bring him home,” the statement said. The association also shared a trust account for Atwood’s son. Donations can be made at [email protected]. >click to read< 18:55

Offshore Wind Farms Could Cause ‘Cataclysmic Destruction’ Of Ecosystems

Wind energy, cheap electricity from the elements. Surely a great idea? But has it just become a cash cow for big industry and governments, with precious little benefit to citizens – and, ironically, all at the expense of the natural world? I’ve written many times over the years about the potential for ecological damage caused by badly planned wind farms, particularly large offshore developments, the detrimental effects of which have been vastly underestimated. Now, as the industry expands at an alarming pace, we disregard the evidence at our peril. >click to read< By Jason Endfield 13:29

Fishing boat catches fire at Newport dock

The Newport Fire Department was dispatched to a marine fire at 7:16 a.m. on Thursday, Dec. 22, aboard the fishing vessel Nordic Valor, which was tied up at Port Dock 3 on Yaquina Bay. A deckhand checking on the boat opened the door to the cabin and smoke poured out, according to a press release issued by the fire department. When firefighters arrived on scene, they found the vessel filled with smoke and heat. The fire started in the galley area of the vessel and was burning in hidden voids between the inner walls and the outer hull. The F/V Nordic Valor was tied up just across from the Chelsea Rose, an historic fishing vessel that now functions solely as a floating fish market. >click to read< 12:00

Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 52″x18″ Steel Dragger, 3406 Cat, with Permits

To review specifications, information, and 15 photos’, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here< 11:00

Council has 4 months to fix Cook Inlet salmon fishery management plan

The future of the Cook Inlet salmon fishery is again in the air as the North Pacific Fishery Management Council debates how to manage it after a federal court ruled that it has to write a new plan. It’s been six years since a federal court ruled that the council’s decision to remove Cook Inlet from a federal management plan and defer entirely to the state was illegal. The council initially decided to remove Cook Inlet in 2012, a decision that the United Cook Inlet Drift Association challenged in court. In 2016, the court agreed with the association, ordering the council to create a new federal management plan that includes the federal waters of Cook Inlet. >click to read< 09:47

State Papers: Royal Navy submarine dragged Irish fishing trawler backwards for 1.6km before breaking free

Britain attempted to claim State immunity in an attempt to recover a valuable towed sonar array from a Royal Navy attack submarine which detached after snagging in the nets of an Irish fishing trawler. The fishing boat was subsequently dragged backwards for 1.6km before breaking free. Confidential Department of Foreign Affairs documents revealed that civil servants felt an agreed settlement between the British Embassy and the trawler skipper involved was preferable to the matters coming before the Irish courts. The incident occurred 40km east of Skerries, Co Dublin at 7.20pm on September 12, 1989 when an Irish trawler, MV Contestor, alerted the Shannon-based Marine Rescue Centre.  >click to read< 08:05

Commercial Dungeness Crab Fishery Now Open Statewide

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) will open the commercial Dungeness crab fishery statewide on Dec. 31, 2022. Fishing Zones 3-6 (all areas south of the Sonoma/Mendocino county Line) will open under a 50 percent trap reduction on Dec. 31, 2022 at 12:01 a.m., with a 64-hour gear setting period beginning on Dec. 28, 2022 at 8:01 a.m. This trap reduction will help reduce risk of entanglement as humpback whales continue to migrate to winter breeding grounds. Commercial Dungeness crab vessels operating in Fishing Zones 3-6 must understand and comply with the restrictions by reviewing the CDFW Declaration. >click to read< 07:20