Tag Archives: F/V Double E

Removal of shrimp boats begins near Fort Myers Beach

It was a bittersweet moment for shrimpers who could finally see just how badly they were damaged. The first boat, the Double E, was finally lifted after being thrown onto its side during Hurricane Ian. Wayne Romano has worked on the Double E for 18 years. “It gives me promise that maybe soon we will be back to work,” Romano said. Seeing the boat like this is heartbreaking for him. And when he got onboard to get his clothes, it made him seasick for the first time in his life. “I only made it four foot inside that boat and I had to lay down because it throws, it throws your whole equilibrium off and everything,” Romano said. “It felt like the boat was going to flip over.” 2 Videos, >click to read< 10:22

They rode out Hurricane Ian on shrimp boats. Now they fear their livelihood is destroyed

By the time these shrimpers knew Hurricane Ian was headed to Fort Myers Beach, it was too late to leave. Shrimp Boat Lane is a crook in the middle of San Carlos Island. Inside pulses the heart of a storied fishery. But with little warning and punishing winds, Hurricane Ian shredded it. Jesse Clapham walked through what was left Friday morning, sweat soaking the back of his black T-shirt. “My dad was a fisherman. His was a fisherman,” said Clapham, fleet manager for Erickson and Jensen, a seafood and marine supplies company. Just three of the company’s 12 boats are still in the water, he said, and one has a hole in the side. Normally, Clapham said, the fleet would be in Texas around this time, but gas was too expensive to make the run this year. Photos, >click to read< 13:04

Coast Guard interrupts suspected illegal shrimp harvest off Key West

Coast Guard Cutter Isaac Mayo’s law enforcement crew detained a U.S. flagged fishing vessel Saturday for suspected shrimp fishing in the Dry Tortugas shrimp sanctuary during an annual closure period. The law enforcement team boarded the F/V Double E at approximately 7:30 p.m. and also discovered two safety violations. The vessel was escorted to Station Fort Myers Beach for further investigation by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries, Office of Law Enforcement, Southeast Division. >click to read< 19:31

Coast Guard medevacs 66-year-old man from fishing boat 40 miles southwest of Fort Myers Beach

The Coast Guard medevaced a 66-year-old man from a 90-foot fishing boat 40 miles southwest of Fort Myers Beach, Thursday. Rescued was Alfredo Simon, 66, from Fort Myers.  At 2:44 a.m. Sector St. Petersburg watchstanders received a call via VHF-FM marine band radio channel 16 reporting Simon was suffering from symptoms of a heart attack aboard the 90-foot fishing boat, Double E. A flight surgeon recommended Simon be medevaced. A 45-foot Response Boat-Medium boatcrew from Station Fort Myers Beach was launched, arrived on scene and transported Simon to the station. -USCG-10:43