Coast Guard searching for Fort Pierce fishing captain who fell overboard
The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for 31-year-old Russell Minor, the captain of a 46-foot fishing vessel who reportedly fell overboard at 2:57 a.m. on Sunday while boating 300 miles east of Cape Canaveral. The Coast Guard said crew members of Day Boat Too, owned by Day Boat Seafood, LLC, alerted authorities to Minor’s disappearance.,,, At approximately 6:30 a.m. on Sunday, members of the Coast Guard began searching for Minor using both rescue boats and helicopters. “The search is on-going and there are no plans to suspend the search at this time,” >video, click to read<19:21
Commercial crab fisher ordered to forfeit traps, fined $20,000 after repeat offences
A B.C. judge lamented the state of protections for Canadian fisheries this month as she tore a strip off a commercial skipper with a history of repeat fishing violations. Powell River Provincial Court Judge Kimberley Arthur-Leung slapped Tuan Huu Le with a $20,000 fine, a four-month fishing prohibition and an order to forfeit his traps after he pleaded guilty to a series of crab fishing offences. >click to read<17:06
Gov. Edwards Requests Federal Declaration of a Fisheries Disaster in Louisiana
Gov. John Bel Edwards announced today that he has requested a federal fisheries disaster declaration for Louisiana from the U.S. Department of Commerce following impacts of the spring flood flight on the fishing industry in Louisiana. Troubling mortality rates among oysters, declining fish catches and the financial damage to the livelihoods of those in the fishing industry caused by floodwaters rushing from the Bonnet Carré Spillway were among the reasons for the request, which Gov. Edwards outlined in a letter to Wilbur Ross, Secretary of the U.S. Department of Commerce. >click to read<16:18
Updated – Letter: Gulf Seafood industry hampered by spillway opening
Gulf seafood harvesters need federal disaster recovery funding to ease the suffering caused by the opening of the Bonnet Carre Spillway.,, In a letter to the U.S. secretary of commerce, Mississippi Gov. Phil Bryant stated that 70% of the Mississippi Sound’s already imperiled oyster population is estimated to be dead, with the crab catch down by 35%. Shrimp season in Mississippi, which usually begins in June, will also be affected. >click to read<14:36
Gov. Edwards Requests Federal Disaster Declaration for Flooded Fisheries – >click to read<
A Fishery Management Proposal
Its frustrating to watch fish regulators on the various fishery management councils continuously cut back on fishermen allocations with no regard for how they will make up for the “scientific” decision that takes revenue from them. I have reached out to various politicians to create a Farm Bill for fishermen, which would be a huge undertaking for the Congress, and in the current political climate, it seems like an impossible task, even though it is needed. In the meantime, the mismanagement continues, and people are pushed closer to exit the industry, which is unacceptable. What I am proposing is to correct this and mitigate the damage caused by the cutback is legislation. This is what I would like to see. Sam Parisi >click to read<12:16
2019 Northeast Groundfish Stock Assessment Plans Under Review This Week – Listen Live
In 2019, 14 Northeast groundfish stock assessments will be reviewed and updated. Scientists will use existing models and data sources to evaluate stock health.,, On Thursday, June 20 the Assessment Oversight Panel will review and approve assessment plans for each stock. After this meeting, scientists will spend the summer conducting the assessments. The results will be presented Sept 9-11, 2019 to a panel of peer reviewers. Meeting Webinar >click to read<11:34
Eric Schwaab Comes Aboard as New Head of EDF’s Oceans Program
“Eric was critical to the success we achieved during my time as NOAA Administrator,” said Dr. Jane Lubchenco, University Distinguished Professor, Oregon State University and former EDF Board Trustee. “His unflappable get-it-done approach makes him notably effective working with a range of stakeholders from fishermen to global leaders.” As head of NMFS, Schwaab led the transformation of U.S. fisheries management including widespread adoption of science-based catch limits and catch shares. EDF was a leading advocate for these reforms, which have driven a dramatic recovery of fish populations and increased catch and profits for fishermen. >click tp read<10:02
Skrobie’s last hurrah on the harbor
William Dixon Skrobacz made his last trip on a boat on Friday. For once, he didn’t have much to say. But if he did, he probably would have wondered — profanely — from within his remembrance urn how all of his friends could have forgotten to bring along a few Miller High Lifes to lubricate the leaving. A little something, as it were, for the effort. Late Friday afternoon, three lobster boats — Mark Ring’s Stanley Thomas, Joe Mondello’s Tully IV and Pete Mondello’s Allison-Carol — ferried about a dozen family and friends to a spot off Half Moon Beach, where, under a perfect sky and on a calm sea, they released Skrobie’s ashes into Gloucester Harbor. >click to read<08:43
Lobster Boat Races come to Rockland
Lobstermen in Rockland weren’t hauling any traps today, but that doesn’t mean their boats weren’t in action. Summer in Maine is actually multiple seasons rolled into one. The Rockland boat races happened to be on the fifth birthday of Owen Hotchkiss, so his dad Blake brought him down from Brewer, for a loud, Fathers Day/ Birthday afternoon. “A lot of noise, which is great though,” said Hotchkiss.” Love the engines, how fast they’re going. He really likes it too. You know, I grew up on the coast near Blue Hill, so we’ve been around boats all our life, so this is really important.” >click to read<19:08
Illegal eel exporters exposed by Countryfile
Posing as a UK fisherman who had legally caught the eels on the River Severn in Gloucestershire, presenter Joe Crowley was approached by Chinese and Russian buyers and a UK exporter. They were prepared to pay up to seven times the normal catch price if the eels could be sent out of the EU.
>click to read<15:47
Coast Guard searching for a missing fisherman 300 miles east of Cape Canaveral
The Coast Guard is searching Sunday for a missing fisherman 300 miles east of Cape Canaveral. At 2:57 a.m., Coast Guard 7th District Command Center watchstanders received a report from the Day Boat Too, a 46-foot fishing vessel, stating the captain, a 30-year-old male, went overboard. >click to read< To be updated.11:57
EPA officials visit Dillingham to gather opinions on Pebble Mine
Representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency arrived in Dillingham Thursday morning, meeting with fishers and community leaders to gather opinions on the proposed development of Pebble Mine. “It’s important to hear people’s views on all sides of the issue,” said Matt Leopold, the EPA’s general counsel. “And here in Dillingham I can tell right away that people are opposed to the project.” >click to read<11:33
Happy Fathers Day to the Fishermen Fathers at Sea Today
Happy Fathers Day to those fathers that are at sea today, providing for their family’s, and providing us with fresh seafood. Thank you. 10:00
Hundreds swarm Boothbay Harbor for Maine’s first lobster boat races of 2019
As Maine as lobster rolls, blueberries and Allen’s Coffee Flavored Brandy, the 2019 lobster boat racing season began Saturday in Boothbay Harbor. Under sunny skies and temperatures in the high 60s, sailboats, motor boats and even a sardine carrier tied up in the harbor by 10 a.m. to watch working and recreational lobster boats rev their engines and skim across the sea’s surface in a series of heats to prove whose engine was most powerful. >click to read<08:59
34th annual Boothbay Harbor Lobster Boat Races – Drag racing on the water, photo’s, >click to view!<08:12, 6/17
Bailey Barco crew assists mariners with submerged vessel near Mitkof Island, Alaska
The Coast Guard Cutter Bailey Barco (WPC 1122) crew assisted the fishing vessel Heather Anne crew when their vessel began taking on water in the Wrangell Narrows, near Mitkof Island, Alaska, Friday. All three people were reported to have been safe on Mitkof Island and are not in distress. At 6:59 a.m. Friday, Sector Juneau command center watchstanders received notification from the Heather Anne reporting the vessel had run aground and was sinking in vicinity of Mitkof Island >click to read<21:00
Boat sinks in Wrangell Narrows south of Petersburg – >Click to read<
Monterey 8th-grader brings life rings to the wharves
After conducting a series of interviews with various maritime officials, and hearing them preach about the need for flotation devices, a Monterey eighth-grader began noticing that neither of the two Monterey wharves had the very safety equipment he was told was critical. But Ladislav Nozicka didn’t write it off as ironic. He acted.,,, when he walked both Fisherman’s Wharves and the commercial wharves where his dad works, he realized both piers lacked the flotation devices he had learned were so important. “He has a very keen eye,” Elizabeth Nozicka said. “He realized something no one else noticed.” Ladislav knew marine safety devices well. His father, Jiri Nozicka, is a commercial fisherman out of Monterey and captain of the San Giovanni. >click to read<16:48
The Rockall fishing dispute explained – Rockall Q&A: Fishing dispute between Scotland and Ireland
Rockall lies 260 miles (418km) west of Scotland’s Western Isles. The UK claims ownership over the outcrop and a 12-nautical-mile territorial sea around it. But the Republic of Ireland does not believe any country should own Rockall and insists the waters around it are shared by all EU member states. “We don’t have a claim on it. We don’t accept any other sovereign claim on it,” Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar has said. He made the comments after Scotland’s Fisheries Minister Fergus Ewing warned Irish vessels could be boarded for fishing within 12 miles of Rockall. >click to read<13:43
Lobster boat racing season is here, officially dedicated to Galen Alley
The Maine lobster boat racing season gets underway this weekend, but however the season goes, it just won’t be the same. Racing begins Saturday, June 15, in Boothbay Harbor and moves up to Penobscot Bay on Sunday, June 16, but two of the most iconic figures in Maine lobster boat racing — Galen Alley and his race boat Foolish Pleasure — will be missing. >click to read<11:48
2011 Stonington Lobster Boat Races (Foolish Pleasure) Fastest Boat Afloat – >click to watch<
Remembering Galen Alley of FOOLISH PLEASURE – JONESPORT – There are a number of names that come to mind when a discussion takes place on who had a major influence on Maine lobster boat racing over the years. Names such as Gus Alley; Benny Beal; Calvin Beal, Jr.; Isaac Beal; Merle Beal; Jim Clemons; Glen Crawford; Richard Duffy; Sid Eaton; Andrew Gove; Bill Hallinan; Corliss and Glenn Holland; Andy Johnson; Steve Johnson; Freddy Lenfesty; Alfred Osgood; Jim Preston; Lewis Stuart; and the Young Brothers (Arvin, Arvid and Colby) to name a few. In recent years one name that has been talked about the most is Galen Alley. >click to read<(must read!)
Deer Isle lobstermen offer whale rule alternative
For Maine lobstermen, 2019 is likely to bring a summer of discontent. Fuel prices are high. Cuts in herring fishing quotas — with further cuts likely — mean that bait is likely to be extremely scarce, and whatever’s available extremely expensive as the season develops. And that’s the good news. What really has lobstermen worked up is the demand by federal regulators that they reduce the risk of death or injury to endangered right whales in the Gulf of Maine by 60 percent.,, Deer Isle lobsterman Julie Eaton had a number of suggestions for DMR,, “Was any thought given to the glut of gear that’s going to develop and to the safety of the fishermen?” >click to read<11:29
Early numbers show strong start for commercial sockeye salmon harvest in Prince William Sound
Commercial sockeye salmon fishing in Prince William Sound is off to a strong start, while it’s weaker in a handful of other fisheries, according to Anchorage consulting firm the McDowell Group. The statewide sockeye harvest of 696,000 fish through June 8 was more than three times what it was at the same time in 2018, according to numbers the McDowell Group prepared for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. Most of that harvest — 607,000 fish — was in Prince William Sound. Kodiak, Cook Inlet and Chignik fisheries were off to a slow start, McDowell economist Garrett Evridge said. Pink salmon numbers spiked in the second week of June, >click to read<10:38
Cape Breton lobsterman gets court’s OK for replacement to trap under his licence
A Federal Court judge has temporarily granted a disabled Nova Scotia lobster fisherman the ability to hire someone to fish for him. Justice Sylvie Roussel ruled in favour of Lester Martell’s request to extend his use of a substitute operator,,, He’s been fishing since 1947 and personally fished lobster under the licence from 1978 on a full-time basis until excruciating knee pain and balance difficulties in 2009 prevented him from doing so.,, DFO approved Martell’s request for a substitute operator for the 2015 and 2016 seasons, but told him future requests would not be considered.>click to read<09:09
What About Carlos Rafael, His Permits and His Boats? [OPINION]
There has been little public talk about “The Codfather” and his fishing empire since he was sentenced to federal prison for crimes related to fishing. In September of 2017, Judge William Young sentenced Carlos “The Codfather” Rafael to 46 months in federal prison. Additionally, Judge Young fined him $200,000 and three years supervised probation after his release from prison.,,, hearing rumors that two big players have emerged as the buyers of the boats and the all-important federal permits. One buyer wants the groundfish operation and one wants the scallop operation. There is concern locally that “Wall Street money” is coming in to buy up the local operations. >click to read<08:21
Community Opens Hearts To Braun Seafood After Fire
It’s a story that speaks to the heart and fiber of the North Fork community: After a fire ripped through a storage building at Braun Seafood in Cutchogue Wednesday, not only did owners and staff work tirelessly to open the business just hours later — but the love of the community came pouring in as sea of neighbors, friends and other businesses stepped up to help. Almost immediately, friends and customers turned to social media to urge heading to Braun for take-out dinners or to buy gift cards for Father’s Day, as a way of showing support after a fire that left the fish market and grill intact — but caused major damage to a back storage building. “What makes our company so great, are the people in it,” >click to read<00:02
Sea Lions, Other Marine Mammals Discovering South Sound Anchovy Boom
A large suite of marine mammals has discovered Deep South Sound’s new bounty of anchovies, schools of which are now so numerous they’re routinely observed during regular aerial surveys. For three months this past winter, WDFW biologist Steve Jeffries observed hundreds of California sea lions, as well as harbor seals, harbor porpoises and long-beaked common dolphins feeding on a massive pod of the skinny, silvery baitfish in Case Inlet north of Olympia. Anchovy populations have boomed in these waters since 2015 and the Blob’s warm waters. What’s more, the pinnipeds and cetaceans appeared to be teaming up on them. >click to read<20:01
Canada’s next-generation RADARSAT satellite constellation successfully launched
Canada’s RADARSAT Constellation Mission (RCM) was launched successfully into space aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California.The constellation of three satellites will provide daily images of Canada’s vast territory and maritime approaches, as well as images of the Arctic, up to four times a day. It will have daily access to 90 percent of the world’s surface. The RCM is also equipped with an Automatic Identification System (AIS), allowing improved detection and tracking of ships, including those conducting illegal fishing. >click to read<18:19
Town of Mount Pleasant acquires ownership of Wando Dock
The Wando Seafood Dock on Shem Creek has changed hands twice in less than a week, this time its ownership has fallen into possession of the Town of Mount Pleasant. The acquisition was announced Friday on the heels of previous owner Brett Elrod, who closed on the property and then flipped it to the town for $4.35 million. Last August, Elrod entered into a contract to purchase Wando Dock for an undisclosed amount, which encompasses a 1-acre lot and 350 feet of dock space. He signed with the intent of refurbishing its preexisting state of affairs which were in need of repairs and an environmental study. >click to read<17:36
Skipper calls on governments to sort out Rockall fishing row
The Donegal skipper of one of the first trawlers to return from disputed waters around Rockall has called on the Irish and Scottish governments to “sort out” a growing fisheries dispute. Northern Celt skipper Adrian McClenaghan landed his catch at Greencastle at first light yesterday before his brother Hugh and a new crew set out to return to fishing grounds around Rockall. An isolated Atlantic outcrop 260 miles west of the Co Donegal coast, Rockall has historically been at the centre of disputes involving Ireland, Scotland, Denmark and Iceland. It is currently at the centre of a growing row between the Irish and Scottish authorities over who has rights to fish around it. >click to read<15:58
Critics ask: How much for wind power? – Divided on wind cable; Heated talk of climate change and Nimbyism
Simon Kinsella, a resident of Wainscott, a candidate for East Hampton Town Trustee, and a persistent critic of the proposed South Fork Wind Farm, spoke during a press conference Tuesday about his lawsuit against New York State, which seeks to compel the Long Island Power Authority to disclose the cost to ratepayers represented by the proposed wind farm. >click to read< A divide among neighbors and generations was apparent on Tuesday as the New York State Public Service Commission hosted its first information sessions and public hearings on the proposed South Fork Wind Farm,,, On Tuesday, the P.S.C. took public comment here on the wind farm’s export cable. Its landing site has stirred nearly as much opposition in some quarters as has the wind farm itself among commercial fishermen, who say the underwater cable installation threatens their livelihood. >click to read<14:30
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for June 14, 2019
Legislative updates, Bill updates, Calendar, >Click here to read the Weekly Update<, to read all the updates >click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here<12:20
Public comment period ends July 1 for seismic survey permits off SC coast
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control is currently accepting public comments regarding a new application for seismic testing off the South Carolina coast from WesternGeco LLC. Jeffrey Payne, Director for NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management, said seismic surveys “would have reasonably foreseeable effects on coastal uses or resources of South Carolina’s coastal zone.” In addition to potential reductions in commercial fishing catches there is also the potential for conflicts with other vessels. >click to read<21:10
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