Author Archives: borehead - Moderator
Fisherman illegally catches more than a dozen oversized stripers off New England coast
A Massachusetts fisherman is under arrest after investigators announced that he illegally caught 14 oversized striped bass off the New Hampshire coast last week. New Hampshire Fish and Game reported that they had received reports that a boater had been fishing in the Atlantic Ocean off New Castle and Rye with no lights on at night. Officers from the Maine Marine Patrol and Massachusetts Environmental Police began their lookout for the boater in question alongside local police. The Portsmouth Police Department eventually located him after he had loaded his boat onto a trailer and “was in the act of ditching the fish.” Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:50
Scallopers assail continued closure of Northern Edge
Fisheries regulators voted this month to “discontinue” development of a plan to reopen the Northern Edge of Georges Bank — a lucrative scallop ground that has long been closed to commercial fishing. In April, the New England Fishery Management Council agreed to consider requests to reopen the fishing grounds at the urging of both the scallop industry and Mayor Jon Mitchell. He and industry representatives cited significant headwinds for the region’s top fishery, including a slump in prices and fewer days at sea for fishermen. They added that opening the Northern Edge would benefit the whole port economy and surrounding businesses. But in the midst of a four-day meeting in Freeport, Maine, the Council voted not to continue discussing plans to reopen the area in order to focus on the “long-term productivity of the Georges Bank scallop resource.” For regulators, it’s a balancing act to weigh sustainability and the economic pressures on fishermen to sustain their livelihoods. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 17:43
Vineyard Wind Installed the Largest Offshore Turbines in the World. Were They Ready for Primetime?
When Vineyard Wind completed the installation of the first GE Vernova Haliade-X 13-megawatt wind turbine in the waters southwest of Nantucket in October 2023, the company trumpeted it as “the largest turbine in the western world.” It was supposed to be one of the 62 turbines that would make up the first large-scale, commercial offshore wind farm in the United States. But just nine months later, the project has been suspended by the federal government after the now infamous turbine blade failure on July 13th that left Nantucket’s beaches and the waters surrounding the island littered with fiberglass and styrofoam debris that is still being recovered. While offshore wind energy production has a decades-long track record in Europe and Asia, the Vineyard Wind project was the first of its kind in the United States, and the turbines Vineyard Wind is installing are larger and more powerful than any that have come before it. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:55
Fisherman rescues mysterious ‘ghost boat’ drifting off Pembrokeshire coast
A fisherman rescued a mysterious ghost boat drifting eight miles off the Pembrokeshire coast this morning (July 27). Milford Coastguard were contacted about an adrift vessel which prompted a Fishguard lifeboat to locate the boat and confirm no-one was on board. This was before Matt Lewis and his crew proceeded to the last known position of the vessel and the boat was towed in eight miles northwest of Strumble Head back to Fishguard Harbour where the ship was safely moored. In a Facebook post, Matt said: “Not the usual morning fishing. Myself, Vince Gyseman, Iwan Davies and Jack Wallace located and towed in a ghost boat drifting. “The ten metre steel fishing boat was initially reported by Stena Nordica some eight miles northwest of Strumble Head. It had parted ways with its tow vessel twice between Plymouth and St David’s Head. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:17
NCFA Weekly Update for July 29, 2024
Upcoming Meetings, The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Committee (ASMFC) will be holding their summer 2024 meeting August 6 – 8 in Arlington, Virginia. The Mid Atlantic Fisheries Management Council (MAFMC) will be meeting August 12 – 15 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) will be meeting August 21 – 23 in Raleigh, North Carolina. July has been another busy month for NCFA and next month looks even busier! Thank you all for keeping in touch and continuing to read the Weekly Update. As these meetings draw closer, I will give more detailed information about each meeting the week before it is scheduled. more, >>CLICK TOREAD<< 10:45
Fishing communities welcome B.C. intention to reform licensing and quotas
As part of the Coastal Marine Strategy unveiled last week, the province says it’s moving toward an owner-operator system for quota and licences. Under the new system, licence and quota holders would also need to be active fish harvesters — something advocacy groups and First Nations have been requesting for years. A transition to an owner-operator system would aim to eliminate the ability of a few giants to stake a majority claim on B.C.’s fishing grounds. One company alone, Jim Pattison’s Canfisco, owns double-digit percentages of some fish quotas, worth tens of millions of dollars. An owner-operator system is not a novel concept in the country. Atlantic Canada has had one in place for years, and as a result, has lower costs compared to B.C. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:21
‘So-called expert bureaucrats’: Fishermen rip Sen Warren’s new plan to ‘silence’ them
America’s seafood leaders are pushing back on new plans from Democrats on Capitol Hill to revive a legal doctrine that fishermen say threatens to “silence” them. On Tuesday, Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., led several of her Democrat colleagues in introducing the Stop Corporate Capture Act (SCCA), which she says is aimed at stopping corporations from “hijacking” the government. With the new threat of the Chevron doctrine finding permanence in federal law, New England fishermen are crying foul and pointing to the recent offshore wind disaster wreaking havoc on the Massachusetts island of Nantucket as a prime example of why lawmakers should not give “expert bureaucrats” power over their industry. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:45
James Watt: ‘My father is dying, I do not want to go through life without him’
My father’s journey to end-of-life care has been both sudden and tragic. Having lost one of my closest friends, Dan Bolton, to pancreatic cancer only in January, my dad’s stage four pancreatic cancer diagnosison June 22 hit our family like a sledgehammer. I still can’t imagine my life without my father playing a very prominent role in it. I still can’t quite wrap my head around the fact that up until a few weeks ago my dad was working full time on his lobster fishing boat, hauling 300 lobster pots every single day. Lobster fishing is incredibly hard and manual work, and the north Atlantic is an infamously dangerous and difficult place to work — my dad was fitter and stronger than I am. That strength forged through hard graft in the face of unforgiving northerly gales. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:09
‘A blessing.’ Grand Isle locals left homeless by Ida get new houses built by nonprofit
Christian and Terrill Pizani braved Hurricane Ida three years ago from his 67-foot shrimp boat in Port Fourchon, where the storm unleashed 130 mph winds as it made landfall. By the time it passed, their home back in Grand Isle — Louisiana’s last inhabited barrier island 17 miles east — was left decimated. The couple spent seven months living on the shrimp boat before eventually using money from an insurance payout to buy an RV they parked among the wreckage of their former home. “We didn’t want to be caught with no place to live,” Christian recalled. But after nearly three years without a house, the couple on Tuesday received the keys to a brand-new, storm-resilient home built by a local nonprofit. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:55
Long-sought-after shipwreck with tragic history discovered at popular Lake Michigan fishing spot over a century later
An intrepid team of marine archaeologists has discovered the wreckage of a long-sought-after schooner, more than a century after it sunk beneath Lake Michigan. The Margaret A. Muir was found 50 feet below the surface several miles off the coast of Algoma, Wisconsin in May, the Wisconsin Underwater Archaeology Association announced this month. “The Margaret A. Muir was lost to history” in the last 130 years since, despite its relatively close proximity to shore, according to the experts. “It had lay undetected for over a century, despite hundreds of fishing boats passing over each season.” Photos, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:45
TX Fishing Industry Under Threat From BlackRock Wind Farm Project
The massive destruction wrought on Massachusetts’ Vineyard Wind project has raised new questions about the safety and prudence of a similar BlackRock-backed project planned off the coasts of Louisiana and Texas near Port Arthur. Bonnie Brady of the Long Island Commercial Fisherman’s Association posted several pictures of broken and mangled offshore wind turbines from a recent storm to her X account on July 20. The images depict turbines with snapped blades hanging from their mounts. They also show large shards of metal and other debris washing ashore. Brady directed her post to every East Coast governor and the major presidential contenders, save for Vice President Kamala Harris, who had not yet announced her presidential candidacy, warning of what could happen to the fishing industry. “Stop the madness while you still can, because when the fiberglass lands on your shores you will (eventually) be out of the job. Ps we will never forget you threw US commercial fishing industries under the bus,” she wrote. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:14
Setnetters turn to seining in effort to save east side fishery, king salmon
For the second year in a row, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has largely barred over 400 permit holders in Cook Inlet’s east side commercial setnet fishery from putting any gear in the water this year. This summer, one group of setnetters is deploying experimental gear they hope will preserve king salmon runs and offer relief to the fishery. On a recent overcast Thursday, Brian and Lisa Gabriel spend the day at the beach. Astride green and yellow tractors, they motor toward the end of a commercial fishing net that’s been pulled onto Cook Inlet’s shores. The net wriggles with shiny, silver sockeye salmon, which splash fishermen with wet sand as they flop around. A waiting team of about 10 people plucks the fish from the net and tosses them into waiting totes, where they swim in murky water. One or two people occasionally peel off from the group, holding handfuls of writhing flounder they hurl back into the inlet. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 17:17
F/V Argos Georgia Tragedy: Falklands looking after community’s emotional wellbeing following traumatic event
Following the incident involving the Argos Georgia this week, the Falkland Islands government Emotional Wellbeing Service (EWS) would like to reach out to members of the community who may be feeling distressed about what has happened. We have spoken to a number of people from across our community who are feeling very high levels of distress due to the incident. We would like to reassure anyone who is feeling this way that this is a very natural reaction to such a disaster, especially in such a small, close-knit community. If you have been directly or indirectly affected by this incident, please know that you are not alone. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:53
Port Isabel EDC helps keep shrimpers afloat with financial assistance
The Gulf shrimp industry is struggling to stay afloat against a flood of cheap imported shrimp, and Brownsville-Port Isabel’s shrimp industry is far from immune. It’s not a new problem, but this year the Port Isabel Economic Development Corporation opted to take action, in the form of financial assistance to help shrimp boat owners pay for fuel. Port Isabel City Manager Jared Hockema said the EDC provided six grants of $10,000 each to individual boat owners on a first come, first serve basis. To be eligible, boat owners had to be based in Port Isabel and had to have operated a boat or fleet last year, he said. The city, meanwhile, made sure there was no overlap in ownership among recipient companies, so no one got more than their share, Hockema said. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:03
Letter: County should deny US Wind substation request by John Toedtman
Offshore wind developer US Wind has been quietly, and under the name of one of its subsidiary companies Renewable Redevelopment LLC, going through the process of trying to obtain a conditional use to build a massive electric substation. Four large cables from US Wind’s offshore wind project will come ashore under Sussex County beaches, wetlands and inland bays from its proposed offshore wind turbine project. Sussex County Council is set to consider the application at its 1 p.m., Tuesday, July 30 meeting. US Wind needs federal and state approval to build the turbines. This conditional use is the only opportunity for Sussex County to weigh in. Due to proceeding under another name and making no mention in notices of the application’s relationship to the offshore wind project, the public has failed to get adequate legal notice of US Wind’s plans – which have been at least two years in the making – or a fair opportunity to be heard on the pending county proceedings. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:02
Moved by the rescue of the ‘Lucky 7,’ Gander artist creates tribute sketch
Inspired by the rescue last week of seven fishermen feared lost at sea, a Gander artist has created an artwork in tribute to the crew of the Elite Navigator. Keisha Collins created the artwork beginning shortly after the seven men were reported found. “It just kind of hit home to Newfoundland. And the fact that all seven were OK and, you know, were found safe, it was a happy ending. And it was one that Newfoundland needed to see.” A fire aboard their boat forced the crew to abandon ship into a to sink, and the men — since dubbed the “Lucky 7” — were found floating in a life-raft two days later, after using their final flare to signal search and rescue crews. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:54
Alabama politician advocates for imported seafood inspection bill
Representative Chip Brown of Alabama House District 105 is set to introduce House Bill One during next year’s legislative session. This bill aims to impose a $200 fee on seafood dealers caught selling imported seafood. The money will fund inspections by the Alabama Department of Public Health. “I think that’s a good thing,” said Tammy Hall, co-owner of Sea Harvest Fresh Shrimp Boat and Bridgeside Seafood Market in Bayou La Batre. “I think the fine should be more than $200, myself.” “It keeps our shrimp prices low,” said Hall. “People can buy an imported shrimp say like jumbo jumbo shrimp for $1.50 a pound .. we can’t afford to sell it for $1.50 a pound with the rising prices of fuel and ice.”To adjust, Hall and her family decided to sell directly to the public. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 16:07
Vineyard Wind crisis: Fishermen blast feds for saying they don’t care about whales
The claim came during a Thursday hearing in Boston federal appeals court as two fishing groups look to toss Vineyard Wind’s underlying permit, arguing regulators failed to analyze how the project would impact the environment and fishermen. “The alliance, as a trade association representing the fishing industry, does not have any interest in protecting right whales,” said attorney Thekla Hansen-Young, representing the Department of the Interior, the National Marine Fisheries Service, among other federal agencies, in the dispute. Hansen-Young was referring to the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, one of the groups fighting the feds and Vineyard Wind. Seafreeze Shoreside Inc. is the other. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:06
F/V Argos Georgia: Montevideo port fishing vessels turn sirens on to remember fallen mariners
At mid-morning Thursday, fishing vessels in the port of Montevideo turned their sirens on for a few minutes to the memory of the lost mariners from longliner Argos Georgia, believed to be almost unsinkable given its sturdy complexion and modern technology, which sunk in the middle of a dramatic storm in the deep south Atlantic. Earlier in the year she had called in Montevideo for fuel and provisions before sailing to the Falklands and from there east with its South Georgia toothfish license- But on this occasion the dramatic storm, 35 knots wind and eight meter high waves raging now for a week turned into a tragedy when the vessel called for help and all of the crew members took to live rafts in the midst of challenging consequences that finally only allowed 14 out of 27 to survive, with the loss of nine mariners and four still missing. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:33
Hartlepool fishermen reveal how they are still feeling impact of mass crustacean die-offs with fears for entire future
Hartlepool fishermen have spoken of their heartbreak as they say hundreds of years of heritage face being wiped out. Inshore fishers say stocks of crab, lobster and other marine life have not recovered since the sudden and huge crustacean die-offs witnessed from Seaham to Whitby in 2021. Several recent smaller die-offs have been reported in Hartlepool Bay and Teesmouth including a large number of razor clams and cockles on the beach at Seaton Carew. Dead and twitching crabs, similar to those seen in 2021, have also been picked up at sea. Fishermen, together with scientists and supporters, are continuing to fight for answers and are investigating to establish the cause of the ‘ecocide’ that has destroyed livelihoods. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09″25Fishermen Join Lawsuit Against Vineyard Wind After Blade Failure
The New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) has called for the First U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to reconsider the dismissal of a lawsuit against the Department of the Interior regarding the safety of Vineyard Wind’s turbines. The case, RODA v. Department of the Interior, is scheduled for oral arguments on Thursday. Jerry Leeman, CEO of NEFSA, highlighted recent issues related to the Vineyard Wind project, particularly a blade malfunction that resulted in debris being scattered across important fishing areas. “The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) put the government on notice over two years ago that Vineyard Wind’s turbines aren’t safe. The recent blade disaster has scattered debris over a huge swath of historic fishing grounds, creating serious hazards for mariners and marine life,” Leeman stated. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:59
Bill to Support Maine’s Lobster Industry Clears Appropriations Committee
U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, announced that she advanced significant funding and key language to support Maine’s lobster industry in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2025 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations bill. The bill, which was officially approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee today, now awaits consideration by the full Senate and House. “This funding would support Maine’s lobster industry by improving the incomplete and imprecise science and research upon which the federal government relies. The flawed and incomplete data being used to inform regulations has created unnecessary, burdensome requirements for Maine lobstermen and women,” said Senator Collins. “As the Vice Chair of the Appropriations Committee, I will continue to advocate for this funding as the appropriations process moves forward.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 05:57
Unalaska, Aleutians East Borough oppose Rep. Peltola’s proposed trawling limitations
Communities in the Aleutians are pushing back against proposed legislation that would bring stricter regulations to the Bering Sea trawl fishery. The City of Unalaska and the Aleutians East Borough are among 53 organizations that signed onto a letter sent to U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, urging her to withdraw H.R. 8507, a bill she sponsored in May. The proposed legislation aims to add new regulations to where trawling can take place across the United States, not only in Alaska. Trade organizations and some coastal communities whose economies rely on trawl fisheries have pushed back against the bill, asking the congresswoman to repeal it. “If enacted, H.R. 8507 would directly harm fishermen and coastal communities in Alaska and throughout our nation, along with countless other people who rely on a healthy domestic seafood sector for food, jobs, and their way of life,” the letter said. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:28
Keir Starmer warned ‘act now’ to stop EU fishermen plundering cod in UK waters
Politicians in Brussels have started rattling their sabres as the European Union seeks to lay down its markers and roll-over the Brexit fisheries deal which saw the UK ‘give up everything’, an industry expert says. Sir Keir Starmer has been urged to act and stop fishers from the European Union plundering fish stocks in UK territorial waters. The EU has extensive access to Britain’s waters in a reciprocal arrangement which in practice is more advantageous to European countries. EU members did “very well” under the Trade and Cooperation Agreement (TCA) deal signed by Boris Johnson’s government and the bloc, with French fishers taking over 80 percent of cod stocks on the UK side of the English Channel and Belgian counterparts catching some 70 percent of Dover sole in Welsh waters, according to Mike Cohen, Chief Executive of the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO). more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:01
Dwan Street elected as president of the FFAW
Dwan Street is celebrating her election to lead the Fish, Food & Allied Workers union, calling it a historic moment. The first woman to lead the union, Street announced her victory late Wednesday evening on her candidacy Facebook page. “Tonight, you put your faith in me and I am humbled, amazed and forever indebted,” Street wrote on her election Facebook page. The FFAW confirmed the results late Thursday morning. Street was elected over businessman Dave Callahan and Marine Institute PhD student Abe Solberg, who is also the head of FFAW policy negotiations and its fishery scientist. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:39
GE Vernova finds Manufacturing Defect after Vineyard Wind Turbine Accident
The company is facing scrutiny after a massive blade fell into the ocean July 13 at the project in Massachusetts, stopping construction at the nation’s biggest offshore wind farm. Strazik said there’s no sign of a design flaw in its Haliade-X offshore turbine, but it’s halting production at the Gaspe, Canada, plant while the company inspects its blades. “The blade left the factory with insufficient bonding — the glue,” Strazik said. The Gaspe plant in Quebec has been in production since 2006 and has made about 150 offshore blades, including most of the blades for the Vineyard Wind project that experienced the blade failure. Strazik declined to say how many offshore blades have been produced to date at the company’s three blade plants. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:07
Rough Weather Conditions Forces Stop on Search for Missing Crew
The Falkland Islands Government has called off the search for the remaining crew members of the fishing vessel Argos Georgia, which was reported to be taking on water and requesting assistance 200 miles east of Stanley on Monday, 22 July 2024. The crew abandoned the vessel at 4pm local time on the same day. Since then, the Falkland Islands Government, along with the Government of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, HQ British Forces South Atlantic Islands, the UK Maritime & Coastguard Agency, the fishing vessel company, and other fishing vessels in the vicinity, have been working tirelessly on a rescue mission. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:59
BOEM Hears Mostly Opposition at a Meeting in Eastham
Local officials on the Outer Cape have for a month been calling for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to hold a public information session here about one of eight proposed wind energy areas in the Gulf of Maine — the one sited about 20 miles off Cape Cod’s back shore — before its size and shape are approved. BOEM, the agency of the Dept. of Interior that is charged with managing the development of offshore wind, finally did that on June 17, and some 200 people turned out at the Four Points by Sheraton for it. BOEM announced the meeting only six days before it was held. Statements about possible negative effects of the development on commercial fishing dominated the meeting. Many of those who spoke identified themselves as fishermen or the wives of fishermen and said that they feared their livelihoods would be lost because of the construction of wind turbines. Truro lobsterman Dana Pazolt said he believes the cables would serve as a barrier to lobster migration. “You run the wires across the seabed, our industry is dead,” he said. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 20:43
For 54 years the Newport Fishermen’s Wives have been supporting the coastal fishing community in times of need
“One day I’m going to die at sea,” Josh Porter said as he walked into his living room to greet his wife, Denise. He was fresh off a crabbing boat, the fishy, salty smell permeating his clothes. “You need to be a part of the Fishermen’s Wives,” he said. “They’re the ones that are going to be there for you.” Fishing communities all share one thing in common — their dynamics shift when boats leave for months at a time. In Oregon, nearly 1,000 fishing vessels depart from the state each year. Over 300 of those boats touch base in Newport, where many of those left on shore must endure the unpredictability of the fishing industry. One group supports the unique needs of Newport’s community, their fishermen and their families. The Newport Fishermen’s Wives was established in 1970 and is the only nonprofit of its kind on the West Coast. What was first a social club has become a backbone of the community in the last 54 years. Co-president Taunette Dixon was raised within the fishing community of Newport and inherited the responsibilities of the generations before her. Growing up, Dixon spent her fair share of time on a fishing boat. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:18
Tragedy strikes fishing operation
Nine crew members had been confirmed dead and four were still missing as of Wednesday, according to reports in both Norwegian and British media. News bureau Reuters reported that four persons remained missing while 14 were found alive, 13 of them on board one of the Fishing Vessel Argos Georgia‘s lifeboats and one on another. Argos Froyanes is described on its own website as a privately owned British-Norwegian partnership between Argos, based in the Falkland Islands, and Ervik Havfiske, based at Stadlandet in Western Norway. Eleven Ervik Havfiske vessels have been operating from the Barents Sea off Norway to as far south as Antarctica, areas known for rough weather and sea conditions but also for being home to high-quality fish in deep waters. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:59
