Salvage crews raised a sunken fishing boat from the bottom of the sea near San Juan Island Saturday, but they have been unable to remove enough fuel and seawater from the vessel to lift it onto a barge and transport it away from the critical orca habitat where it sank 5 weeks ago. The F/V Aleutian Isle, a 58-foot salmon fishing boat, released a 2-mile sheen of diesel onto the surface of Haro Strait when it sank. The unusual effort to lift it 240 feet from the sea floor was launched after officials decided pumping up to 2,600 gallons of diesel and oil still on board to the surface was not feasible at that depth in the swirling currents of Haro Strait. Photos, >click to read< 08:21
Author Archives: borehead - Moderator
Maine lobstermen appeal federal judge rejection of lawsuit
The Maine Lobstermen’s Association is appealing a federal judge’s ruling that rejected a lawsuit aimed at blocking new regulations designed to protect the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale. The appeal goes to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In announcing their appeal Monday morning, the MLA said the regulations would “cripple” Maine’s lobster industry, calling the regulations “draconian and fundamentally flawed.” >click to read< 09:42
F/V Aleutian Isle Successfully Raised
The Aleutian Isle, the fishing vessel that sank on August 13 near Sunset Point on the west side of San Juan Island, has been raised to the surface. It had been 200 feet deep. Crews are currently dewatering the vessel. They successfully removed 250 gallons of waste oil and are trying to remove any diesel fuel remaining onboard. 5 Photos, >click to read< 14:12
Video – Outside Lobbyists Vs. Hard Data on the Right Whale Issue in Maine
For those who cannot commit to a 20+ minute presentation on the war on our fishermen: Can you spare just 5 minutes? Here is a scene from the new short film “2023” which includes some details that have been missing from your local newscasts. Click the image to watch, 12:18
From salt cod to silver darlings, how Shetland became a fishing powerhouse
It was Monday, 16 July, 1832, and for the fishermen on the east side of Shetland, the idyllic summer scene, one of the most beautiful mornings of the summer so far meant conditions were perfect for heading for the open sea, on the hunt for cod. Barely eaten by Scots today, dried, salted fish was once a staple part of the national diet and a massive export business, demand was at a peak from Spain and Portugal. What the fishermen on Shetland’s east coast did not realise on that July day, however, was a heavy Atlantic swell had formed to the west – often an ominous sign of a severe storm on the way. The storm raged for five days, putting the entire fleet in jeopardy and picking off one sixern after the next. >click to read< 10:33
Why Was Lobster Red Listed? Defending Lobster Fishing
In the early 1970’s I was the youngest licensed lobsterman in the state of Connecticut (10 years old). I put my traps out off of Stamford harbor, pulling them in my 10′ Boston Whaler with a 8hp Envinrude. Sales of the lobster kept me in gas. Baiting the traps and dealing with the catch (mostly ghost crabs) put me off of crustaceans. I also love whales, although they do scare me ever since one bumped the boat I was sailing in the Gulf of Maine in the summer of ’81. So I had to read this The New York Times article: To Save Whales, Don’t Eat Lobster, Watchdog Group Says. And it’s….terrible. Graph, photos, >click to read< Written by Perry Boyle 08:55
Worst storm in years batters Western Alaska coast
A powerful, historic storm continued to batter a huge swath of the Western Alaska coast Saturday, causing severe flooding, evacuations, power outages and wind damage to communities throughout the region. No fatalities, injuries or missing persons had been reported by Saturday night, but many communities were underwater and without power as the storm approached its peak. As the massive storm, the remnants of a Pacific typhoon, barreled north across the Bering Sea, it pounded villages from the Kuskokwim River delta to the Bering Strait. By late afternoon, it was moving into the Chukchi Sea. Photos, >click to read< 07:52
On the Puget Sound, the Women Whose Lives and Work Revolve Around Salmon
In the town of Bellingham, Washington, everyone knows when the salmon run come fall. Shimmery silvers and chum salmon break the chilly water’s surface with their heads, as they move through the Puget Sound and tributary rivers to their spawning grounds. Locals buzz, telling one another when they’ve seen them, admiring the fish on their journey. But for Ellie Kinley, this isn’t just a fall spectacle. She thinks about these fish 365 days a year. There’s a strong and sometimes overlooked community of fishing families here. The Lummi have the largest tribal fishing fleet in the nation, according to Kinley; the port is also home to fishing families, native and non-native alike, who use Bellingham as their home base between fishing trips to Alaska and California. Photos, >click to read< 17:44
Updates to the Lobster Industry from Commissioner Keliher
As I have promised before, I want to make sure you are as informed as possible as the situation around right whales evolves. There have been several developments in the last week, many of which speak to the seriousness of the situation. Maine Lobstermen’s Association V. National Marine Fisheries Service, As you know, DMR is a participant in the lawsuit filed by MLA which asserts that the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) erred by failing to rely on the best scientific information,,, >click here to continue< 16:02
Something’s fishy: NOAA urges vigilance after catching fraudulent fishing permit site
NOAA fisheries issued a Notice of fraudulent alert Friday over a website that claimed to process both federal and state fishing permits. It calls itself the Commercial Fishing Permits Center and depending on the permit you want, charges different fees. However, NOAA said the site is in no way affiliated with NOAA or any State. They advise the public to not use the site when applying for a State of federal fishery permit. Links, >click to read< 12:09
Provincial Government Condemns Addition of Snow Crab and Lobster to Seafood Watch ‘Avoid’ List
The Provincial Government has said a decision by the organization Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch that adds snow crab and lobster harvested in Newfoundland and Labrador to the group’s “avoid’ list is unwarranted and irresponsible. The US-based organization recently released an updated seafood rating that placed North American lobster and Canadian snow crab in the ’avoid’ category. Some retailers and consumers in North America and worldwide use these rankings to help make seafood buying decisions. The listing is based on the potential impact for North Atlantic Right Whales to become entangled in fishing gear. >click to read< 10:01
Calls for change continue 1 year after fishermen die off Labrador coast
It’s been one year since fishermen Marc Russell and Joey Jenkins left the wharf in Mary’s Harbour to gather their nets for the last time. The two fishermen died off the southern coast of Labrador on Sept. 17 of last year. Their fishing vessel, the Island Lady, was last seen in the afternoon. No distress calls were received. “It can’t just be an anniversary, briefly. Something more needs to come out of it. No other family should have to grieve like this,” said Niki Greeley, a Lodge Bay resident and Jenkins’s common-law partner. The search on Sept. 17 last year started after Russell’s father noticed his son wasn’t on social media as usual that Friday night. His father called around and found out the boat wasn’t back at the wharf. >click to read< 08:24
F/V Aleutian Isle ready to resurface Saturday after 5 weeks on sea floor
Coast Guard officials say a salvage team is ready to lift the Aleutian Isle off the sea floor near San Juan Island on Saturday. The commercial fishing boat sank nearly five weeks ago while participating in a tribal fishery for sockeye salmon. It left a sheen of diesel fuel two miles long in prime habitat for the region’s endangered orcas. Emergency officials say divers have plugged up the boat’s fuel tanks, but they expect some pockets of diesel will escape as a floating crane hauls the boat more than 200 feet to the surface. >click to read< 07:30
East Coast lobster harvest sustainable, according to non-profit’s criteria — but a Seafood Watch report advises consumers to avoid it
A recent report by a California-based seafood assessment group has the East Coast lobster industry seeing red. While Seafood Watch has put lobster on its “red list” and recommend consumers avoid it, lobster fisheries in most areas of Atlantic Canada have been certified sustainable by another group that has significant credentials in the business of seafood accreditation. In existence for about 25 years, the Marine Stewardship Council is a global non-profit organization that works to end overfishing around the world. Catherine Pigeon-Dubeau, fisheries and commercial manager for MSC in Eastern Canada, said the last review of the East Coast lobster fishery was in July of this year, and the Blue Label certification remains in place. >click to read< 14:10
Berried lobster catches could force ban on fishermen
Shetland will enforce Scotland’s first ban on landing egg-bearing lobsters in a conservation move driven by local fishermen. The new regulation agreed by the Shetland Shellfish Management Organisation outlaws the practice of boats keeping so-called berried lobsters, which carry many thousands of eggs. SSMO say that preventing the removal of these lobsters will help protect the spawning stock needed for a sustainable fishery. SSMO inshore co-ordinator John Robertson said: “This ban is seen by many fishermen as a positive way they can boost stocks in the absence of a lobster hatchery in Shetland. “It was the fishermen who called for the ban and they backed it in a vote conducted last year by the SSMO. >click to read< 13:10
Cape Seafoods nets nearly $500K to grow and diversify
The company has received a $395,542 loan from the CARES Act Revolving Loan Fund and an $86,458 equipment loan from MassDevelopment, the agency said in a prepared statement. Cape Seafoods’ sprawling Atlantic mackerel and herring processing plant, cold storage facility and wholesale bait shop dominate much of the Everett R. Jodrey State Fish Pier where Western Sea Fishing’s midwater trawlers FV Endeavour and FV Challenger are tied up. Western Sea Fishing is Cape Seafoods’ fishing partner. With the funding, MassDevelopment said Cape Seafoods plans to create an additional eight full-time jobs and 10 part-time jobs over the next three years. The company will use the funding to build and equip a new seafood processing room enabling it to process groundfish such as flounder, hake, halibut, and cod. >click to read< 10:37
DFO promises enforcement on ‘out of season’ indigenous moderate livelihood fishery
DFO warned two Nova Scotia First Nations this summer that unauthorized lobster fishing would result in enforcement. When the bands went fishing, enforcement ensued. Fishery officers from DFO’s conservation and protection branch seized traps, released thousands of lobsters and made arrests in separate actions involving fishing by members of the Sipekne’katik and Pictou Landing bands. In the case of Sipekne’katik, DFO spokesperson Barre Campbell said officials wrote to the band on July 5 and Aug. 31 to invite Sipekne’katik fisheries managers to discuss the possibility of “working together towards a moderate livelihood fishing plan that implements their treaty rights while ensuring conservation and sustainability of stocks under transparent and predictable management.” >click to read< 09:23
Hoopers Island Volunteer Fire Company holds boat docking contest
Boat dockers and bystanders braved cloudy skies and some precipitation to support the Hoopers Island Volunteer Fire Company boat docking on Sunday, Sept. 11, in Fishing Creek. Derrick Hoy in Crusher won the small boats category, Jake Jacobs in Outlaw secured the medium boats and John Ashton in Miss Julie won the large boats category. For results and 15 photos, >click to read< 08:47
Your questions answered about sinking of FV Aleutian Isle; what we know so far
What is the current situation with the wreck? The sunken vessel remains in place on the West side of San Juan Island in over 200 feet of water. The boat is resting on its side, perched bow facing uphill on a slope that runs steeply down into the deepest waters of Haro Strait. Divers have secured the fuel tank vents, however occasional small and rapidly dissipating sheens have been observed over the site of the wreck, which indicates that pockets of fuel have likely collected within the hull of the vessel. Why is it taking so long, when will this be over? >click to read< 07:37
Togue Brawn – The Scallop Evangelist of Maine
Twelve years ago, Brawn started her company, Downeast Dayboat, to introduce dayboat-harvested Maine scallops to the masses. Brawn buys from small boats that often drag the bottoms of inshore crags along the Gulf of Maine and land their bounty a few hours later — as opposed to the bulk of sea scallops eaten in the U.S., which are often sourced from large trip boats that work federally managed offshore waters three or more miles off the Atlantic coast from Massachusetts to Virginia, staying at sea for a week or more. Because of the challenges and expense of quickly shipping out her fresh dayboat scallops, comparatively few people outside of Maine have gotten to sample Brawn’s. “I started this business to show that [our] scallops are truly different,” >click to read< 15:47
NOAA must show proof of right whale claims
A port association that includes the Georgia Ports Authority and a large organization in South Carolina that represents hundreds of anglers and others associated with the recreational and commercial fishing industry have submitted a simple request to the federal agencies that regulate U.S. waters. The request: Provide the data behind an amended regulation that could lead to dire consequences for industries that generate billions of dollars in revenue and thousands of jobs. The National Marine Fisheries Service and its mothership, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, are proposing to amend the Atlantic Right Whale Strike Reduction Rule. If adopted, fishing craft between 35 and 65 feet in length will be required to follow the same speed mandate as large vessels. From Nov. 1 to April 15, none would be allowed to exceed 10 knots, roughly 11.5 mph, when in waters frequented by right whales. >click to read< 12:43
Spanish mackerel catch quota reduction ‘catastrophic’ for north Queensland fishers, industry says
New quotas that will dramatically reduce the number of Spanish mackerel commercial fishers can catch will “devastate” the industry, according to north Queensland fishers. The Queensland government has unveiled a suite of changes that slash the total catch quota for the state from 570 tonnes to 165 tonnes for commercial fishers. Chloe Bauer’s family business, Bowen Fisherman Seafood Company, has been supplying Spanish mackerel to restaurants up and down the Queensland coast for 40 years. She said the new quotas would “devastate” the industry. >click to read< 11:22
Naming ceremony for new fishing vessels held at Macduff
A special naming ceremony took place on the quays of Macduff Harbour celebrating the building of two new fishing trawlers – Endeavour V and Venture IV. Owned and operated by Whitehills-based brothers Peter and Mark Lovie and partners, these trawlers have the distinction of being the largest produced by Macduff Shipyards to date. The memorable day was organised by the Lovie family and included a large group of guests including many of the businesses involved in both the building and operation of the vessels. Photos, >click to read< 10:03
On The Ropes – Federal court rules against lobster industry in appeal of whale protection regulations
“Obviously, it’s devastating to the lobster industry,” Stonington Town Manager Kathleen Billings told the Islander. Stonington lands by far the most lobsters in the state. In total, Maine lobstermen added an estimated $724,949,426 worth of lobster landings to the state commercial fishery in 2021. “We have a lot at stake,” Billings continued. “[Lobstering] makes up $60 [million] to $70 million to our economy and to have this recent ruling, and also too with the Seafood Watch list designation, they pretty much put a torch to our industry and burnt it to the ground for us.” >click to read< 08:55
California Offshore Wind Projects Face Hurdles as Pressure Groups, Industry Interests Weigh In
As the Biden administration plans for the country’s first West Coast offshore wind turbines, interests ranging from commercial fishing fleets to powerful environmental groups are complicating the road ahead for the California projects. Some fishermen are worried about losing access to swaths of rich fishing grounds, where they would have to stop towing nets that could get caught on underwater cables. Lori Steele, executive director of the West Coast Seafood Processors Association, said offshore wind power projects threaten an industry that also must deal with depleted fish stocks and soaring coastal real-estate prices. “We’re struggling to make sure that people understand that, just because you can’t see it, that doesn’t mean it’s not having an impact,” she said. There is early discussion about creating fishing compensation funds, similar to ones created by East Coast projects for financial losses, “but the industry doesn’t want to be bought out,” she said. >click to read< 08:08
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 52′ PMI Lobster Boat, Cat 3406
To review specifications, information, and 36 photos’, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here< 12:33
NTSB Reiterates Call for Mandatory Personal Locator Beacons Following Investigation Into F/V Emmy Rose Sinking
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board is reiterating calls for a personal locator beacon requirement following its investigation into the 2020 sinking of the F/V Emmy Rose that claimed the lives of four crew members off of Cape Cod. NTSB also reiterated an earlier safety recommendation to the Coast Guard to require all vessel personnel be provided with a personal locator beacon (PLB). NTSB issued that recommendation following the sinking of the cargo vessel El Faro in 2015 in which all 33 crewmembers perished. NTSB also reiterated the recommendation after the fishing vessel F/V Scandies Rose sank off Sutwik Island, Alaska, in 2019. Two of the vessel’s crewmembers were rescued; the other five were never found. >click to read< 10:37
Maine Delegation Presses Fisheries Agency for Fair Treatment of Maine Lobster Fishery
After the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) gave lobster industry participants just two business days to submit proposals for a new risk reduction plan to protect right whales and denied lobstermen and their allies access to a key data tool, Maine’s congressional delegation pushed back today against these decisions by the agency. In their letter to NMFS, Congressman Jared Golden (ME-02), Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME), and Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (ME-01) called out the agency for drastically accelerating the timeline for proposals in the aftermath of a recent decision by the U.S. District Court invalidating a biological opinion for the North Atlantic Right Whale. >click to read< 09:21
I’m for the local guys
Just to let you know, in case you might have forgotten, that I am a Hoosier. I was born and raised in Indiana. I am from away. I tell you this stuff to let you know that while I am from away, my bride convinced me to adopt this state and switch my allegiance to reflect the views of my friends and neighbors. So, I think it is a damn shame that a scientific organization, from away, from California, no less, declared war on my local friends, the lobster fishermen. Somehow, without evidence, a respected marine scientific institution encouraged the nation to eliminate lobsters from stores and menus. Despite their statistical evidence to the contrary, they decreed that lobster fishing gear is the main reason the population of the mighty right whale is in peril. >click to read< 07:36
Maine’s leaders seek more time on whale protection rules
Maine Gov. Janet Mills is seeking to delay new federal whale protection rules, citing fears the state’s commercial lobstermen won’t be able to comply. In a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, Mills urges federal fisheries regulators to extend the period for collecting public comment on the new regulations, which are aimed at protecting critically endangered north Atlantic right whales by setting a seasonal closure and requiring modifications to gear. Mills said she believes it is “unconscionable” that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration only plans to hold one remote public hearing on the new regulations, which call for reducing by 90% the number of Atlantic Coast fixed gear fisheries, including lobster industry. >click to read< 15:14
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