Author Archives: borehead - Moderator
Commerical fishing interest file suit against Golden Ray owner and salvager
A group of commercial fishermen filed a lawsuit Wednesday in federal court in Brunswick against the owner of the car carrier Golden Ray and the company that salvaged the shipwreck, the action coming a day before the three-year anniversary of the 656-foot vessel’s capsizing in the St. Simons Sound. The Golden Ray overturned in the predawn hours of Sept. 8, 2019, while heading out to sea with a cargo of 4,161 vehicles and an estimated 380,000 gallons of fuel in its tanks. Attorneys filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Brunswick on behalf of several dozen shrimpers, charter boat fishing guides and crabbers, claiming “willful misconduct, malice, fraud” and negligence on behalf of the those named has caused environmental damage to the sound. >click to read< 18:22
Seafood more nutritious, produces fewer greenhouse gases than beef or pork, study finds
There is more evidence that seafood is a healthier and more environmentally friendly option than beef, pork and chicken, according to a study published Thursday in the journal Communications Earth and Environment. The authors assessed the nutritional content in dozens of globally important seafood species and the carbon emissions produced to harvest them and compared the results to the big three land-based proteins. The study developed a “nutrient density” score for 41 seafood species by measuring 21 beneficial nutrients like vitamins, fatty acids and protein in the edible portion of the species. It also measured less desirable contents like saturated fats and sodium. For 34 of those species, the authors were able to quantify carbon emissions per kilogram. >click to read< 15:20
New Build: Raising the Bar with Space and Comfort
The first impression is that there’s plenty of space on board, and Winter of Ladram really does have far more room to work and carry gear than any conventional crabber in the UK fleet. The working deck forward is enclosed under a shelterdeck that feels like a ballroom, with room to stack pots six high and a surprising amount of overhead height. Nobody’s going to have to worry about banging their head here. ‘This is a unique design and a new take on the south-west crabber, with much more security and comfort for the crew. This is a new generation of vessel. It also has ten berths on board so there’s space for researchers and others.’ Photos, >click to read< 13:21
Mi’kmaw treaty lobster fishery launches, fisheries officers seize lobster and gear
Fisheries officers seized crates of lobster at Saulnierville wharf, harvested by Sipekne’katik First Nation fishermen. A few days earlier, Mi’kmaw fishermen dropped their lobster traps in St. Mary’s Bay under the band’s own lobster management plan. The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans confirmed that officers seized 82 crates containing approximately 6,000 lobster. Robert Sack of Sipekne’katik First Nation says his gear was also seized – but he will keep fishing, A day before the treaty fishery launched, James Nevin, of Sipekene’kaitk was in Digby provincial court, defending his treaty rights to harvest lobster to earn a moderate livelihood. >click to read< 11:34
Yorkshire fisherman says his livelihood is being ‘devastated’ by mass deaths
James Cole, Chair of Whitby Commercial Fishing Association, has been talking about the serious impact the crisis has had on the fishing industry. He said: “It has had a devastating effect on the turnover of shellfish from Whitby and Hartlepool as well.” One particular feature of the crisis has been the lack of brown crabs which have been “absolutely devastated” in number. Velvet Crabs, which Mr Cole says are a food source for many animals which live close to the shore have been “more or less wiped out on the shore grounds”. The government has said the mass deaths were caused by a “naturally occurring harmful algal bloom”,,, >click to read< 10:35
Cause Of Fire Aboard F/V Blue Dragon Determined By NTSB
No injuries or fatalities were reported in connection with the fire that resulted in more than $500,000 in damages to the vessel. The F/V Blue Dragon was under way conducting longline fishing operations in the North Pacific Ocean when the vessel caught fire. The six crewmembers and a National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) observer unsuccessfully attempted to fight the fire. They abandoned the vessel and were rescued by a Good Samaritan vessel. The F/V Blue Dragon was later towed to San Pedro, California. On Oct. 25, 2021, the F/V Blue Dragon left Honolulu, Hawaii, to fish for swordfish and tuna. On Nov. 9, while the crew were preparing to retrieve fishing gear, the NMFS observer discovered a fire in the wheelhouse under the console. >click to read< 08:57
“I don’t think they understand that we’re being mislabeled. We are sustainable.”
The Monterey Bay Aquarium in California has a Seafood Watch program that rates U.S. and Canadian fisheries on their sustainability. The watchdog group just red listed American lobster fisheries in Maine, advising consumers, retailers and restaurants to avoid purchasing lobster from Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank. The report claims that lobster gear poses a risk to the endangered North Atlantic right whale. It’s an assessment that lobstermen say is unfair and inaccurate. “We’re marking our gear different from everybody else,” said lobsterman Steve Train. “So you can tell it’s not happening. We are meeting the goal.” Video, >click to read< 07:45
Fishing boat erupted into fiery blaze as Navy step in to rescue crew
Extraordinary footage shows the Colombian Navy rescuing 29 crew members from a burning Venezuelan-flagged fishing boat. The tuna vessel was being held in the Port of Buenaventura, in Colombia, when the fire broke out on Monday night (September 5), days after allegedly being caught illegally fishing in a protected area. It is suspected an electrical short circuit in the kitchen caused the blaze. The navy sent two rapid response teams to evacuate the crew of 14 Venezuelans, five Mexicans, five Colombians, two Ecuadorians, and one Costa Rican. Photos, video, >click to read< 17:24
Coast Guard medevacs crewmember from vessel near, Kodiak, Alaska
A Coast Guard aircrew medevaced a mariner Sunday near Kodiak, Alaska. A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew from Air Station Kodiak hoisted and transported the injured man from the 252-foot fishing vessel, F/V American Triumph, to awaiting Emergency Services Personnel at the air station. Coast Guard Sector Anchorage watchstanders received the initial request for the medevac from a crewmember aboard the vessel at 10:45 a.m., reporting that a crewmember was experiencing potential heart attack-like symptoms. >click to read< 14:00
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 65′ DMR Trawler/Scalloper/Lobster, Cat 3408
Main engine was rebuilt in 2021 and has only 50 hours since. Vessel is available without dragging gear for $235,000 USD. To review specifications, information, and photos’, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here< 11:44
Port of Anacortes’ T Dock sees more than $14 million in annual commercial activity
Port commissioners voted earlier this year to replace T Dock with a new, upgraded dock, about twice the size and with a cost estimate of more than $7 million. With supply chain issues and rising costs of both supplies and construction, that number will likely go up, Port Executive Director Dan Worra said. The dock doesn’t bring in much money for the Port of Anacortes itself, but helps its tenants create money in their businesses. It also creates and supports jobs in this region, which is important to the port, he said. About $14 million in commercial activity happens through the T Dock each year. About $10 million of that comes from commercial fishing revenue, and $4 million comes through commercial maritime revenue, according to the report. >click to read< 10:29
Council to call for ban on gillnetting by larger boats
Shetland Islands Council is to write to the Scottish Government to request a ban on the use of gillnetting by boats over 15 metres in the country’s waters. It comes after a report on the controversial issue was brought to a meeting of the council’s development committee on Tuesday. A protest organised by the Fishing Forward UK group was held in Lerwick last month, and further action is planned in October. The netting issue was brought to the council earlier this year in a motion by local Green councillor Alex Armitage, who has called gillnets “curtains of death”. >click to read< 09:53
Commercial Lobster Season off to a Good Start as Keys Fishermen Deal with Increased Materials and Gas Prices
The Upper Keys boats have been “killing it,” with lobsters spilling out of containers onto decks, crews have been coming back to the docks earlier in the day due to lack of storage on the boats. However, in the Middle and Lower Keys, less product is being found. But this year, no matter how many “bugs” are hauled in, the chatter among all the boats is that overhead is biting into profits and thank goodness, the Chinese are buying. “The harvest is OK. Not fantastic, but it’s good,” George Niles told Keys Weekly. He has been fishing out of Stock Island for 50 years. “But we’re getting two dollars less per pound than this time last year. Traps are $50 to $60 apiece, compared to $35 three years ago. And fuel is $2 more than when Biden was elected. And that’s pure profit.” >click to read< 08:43
Shrimper hit by thieves after Hurricane Ida stranded his boat
A Lafourche Parish shrimper said Tuesday he is left with nowhere to turn, as thieves have begun cannibalizing his fishing vessel that was washed aground more than a year ago by Hurricane Ida. Rodney Verdin’s boat the F/V La Belle Idee remains stranded in the marshes of Golden Meadow. “It’s selfish of people to take advantage of us when we’re already down,” Rodney’s wife Rita Verdin said. Rodney has been a commercial shrimper in Golden Meadow for most of his life. He grew up in a nearby camp, generations old, from which he later ran his business, until Ida wiped it off the map. “That’s my life, that’s my whole business,” he said. “I can’t really do anything else. I’m almost too old to go find another job. Trying to do what I can … we aren’t giving up hope.” >click to read< 07:09
ENGO recommends against consuming lobster over danger to whales
Seafood Watch, a program out of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, says entanglement in fishing gear is the leading cause of death of the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale population, and US and Canadian lobster fisheries aren’t doing enough to prevent it. Jennifer Dianto Kemmerly is vice president of global ocean conservation at the Aquarium. “We really want consumers and businesses to be aware of how dire the situation is,” Kemmerly said. Meanwhile, the international conservation group Oceana blamed the National Marine Fisheries Service for failing to update safeguards that would protect both right whales and lobster fisheries. To remove the red listing, it recommends using ropeless gear, expanding seasonal closures where whales are present, and improving transparency and monitoring of fishing vessels. >click to read< 18:11
Red’s Eats Challenges Maine’s Business Community to Help #SaveMaineLobstermen
The Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) has teamed up with one of Maine’s most iconic lobster shacks, Red’s Eats in Wiscasset, to launch its 2022 Fall Fundraising Challenge urging all businesses that rely on a strong lobster industry to contribute to the MLA’s Save Maine Lobstermen campaign. All contributions raised will go directly to the MLA’s efforts to protect both the Maine lobster industry and the endangered North Atlantic right whale. The 2022 Fall Fundraising Challenge, which runs until October 1, encourages any person or business that relies on a strong lobster industry to donate at one of two levels: >click to read< 16:11
Take a look inside this Cartwright net mender’s workshop as he passes on the traditional craft
In a shed the size of a small apartment, Josh Burdett has a net strung up in the centre of the space. The former fisherman has the door open in hopes of a breeze but sweat still gathers on his brow as he works during a hot August afternoon. Burdett started learning how to mend nets from his father as soon as he was able to hold a needle. Now he’s sharing his knowledge with whoever comes in the door. The elder is holding workshops through NunatuKavut during the annual gathering in Cartwright, on Labrador’s south coast, and more are being planned for this fall. Photos, >click to read< 09:17
Congressman Boasts Support for Maine’s Lobster Industry. He Voted To Strengthen the Agency Set To Crack Down on Lobstermen.
Maine congressman Jared Golden has fashioned himself as a champion of his home state’s beloved lobster industry, but the Democrat has won the support of environmentalist groups that advocate for policies that could cripple the livelihood of lobstermen and his votes in Congress strengthen the regulatory agency with the industry in its crosshairs. But the Maine lawmaker has also voted for legislation, such as the so-called Inflation Reduction Act, that directed a combined $6.27 billion to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, beefing up the regulatory agency tasked with enforcing the regulations that could put lobstermen out of business. Lobstermen associations in New England raised millions to rally support against the regulations, but those efforts appear doomed after the July court ruling. Billy Bob Faulkingham, a Maine lobsterman and Republican member of the Maine House, said Golden’s ties to environmental special interests contradict his claim that he is an ally to lobstermen. >click to read< 07:22
Glenn Chateauvert: Lobster ad shows Golden out of touch with Mainers – >click to read<
UK Export Finance support unlocks new contract to export fishing boat to Ireland.
Family-owned shipbuilder, Parkol Marine Engineering, has announced the launch of its new vessel, F/V Green Isle, which on completion will sail to the west coast of Ireland from Middlesbrough, marking its expansion across the country. The boat is the second to be built as a result of a new £3m Bond support package from UK Export Finance (UKEF). The contract is the second exporting win for the business, with the first contract secured in 2020 for a 27-meter fishing trawler commissioned by Irish fishing company D&N Kirwan. >click to read< 15:55 Nice photo here, >click<
The Reason Crabbers Worried Deadliest Catch Might Destroy Their Livelihoods
Considering the fact that most of the captains we meet in “Deadliest Catch” have enjoyed an immense amount of success due to the series’ popularity, it might surprise some fans to learn that there were plenty of fishermen who originally opposed the series, worrying that “Deadliest Catch” might destroy their livelihood. During an interview with The Fishing Website, Captain Sig Hansen explained that the first season of “Deadliest Catch” received a lot of pushback from other Alaskan king crab fishermen, many of whom worried that the series would spell disaster for their insurance. >click to read< 14:29
“The Ghost Trap” – Midcoast movie makers shoot local author’s debut novel
Never mind she began the book at age 33 and is now 53, her debut novel, “The Ghost Trap,” is being turned into a movie in towns and harbors from Warren to Camden. It is also the movie company’s first feature film. The story and movie makers have attracted some big Hollywood names, too. “The Ghost Trap” is a story of love and lobsters found and lost, and a bitter trap war between rival lobstering clans, sort of a watery version of the Hatfields and McCoys feud of American folklore, Kay Stephens explained during filming at a rustic house in Warren. Photos, >click to read< 12:35
Shetland fishing industry ‘flung by the wayside’ for offshore wind farms
Addressing a session during the parliamentary Westminster Energy, Environment & Transport Forum policy conference, Shetland Fishermen’s Association (SFA) executive officer Daniel Lawson said his industry had “big concerns” over the UK’s plans for renewables off the islands. “All of the things we saw with the onset of oil, protection, partnership, working consideration, consultation, compensation, they’ve all been largely abandoned so far in this rush towards offshore wind development,” he told delegates. Mr Lawson said the organisation, which represents 115 member vessels, was dismayed by news of the latest round of offshore wind licensing as part of the Crown Estate Scotland’s ScotWind clearing process. >click to read< 09:55
Rock lobster back on the menu
New Zealand’s rock lobster industry is catching up on a slow year thanks to the end of a Chinese lockdown and the conclusion of an unlucky spiritual festival. Shanghai is one of New Zealand’s biggest lobster importers, but the city was locked down from March to June. Fiordland Lobsters sales and marketing general manager Andrew Harvey said it had taken time for the industry to get back up to speed. That was combined with Ghost Month, a time dedicated to the spirits of the dead which spanned from late July to August. Australia banned exports of lobster to China in 2020, which had also increased the New Zealand share of the market and helped it through some of the slow patches. >click to read< 08:47
50th Boat Docking Competition makes big splash in Crisfield
“It’s a good ole down home fun Sunday afternoon, end of the summer activity,” Waterman Kevin Marshall said. In Crisfield, that tradition is known as the Boat Docking Competition at the National Hard Crab Derby. It brings out community members of all ages for a day out at the dock. The timer starts once you leave the dock, as boaters head down the waterway quickly and then throw four lassos successful on the piles for a chance at the prize. Yet, competitors we spoke with say it’s not an easy task. “And I only have inches on each side when I go in the slip,” Commercial Fisherman Tommy Eskridge said. Video, >click to read< 07:47
Okanagan First Nation fishery celebrates record return of sockeye salmon
An estimated 670,000 sockeye have entered the Columbia River system this summer on a nearly-1,000-kilometre upstream journey toward spawning grounds in creeks and rivers, according to fish biologists with the ONA. More than 80 per cent of those fish are destined for Canadian waters near Osoyoos, B.C., in the south Okanagan, said Richard Bussanich, the organization’s head fish biologist. “This is a great story,” Bussanich said. “We’ve got more fish than spawning habitat coming back.” In partnership with Canadian and U.S. agencies, First Nations in the Okanagan have worked to restore the migration channels and re-introduce sockeye to the region over the past two decades, each year expanding spawning territory further into the valleys’ creeks and rivers. >click to read< 11:47
Mural celebrates last boat-building family in seaside town of Sheringham in Norfolk
Lewis ‘Buffalo’ Emery started building boats in the 1850s after being unable to find a craftsman to make him a new crab boat. Lewis’ great great grandsons Jonathan, Michael and Malcolm were all present to see the work by artist Colin Seal which celebrates the Emery family. The mural depicts family members Reginald, Chris and Harold in the workshop at The Old Boathouse. Jonathan Emery, whose grandfather Reginald is in the mural, said: “The family are very proud of our family history and to see it immortalised here.” Photos, Video, >click to read< 10:41
“I once was lost, but now am found” – Burial site of long-dead fisherman found by kin
In 1915, Eben Devine was reported missing by fellow crewmen from the schooner Hattie A. Heckman. Ten days later his body was seen floating in Gloucester Harbor by George Bailey, keeper on Ten Pound Island, who rowed it ashore. Despite decomposition, Devine’s son Oscar identified the body, perhaps by his father’s coat and the spectacles in the pocket. The medical examiner ruled it a death by accidental drowning, but a darker story has always lingered in Devine family lore: Eben Devine, known to be a drinker, was followed from a bar on the October night of his disappearance by two men with whom he’d had an altercation. >click to read< 09:15
Call for Commission of Inquiry into How Irish Governments Managed Fishery Resource
Marine expert Dr Kevin Flannery has called for a commission of inquiry into how successive governments have managed Ireland’s fishing resource. In an Irish Independent feature on the impact of the 60 million euro whitefish fleet decommissioning scheme totalling 80 million euro including tax credits. Flannery also says people will drive around the west coast in a few years and wonder where all the Irish boats have gone. The decommissioning scheme aims to scrap 60 vessels, a third of the active whitefish fleet, at a time of growing concern over food security. It will be funded from the Brexit Adjustment Reserve to compensate for quota losses due to Brexit. >click to read< 08:12
Offshore wind could blow us out of the water say Cornish fishermen
As the fishing boat motors gently out of Newlyn’s harbour, the sky is clear and the sea is millpond-flat. Below the surface, the clear waters are teeming with life; Newlyn, in south-west Cornwall, is home to one of Britain’s largest trawler fleets, with more than 100 boats regularly landing catches. However, miles out to sea, a storm is brewing. The boats’ fishing ground could end up being squeezed by floating windfarms planned for the Celtic Sea, an area of the Atlantic bordered by Cornwall, south-west Wales, southern Ireland and the north-western edge of France. >click to read< 15:32
On air with Stonington lobster! QVC network features Greenhead’s tails
“I love lobster, first of all, and this is a part of the country I’ve never been to. In the spirit of exploration of our beautiful country, I am happy to be here,” said Jayne Brown, program host of the West Chester, Pennsylvania-based QVC television network. “Hugh is a doll, too. I love him,” added Brown. Brown was in Maine August 22-25, along with a crew of roughly 16 people, to shoot a remote production featuring lobster tails from Greenhead Lobster in Stonington. The “Hugh” to whom Brown is referring is Hugh Reynolds, Greenhead owner and operator for the past 25 years. Photo gallery, >click to read< 12:20
