Author Archives: borehead - Moderator
F/V Aleutian Isle: Fishing boat that sank off San Juan Island had apparently run aground the previous day
The U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies have declined to say why the boat sank, or even what it was doing before it went down, citing the ongoing investigation of the maritime disaster. The sinking sent a two-mile sheen of diesel fuel into prime habitat for the region’s endangered orcas. Nearly three weeks later, the boat still sits 240 feet underwater, an ongoing risk for leaking more diesel into Haro Strait. But eyewitness accounts, photographs, and public records fill in some of the information gaps. Eyewitness Brit Reese, of Sedro-Woolley, was shooting pictures near the marina entrance while waiting for a friend whose boat was anchored just outside. Photos, >click to read< 09:12
This invasive fish population is exploding as native Blue Crab populations hit record lows.
The invasive species in question is the blue catfish, a species so large it has become known as the “River Monster of the Potomac ” and other major Chesapeake Bay tributaries. The catfish’s diet includes native Blue Crabs. A November 2021 study from the Virginia Institute of Marine Science reports the catfish consumed as many as 2.3 million crabs per year from a study area in the lower James River. The first blue catfish were intentionally imported into the James River in Virginia during the 1980s. The species is native to the Mississippi valley. The fish are huge and consume almost any other species of wildlife they can encounter, catch and swallow, including crabs and other shellfish, Love said. Researchers have found the blue catfish will even eat ducks. >click to read< 07:59
Innovative ropeless fishing gear helps prevent whale entanglements
When fishing zones get closed down due to whale sightings, fish harvesters now have a new place to turn. Can Fish is a program set up by the Canadian Wildlife Federation to allow fishers to test out and use groundbreaking ropeless technology for free. The North Atlantic right whale is one of many marine species being impacted by the changing ocean temperatures in a warming world. The whales have been swimming northward moving from the Bay of Fundy to the Gulf of St. Lawrence,,, The Canadian Wildlife federation is trying to lessen this risk by popularizing the use of ropeless fishing gear through its newly introduced Can Fish program. At a warehouse in Halifax, Nova Scotia, fish harvesters can show up and borrow innovative ropeless fishing gear for free. The catch? These fishers need to provide data collected as they use the innovative technology in order to help build future designs of the equipment. Video, photos, >click to read< 17:30
‘A life on the mud’ for setnetter who fishes from Bristol Bay beach
Liz Moore spends most of the year working from her Shoreline, Wash., home office, where she helps evaluate programs run by governments and nonprofits. In the late spring of each year, she returns to this Southwest Alaska community, where she was raised, to pick sockeye out of setnets that stretch from a muddy beach. The shoreline setnet operation she runs includes a half-dozen skiffs and a crew of 10 men and women, some of whom come from as far away as New York. “When we get back to Seattle … it’s a life on pavement,” Moore said. “Here, it’s a life on mud, and I think I’m much more suited for a life on the mud.” >click to read< 15:04
Canada and Nova Scotia help support adoption of new and improved on-board lobster handling/holding technologies
On behalf of the Honourable Joyce Murray, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship and Member of Parliament for Central Nova, and the Honourable Steve Craig, Nova Scotia Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture, announced a total contribution of over $400,000 to help the Maritime Fishermen’s Union deliver a project to its members that will improve the quality, vitality and value of harvested lobster. This funding will help the lobster fishery in the Southeastern Northumberland Strait, Eastern Cape Breton and Southwest Nova Scotia improve the quality of lobster being marketed, the efficiency of fishing activities, and the onboard safety of crew. Live-well systems, which measure water quality, will be installed or upgraded on vessels. >click to read< 13:16
Funding announced to help support quality of harvested lobster – >click to read<
Ecuador signs agreement with FDA to facilitate more shrimp imports into the US
An agreement between the United States and Ecuador could impact Alabama’s seafood capital, Bayou La Batre. Officials said the agreement is to help facilitate growth of shrimp exports to the U.S. “It’s really going to affect us a lot more. Shrimp prices are already low, fuel prices are high. It’s going to hurt the fishing industry more than anything,” Local shrimper Trey Bonin said. “It’s crazy. I guess President Joe Biden can sign some paperwork to forgive all the boat loans and the loans that the shrimp shops have to take out. Like he’s doing for the college folks,” Bayou La Batre Mayor Henry Barnes said. Video, >click to read< 10:24
Fisherman lost at sea for 11 days survived in an upturned freezer
A fisherman who was lost at sea managed to survive for 11 days by climbing into an upturned freezer. Romualdo Macedo Rodrigues, 44, was sailing off the coast of French Guiana in a seven-metre wooden boat when it began taking on water and promptly sank. To make matters worse, the Brazillian native couldn’t swim – but luckily, he had a freezer on board so he climbed into that and hoped it would float. He then managed to stay afloat in the floating freezer for 11 days, with no food or water, before he was eventually spotted and pulled from the sea by the crew of another vessel off the coast of Suriname, which borders French Guiana. >click to read< 09:04
F/V Aleutian Isle: Recovery operation ongoing for fishing vessel that sank off San Juan Island
On Thursday, the Coast Guard gave an update on a 49-foot commercial fishing vessel that sank west of San Juan Island on Aug. 13. It was carrying around 2,500 gallons of diesel fuel and a combined 100 gallons of hydraulic fluid and lubricant oil aboard when it sank. The Coast Guard said divers had cut away the ship’s netting to find fuel vents and to prevent entanglement during the scheduled recovery. Four valves were also secured, including valves for waste oil and hydraulic fluid. The Aleutian Isle, which is around 200 feet down, is lying on its starboard side. >click to read< 07:49
Outer Banks Seafood Festival Endowment Created
The Outer Banks Community Foundation is pleased to announce that the Outer Banks Seafood Festival Endowment has been established by the Outer Banks Seafood Festival Board of Directors. The Outer Banks Seafood Festival is a nonprofit organization that promotes the positive impacts of our local seafood industry, educates people about seafood indigenous to North Carolina and the Outer Banks, and provides need-based support to the local fishing community and its members through festival proceeds. The endowed, designated fund will be maintained to support the Seafood Festival and its philanthropy. >click to read< 17:38
Fishermen launch legal action over North East crustation deaths
Fishermen along the North East coast have told of taking up new jobs amid a fishing crisis which has threatened their livelihoods and seen dead crustaceans wash up along the shoreline. Paul Graves, a lifelong fisherman off the Teesside and North Yorkshire coast, has taken up extra jobs over the summer to earn a living while his fishing boat is tied up in Hartlepool Mr Graves, like many other fishermen in the area, have grown frustrated by a marine life crisis which has seen hundreds of dead crustaceans wash ashore along the coast. For Paul, he’s contemplated selling his boat, owned by his family for years, due to the uncertain future. “I tied the boat up and went and did seven weeks work for a cable company,” he said. photos, >click to read< 15:49
An almost exceptional season for Gaspé lobster fishermen
According to the Regrouping of Professional Fishermen of Southern Gaspésie, the 2022 season is second among the best fishing seasons for Gaspé lobster fishermen, after that of 2021. The General Manager of the Regrouping, O’Neil Cloutier, indicates that this observation can be made both from the point of view of prices and of the volumes caught. Gaspé fishermen brought 8,170,000 pounds of lobsters to the wharf in 2022, a decrease of about 2% compared to 2021. Prices followed the same trend, decreasing slightly. On average, anglers had received a record landed price of $8.35 per pound in 2021. They received an average of 40¢ less this year. >click to read< 10:43
Arizona lobster roll chain buys processing plant and wharf in Maine
A growing Arizona restaurant chain is snapping up pieces of Maine’s lobster industry, buying a Bailey Island wharf and now a Richmond lobster processor, so that it can keep selling cheap lobster rolls at its drive-thru locations. Angie’s Lobster bought a processing plant from Shucks Maine Lobster last month, adding to the family-owned wharf in Harpswell it purchased in late July to source lobster for the company. Angie’s officials would not say what they paid for either purchase. Representatives of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association and Maine Lobster Dealers’ Association did not return messages Wednesday evening requesting interviews about the sale. >click to read< 10:03
Fishing company fined $59,000, vessel seized after illegal bottom trawling
A deep sea fishing company has had its vessel seized and fined $59,000 after illegal bottom trawling by a skipper on his first high sea job. The Amaltal Fishing Company, a subsidiary of Talley’s Group Limited, and skipper Charles Shuttleworth, were convicted and sentenced in Nelson District Court on Thursday on 14 charges of bottom trawling in a protected area. In March, Amaltal and Shuttleworth were found guilty of the charges, which were brought by the Ministry for Primary Industries. Reading from court documents, Judge David Ruth described how Shuttleworth, despite his 40-year experience, had never worked on the high seas. >click to read< 09:10
Offshore Windmills Will Generate High Costs and Unsafe Conditions
A new wave of commenters now seems to have adopted the Kennedy family objection to an offshore wind farm that was proposed about 30 years ago for the area just south of Hyannis, off Cape Cod. “Well,” said one Kennedy family member memorably, “but we will have to look at those monstrosities.” Offshore wind is one of the most expensive sources of commercial electricity generation when all costs including maintenance and repairs are included in the rate calculation. Onshore windmills, on the other hand, are one of the least expensive ways to generate electricity, just a little cheaper than using natural gas. However, that’s a problem since Biden inflation and energy production in this country are locked together and have produced nothing but higher costs on everything. >click to read< 08:35
F/V Aleutian Isle lying on starboard side 200 feet down, TFR extended to Oct. 15
An ROV was deployed early Tuesday morning August 30 to the F/V Aleutian Isle wreck site. The ROV and subsequent dive operations confirmed the commercial fishing vessel is lying hard on her starboard side with the hull facing up slope and has not moved from its general location at a depth of more than 200 feet off San Juan Island. Plans were to deploy the ROV again Wednesday afternoon as divers prepare for the next window of opportunity to dive to the wreck site. >click to read< 07:33
Website shines a light on offshore wind farms
Fishermen, an informal coalition of more than two dozen organizations concerned about the environmental and economic impacts of proposed offshore wind farms in the Pacific Ocean, launched a new website on Monday. Visitors to protectUSfishermen.org will find details not only on the current push to place wind turbine farms off the coast of Oregon, but also learn about the sustainable seafood industry and its positive impacts on the economy and food security. For those wishing to gain a broad understanding of the debate surrounding offshore wind, the site provides a comprehensive overview. Those wishing to take a “deep dive” into the issue can click on a variety of links to well-documented studies and positions from credible sources around the world. >click to read< 16:00
Captain Joseph James Henry “The Fox” of Stonington, Ct. has passed away
One more of the original fishermen from the heart of the Borough has bid us adieu. Captain Joseph James Henry, born July 18, 1926, lived to the age of 96, and passed away on Saturday August 27, 2022. Those who knew Joe were aware of his good-natured kindness to all. As one of the initial commercial lobstermen of Stonington’s fishing fleet, he had many stories and adventures to tell. He was a well-known fisherman who knew that “the sea, like a woman, had a mind of its own.” >click to read< 15:00
Prices down for Lennox Island, P.E.I. treaty fishery in fall season after challenges securing harbour
After opening with fewer than 300 traps in the spring of 2022, the band set the rest of its 1,000 traps on the south shore of P.E.I. this fall. Island fishers, though, have been facing the country’s highest inflation in that time, with costs for fishing expenses continuing to rise. And on top of that, prices have gone down since spring. Darlene Bernard, Lennox Island’s chief, says issues started with finding a harbour to launch the fall treaty lobster season. While the spring fishery opened in Lennox’s harbour without much issue, the fall fishery is on the Island’s south shore, where the band had to find a non-Indigenous harbour master willing to take them on. >click to read< 14:07
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 68′ Desco Dragger with Permits, CAT 3408
To review specifications, information, and 64 photos’, and video tour, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here< 11:31
Oregon fishermen learn to face emergencies at sea through 2-day course
When things go wrong at sea, it may take time for first responders to reach those in trouble. That’s why non-profit Charleston Fishing Families partnered with Oregon State University Sea Grant Extension Office to offer two days of free Coast Guard approved first aid and CPR classes. The Fisherman First Aid and Safety Training course used in class and hands-on boat sessions to teach fishermen how to respond to events like head injuries, wounds, burns, and environmental illnesses. Video, photos, >click to read< 10:17
Fishermen begin legal campaign over dead shellfish
A report suggested algae was to blame, but the fishermen fear the deaths were linked to the release of the chemical pyridine as a result of dredging in the River Tees in October. Smaller catches are threatening their livelihoods, they say. Paul Widdowfield, who has fished all his adult life in the waters by Hartlepool, said his daily catches could now be 50 times smaller than three years ago, losing him £1,000 a day. Stan Rennie, whose family has been fishing for 500 years, said: “It means absolutely everything to me. It’s all I’ve ever done. “Now, we’re facing hardship because of the catches. The boat will probably have to go by the end of the year.” It was an “environmental disaster”, Mr Widdowfield and Mr Rennie said. >click to read< 09:10
Catch Shares Enable Wealthy Landlords to Gobble Up Local Fisheries
A recent investigative report has reignited public discussion over catch shares, a controversial approach to fisheries management that privatizes the rights to fish. The investigation exposed how Blue Harvest Fisheries, owned by a billionaire Dutch family, became the largest holder of commercial fishing rights in New England, benefiting from lax antitrust regulations and pilfering profits from the local fishermen who work under them. As a commercial fisherman in Mississippi, I know these dynamics go well beyond New England. Here in the Gulf of Mexico, private equity firms and other large investors have come in and gobbled up the rights to fish, driving up the cost of fishing access and making it prohibitively expensive for fishermen like me to harvest fish in our own backyards. >click to read< 07:55
RCMP divers take over search for teen who fell overboard from fishing boat
RCMP divers have begun looking for Justin Landry, the 15-year-old boy who fell out of a fishing boat off Pointe-Sapin on Monday. On Tuesday afternoon RCMP said Landry is considered a missing person and police are in contact with his family. The RCMP took over the search after the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre Halifax said the rescue mission was unsuccessful. On Monday, a Royal Canadian Air Force helicopter, two Canadian Coast Guard boats, four conservation boats and one Transport Canada airplane were used in the search. About 20 fishermen also helped in the search. >click to read< 15:26
Boothville Man Cited For Commercial Fishing Violations in Plaquemines Parish
Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries enforcement agents cited a Boothville man for alleged commercial fishing violations in Plaquemines Parish on Aug. 23. Agents cited Webley L. Bourgeois, 47, for taking commercial fish without a commercial license and taking commercial fish without a gear license. Bourgeois had his licenses revoked in March of 2021 due to unpaid taxes. In 2022, Bourgeois sold a total of 51,891 pounds of shrimp, and 6,223 pounds of sheepshead all taken without the required commercial fishing license and gear license. All sales were obtained by trip tickets Bourgeois filed with LDWF. >click to read< 13:27
Golden boasts about going against Biden in ad celebrating him ‘cracking’ the President while breaking lobster shells
A moderate House Democrat fighting to keep his seat in a right-leaning district criticized President Joe Biden in a new midterm election ad released over the weekend. Rep. Jared Golden, who represents Maine’s heavily rural 2nd Congressional District, boasted about taking on the Democrat commander-in-chief’s agenda in a 30-second video. He lists off accomplishments via a voiceover while the lawmaker cracks open and devours lobsters in a nod to his state’s most iconic industry. ‘Last year, I cracked Biden’s aggressive spending agenda,’ Golden boasts while tearing a meaty lobster claw. Video, photos, >click to read< 09:44
Ship strike probably killed whale off California coast
A humpback whale that washed ashore in the San Francisco Bay Area over the weekend probably was killed by a collision with a ship, researchers said. A necropsy determined that the female adult whale had “injuries consistent with a ship strike,” including extensive bruising to the chest area along with a fractured vertebra, and her skull was dislocated from her spinal column, according to a statement from The Marine Mammal Center. Except for those injuries, the whale was in excellent condition, with ample fat and blubber reserves, the center said. >click to read< 08:46
Atlantic Canada makes strides to decarbonize commercial marine vessels
Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island, with federal government support, are currently investigating opportunities to electrify certain classes of vessels in an effort to help decarbonize the marine transportation sector. Next spring, the Prince Edward Island Fishermen’s Association (PEIFA) is planning to launch a pilot project to test different energy-efficient vessel propulsion systems, such as electric, hybrid or alternative fuels, for nine of the PEIFA’s inshore lobster fishing vessels. With combined funding of $3 million provided by both the federal and provincial governments, distributed through the Atlantic Fisheries Fund, the PEIFA is at the preliminary stages of developing the pilot. >click to read< 07:49
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update August 29, 2022
At the August Marine Fisheries Commission (MFC) meeting, Amendment 2 to the Striped Bass FMP and the unjustified net ban in the upper Neuse and Pamlico Rivers was on the agenda once again. Amendment 2 was up for final approval by the MFC, which we strongly opposed as long as the continuation of the net ban in the upper Neuse and Pamlico Rivers is incorporated into the Amendment. The Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) of NC, on the other hand, seemed to support the final approval of Amendment 2, only if the net ban remains part of the FMP. Surprised? Probably not, after all for decades the CCA has pushed for a net ban and, for decades, the NCFA has opposed this extreme agenda, making the gill net debate a constant source of friction at virtually every fisheries meeting. Another constant through the years has been the CCAs willingness to misinform and misuse data to support their agenda and the August MFC meeting was no exception. >click to continue reading< 18:49
Idea for more sustainable fishers catches prize for Halifax company
Marc d’Entremont has millions of dollars in Ocean Supercluster funding to bring his idea to fruition, but another 50 grand is always welcome. His company, Katchi Technologies, headquartered in Halifax, is one of the winners of the sixth annual Cisco Global Problem Solver Challenge. Katchi has designed a replacement fish net system that eliminates contact with the ocean floor and reduces greenhouse emissions, allowing for more sustainable harvesting. “We’re basically removing the bottom trawling from the seabed,,, “We’ve invented a new method to open the net up, and we’re reducing drag and saving fuel by 30 per cent. The other piece is we’re controlling the net to ensure it stays off the seabed, using an algorithm that takes input from a whole bunch of sensors on the vessel. >click to read< 15:54
CLOSURE WITHOUT CAUSE: Unprecedented Levels of Mackerel Call into Question Minister’s Decision to Close Fishery
Fish harvesters throughout the province are reporting observations of unprecedented levels of mackerel, calling into question the decision by Minister Joyce Murray and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) to close the commercial fishery this year. Harvesters are once again asking Minster Murray to take urgent action to reconsider the decision and undertake new survey opportunities to better understand the true health of the mackerel stock. Harvesters throughout the province have been sending in their observations and photos of mackerel schools and unprecedented levels of bycatch during other fisheries. >click to read the rest< 15:03
