Author Archives: borehead - Moderator
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
Alaska’s herring row
On a drizzly March afternoon in Sitka, Alaska, K’asheechtlaa “Louise” Brady hurries down a wooden ramp to the dock at Fisherman’s Quay, her gray-streaked hair spilling from the hood of her windbreaker. There, two small skiffs sit low in the water, heavy with 10-foot-long hemlock branches jeweled with yellow-white fish eggs. “Oh, they’re so beautiful!” “This is the taste of what it means to be Tlingit.” Jamie Ross stands on the deck of his seiner, F/V Anduril, next to a pile of dead herring, his shaggy white hair and mustache blowing in the wind. Ross, who’s from Homer, Alaska, has fished Sitka herring for 30 years. He’s one of the 47 permit holders, and one of the few who remember when herring fisheries lined the Alaska coast. Photos, >click to read< 13:29
It will benefit the powerful’: row over Brixham fish market levelling up plan
Critics claim the plans for the Devon harbour town of Brixham, which is expected to land a record-breaking £50m worth of fish this year, will lead to more environmentally damaging fishing practices, increase lorry movements and benefit a few powerful businesses rather than improving the town as a whole. A diverse group of sceptics ranging from conservationists to the local yacht club, town councillors and day boat skippers has expressed concern at the bid by Torbay council for £20m of cash from the levelling up fund. “It will be good for the big boys who already make shitloads of money,” said Tristan Northway, who skippers a 9-metre fishing boat Adela, and sells directly from the deck of his vessel. “But it will do nothing for the rest of us and nothing for the town.” >click to read< 10:22
F/V Aleutian Isle: Equipment on site, recovery will take 10 days once started
The Unified Command continues its response following the sinking of the commercial fishing vessel Aleutian Isle west of San Juan Island, Washington. Dive and vessel recovery equipment has arrived on scene. A mixture of oxygen and helium, known as heliox, is needed to dive at depths greater than 200 feet. The heliox has arrived on San Juan Island and is being prepared for use. Contractor, Global Diving, arrived on scene, anchoring a barge and crane which will be used to raise the sunken vessel Aleutian Isle for transport. >click to read< 09:45
Father and son rescued at sea share emotional reunion with police officers that saved them
The father and son who were rescued at sea by a Boston Police harbor vessel last week had an emotional reunion with the officers that saved their lives. Joseph and Tommy Azeredo were dropping lobster traps in Boston Harbor on Wednesday when their boat’s motor got caught in a line. Joseph says after their boat’s motor was cut, the pair crashed into some rocks and started sinking, and at the time he couldn’t find his son Tommy. “I was thinking about my family, didn’t think I was going to see them again, I can hear my father screaming for me, it was terrifying man, it was very terrifying,” said Tommy Azeredo. The father and son floated in the water with the help of a cooler not far from Graves Light before they were rescued by Boston Police officers Stephen Merrick and Garrett Boyle. Video, >click to read< 09:10
A seismic shock – Dominion May End $10B Offshore Wind Project Over Performance Clause
The giant utility Dominion Energy has found itself in a disagreement with state regulators over a proposed performance guarantee for its $10 billion Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project, one of the largest planned wind farms in the U.S. development pipeline. The clause is enough of a concern for Dominion that it has threatened to scuttle CVOW altogether and walk away, a seismic shock for the budding U.S. offshore wind industry. However, the Virginia State Corporation Commission, a regulator with a broad mandate governing insurance, railroads and utilities, has made a decision that may make CVOW untenable, according to Dominion. The SCC will allow Dominion to bill the cost of CVOW’s development to household ratepayers in the form of a miniscule rider fee, but only if its turbines perform at a 42 percent capacity factor or better in any three-year period. Any shortfalls would be Dominion’s to cover. >click to read< 07:32
Fishermen from urban areas and out of state hold big share of permits in world’s largest sockeye run.
In 1975, an Alaska state law, bitterly contested and extensively litigated, wrought a profound change in the Bristol Bay fishery. It capped the number of people who could fish there and vested them with permits that could be used each year or sold to the highest bidder. The state Legislature made the big change two years earlier in an era when many in the seafood industry were worried about oversized fleets chasing then-depressed stocks of salmon. This had far reaching consequences for local bay communities, where many permits once held by local residents have shifted through the decades to fishermen living in urban parts of Alaska or to Washington and other states. As of 2020, Alaskans hold 44% of the 1,862 drift gillnet fleet permits, and 64% of the 964 permits to fish from beaches with setnets. Photos, >click to read< 10:18
Efforts to remove sunken vessel near Victoria are difficult due to conditions
A small fishing vessel remains underwater two weeks after it sank off the coast of San Juan Island, Washington, and the U.S. Coast Guard says removal efforts are difficult due to strong water conditions. On Aug. 13, the Aleutian Isle sank near the U.S. Island — approximately 25.6 kilometers east of Victoria. Dumping an estimated 9,854 litres of diesel oil, sheen covered several kilometers of water and threatened marine life while sparking a joint response between U.S. and Canadian agencies. Video, >click to read< 09:06
Divers hope to wrap up work, raise sunken fishing vessel near San Juan Island soon – Two weeks after an oil spill began off the west side of San Juan Island, divers began work that will allow them to plug a sunken fishing vessel more than 200 feet below the surface. >click to read<
How the people of Hull saved a brutal murderer from the death penalty
On a fishing trip to the icy north Atlantic, an old feud between two crew members of a Hull trawler was simmering. Eventually James Carlill, 27, and William Harker, 38, clashed with tragic consequences. Six days later, the trawler arrived back at St Andrew’s Fish Dock, with Harker’s body on board. Carlill was charged with murder. But that was only the start of a remarkable story. The three-week fishing trip had been uneventful until terrible weather forced the trawler, the Queen Alexandra, to take refuge in an Icelandic fjord. The 12-man crew got bored as they sheltered from the storm and bought booze from the locals, including half a gallon of corn brandy and two bottles of whisky. >click to read< 07:55
Invasive Green Crab Detected in Alaska for the First Time
The green crab is an invasive marine species spreading throughout the coastal waters of the United States. Efforts between NOAA Fisheries and Metlakatla Indian Community have been leading the way on monitoring to detect this species’ presence in Alaskan waters. The green crab has been found in U.S. waters since the 1800s, but this is the first confirmed presence in Alaska. They are a threat to native species and habitats. They are highly competitive predators that can decimate shellfish populations, outcompete native crabs, and reduce eelgrass and salt marsh habitats. They are a serious threat for Alaska’s tidal habitats. >click to read< 11:47
Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries enforcement agents cited a Delcambre man for alleged shrimping violations
Agents cited Jimmie Dupre Jr., 48, for failing to return serviceable trap to the water, trawling inside waters with oversized nets, taking commercial fish without a commercial gear license and vessel license. Agents were on patrol in West Cote Blanche Bay when they encountered a Dupre Jr. operating a shrimping vessel. During an inspection, agents found that Dupre Jr. did not possess a commercial gear license or vessel license. He was also in possession of two trawls that were over the legal size limit of 25 foot long and two serviceable crab traps on the deck of the vessel. Agents seized two shrimp trawls, two crab traps, one shrimping vessel on seizure order and 1,943 pounds of shrimp. >click to read< 10:45
FERC Staff Recommend Removal of Lower Klamath Dams in Final Environmental Document
After nearly two decades of painstaking negotiations and political turbulence, the largest river restoration project in American history is set to begin early next year. This morning, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) staff released the long-awaited Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for license surrender, decommissioning and removal of four dams – Copco No. 1, Copco No. 2, J.C. Boyle and Iron Gate – on the Lower Klamath River, a move that would restore over 400 miles of critical salmon spawning habitat in the Klamath Basin. The 1,242-page document contains FERC staff’s evaluation of the environmental, cultural and economic impacts associated with dam removal. In short, staff agree that dam removal is the best path forward. >click to read< 10:08
Father, Son Clinging to Cooler Rescued After Lobster Boat Sinks in Boston Harbor
A father and son held on for their lives by clinging to a cooler and lifebuoy while stranded off the coast of Boston Wednesday evening. Officers Stephen Merrick and Garret Boyle of the Boston Police Harbor Unit responded to the 911 call at 6:30 p.m. “We’re so weak, I can’t even move. Help him up, please,” the son said to the officers during the rescue, which was captured on video. “Seeing their faces, they were tired, they were scared,” Merrick noted. The stranded men stated to police that they were out catching lobsters when their engines died. Video, >click to read< 09:24
Poor Fraser River sockeye run spells end of the south coast salmon fleet
B.C. commercial fishermen are now forced to resign themselves to the reality that they will be shut out of the Fraser River sockeye fishery for the fourth year in a row, and for some that means the end of the road. “I think this is pretty much the end of the south coast salmon fleet,” said Dawn Webb, an organizer for the UFAWU-Unifor fisherman’s union. Earlier in the season, fairly strong returns of sockeye for the Skeena River, Barkley Sound and early Stuart Fraser River sockeye seemed to bode well for a healthy enough return to allow for a commercial opening this year. This is, after all, supposed to be a dominant year for Fraser River sockeye. >click to read< 07:34
Thomas L. Brower Sr. of Brick, N.J., has passed away
Thomas Lee Brower Sr., age 64, passed away on August 23, 2022. He was born on February 2, 1958 in Point Pleasant NJ and lived his whole life in Brick, NJ. He started his career as a mate on the party boat the Piper in Point Pleasant, NJ. He moved on to clamming boats till one day he bought the Viking Star in 1984 and started his own fishing business. He bought the Fishing Vessel Kristin which was so successful he was able to grow the business and owned the Jessica Lynn, Elvie B, Ida B, Jamie Elizabeth, and the McGinty. He was a member of the Point Pleasant Fisherman CoOp. Being out at sea was his joy in life. >click to read< 20:40
Energy companies reach $13 million deal to resolve criminal charges over OC oil spill
The company that operates an underwater oil pipeline that ruptured last year, spilling 25,000 gallons of crude into the ocean off Huntington Beach — forcing a closure of beaches and fisheries — has agreed to pay nearly $13 million to resolve a federal criminal indictment over the spill, prosecutors announced Friday. As part of the agreement, Amplify Energy Corp. and two of its subsidiaries will plead guilty to violating the federal Clean Water Act, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office. >click to read< 19:40
Search and rescue services must top Ottawa’s Labrador agenda
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador, (SEA-NL) joins Indigenous leaders in expressing disappointment that search and rescue (SAR) services for Labrador are not Ottawa’s highest priority. “For as long as the entire Labrador coastline is void of a dedicated Canadian Coast Guard ship, and a dedicated Cormorant helicopter to carry out primary SAR missions, the issue must top all agendas,” says Merv Wiseman, a member of SEA-NL’s executive, and outspoken advocate for stronger SAR services. Labrador represents one of the largest geographical areas in Canada without a dedicated SAR air or maritime resource stationed in its region. >click to read< 13:57
Fisherman John Paul Feller Jr. has passed away
John Paul Feller Jr. passed into the “happy hunting grounds” on Aug. 10 in Wrangell after a hard battle with cancer, his family wrote. “He will be greatly missed.” A celebration of life will be held at a later time. John was born on Dec. 29, 1948, to John Paul Feller Sr. and Carol Alice (James) Feller Brady in Wrangell. The oldest of five children, John was someone who everyone looked up to and was a friend to all, his family wrote. John started fishing with his dad at a young age and his love of fishing continued throughout his life. He went on to be a master net maker, seasoned commercial fisherman, and earned his associate degree in environmental sciences. He was a well-known skiff man in Southeast. >click to read< 11:55
Commercial fisherman’s union concerned over Ottawa’s rejection of Pacific Salmon Commission recommendations
The commercial fisherman’s union has expressed its concerns over Ottawa’s recent rejection of the Pacific Salmon Commission’s (PSC) recommendations which were accepted by the U.S. The PSC’s recommendations, which advocate for a certain amount of commercial fishing, were presented to both countries after a review by fisheries experts from Canada and U.S, said UFAWU-Unifor in an Aug.19 statement. PSC’s mandate is to protect salmon stocks and has long been trusted to enforce the Pacific Salmon Treaty. “Despite PSC recommendations that would support a fishery, the Fraser River Panel announced that ‘all Canadian Panel Area waters remain closed to commercial salmon fishing,’ citing a precautionary approach,” stated the union in a media release. >click to read< 11:13
Commenter: BOEM report downplays wind farm’s impact on fishing, tourism
The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is downplaying potential adverse effects of offshore wind projects by setting faulty baselines in its Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) on Ocean Wind 1. That’s the argument by Barbara McCall, a Florida resident who owns property in Ocean City. McCall sent in a 3,500-word response, with footnotes, to BOEM, which is part of the Department of the Interior, during the comment period. She said the politicians and companies behind the projects, including Danish company Ørsted and PSEG, which are teaming up to build Ocean Wind 1, “should not be afraid of being truthful and transparent.” McCall said she has heard the “ambiguous statement” that the majority of people in New Jersey support offshore wind projects, but she doesn’t believe most people know what all the projects entail. >click to read< 09:32
Fisherman died after lifejacket suddenly deflated after falling from west Kerry trawler
A Portugese fisherman drowned when the lifejacket he was wearing suddenly deflated after it was punctured by net cables when he fell overboard from a Kerry trawler off the west coast, an inquest in Tralee into the man’s death has heard. Father of two, Jose Alberto Novo Vareiro (53), from Vila Ovo Conde in Portugal, was a crew member aboard the Dingle-based Cu na Mara when he fell overboard as the trawler was shooting nets for prawns near the Porcupine Bank, some 150 miles west of Dingle on June 30th, 2016. Owner and skipper of the Cu na Mara, Michael Flannery told the inquest at Tralee Courthouse that Mr Vareiro was one of his six crew aboard his vessel who were preparing to shoot the nets at the back of the boat at about 1.25pm on the day in question when the accident happened. >click to read< 08:28
Northern shrimp fishery faces potential permanent closure
Regulators are considering a permanent closure of the northern shrimp fishery off the coast of Maine and New Hampshire. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Northern Shrimp Section met in Portland last week to discuss several issues related to the northern shrimp. There has not been a northern shrimp fishing season in the Gulf of Maine since 2013. A moratorium was placed on the fishery because the shrimp population collapsed. >click to read< 07:37
Diesel prices and post-Brexit quotas add to fishermen’s woes
Each time West Cork fisherman Daniel Healy sets out to sea, he wonders whether it’s worth his time. Soaring diesel prices, he said, are putting his livelihood at risk. “Per trip, with five days out, at 1,000 litres a day – that’s over €5,000. It’s a big bill for me,” Mr Healy told Prime Time. He has been fishing from Castletownbere for the last 29 years. For the first time, he has to worry whether he can pay the wages of his crew. The diesel is probably taking about nearly half of our gross earnings, every trip,” he said. “The crew were wondering where all the money was going, until I showed them the receipts and how much the fuel is.” But, due to stricter post-Brexit quotas that were introduced last year, fishermen cannot increase their catch to compensate for their losses. >click to read< 18:50
Entanglement blame game good for wallets, not for whales
In response to the dissemination of “misleading and false information” about the Maine lobster fishery and their interaction with right whales, not even the federal government (NOAA/NMFS) attributes a right whale death to the Maine fishery. In fact, only two whales have ever been seen in Maine lobster gear and the last one was 18 years ago. A red marker found on gear in 2012 could have come from anywhere in New England. Maine lobstermen voluntarily changed their marker color to purple in 2020 to clearly differentiate themselves from the other New England states and to avoid any further allegations. Deaths and serious injuries in Maine lobster gear have remained constant at zero since right whale observations were initiated. To improve on that is impossible. >click to continue reading<, By Jack Merrill 15:35
Planes can’t find entangled whale in search Wednesday
Planes and boats searched the Gulf of St. Lawrence on Wednesday, looking for a young North Atlantic right whale entangled in rope and other gear. An airplane saw the calf of a right whale known as 3720 last weekend, 48 nautical miles east of Shippagan, trailing fishing rope and buoys. The Department of Fisheries said at the time that it wasn’t known how long the yearling had been entangled. Whale expert Philip Hamilton of the New England Aquarium said lots of challenges come with finding a whale such as this one, which had previously last been spotted in March off Provincetown, Mass. (Where is the photo of the calf wrapped in fishing gear the plane didn’t take?!!) >click to read< 12:23
Commercial fishermen sounding alarm about snapper stocks
If you had asked me five years ago if I was worried about red snapper populations in Texas, I would have said “no.” But I’m not that optimistic today. Fishery managers have gotten complacent, forgotten where we came from and have put self-interests above conservation and sustainability. Our fish stocks are in decline, our commercial fishing voices are being squashed and our fishery managers are playing politics with our livelihoods. We expect fair representation at the decision-making table. What do we have instead? Only one truly commercial fishing representative on the 17-member Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council. >click to read< 10:52
B.C. fishermen fume as their Americans counterparts fish
Commercial salmon fishers and environmentalists are crying foul, for opposite reasons after U.S. fisheries officials let American fishers hit the water while the Canadian government kept their counterparts ashore. After several years of historically low runs, the Pacific Salmon Commission (PSC), an international fisheries management organization, estimated last week that enough sockeye, about 4.4 million, would return to the Fraser River to support a commercial fishery. American fisheries managers adopted the commission’s estimate, opening a small commercial fishing window over the weekend. But in a rare disagreement, Canadian officials did not, citing concerns the run would be nearly one million fish smaller than predicted, and kept Canada’s waters closed. >click to read< 10:16
Concern for BC sockeye salmon as return estimates drop by millions – The Pacific Salmon Commission’s pre-season estimate of 9.8 million returning fish went down to 5.5 million Monday, prompting environmentalists and fishers alike to express concern. >click to read<
Maine Lobstering Union drops part of lawsuit against NMFS
The Maine Lobstering Union is agreeing to drop part of its lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Services, where the federal agency is closing a 960-square-mile section of the Gulf of Maine to lobster fishers. The area, known as LMA 1, is home to hundreds of fishermen like Tyler Turner of Portland. If the closure stands without a state-level court injunction, then Turner said he would lose out on at least half his income. “It’s going to be catastrophic. It’s going to be crippling. I just want to be able to work. I can relieve myself. I don’t need someone telling me where I can’t go,” Turner said. Video, >click to read< 08:14
Gulf shrimpers brace for offshore wind
Trae Cooper risks punctures to the fiberglass hull of his grandfather’s boat every time he pulls out into the gray waters at the mouth of the Mississippi River. Trawling for shrimp that swim along Louisiana’s muddy coast means coexisting with the forgotten pipelines, corroded steel, gnawed plastic and bits of iron that the oil industry left behind as it marched gradually through these marshes and out to sea. And that’s why Cooper, 39, and many shrimpers in the region say they know enough to worry as a new industry crops up in the Gulf of Mexico: offshore wind. >click to read< 07:40
Menhaden: Commercial Fishery Will Close Sunday, August 28, 2022 at 11:59 p.m.
Maine Department of Marine Resources sent this bulletin at 08/23/2022 03:05 PM EDT – Notice to Commercial Menhaden License holders: Maine Department of Marine Resources is notifying all commercial menhaden harvesters in advance that the commercial menhaden fishery will close, effective Sunday, August 28, 2022 at 11:59 p.m. Please have all trip reports for the harvest week of Monday, August 22 through Friday, August 26, 2022 submitted prior to Sunday, August 28, 2022 at 11:59 p.m, in accordance with Chapter 41.20. >click to read< 19:10
