Author Archives: borehead - Moderator
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
The fisherman’s helper By Vincent Joyce
Since man first went out in his own fishing boat, he has had a fisherman’s helper. When I first went lobster fishing, I didn’t know a thing about it. I had to learn everything from scratch. The only thing that a person had to have is the love of the sea. A person had to learn all about fishing from his boss as you went about your daily work. You had to do what you were supposed to do in all areas of peaceful and dangerous times in a boat, weather-wise. A person learned very, very fast. For example, always watch those traps and rope when you were pushing them off the boat and back into the water. Most times, a fisherman would hire his helper through the winter months or in the early spring. Once the fisherman had a good or great helper hired, he would keep him for as long as he wanted to stay or until he bought his own fishing gear. >click to read< By Vincent Joyce, a former long-time fisherman’s helper 17:18
NOAA Fisheries Issues On-Demand Gear Exempted Fishing Permit
August 23, 2022 – Yesterday, NOAA Fisheries issued an Exempted Fishing Permit (EFP) to the NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center (Center) to continue trials of on-demand gear in the American lobster fishery. The EFP will provide an exemption from Federal lobster gear marking requirements for approximately 30 federally permitted commercial lobster vessels, with the potential to increase to up to 100 vessels total during the one-year project period. The EFP will allow participating vessels to test alternatives to static vertical lines in trap/pot fisheries (also referred to as on-demand gear), including up to 30 vessels fishing in Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan Restricted Areas with no static vertical lines. >click to read< 14:18
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 70′ Steel Shrimper, Cat 3408,
To review specifications, information, and 26 photos’, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here< 11:59
Shrimp boat catches fire in Walton County
A shrimp boat caught fire Tuesday afternoon in Walton County. Walton County Fire Rescue was called to the shrimp boat near Shipyard Road in Freeport. “Firefighters conducted a primary search of the vessel and are now working to extinguish the flames,” the department says in a release. “At this time, it is believed that no one was on the vessel when the flames ignited.” No further details were released. We will update the story when we get more info. >Link< 10:45
“Trust the science,” say the media – Scientific ‘integrity’
Polls show that fewer Americans do. There’s good reason for that. Environmental activists want to limit commercial fishing. They want Congress to pass what they call the “Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Act.” It claims climate change is the “greatest threat to America’s national security” and offers a dubious solution: close more of the ocean to commercial fishing. The administration’s deputy director of Climate, Jane Lubchenco, told Congress that a scientific paper concludes that closing more of the ocean can actually increase catches of fish. Really? That doesn’t seem logical. It isn’t. The paper was retracted. One scientist called its logic “biologically impossible.” Also, Lubchenco’s didn’t tell Congress that the paper was written by her brother-in-law! And edited by her! >click to read< 09:00
Marshfield lobsterman proud to add new boat to ‘hundreds of years of commercial fishing’
What’s 45 feet long, 17 feet wide and required a State Police detail to get to its Brant Rock home? The answer is Andy Glynn’s new lobster boat. Glynn, a Marshfield native, is a commercial fisherman and lobsterman out of Green Harbor. His new boat, an H&H Osmond Beal design, made the 315-mile trip from Steuben, Maine, earlier this month. The boat is named Bre-Jay after Glynn’s daughters Breanna and Jayanne. It’s going to be a commercial lobstering boat, but it needs some work. It’s a rough shell with the engine, shaft and rudder in place. The tanks, the decking, the windows, all the plumbing and all the electrics have to be done. It’s going to take six months to a year to finish. >click to read< 07:35
Coast Guard medevacs fisherman near Venice, Louisiana
The Coast Guard medevaced a 55-year-old man Sunday from a fishing vessel approximately 10 miles east of Venice, Louisiana. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector New Orleans received a call at approximately 4:00 p.m. that a crewmember aboard the fishing vessel F/V Thanh Nhut Li had reportedly sustained severe injuries to the leg. The watchstanders directed the launch of a Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew to assist. The helicopter aircrew arrived on scene, hoisted the patient and transported him to University Medical Center in New Orleans. The crewmember was last reported in stable condition. -USCG- >Video<
How an Unlucky Texas Fisherman Stumbled Upon an Environmental Catastrophe
Five years before a pair of bullets tore through his gut and heart, Billy Joe Aplin reached over the silt-smeared water of the tidal flats with a boat hook to snare a small buoy bobbing near the grassy shoreline. As he pulled it toward his skiff, the rope gathered in soggy coils by his white rubber boots. Billy Joe was a bear of a man, six feet with broad shoulders, strong nose, square jaw, and jet-black hair. Their skiff drifted calmly at the mouth of the Guadalupe River in San Antonio Bay, their favorite spot to lay traps. His wife, Judy, lit a cigarette and took a long drag in the Texas heat. His ten-year-old daughter, Beth, was already perched on her culling stool, ready to sort the catch. Billy Joe Jr. and Cheryl Ann, only five and four, huddled close to their mom. Superstitious fishermen thought it was bad luck to bring a woman on a boat, but by 1975, Billy Joe had endured such a streak of bum luck that he couldn’t afford not to bring his family out with him: they were his deckhands. >click to read< 14:09
Marine biologist perplexed by snow crab disappearance
It’s a mystery perplexing marine biologists that could lead to a loss of one of Alaska’s most prized seafood exports — the Bering Sea snow crab. Many theories have been hypothesized as to what is causing the declining crab populations throughout Alaska, ranging all the way from migration of the crustaceans to predators taking them out. However, Erin Fedewa, a research fishery biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, says the disappearance of this Alaskan staple could be a warning about how quickly a fishery can be wiped out in a new, shifting world. Video, >click to read< 12:39
New generation keeps Pacific City’s famous dory fleet afloat
In 2003, when Shawn Farstad tracked down the dory boat his father sold in 1988, the boat was rotted and the owner was asking “a fortune.” But it had been built by Farstad’s grandfather, skippered by his dad and named for his sister, Susann, and mom, Janet. So, Farstad and his wife, Crystal, paid the price. Then, Farstad took the Su-Jan home, stripped it down to the bones and built it all over again. In this coastal home of the Pacific City dory fleet, the bond between fisher and boat runs deep. Today, Farstad builds dories and helps maintain the fleet. The demand for his work is growing as the dories grow older and need more care. 5 photos, >click to read< 10:11
Thousands of pounds worth of fishing nets stolen in Caister
Over 10 days in August, two bins containing specialised sea bass nets were stolen from the back of fishing boats stationed at Caister beach car park. Jason Miller, a fisherman of 38 years, was one of the people affected. Mr Miller came to work on Thursday morning when he realised one of his bin nets had been stolen. A few days before, a bin containing his colleague’s nets were also taken. Mr Miller, 51, said the nets were worth more than their estimated value, as the vital equipment helped to secure their living. “To us, it’s mortgage payments, energy bills, meals and even school uniforms for our kids,” he said. >click to read< 08:42
We’re eating less lobster, just as fall fishing season begins
After reaching record high prices in the spring, the shore price for a pound of Atlantic lobster has dropped dramatically, from around $18 to $5. Low demand, both domestically and internationally, and inflation are contributing to this drop, say industry professionals, who are concerned about the rising costs to fish and distribute the product as the fall lobster fishing season commences. Stewart Lamont, managing director of Tangier Lobster Company, a live lobster exporter in Nova Scotia, said consumer purchasing habits have changed since the beginning of the pandemic. >click to read< 07:47
Richard “Ricky” Earl Dudley, of Beaufort has passed away
Richard “Ricky” Earl Dudley, 74 of Beaufort passed away peacefully at home surrounded by his family on August 17, 2022. Ricky was born on November 14, 1947, in Morehead City, NC to the late Elmer and Leonda Dudley. Ricky graduated from East Carteret High School, attended Carteret Community College and married his high school sweetheart, Patsy Hadder in 1969. Ricky had a love for sports and fast cars. He spent his career in commercial fishing, first working as pilot with his daddy on Menhaden boats in Mississippi and then later as a fish boat captain himself. He enjoyed spending time at Shackleford Banks with his family and loved fishing with a rod and reel. Ricky loved his family more than anything and spent his free time taking them out in the boat, playing the guitar, shooting off fireworks and playing pool at Royal James. >click to read< 18:14
Fishermen first aid and safety training coming to Charleston
Commercial fishing is a dangerous and challenging occupation. Everyone wants to be safe, but the risk of injury is always there. With this in mind, a team from Oregon State University and Oregon Sea Grant developed Fishermen First Aid and Safety Training, designed around the principles of wilderness first aid to better enable fishermen to prevent and treat injuries they are likely to encounter at sea. This year OSU is partnering with the Charleston Fishing Families to host FFAST August 29 and 30 from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. at their office near the Charleston Marina. >click to read, with additional links< 14:33
‘It’s all about the people’ Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante said about her run
She’s a Gloucester native. Her parents came from immigrant families. She’s the only child of her father, Joseph, who worked as a fisherman until an injury forced him out of the job, and her mother, Frances, who worked in the schools’ libraries. She has her supporters. Helene Nicholson, “I think she brings the things to Gloucester like the waterfront and she works well with other candidates even though Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr is a Republican, you know, she works well across the aisles, which I like, and she’s a fair player. She’s honest.” Her father’s injury turned out to be a blessing in disguise. In 1994, a few months after his accident, the fishing vessel F/V Italian Gold sank. “That’s the boat my father would have been on. All four men were lost at sea,” Ferrante said. Her father asked her to promise him she would help those crew members’ families. >click to read< 12:14
When Vietnamese Fishermen Went to War With the Klan in Texas
A few nights before the start of the 1980 shrimping season in Texas, as a tropical storm pounded the gulf coast, a Justice Department mediator booked a room at a Holiday Inn near the fishing town of Seabrook, on the western edge of Galveston Bay. He was expecting two guests, each representing opposing sides of a turf war liable to explode into violence. His plan was to lock them inside until they brokered some kind of a treaty. Gene Fisher, the burly 35-year-old founder of the American Fishermen’s Association, arrived first. Fisher stiffened at the sound of someone rapping at the door of the Holiday Inn room: the second guest had arrived, the president of the Vietnamese Fishermen’s Association. Nam Văn Nguyễn was a highly-decorated South Vietnamese colonel. >click to read< 11:09
A key Maine lobster bait is booming. Soon fishermen may be able to catch more.
The Atlantic State Marine Fisheries Commission, an interstate regulatory body that oversees several species along the eastern seaboard, is considering new provisions that could increase catch quotas in Maine. Menhaden, commonly known as pogies, have become a top lobster bait as herring populations have declined. The proposal, which was released this week, includes several different allocation options and variations that would open up more fishing in Maine. Minimum allocations could be done on a tiered scale based on harvests going back to 2009. The commission could also shift the time frame that allocations are based upon to more recent years, which would give Maine a boost because of its increased landings. >click to read< 09:50
Entangled North Atlantic Right Whale spotted off Shippagan, N.B.
The federal Fisheries Department is on the lookout for an entangled North Atlantic Right Whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence near Shippagan, N.B. The department says the whale was observed on Saturday by a Fisheries and Oceans Canada aircraft. The whale, which has been identified as the 2021 calf of the whale known as 3720, was spotted about 48 nautical miles east of Shippagan. Officials said they do not know the type of gear that the whale is entangled in, or where it came from. >click to read< 08:14
Bloc Québécois wants more squid fishing after feds cut herring quota
Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet asked Fisheries and Oceans Canada on Sunday to allow squid fishing to compensate for the decrease in quotas for the fall herring announced a few days earlier. On Friday, minister Joyce Murray announced that the total allowable catch for the fall herring in the Gulf of St. Lawrence would decrease to 10,000 tonnes from 12,000 tonnes to preserve the population. “We leave the fishers without notice in an economic situation that is not good for them, in a sector that is already fragile,” Blanchet said, explaining that adding squid quotas would offer them an alternative “that uses the equipment they already have and that has a domestic Quebec market that will consume all the products, while not risking biodiversity or costing the government anything. >click to read< 07:40
Dutch fisheries will shrink considerably in the coming years
The Dutch commercial fishing fleet will shrink by 10 to 15 percent over the next five years. Many fishermen are getting into money trouble, partly because of declining turnover and high fuel costs. The financial support announced by the government will be too late for some of the fishermen, ABN Amro predicted based on its own research. About a third of fishermen think they could run into financial problems in the coming years. Brexit and the expansion of wind farms has also caused concerns for fishermen. The new distribution of fishing rights means that many fishermen are no longer allowed to catch as many fish as before Brexit. >click to read< 18:55
US Advances Plans for Offshore Wind in Maine
The U.S. Department of the Interior announced next steps to bring offshore wind energy to the Gulf of Maine. “President Biden has set ambitious goals to address the climate crisis, and in response the Interior Department is taking historic steps to develop a robust and sustainable clean energy future,” said Secretary Deb Haaland. “Today’s announcement for the Gulf of Maine represents one of the many milestones that this Administration has achieved to advance offshore wind development, create good-paying jobs, lower consumer energy costs, while collaborating with our government partners, Tribes and key stakeholders to protect biodiversity, advance environmental justice and safeguard other ocean uses.” >click to read< 15:33
250 fishermen go missing as 16 trawlers sink in Bay of Bengal
Over 250 fishermen of Patuakhali remained missing as 16 fishing trawlers capsized in the Bay of Bengal amid inclement weather on Friday, said Naval Police on Sunday. About 150 fishermen of 18 trawlers that sank in the Bay near Kuakata in Patuakhali have been rescued so far, said Akhtar Morshed, officer-in-charge (OC) of Kuakata Naval Police Outpost. Locals along with a rescue trawler of the fish wholesalers’ association reached the fish landing centre with the rescued fishermen from Saturday evening to 11pm on Sunday, the OC added. 3 stories, scroll down, >click to read< 12:27
They ask for justice for the death of a fisherman hit by a Coast Guard boat
“It was gross negligence.” With that short sentence, Manuel Córdova today summed up the opinion of many in the fishing community about the circumstances surrounding the death of Charles Rosario. His death has impacted those who knew him and remember him not only as an experienced “seaman”, but even more as a great human being. “Carlos really was an excellent commercial fisherman, but more than that, he was an excellent friend,” “To me, it’s gross negligence by the United States Coast Guard,” he added. “I hope justice will be served.” >click to read< 10:14 Read Coast Guard cutter Winslow Griesser, 23-foot fishing vessel collide north of Dorado, Puerto Rico >click to read<
Alaska’s snow crabs have disappeared. Where they went is a mystery.
Gabriel Prout and his brothers Sterling and Ashlan were blindsided. Harvests of Alaskan king crab, the bigger, craggier species that was the star of the television show “Deadliest Catch”, have been on a slow decline for over a decade. But in 2018 and 2019, scientists had seemingly great news about Alaska’s snow crabs: Record numbers of juvenile crabs were zooming around the ocean bottom, suggesting a massive haul for subsequent fishing seasons. Prout, 32, and his brothers bought out their father’s partner, becoming part owners of the 116-foot F/V Silver Spray. They took out loans and bought $4 million in rights to harvest a huge number of crabs. It was a year that many young commercial fishers in the Bering Sea bought into the fishery, going from deckhands to owners. Everyone was convinced the 2021 snow crab season was going to be huge. And then they weren’t there. >click to read< 08:27
A seafood processor from the Îles-de-la-Madeleine in serious financial difficulty
With an estimated debt of between $3.5 million and $4 million to its lobster fishermen, the Madelinan seafood processing company LA Renaissance des Îles (LRDI) has decided to place itself under the protection of the Act respecting the ‘insolvency. This is what the president and CEO and sole shareholder, Lynn Albert, announced to the fishermen who supply her with lobster, during an information meeting held on Friday morning, learned the QMI Agency. LRDI is in default of payment for its dockside purchases from 66 fishermen for the last two weeks of the 2022 fishing season, totaling $3.7 million. Added to this are, among other things, deductions for government rebates and other operating expenses of fishing businesses. >click to read< 07:34
Steps continue to remove sunken boat from seafloor near San Juan Island
Response teams continue to take gradual steps to remove the F/V Aleutian Isle from the seafloor after the 49-foot fishing vessel sank last weekend west of San Juan Island. Teams are moving forward with a plan to remove the whole commercial vessel and have it placed onto a barge, where contaminants can be safely removed, according to a Friday news release from the U.S. Coast Guard 13th District Pacific Northwest. “This is the best course of action to ensure the removal of as much pollutants and contamination as possible from the environmentally sensitive area,” the statement said. >click to read< 20:20
Mr. Robert Dixon of Tiverton, Rhode Island, has passed away
Mr. Robert Dixon, age 77, of Tiverton, Rhode Island, passed away on August 19, 2022. Robert was born in Fall River, MA to George and Edith Dixon of Riverside, RI. Robert was the husband of the late Mary McCarthy of Cranston, RI. Mr. Dixon graduated from East Providence High School in 1963. Robert retired from the United States Coast Guard in 1983 after serving 20 years. Mr. Dixon formed Commercial Marine Electronics to continue his passion of serving the marine industry by his expertise of the equipment and in the late 1980s became owner of Chris Electronics of New Bedford, MA. Robert’s knowledge and experience with repairing the marine electronics created a well-known reputation within the marine industry. >click to read<, 19:0z