Author Archives: borehead - Moderator
Fishery regulators will discuss possible rise in minimum lobster size
Fishing regulators will gather in Virginia next week to talk about the potential of raising the minimum size lobsters need to be in order to be harvested by New England fishermen. The Atlantic State Marine Fisheries Commission’s lobster management board is meeting on Tuesday to discuss the implications of a proposal that would install new minimum size limits and other regulations for the crustaceans, either gradually over time or triggered by lobster populations dipping below a certain level. The proposal was drafted to protect the lobster population as surveys show indications of potential future decline. The idea has rankled many Maine lobstermen,,, >click to read< 09:25
Alaskan Fishing Boat Captain/Pro Skier…McKenna Peterson Is One Badass Woman
Meet McKenna Peterson, Alaskan fishing boat captain and professional skier. Captain McKenna spends her summers at the helm of her family’s fishing boat catching Alaska salmon with her siblings and winters shredding lines that she scopes while she fills up the live wells. Certified badass. Video, >click to watch< 08:35
Brixham is celebrating after being named Port of the Year
The prestigious award has capped off a remarkable year at the port despite the pandemic and the challenges of Brexit. In 2021, £43.6million worth of fish was auctioned by Brixham Trawler Agents at the port which is currently on course to hit this year’s target of £45 million. BTA directors Adam Mudge and Neil Watson went to Aberdeen and to the Fishing News Awards for 2022. Adam says: “We were delighted to accept the Fishing News Port of the Year Award for 2022 on behalf of Brixham. >click to continue reading< 07:39
He had 48 hours left to live. So he married his girlfriend of 17 years
Earlier this summer, 35-year-old Billy Burgoyne got the worst news anyone could receive: doctors told him that his long fight with cancer was soon going to end because he only had a short time to live. When he went for another appointment on July 14, the timeline was much worse. “He was told he had about 48 hours left to live,” said Nikita Mahar, his longtime girlfriend. Burgoyne and Mahar had been a couple for almost 17 years. Immediately after the appointment, they decided they would officially tie the knot. He and Nikita both worked in the commercial lobster fishery. Billy also worked on herring fishing crews and recreational fishing was another of his great loves in life. >click to continue reading< 20:46
Alaska fishermen haul in monster halibut
Three local commercial fishermen caught what is likely to be the biggest halibut hauled in by a Haines skipper this season, weighing 425 pounds and measuring 91 inches in length. “It was just an epic fish,” said fisherman Cole Thomas, who hooked the fish with his father and captain Bill Thomas and friend Jeff Wackerman. “This one is a lot more special than most.” The three caught the halibut in Icy Strait, near Point Adolphus, with a commercial longline using cod and humpy salmon heads as bait. “I could see the line was going straight down. That means something big’s coming. I was telling my friend (Jeff): It’s going to be a big one, get ready,” Cole Thomas said. >click to continue reading< 14:34
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 44’11″x 18’6″ Fiberglass Novi Scalloper,122A Volvo Diesel
To review specifications, information, and 32 photos’, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here< 11:49
French and Jersey fishermen meet for first time since Harbour blockade
The meeting this month was the first since Norman and Breton fishing vessels blockaded the Harbour in May last year in a protest over post-Brexit fishing rights. Relations deteriorated to such an extent last summer that the UK sent two naval vessels to Jersey in response to the blockade and some French politicians threatened to cut off the Island’s electricity supply. The president of the Jersey Fishermen’s Association, Don Thompson, said the meetings were an important first step in improving relations with their French counterparts. ‘We invited the French fishermen and representatives to Jersey for this first meeting,’ Mr Thompson said. ‘We are working for solutions. Typical of fishermen, the meeting was very forthright. We got right to the point and did not hold back.’ >click to read< 10:20
Video: Maine fisherman catches monster wolf fish, here’s what happened next
A fisherman recently caught a monster wolf fish, gave it a lobster to eat and then threw it back into the ocean. Maine fisherman Jacob Knowles posted a video of himself catching the giant fish on Instagram. At the start of the clip, the wolf fish could be seen lying on the floor of the boat. As the fish growls and thrashes around, Knowles could then be seen picking up the creature and holding it up to the camera. The reel, that has got more than 8,000 views on Instagram so far, shows Knowles saying that the wolf fish killed everything in the trap. He added that wolf fish is a rare found. “We let them go as soon as we get them. I guess we’ll give him a snack seeing as he’s already killed everything,” Video, >click to watch/read< 09:28
The Big Fish
Whoever said that nothing good ever happens after midnight has never hung out at Pier 38 during the early morning hours. That’s the time when a number of commercial longline fishing boats begin pulling into Honolulu Harbor with crews eager to unload their sizable catch for anyone present to see. And what good things harvested from waters around the Hawaiian Islands do they bring into port? Tens of thousands of pounds of bigeye and yellowfin tuna (‘ahi), striped marlin, mahimahi, pink snapper (‘ōpakapaka), wahoo (ono) and more. Supervising all of this activity while waiting to ring the traditional brass bell, the signal that announces the start of each day’s bidding, is Honolulu Fish Auction manager Michael Goto.>click to continue reading< 08:06
F/V Miss Katie Briefly Threatened to Sink to the Bottom of the Woodley Island Marina
While Woodley Island harbor staff were out doing their regular “dock walk” this morning, a daily check-up to make sure everything is as it should be, according to Harbor District CEO Larry Oetker, their practiced eyes noticed something up on F Dock. Or something down, rather. The Miss Katie, a commercial fishing vessel, was sinking. An oil sheen could be seen on the water, so the staff rushed to retrieve and place portable booms to contain and soak up the pollutant. Then they got on the horn and started calling people,,, >click to continue reading< 18:42
Louie Rivers
Louie Rivers was among the finest men I’ve known, and times spent aboard the Miss Sandy are my best memories on the water. Our days began before the sun, walking dark Provincetown streets to the pier. This was the 1980s. Young men ending their adventures, as we were starting ours, made lewd comments about this odd pair, a young long-haired bearded guy alongside a squat older man with arms like thick oak limbs. Louie would just laugh. In all our years I never saw him get into an argument or fight, a rare thing among fishermen. Miss Sandy was tied up at MacMillan Wharf like a dog waiting to get off leash. >click to continue reading< 16:17
Fisherman hooks lifesaving Bariatric Surgery and sheds over 100 pounds
Michael Franklin, 45, of Palm Beach Gardens, had been struggling with his weight for more than half of his life. In his 20s, he stayed fit by surfing, but at 25 a shoulder injury put an end to riding the waves. That’s when Franklin began adding on an average of 10 pounds each year. As a commercial fisherman, Franklin is accustomed to working long hours under sometimes physically grueling conditions whether on land or at sea. But chronic back pain had become a constant drain on him physically and mentally. While at work he was also on his feet, so his ankles and knees were under a tremendous amount of pressure from the excess weight. >click to read< 13:23
Cook Inlet fishermen sue over set-net closures
Days after they were ordered to take their nets out of the water, Cook Inlet set-netters are suing the state over the fishery’s closure. In a case filed in state court last week, the Cook Inlet Fishermen’s Fund, representing Cook Inlet fishermen, said the state is mismanaging the east-side set-net fishery to the benefit of other user groups. It’s asking the state to immediately reopen the fishery this season to its 440 or so permit-holders, to pay fishermen back for what they lost and to revise the plan that closed it in the first place. Due to restrictions linked to the sport fishery, the east-side set-net fishery in Cook Inlet closes when king salmon abundance on the Kenai River is low. The set-netters were shut down early this year for the fourth year in a row. >click to read< 11:12
Harpswell Lobster Boat Races draw a crowd at new location, with race results
Spectators crowded onto the waterfront at Mitchell Field and boats in Middle Bay on July 24 to watch the Harpswell Lobster Boat Races. There were 25 races this year, with boats divided into classes based on factors that include size and horsepower. The races moved to Middle Bay this year from Potts Harbor. According to Ashley Lenz, a member of the committee that organizes the races, the new location allows more people to watch from land, with a better view. >click to read< 10:29
Fishermen’s memorial planned for Unalaska
Across the island plaques and statues commemorate the Aleutians’ World War II history, but there’s nothing to honor the legacy of fishermen lost at sea. Local sculpture artist Karel Machálek wants to change that. He’s currently at work on a life-sized fishermen’s memorial. The piece will include three fishermen cast in bronze, a longliner, crab, and cod fisherman. Karel made a model of the memorial and proposed the project to the City of Unalaska earlier this year. Marie says the proposal was approved, but the location has not yet been confirmed. The current plan is to erect the memorial in the Carl E. Moses Boat Harbor. >click to read< 09:11
We’re not going anywhere — FFAW
According to Mr. Butler, fish harvesters in Newfoundland and Labrador are living like kings and queens while the poor processing companies struggle to balance the books. It’s a tale that’s been spun by Butler and his cronies with the Association of Seafood Producers since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ah yes, Derek Butler, champion of corporate profits, knows much about the rich shrimp harvesters of the Northern Peninsula (who, by the way, have no access to crab). They haven’t been able to sell their shrimp for enough to make ends meet, while the same companies buy the exact same product for over 50 per cent more at their facilities in Quebec. >click to read< 07:44
The Controversial Plan to Unleash the Mississippi River
“There’s not a son of a bitch in this parish, or within this industry, that doesn’t want coastal restoration,” Acy Cooper, the president of the Louisiana Shrimp Association tells me when I find him repairing his boat in Venice, the southernmost harbor on the Mississippi River. Cooper is a third-generation shrimper; he knows that if the marshland is not saved, that chain will come to an end. The necessary gradient of water will disappear, replaced by salty ocean. So Cooper supports some projects—using dredged mud to build marsh, for instance—but worries that the diversion will make the water near Venice too fresh, pushing shrimp out into the Gulf. The small boats used by many shrimpers can’t travel that far. He compares the diversion to a gun held to his head: “Either let me die slowly and I can adapt, or you just pull the trigger and kill me now. That’s the way I feel about it,” he says. “If you pull the trigger now, I’m dead.” The Army Corps’ draft environmental impact statement, released in spring 2021, confirmed many of Cooper’s worst fears,,, Big article, big read. >click to read< 19:22
Coast Guard medevacs man from fishing vessel near Cold Bay, Alaska
The Coast Guard medevac’d a 28-year-old man from the fishing vessel F/V Phoenix approximately 160 nautical miles northwest of Cold Bay, Alaska, Sunday. Watchstanders at the 17th Coast Guard District command center received a report at 11:24 p.m. Saturday from the Phoenix crew that a crewmember was suffering severe abdominal pain. A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew from forward operating location Cold Bay arrived on scene at 6:13 a.m. Sunday, hoisted the patient, and transported the man to Cold Bay to an awaiting Guardian flight who transported him to Anchorage, Alaska for further medical care. “The aircrews we have deployed to our seasonal forward operating locations help us to respond to these types of cases throughout Alaska,” said Lt. Lindsay Wheeler 17th District command duty officer. 16:23
Shark Stories Stir the Memories for Retired Lobsterman Brian Sawyer
The story of a shark attacking a seal off Pemaquid Point earlier in July caused little alarm but prompted a great deal of interest among local readers. New Harbor native Brian Sawyer took a particular interest, having played a role in a shark story that made the front page of The Lincoln County News in 1961.The front page of the July 27, 1961 edition featured a photo of the shark, hanging upside down at what is now Shaw’s Wharf in New Harbor. According to the article, “Man-eater caught off New (Harbor),” Gerald “Jerry” and Douglas Brackett harpooned the shark and hauled it aboard their 
28-foot lobster boat following a five-hour struggle. Bernard E. Skeed, then director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Biological Laboratory at Boothbay Harbor, confirmed it was a great white shark, “not common in Maine waters.” “Doug Brackett harvested it.” Sawyer said, who was 14 years old at the time. Photos, >click to read< 12:48
Facing industry challenges, Harpswell Lobster Boat Races take center stage
Thousands gathered to unwind at the Harpswell Lobster Boat Races. “Today is a day for them to just kick back and relax,” said Mary Coombs, a committee member of the Harpswell Lobster Boat Races. Heats broken down by boat size, and cash prizes awaiting the winners. In 2020 the races were cancelled and last year weather dampened the festivities. “This year we moved it to Mitchell Field so we’ve got more space, more people can view it by land and there’s just more energy behind it,” said Coombs. Video, photos, >click to read< 10:14
Islanders pitch in after P.E.I. ferry fire, offer up homes to stranded passengers
Ferry crossings between Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island will be cancelled again Monday as officials grapple with the aftermath of a fire aboard the MV Holiday Island. The fourth day of cancellations during a period of peak demand comes as a blow to the region’s tourism industry as it continues to recover from pandemic shutdowns. Yet it also shines a light on the ability for Maritimers to come together in difficult times, with even the chief executive of the ferry company opening his door to stranded passengers. Prince Edward Islanders rallied together over the weekend to help passengers left stranded,,, >click to read< 09:23
Body found on West Island, believed to be missing fisherman
The U.S. Coast Guard says a body found on West Island yesterday, is believed to be the body of a missing fisherman. Around 1:30 a.m. on July 1st, crew members of the commercial fishing vessel F/V Susan Rose noticed one person wasn’t on board, according to Petty Officer Ryan Noel. F/V Susan Rose is a 77-foot fishing vessel based out of Point Judith that normally has four crew members on board, Noel said. Massachusetts State Police and the Medical Examiner are investigating. The victim has not been officially identified at this time. >click to read< 20:26
Injured F/V Patricia Lee fisherman medevac’d 200 miles southwest of Dutch Harbor, Alaska
The Coast Guard medevaced a man from a fishing boat Tuesday approximately 200 miles southwest of Dutch Harbor. A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Kodiak hoisted an injured fisherman from the 117-foot, commercial fishing vessel F/V Patricia Lee at about 11:50 p.m. He was flown to Dutch Harbor and placed in the care of LifeMed personnel. Watchstanders in the 17th District command center in Juneau received the initial request for the the medevac from the F/V Patricia Lee at about 4 p.m. Tuesday. The master reported a crew member had sustained serious injuries to his pelvic region after becoming pinned by a crab pot about 225 miles west of Dutch Harbor. >Video, click to read< 15:39
Evidence of invasive green crab that could wreak havoc on Alaska fisheries found near Metlakatla
An invasive species that could wreak havoc on commercial and subsistence fisheries has been found in Alaska for the first time. Biologists with Metlakatla Indian Community say they found the first evidence of European green crabs on Annette Island, near the southern tip of Southeast Alaska, in mid-July. NOAA Fisheries biologist Linda Shaw says they’re a particular threat to fellow shellfish. “They compete with juvenile Dungeness crab. They are shellfish predators, so things like clams, they would directly eat,” she said. “And then there’s also anecdotal information from British Columbia that they predate on juvenile salmon.” >click to read< 11:49
Day without Ahi affects restaurants and customers
A Manoa Poke Shop is back in business after an Ahi shortage forced them to close for a day earlier this week. “I got a call from the guy who goes to the auction for us. He said there was no boats in that day. So, I called my staff and told them there’s no boats, which means there’s no fish. Which means we are closed that day,” said Off the Hook Poke Market co-owner JP Lam. “We’ve seen this maybe once a year. Maybe less than that. Maybe 3 or 4 times over the last 5 years.,” said Lam. “I wouldn’t think the cause was ocean conditions or atmospheric conditions. It’s more of the uncertainty of fishing itself. The fish are not always where we think they are,” said Hawaii Longline Fishing Association President Sean Martin. >click to read< 09:50
Man Sees What He Pulled Out of Water, Frantically Calls Wife
A lobsterman got a major surprise when he caught a bright blue lobster during a fishing trip. Wayne Nickerson is a commercial lobsterman from Plymouth, Massachusetts, and was behind the wheel of his boat when the lobster’s incredible color caught his eye. ABC News reports that the first thing he did was call his wife, telling her to meet him at the dock as soon as possible. “He let out a loud exclamation of excitement,” Oddly, this is Nickerson’s second time catching a blue lobster. >click to read< 08:05
Old shrimp boat goes down in Battery Creek in Port Royal
An old shrimp boat has sunk while anchored in Battery Creek near the city-owned dock in Port Royal, which is in the process of evicting boats, many of them in disrepair, in order to build a new dock. The F/V Josie N had been tied to the Port Royal dock, but recently it was moved and anchored about 100 yards out in a channel. “It must have gone down overnight,” Van Willis, Port Royal’s town manager, said early Friday afternoon. The owner, 
he said, was on his way to the location with another shrimper to bring it back up and “drag it out of here.” Includes a video, Woody Collins knew William North for years. He walked the shrimp docks in Port Royal on Wednesday recalling the man the Lowcountry came to know as “Captain Billy.” >click to read< 15:58
Santa Barbara oil spill $230M class action settlement
Plains All American Pipeline agreed to pay $230 million to resolve claims its negligence caused a 2015 oil spill near Santa Barbara, California. The settlement benefits two classes: the Fisher Class and the Property Class: Under the terms of the settlement, class members in both classes are eligible for cash payments. Payments to Fisher Class members will be determined based on their landing records obtained from the CDFW. Each class member will be eligible for a share of the settlement fund proportional to the number of fish landed or purchased. Payments to the Property Class members will be determined based on the severity of oiling experienced by each coastal property, >click to read< 10:47
Crackpot Alert! Replace Lobsterman Statue With Lobster Crushing a Trap, PETA Urges Mayor
“Lobsters feel pain and fear, and since they can’t go into shock to escape pain, they suffer greatly when they’re dragged out of their watery homes to be boiled or broiled alive,” says PETA President Ingrid Newkirk. “PETA urges the mayor to greenlight a statue that would shellebrate these remarkable sea beings for who they are, not for how humans exploit them.” PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat”—opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. >click to read the foolish fetishism< 09:24
Fishermen fear Hudson Canyon sanctuary will mean more restrictions
The canyon is a prolific fishing ground that starts about 90 miles offshore from Manasquan Inlet and is in the crosshairs of a public debate over the sanctuary designation, which would give NOAA more leverage managing the resources of the largest submarine canyon off the Atlantic Coast. Commercial vessels fish for tunas, squid and lobster, while the state’s recreational fishing fleet of for-hire vessels continually run anglers out to the canyon to catch fresh tuna and tilefish. “We’re probably the greatest and strictest fishery management country in the world. Why do we need this extra layer on top of everything we have now?” said Jason Bahr, a seafood wholesaler and vice president of Blue Water Fisherman’s Association, a trade group of commercial longline fishermen who fish for pelagic species such as tuna and swordfish in the Hudson Canyon. >click to read< 07:50
Share this post