Author Archives: borehead - Moderator
This N.L. fishing vessel endured stormy seas and heartbreak before it ever touched salt water
Sitting in a thick leather chair on the bridge of his newly launched fishing vessel this week, Matthew Petten has the look of a man who’s endured an ocean full of adversity. His eyes are heavy from a lack of sleep, many days of intense stress, and sadness over the fact that his father, noted Port de Grave fisherman Dwight Petten, is not at his side for a milestone moment in his life, the launch of what is likely the most expensive and largest fishing vessel ever built in Newfoundland and Labrador for the modern inshore sector. The impressive new craft is 27 metres long, nearly 10 metres wide, and weighs a stout 400 tonnes. It’s capable of holding 100,000 pounds of crab in refrigerated seawater tanks, has a million-dollar engine room, the latest electronics package, and can accommodate up to nine crew members. Video, photos, more. >>click to read<< 07:09
Lack of firefighting skills cited in sinking of Nova Scotia trawler that caught fire
The Transportation Safety Board says the 2021 sinking of a large fishing boat that caught fire off the south coast of Nova Scotia raises broad concerns about the lack of firefighting knowledge among crews in general. The independent agency released an investigation report Wednesday about the demise of the FV Atlantic Destiny, which had 31 crew members aboard when it was rocked by a catastrophic engine failure that sparked an explosion and fire on March 2, 2021. No one was injured by the blast and all crew members were safely evacuated from the 43-metre scallop trawler during a harrowing rescue operation in heaving seas about 200 kilometres south of Yarmouth. more, >>click to read<< 16:38
Charter/Commercial Fisherman Gilbert R. “Moon” Tillett of Wanchese, N.C., has passed away
Gilbert R. “Moon” Tillett crossed the bar for the last time on January 21, 2024. A native of Wanchese, he was born on December 17, 1929, to the late Leslie R. “Billie” Tillett and Lennie Basnight Tillett. Known as one of the original charter boat captains, Moon helped pave the way for what charter fishing is to the Outer Banks today. He ended this career in 1965 when he bought his first trawler, the Captain John Duke. He fished commercially up and down the East Coast from Massachusetts to Georgia. In 1975, he purchased another trawler, the Linda Gayle, and in 1977, he began a seafood business, the Moon Tillett Fish Company, selling seafood all over the world. In 1979, Moon purchased another trawler, the Gallant Fox. A strong advocate for the stabilization of Oregon Inlet, Moon spent many tireless hours alongside others trying to promote this cause. In 2012, he received the Living Legend Award. more, >>click to read<< 15:40
New Ice Machines Help Bolster Stonington Fishing Industry
“When the boats are fishing hard, each one will take 20 tons of ice per day, so we need the ice production,” said Gary Farrell, dockmaster of Stonington’s town dock, home to a commercial fishing fleet. “… Boats sit at the dock when they can’t get ice. You can’t go out and catch fish unless you got ice to put it on, so this is a big thing for us to get ahead of this.” On Monday, Farrell stood next to two new ice machines installed on the steel platform on the second floor of the dock’s icehouse, which are expected to alleviate the problem. Rob Smith, president of the Southeastern Connecticut Fisherman and Lobsterman Association, which rents the dock from the town, said the ice house was barely providing ice to all the boats in the Stonington fishing fleet — about 10 vessels total — and struggled to supply ice to other vessels. The 40-year-plus career fisherman keeps his vessel, the Carly Grace, a 54-foot dragger, in Stonington. Smith said the dock’s main revenue is selling fuel and ice. more, >>click to read<<14:16
Refinancing Clearwater loan worth millions in annual cash flow for Mi’kmaw owners
Mi’kmaw First Nations that own half of Canadian seafood giant Clearwater will finally start seeing multi-million dollar cash flows from their investment thanks to a loan refinancing that slashes interest payments. Their partner in the landmark deal, Premium Brands of Richmond, B.C., lent a coalition of seven Mi’kmaw First Nations about $240 million to cover their equity purchase of Clearwater in 2020. But the loan came with a hefty 10 per cent interest rate, according to the non-profit First Nations Financial Authority. Premium has agreed to refinance $100 million of that debt through the First Nations Financial Authority at its interest rate of 4.2 per cent, the authority said Tuesday. more, >>click to read<< 12:37
Fort Myers Beach shrimpers face uncertain waters post-Hurricane Ian – Captains point to imported shrimp
On San Carlos Island, just off Shrimp Boat Lane, the local shrimp fishing community is navigating troubled waters in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian. Even with their ships repaired, the challenges for these shrimpers are far from over. Henry Gore, a seasoned shrimp boat captain of over 40 years, tells us it’s the worst state he’s seen for the local shrimping industry. The decline is due to two main factors: the high cost of boat repairs, often exceeding $100,000, and the competition from internationally imported farm shrimp. Video, more, >>click to read<< 10:53
Fishing community rallying following fire at Ilwaco Landing
The fire at the Ilwaco Landing is likely to keep smoldering until Wednesday. However, the impact of the industrial fire could be felt in this fishing community for years. The fire destroyed several structures and more than 1,000 crab pots, according to Ilwaco Fire Chief Jeff Archer.“It’s a really big deal,” said George Pederson, skipper of the Judy S crab boat. “It’s the livelihood of the whole area.” He said crabbers from Washington, Oregon, and California are organizing donations to help crabbers get pots in the Pacific this year. Video, more, >>click to read<< 09:40
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 40′ H&H Marine Lobster Boat, 450 HP Cummins
To review specifications, information, and 15 photos’,>click here<, To see all the boats in this series, >click here< 08:18
Happy fourth birthday Brexit!
On January 31 it will be four short years since the UK officially left the EU. The end of 47 years of membership was marked by Boris Johnson with a party, at which English fizz, and canapes of Shropshire blue cheese, Scottish shortbread and British roast beef were served. The then PM, these days merely a disgraced former MP, told the gathered lackeys that “this is not the end, it is a beginning”. For once in his life, Johnson was telling the truth. January 31, 2020 marked the beginning of a disastrous period of national decline and humiliation. If you want to know just how bad it has been you just have to measure his claims then against reality now. more >>click to read<< 07:29
Maine Beer Co. donates $30,000 to Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association for storm recovery
Freeport’s Maine Beer Co. donated over $30,000 this weekend to the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association to help coastal communities address the aftermath of a pair of January storms that caused widespread damage and flooding. “We’re all very well aware of the record high tides that we’ve experienced over [that] weekend, and we’ve all read about the damage that has happened to our coastal communities,” said Maine Beer Co. CEO Steve Mills. “It seemed like a very natural fit to partner up [with the MCFA].” The funds will go to help fishermen and waterfront businesses clean up and rebuild, according to Susan Olcott, director of operations at MCFA. more, >>click to read<< 18:40
Change to minimum U.S. lobster size ‘a big jump,’ says P.E.I. marketing board
Pending increases in the legal size of lobster that can be sold in the U.S. are something to watch, says the chair of the Lobster Fishers of P.E.I. Marketing Board. But Charlie McGeoghegan says it likely won’t be as much of a problem as some other groups in the Maritimes fear. Studies of the state of the lobster stock on the Eastern Seaboard have triggered an automatic increase in the size of lobster that can be harvested for the U.S. market. The studies found a decline in the number of young lobsters, and the change is designed to give them more time to mature and reproduce. Currently, U.S. fishermen must throw back any lobster that has a carapace (the hard shell extending from the eyes to the end of the tail) measuring under 82 millimetres. In January 2025, that will increase to 84 millimetres, and it will go up another two millimetres in 2027. Photos, more, >>click to read<< 13:31
Fishermen urged to take part in medical exemptions consultation
Banff and Buchan MP David Duguid has urged fishermen to take part in an industry-wide consultation to explore medical exemptions for crews operating on vessels 10 metres and under. Mr Duguid has been in discussions with the UK Government to highlight concerns about the impact of medical certificates on lone workers and small businesses around the north-east coast. In November 2023, regulations came into effect requiring fishermen working on small UK-flagged vessels to have a certificate of medical fitness. The UK Government, which already grants concessions for factors such as eyesight, diabetes and BMI, has worked to support those who can still fish but would otherwise be unduly forced ashore. more, >>click to read<< 11:10
Vessel Review: Daystar – North Sea Prawn Trawler Delivered to Scottish Owner
UK boatbuilder Parkol Marine Engineering has handed over a new trawler to fishing boat owner and skipper Stephen West based in Fraserburgh on Scotland’s east coast. The 25.09- by eight-metre Daystar replaces an earlier, similarly named but slightly smaller Parkol-built trawler in the owner’s fleet. The newbuild was designed by SC McAllister and Co for twin-rig trawling of prawns in the North Sea as was the case with its 2017-built predecessor. Photos, more, >>click to read<< 08:25
Frustrated fishermen get good news: good rockfishing, salmon fishing to return in 2024
With an oversized head, bulbous eyes and narrow body, the quillback rockfish looks like a golden bullfrog armed with a quiver full of arrows on its back. Few sport fishermen want to keep, much less eat, the famously sharp and ouchy and skinny quillback, which are reeled by those seeking meatier rockfish. But it was the quillback, which is often tossed back into the sea, whose population plummet caused a shutdown that impacted the entire rockfish industry, both for commercial and for party boats operating out of Mendocino Coast’s Noyo Harbor. That mysterious plunge in quillback numbers cut off all near-shore rockfish fishing last year, causing an organized outcry by fishermen and a new plan for 2024. Photos, more, >>click to read<< 07:15
Fire devastates Ilwaco seafood facility
A massive fire broke out at a crab-landing facility on Monday, inflicting significant damage and destroying fishing gear ahead of the commercial Dungeness crab season. No injuries were reported and the cause of the fire is unknown. However, witnesses said that hundreds of crab harvesting pots stacked in preparation for the upcoming opener of the commercial Dungeness crab season were destroyed in the blaze. The commercial Dungeness season, among the most lucrative fisheries, is set to open Feb. 1 following multiple delays. more, >>click to read<< 06:15
Coast Guard, good Samaritans rescue 4 people after fishing vessel capsized near Kodiak
Coast Guard Sector Anchorage watchstanders received a report over VHF channel 16 at approximately 4:31p.m. from the crew of F/V Alaska Rose, a 46-foot fishing vessel, stating their vessel was taking on water. Watchstanders issued an urgent marine information broadcast on VHF channel 16 and launched a Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew. The helicopter aircrew arrived on scene at approximately 4:56 p.m., located one person on the overturned vessel, hoisted them, and transferred them to Air Station Kodiak where they were met by local EMS. The crew of Good Samaritan vessel Kylia arrived on scene at approximately 5:02p.m., rescued three people from the water, and transferred them to Kodiak where they were met by local EMS. more, >>click to read<< 21:12
Liberal MHA and cabinet minister Derrick Bragg dead at 59
Seven months after announcing he had been diagnosed with tongue cancer, Derrick Bragg, a Newfoundland and Labrador cabinet minister and MHA for Fogo Island-Cape Freels, has died. Premier Andrew Furey announced Bragg’s death with a statement early Monday afternoon. “It is with a heavy heart that I acknowledge and honour the passing of the honourable Derrick Bragg. On behalf of the people of the district of Fogo Island-Cape Freels, the entire House of Assembly, the government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the people of this province, everyone who was lucky enough to work with, be a friend of, or simply know Derrick, including my family, I send my deepest condolences,” said Furey in his statement, issued shortly after 1:30 p.m. on Monday. “To his family and all those feeling the weight of this loss, may the memories of a life well lived comfort and console you in these hard moments.” more, >>click to read<< 17:42
Final Incidental Take Regulations for the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Commercial (CVOW-C) Project, Offshore Virginia
On Monday, January 22, 2024, NOAA Fisheries published the final incidental take regulations related to Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Commercial (CVOW-C) Project. The effective dates for these regulations are February 5, 2024 through February 4, 2029. Pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act, these regulations will govern the “take” of small numbers of marine mammals exposed to elevated underwater noise generated by the project’s activities over a five-year period. NOAA Fisheries has determined the take that may be authorized under the final rule will have a negligible impact on all affected marine mammal species and stocks. more, >>click to read<< 14:50
UNE launches novel research initiative to decode DNA of rare, multicolored lobsters
With the donation of two, new rare-colored lobsters, the University of New England has launched an ambitious research project to decode the genetic basis for to decode the genetic basis. A lobster typically appears brown or “mottled” in appearance, though in rare cases they can come in various colors, including blue, yellow, orange, red, and even white or albino. Researchers say the precise genetic mechanisms responsible for these extraordinary variations remain largely unknown. UNE’s Markus Frederich, Ph.D., professor of marine sciences, is hoping to change that. Photos, more, >>click to read<< 13:15
Encouraging results from inshore fish survey
Survey catches of cod in the inshore waters around Shetland last year were at their best for five years, fishing leaders say. The record squid catch rate observed in inshore waters in 2022 was also surpassed, according to scientists from UHI Shetland. This has led to suggestion that there is a growing opportunity to diversify into a targeted squid fishery – although this may need government support. Shetland Fishermen’s Association executive officer Daniel Lawson said: “Given how important inshore waters are to the Shetland fisheries ecosystem, and how vital it is for the future of fishing that nursery grounds show healthy amounts and sizes of young fish, these are encouraging results, particularly for cod. more, >>click to read<< 11:09
Well known and successful Gloucester Fisherman Edmund W. Lakeman has passed away
Edmund W. Lakeman passed away unexpectedly and peacefully in Port Charlotte, FL on Sunday, January 14, 2024. Ned was a well-known and successful commercial fisherman out of Gloucerter, MA and Portland, ME. fishing with his four sons and many others over decades. he was predeceased by his wife, Jacqueline, in April. He was also predeceased by his two sons Larry and Fred. Edmund is survived Hy his sons John Lakeman of Florida and Ned Lakeman of Maine. Edmund has 7 grandchildren and many great-grandchildren, A private service will be announced this summer. >>Link<< 09:40
Do You Know Your Lowcountry? The Mosquito Fleet
For more than two centuries before refrigeration, these Black fishermen braved the winds, waves and weather to supply Charlestonians daily with fresh fish and seafood, a mainstay of local diets. The fleet’s work was hard and dangerous, requiring perseverance in the face of all kinds of weather, as memorialized in America’s first native opera, “Porgy and Bess.” So critical was their role, Revolutionary War Gen. Charles Cotesworth Pinckney donated a parcel of his waterfront property at the east end of Market Street to serve as their wharf. Believing there was safety in numbers, the boats departed, fished and returned together. Though undocumented, folklore credits one of Pinckney’s daughters with giving the fleet its nickname, as she noted one morning that the boats looked like a swarm of mosquitos coming over the horizon. photos, more, >>click to read<< 08:12
The bomb-hunters scouring UK waters for unexploded weapons
“We are finding unexploded ordnance and dealing with it on a daily basis,” Mr Gooderham says. “There are many that we don’t know about.” Despite being dropped – or dumped – decades ago, unexploded ordnance (UXO) continues to pose a very real danger to those working in our waters. “The real problem is when fishing vessels and dredgers encounter unexploded ordnance,” says Mr Gooderham. “That is when it becomes dangerous.” In 2020, fishing vessel Galwad-Y-Mor was thrown into the air when a World War Two bomb exploded 25 miles (40km) north of Cromer, Norfolk. Five crew members were injured, including one left blinded in one eye. photos, more, >>click to read<< 07:06
Inside the frigid effort to salvage a wrecked Maine fishing boat
With an environmental remediation and salvage plan in place and OK’d by several governmental agencies, landowners and the Coast Guard, workers toiled in sub-freezing temperatures, on icy rocks, trying to remove any reusable fishing equipment from the vessel before breaking it up and hauling away the pieces in dump trucks. The Tara Lynne II’s owner, David Osier, stood and watched, impassive, as his boat was shredded. “It wasn’t making money, anyway,” Osier said, shaking his head a little bit. “We were insured, but not enough.” Besides, the Bristol-based fisherman and business owner has other things to worry about. Osier has two more boats at sea right now, trying to catch enough fish to make a living. more, >>click to read<<12:21
Recreational, commercial shrimp season closes in state waters
Georgia’s commercial and recreational food shrimp season closed on Thursday, Jan. 18, and will open again in May. This season saw 184 licensed shrimp trawlers in Georgia’s water, 117 of which were Georgia residents. On average, these shrimpers harvested 16.788 pounds of shrimp tails per hour spent trawling, the highest catch per unit effort on record. The closure affects Georgia’s territorial waters three nautical miles out to sea. This year’s is the highest CPUE CRD has recorded. Diesel fuel prices continue to challenge Georgia’s shrimping industry, with the national average price of No. 2 diesel fuel sitting at $4.214, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. more, >>lick to read<< 19:20
Provincial Fisheries Minister “Not on the Ball” Ahead of 2024 Snow Crab Fishery: Cleary
A long-time advocate for inshore enterprise owners is accusing the provincial fisheries minister of not being on the ball ahead of the 2024 snow crab fishery, which is only two-and-a-half months away. Ryan Cleary, who recently stepped down as the Executive Director of SEA-NL, is now focusing his efforts on the creation of a fisheries co-op for local enterprise owners. He expected a decision from Minister Elvis Loveless on new fish processing licences, and the possible lifting of a cap on independent local processors, before Christmas but there’s been no word to-date. more, >>click to read<< 09:50
Read the final Coast Guard report on the 2019 sinking of F/V Scandies Rose in Gulf of Alaska
The U.S. Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation has issued its final report on the sinking of the 130-foot crab vessel Scandies Rose on New Year’s Eve, 2019, a tragedy that took the lives of five men on board, including the captain. Two crew members, Dean Gribble Jr., of Edmonds, Wash., and Jon Lawler, of Anchorage, survived by reaching a life raft in the roiling the Gulf of Alaska; they were rescued by U.S. Coast Guard near Sutwick Island off the Alaska Peninsula. Captain Gary Cobban, Jr. and his son David, Seth Rousseau-Gano, Arthur Ganacias, and Brock Rainey died. Lawler died in a motorcycle accident on Oct. 31, 2021, leaving Gribble as the sole survivor of the disaster. The Marine Board of Investigations found a major factor in the sinking was the captain’s judgment. An earlier report by the National Transportation Safety Board was more guarded in assigning blame. more, >>click to read<< 08:19
Collins vows to help rebuild Harpswell waterfront during visit
U.S. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, vowed to help secure funding to rebuild Harpswell’s storm-damaged working waterfront during a visit to the town on Saturday, Jan. 20. Collins, who visited Henry Allen’s Seafood on Lookout Point and two other heavily damaged sites on Bailey Island, called the destruction “heartbreaking.” “I want to do everything that I can to try to secure assistance, working with the governor, with the local community, with the rest of the (congressional) delegation, in order to assist these families in their time of need,” Collins said before a group of lobstermen and other waterfront workers and advocates during her visit. “The devastation is incredible.” phootos, more, >>click to read<< 07:15
Rep. Andy Harris hosts anti-wind hearing in Ocean City ahead of final authorization of US WIND project
US Representative Andy Harris hosted a hearing in Ocean City Saturday to push back against efforts from US WIND to develop offshore wind power off the coast of Ocean City. Rep. Harris tells 47ABC he is opposed to projects proposed both by Orsted and US WIND, but the event focused on the US WIND plan that is in its final approval stage from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). “Once you you drive these out, the pilings and you put these windmills up, they’re going to be there a long time,”Rep. Harris said. Ocean City Mayor Rick Meehan says they do not support it the measure moving forward, citing damage to their local industries. “You have the concerns of the commercial fishermen, the recreational fishermen, the environment, environmentalists, there are so many there are so many more questions than answers,” Meehan said. more, >>click to read<< 19:43
Amidst divide between set net and seiner fleets, Board of Fisheries passes gear changes for both
Alaska’s Board of Fisheries approved small changes for the local salmon set net and purse seine fleets at its meeting in Kodiak last week, January 9th – 12th, while opting to keep the status quo overall for the westside of the island’s management strategy. Of the 91 people who signed up to give public comments, roughly a third of them discussed seining or set nets (gillnets) and the proposals dealing with their respective fishing gear. Out of the 31 total proposals before the Board of Fisheries, about ten considered management changes between the gear groups. BOF oversees fisheries management within state waters. more, >>click to read<< 12:20
