The union representing fish harvesters and plant workers in Newfoundland and Labrador wants the provincial government to immediately get involved in its ongoing dispute with processors. According to FFAW-Unifor, there is an escalating crisis affecting crab processing workers across the province and those plant workers have been waiting for more than a month to arrange a meeting with provincial Fisheries, Forestry and Agriculture Minister Lisa Dempster. The union has accused companies that are members of the Association of Seafood Producers (ASP), the entity that represents the province’s fish processing businesses, of limiting interprovincial competition for fish harvesters. This, according to FFAW-Unifor, has led to reduced hours of work at plants and economic hardships for the workers employed by processors. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:20
Category Archives: Featured
Retail prices on sockeye salmon holding fast after harvest of 40M reds
At the peak of the Alaska commercial sockeye salmon fishing season – with upwards of 40 million reds delivered to processors – prices for these nutritious, oil-rich reds are holding in the retail marketplace at $14.99 a pound and up. Copper River reds are still for sale at the online seafood shop FishEx in Anchorage for $56.95 a pound but gone from the Pike Place Fish Market where a week ago they could still be purchased for $39.95 a pound. Cordova processors 60° North Seafoods and Drifters Fish are still a good bet for delivery as well for Copper River reds. Among the other online purveyors of Copper River reds was Northwest Wild Foods in Burlington, Washington, offering two fillets of reds, averaging 1.75 pounds each, for $99.99. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:30
Rum, Fisheries and a Sculpture Garden: The Quiet Winners in Trump’s Big Bill
When President Trump signed his marquee domestic policy bill this month, the central tenets of his domestic agenda — slashing taxes and cutting deeply into social safety net programs — became law. So did a behemoth number of other narrowly targeted, little-noticed measures — some that might have seemed random — that hitched a ride on the legislation, several tucked in at the last minute. There are tax breaks for the rum industry in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, Alaska whalers and metallurgical coal; $300 million to help pay for protecting Mar-a-Lago and Mr. Trump’s other homes; lease increases for two major Washington-area airports; $150 million to help celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States; and $10 billion for space exploration missions to the moon. Republicans even crammed in the major elements of a stalled farm bill, with provisions that benefit big and wealthy farmers, especially those in the South. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 19: 22
The June salmon harvest in the Southern Alaska Peninsula was the worst in 4 decades
Last month’s commercial salmon harvest in the southern Alaska Peninsula was the lowest in four decades, according to the state’s preliminary data for the management region known as Area M. According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, fishermen in the Shumagin Islands and South Unimak areas harvested about 720,000 salmon through the end of June — the second-lowest June on record since the 1980s. Technically, the lowest harvest occurred in 2001, but Area Management Biologist Matthew Keyse said that year was an outlier due to a price dispute that kept many boats off the water. “There was almost no fishing, so I would say, with fishing occurring, this is probably the lowest harvest in June,” he said. more, CLICK TO READ<< 08:44
Is it time for a UK training vessel?
It’s not news that we face an employment crisis across the industry – and, arguably, no surprise. Everywhere we turn these days seems to bring some new threat or criticism. If it is not spatial squeeze or a lack of fish, it is accusations from armchair warriors about fishermen destroying the environment. Little wonder that many of the generation entering the UK workforce wouldn’t give fishing a second look. Huge efforts have been made to encourage new entrants, to reach out to schools, to counter the negative messages about ‘greedy’ fishermen, to highlight the many positives about a career at sea. These efforts are to be applauded, but still, we face a recruitment crisis. The numbers speak for themselves. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:3
Charleston commercial fishing legend seeks support for repairs
Ask just about any chef or professional in the food and beverage industry in Charleston who exemplifies what it means to be a Lowcountry fisherman, and the answer likely will be Mark Marhefka of Abundant Seafood. Marhefka and his wife, Kerry, opened Abundant Seafood in 2006 and won a James Beard Leadership Award in 2020 for their sustainable fishing practices. Marhefka is known as one of the best fishermen in the country and he is as humble, hardworking and conscientious as they come. On June 28, the unthinkable happened. While fishing 50 miles off the coast, his boat – the Amy Marie – was struck by lightning. Marhefka and his crew were uninjured, but the boat lost all electronic and other critical navigation equipment. The team was able to make the grueling 20-hour journey back to land and once there, the Amy Marie was sent to a shipyard for an assessment. The cost for repairs and new equipment as well as the income lost while out of commission is exorbitant. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 17:49
‘Woke nonsense!’ British fishermen face being ‘decolonised’ as museum accused of pushing ‘patriotic guilt’
Britain’s North Sea fishermen are set to be decolonised as a museum seeks to address possible links between the heritage and “colonialism and racism”. The Grimsby Fishing Heritage Centre is reviewing its collection of material on decimated fishing fleets, assessing objects related to the work of the trawlermen. The centre will look at items used by the fishermen to determine whether they were “problematic”. Connections to slavery will be analysed by the centre, which plans on focusing on information of individuals from diverse backgrounds and “protected characteristic groups”. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:19
Noem honors Coast Guard heroes in Kerrville ceremony
Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem presented military medals Friday to four U. S. Coast Guard aircrew members for their heroism during catastrophic flash flooding at Camp Mystic on July 4, 2025. The ceremony recognized the courage, judgment and devotion to duty demonstrated by the aircrew members in the face of danger. “This is what the men and women of the Coast Guard do,” said Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem. “The selfless courage of this crew embodies the spirit and mission of the U.S. Coast Guard.” “In the face of devastating floods in Texas, this Coast Guard aircrew’s courageous actions saved lives and reaffirmed our vital role in protecting American communities,” said Adm. Kevin Lunday, acting commandant, U.S. Coast Guard. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:24
Miller: We’re in danger of losing our Texas Gulf Shrimp industry
After a few words of prayer, a Catholic priest ended his comments with, “Bless this Fleet.” And this marks the traditional kickoff of the Texas Gulf Shrimp season that usually starts each July 15. For the Rev. Joe Flores, it was a day of celebration, wishful thinking and optimism. Flores presided at the traditional “Blessing of the Fleet” held every year to pray for the Brownsville/Port Isabel shrimp industry for a bountiful crop despite the adversities it has been facing over the years. Cheap imports, whether farmed or not, high operation costs, older trawlers and harder to get deckhands, have contributed to the demise of this once healthy enterprise. And that is something Texas Department of Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller knows well. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:41
Massachusetts lobster fight: Cape Cod fishers say they’re being unfairly punished
Cape Cod lobstermen are entangled in regulations they fear will risk their livelihoods, clashing with fishery officials who argue that the rules are meant to keep Massachusetts’ lobster industry competitive. The state Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission has approved emergency regulations slated to expire later this month as a final rule, keeping the Bay State aligned with carapace and vent size requirements in New Hampshire and Maine. Roughly 30 lobstermen who are restricted to fishing in state waters around Outer Cape Cod are steaming over how the regulations don’t include a repeal of a tougher V-notch lobster possession standard. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:21
Ocean City lawsuit to block offshore wind farm clears hurdle
Ocean City’s lawsuit seeking to block an offshore wind farm cleared a procedural hurdle last week, as a federal judge declined to dismiss most of the plaintiffs’ claims. Ocean City and nearly three dozen co-defendants sued the U.S. Department of the Interior and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in October after BOEM gave final approval for US Wind to build more than 100 turbines off the coast of Maryland and Delaware. The plaintiffs – which also include Worcester County; Fenwick Island, Delaware; and environmental, fishing and business groups – say the project threatens endangered species and the tourist economy. In a July 2 opinion, U.S. District Judge Stephanie Gallagher allowed five of the plaintiffs’ claims to proceed, dismissing the other three. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:39
New Jersey native on first rescue mission with Coast Guard helps save 165 Texas flood victims: ‘American hero’
A Coast Guard rescue swimmer is already being hailed as an “American hero” after his very first mission — helping to save the lives of 165 Texas flash-flood victims. “This is what it’s all about, right? Like, this is why we do the job,” said Scott Ruskan, 26, a New Jersey native and former KPMG accountant, to The Post after his work in central Texas. Bryan Winchell, a helicopter search and rescue technician with Texas Task Force 1, a joint partnership between the Texas Army National Guard and the Texas A&M Engineering Extension Service, called the Coast Guard looking to get boots on the ground and in the air for an emergency rapid response near central Texas. “That’s a little bit outside our area of operation normally, but people were in danger, and we’re a good asset to try and help people out, and these guys were asking for help, so that’s kind of what we do,” Ruskan said. Video, photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:16
Three commercial fishermen rescued after vessel overturns in the Ugashik District
The fishing vessel F/V Happy Hooker overturned in the Ugashik District over the weekend. Alaska Wildlife troopers rescued the three fishermen on board and no injuries were reported. According to an Alaska Wildlife Troopers dispatch, troopers were notified at 2:54 p.m. Saturday (6/28) that Happy Hooker was stranded in the river’s shallows near Pilot Point. On board was Terry Ostling, a sixth-generation Bristol Bay fisherman from Cathlamet, Washington, and his crew members Joe Mackey and Brandon Cox, also from Cathlamet. Ostling’s sister, Tracy Ostling-Tomlinson, says high winds and heavy surf contributed to the accident. She says the boat had a full load of fish when the net came out of its reel and fell over the side of the boat as a wave hit. Links, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:51
The New England Fisherman: Entwined with America
The history of New England fishermen is one that is passed down over early morning small talk at portside breakfast joints, through faded pictures taped to the walls of institutional tackle shops, online message boards, and a fair share of lies and tall tales whispered on the docks and beaches. Stories of legendary catches, adventures, pitfalls and friendships tell the history of the local fisherman. Beneath layers of flannel, surf tops and splash gear, one can sense a patriotic twang from these watermen, and for good reason. The history of New England fishing extends much further beyond fish tales traded over morning coffee—to the birth of our nation. When war broke out in the American colonies, not only soldiers took to the muskets—many fishermen did, too. The salt-caked New England mariners spent their days battling the elements, but when the British Empire tightened its grip upon oceanic thoroughfares, these wind-whipped men found their calloused hands destined for guns and axes rather than linen hand lines and hooks. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:22
State Rep. Chip Brown expresses frustration after seafood labeling law fails to be enforced
State Rep. Chip Brown (R-Hollingers Island) is voicing strong frustration over what he describes as a failure by the Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) to enforce a law requiring restaurants and grocery stores to disclose the country of origin for seafood sold in Alabama. The legislation, House Bill 66, was passed and signed into law in 2024. The bill, sponsored by Brown and State Sen. David Sessions (R-Grand Bay), mandates that food service establishments and retailers label whether seafood is wild-caught or farm-raised and whether it is domestic or imported. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:15
Bass Harbor Lobster Boat Races showcase speed, skill and simpatico
Despite persistent fog, the 2025 Bass Harbor Lobster Boat Races went off without a hitch, and spectators who gathered on land and on the water to cheer on participants were treated to a wonderful day at the races. “Our vision of a fun weekend for locals to connect and celebrate really came to life. All three days had a great turnout,” said Lobster Boat Committee secretary Kat Murphy, referring to not just the boat races but the three-day festival surrounding the races known as the Backside Blast. The Fastest Lobster Boat race was won by Mariena Beal and her boat My Turn. Carroll Staples won the Bass Harbor’s Fastest Lobster Boat race in Goose, followed by Travis Lunt in Steppin’ Up and Patrick Hanley in Miss Amelia. 9 Photos. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:38
The Perfect Storm: 25 Years Later, the Disaster Drama Still Makes Waves
It’s been 25 years since The Perfect Storm swept away moviegoers, the gripping disaster drama that brought the tragic true story of the Andrea Gail to the big screen. Released on June 30, 2000, the film was based on Sebastian Junger’s best-selling 1997 non-fiction book of the same name, which detailed the real-life events of the 1991 “perfect storm” that claimed the lives of six fishermen from Gloucester, Massachusetts. Directed by Wolfgang Petersen, The Perfect Storm stood out at the time for its intense visual effects, massive set pieces, and a grounded human story at its core. The movie follows the crew of the Andrea Gail, a commercial fishing vessel, as it finds itself trapped at sea when a rare combination of weather systems collides off the North Atlantic coast. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:56
John’s Bay Boat Company and the Next Chapter
Let’s dispense with the bad news first. Peter Kass, the last full-time designer and builder of traditional plank-on-frame lobster boats, who a lot of people say is the greatest wooden lobster boat builder of all time, is retiring. After more than four decades constructing and designing beautiful lobster hulls, all too often 
working seven days a week, the 65-year-old Kass is calling it a career. Since opening John’s Bay Boat Company in 1983, Kass—working alongside his small but highly skilled crews—has built 79 traditional wooden boats, the great majority of them eye-catching lobster boats. “It’s sad because it’s the end of an era,” says Rich Armstrong, a serial buyer of Kass boats. Armstrong bought a used 40-foot Peter Kass and was so taken with it he commissioned Kass to build him two more—a 42-footer and a 44-footer. All three boats are still in the Armstrong family. “They’re beautiful and they last forever,” he says. “[The retirement] is unfortunate, but the guy has worked 60-plus hours a week for the last 40 years, so I understand.” Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:38
This is too cool! With simple tools and a big field, fishermen mend purse seine to harvest baitfish
There is camaraderie in the air early one May morning in a field off Knight Way in West Harpswell as Mark Cota, Larry and Avery Anderson, and Alan Auclair patiently crisscross a purse seine, a type of fishing net, looking for holes to mend. Between the four, they have more than 100 years of experience in commercial fishing. Stretched out, the net would cover nearly four football fields. And despite the march of technology, their tools are simple netting needles, knives and twine. With practiced finesse, their hands rhythmically find holes, lace the strands together and move on to the next. As far back as history can be traced, fishing has been a core part of Harpswell’s fabric.11 Photos, links, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:40
A Fisherman’s Life – A retired commercial fisherman reminisces about seven decades on the water.
After a lifelong career as a commercial fisherman, Capt. Bob Smith has swallowed the anchor and is on the beach, firmly aground. As self-imposed as his retirement may be, it doesn’t make the shift any easier for the plain-spoken Smith, who has been wresting a living from southern New England waters for 76 of his 88 years. “Look at my hands,” says Smith, holding them out as if there is something wrong with them. “There are no blisters. No cuts.” Smooth and 
unblemished, the hands strike him as those of a stranger. Smith misses the tough, calloused mitts that belonged to the working fisherman. Smith loved salt ponds, the sea and the life of a fisherman. He could mend twine, splice wire, work a pair of tongs, bullrake quahogs, harpoon swordfish and run a dragger day after day, season after season. In addition to groundfish, lobster and clams, the waterman at one time harvested and sold mummies, fiddler crabs, eels, bay scallops and wrack weed, for which he received $1 a bushel. His mind remains sharp with names, dates, figures. It’s his body that is giving out. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:55
Donald Trump’s disdain for wind energy could create windfall for Nova Scotia: experts
U.S. President Donald Trump’s opposition to renewable energy could create a “golden opportunity” for Nova Scotia’s fledgling offshore wind energy industry, a leading international consulting firm says. Aegir Insights, based in Denmark, recently presented a webinar that examined Premier Tim Houston’s 10-year plan to license enough offshore turbines to produce 40 gigawatts of electricity. Even though the province requires only 2.4 GW, Houston’s Wind West plan calls for selling excess power to Canada and, potentially, the United States. Experts say such a project would require construction of about 4,000 offshore turbines that would generate as much electricity as China’s offshore turbines produced last year. Scott Urquhart, co-founder and CEO of Aegir Insights, said Wind West has grabbed the attention of the global offshore wind industry. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:56
NC’s shrimp industry is shrinking. Faced with a ban, it made its presence known.
After galvanizing an industry, sparking death threats for state lawmakers and creating a divide between the House and Senate, a bill prohibiting shrimp trawling in North Carolina’s sounds was the topic of the day on Tuesday when hundreds of shrimpers flooded the Legislative Building to oppose what they called “Shrimpgate.” House Bill 442 originally sought to expand the commercial and recreational fishing season for flounder and red snapper, which was widely praised. But an amendment was tacked on before a June 17 committee to prohibit shrimp trawling within a half mile of North Carolina’s coast. The amendment faced limited opposition in the Senate, which adopted the revised bill. Photos, Video clips, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:09
Brixham Trawler event returns in style after five-year break
The revamped Port of Brixham Trawler event has been hailed a success after returning with a twist after a five-year break. There were 24 independently owned trawlers taking part in the event with some fishing boats from neighboring ports. To fit in with safety regulations, what was previously the trawler race became a time trial, with the overall winner the one who gets nearest to their stated handicapped timing, and numbers on boats were restricted. This didn’t stop the 24 fishing vessels from taking to the seas from Brixham around the Bay on Saturday as part of a special celebration weekend to raise money for the Fishermen’s Mission. Links,30 Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:44
Offshore Wind? Pfft! Construction starts on small modular reactor at Darlington Nuclear site
Ontario Power Generation (OPG) has broken ground on the first of four small modular reactors (SMRs) at the Darlington nuclear site, marking a significant milestone in Canada’s clean energy transition and setting the stage for the first operational SMR in the G7. Once complete, the first reactor — a GE Hitachi BWRX-300 — will produce enough reliable, carbon-free electricity to power approximately 300,000 homes. The Darlington New Nuclear Project will eventually include four units, generating a combined 1,200 megawatts (MW) — enough to power 1.2 million homes — and help address the province’s growing electricity needs in the coming decades. Puotos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 20:47
HB 442 and the imperiled future of N.C. shrimping By Morty Gaskill
As many of the readers of this publication are aware, there is currently a bill before the NC House of Representatives, HB442, that would ban shrimp trawling in all inshore waters out to half a mile from the beach. Considering that the vast majority of shrimp in North Carolina are harvested within these areas, if passed, this bill will all but end shrimping within North Carolina waters. In this letter, I intend to explore how and why this bill has made it this far, along with why the logic behind the bill is faulty and as such should not be made into law. HB 442 originally concerned only restoring access to flounder and red snapper. After this bill was passed in March, it moved to the NC Senate for consideration. It was only on Monday last week that an amendment to this bill was added on, which would prohibit all shrimp trawling in the sounds and ocean out to half a mile. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:23
Blown Off Course: The Case Against Wind Power | Opinion
President Trump’s declaration on January 15, 2025, that no new wind turbines will be built under his administration and that existing ones should be dismantled, was not rhetorical bluster. It was a long-overdue recognition of wind energy’s central contradiction: its green image masks an environmentally destructive, economically unsound, and technologically brittle reality. His administration’s immediate actions, including the revocation of offshore wind leases and the freeze on onshore wind permits, have reoriented federal energy policy around a single principle: energy must be reliable, economical, and genuinely sustainable. Wind energy fails on all counts. The mythology of wind as a clean, renewable panacea has been driven more by ideology than evidence. Manufacturing a single wind turbine requires hundreds of tons of concrete and steel, mined, transported, and forged through carbon-intensive processes. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:21
Three Rescued After off Nantucket Off Nantucket Following Collision
Three fishermen were rescued early Wednesday morning following a collision at sea in thick fog that resulted in the sinking of the off Nantucket off Nantucket. The 55-foot F/V Triple Threat, out of Beverly, Mass., was approximately 23 nautical miles east of the island when its crew issued a mayday around 3:29 a.m. on Wednesday that was picked up by Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England. They stated the Triple Threat had collided with another vessel and was rapidly taking on water, according to Rajesh Harrilal, who handles external affairs for the Coast Guard’s District 1 office in Boston. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:29
Shrimp trawling amendment in proposed flounder/red snapper bill draws strong opposition in the Outer Banks
A bill in the North Carolina General Assembly, originally meant to restore flounder and red snapper seasons, could now target the shrimping industry. The Outer Banks community feels it could be detrimental to the fishing industry here. “A lot of my shrimp are caught inside the half mile in the ocean. I mean, that would just be total devastation for us,” said Robby Midgett, a longtime fisherman based out of Stumpy Point. “A lot of my shrimp are caught inside the half mile in the ocean. I mean, that would just be total devastation for us,” said Robby Midgett, a longtime fisherman based out of Stumpy Point. Robby Midgett’s entire life has consisted of being a fisherman based out of Stumpy Point, and his family history in the area goes back more than 200 years. “My whole life has been selling fish, shrimp, and crabs here,” said Midgett. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:28
Quota increase: DFO more than doubling total allowable catch for NL northern cod
One year after lifting the moratorium on the commercial northern cod fishery in Newfoundland and Labrador, the quota for the second season has been more than doubled. The increase from 18,000 metric tonnes to 38,000 metric tonnes, announced by the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) on Wednesday, June 18, is still a far cry from the heyday of the province’s iconic fishery. The restart of the commercial fishery one year ago also triggered Canada’s obligation to NAFO to provide foreign offshore fleets with a percentage of what was being made available to the domestic fishery. So, in addition to the 18,000 tonnes allocated to Canadian harvesters, foreign vessels were given 1,000 tonnes. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:20
Northern cod commercial fishery from Fisheries and Oceans Canada. >>CLICK TO READ<<
Dewey Hemilright advocates for US commercial fishing fleet
Dewey Hemilright has spent more than 30 years on the water as a commercial fisherman. Along the way he has become an outspoken, sometimes harsh critic of how commercial fishing is regulated in the United States. He is forceful in expressing his opinions, his language sometimes colorful, but the knowledge is deep, insightful and earned through a lifetime in the commercial fishing industry. He’s a longliner, fishing from his 36-foot-long boat, the F/V Tarbaby. Longlining has become the least environmentally harmful method of commercial fishing, although “25 years ago, it wasn’t, but for the U.S. now, we’re the Mother Teresa,” Hemilright said describing the improvements regulators demanded and the changes the fishing industry made — or at least the changes have been made in the U.S. fishing fleet, which is one of Hemilright’s biggest complaints. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:37
