Category Archives: Featured
Alaska fishermen and processing plants are in limbo as a state-backed seafood company teeters
The fishing fleet in the Southwest Alaska town of King Cove would have been harvesting Pacific cod this winter. But they couldn’t: Skippers had nowhere to sell their catch. The enormous plant that usually buys and processes their fish never opened for the winter season. The company that runs the plant, Peter Pan Seafoods, is facing six-figure legal claims from fishermen who say they haven’t been paid for catches they delivered months ago. King Cove’s city administrator says the company is behind on its utility payments. And now, residents fear the plant may stay closed through the summer salmon season, which would leave the village with just half of the revenue that normally funds its yearly budget. “We should be fishing right now,” said Ken Mack, a longtime King Cove fisherman. more, >>click to read<< 09:36
New Beamer Hits The Water
A year on from the launch of Interfish beam trawler Admiral Gordon at Parkol Marine Engineering’s facility in Middlesbrough, the yard has launched sister vessel Admiral Blake PH-440 for the same customer. The yard’s newbuild no 60, Admiral Blake was wheeled out of the fabrication shed and craned into the Tees. Sister vessel Admiral Gordon was delivered last year and was the first beam trawler over 20 metres in length to be delivered by a UK yard for more than thirty years. Photos, more, >>click to read<< 10:23
Exhibition celebrates town’s lifeboat heritage
A new exhibition celebrates the “very intrinsic part” a lifeboat station has played in the history of a town in the west of the island. The display at the Leece Museum in Peel features images of key figures over the years, the lifeboats that have served the station, and stories of rescues carried out. Tony Quirk of Peel Heritage Trust said the town, which was “known for its fishing industry over the years” was “never short of fishermen and sailors willing to go to sea and rescue the stricken boats”. The exhibition has been designed to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the RNLI. Photos, more, >>click to read<< 09:40
Fishermen displaced by offshore wind farm apply for compensation
Vineyard Wind, the offshore wind developer, is constructing a 62-turbine wind farm in the federal waters south of New Bedford, the nation’s most lucrative fishing port. Uncertainty around whether it’s safe to fish inside offshore wind farms have soured many fishermen to the industry, even as wind developers offer new sources of income to fishermen willing to take on surveying, navigation and safety work. At the meeting at the port authority, a recently retired fisherman consulting for Vineyard Wind acknowledged this tension upfront. “I know how a lot of people feel about offshore wind,” said Fred Mattera. “Believe me, if I could click my heels and it’ll all go away, I’d be clicking my heels like you can’t imagine.” “But it’s not,” Mattera said. more, >>click to read<< 08:29
Nantucket’s Commercial Scalloping Harvest Tops 8,000 Bushels
Nantucket’s commercial scalloping season comes to an end today, and the harvest by island fishermen will top 8,000 bushels for the first time since the 2019-20 season. Scallopers, along with officials from the Nantucket Shellfish Association and the town’s Natural Resources Department, all said they were pleased to see the final number above 8,000 bushels, a small but not insignificant increase over last season’s total of 7,329 bushels. Bruce Cowan was among the few scallopers still fishing on Thursday, and he returned to Old South Wharf with his five-bushel limit and a smile on his face just before noon. Even with heavy rain and wind gusts expected to top 40 mph today, he said he was still thinking about getting out there for the final day of the season. Photos, more, >>click to read<< 07:45
‘I’m not going to hang around:’ Some Maine lobstermen decide to quit over new regulations
Some lobstermen have decided the paperwork, and more harsh future regulations, aren’t worth it. Bill Coppersmith’s lobster boat is named the “Billy and Andy.” He stopped lobstering the day new reporting requirements started. “Forty-three years of doing it, I took the last of my gear out of the water on New Year’s Day. And I said, ‘That’s probably it,'” Coppersmith said. “It’s come to be too restrictive to go. It creates more work. And I can’t create any more revenue because of the restrictions they’re putting on here.” Lobstermen are also now required to keep a tracking device on board so the Atlantic States Commission can track their movements in the Gulf of Maine. Coppersmith says that’s an invasion of privacy. Video, more, >>click to read<< 06:26
Graves and Peltola Urge Biden to Immediately Halt Unsafe Shrimp Imports
U.S. Congressman Garret Graves (South Louisiana) and Congresswoman Mary Sattler Peltola (Alaska) sent a letter to President Biden urging him to immediately halt shrimp imports into the United States from India, following concerning reports of severe food and safety issues and labor violations in Indian shrimp processing facilities. The reports highlight that shrimp imported from India are farmed and they regularly do not meet domestic health standards; the suppliers themselves know this to be true, evidenced by their tactics to evade detection at American ports. Graves and Peltola noted that there is already high-quality, healthy shrimp caught in America that is being pushed out of the market by foreign shrimp sold at artificially low prices and unsafe for consumption. more, >>click to read<< 12:49
Baltimore Bridge Hit By Ship – Major Collapse
A major commuter bridge in Baltimore collapsed after being rammed by a container ship, causing vehicles to plunge into the water and threatening chaos at one of the most important ports on the US East Coast. The Maryland Transportation Authority issued an alert on X telling drivers not to use Interstate 695. Kevin Cartwright of the Baltimore City Fire Department described it as “a mass casualty, multi-agency incident” in an audio interview with CNN, adding as many as 20 people could be in the water. The disaster at the Francis Scott Key Bridge happened early Tuesday. It’s likely to cause huge disruption — both for shipping at one of the busiest ports on the US East Coast and on the roads — now that a key link has been severed on the major highway encircling Baltimore. Photos, more, >>click to read<< 07:31
Massachusetts fishermen say feds are hypocritical in Gulf of Maine wind energy designation
A move to designate two million acres in the Gulf of Maine as a hub for wind energy is snagging a sharp hook from Massachusetts fishermen who say the development overlooks risks to the North Atlantic right whale. A handful of Bay State fishermen advocacy groups are teaming with counterparts from across New England in criticizing the Biden administration’s plans to industrialize the area off the coasts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. Fishermen, however, say the industrialization of the two-million-acre area is “flatly inconsistent with a policy of endangered species protection.” “Fishermen are disheartened that the WEA designation favors foreign energy developers over marine mammal protection,” the Gulf of Maine Fishing Associations said in a statement last week. “This preferential treatment is in stark contrast to the federal government’s aggressive campaign to burden commercial fishing needlessly with crushing restrictions to protect whales.” more, >>click to read<< 08:43
Linda Bean, Maine business owner and L.L. Bean’s granddaughter, dies at 82
Linda Bean, the granddaughter of L.L. Bean and heir to the company who started several businesses of her own, has died. Bean died Saturday. She was 82. Her passing was confirmed Sunday by her assistant and the general manager of her Freeport restaurant, Linda Bean’s Maine Kitchen. “Linda was known for her tremendous work ethic, entrepreneurial spirit, as well as her pride and dedication to her home state of Maine and L.L. Bean, the company her grandfather founded,” read a written statement on behalf of the L.L. Bean company provided by a close assistant to Bean. more, >>click to read<< 15:00
Mystic Aquarium (the Whale People) expands offshore wind exhibit with youth in mind
In light of New London’s growing offshore wind industry, the Mystic Aquarium expanded its Renewable Ocean Energy Exhibit to educate the region on protective ocean wildlife methods this week. The expansion is in collaboration with Ørsted and Eversource, two developers of Connecticut’s first large-scale offshore wind farm. The offshore wind projects are expected to power up to 70,000 homes on Long Island when completed. The two companies gave the aquarium two grants totaling $1.25 million to study the effects of wind turbines on marine mammals and sea turtles. more, >>click to read<< 12:21
“We got ‘er done” – Fish harvesters reach deal with N.L. government to allow catch to be sold to outside buyers
John Efford Jr. fought back tears as he announced the news to hundreds of fish harvesters standing before him — they’d struck a deal with the Newfoundland and Labrador government to end days of protests. According to Efford — the de facto protest leader — and members of the fisheries union, the provincial government has agreed to let fish harvesters sell their catch to buyers from outside the province, regardless of species. They also said they have commitments on moving caps on processing to promote competition within the industry. “We got ‘er done,” Efford told reporters afterward. “Free enterprise for every species.” more, >>click o read<< 13:22
Wind turbines and a shadow over Island fishers
Their boat is named Redemption. And as seventeen-year-old Tegan Gale walked onto the lobster boat docked at Tashmoo landing on a warm March Day, he was thinking about what the boat meant to him and about his future. Tegan says he loves being out on the water, and he wants to keep the family tradition alive, but he’s up against what he sees as big business and a lot of uncertainty. And now, there’s another layer of uncertainty: the new offshore wind industry. Tegan isn’t alone. Several Island fishermen say the new industry has the potential to disrupt their work for years to come. They have questions about the impacts of underwater cables extending from the turbines and dragging nets over the high-voltage wires. They also have fears about the impact to sea life during construction of the offshore wind farms. more, >>click to read<< 13:26
‘A lot of people are upset.’ Vineyard Wind compensation offer for fishermen stirs worries
Commercial fishers who are sharing part of their customary fishing waters with Vineyard Wind may be eligible for compensation through the developers Fisheries Compensatory Mitigation Program. Eric Hesse, chairman of the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance board, said most of the fishing in the lease area is by dragging. The sandy bottom there is a habitat for fluke, or summer flounder, one of the most important commercial and recreational flatfishes, according to the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. It’s also habitat for longfin squid, skates and monkfish, as well as a fishing area for scallops, sea clams and ocean quahog. But pelagic fish, like tuna — which he fishes for — also migrate through the area. “Who knows how that fishery may be affected,” he said. “It’s a sticky thing and a lot of people are upset.” more, >>click to read<< 07:06
Shrimpin’ Ain’t Easy
Flicking heads off shrimp is one of the first jobs you learn when you’re born a Davis. Joseph “Jody” Davis remembers filling up a bucket of beheaded shrimp for his grandmother for a quarter when he was just 4 years old. “It wasn’t bad money in the ’70s,” he said, standing on the dock of Davis Seafood, the family business in Sneads Ferry. His 25-year-old daughter, Hannah, swiftly beheads a just-caught batch for a customer order. Muscle memory fills the bin. “We’ve been at this exact spot since 1949,” he said. “But we’ve been commercial fishermen for centuries.” The Davis Seafood office door is decorated with two stickers bearing the same mantra: “FRIENDS DON’T LET FRIENDS EAT IMPORTED SHRIMP.” Customers notice it and laugh. “But it’s more than just comedy,” Davis said. “It’s a way of life for us. And if people just cast us aside, we’re done.” photos, more, >>click to read<< 16:12
An appeal for seal: Supporters say it’s time to review bans on ‘sustainable’ industry
Fisheries managers allow some 400,000 harp seals to be harvested annually, but the allowable catch hasn’t been taken in the past 15 years. These days, hunters only take about 40,000 seals because of international bans that have dramatically reduced access to markets. The United States has had a ban on seal products since 1972, the European Union banned seal products in 2009, and the Chinese market also has restrictions. But while the sealing industry struggles to stay alive, it’s a way of life that continues. Eldred Woodford, president of the Canadian Sealers Association, has been eating seal his entire life. He’s frustrated that more people aren’t seeing the value of an abundant food source just off the coast. “It’s a waste of a resource. That’s what it is,” he said. more, >>click to read<< 10:03
High-Tech Trawler offers New Opportunities
‘It looks good,’ said Sigurður Óli Kristjánsson, skipper of new factory trawler Berlin as he was preparing to head back to Norway for a shakedown trip to fine-tune the sophisticated processing deck. Berlin is the latest Vard design trawlers over the last few years, delivered to Nergård, Luntos and other fishing companies, and is practically identical to Akraberg, which was built for Faroese company Framherji in 2022. ‘It’s a very fine trawler, very high-tech. I like the look of the winches. These are very sophisticated and precise, with Scantrol management systems, and with energy-saving functionality. These trawlers have more power, with a nine-cylinder engine, and everything is a size up from the old Berlin. The thinking is that it’s more economic to have a more powerful engine that can run at a more econonic speed instead of being at full revs,’ he said and added that this is a departure from running the main engine at a set speed and then adjusting the propeller pitch as required. Photos, video, more, >>click to read<< 11:14
Mass. Lobstmen Win Case Fighting Feds’ Fishing Closure
A Massachusetts federal judge ruled Thursday that the National Marine Fisheries Service illegally closed a 200-square-mile swath of ocean to protect the endangered North Atlantic Right Whales, backing a legal challenge by a lobster fishing industry group. In a ruling from the bench, U.S. District Judge William G. Young said the agency’s permanent seasonal closure of the so-called wedge area to lobster fishing in February 2023 to avoid whale entanglements with fishing gear was contrary to a federal budget law passed the previous December that hit pause on new regulations for the lobster industry until the end of 2028. “This court is convinced that the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 is clear on its face, and it clearly applies to bar the final wedge closure rule,” Judge Young said. more, >>click to read<< 12:35
Garibaldi – Home of World-Class Dungeness Crab Thanks to Experienced, Professional Commercial Fishing Fleet
Did you know that Garibaldi, Oregon produces some of the best Dungeness crab? This small-town port has taken advantage of its close proximity to the ocean by employing new techniques and using smaller boats to earn the honor of having the lowest Dungeness crab dead loss of any port, anywhere. Experts from around the world have come to Garibaldi to see how they manage it. Dead loss is the almost inevitable result of fishing; some crabs tend to die on the boat before getting to port. Reducing this is good for the fishery and good for the boat. photos, more, >>click to read<< 06:43
Lobster prices hit record high in southwest N.S.
A record high for lobster prices in southwestern Nova Scotia. It’s going for about 19 dollars a pound on the wharf. It’s a great price for captains, but catches are reportedly down this year. Dan Fleck with the Brazil Rock 33/34 Lobster Association says the price is great, but they have to consider the market. “Will some restaurants or buyers in overseas markets take lobster off their menu because it’s being priced out of range? That’s something that’s being dealt with,” said Fleck. more, >> click to read<< 14:28
Annual blessing of the fleet helps after Hurricane Ian’s devastation
The blessing of the historic shrimping fleet is an annual tradition on Fort Myers Beach. After the devastation of Hurricane Ian, the shrimping fleet could use some blessings for even more hurdles ahead. Still, the Fort Myers Beach shrimping community was happy to have at least one day to celebrate. Photos, video, more, >>click to read<< 07:49
Tensions run high as crab harvesters call on N.L. government to introduce outside buyers
More than 150 fishermen led an anger-fueled protest on the steps of Confederation Building on Tuesday, calling on the Newfoundland and Labrador government to free up the fishery and allow harvesters to sell their product to outside buyers. Under the current rules, harvesters are only allowed to sell their catch to processors in the province at a price agreed upon by the Fish, Food & Allied Workers union and the Association of Seafood Producers. Harvesters are calling on the province to give them more control over where they can sell their catch and how much they can sell it for. “The plants are telling us when to come and when to go and how much crab to bring…. So we need some free enterprise to be able to go as we please and fish as we please,” said Dwayne Maher, a crab fisherman of more than 30 years from Salvage. Photos, video, more, >>click to read<< 20:52
Storm Doors and Zenith Trawl – a Perfect Match
When Whitehills skipper David Lovie took delivery in 2020 of the 34-metre trawler Endeavour V, he opted for a pair of Vónin’s Storm trawl doors. “The Storm doors have proven to be powerful, highly durable and robust. Unlike our previous doors that required replacement every 12 months, we were able to use these for a remarkable 31 months before considering a replacement. Last year he travelled to Hirtshals with Vónin to observe a variety of fishing gears streamed in the flume tank, and immediately liked the look of the Zenith groundfish trawl. The outcome was an order a Zenith 572 trawl, which has met all of his expectations – and he described the Zenith trawl and 4.50m3 Storm doors as “a perfect match.” photos, more, >>click to read<< 08:57
The Grandys of Garnish: A history of shipbuilding and lobster fishing in a tiny N.L. town
During the heyday of the schooner bank fishery, from the late 1800s up to the 1940s, shipbuilding was the major employer in Garnish. Dozens of carpenters and labourers were involved, from cutting the timbers up around the headwaters of the Garnish and Black rivers to operating sawmills downstream and then the actual building of the vessels. The industry reached its peak in the mid 1930s, when in one year, according to 97-year-old Melvin Grandy, five boats were being built at the same time. The five vessels were different size banking schooners, capable of carrying anywhere from four dories up to 12 dories each. Without a doubt the master boat builder in the Garnish of the 1930s and ’40s was Cephas Grandy. His reputation as a craftsman spread not only all around Newfoundland but also on the Canadian mainland. photos, >>click to read<< 07:04
After the death of 2 fishermen, Outer Banks watermen call for dredging in notoriously rough waters
Ten Outer Banks watermen passionately spoke against the red tape surrounding permits for Oregon Inlet dredging that they say has a human cost. They were among about 80 attendees at a state commission meeting held Wednesday afternoon at the North Carolina Aquarium on Roanoke Island in Manteo. “All this red tape and all that permits cost us two of my dearest friends’ lives Sunday night,” longtime local fisherman Michael Merritt stated, choking up. He and several other speakers during public comment referenced the recent death of Capt. Charlie “Griff” Griffin of “Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks” fame and the assumed death of Chad Dunn, who is missing from the same tragic voyage that ended in what is widely assumed as a boating accident near the treacherous Oregon Inlet. Merritt said he and “all us have…lost two dear friends, and not because they were amateurs — they were well adept and knew how to do it.” more, >>click to read<< 08:38
Young Donegal Fisherwoman Pleads for Future of Family Business
One of Donegal’s youngest fishers has criticized the Marine Minister for not doing enough to protect the inshore industry. Arranmore islander Muireann Kavanagh, aged 14, fishes pollack with lines alongside her father and uncles. The young fisherwoman was so stunned by a zero-catch scenario recommended to rebuild pollack stock that she wrote a personal letter to Minister Charlie McConalogue. She writes: “I fish and help maintain a boat my grandfather built by himself and his friends on Arranmore Island. This boat has provided a living for my uncles, my grandfather and my grand uncle. Over the last number of years this boat has been denied her heritage. There is no way that this boat or any of the remaining boats on the Island have destroyed the fish stocks.” photos, more, >>click to read<< 11:44
Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse backed laws to benefit wife’s company and their ‘financial interests’: ethics complaint
Democratic Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a crusader for new ethics guidelines at the Supreme Court, was himself hit with an ethics complaint last month after backing two dozen pieces of legislation that have benefited his wife’s environmental consulting company. Whitehouse, 68, has been dogged by ethics questions since his first years in the Senate, when he secured a $22 million federal grant for an offshore wind company, Deepwater Wind, that had hired his wife as a “permitting consultant,” the complaint states, citing contemporaneous reports from local Rhode Island outlets. Sandra Thornton Whitehouse is currently the president of Newport, RI-based, for-profit consulting firm Ocean Wonks, LLC, raking in millions of dollars for her work with non-profit clients that profited from her husband’s legislative activity. Video, photos, more, >>click to read<< 06:42
U.S. Coast Guard suspends search for missing boater off Oregon Inlet
The Coast Guard says they have suspended the search for a missing boater off of Oregon Inlet on North Carolina’s Outer. The Coast Guard found 65-year-old Captain Charlie Griffin of Wanchese dead after a boat heading to the Outer Banks was reported as overdue on Sunday. 36-year-old Chad Dunn remained missing Tuesday night when the Coast Guard suspended the search. more, >>click to read<< 06:11
Capt. Charlie Griffin, ‘Wicked Tuna’ star, dies in boating accident on the Outer Banks; passenger missing
Capt. Charlie “Griff” Griffin of “Wicked Tuna” fame died on the Outer Banks after his boat went missing Sunday night near Oregon Inlet. A person with him remained missing Monday evening, Around 11:35 p.m. Sunday, the Coast Guard received a report of two overdue boaters transiting in a recreational vessel from Virginia Beach to Wanchese, where the boat was going for repairs, a Coast Guard spokesperson said by phone. The last communication with those on the boat had been about 6:15 p.m. Sunday. The Coast Guard and local first responders were searching the oceanfront between Nags Head and Rodanthe by water and ATV on the beach when the boat was found south of Oregon Inlet about 70 yards off shore in the break, the spokesperson said. more, >>click to read<< 17:32
Suffolk teenager chooses career as a fisherman to keep town’s proud tradition alive
A teenage fisherman is hoping to inspire other youngsters to follow in his footsteps after launching his own £300,000 vessel into the North Sea. Alex Wightman, 18, from Lowestoft in Suffolk still believes there is a future in fishing despite government figures showing a decline in registered fishing boats in the UK. His boat, the 10 metre-long Emma Claire, named after his mother, is thought to be the first new vessel in the town’s inshore fleet for nearly 20 years. “Anybody my age, especially coming in to the fishing industry, would absolutely die to have a boat like this.” Alex hails from a fishing family, with his brother Max, 23, and dad Steve also fishing off the east coast. Video, photos, more, >>click to read<< 06:47
