Category Archives: International
Post-Covid bounce for fish landings in the islands
The value of fish landings in the Western Isles increased by 21 per cent last year over 2020 according to the newly published Scottish Fisheries Statistics. They have been welcomed as an indication that the islands industry has recovered well from the impact of both Brexit and Covid. Shellfish accounted for almost 90 per cent of the overall catch. The statistics published by Marine Scotland show that the value of fish landings in Stornoway district – which covers the whole of the Outer Isles – rose to £12.2 million, and the tonnage increased by 13 per cent compared to the previous year, to 2,880 tonnes. >click to read< 10:39
Post-Brexit Fishing: 1,054 Fishing Licenses Obtained, A Fleet Exit Plan for Dockside Fishermen
It is the epilogue of a diplomatic-commercial battle of more than a year between Paris and London, arbitrated by Brussels. France finally obtained 1,054 fishing licenses from the UK and the Channel Islands, allowing holders to continue fishing in their waters, as before Brexit. For the dozens of fishermen who have remained on the sidelines or whose activity has been drastically reduced, the government has planned a “individual support plan”or a fleet exit plan for ships that will be destroyed. >click to read< 07:56
Former Skippers New Fresher Trawler
Fresquero José Luciano will operate from Mar del Plata along the Patagonian coast, targeting not only Argentine red shrimp, but also hake and other species, landing fresh catches boxed in ice The newbuild replaces an older vessel owned by Luciano Ramaci, a former skipper from Mar de Plata. The steel-hulled, 27-metre José Luciano has an 8.40-meter beam. It is powered by a Caterpillar 3508 main engine and two auxiliary Cummins engines and is expected to have a maximum speed of 9.5 knots. Its design incorporates a bulbous bow. Photos, >click to read< 19:20
“Deadliest Catch” boat Aleutian Ballad gifts a memorial pot and record-setting donations to Metlakatla in honor of those lost at sea
The crew of the former Deadliest Catch vessel-turned-tour boat Aleutian Ballad knows that time on the water is often dangerous. That’s why each year, they give a “memorial pot” to one coastal community impacted by accidents at sea. This year, the crew dedicated the memorial pot to Metlakatla. They were inspired by a recent documentary about Alaska’s only Native reserve. David Lethin is one of the Ballad’s captains. He said that each year, his crew looks for communities that have seen hardships related to fishing. Lethin said that over the summer tour season, visitors onboard the Ballad scrawled memories about their time in Alaska on fish tags. >click to read< 09:59
New measures announced to boost Scots seafood industry
The Scottish Government has published its first strategy for the seafood sector, detailing how the fishing and aquaculture sectors are being supported to remain internationally competitive and attract skills and talent to some of Scotland’s most rural and coastal areas – despite the challenges of the post-Brexit trading environment. The strategy also highlights ongoing work to monitor and manage the marine space, so that consumers can have confidence in the sustainability of Scottish seafood. >click to read< 07:49
Eight crew ‘safe and well’ after fishing vessel sinks following collision with another vessel
The crew of the Peterhead based F/V Guiding Star H360 declared a mayday before abandoning ship to a life-raft after a collision with another vessel – their sister boat F/V Guiding Light. HM Coastguard coordinated the response after being alerted just after 12pm today (6 October). The coastguard helicopter based at Sumburgh was a key part of the rescue effort, with rescue teams from both Sumburgh and Lerwick waiting to support if required. Other vessels nearby also responded to calls for help. All crew members were accounted for after being picked up by assisting vessels and the coastguard helicopter. >click to read< 19:37
Skipper keeps it ‘reel’ for new Trawlermen series
A Well-known Banffshire fisherman is set to feature in the latest series of BBC2’s Trawlermen: Hunting the Catch. John Clark, will take to the small screen next week when the spotlight falls on the work of his twin rig trawler Reliance III and her crew. “Last year the film company, Frank Films, approached me again and asked if they could do some filming on the boat. “I was up for it but I asked them to do the filming in winter, to get the camera guys on board the boat when it’s Force 8 or 9 gales not flat calm so people can see what fishing is really like and why it can be so dangerous. “I’ve got to take my hat off to them, though. The weather was horrendous – it was Force 10 at one point – but they were great, they held themselves really well. Photos, >click to read< 19:54
Whitby fishermen – ‘We demand that future dredging operations be halted’
The investigation, commissioned by the North East Fishing Collective, was looking experimentally at the impact of pyridine on crabs, which could have been released by dredging, saying it was the most likely killer of the crustaceans. Fishing businesses and livelihoods around the Whitby coastline, from Teesside down to Scarborough, have been severely impacted, with the amount of crab on traditional fishing grounds decimated. James Cole, Chairman of Whitby Commercial Fishing Association, said: “We demand that future dredging operations be halted until proven beyond doubt that no harmful pollutants will enter our environment and fishing grounds. >click to read< 08:55
Pelagic Partnership Takes Delivery of New Artemis
The latest pelagic vessel to join the Scottish fleet has been built for a partnership that began fishing with the 64-metre former Resolute, which became Artemis for its new owners back in 2020. The partnership of Interfish subsidiary Northbay Fishing Company and the Wiseman Fishing Company, headed by Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association (SPFA) chairman Alex Wiseman, have now taken delivery of the new Artemis, skippered 
by Adam Wiseman. The new vessel’s hull was built at the Karstensen Shipyard Poland and arrived in Skagen in February 2022 for outfitting. It sailed from the yard in Skagen in early September, headed straight for fishing grounds and started its fishing career on herring. Some fine photos, >click to read< 13:31
The U.S. is not harvesting as many fish as it could, driving up imports
In 2020, the global fishing industry reached an all-time record of production worth an estimated $406 billion, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Fish is a key source of protein, making it essential in feeding the growing world population. In the United States, New Bedford, Massachusetts, is the country’s most valuable fishing port, bringing in a whopping $376.6 million worth of seafood in 2020. “Fishing stocks did have a collapse in the ’90s. It changed the species that we were offering. It changed the availability. It changed the pricing,” Laura Foley Ramsden, fourth generation “fish mongress” of Foley Fish in New Bedford, 15-minute video, >click to read< 09:52
Future-Proofed Trawler for Hvide Sande
Taking delivery of a new trawler capable of alternating shrimping and targeting flatfish, Hvide Sande fisherman Torben Johansen remains optimisti, but he has few kind words for the current crop of politicians and what he sees as a long list of unfulfilled promises. The back story is that six years ago he ordered a new trawler, Mikkel Louise, to be built at Vestværft. The handover took place in 2020, just as the Covid pandemic hit and although the trawler fished well, the crash in the restaurant sector meant that sales of shrimp and whitefish ground to a standstill. The upshot was that Mikkel Louise was sold to Dutch owners, and Torben Johansen placed an order for a smaller trawler at the same yard. Photos, >click to read< 12:10
What Happened to Tony Lara from Deadliest Catch?
The Cornelia Marie was one of the first ships featured on Discovery’s “Deadliest Catch.” According to The Gazette Review, the ship was built in Alabama in 1989 and named after the wife of the original owner, Ralph Collins. Collins and his wife eventually divorced, and Cornelia Marie herself took ownership of the ship before selling part of her share to Phil Harris, who was the captain of the ship when the series started. According to The New York Times, Harris suffered a stroke on his boat in January of 2010 and died just a few days later. Lara was introduced in Season 7 episode “Sea Change” when Josh Harris brought Lara in to replace his late father. >click to read< 09:54
World War II American fighter cockpit found by Lowestoft fishermen
Lowestoft trawlerman Alex Wightman was collecting his nets on September 9, when, to his amazement, he realised the big catch he hauled overboard was the remains of a P-47 Thunderbolt cockpit, which was stuck in his net. The 16-year-old said: “Me and my skipper Jeffery Melton were out when the net tightened. It was weird because we felt something snagging the net. When Mr Wightman and his skipper got the parts on the boat they couldn’t believe the smell of petrol of the parts. Photos, >click to read< 12:48
Scots fishers urge ministers to resist campaign for giant freezer trawler
The UK Government is being urged to ignore a “concerted campaign” to deprive Scottish fishers of quota in favour of a huge, foreign-owned freezer trawler operating out of a British port. Scottish Pelagic Fishermen’s Association chief executive Ian Gatt and Shetland Fishermen’s Association executive officer Simon Collins said lobbying by the vessel’s owner, East Yorkshire-based UK Fisheries, to secure more fish “must be resisted”. Mr Gatt said: “This vessel operates out of Hull, but is owned primarily by Dutch and Icelandic interests, is largely operated by a non-UK crew and processes its catch on board. >click to read< 09:31
What Happened to F/V Southern Wind on Deadliest Catch?
Like any show that’s been on the air as long as “Deadliest Catch” has, there comes a point when new blood needs to be brought in to keep things spicy. And the Discovery hit has indeed brought new faces, and even new fishing vessels into the mix on a fairly regular basis over the years. One of the more recent injections of fresh “Deadliest Catch” blood came with the arrival of the F/V Southern Wind and its even-keeled Captain Steve “Harley” Davidson. Harley and the Southern Wind crew joined the series for Season 17, and though they weren’t exactly the most drama-forward lot that season, they certainly faced their share of troubles. Unexpectedly, neither the vessel nor its captain has been seen on “Deadliest Catch” since. Here’s what became of the Southern Wind. >click to read< 11:57
A fundraiser by Aaron Robinson – Save Shayna Michelle Shrimp Boat
Holden Beach Seafood’s, shrimp boat, the Shayna Michelle (formerly the Winds of Fortune), and crew were trying to make their way back home to Holden Beach, NC before Hurricane Ian made it to our coast. However, Thursday evening, they were stranded about two miles off the coast of Myrtle Beach with engine issues. The coast guard was able to save the crew by helicopter but there was no way to get the boat to safety. >click to read<. and please donate if you can. 08:21
The Terrifying Conditions That Forced Sig Hansen to Kick His Daughter Off the Boat
It takes a lot for a captain of a crab fishing boat in Discovery Channel’s “Deadliest Catch” to take their boat into harbor because of the conditions on the water — so it was quite a surprise when Captain Sig Hansen of the Northwestern said he was going to be steering his ship into St. Paul Harbor because of the extremely icy conditions. So, with the weather not breaking and more and more ice accumulating on the boat, Hansen decides that he has to wait it out in port and that his daughter shouldn’t complete the crab season on The Northwestern. But actually getting his daughter Mandy to agree to disembark and wait out the season is a whole other problem. >click to read< 14:16
They rode out Hurricane Ian on shrimp boats. Now they fear their livelihood is destroyed
By the time these shrimpers knew Hurricane Ian was headed to Fort Myers Beach, it was too late to leave. Shrimp Boat Lane is a crook in the middle of San Carlos Island. Inside pulses the heart of a storied fishery. But with little warning and punishing winds, Hurricane Ian shredded it. Jesse Clapham walked through what was left Friday morning, sweat soaking the back of his black T-shirt. “My dad was a fisherman. His was a fisherman,” said Clapham, fleet manager for Erickson and Jensen, a seafood and marine supplies company. Just three of the company’s 12 boats are still in the water, he said, and one has a hole in the side. Normally, Clapham said, the fleet would be in Texas around this time, but gas was too expensive to make the run this year. Photos, >click to read< 13:04
New crab fishing vessel is completed by Macduff Shipyards
Macduff Shipyards has signed over its latest new build vessel Euroclydon (GY77). It is the second crabbing fishing boat built by the yard in a space of only three years, following on from Levanter (GY7) with both vessels belonging to the same owner Stuart MacDougall of fishing company Euroclydon Ltd. The vessel is a new design of vivier crabber fishing vessel designed between the shipyards and local naval architecture and consultancy firm Macduff Ship Design. Photos, >click to read< 11:27
After Fiona’s wrath, Atlantic fishing communities look to rebuild livelihoods
All week, fishermen across Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick were left to reckon with the damage left in Fiona’s wake, and to the region’s industry, which exports more than $4.5-billion worth of seafood each year. But as officials plan for the future, they face two competing priorities: the need to rebuild fast to be ready for the coming fishing season and the need to rethink infrastructure entirely in the face of climate change – a costlier, and potentially slower, approach. “PEI’s a mess. Newfoundland’s a mess. Nova Scotia’s a mess. And it’s all the same people who are fixing them,” said Leonard LeBlanc, President of the Gulf Nova Scotia Fishermen’s Coalition >click to read< 10:03
Newfoundland fishers face livelihood questions after Fiona storm damage
Colourful fishing stages bobbed in the water by Rose Blanche-Harbour Le Cou Tuesday as Cliff Bateman watched from his property. Days earlier, the picturesque buildings that are used to land and process fish were upright before post-tropical storm Fiona swept them into the ocean by the southwestern Newfoundland town. Bateman watched the storm toss them through the water. “It’s a big loss, I tell you that,” he said from inside his kitchen. The now-retired fisherman said he stored a priceless accumulation of gear and history inside the structures that were passed down through his family, some built over 100 years ago. >click to read< 10:08
Elliott Neese on ‘Deadliest Catch’ Sentenced to Federal Prison for Dealing Heroin
In December 2019, Elliott Neese sold heroin to a CI (confidential informant). That led to a search warrant that uncovered 160 grams of heroin, some meth, drug scales, guns, a cash-counting machine, and items “used in the distribution of narcotics”. The Deadliest Catch star immediately confessed to being part of a larger narcotics ring operating on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska and said he mostly sold heroin. Sealed documents further complicate matters. What was clear from the outset is that Elliott was a small cog in a larger drug-selling operation. Prosecutors asked for a stiffer sentence because he was selling heroin in a small community, at high risk for narcotics issues. >click to read< 20:01
The west Cumbria fishing family saved by social media
When fisherman John McAvoy goes to work, he is gone for days. After two nights at sea and precious little sleep he returns to sell his catch. These days the first in line are the local customers who, following the siren call of social media, saved him and his boat when Covid threatened to sink his livelihood. But Covid put paid to that odd market symmetry, halting the transport of seafood to buyers in France and Spain and shutting restaurants. Were it not for John’s daughters, and their youthful affinity with social media, that might have been the end of the line for him. Photos, >click to read< 08:50
With thousands of traps lost to Fiona, N.B. lobster fishermen ask for extended season
The fishing season for Zone 25, which includes fishermen along the Northumberland Strait in New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island, began on Aug. 9 and was scheduled to end on Oct. 12, said Luc LeBlanc, an advisor with the Maritime Fishermen’s Union. However, with early reports those fishermen may have lost about half of all of their lobster traps, LeBlanc said the plan is to ask the Department of Fisheries and Oceans for the season to be extended until at least Oct. 15. LeBlanc said there are 388 lobster fishermen in Zone 25, with each using 250 traps at a time. That means around 42,000 traps are unaccounted for. >click to read< 07:35
Former New Bedford Fisherman Manuel F. “Manny” Machado has passed away
Manuel F. “Manny” Machado, 77, of Fairhaven passed away unexpectedly Thursday, September 22, 2022 at St. Luke’s Hospital in New Bedford. He was the loving companion of Diane E. Rocha of Fairhaven and the former husband of the late Bertha (Frias) Machado. Born and raised in Furnas, St. Michael, Azores, Portugal, son of the late Jose Manuel Machado and Teresa Maria (Vieira) Machado, he came to New Bedford in 1969 and settled in Fairhaven seven years ago. Manny served in the Army in Portugal and later worked as a commercial fisherman for many years on several fishing vessels from New Bedford Harbor. He was a member of the New Bedford Fisherman’s Club and was an avid bird watcher. >click to read< 11:29
Fiona Leaves Wake of Devastation for Inshore Harvesters
The damage left in Fiona’s wake has impacted multiple enterprises, leaving significant damage to gear, boats, motors, and sheds. FFAW-Unifor is seeking financial support from federal and provincial governments to assist these inshore harvesters in their rebuilding efforts. “The damage from Fiona has been felt in particular by folks located between La Poile and Port aux Basques. Some inshore harvesters have lost all their gear, motors, boats, and sheds – just washed away with the storm. As small-scale operators, they have no financial recourse through traditional insurance channels and we are therefore asking for financial relief from our federal and provincial governments,” explains FFAW-Unifor Secretary-Treasurer, Jason Spingle. >click to read< 10:17
Body found as Canada struggles to restore power after storm – ‘Everything is unusable’
Hundreds of thousands of people in Atlantic Canada remained without power Sunday and officials said they found the body of a woman swept into the sea after former Hurricane Fiona washed away houses, stripped off roofs and blocked roads across the country’s Atlantic provinces. After surging north from the Caribbean, Fiona came ashore before dawn Saturday as a post-tropical cyclone, battering Nova Scotia, Prince Edward Island, Newfoundland and Quebec with hurricane-strength winds, rains and waves. >click to read<
‘Everything is unusable’: Fishers, farmers assess damage as Fiona wreaks havoc on industry – Officials have said areas exposed to storm surges have seen the most severe damage from the storm. In Morell, the Red Head Harbour wharf was almost completely totalled. Ken Drake was one of the fishers who spent Friday night there keeping an eye on their boats. He said all the boats have at least some damage. >click to read< 08:05
F/V Harvest Reaper for Sale – “Undoubtedly the finest under 10m trawler produced by a UK yard”
Harvest Reaper was built in 1988 for top Newlyn inshore skipper Bob Yeo to incorporate his ideas on how to get the most out of an under 10m boat. She was built by Abels in Bristol who had a reputation both for solid construction and innovative design. Their partnership created a roomy multi-purpose vessel capable of both stern and beam trawling. Her massive beam and draught created a stable boat that allowed for a forward engine room and large 160 box fishroom resulting in a quiet 4-berth accommodation aft. Photos, video, >click to read< 08:24
Canadian Hurricane Centre says Hurricane Fiona will be ‘historic, extreme event’
The Canadian Hurricane Centre says Hurricane Fiona will make landfall in eastern Nova Scotia as a powerful post-tropical storm early Saturday. In a Friday afternoon briefing, Bob Robichaud, a warning preparedness meteorologist with the centre, cautioned people not to focus on the hurricane’s track since its effects will be felt across a swath of eastern Canada. Environment Canada says this includes much of Nova Scotia, P.E.I., southeastern New Brunswick, western and southwestern Newfoundland, and some parts of Quebec bordering the Gulf of St. Lawrence. >click to read< – Current Hurricane Conditions – Environment Canada (weather.gc.ca) 13:54
Plans to increase no-fish zones in Great Sandy Marine Park worry Queensland seafood industry
It is considered a win for conservationists and recreational fishers, but seafood lovers and commercial fisheries will pay the price for proposed changes to one of Queensland’s greatest marine parks, an industry body says. The state government has released the draft for the new Great Sandy Marine Park Zoning Plan, which would see green zones increase from 3.9 per cent to 12.8 per cent. But the Queensland Seafood Industry Association said the expansion of no-fish zones had little regard for local fishers and felt the government had ignored their concerns. “The plan will have a massive impact on the supply of fresh fish … 95 per cent of the net fisheries will be shut down in the Great Sandy Marine Park,” CEO Eric Perez said in a statement. >click to read< 13:07
