Category Archives: International
F/V Villa de Pitanxo: Spanish fishing tragedy survivors appear in court amid negligence claims
The survivors of Spain’s worst fishing tragedy in four decades appeared in court on Monday as part of an investigation into claims the boat’s captain was guilty of negligence. Twenty-one people died when the Villa de Pitanxo, a 50m vessel from the northwestern region of Galicia, sank around 450km off the coast of Newfoundland, in Canada, in February. Three of the 24-strong crew survived and were found floating in a life raft: the boat’s captain, Juan Padín, his nephew, Eduardo Rial, and Samuel Kwesi. Nine bodies were recovered. >click to read< 16:30
Lobster industry and lawmakers await court decision to determine legality of new restrictions
Maine and Massachusetts harvest more than 90% of the American lobsters sold in the U.S. and most lobstermen and New England lawmakers want to keep it that way. Over the past year, a dispute over new federal regulations on Maine’s lobster industry, intended to protect the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale,,, Mike Sargent became the captain of his own boat at 15. The 29-year-old is worried, however, that if regulations adopted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 2021 are ruled lawful by the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia, that more expensive and stricter regulations could follow. “There’s talks of ropeless fishing and so on, and those are astronomically expensive and quite frankly could bankrupt this industry at the stroke of a pen,” Sargent said. Massachusetts lobsterman Dave Casoni said that it would cost lobstermen between $500,000-$600,000 to make the switch to ropeless traps, and if passed Casoni believes it could bankrupt the industry. Video, >click to read< 09:16
A New Twin-Rigger for Fraserburgh Brothers
The 22.20 metre, 7.50 metre beam F/V Day Dawn replaces the 19 metre F/V Challenger that skipper Chaz Bruce and his brother Martin had been working since it was built at the same yard in 2010. Still in Fraserburgh, F/V Challenger is now F/V Harvest Moon. The brothers chose the Day Dawn name for their newbuild in memory of their father, as this was the name of his boat when they both started at sea with him. ‘The boat performed well, it was very quiet, generally really impressed and everything seems to have worked out well, very pleased with the new boat,’ Chaz Bruce said after bringing in the new trawler home from Whitby to take on the Faithlie Trawls fishing gear and Thyborøn trawl doors to carry out the first fishing trials. Photos, >click to read< 12:46
Ex-fisherman forced to sell collection of 600 toy boats because they’re a ‘fire hazard’
Pete Dixon, 75, started collecting radio-controlled vessels when he split up with his wife 30 years ago. And now he has filled every room in his three-bedroom privately rented home in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, he has been told it’s a fire hazard – and the boats have to go. ‘When I finished fishing, I bought a couple of boats and I got the bug and started collecting them,’ he said. ‘I wouldn’t like to guess how much money I’ve spent over the years, but it must be tens of thousands. It was more or less every penny I had.’ Pete’s boats will go under the hammer on Sunday with Prestige Auctions, which is where he bought many of the vessels from in the first place. Photos, >click to read< 09:38
Are seafood wholesalers filling their pockets?
Where are the huge profits of seafood wholesalers going? Or the difference between the price paid to fishermen and the price charged to consumers, for example for crab and lobster? “It’s never easy to say who is pocketing the profits,” immediately replies Jean Côté, biologist and scientific director of the Association of Professional Fishermen of Southern Gaspésie. There are cases where there are no “staggering profits”, he insists. For example, Mr. Côté recalls that at the start of the lobster fishing season, the fisherman received $8 per pound for his catch and his displayed price in the supermarket was $8.77. >click to read< 10:41
From injury to impact: a timeline of the eight critical moments that led up to R116 crash
Shortly after 9.15pm on March 13, 2017, the F/V King’s Cross trawler was on the northern edge of Porcupine Bank when Captain William Buchan told his crew to haul in the net. It was a perfectly normal request of his crew. However, it set off a chain of events so tragic and inconceivable that it still haunts all those involved in the R116 tragedy more than five years later. Fisherman James John Strachan was assigned to one side of the vessel. While attempting to clear a section of netting that had become trapped, his right hand became entangled. Capt Buchan contacted Ian Scott, the Coast Guard radio operator at Malin Head Marine Rescue Sub Centre (MRSC). Mr Scott listened with concern as Capt Buchan detailed his crewman’s condition. Immediately after establishing the vessel’s position, Mr Scott said, “It is within range of our helicopter, and he will come and get your man off the boat.” >click to read< 15:39
Sister of tragic R116 captain Dara Fitzpatrick’s incredible gesture after ‘tough week’ as inquest ends – THE sister of tragic Rescue 116 captain Dara Fitzpatrick has told how she would love to “host a documentary on loss and grief”. Dr Niamh Fitzpatrick said a number of people have contacted her to thank her for talking about loss after the inquest into the horror Rescue 116 crash finished this week. >click to read< 17:53
UK fishing vessel sinks off Mizen Head
Shortly after 9 o’clock (yesterday) morning Valentia Coast Guard was alerted to a vessel in difficulty approximately 60 miles South West of Mizen Head. The UK registered fishing vessel F/V Piedras was reported to be taking on water and had lost propulsion. Shortly after raising the alert the crew of 11 decided to abandon the vessel and transfer to another fishing vessel, the F/V Armaven. No injuries were reported. Early (yesterday) afternoon, the vessel sunk in the area where it was initially reported to be in difficulty. >click to read< 08:46
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 45′ Fiberglass Lobster Boat, 750HP John Deere
To review specifications, information, and 24 photos’, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here< 12:00
Snow crab producers could limit production to help international market
An excess of snow crab produced in Newfoundland and Labrador is leading to supply outpacing demand, leaving industry figures to question if it’s worth slowing production to allow the market to catch up. More than 60 per cent of the total quota has already been caught and processed, according to Derek Butler, executive director of the Association of Seafood Producers. Butler says the fast-paced production has caused the market for crab to stall, leaving the industry to wonder where it will go next. “It’s a situation where we continue to buy, produce and to build inventories without the required sales to support those inventories,” >click to read< 10:47
Could an obscure provision of a Coast Guard bill threaten offshore wind farms?
A bill that passed the House of Representatives in late March and is currently under consideration in the Senate could “cripple the development of the American offshore wind industry,” according to the industry’s trade association. President Biden has set an ambitious goal of 30,000 megawatts of offshore wind electricity generation capacity by 2030, up from just 42 megawatts currently. But an amendment to the annual Coast Guard authorization bill that would require foreign-flagged ships installing wind turbines on the Outer Continental Shelf only if they have a U.S. crew or the crew of the nation from which the vessel is flagged. The intention is to protect U.S. workers from unfair competition from foreign vessels using lower cost labor from developing countries,,, >click to read< 09:06
Major sea rescue operation 60 miles off West Cork after trawler with 11-crew caught fire
A multi-agency marine rescue operation has been underway off the Cork Coast after a trawler with 11-crewmembers on board caught fire and began sinking earlier this morning. Shortly after 9 O’clock this morning, Valentia Coast Guard was alerted to a vessel in difficulty approximately 60 miles South West of Mizen Head. The UK registered fishing vessel F/V Piedras was reported to be taking on water and had lost propulsion. >click to read< 07:50
Who decides the price of fish at the wharf?
“They’re going to stop buying crab. They’re not going to buy crab if they’re losing money. The processors always have the upper hand,” Jason Sullivan, a fisherman from Bay Bulls, Newfoundland and Labrador, told The Independent back in mid-May, just before going crab fishing. As it turns out, those words foreshadowed a May 30 press release from the Association of Seafood Producers, which represents most processors in the province, that reads: “Snow crab producers compelled to respond to 2022 market challenges” and “full picture will become apparent in the coming days.” “It’s the exact opposite happening this year as to what happened to fishermen last year,” says Sullivan—who is also the president of SEA-NL, an association for licensed, independent owner-operator inshore fish harvesters in Newfoundland and Labrador. >click to read< 16:31
Snow crab producers compelled to respond to 2022 market challenges
The Association of Seafood Producers (ASP), representing the majority of Newfoundland and Labrador based snow crab producers, issued a media release today, saying the industry is compelled to respond to the 2022 market uncertainty. ASP says it has serious concerns that the snow crab market is not functioning in a normal manner, and that US and Japanese buyers have been reluctant to place orders for snow crab or have slowed their crab purchases week after week in the hopes of finding the bottom of the market. Newfoundland and Labrador have to date landed and produced over 60% of the crab, well ahead of previous years given this year’s quota increase. >click to read< 09:34
Fishermen seek greater understanding of wind farm impacts
Projects already in the pipeline could wreak havoc with key spawning and nursery grounds for important fish stocks, they warned today. According to Shetland Fishermen’s Association (SFA), there are major overlaps between proposed areas of offshore wind farm development and sensitive ecosystems for young fish. Several wind farm areas will impact the spawning and nursery grounds of Scotland’s most valuable pelagic fish stocks, such as mackerel, herring and blue whiting, the industry body added. SFA also pointed to research showing a negative impact on shellfish species from offshore turbines and associated cabling. >click to read< 19:11
Lobsters Develop Malformations in The Presence of Submarine Power Cables
A European study recently revealed an example proving that submarine power cables can have undesirable consequences on marine animal species. The work focuses on lobster, some specimens of which may indeed present malformations. With the help of other European researchers, a laboratory at the St Abbs marine station (United Kingdom) carried out a very telling experiment. The scientists exposed no less than 4,000 lobster eggs to a level of electromagnetic field similar to those usually present near undersea cables. At the same time, they observed the development of another group of unexposed eggs. According to the results, lobsters exposed to the waves are three times more likely to suffer from malformations. >click to read< 12:26
Boaties rescued off Fraser Island
The Bundaberg RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter crew has assisted in a mission to help four trawler crew members, who set off an emergency beacon, after their boat was damaged off K’gari (Fraser Island) overnight. The rescue crew was tasked by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) to locate the 15 metre vessel, around 2.45am Monday morning, after its EPIRB (Emergency Positioning Indicating Radio) was activated. The four people on board reportedly deployed a life boat as a precaution, in case they needed to abandon their trawler, which had damage to its hull and propeller.>click to continue< 21:37
Fisherman on a Mission to Save the Kaiki, Greece’s Iconic Fishing Boat
In 2007, the European Union announced a new policy to bring a balance between fishing resources and all the related activities surrounding it, including the destruction of Greece’s iconic ‘kaiki’ fishing boats, in an effort to address the depletion of fish in the Mediterranean. In reality, this means the physical destruction, or “cutting,” of fishing boats that are more than ten years old, with the offering of compensation for the loss of fishermen’s ancient livelihood and their wooden boats,,, About 13,000 kaikia have been deliberately destroyed since 1994 after the EU directive called for the demolition of the small wooden fishing boats which Greek fishermen have used for millennia. Video, photos, >click to read< 09:24
Lobster prices dropping
The price of lobster and seafood at large has shot up in recent years, and the price to lobster fishermen at the docks increased by about 60% last year. But lobster prices appear to be leveling off, and some retailers are selling the prized crustaceans for a couple dollars less than last year. Members of the industry said the price to fishermen is also falling at a time when they are struggling with high bait and fuel prices and costly gear conversations intended to try to protect rare whales. “And that’s why it’s hard, if bait was up and fuel was up and the price of lobsters was up, you’d be where you always are,” said Kristan Porter, president of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association. “But with those down, that makes it hard to justify going in.” >click to read< 12:08
Fisherman hits jackpot, becomes millionaire overnight
A fisherman in the Jevani area of Gwadar hit a jackpot and became a millionaire overnight after he caught a rare croaker fish weighing 48 kilogrammes and sold it for millions in an auction. A rare Sowa (locally known as Kiri) fish got entangled in the net of a Jevani fisherman, according to a local fisherman. It was afterwards reported to have sold at auction for a staggering Rs 13.5 million. Pharmaceutical companies use a unique form of substance present in fish that is considered more valuable than the meat in the creation of surgical products. >click to read< 11:13
Brixham Fish Market protesters accept offer of meeting
Campaigners from the Ocean Rebellion protest group have accepted an offer to talk to Brixham fish industry leaders about sustainability and the environment. Brixham Fish Market managing director Barry Young made the offer after a high-profile protest at the market gates in which Ocean Rebellion raised concerns about the effect of beam trawling on the seabed. Mr Young said the industry was rigorously policed for its environmental impact, and with a £43m annual turnover it supported hundreds of jobs in the local economy. He said he would welcome the chance to brief Ocean Rebellion and explain the industry’s position. >click to read< 08:49
Details Needed about Cameras on Vessels Announcement – Cameras hailed, with caveat
In response to Minister David Parker’s announcement on 25 May about the national roll-out of cameras on commercial inshore fishing vessels, Seafood New Zealand (SNZ) Chief Executive Jeremy Helson says the most important questions still remain unanswered. “We now know a couple more details, and it is good to see progress, but we are still very much in the dark about the important things. >click to read<
Fishing cameras hailed, with caveat – While environmental protection organisations have welcomed the Government’s imminent introduction of cameras on commercial inshore fishing vessels, Port Chalmers fishermen are not convinced it is viable. Oceans and Fisheries Minister David Parker said up to 300 inshore fishing vessels would be fitted with the technology by the end of 2024, providing independent, accurate information about fishing activity and better evidence for decision-making. >click to read< 08:50
Safetytech Accelerator collaborates with FISH Safety Foundation to explore safety technology in fishing
Safetytech Accelerator has collaborated with FISH Safety Foundation to explore how technologies can improve the safety of the fishing industry. Fishing is one of the world’s most dangerous professions. New research by the FISH Safety Foundation suggests fisher mortality rates are significantly higher than the earlier estimates of 24,000 per year, on top of which we can assume a far higher rate of injuries. FISH Safety Foundation is focused on helping countries and organisations with training and advisory services, as well as assistance with the practical application of systems, legislative requirements and guidelines. >click to read< 10:57
New Zealand: Rollout of camera monitoring on commercial fishing vessels confirmed
Up to 300 inshore fishing vessels will be fitted with the technology by the end of 2024, providing independent, accurate information about fishing activity and better evidence for decision-making,” Oceans and Fisheries Minister David Parker said. “It will be supported by cutting-edge artificial intelligence software that will help put New Zealand at the forefront of camera monitoring technology. The introduction of on-board cameras is a key component of the Government’s fisheries reforms. It follows the 2019 roll out of cameras on vessels operating in core Māui dolphin habitat, and builds on work initiated in 2017 by the then-Minister, Nathan Guy. >click to read< 10:25
Troubled waters: the forces behind the death of the Tees
The Tees Estuary is dying. Its demise the result of widespread contamination on the one hand, and a wilful mishandling of information on the other. There was mass crustacean die-off in September/October 2021, and there has been a resurgence of this in recent weeks. We have also received numerous reports of deaths of seal pups as well as porpoise. Those seal pups that have survived are seriously underweight. Dead crab and lobster have been washing up on beaches again. Razor clams that inhabit the shallow waters of estuary beaches are also reported to be affected. And the official response to these sobering facts currently appears to be a mixture of indifference, belligerence and denial. >click to read< 08:11
Search net widens for owner of San Rosa as boat’s history emerges
Authorities are struggling to contact the owners of a shipwrecked boat almost six weeks after the vessel got into difficulty in rough seas off the East Coast. On April 9, the crew of ex-fishing trawler San Rosa sent out a mayday about 10 nautical miles off Tokomaru Bay, after encountering four-metre swells en route to Marlborough. The boat’s three crew members, plus a dog, were winched to safety by helicopter. San Rosa then drifted unattended 
for six days before beaching on April 15 at a remote section of beach near Tikitiki, two hours north of Gisborne. Thirty-five days later, Gisborne District Council harbourmaster Peter Buell says he still hasn’t been able to reach the owners, despite numerous attempts. “We’re trying every way we can to get in touch with this guy. But no response so far, and I doubt we’ll get any,” Buell said. >click to read< 15:23
Fishing leader fires challenge to Extinction Rebellion – learn about what we do
Protest spokesman Edward Funnell said: “No-one’s ever protested against industrial fishing before in Brixham. In fact, it might be the first time this long-overdue discussion about the damage from industrial fishing has ever been held in a UK fishing port. If the effects of beam trawling, bottom trawling and dredging were visible on land they would have been banned years ago.” But the boss of the Brixham Fish Market says the protesters have got the wrong end of the stick, and he invited them to a meeting to debate the issues. Managing director Barry Young said: “It would be great if they would come and sit with us and learn about what we do. Wild photos! > click to read < 15:37
Are sea lions and seals eating too much of B.C.’s salmon? The answer may lead to a cull
An increasing number of the protected seals and sea lions (larger than seals, sea lions can walk) may be upsetting the balance of the British Columbia marine ecosystem. Now some First Nations are proposing a cull. “Environmentalists trying to stop traditional seal and sea lion hunts … are trying to starve out the Indians,” says Tom Sewid of the Kwakwak’wakw First Nation on northeastern Vancouver Island. “I won’t put up with it.” And as seals and sea lions have prospered, salmon have struggled. “The demise of the salmon runs in British Columbia is equivalent if not greater than the extinction of the great buffalo herds across the Great Plains” in the 1800s, says Sewid. > click to read < 09:01
Trawlermen fish firm crowned UK small business of the year
A Peterhead fish firm that switched from wholesale to e-commerce has landed the Federation of Small Businesses’ (FSB) Small Business of the Year 2022 award. Amity Fish Company, led by Jimmy Buchan, star of the BBC’s Trawlermen TV series, netted the overall prize at the event hosted by TV personalities Clare Balding and JJ Chalmers in Glasgow yesterday. During the pandemic, the business switched from exclusively supplying restaurants and the hospitality trade, to delivering seafood products directly to people in their homes. > click to read < 10:06
New fishing partnership enters industry
Brodie Ramsay, Jack Garrick, and Skipper John Williamson are joint owners of the 23-metre vessel, built in 1993. The sale of the vessel, including licences and quota, marks another chapter in the ongoing process of younger crews taking over. Twenty-year-old Ramsay, from Ollaberry, who has already been at the fishing for the last five years, said the move felt like a “good opportunity to get into the industry”.> click to read < 12:19
Fuel Crisis: Fuel costs ‘jeopardising’ UK fishing fleet
Soaring fuel costs have now risen to a “level that jeopardises the viability of parts of the fleet” and could affect supply from UK fishing boats over the coming months, the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations has warned.The viability of the fleet was currently being supported by high fish prices, the industry body said this week. However, the sector was still in an “inherently unstable and fragile balance”, which could soon result in vessels being taken out of the water. The four fishing federations representing England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland that make up the NFFO recently met with fisheries minister Victoria Prentis to warn about the fuel “crisis engulfing the fishing industry”, it said. > click to read < 08:46
