Category Archives: National
Facing the Wind – A fisherman’s take on offshore wind
Local fishermen are on the verge of forever losing local fishing grounds to wind power as California trades one renewable resource (seafood) for another (electricity). The state of California and its citizens are on the front line of the efforts to convert our energy use from the burning of fossil fuels (oil and gas) to renewable sources of power — solar and wind. The latest move toward this conversion is for the sale of offshore ocean leases to wind power companies for the development of “at sea” wind farms with the ocean area off of Eureka and Trinidad as the prime first sites. >click to read<08:55
Should Oregon Kill Sea Lions to Save the Salmon?
Used to be, they’d show up at Willamette Falls around late November—beefy males here to bulk up and loll on the docks. Call it sea lion winter break; time off from California’s Channel Islands rookeries, beaucoup steelhead to eat, zero problems. (No pups, no ladies, no predators.) When it was time to head back south, a 400-pound sea lion might have doubled in size, having chowed down on, at minimum, three 15-pound Pacific Northwest salmonids a day. >click to read<19:47
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 46′ x 18′ 4″ Novi Lobster/Gillnetter, 6 Cylinder Detroit, Northern Lights12 KW
Specifications, information and 15 photos >click here< To see all the boats in this series, >click here< Vessel is in good condition. Federal Permit with Lobster Area 4, Black Sea Bass, Monkfish A, Scup, Summer Flounder for additional $125,000. 13:42
Is Brexit about to rewrite the rules for fishing on the English Channel?
French fishermen are anxious to avoid a Brexit that could shut them out of British territorial waters, while in British ports, trawlermen hope such moves could reinvigorate their fishing industry. The “Scallop Wars” in August saw French boats attack British ones in the Seine Bay off the Normandy coast. Paris had banned French boats from scalloping in the area between May and October to preserve the stocks. So when British boats exercised their rights to go for them, a French flotilla mustered, hurling rocks and smoke bombs and ramming the UK trawlers. >click to read<10:52
Lawmakers to Trump: Keep Marine Monument protections
More than a quarter of state lawmakers wrote to President Donald Trump on Wednesday, urging him not to roll back protections for the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument. None of Cape Ann’s representatives — Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, and Reps. Ann-Margaret Ferrante and Brad Hill — were among the signers. Nine of the 38 current state senators and 46 of the 153 representatives signed the letter, which said the monument “does not occur in a major fishing ground” and opening it to commercial fishing would “not help remedy the nation’s seafood deficit.” >click to read<09:23
‘What Happened in Craig’: Trying to piece together one of the state’s most perplexing murder mysteries
Leland Hale, along with his late coauthor Walter Gilmour, is known for writing the book “Butcher, Baker” about Anchorage serial killer Robert Hanson in the 1970s and early-’80s, which more recently was made into a movie. And Hale went back to 1980s Alaska for the subject of his new book, “What Happened in Craig?”, out this week.,, HALE: Let’s set the scene. It’s in September. It’s the end of the fishing season in Southeast Alaska. There’s a little town called Craig. There’s about a hundred fishing boats in town. So now the population has doubled and people are out celebrating because the fishing seasons over. They’ve made their money and one of the vessels there is actually from Blaine, Washington. >click to read<20:58
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 38′ Holland Lobster Boat, 425HP, John Deere
Specifications, information and 2 photos >click here< To see all the boats in this series, >click here< Owner has taken delivery of his new vessel and is motivated to sell. All reasonable serious offers will be considered. 14:23
Researchers Try To Build A Better Life Jacket To Keep Lobstermen Alive
Early on a July morning, Massachusetts lobsterman Steve Holler and his sternman Frank Lenardis haul lobster traps out of Boston Harbor over the edge of Holler’s boat, the November Gale, and dump the catch into a holding tray. “It’s a dance between me and him,” Holler says. “Him getting that done, me getting this done, because with his strength, his weight, he’ll knock me right on my rear end. He’s done it a few times.” This particular morning in July, everything goes smoothly. But Holler remembers one day in February when a routine haul went very wrong,,, >click to read<16:13
Finding help for addicted fishermen
It hurts to be a fisherman. Tyler Miranda found that out when he started working on a scallop boat at age 18. The son of a lobsterman and nephew of a scalloper, he was prepared for long days of heavy, repetitive work. But he didn’t anticipate how much his back would hurt after hours of shucking scallops, hauling buckets, and shoveling debris. Nor did he foresee the remedy his boatmates would offer: Percocets. >click to read<13:42
Alaska Mesothelioma Victims Center Now Urges any Commercial Fisherman with Mesothelioma to call
The Alaska Mesothelioma Victims Center says, “We are reaching out to a commercial fisherman who now has mesothelioma due to asbestos exposure while working on a fishing boat or boats that had a home port in Alaska. A commercial fisherman with mesothelioma typically did not work on just one fishing or crab boat. Typically, we find that these men did everything on the boat from mechanics, repairs, or upgrades. If you are a commercial fisherman and you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, or their family, please call us anytime at 800-714-0303. What we want to do is ensure a victim of mesothelioma receives the very best possible financial compensation.” >click to read<18:32
Always Top Quality! Your Seafreeze Ltd. Price Sheet for October 2018 Has Arrived!
Contact our sales team today @ 401 295 2585 or 800 732 273 For the complete price list from Seafreeze Ltd., >Click here< – We are Direct to the Source-We are Fishermen-We are Seafreeze Ltd! >Click here< to visit our website 12:53
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: H & H 40′ Lobster/Scalloper/Tuna, 470HP Lugger, 9 KW Generator
Specifications, information and 31 photos >click here< To see all the boats in this series, >click here< Vessel is very clean and well kept. Seller is not fishing with this vessel.12:22
NH delegation requests Hampton Harbor emergency dredging while Depoe Bay Mayor ready to do jail time for dredging
The congressional delegation from New Hampshire is requesting that emergency dredging of Hampton Harbor be included in the Army Corps of Engineers’ work plan for the 2019 fiscal year. The plan must be submitted to Congress no later than Nov. 20. Sand shoals in the harbor are causing serious issues for those who navigate the waters for work and recreation. The channel is currently only 20 to 30 feet wide in some places and at least two boats have gotten stuck on the shoals this season. >click to read< Declaring her intent to save the town’s harbor from an onslaught of muddy silt, Mayor Barbara Leff said she would do anything — including jail time — to dig the harbor out of trouble following a futile plea for help to federal officials. “We’ve done all the political things we can to get the harbor dredged,”, >click to read<10:49
U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement – U.S. and Canada Reach Nafta Deal
The accord restores—for now, at least—harmony with two neighbors that Mr. Trump has repeatedly criticized in public, paving the way for him to hold a late-November signing ceremony with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Mexican President Enrique Peña Nieto. “It’s a good day for Canada,” Mr. Trudeau told reporters as he left a special Sunday-night cabinet meeting at his offices to go over the framework of the agreement. Early Monday, Mr. Trump tweeted: “It is a great deal for all three countries, solves the many deficiencies and mistakes in NAFTA, greatly opens markets to our Farmers and Manufacturers, [reduces] Trade Barriers to the U.S. and will bring all three Great Nations closer together in competition with the rest of the world.” >click to read<11:45
Court Ruling on Aquaculture – NOAA remains committed to expanding sustainable U.S. aquaculture
NOAA is considering whether to appeal the Eastern District of Louisiana’s finding that NOAA does not have regulatory authority to regulate aquaculture under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Given conflicting court decisions and the desire for regulatory certainty, NOAA supports congressional efforts to clarify the agency’s statutory authority to regulate aquaculture. NOAA remains committed to expanding the social, environmental, and economic benefits of sustainable marine aquaculture in the U.S. It is important to note that this ruling is not a prohibition on marine aquaculture, either nationally or in the Gulf of Mexico, and we will continue to work with stakeholders through existing policies and legislation to increase aquaculture permitting efficiency and predictability. Jennie Lyons Public Affairs Deputy Director (301) 427-8013 [email protected]
F/V Captain Billy Haver Crewman Held Without Bail, Coast Guard May Day Call Audio
The fisherman charged with killing one crew mate and injuring another on board a commercial fishing vessel off the Massachusetts coast has been held without bail. Franklin Freddy Meave Vazquez made his initial appearance in federal court on Wednesday in Boston where he is charged with murder and attempted murder. Authorities say Vazquez, a Mexican national living in the U.S. illegally, used a hammer and a knife to attack his shipmates Sunday on the Virginia-based vessel Captain Billy Haver about 55 miles off the coast of Nantucket. >click to read< Audio of the mayday call received by the U.S. Coast Guard from the fishing boat “Captain Billy Haver” which was approximately 60 miles east of Nantucket, Massachusetts Sunday, Sept. 23, 2018. >click to listen<15:23
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: North End Marine 42′ Lobster Boat, 750HP John Deere
Specifications, information and 15 photos >click here< To see all the boats in this series, >click here< (July 2017: New main engine, transmission and propeller installed.) 13:42
Blood, guts and albacore -‘Battlefish’ series gives glimpse into gritty world of West Coast commercial albacore fishing
It’s blood, hooks, aching backs and sun-burnt skin. And cussing. Lots of cussing. A new Netflix series, “Battlefish,” debuted Friday, Sept. 21, giving audiences a raw glimpse into the commercial albacore tuna fishery off the Washington and Oregon coast. The series follows five crews from fishing vessels TNT, Oppor-Tuna-Ty, Intrepid, Judy S and Ashley Nicole from the ports of Ilwaco, Warrenton and Westport during the 2017 albacore tuna season. California-based Pilgrim Media Group, creators of other reality shows such as “Wicked Tuna,” “The Ultimate Fighter” and “Dirty Jobs,” produced the series. >click to read<09:07
Victory! Court Shuts Down Offshore Aquaculture in Gulf of Mexico
Today, Center for Food Safety, representing a coalition of fishing and public interest groups, won their lawsuit challenging the Department of Commerce’s new federal rules that would have permitted, for the first time, industrial aquaculture offshore in U.S. federal waters. “This is a landmark victory for protecting our oceans, for fishing communities and conservationists,” said George Kimbrell, CFS Legal Director and lead counsel in the case. “Allowing industrial net-pen aquaculture and its known environmental harms in the Gulf of Mexico is a grave threat. Very simply, as the Court properly held, aquaculture is not ‘fishing.’ These types of harms cannot be allowed under existing fisheries law never intended for that purpose.” >click to read<18:51
CETA: U.S. lobster industry alarmed as European deal gives Canadians a ‘huge’ advantage
Canada may be getting beaten up at the NAFTA talks in Washington, but off the east coast, it is enjoying something of a free-trade coup. This country’s trade accord with Europe has given the Canadian lobster industry a sudden leg-up on American competitors in the lucrative market, adding to alarm in the U.S. lobster world over retaliatory tariffs from China. As European duties start to come off the crustaceans, Canada is gaining a price edge ranging from six to 20 per cent over shellfish from the United States, prompting the American industry and a prominent member of Congress to press the U.S. government for help. >click to read<
Annual NAFO meeting adopts measures for Greenland halibut, Flemish Cap cod
The 40th annual week-long meeting of the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization (NAFO) ended on Friday in Tallinn, Estonia, where there were a number of measures accepted by Canada and other NAFO member contracting parties aimed at improving the monitoring and management of international fish stocks outside Canada’s 200-mile limit in the Northwest Atlantic. In addition to the traditional total allowable catch (TAC) and quota decisions made, other decisions included: >click to read<20:01
Florence floodwaters reveal fish washed up on North Carolina interstate
Floodwaters from Hurricane Florence are leaving quite a fishy situation in North Carolina. As floodwaters from the hurricane begin to recede more a week after the storm made landfall, first responders on Saturday came across hundreds of dead fish on a stretch of Interstate 40 that had been hit hard by flooding.,, The fish were discovered along a stretch of the interstate near Wallace, located about 40 miles northwest of Wilmington, where the storm made landfall. “Hurricane Florence caused massive flooding in our area and allowed the fish to travel far from their natural habitat, stranding them on the interstate when waters receded,” the fire department said. >click to read<08:22
Wicker advocates for bipartisan bill to end illegal global fishing, seafood trade
U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), a member of the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, earlier this week questioned whether increased federal action would aide in the halt of illegal fishing and seafood trade in the global marketplace. Sen. Wicker on Aug. 28 introduced the bipartisan Maritime Security And Fisheries Enforcement (SAFE) Act, S. 3400, to address the threat to national security from illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and associated illegal activity, to prevent the illegal trade of seafood and seafood products, among other purposes, according to the text of the bill. S. 3400 calls for “a whole-of-government approach” that would include the intelligence community to help combat IUU fishing,,,>click to read<09:08
NOAA Seeks $3 Million in Civil Fines against Carlos Rafael, Takes Aim at 20 Captains
NOAA hasn’t removed Carlos Rafael from its crosshairs. It’s requesting more than $3 million from the fishing tycoon and also took aim at 20 additional Rafael captains in a civil action filed last week, the governing agency told The Standard-Times on Thursday. NOAA issued superseding charging documents in its civil administrative case involving Rafael on Sept. 10, which added charges and included more respondents than the original document NOAA issued Jan. 10. The new document seeks to revoke 42 of Rafael’s federal fishing permits, prevent Rafael or his agents from applying for NOAA permits in the future, and increase the total monetary penalties sought from $983,528 to $3,356,269.,,, The documents, which are non-criminal, also increased the number of alleged violations of federal fishery laws from 35 to 88 in addition to lassoing 20 of Rafael’s captains into the civil action. The original documents included only two captains. NOAA also is seeking to revoke operator permits of 17 fishing vessel captains for Rafael. >click to read<20:48
Law protecting seals needs to change as population grows
John Dowd is correct that we have a “booming seal population,” but he’s wrong on two other counts (“Still swimming with sharks,” Metro, Sept. 13). First, he says that Nantucket has no seal or shark problem. On the contrary, one of the Northeast’s most celebrated fishing destinations, Nantucket’s Great Point, is now effectively a seal refuge, and the small island of Muskeget, just to the west of Nantucket, has been called one of the largest gray seal breeding sites in the country. More important, the first step to managing an ever-expanding seal population, and the white sharks it attracts, is not, as Dowd does, to call for a seal cull, which is a political nonstarter, but rather to pass an amendment to the Marine Mammal Protection Act,,, and a short rebuttal. >click to read<16:33
Opinion: The seafood trade deficit is a diversionary tactic
Lately, politicians, bureaucrats and journalists have begun lamenting the fact that the United States runs a seafood trade deficit. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross. The booming economy trumps Trump’s trade battle with China has called the deficit “silly” given the ample U.S. coastline. In June, Timothy Gallaudet, Acting Administrator of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, suggested reducing the seafood trade deficit by allowing commercial fishing in marine protected areas. Now the agency has launched a series of public listening sessions on the topic that began Aug. 31 and continue through November. >click to read<15:08
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 55′ Dixon Tuna/Longliner, 1000HP CAT C18, 20 KW Northern Lights
Specifications, information and 26 photos >click here< To see all the boats in this series, >click here<12:56
Pacific Salmon Treaty – Alaska salmon negotiators accept fewer ‘treaty fish’
For more than 30 years, the Pacific Salmon Commission has allocated salmon stocks shared between the U.S. and Canada. It’s re-negotiated every 10 years, and the latest version expires at the end of 2018. Formal talks finished in mid-August. Now, the numbers are out: Alaska will accept a 7.5 percent reduction, compared to 12.5 percent for Canada. In Washington and Oregon, the cuts range from 5 to 15 percent. “There’s some that would consider it to be winners and losers and I think in this case, I think everybody was equally disappointed,” said Alaska Fish and Game Deputy Commissioner Charlie Swanton, who headed Alaska’s delegation. >click to read<08:55
The Visionaries of Evolution: The Future of Fish Farming May Be Indoors
If it catches on, indoor aquaculture could play a critical role in meeting the needs of a swelling human population, Nordic CEO Erik Heim says. He believes it could do so without the pollution and other potential threats to wild fish that can accompany traditional aquaculture—although the indoor approach does face environmental challenges of its own. “There’s always some risk, but the risk of the land-based system is a small percentage of the risk of an outdoor system,” says Michael Timmons, an environmental engineer at Cornell University who has studied aquaculture for more than 20 years and is not involved in the Nordic project. >click to read<16:54
Dear Senator Warren, I will be exploring my options
Dear Senator Warren, I am a lifelong Democrat, have been Party Chairman in Gloucester, Ma., and have supported you in the past. I find myself very disappointed, Senator, as I continue my quest of supporting the remaining fishermen of Gloucester, the Gloucester Fishermens Wives Association, Captain Sam Novello, Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken, and others in the industry. In the last three months, I have sent numerous emails, called your Washington office, your Boston office, and left messages for you, and no one has bothered to call, or answer back! I have become discouraged that I can’t count on you, so what am I supposed to do? >click to read< by Sam Parisi 23:43
