Category Archives: Pacific
Government Watchdog Agrees to Probe Effects of Offshore Wind Turbines
Following a request from a group of Republican congressmen, the Government Accountability Office (GAO), an independent watchdog, has agreed to conduct an investigation into the environmental effects of offshore wind turbines, which the Biden administration has increasingly supported. The effort was spearheaded by Representative Chris Smith (R., N.J.), who sent a letter to the GAO’s comptroller requesting information about the effects in the North Atlantic Planning Area, which extends from Maine to New Jersey. Of particular interest is whether wind turbines will cause economic and marine-life problems affecting commercial fishing. >click to read< 07:38
Kotek calls for pause on offshore wind turbines
Gov. Tina Kotek is joining a chorus of voices, including tribes and commercial fishermen, urging the Biden administration to slow down its push for floating wind farms in the Pacific Ocean off the state’s southern coast. Regulators are now preparing a draft report outlining where in the areas turbines may be built safely while minimizing harm to fisheries and marine life. Members of the West Coast fishing industry, however, claim that the bureau is ignoring their concerns. They worry that floating offshore wind farms will displace boats from highly productive fishing grounds and could irreversibly damage the California Current ecosystem. >click to read< 09:20
Coast Guard rescues 2 men from capsized boat off Southwest Oregon Coast
The 2 menrescued two people from their boat after it capsized Wednesday night off the coast of Nesika Beach. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Columbia River received notification around 7:30 p.m. from the wife of the captain of a 26-foot commercial fishing vessel stating that her husband had not made it back to the marina at the time he said. The wife had also relayed to the Coast Guard that a friend had called the vessel operator at approximately 3 p.m., which was the last time someone had contact with anyone on the vessel. Utilizing cell phone forensics, watchstanders were able to narrow down a viable search area. Just after 11 p.m., the aircrew located the vessel with the men sitting on the overturned hull. They were not wearing life jackets. The helicopter crew then vectored the boat crew to the scene. >click to read< 21:42
Who will benefit from Morro Bay wind energy job creation?
California plans to rely on offshore wind energy to achieve its renewable energy goals. The off-shore wind farms are projected to generate 2,000 to 5,000 megawatts of energy by 2030 and 25,000 megawatts by 2045. Cyrus Ramezani and Mahdi Rastad’s 86-page report details the economic impacts of the Morro Bay wind energy projects and identifies the types of jobs that will be created. Last year, the federal government auctioned off three offshore wind energy sites located between 20 and 30 miles off the coast near Morro Bay. The report does not discuss the number of jobs the county will lose in the fishing and hospitality industries. >click to read< 16:30
Canadian and American lobster industry confronts ‘ropeless’ traps after whale entanglements
Injuries to endangered North Atlantic Right Whales ensnared in fishing gear have fueled a prominent campaign by environmental groups to pressure the industry to adopt on-demand equipment that only suspends ropes in the water briefly before traps are pulled from the water. To address the problem, the U.S. and Canadian governments have imposed new regulation on lobster and crab fisheries in recent years, including the use of weak links in rope that break if a whale swims through, color-coded rope for tracing, adding more traps per buoy line, and zone closures during whale migration. Washington and Ottawa are now promoting ropeless fishing as a possible long-term solution. But lobstermen, particularly in Maine where 80% of U.S. lobster is caught, are not enthusiastic. >click to read< 08:49
Darren Byler files Two Multi-Million Dollar Lawsuits Against the Coast Guard and the City of Kodiak for the Illegal Sinking of the M/V Wild Alaskan
The 110’ F/V Shaman a Bering Sea Legend was just recently, intentionally sunk by the City of Kodiak, Alaska. The vessel was purchased in 2006 by Darren and Kimberly Byler from then owner, Dan Mattsen. The Byler’s took possession of the vessel at Fisherman’s Terminal in Seattle, Washington and relocated the vessel to Alaska. The Byler’s modified and remodeled the vessel for the Research, Exploration and Long-Range Charter Industry. From 2007-2014 Darren and Kimberly Byler were at the top of their game with this boat and renamed the vessel “Alaskan Leader”. In 2014, Darren Byler stated that his charter business bookings were down as was the economy, at that point Byler came up with an edgy idea to rename the vessel “Wild Alaskan” and provide an Adult Entertainment Charter with Topless Dancers to the local Kodiak Fishing and Coast Guard Population. >click to read< 17:44
Courts threaten to sink federal fishery monitoring
NOAA suffered a major blow in February when a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Louisiana threw out a rule that would have required charter boats in the Gulf of Mexico to be equipped with electronic monitors to report fish catches. Fishermen complained that the devices would cost them as much as $3,000 per boat. And the agency may be poised for an even bigger setback from the Supreme Court. Justices last month said they would take up a case that could decide whether NOAA has the legal authority to force New England herring fishermen to hire third-party contractors to monitor their fishing at a cost of up to $700 per day. >click to read< 13:55
Contrary to mainstream belief, wind turbines are neither effective nor, in many cases, good for the environment
Claims of wind power being pro-environment often do not consider the damaging effects these projects can have on wildlife and ecosystems, thus hiding the “true cost” of such initiatives. Wind power projects can threaten birds that fly within their vicinity and trigger a decline in their population; it can harm marine life due to noise pollution and affect the growth of plants in the region where it is located. Driven by subsidies granted by the federal government, the growth of wind projects has triggered concerns about the cumulative impacts they have on the environment. There have been growing protests against wind power projects across the world. In the United States, people have opposed setting up wind turbines in Lake Erie due to concerns about the environmental impact of the project. In New Jersey, protestors have asked to pause the development of an offshore wind farm which they claim has led to dolphins and whales washing ashore. >click to read< 12:38
Will American fish save our chippies? Massive rise in the cost of cod and haddock is forcing firms to look for cheaper alternatives
A huge rise in the cost of cod and haddock, alongside a tariff on Russian white fish, is forcing firms to look for cheaper alternatives, including rockfish, also known as Pacific perch, and hake, which the US west coast has in abundance. They both taste similar to cod. Andrew Crook, president of the National Federation of Fish Friers, visited Oregon last month as part of a delegation from the UK seafood industry. He said the huge surplus of fish in the US could ‘take the pressure off’ needing to find expensive supplies closer to home. >click to read< 12:01
Fabled 1930s Arctic fur-trading ship, built for Inuvialuit trappers, needs a new home
It’s a piece of Canadian Indigenous history, and an effort is underway to ensure the 88-year-old Arctic fur-trading ship, called the North Star of Herschel Island, stays in Canada. The 24-metre ship has a storied history, dating from a time when the Arctic fur trade was still thriving, and northern communities were reaping the rewards. The North Star of Herschel Island was built in 1935 in San Francisco, for two Inuvialuit trappers: Fred Carpenter and Jim Wolki. The two had a lucrative business in the Western Arctic and they designed a vessel that would serve as an essential tool of their trade. >click to read< 10:51
Deadliest Catch: What Happened to the F/V Northwestern?
The only boat to appear in all 19 seasons of the show, the F/V Northwestern is owned by the Hansen family and skippered by Sig Hansen, according to the Discovery Channel’s F/V Northwestern origin story, posted on Youtube. Surely the 124-foot-long fishing boat built in 1977 has weathered some rough seas, but so has the family that owns her. Despite lawsuits, a sexual assault conviction, and more accusations, the Northwestern has remained integral to the livelihood of the family. >click to read< 09:50
Murkowski, King introduce bipartisan bill to support rural fishing communities
U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Angus King (I-Maine) have introduced bipartisan legislation to expand financial support for America’s fishing communities. The Fishing Industry Credit Enhancement Act would allow businesses that provide direct assistance to fishing operations, like gear producers or cold storage, to access the same loans from the Farm Credit System (FCS) already offered to service providers for farmers, ranchers, and loggers. The Fishing Industry Credit Enhancement Act is a straightforward, common-sense amendment to the Farm Credit Act of 1971,,, >click to read< 16:37
Army Vet/Commercial Fisherman Dale F Baines “Whaler” of Brookings, Oregon, has passed away
Dale was born on May 18, 1952, in Sacramento, CA to Vern and Marie (Barclay) Baines. At the age of 13 his mother and stepfather Leland Holmes moved the family to Gold Beach. Dale attended and graduated from Gold Beach High School in 1971. Soon after graduation he was drafted into the Army. Dale loved to fish from a young age. It was not surprising he became a commercial fisherman and in 1976 he bought his first F/V the TAKU a small salmon trawler which he fell overboard while fishing by himself off Eureka CA. Thankfully the Lord was not ready for him and saved him so that he could marry Mindy Payne on September 26, 1987. Dale spent many years working on others boats, until 2003 when he and his wife purchased the F/V Innisfree. >click to read< 13:04
USDA will invest $52 million to help fishing industry on the West Coast
The struggling fisheries industry on the West Coast is getting a much-needed financial boost from the federal government. The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it will buy $52 million worth of Pacific groundfish for its food assistance programs. The money is the USDA’s third and biggest investment in the fish in as many years. In 2021, the USDA purchased $16 million of groundfish, specifically rockfish, pink shrimp and whiting or hake, a fish that’s popular in Eastern Europe. It increased that to up to just over $30 million the following year. This year’s $52 million surpasses the $50 million in wholesale sales for those fish last year, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, which tracks fisheries in Oregon. >click to read< 09:50
Westport: Clear skies grace annual Blessing of the Fleet
A steady onshore breeze carried the smell of salt air over the assembled crowd at the Westport Fisherman’s Monument on Sunday as civilians, emergency personnel and Coast Guardsmen gathered to remember those claimed by the sea over the years. More than 50 fishermen and Coast Guardsmen from the area had set out and not returned, given over to the ocean, and that afternoon, the community gathered to remember them. “It means everything. Our job is to protect the fleet,” said surfman and bosun’s mate Petty Office 2nd Class Victoria True, a Coast Guardsman at Coast Guard Station Grays Harbor, who read the list of the Coast Guardsmen who had died at sea. “It’s our community too. We’ve got their backs.” Photos, >click to read< 20:09
Blessing of the Fleet honors those in local fishing industry
The annual Blessing of the Fleet and Memorial Service will be held at the Charleston Fisherman’s Memorial Garden on Memorial Day. The service honors the local men and women involved in commercial fishing and the fishing industry who have lost their lives since 1941. This year they will be honoring fishermen Stan Main and Chauncey Woodworth, and fishing industry professionals Kevin Roy Cameron and Fernando Sandez. The 1954 Buoy Bell will be rung as each name is read, which is significant because fishermen rely on this sound to aid in safe navigation. The Fisherman’s Memorial Committee members said everyone in the community is invited to participate in the event. “It’s a matter of showing appreciation to the fisherman and to honor them, and it’s a nice event that shows patriotism,” Whitmer said. photos, >click to read< 11:26
Starlink helps locate sunken treasure in Washington waters worth millions
Nearly 150 years ago, the SS Pacific and the S/V Orpheus collided off the coast of Cape Flattery in Washington state. While the Orpheus was able to ready lifeboats and make necessary repairs, the SS Pacific was not so fortunate, sinking into the late-night waters killing all but two of its estimated, 325 passengers. To this day, the incident remains one of the deadliest maritime disasters in Pacific Northwest history. Jeff Hummel and Matt McCauley first met while attending a high school in Mercer Island in 1979. In conversation, Hummel brought up a sunken airplane he knew about, which his father witnessed crash in Lake Washington while working at the Boeing plant in Renton. Photos, >click to read< 09:32
Why A Deadliest Catch Deckhand Is Suing Sig Hansen’s Company
A deckhand working on the fishing vessel Northwestern, which frequently appears on the Discovery hit “Deadliest Catch,” has filed a personal injury lawsuit against the ship’s owners. Alaska Public Media reports that deckhand Nick Mavar Jr. filed a civil suit against Hansen Enterprises, Inc. in December 2022 in Washington State’s King County Superior Court. In the brief, as quoted by Alaska Public Media, Mavar Jr. explains that during a December 2020 voyage with the show’s crew aboard the boat, Mavar Jr. began to experience worsening abdominal pain while working. He claims that he was not given adequate medical treatment in time, resulting in his appendix bursting before he was airlifted to a local hospital for treatment. It was later discovered that there was a cancerous tumor within the ruptured organ. Hansen Enterprise’s legal issues don’t end there. In the wake of Nick Mavar Jr.’s suit, Hansen Enterprises Inc. filed a civil lawsuit against Original Productions Inc and Trifecta Solutions LLC >click to read< 19:40
3 Alaska trollers contemplate a summer without chinook
Barring a stay, or a successful appeal, or other eleventh-hour legal action, there will be no troll fishery for king salmon in Southeast Alaska either this summer or winter. The fisheries have been canceled by order of the U.S. District Court of Western Washington on largely procedural grounds. According to the ruling they stem from a violation of the Endangered Species Act, and the failure of the National Marine Fisheries Service to fully address the impact of Alaska’s king salmon trollers on an endangered population of orcas in Puget Sound called Southern Resident killer whales. No other salmon species or commercial gear group or sport fishery anywhere on the entire Pacific Northwest coast is affected by the order, just commercial trolling for king salmon in Southeast Alaska. photos, >click to read/listen< 13:39
Dungeness crab fisherman from Half Moon Bay claims hefty fine ‘the most unfair thing’
Half Moon Bay commercial fisherman Paul Toste this week agreed to pay $17,000 in fines after state game wardens caught him fishing illegally for crabs in a marine preserve. But Toste, 52, claims he was unjustly persecuted and punished for a simple navigation mistake. “This was the most unfair thing I’ve ever seen in my life,” Toste said. “The original fine was $610,000 — for 15 crab pots. They tortured me for nine months of negotiating. It was one of the most horrible things I went through.” When he moved to the area 16 years ago, fishing was legal in what is now the reserve, he said. “They took that away from us,” he said. “We never were compensated for it, and then … I’m receiving a ticket for $610,000.” >click to read< 14:35
Morro Bay group plans initiative to block proposed battery storage plant
A group of Morro Bay residents who call themselves Citizens for Estero Bay Preservation has submitted a citizen’s initiative that aims to block construction of a battery storage facility near the old power plant. The 24-acre site for the proposed battery plant is adjacent to a major PG&E substation, where it would connect to the California grid via high-voltage power lines that climb the hills from Morro Bay across SLO County to the California transmission system. Some critics, however, don’t want to see these systems in their backyard. They point to the need to preserve Morro Bay’s fishing village atmosphere. There is another aspect to all this. Many of the same critics don’t want the offshore wind project either and lump their concerns together. >click to read< 08:52
Old lumber port preps for new life as California offshore wind hub
Eureka’s halcyon days as the “timber capital” of California are long gone, but the deepwater port city 270 miles north of San Francisco may see its fortunes turn as the hub of the state’s first foray in offshore wind energy. Eureka sits across two of the five swaths of Pacific Ocean along the California coast that the federal government auctioned off to offshore wind developers this past December for a total of $757 million. The three other leases are on the Central Coast across from Morro Bay. Humboldt Bay, the second-largest bay in California after the San Francisco Bay, is ideally suited to become the final assembly port for the massive turbines. >click to read< 15:43
Alaska trollers will feel pain and unnecessary hardship from ruling on orca lawsuit
As president of Seafood Producers Cooperative, representing nearly 400 fishermen-owners, who reside in California, Oregon, Washington and Alaska, I want to convey our great disappointment and frustration with the recent ruling concerning the Wild Fish Conservancy and their lawsuit directed at our Salmon Troll fleet. The WFC found a technicality in National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s biological opinion for troll-caught king salmon. No other fishing gear groups are being attacked and other commercial and sports fishermen in the region – and in the Puget Sound – will continue to harvest king salmon. >click to read< 08:59
Alaskans poaching Canadian salmon top concern for federal fisheries minister
American fishing boats catching threatened Canadian salmon was flagged as a top concern for federal Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray before meeting with the U.S. ambassador to Canada in March. Over the past decade, and especially in 2021 — commercial fisheries in southeast Alaska have intercepted high numbers of Canadian salmon, particularly threatened sockeye stocks from the Nass, Skeena and Fraser rivers in B.C., the document said. The long-term rebuilding of threatened Pacific salmon stocks is a key objective for Canada, which is concerned about the potential impact a number of Alaskan fisheries are having on those stocks, the document said. >click to read< 10:47
Shipwrecked ‘ghost boat’ looms on SLO County coast. Where did it come from?
Rumors circulate about how the so-called “ghost boat” came to rest off the coast of Estero Bluffs, with some claiming that its owner fell asleep at the helm while returning home from a fishing trip. According to a U.S. Coast Guard incident report, boat owner Jonathan Smith was fishing on July 28, 2017, when his boat drifted too close to the Estero Bay shore. Smith’s deckhand wasn’t feeling well and “went below deck to rest” — leaving Smith to fend for himself, the incident report said. At about 3:45 a.m., the boat’s propeller caught on a crab pot line, so Smith stopped the engine to try to untangle the line, the report said. photos, >click to read< 08:15
’Deadliest Catch’: Sig Hansen Admits Producers Make the Show More ‘Dramatic’: ‘That’s What Sells’
Discovery Channel’s hit reality TV series, Deadliest Catch, focuses heavily on Sig Hansen in season 19. Sig and his daughter, Mandy Hansen, are at the helm of the Northwestern, and they’ve given a lot of insight into what life is like catching crabs on the Bering Sea. Here’s what Sig Hansen admitted about the producers of Deadliest Catch focusing on the difficult weather conditions to make the show more “dramatic.” “They shoot thousands of hours of footage, and I can understand that they are trying to put a storyboard together and make it fit. Everything that they film is accurate, but you will see a lot of the more foul weather as opposed to the calm days. I suppose that’s what sells, but the bad weather is a reality.” Also, an interesting video of the F/V Foremost sinking, leading to the construction of F/V Northwestern. >click to read< 13:41
Commercial Fisherman Lloyd D. Whaley of Brookings, Oregon has passed away
Lloyd D. Whaley was born April 30th, 1943, and passed away peacefully on Saturday morning April 29th, 2023. He juggled working nights at the lumber mill while pursuing his eventual career during the daytime: commercial fishing. The long hours and lack of sleep eventually paid off when he was able to buy his first salmon trawler, the Marilyn A. Some years later, he sold the Marilyn A and bought a slightly larger trawler, the Kristy. Unfortunately, the risk of fishing caught up with him and the Kristy sank. Instead of becoming discouraged, he remained devoted to commercial fishing and built a boat that could handle harsher weather conditions and diversify into other fisheries such as crab, shrimp, and bottom trawl, the Cape Sebastian. From there he grew to a second vessel, a 90-foot gulf shrimper the BJ Thomas (later sold to his granddaughter Sarah and husband Justin). Finally, in 1987 in a partnership with his son, they built a combination trawler crabber in Alabama and named it the Miss Sarah after his granddaughter. Additionally, Lloyd gave 20 years of service to the Port of Brookings Harbor as a commissioner. >click to read< 11:54
Seattle judge’s ruling might cancel Alaska commercial king salmon season
A ruling from a U.S. judge in Seattle could effectively shut down commercial king salmon trolling in Southeast Alaska, a valuable industry that supports some 1,500 fishermen, after a conservation group challenged the harvest as a threat to endangered killer whales that eat the fish. Wild Fish Conservancy, the organization that brought the lawsuit, heralded the decision as the most significant government action in decades to provide more food for starving orcas. But fishing organizations condemned the ruling, saying it threatens the region with economic disaster and would do little or nothing to benefit orcas. The state of Alaska quickly announced an appeal. >click to read< 10:12
Deadliest Catch: Where is Captain Casey McManus anyway?!!
High-stakes reality series “Deadliest Catch” is back on Discovery Channel for its 19th season. But a few familiar faces are missing from the popular show. Former cast member Josh Harris does not appear in the new episodes. Nor does his one-time partner Captain Casey McManus of the F/V Cornelia Marie. Instead, McManus has taken a job that keeps him a bit closer to shore. While Discovery Channel had cut ties with Harris, McManus’ future on the show was unclear. However, when details about the currently airing 19th season were released, his name was missing from the list of captains. Video, >click to read< 17:49
The Cornelia Marie Fishing Vessel Was a Big Part of ‘Deadliest Catch’ for Years. Where is She Now?!
On a show like Deadliest Catch, the fishing boats are as important as the main cast members and crew. Since the Cornelia Marie was with the series since nearly the beginning, but no longer appears to be part of the Discovery series, fans are curious. Where is the Cornelia Marie? And, perhaps more importantly, what happened to it? The Cornelia Marie fishing boat was introduced in Season 2 of Deadliest Catch. From there, viewers met the boat’s crew and got to know Captain Phil Harris. He later passed away in Season 6. The Cornelia Marie continued to be part of the series, however, and different captains took control of the vessel. That’s no longer the case. >click to read< 19:40
