Salvage crews raised a sunken fishing boat from the bottom of the sea near San Juan Island Saturday, but they have been unable to remove enough fuel and seawater from the vessel to lift it onto a barge and transport it away from the critical orca habitat where it sank 5 weeks ago. The F/V Aleutian Isle, a 58-foot salmon fishing boat, released a 2-mile sheen of diesel onto the surface of Haro Strait when it sank. The unusual effort to lift it 240 feet from the sea floor was launched after officials decided pumping up to 2,600 gallons of diesel and oil still on board to the surface was not feasible at that depth in the swirling currents of Haro Strait. Photos, >click to read< 08:21
Category Archives: Pacific
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
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
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
Sinking trawler safely pulled from Port Townsend Bay
Quick thinking and fast action helped to prevent a sinking trawler from turning into something worse. “Galaxy,” a 38-foot wooden fishing vessel, began taking on water about one nautical mile off of Boat Haven Marina around 4:30 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 29. The owner of the boat, who was the only one aboard, called 911 and launched Coast Guard Station Port Angeles and East Jefferson Fire Rescue into action. Luckily, the owner had already contacted a commercial salvage operation, which was able to bring the boat into the marina where it was removed from the water Thursday evening. >click to read< 10:24
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
Deadliest Catch Vessels Burn Through a Staggering Amount of Fuel During the Season
Andy Hillstrand spoke about his famed “Deadliest Catch” vessel Time Bandit in an interview with Dockworld. And yes, his knowledge of the crabbing ship is very much of the intimate nature, with the Time Bandit co-captain pointing out the ship is a bit of a family heirloom at this point, “The Time Bandit was built by my father, myself and my two brothers at a shipyard in Charleston, Oregon in 1991.” Hillstrand then went into vivid detail regarding the vessel’s stats, noting in particular that, “Time Bandit has a 20,000 gallon fuel capacity.” He went on to say, “Typically she cruises at 8.5 knots and nine knots is top cruise. At speed we burn 750 gallons per day.” >click to read< 10:00
On the Puget Sound, the Women Whose Lives and Work Revolve Around Salmon
In the town of Bellingham, Washington, everyone knows when the salmon run come fall. Shimmery silvers and chum salmon break the chilly water’s surface with their heads, as they move through the Puget Sound and tributary rivers to their spawning grounds. Locals buzz, telling one another when they’ve seen them, admiring the fish on their journey. But for Ellie Kinley, this isn’t just a fall spectacle. She thinks about these fish 365 days a year. There’s a strong and sometimes overlooked community of fishing families here. The Lummi have the largest tribal fishing fleet in the nation, according to Kinley; the port is also home to fishing families, native and non-native alike, who use Bellingham as their home base between fishing trips to Alaska and California. Photos, >click to read< 17:44
Something’s fishy: NOAA urges vigilance after catching fraudulent fishing permit site
NOAA fisheries issued a Notice of fraudulent alert Friday over a website that claimed to process both federal and state fishing permits. It calls itself the Commercial Fishing Permits Center and depending on the permit you want, charges different fees. However, NOAA said the site is in no way affiliated with NOAA or any State. They advise the public to not use the site when applying for a State of federal fishery permit. Links, >click to read< 12:09
California Offshore Wind Projects Face Hurdles as Pressure Groups, Industry Interests Weigh In
As the Biden administration plans for the country’s first West Coast offshore wind turbines, interests ranging from commercial fishing fleets to powerful environmental groups are complicating the road ahead for the California projects. Some fishermen are worried about losing access to swaths of rich fishing grounds, where they would have to stop towing nets that could get caught on underwater cables. Lori Steele, executive director of the West Coast Seafood Processors Association, said offshore wind power projects threaten an industry that also must deal with depleted fish stocks and soaring coastal real-estate prices. “We’re struggling to make sure that people understand that, just because you can’t see it, that doesn’t mean it’s not having an impact,” she said. There is early discussion about creating fishing compensation funds, similar to ones created by East Coast projects for financial losses, “but the industry doesn’t want to be bought out,” she said. >click to read< 08:08
U.S. Coast Guard rescues 2 fishermen off Oregon coast
The Coast Guard rescued two fishermen from a disabled vessel offshore Oregon Sunday. Watchstanders at the 13th Coast Guard District command center in Seattle received a report at 9:21 p.m. Friday that the 66-foot fishing vessel, F/V Lodestar, lost all means of propulsion and was stranded in a storm battling 8-to-12-foot waves and over 40-knot winds approximately 180 miles offshore Coos Bay. >click to read< 06:59
NMFS survey delivers more bad news to Bering Sea crab fleet
A Bering Sea survey by federal scientists contains more bad news for Alaska, Washington and Oregon-based crabbers hoping for an upturn in upcoming harvests that last year fell to rock-bottom levels. The federal survey results for Bristol Bay king crab are bleak and crabbers have been warned that for a second consecutive year there may not be a fall harvest, according to Jamie Goen, executive director of the Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers. “We have got an emergency,” Goen said. “I’m trying to get Congress to act to help.” The National Marine Fisheries Service survey does offer hope for improved harvests three to five years from now, as young snow crabs grow to adult size. >click to read< 12:20
Cause Of Fire Aboard F/V Blue Dragon Determined By NTSB
No injuries or fatalities were reported in connection with the fire that resulted in more than $500,000 in damages to the vessel. The F/V Blue Dragon was under way conducting longline fishing operations in the North Pacific Ocean when the vessel caught fire. The six crewmembers and a National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) observer unsuccessfully attempted to fight the fire. They abandoned the vessel and were rescued by a Good Samaritan vessel. The F/V Blue Dragon was later towed to San Pedro, California. On Oct. 25, 2021, the F/V Blue Dragon left Honolulu, Hawaii, to fish for swordfish and tuna. On Nov. 9, while the crew were preparing to retrieve fishing gear, the NMFS observer discovered a fire in the wheelhouse under the console. >click to read< 08:57
Port of Anacortes’ T Dock sees more than $14 million in annual commercial activity
Port commissioners voted earlier this year to replace T Dock with a new, upgraded dock, about twice the size and with a cost estimate of more than $7 million. With supply chain issues and rising costs of both supplies and construction, that number will likely go up, Port Executive Director Dan Worra said. The dock doesn’t bring in much money for the Port of Anacortes itself, but helps its tenants create money in their businesses. It also creates and supports jobs in this region, which is important to the port, he said. About $14 million in commercial activity happens through the T Dock each year. About $10 million of that comes from commercial fishing revenue, and $4 million comes through commercial maritime revenue, according to the report. >click to read< 10:29
The Reason Crabbers Worried Deadliest Catch Might Destroy Their Livelihoods
Considering the fact that most of the captains we meet in “Deadliest Catch” have enjoyed an immense amount of success due to the series’ popularity, it might surprise some fans to learn that there were plenty of fishermen who originally opposed the series, worrying that “Deadliest Catch” might destroy their livelihood. During an interview with The Fishing Website, Captain Sig Hansen explained that the first season of “Deadliest Catch” received a lot of pushback from other Alaskan king crab fishermen, many of whom worried that the series would spell disaster for their insurance. >click to read< 14:29
Okanagan First Nation fishery celebrates record return of sockeye salmon
An estimated 670,000 sockeye have entered the Columbia River system this summer on a nearly-1,000-kilometre upstream journey toward spawning grounds in creeks and rivers, according to fish biologists with the ONA. More than 80 per cent of those fish are destined for Canadian waters near Osoyoos, B.C., in the south Okanagan, said Richard Bussanich, the organization’s head fish biologist. “This is a great story,” Bussanich said. “We’ve got more fish than spawning habitat coming back.” In partnership with Canadian and U.S. agencies, First Nations in the Okanagan have worked to restore the migration channels and re-introduce sockeye to the region over the past two decades, each year expanding spawning territory further into the valleys’ creeks and rivers. >click to read< 11:47
Website shines a light on offshore wind farms
Fishermen, an informal coalition of more than two dozen organizations concerned about the environmental and economic impacts of proposed offshore wind farms in the Pacific Ocean, launched a new website on Monday. Visitors to protectUSfishermen.org will find details not only on the current push to place wind turbine farms off the coast of Oregon, but also learn about the sustainable seafood industry and its positive impacts on the economy and food security. For those wishing to gain a broad understanding of the debate surrounding offshore wind, the site provides a comprehensive overview. Those wishing to take a “deep dive” into the issue can click on a variety of links to well-documented studies and positions from credible sources around the world. >click to read< 16:00
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 68′ Desco Dragger with Permits, CAT 3408
To review specifications, information, and 64 photos’, and video tour, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here< 11:31
Oregon fishermen learn to face emergencies at sea through 2-day course
When things go wrong at sea, it may take time for first responders to reach those in trouble. That’s why non-profit Charleston Fishing Families partnered with Oregon State University Sea Grant Extension Office to offer two days of free Coast Guard approved first aid and CPR classes. The Fisherman First Aid and Safety Training course used in class and hands-on boat sessions to teach fishermen how to respond to events like head injuries, wounds, burns, and environmental illnesses. Video, photos, >click to read< 10:17
Ship strike probably killed whale off California coast
A humpback whale that washed ashore in the San Francisco Bay Area over the weekend probably was killed by a collision with a ship, researchers said. A necropsy determined that the female adult whale had “injuries consistent with a ship strike,” including extensive bruising to the chest area along with a fractured vertebra, and her skull was dislocated from her spinal column, according to a statement from The Marine Mammal Center. Except for those injuries, the whale was in excellent condition, with ample fat and blubber reserves, the center said. >click to read< 08:46
Alaska’s herring row
On a drizzly March afternoon in Sitka, Alaska, K’asheechtlaa “Louise” Brady hurries down a wooden ramp to the dock at Fisherman’s Quay, her gray-streaked hair spilling from the hood of her windbreaker. There, two small skiffs sit low in the water, heavy with 10-foot-long hemlock branches jeweled with yellow-white fish eggs. “Oh, they’re so beautiful!” “This is the taste of what it means to be Tlingit.” Jamie Ross stands on the deck of his seiner, F/V Anduril, next to a pile of dead herring, his shaggy white hair and mustache blowing in the wind. Ross, who’s from Homer, Alaska, has fished Sitka herring for 30 years. He’s one of the 47 permit holders, and one of the few who remember when herring fisheries lined the Alaska coast. Photos, >click to read< 13:29
F/V Aleutian Isle: Equipment on site, recovery will take 10 days once started
The Unified Command continues its response following the sinking of the commercial fishing vessel Aleutian Isle west of San Juan Island, Washington. Dive and vessel recovery equipment has arrived on scene. A mixture of oxygen and helium, known as heliox, is needed to dive at depths greater than 200 feet. The heliox has arrived on San Juan Island and is being prepared for use. Contractor, Global Diving, arrived on scene, anchoring a barge and crane which will be used to raise the sunken vessel Aleutian Isle for transport. >click to read< 09:45