Category Archives: Pacific
Canada ignored warnings of virus infecting farmed and wild salmon
Canada was warned in 2012 by its own scientists that a virus was infecting both farmed and wild salmon, but successive governments ignored the expert advice, saying for years that risks to salmon were low. Justin Trudeau’s government has said it will phase out open-pen industrial fish farms off the coast of British Columbia by 2025. But both his government and the previous Conservative government were in possession of a newly released report that linked large-scale farms and wild salmon to the highly contagious Piscine orthoreovirus (PRV). In 2012, biologists with the department of fisheries and oceans investigated the presence of the virus, which has been found in both farmed and wild salmon. but successive governments ignored the expert advice, saying for years that risks to salmon were low. >click to read< 11:48
Whale entanglements, crab gear, and what can be done
Whale populations are recovering, and whales are on the move early this year. That’s led to five humpback whale entanglements in crab gear, prompting the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to close the commercial Dungeness crab season two months early. With a population that is “definitely recovering” and five entanglements over a month and a half, Bartling conceded, “We’re in uncharted territory.” Three of the entanglements were confirmed with commercial California Dungeness crab gear, while the other two were “not identifiable, but the gear is consistent with what could be commercial Dungeness crab gear.” >click to read< 10:15
DFO enacts new regulations aimed at depleted fish stocks
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has enacted new regulations that bind its minister to rebuilding Canada’s depleted fish stocks and ensuring healthy ones stay that way, a move that comes weeks after it closed down two East Coast fisheries in the name of sustainability. The regulations are the teeth behind amendments to the Fisheries Act passed in 2019 and have been closely watched by the commercial fishing industry and environmentalists. The changes were posted Wednesday in the Canada Gazette. It identified 30 major fish stocks that will require a rebuilding plan,,, The minister for the department will have up to three years to produce a rebuilding plan once the stock has hit the limit reference point. >click to read< 16:32
Washington: Commercial Fisherman Kenneth Elliott Layfield has passed away
Ken was born April 7, 1959, in Oak Harbor, Washington to Mary Ann and Clarence Elliott Layfield, preceded in death by his mother, father, sister Anita, daughter Chelsea, and nephew Allen. He peacefully passed away at the age of 62, surrounded by his loved ones, on March 16, 2022, in Spokane, Washington. Soon after graduating, he got into commercial fishing and bought his own commercial fishing boat (The Midnight Charger) in 1987 at the age of 28. His legendary and well-respected career of commercial fishing spanned from San Francisco all the way to Togiak, Alaska, ultimately spending 34 years of his career in Kodiak, Alaska. Ken’s love of fishing grew even more when his two sons started going up to Alaska to fish with him. He took much pride and joy in teaching Elliott, Caleb, and Jillian the ins and outs of fishing, combining his love of his children with his passion of fishing. >click to read< 20:35
DA Settles Ventura Harbor Hazmat Suit Against Squid Boat Captain
The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office has settled a lawsuit with the captain of a commercial squid fishing boat for illegal dumping of hazardous waste in the ocean outside of Ventura Harbor. The DA’s office says that on June 4th last year a State Fish and Wildlife warden saw the squid boat F/V Sea Venture dump squid wastewater into the ocean. The Captain of the F/V Sea Venture is 54-year-old Peter Joseph Ancich of Rancho Palos Verdes. >click to read< 11:04
California takes step toward first offshore wind farm
The California Coastal Commission voted unanimously to pave the way for the West Coast’s first offshore wind farm that if ultimately approved and built would occupy roughly 206 square miles of ocean about 20 miles west of the town of Eureka, Calif. “This is truly historic,” said commission chair Donne Brownsey just before the unanimous vote was taken. Not everyone agrees. Specifically, commercial fishermen said the waters off of Eureka are some of the most valuable on the entire West Coast and cordoning more than 200 square miles will have a dramatic impact on their business. >click to read< 11:44
ODFW releases first-of-its-kind crab fishery plan
The Oregon Dungeness Crab Fishery Management Plan is a 177-page document released last week by ODFW, which spent the last four years developing it to be the most comprehensive catalog of Oregon’s ocean commercial, bay commercial and recreational crab fisheries to date. It includes overviews of the fishery’s history, regulation, sustainability and more. “The purpose of the Oregon Dungeness Crab Fishery Management Plan (FMP) is to provide management transparency and facilitate good governance,” a statement accompanying the plan’s release reads. >click to read< 10:18
NTSB: Hot Work Failures Led to Fire on Aleutian Falcon
The fire was reported on the commercial fish processor Aleutian Falcon on Feb. 17, 2021 while the vessel was docked for repairs at a shipyard in Tacoma, Washington. The Tacoma Fire Department responded and extinguished the fire four days later. No one was on board the vessel at the time of the fire, and there were no injuries reported. An estimated 20-30 gallons of hydraulic oil leaked into the water but were captured by a containment boom. The vessel was declared a total loss with an estimated value of nearly $16.5 million. >click to read< 09:38
CDFW to close the commercial Dungeness Crab fishery in response to Humpback Whale entanglements
California Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Charlton H. Bonham has assessed entanglement risk under the Risk Assessment Mitigation Program and announced the closure of the commercial Dungeness crab fishery in Fishing Zones 1 and 2 (Sonoma/Mendocino county line to the Oregon state line) effective at noon on April 20, 2022. This closure is being implemented in addition to a closure of Zones 3 through 6 announced on March 25 because of three recent humpback whale entanglements involving California commercial Dungeness crab fishing gear. >click to read< 08:18
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 72′ Dragger with State/Federal Permits, 3412E Cat
To review specifications, information, and 101 photos’, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here< 11:39
All About the Fishing Fleet at Terminal 91
The factory trawlers, or fish processing vessels, of the North Pacific Fishing Fleet are back in Seattle after four months of harvesting pollock in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska. The docks at Terminal 91 are buzzing with activity as crews unload their recent harvest and prepare to set sail again in late May. For more than 100 years, the North Pacific Fish Fleet, homeported at Terminal 91 and Fishermen’s Terminal, has fed the world and the economies of the Pacific Northwest and state of Alaska. Our region supplies 13% of the total U.S. commercial fisheries harvest by value. Commercial fishing activities at the Port of Seattle generated more than $671.2 million in business output in 2017 and supported 7,200 jobs. Learn more about the North Pacific Fishing Fleet, photos, >click to read< 10:16
S.497 would establish the American Fisheries Advisory Committee within Department of Commerce
After reaching out to Senator Ed Markey and Senator Elisabeth Warren and informing them that under NOAA, the SKG Grant money was not going to our fisherman as intended. My experience of being on a panel in Saint Petersburg to evaluate the applicants for two days, I discovered that the panel was there to please the public and that NOAA has complete say of who got the money! I reported this to Bruce Schactler, and Senator Sullivan. Markey who was opposed, sent his aid to met with me. After I told her what happened Markey came on board and it will now go to the House of Representatives. I am asking all Senators to support this bill. It will set up an advisory panel as was in 1954 and give our fisherman a better chance of the funds. Please, >click to read< Best Regards, Sam Parisi
Into the ice: A crab boat’s quest for snow crab in a Bering Sea upended by climate change
Aboard the F/V Pinnacle in the Bering Sea. Through the wheelhouse window, Capt. Mark Casto spotted a white line on the horizon. The edge of an ice floe was illuminated by bow lights piercing the morning darkness of the Bering Sea. He throttled back the engines. Soon, the Seattle-based crab boat began to nose through closely packed pancake-like pieces and bigger craggy chunks, some the size of boulders, which bobbed about in the currents and clanged against the hull. Casto grabbed a microphone to relay a change in plans to the deck crew. Pull the pots up and stack them aboard. They would search for crab somewhere else. “Where the hell did that ice floe come from? … We’re retreating. It’s a hard word to say,” Casto declared. photos, video, charts and grafs, >click to read< 17:50
‘Deadliest Catch,’ a reality show with drama – and room for make-believe
This year, nine Bering Sea crab boats will appear on the Discovery Channel show’s 18th season, premiering April 19. That represents nearly a quarter of the 39 vessels registered as of March 21 to catch snow crab in the 2022 harvest, which has been greatly reduced due to conservation concerns. Some are smaller boats that may have a more difficult time operating in the cold, rough water of the northern Bering Sea, where surveys indicate most of the crab were to be found this year. But with the money paid by Discovery, their captains had plenty of added incentive to keep crabbing, and keep their crews employed, in 2022 rather than transferring small catch quotas to larger boats. Just how much “Deadliest Catch” pumps into the crab fleet is largely kept confidential. >click to read< 11:32
Fisherwoman who died off Oregon Coast remembered by family
Billie Jo Hooton was on a fishing boat off the coast of Florence last weekend when it went down. Now her family wants to share their memories — remembering her as a strong woman, proud to thrive in a demanding profession. Mollie Gower and Brandi Christner said that their sister, Hooton, was an inspiration. “You don’t hear about a lot of women doing what she did, and she did it good,” said Christner. Hooton was a mother, sister, aunt, friend and made a living fishing. photos, video, >click to read< The family started a >GoFundMe< to help with a memorial for Hooton. Please donate if you can. 08:50
J. M. Martinac Shipbuilding Corporation (Tacoma)
In January 1917, Martinac, with partners Martin Petrich (1880-1971) and William Vickat, established the Western Boatbuilding Company in Old Tacoma. In April, The Tacoma Daily Ledger reported the company employed 40 men building fishing boats up to 70 feet in length for use “in Alaskan waters, on the Columbia River and on Puget Sound” (“Fishing Vessels Turned Out Here”). Fourteen fishing boats worth $90,000 left the plant by the end of September, and the company found itself “receiving inquiries from all over the Sound” and “points in the Pacific Northwest” (“Builds $90,000 Worth of Boats”). While the venture was a success, In 1924, Martinac founded his own company, the J. M. Martinac Shipbuilding Corporation. While the company built some yachts, it primarily built fishing vessels. Photo gallery, >click to read< 21:08
Missing fisherman’s house burns down
Hours after authorities suspended the at-sea search for the captain of a Newport fishing vessel, his Logsden house and an adjacent building caught fire and burned to the ground. The structure fire call came in at 5:13 p.m. Sunday,,, The fire compounded tragedy for a local family. The house and shop, on the site of a Christmas tree farm, were owned by fisherman Mike Morgan, whose boat capsized at around midnight Saturday off the coast of Florence. The body of a crew member, Billie Jo Hooton, was recovered by the U.S. Coast Guard, and a search for Morgan was suspended Sunday morning. >click to read< 13:43
Captain Michael John Morgan of Newport, Oregon has passed away
Michael John Morgan, 68, of Newport, Oregon passed away on March 26, 2022 after his fishing vessel, F/V White Swan III, capsized in the Pacific Ocean. Mike was born in Oakland, California in 1953 to US Coast Guard Lt. Col. Jack Morgan and Beth (both deceased). He would become the oldest of three siblings, followed by Douglas (deceased) and Patricia. At age 12, Mike’s family moved to Newport, when his father was stationed with the Yaquina Bay Coast Guard. Twelve year old Mike took to fishing immediately upon moving to Newport. Mike’s final resting place is at sea with his F/V White Swan III. >click to read< 11:14
Family of woman who died after fishing boat sank near Florence speaks out
The U.S. Coast Guard said a woman has died and a man is missing after F/V White Swan III sank off the coast of Florence on March 26. The Lane County Sheriff’s Office said the man, Mike Morgan, was the captain. The 68-year-old is still missing but the Coast Guard called off the search after 24 hours of searching. The Coast Guard was able to recover the body of Billie Jo Hooton, who was a crew member on the boat. “She did everything, she would drop anything to do anything for anybody else,” Brandi Christner, her sister said. Hooton was close with her nephew, Jeremiah Gower. Video, >click to read< 09:03
Researchers return from open-ocean Pacific salmon study
After spending more than a month at sea studying Pacific salmon, scientists and crew aboard the Sir John Franklin Coast Guard vessel returned to Victoria last week. The ship was one of four participating in the 2022 International Year of the Salmon Pan-Pacific Winter High Seas Expedition, which was the largest-ever research expedition to study salmon and their ecosystems in the North Pacific Ocean. The Sir John Franklin was joined in the expedition by a research vessel from the United States, a research vessel from Russia and a commercial fishing vessel from Canada. “All of the different countries have been tracking their salmon in fresh water and coastally, and very few other than the Russians have really gone far out into the open ocean.” >click to read< 19:40
Coast Guard suspends search for the Master of a 32-foot sunken fishing vessel off Florence
The Coast Guard suspended search efforts at 12:30 a.m. Sunday for the master of a 32-foot fishing vessel that sank approximately 35 miles offshore Florence late Friday night. The missing man has been identified as Mike Morgan, 68. Rescue crews saturated approximately 232 square-miles of search area over a 24-hour period but were unable to locate Morgan. The Coast Guard recovered an unresponsive female victim early Saturday morning, later discovered to be a crew member aboard the White Swan III. The female victim was pronounced deceased by local emergency crews. >click to read< 14:19
California: Closure of commercial fishery causes seafood price increase
Two humpback whales became entangled in Dungeness crab gear near the Monterey Peninsula within the last two weeks, leading to the closure of the commercial Dungeness crab fishery,,, “It’s pretty devastating because the best crabbing here is generally in the springtime,” said Morro Bay commercial fisherman, Bill Blue. This suspension isn’t helping, especially during their most profitable season. “It’s a pretty unjust thing. It’s all political. It has nothing to do with saving the whales. The shipping industry kills a lot of whales. Video, >click to read< 10:26
Updated: Coast Guard searches for the Master of a 32-foot sunken fishing vessel off Florence
North Bend, Ore. The U.S. Coast Guard is searching for the master of a 32-foot fishing vessel that sank Saturday morning approximately 35 miles offshore Florence. Missing is Mike Morgan, 68. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector North Bend received a mayday call at approximately 12 a.m. Saturday from Morgan, the master of the white-and-black fishing vessel F/V White Swan III, reporting that his vessel was sinking in the north end of the Heceta Banks fishing area. Morgan reported that a female crew member was also aboard the vessel. The 13th Coast Guard District Command Center received an emergency position indicating radio beacon alert from F/V White Swan III. >click to read< 18:19
Crew member found ‘unresponsive’- search for ship’s captain ongoing – Searchers have recovered an unresponsive crew member from the Pacific Ocean and continue to scan the waves for a missing man after a fishing boat sank Saturday off the Oregon coast, officials said. They also have not publicly identified the person found unresponsive. >click to read< 19:40
Coast Guard responding to rescue 2 aboard sinking fishing vessel
U.S. Coast Guard helicopter crews are working to rescue two people aboard a fishing vessel sinking off the Oregon Coast Saturday morning, the service’s Pacific Northwest branch account said in a Tweet. According to the Coast Guard, the boat named White Swan III is taking on water about 35 miles from Florence and two people may be in danger. This story will be updated. >click to read< 13:11
CDFW Announces Commercial Dungeness Crab Fishery Closure Off Central California to Protect Humpbacks
California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Director Charlton H. Bonham has assessed entanglement risk under the Risk Assessment Mitigation Program (RAMP) and announced the closure of the commercial Dungeness crab fishery in Fishing Zones 3, 4, 5 and 6 (Sonoma/Mendocino county line to the U.S./Mexico border) effective at noon on April 8, 2022. This closure is being implemented because of two recent humpback whale entanglements that occurred off San Mateo County and in Monterey Bay involving California commercial Dungeness crab fishing gear. All commercial Dungeness crab traps must be removed from the fishing grounds by the April 8 closure date. >click to read< 16:55
Deadliest Catch: Season 18 – The fight to stay in business
“Over the past 17 seasons, audiences have watched the legendary Deadliest Catch captains navigate treacherous seas, intense rivalries and even saw them fight to stay in business last year when the entire fishery almost shut down, but nothing could have prepared these captains for the loss of fishing the lucrative red king crab. For the first time in 25 years, the Alaskan government shut down red king crab catching for the season. Facing financial ruin, each captain is forced to start over and search the Bering Sea for a new way to make a living. Are these captains up for the challenge? Or will they pack up and head home empty handed? Trailer, >click to read< 10:51
Call for tearing out lower Snake River dams gaining support in D.C. and WA state
For more than two decades Eastern Washington residents have heard proposals to tear out the lower Snake River dams, but only recently has the idea gotten bipartisan support in the nation’s capital, said Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash.,,, In the Puget Sound, he said he sees signs scattered along roadways with an X through the words “Snake River Dams.” That support from people who don’t understand what the dams mean to Eastern Washington is coupled with growing Congressional support and interest from the Biden administration, he said. Because the dams are federal infrastructure, their future is a federal issue. >click to read< 09:40
B.C. groups call on Alaska to halt interception of Canadian salmon
In a letter addressed to Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy, four salmon conservation groups presented data indicating that in 2021 more than 650,000 Canadian-origin sockeye salmon were caught in the waters of southeast Alaska. That is six times the 110,000 sockeye B.C. commercial fishers caught last year. “We’re just talking about the fish we know that are getting killed up there,” said Greg Taylor, a longtime consultant with commercial and First Nations fisheries. B.C. salmon populations have plummeted to record lows in recent years. In response, the federal government closed 60 per cent of B.C.’s commercial salmon harvest in June 2021 and announced a fishing licence buy-back program under its $647-million Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative. The result for B.C., says Taylor: “It makes us a spawning ground for Alaska.” >click to read< 13:12
Whales entangled in fishing gear could prompt early end to Dungeness crab season
On Tuesday, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced that one of the entangled whales had been spotted near Moss Beach, just north of Half Moon Bay, on March 11. The other was spotted on March 19 in Monterey Bay. Both were alive at the time. “In anticipation of increasing risk due to migrating humpback and blue whales, a closure will help minimize additional entanglement risk,” read a report from the department,,, However, the Dungeness crab fishing fleet in the affected areas may already be shutting itself down preemptively, said Sonoma County fisherman Dick Ogg, who is on a working group organized by the Department of Fish and Wildlife to assess risk to whales and make recommendations on when it’s time to close the season. >click to read< 07:35