Category Archives: Pacific
North Coast crabbers haul in above average catch in 2017-18 season worth $42 million
The North Coast had a significantly improved Dungeness crab season this year, hauling in 14.3 million of the 19.4 million pounds of Dungeness crab landed in California so far this season, according to preliminary state data provided to the Times-Standard on Tuesday. While there were a few obstacles, Trinidad crab fisherman Mike McBrayer said Tuesday that he had a much improved season thanks to a great crew and good weather that permitted him to get out on the water more days. “And there were crabs, and that’s always a good thing,” McBrayer said.>click to read<15:47
Robert Henry Smith, Jr.
Robert Henry Smith Jr. of Lincoln City, Oregon, passed away on May 30, 2018. Better known as Bob (or Burly and or Bobby by many in the family). Bob was born Sept. 12, 1941 in Portland Oregon to his parents of Mary Frances (Murphy) Smith and Robert Henry Smith.,, Bob worked on King Crab boats in Alaska. I love to tell the story of him likely being the only person you would ever know that fell overboard, in the dark, no survival suit and survived! It did not detour him from eventually becoming a full time commercial fisherman. “Burly” loved his time on the sea and was at his best when he was 100 miles out on a clear night, by himself, and pursuing the elusive “Tuna” or “Wild Salmon”. A celebration of Life will be held August 18, 2018 at the Yaquina Bay Yacht Club, Newport, Oregon, between the hours of 11 a.m. and 3 p.m., overlooking the “Norma Jean”. >click to read<09:57
The politically unifying potential of salmon
If there is any issue Democrats and Republicans in Washington State should come together on, it’s salmon. Salmon play a major role in our state’s economy, wildlife diversity and cultural heritage. In Washington alone, salmon help support nearly 16,000 jobs and a $1.1 billion annual fishing economy. Salmon alone provide over 134 million dollars of economic output to Washington state each year. They’re also a keystone species to 137 other animals, including orcas and bears. Unfortunately, the lowest counts of Pacific Northwest salmon in history — and a 60 percent decrease in the population since 1984 — now significantly threaten the essential role of salmon. >click to read<08:58
Coast Guard crew issues violation to commercial fishermen off Oregon Coast
A Coast Guard cutter crew issued a violation to commercial fishermen who caught salmon outside of the fishing season 20 miles off the coast of Newport, Oregon, Sunday. A boarding team from the Coast Guard Cutter Orcas, a 110-foot patrol boat homeported in Coos Bay, issued a federal violation under 50 CFR 660.405 – fishing for, or taking and retaining, any species of salmon during closed seasons or in closed areas.,, The cutter Orcas crew conducted numerous boardings over the weekend on both commercial and recreational vessels. >click to read<22:11
We can’t survive more cuts to Alaska king-salmon quota
Alaska salmon fisherfolk have been giving up a disproportionate portion of their harvest — over 50 percent, at least — to rebuild damaged stocks elsewhere. A few seasons ago in Chatham Strait, Karl Jordan, a third-generation Alaska salmon fisherman, came out to watch as I brought up an ashy-lipped, prismatic monster on the troll gear. Forty-five to 50 pounds. Spots on his tail an inky black. It was the second week of July, the king salmon opener just closed after we had caught our treaty quota. “Looks like a Columbia River hatchery fish,” Karl said. “Let him go.” If Karl was correct — and he usually is when it comes to fishing — that salmon had swum north from Washington’s Columbia River to spend its life in the Gulf of Alaska. >click to read<20:21
U.S. Commerce Department Announces Appointments to Regional Fishery Management Councils for 2018
The U.S. Commerce Department announced the appointment of 30 members to the eight regional fishery management councils that partner with NOAA Fisheries to manage ocean fish stocks. Twenty-nine of the new and reappointed council members will serve three-year terms from August 11, 2018 through August 10, 2021. One appointed member is filling an at-large seat recently vacated on the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council and this member will serve through August 10, 2020. >click to read<17:02
No Booze, No Drugs – ‘Deadliest Catch’ star Sig Hansen avoids jail, gets probation for assaulting Uber driver
Celebrity fishing-boat captain Sig Hansen was given a deferred sentence, ordered to undergo alcohol treatment and put on a year of probation Thursday for assaulting an Uber driver after a night of drinking in Seattle’s Ballard neighborhood last year,,, Seattle Municipal Court Judge Ed McKenna, who last month postponed Hansen’s sentencing after raising concerns about his drinking, handed down the sentence after learning that Hansen voluntarily agreed to outpatient treatment and to abstain from drug and alcohol use for the next year. The judge also received further details about a 2008 disorderly conduct case in Alaska in which an allegedly drunken Hansen was charged after punching a man at least twice in a bar. >click to read<14:54
Sympathy to new state Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife director
Dear Mr. Kelly Susewind, Allow me to express my deepest sympathy. .,, You said it was an honor to serve the people of the state of Washington. And you want to “deliver the results they deserve.” That’s scary.,, The orcas are starving from a lack of salmon. So, we shut down the salmon hatcheries and protect the exploding population of sea lions, seals, cormorants and mergansers that eat as many salmon as the orca and humans put together. The surviving salmon are forced to swim through the thousands of tons of pollutants in a chemical stew that we dump into Puget Sound every year, whose ingredients include but are not limited to sewage, drugs, pesticides, herbicides, personal care products and industrial chemicals, while ignoring the impacts on fish, orcas and humans. Pat Neal >click to read<14:59
Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife names Kelly Susewind new director – >click to read<
House approves bill that would allow the killing of sea lions
The U.S. House of Representatives approved a bill Tuesday that would allow the lethal removal of sea lions in order to save endangered salmon and steelhead populations — the primary food source for the endangered Southern Resident orcas. The Senate companion bill has yet passed. The House legislation, sponsored by Reps. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash., and Kurt Schrader,D-Ore., provides tribal managers and government fish managers with the means to remove limited numbers of California and Stellar sea lions from specific areas where they are posing the most harm to endangered native fish runs. >click to read<20:11
Wild salmon return to Bay Area markets
Local wild king salmon are back in Bay Area markets and restaurants after the commercial season reopened last week from Pigeon Point (near Half Moon Bay) south to the Mexico border. “The fleet just found a school of beautiful salmon,” San Francisco fisherwoman Sarah Bates said via a text from her boat, the Bounty. This current window of commercial salmon season is scheduled to last from June 19 to June 30. Bates said the fleet had to wait until about the third day of the opener to start fishing, once the school moved south of the Pigeon Point line with the movement of prevailing currents and feed. >click to read<19:43
U.S. House set to vote on key fisheries bill, HR-200, Tuesday
It’s called the Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act, or H.R. 200. It’s also referred to as the Modern Fish Act. Its author, Rep. Don Young, says the bill would update and improve the Magnuson Stevens Act, the primary law that guides federal fisheries regulators. “Reauthorizing the MSA will ensure a proper balance between the biological needs of fish stocks and the economic needs of fishermen and coastal communities,” Young said after the House Natural Resources Committee approved his bill in December. “MSA has not been reauthorized since 2006. It is long past time for this Congress to act and support our nation’s fisheries.” >click to read< Read the HR-200 Bill->click here< 08:39
$1.5 billion Oceans Protection Plan – Canada takes immediate action to protect endangered whales
Today, Canada’s Whales Initiative was announced in Vancouver by the Honourable Marc Garneau, Minister of Transport, and Jonathan Wilkinson, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Environment and Climate Change. This $167.4 million initiative under Budget 2018 will protect and support the recovery of the Southern Resident Killer Whale, the North Atlantic right whale, and the St. Lawrence Estuary beluga whale through comprehensive actions tailored to address the unique combinations of threats. >click to read<13:02
Commerce Secretary allocates $200 million fishery disaster funding
Today, Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross allocated $200 million in disaster funding appropriated by Congress to help fishermen and the businesses and communities that rely upon them to recover and rebuild following hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria in 2017. Funding has also been appropriated and allocated for the disasters that devastated the West Coast and Alaska fishermen from 2014 to 2017. >click to read<10:03
Coast Guard medevacs injured fisherman 13 miles west of Grays Harbor
The Coast Guard medically evacuated an injured fisherman 13 miles west of the Grays Harbor, Washington, entrance, Monday morning. A Coast Guard boat crew aboard a 47-foot Motor Life Boat from Station Grays Harbor met up with with the commercial fishing vessel Myrna Lynn to transfer the 50-year-old injured fisherman to shore, and get him treated by emergency medical services for a severe hand injury and shock. Watchstanders at Sector Columbia River received the injury report via VHF-FM radio at 8:15 a.m., and directed the launch of the boat crew. The patient transfer between the Myrna Lynn and the boat crew occurred at 9 a.m. >link< -USCG-
Humpy invasion
While West Coast Americans – Alaskans among them – worry and fret about farmed Atlantic salmon escaping to invade the Pacific Ocean despite decades of failed stocking efforts aimed at helping them do so, the Norwegians, Scots and other Europeans are facing a real and significant problem with an invasive Pacific salmon – the ubiquitous Alaska humpy. The smallest of the Pacific salmon, the humpy – or pink salmon – is by far the most common species in the 49th state. Of the 224.6 million salmon caught in Alaska last year, 63 percent, some 114.6 million, were pinks, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. And Northern Europeans are now worried the highly adaptable and voracious humpy could become a common species in their coastal waters. Blame the Russians. >click to read<15:52
Deadliest Catch’ – Keith Colburn Sitting This Season out Because His Back “Is All F–ked Up”
It’s not his dangerous job that has taken Captain Keith Colburn out of commission — it’s a nasty infection. So what happened to Keith on Deadliest Catch, exactly? As Keith revealed in the June 5 episode of the reality show’s 14th season, he has osteomyelitis — a severe bacterial infection — in his spine. “My back is all f–ked up,” he told his crew. He also said his vertebrae look like they’ve been doused in battery acid. According to the Mayo Clinic, infections can reach the bone through the bloodstream or from nearby tissue. Osteomyelitis was once considered incurable, but these days it can be successfully treated with surgery and intravenous antibiotics. >click to read<17:11
Second round for salmon – Commercial fishing season open from June 19-30 south of Pigeon Point
Commercial fishermen are counting down the days until they’re allowed to catch salmon off the California coast for the second stint in this limited season. They’ll be able to cast their lines from Pigeon Point to the Mexican border from Tuesday, June 19 to Saturday, June 30, after the season opener, which spanned May 1-7. The waters between Pigeon Point and Horse Mountain, which includes the San Francisco Bay, will be open from late July through September. While this year’s scaled-back season has meant high prices for locally-caught salmon and limited opportunities for fishermen, early indications for the remaining months appear encouraging for them, at least when they’re allowed to fish. >click to read<10:12
Why this super ship is making enemies in Alaska and on Capitol Hill
A few weeks ago, Helena Park reluctantly repainted her brand new, $75-million, fishing boat to mask its name, “America’s Finest.” It no longer seemed appropriate since the vessel might never fish in American waters. “There’s no ‘finest’ in America anymore. It will be someone else’s ‘finest.’” says Park, who’s the CEO of Fishermen’s Finest, a Washington-based fishing company. The ship’s troubles started when Park’s company made powerful enemies in Alaska and on Capitol Hill. Remote coastal communities that rely on fish processing plants for employment are worried ultra-modern fishing ships like America’s Finest, with its own on-board factory that can process over 500,000 pounds of fish a day, will make them obsolete. Along with rival fishing companies and Alaska’s representatives in the Senate, they’ve devised a strategy to stop America’s Finest from ever leaving the shipyard — using an obscure, century-old law called the Jones Act. Video, >click to read<13:50
AP Investigation reveals Sustainable Seafood dealer sold fishy tale
Even after winter storms left East Coast harbors thick with ice, some of the country’s top chefs and trendy restaurants were offering sushi-grade tuna supposedly pulled in fresh off the coast of New York. But it was just an illusion. No tuna was landing there. The fish had long since migrated to warmer waters. In a global industry plagued by fraud and deceit, conscientious consumers are increasingly paying top dollar for what they believe is local, sustainably caught seafood. But even in this fast-growing niche market, companies can hide behind murky supply chains that make it difficult to determine where any given fish comes from. That’s where national distributor Sea To Table stepped in, guaranteeing its products were wild and directly traceable to a U.S. dock — and sometimes the very boat that brought it in. Over the years, Sea To Table has become a darling in the sustainable seafood movement, >click to read<13:37
Oregon State University Orders Second U.S. Research Ship
Oregon State University has received $88 million from the National Science Foundation to lead construction of a second Regional Class research vessel to help bolster the nation’s aging academic research fleet. The National Science Foundation selected Oregon State in 2013 to lead the initial design phase for as many as three new vessels, and the National Science Board authorized as much as $365 million for the project. Last summer, the National Science Foundation awarded Oregon State University a grant of $121.88 million to launch the construction of the first vessel, which Gulf Island Shipyards in Louisiana is building and the university will operate. >click to read<10:40
Offshore Wind Project Planned for California
Following its recent entry into Taiwan, German energy company EnBW has now expanded its activities to the U.S. with the formation of a joint venture with Trident Winds to develop an offshore wind project off the coast of central California. EnBW North America and Trident Winds, based in Seattle, have formed a joint venture to advance the 650–1,000 megawatt Morro Bay offshore wind project off the central coast of California. EnBW sees floating technology as a key technology as it opens new areas with greater water depth and better wind conditions. >click to read<09:26
Rolls-Royce Inks it’s Largest Ever Fishing Vessel Contract
Rolls-Royce Marine said it has signed a contract with Thoma-Sea Marine Constructors, L.L.C. in Louisiana for the development of a 100-meter-long trawler to be built for the Seattle based company Arctic Storm Management Group, LLC. In addition to being the largest fishing vessel contract to date for Rolls-Royce with a value of about £15 million, it also marks the first Rolls-Royce fishing vessel concept to be built at a U.S. shipyard. Rolls-Royce has been working closely with the owner, Arctic Storm, in developing this latest design, and the vessel will be equipped with a processing plant for fillet, surimi, fishmeal and fish oil. It will also be able to accommodate a crew of more than 150 people. >click to read<22:19
Crescent City’s annual crab haul larger than average
Despite a late start to the season, commercial fishermen brought slightly more Dungeness crab to the Crescent City Harbor than in previous years, according to numbers from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. While this makes for increased revenue at the harbor, which collects 2 cents for every pound brought to its docks, Rick Shepherd, president of the Del Norte Fisherman’s Marketing Association, said commercial crabbers were paid less than last year. “I think one of the problems that I witnessed was there was a larger number of boats that participated here and so I think the actual amount of crab each boat caught was less,” he said. >click to read<09:39
Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting in Spokane, Washington, June 7-13, 2018
The Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and its advisory bodies will meet June 7-13, 2018 in Spokane, Washington to address issues related to groundfish, coastal pelagic species, and highly migratory species. Detailed Agenda>click here< Listen to the June 2018 Meeting Internet Live Stream >click here< PFMC home page >click here<07:32
Coast Guard rescues fisherman before vessel sank off Harbor, Ore.
Coast Guard boat crews rescued a fisherman from his vessel before it sank about two and a half miles west of the Chetco River entrance, Wednesday. One of the two boat crews from Coast Guard Station Chetco River removed the fisherman from the vessel and safely transported him back to shore after dewatering attempts failed. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector North Bend and at the station were first notified around 10 a.m. when the fisherman requested assistance over VHF channel 16. He reported his 29-foot commercial fishing vessel, the Roni J, was flooding and the onboard dewatering pumps were unable to keep up with the rising water. >click to read<20:46
Famous Crab Fishing Boat Gets a New Crane
Captain Sig Hansen has been fishing crabs in Alaska aboard the F/V Northwestern for more than 30 years. In 2005, Discovery Channel aired the documentary TV show “Deadliest Catch”, which portrays real life aboard fishing vessels in the Bering Sea. Since then, he has been one of the most charismatic characters of the globally watched TV show. In April 2018, PALFINGER MARINE received a purchase order from Captain Hansen for a knuckle boom crane (PKM 250) to be used for lifting operations on the iconic crab fishing boat F/V Northwestern. >click to read<13:41
Obituary: Blake C. Painter
Blake C. Painter was born in Astoria, Oregon, on Oct. 20, 1979, to Jeffrey and Marion (Ericksen) Painter. He left us far too soon on May 21, 2018, at the age of 38. A 1998 graduate of Astoria High School, Blake was active in sports both in and out of school. Besides football and baseball, he raced motocross and participated in martial arts.,, Blake was an avid outdoor enthusiast from a very early age, from hunting big game and waterfowl to digging razor clams, snow skiing to water sports, you name it — he did it. And he did it well. He took his love of the outdoors to a professional level when he began commercial fishing with his father aboard the F/V Western Skies while a freshman in high school. >click to read<08:52
In their battle against sea lions, fish are losing – Support The Endangered Salmon and Fisheries Predation Protection Act
The tally doesn’t look good for steelhead and salmon on the Columbia River. Last year, sea lions devoured an estimated 9 percent of steelhead and 5 percent of spring chinook trying to make their way upstream past Bonneville Dam. Even more disconcerting, an estimated 24 percent of chinook disappeared between the mouth of the Columbia and the dam. In other words, there is a battle going on in the Columbia, and the sea lions are winning. That points out the need for Congress to pass a bill sponsored by Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground. >click to read<12:53
Work Boat Large for US Navy
From powerful seine skiffs for the Alaskan salmon fishery to sturdy and practical crew boats for the safe transfer of workers on marine construction jobs, Snow Boat Building has been attracting attention on the West Coast. Based in Seattle, the firm is known for its quality aluminum fabrication and general commercial boat repair. Recently the builder has won a contract to construct a 40- by 17-foot U.S. Navy Workboat Large. >click to read<10:24
Bureaucrats’ power on trial in California wildlife dispute
When the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service launched a program in Southern California to reintroduce an otter population, imposing penalties for encroaching on the animal’s habitat, Congress passed a law to protect the fishing industry. Federal officials, however, want to penalize fisherman who accidentally encroach on the otters, and now the U.S. Supreme Court will decide how much power those bureaucrats possess. The case, California Sea Urchin Commission v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife, stems from the Fish and Wildlife Service’s plan in 1986 to widen the territory supporting the otter population. >click to read<09:45
