Category Archives: South Atlantic
Famous boat now calls the Crystal Coast home
The Cricket II was built in 1947 for Captain Frank Mundus who in 1978 Newsweek magazine was called “the most celebrated shark fisherman in the world.” Mundus fished out of Montauk, N.Y. for 50 years, specializing in the hunt for sharks, in particular great white sharks. It was no coincidence that the “Jaws” character, Capt. Quint, bore much resemblance to the real-life Capt. Mundus. Capt. Joe DiBella of Morehead City has quite a history with the Cricket II. Joe says, “My history with the Cricket II began when I was 8 years old. I fished on the Cricket II out of Montauk, N.Y. with my father and first captain Frank Mundus.” >click to read< 10:31
Nature is not a Whore!!!
We have incredible fishing grounds on our East Coast!!! Why destroy a renewable sustainable Resource??? Molesting these grounds by dumping massive amounts of construction materials on them is insane!!! Keep in mind the many rules the EPA has against ocean dumping!!! Not to mention the likely hood of them turning into a Dumping Ground after they become useless… Out of sight out of mind!!! What wonderful habitat the Turbine bases will make for the Green Crabs ocean Locust!!! We can’t forget about the Whales… The European Wind Farms do not see a significant Whale migration… What aren’t they saying??? >click to read< 09:41
“It’s time for our community to get back together,” Mount Pleasant Blessing of the Fleet and Seafood Festival
A day filled with seafood snacking and shag dancing can only mean one thing – the 2021 Blessing of the Fleet and Seafood Festival which will celebrate fishers and shrimpers in typical Mount Pleasant fashion. The daylong festival is April 25 from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Mount Pleasant Memorial Waterfront Park. There will be a variety of activities throughout the day with the boat parade and blessing beginning at 1 p.m. After taking a one-year hiatus due to the pandemic, the Blessing of the Fleet and Seafood Festival is “back in business.” Schedule, details, >click to read< 10:54
Hundreds attend the 53rd annual Blessing of the Fleet in Darien, Georgia
Sunday, hundreds of people gathered around the waterways of Darien to take part in the 53rd annual Blessing of the Fleet. The tradition celebrates the area’s biggest industry, shrimping. “This is the very heart of the community. For these men and women to know they’re supported means a tremendous amount to them,” said Bill Barton, Priest for St. Andrew’s & St. Cyprian’s Episcopalian Churches. >video, click to read< 13:09
It’s Not Just Windmills – Nils Stolpe
Demand for undersea cables will only grow as more businesses rely on cloud computing services,,, “All of that data is going in the undersea cables.” I have known Captain Jim Lovgren for most of thirty years. I have worked with him on a number of issues,,, Based on this I have no compunctions about strongly recommending that you read the piece that he wrote and titled, “Its Time For A Fishing Industry Buy Out By Offshore Wind” And, unfortunately, I see the struggle that both recreational and commercial fishermen are facing with myriad huge windmills planned in our coastal waters as only the tip of the iceberg. >click to read, with links< 20:51
ITS TIME FOR A FISHING INDUSTRY BUY OUT BY OFFSHORE WIND
If Offshore wind farm companies want the commercial fishing industry to support the construction of massive wind farms on their long time historical fishing grounds, then those companies must offer a vessel buy out option to fishermen before they are put out of business by these same wind developers.,,, While the Biden administration is busy throwing billions of dollars to people who aren’t even citizens, how about throwing a few billion to the commercial fishermen that your green new deal is about to destroy. If multi national corporations are allowed to just prance right into our territorial waters and take them over from the local fishermen leaving them bankrupt and out of work, then the federal government ought to own up to the damage it is creating to the fishing industry and create a voluntary buy out program, jointly financed by them and of course the Windmill companies,,, >click to read< By Jim Lovgren 21:37
Florida Spiny lobster season ends
Bill Kelly says the spiny lobster fishery is like real estate. “Location is everything,” said Kelly, executive director of the Florida Keys Fishermen’s Association. “We’re seeing a significant season, a good season for spiny lobster and stone crab harvest in the Upper Keys and [mainland] South Florida. We’re also seeing that in the extreme Lower Keys and down into the Marquesas and the Tortugas.” The lockdowns in China early during the pandemic didn’t help the industry either. Kelly said China buys about 80% of the live spiny lobsters, and they pay top dollar. >click to read< 11:39
Fishermen, DMR: New North Atlantic Right Whale regulations could cripple lobster industry
The proposal, released in late December 2020, includes measures like regional gear marking, breakaway rope, extra traps per trawl line and restrictions on certain fishing areas. But it is the emphasis placed on ropeless fishing traps that has officials at the Maine Department of Marine Resources most concerned. In its Biological Opinion regarding right whales and the fishing industry, NMFS identifies ropeless fishing as a solution, among others, to reduce whale entanglements that cause death or serious injury. DMR argues that ropeless gear is largely under-researched and unaffordable. DMR used EdgeTech traps to estimate cost increases associated with converting to ropeless fishing,,, An EdgeTech fishing unit costs $3,750, >click to read< 19:36
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for April 02, 2021
Legislative updates, Bill updates, Calendar, >Click here to read the Weekly Update<, to read all the updates >click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here<09:01
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for March 26, 2021
Legislative updates, Bill updates, Calendar, >Click here to read the Weekly Update<, to read all the updates >click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here<11:23
Fishing industry unimpressed with Biden Harris’s NOAA/NMFS climate crisis notions. (Offshore Wind Farms, either!)
President Biden ordered NOAA to collect information from a wide range of groups on increasing the resilience of fisheries as part of his plan to address climate change and to protect 30% of U.S. ocean areas by the year 2030. The NOAA directive is included in the sweeping executive order Biden signed his first week in office that made “the climate crisis” a centerpiece of his presidency. “Fisheries, protected resources, habitats and ecosystem are being affected by climate change,” acting NOAA Fisheries chief Paul Doremus said at the beginning of yesterday’s conference call. >click to read< 07:55
Commercial Fisherman Norwood Kline Frost, 77, of Salter Path N.C., has passed away
Norwood was born Dec. 10, 1943, in Morehead City to the late Floyd Staton Frost and Berna Marie Willis Frost. He spent his life on the water as a commercial fisherman and was the captain of the Frost fishing crew. It was through this he came to be the owner of Frost Seafood Market and Frost Seafood House Restaurant. He was proud of being able to serve fresh, local seafood to the Crystal Coast community for more than 50 years. >click to read< 17:55
Coast Guard medevacs 25 year-old- fisherman suffering from seizures from fishing vessel 58 miles off Charleston
The Coast Guard medevaced a 25 year old man from the 47′ foot F/V Golden Retriever approximately 58 miles east of Charleston, Tuesday. A Coast Guard Air Station Savannah MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrew transferred the man to Medical University of South Carolina Hospital at 1:49 p.m. to receive further treatment. At approximately 11:25 a.m., Coast Guard Sector Charleston watchstanders
Chase Dixon of Otway, N.C. has passed away
Chase Arline Dixon, 23, of Otway, passed away Friday, March 12, 2021, at his home. Chase loved working on the water as a commercial fisherman. He was a very loving person and had a very loving relationship with his mother and his sisters. He was an ambitious and helpful person who never knew a stranger. He loved hunting and spending time working in the garage with his father and in Texas with his cousins, Courtney and Cameron. His service is at 2 p.m. Thursday at Munden Funeral Home. >click to read< 12:51
North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission selects sector allocations for southern flounder plan amendment
The North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission selected sector harvest allocations of 70% commercial and 30% recreational for the upcoming Amendment 3 to the Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan. The commission voted on the allocations at its quarterly business meeting Feb. 26, 2021. At its November 2020 meeting, the commission asked the Division of Marine Fisheries to consider several different options for sector harvest allocations in the draft plan amendment, including commercial/recreational splits of 70/30, 65/35, 60/30 with a 10% allotment for gigging, 60/40, and 50/50. >click to read< 10:46
A Chesapeake blue crab turned up on Dollymount Strand in Ireland
While the crab is not much to look at in terms of alien invaders, the National Biodiversity Data Centre has warned it is larger and more competitive than native crabs, and the female can lay up to six million eggs a year. Once in competition with the smaller Irish native crabs the American version – also known as the American blue crab, would be likely to take over, scientists fear. The appearance of the crab on Dollymount strand, where it was photographed last month by Ruth McManus, is the first recorded appearance of the crab on these shores. How it got here is a bit of a mystery, the centre says it hopes the “Dollymount One” is something of a one-off. >click to read< 15:40
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for March 12, 2021
Legislative updates, Bill updates, Calendar, >Click here to read the Weekly Update<, to read all the updates >click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here< Incest: Yes, you read it correctly! After last week’s update, Allen Jernigan wrote that I have an “incestuous relationship” with members of the General Assembly. As proof, he provided a screen shot of the update where I stated, “…there will probably be a meeting of the NC House Marine Resources Committee next week but nothing official yet.” Good grief! But there’s more! click it! 10:52
Leslie “Buddy” Rose, 81, of Harkers Island has passed away
Leslie Roger “Buddy” Rose was born July 15, 1939, to Leslie and Christine Rose on Harkers Island, being the first son after seven daughters. Six more children followed Leslie. His father, Leslie, was a commercial fisherman with Stacy Davis for at least 20 years. Times were hard for a family that size on a fisherman’s pay. As a teenager, he commercial fished with Ivey Gaskill,,, He and his wife Ann decided to take a chance on starting his own boatbuilding business. It was tough starting with nothing, especially that first year or so, but eventually things improved. Leslie built 62 boats over a 17-year period, sending boats as far north as Massachusetts and as far south as Florida. >click to read< 19:04
From Oregon to Massachusetts, fishermen’s wives associations are the backbones of their communities
In spring 2020, the fishing community of Newport, Oregon, shuttered along with the rest of the country. A coronavirus outbreak at a local Pacific Seafood processing plant left fishermen sitting on docks with no buyers for their Dungeness crabs, while restaurants closed and families found themselves housebound. That’s when Taunette Dixon and her organization, the Newport Fishermen’s Wives, stepped in.,,, In Massachusetts, the Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association was founded in 1969. “We were shore captains,” said Angela Sanfilippo. “We would make sure when the boats came in, they’d get everything they needed so they could go back out the next morning at 2.30. The wife would be responsible to make sure these things happened. As their wives, we knew more than them.” >click to read< 11:32
Jetties Needed at Oregon Inlet
Congressman Greg Murphy is lending his voice to reviving pursuit of twin jetties to prevent sand clogging the inlet’s navigation channel. The inlet, the only opening from sound to ocean between Virginia and Hatteras, has been badly shoaled from recent storms, making it hazardous for fishing vessels and charter boats to navigate. The authorized depth of the navigation channel is 14 feet, although the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has had difficulty maintaining the channel to that specification. With the new Basnight Bridge having multiple high spans, there is now flexibility to re-mark the navigational channel to follow best water, but shoaling persists. >click to read< 08:22
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 1995 60′ Steel Shrimper, Cat 3408, Fed Permit
To review specifications, information, and 10 photos, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here<12:02
Cortez: Net Spreads and Stilt Houses
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for March 05, 2021
Legislative updates, Bill updates, Calendar, Recently many legislators received an email from Allen Jernigan about his frustrations with fisheries management in our state. Glenn Skinner, NCFA’s Executive Director, went through Mr. Jernigan’s email point by point and offers this response to help clarify some really bad information. Mr. Jernigan’s comments are in black and NCFA’s in red. (read it in the update) >Click here to read the Weekly Update<, to read all the updates, >click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here< 11:42
Gina M. Raimondo Sworn in as 40th U.S. Secretary of Commerce
Gina M. Raimondo was sworn in as the 40th U.S. Secretary of Commerce. Secretary Raimondo was sworn in by Vice President Kamala Harris after a bipartisan vote of 84-15 in the United States Senate. In her role as Secretary of Commerce, Raimondo will lead a key agency focused on promoting economic growth, >click to read<11:20
Ropeless fishing gear: Georgia researchers work with commercial fishermen to test equipment
NOAA has identified two areas critical for right whales: off the coast of New England, where the whales forage for food in warmer months; and off the southeast coast from North Carolina to Florida, where the whales reproduce between November and April. Fluech is collaborating with Kim Sawicki, project lead and doctoral student at the University of Massachusetts,, In summer 2020, the research team secured a permit from the National Marine Fisheries Service to test eight different ropeless gear systems with black sea bass pots off the coast of Georgia. It was the first time the ropeless gear had been tested in the South Atlantic. >click to read< 08:37
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for February 26, 2021
Legislative updates, Bill updates, Calendar, >Click here to read the Weekly Update<, to read all the updates >click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here<23:01
Cryptic mortality – Human-caused North Atlantic right whale deaths are being undercounted
A study co-authored by scientists at the New England Aquarium has found that known deaths of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales represent a fraction of the true death toll. This comes as the death of a calf and recent sightings of entangled right whales off the southeastern United States raise alarm. The study, published this month in Conservation Science and Practice, analyzed cryptic mortality of right whales. Cryptic mortality refers to deaths resulting from human activities that do not result in an observed carcass. (what the,,,) >click to read< 11:58
N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission is reopening the Shrimp Fishery Management Plan Advisory Committee appointment process
The commission seeks a cross-section of applicants representing the various commercial and recreational shrimp fisheries, scientists with expertise in the areas of habitat or bycatch and gear innovation, especially with trawls and bycatch reduction devices, as well as individuals interested in shrimp fishing issues. Certain fisheries stakeholder groups were found to be underrepresented in the original applicant pool, specifically those who fish with large trawlers and those who fish in the Pamlico Sound. Adviser applications >available online here< or at Division of Marine Fisheries’ offices or by calling 252-808-8022 or 800-682-2632. >click to read< 11:28
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for February 19, 2021
Legislative updates, Bill updates, Calendar, >Click here to read the Weekly Update<, to read all the updates >click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here<The Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) of NC has filed a lawsuit against the State of North Carolina that could severely restrict the rights of fishermen and consumers to access local wild caught North Carolina seafood! See Documents at the bottom of this update for detailed information about the lawsuit. 20:10
The Coronavirus pandemic could change U.S. fisheries forever. Will it be for better or for worse?!
The first symptoms appeared long before Covid-19 gained a stronghold on U.S. shores, as China went into its first lockdown and a critical export market disappeared overnight,,, Then as social distancing rules kicked in here, another major organ of the U.S. supply chain, restaurants, where most seafood purchases are made, fell limp. Many fishermen across the country have pivoted to direct-marketing models by selling their catch off their boats,,, To many in the food industry, the pandemic’s impact has exposed the fundamental vulnerabilities of a system that has long favored efficiency over resilience. >click to read< 09:48
