Category Archives: South Atlantic
Shrimp boat capt. says fire ‘scary,’ debris washes ashore
Roger “Rabbit” Cummings doesn’t know exactly how long he and the two crew members of the Miss Hopkins shrimp trawler floated in the water after jumping from the burning boat, but it seemed like a while. Cummings, the vessel’s captain, guesses they were adrift for about 45 minutes, donning lifejackets and keeping a tight grip on a hatch from the vessel before a speed boat came by and pulled the trio from the water while the Miss Hopkins was engulfed in flames nearby. They were about four miles 
off the coast of Jekyll Island. “It seemed like a long time,” Cummings said, “But it might not have been that long.” Eventually, a smaller boat that had seen the black plume of smoke on the horizon while in the Jekyll Sound pulled them from the water. The smoke was visible Friday afternoon on both Jekyll and St. Simons islands. >click to read< 08:07
Three rescued as shrimp boat catches fire off Jekyll
Three people were rescued about 4 miles off shore of Jekyll Island Friday after jumping from a burning shrimp boat that sent a plume of black smoke across the horizon visible from the beaches of Jekyll and St. Simons Island. U.S. Coast Guard Sector Charleston called the Brunswick station around 12:30 p.m. to report that a shrimp boat, the Miss Hopkins from Darien, was burning and three people were on board, a Coast Guard representative said Friday. >click to read< 14:44
Darien, preparing for the 55th Blessing of the Fleet
The City of Darien is gearing up for their biggest event of the year – that’s the annual Blessing of the Fleet! Every year, local shrimpers drive their boats under the Darien Bridge and clergy members at the top of the bridge bless the boats for a prosperous fishing season. Organizers say they’re looking forward to bigger crowds and some new additions this year. It’s the 55th year of the Darien tradition. The three-day long festival features vendors, musical performances, a worship service, parade through town, and of course, the shrimping boat parade. Video, schedule, >click to read< 18:48
Fish exporter pleads guilty to mislabeling Florida spiny lobster sold to China
The company, Aifa Seafood Inc., based in Florida City, faces a sentence of five years probation and a fine up to $500,000. A judge could sentence its president, 57-year-old Jiu Fa Chen, of Parkland, to up to five years in federal prison and order him to pay a fine of up to $250,000 during his scheduled May 23 hearing in Miami. According to an Oct. 5, 2022, grand jury indictment, from May 16, 2019, to Aug. 3, 2019, the company bought about 5,900 pounds of lobster from a company in Port Au Prince, Haiti, and turned around and exported it to customers in China with the label, “Florida Spiny Lobster, Product of the USA.” >click to read< 15:32
Biden’s Budget More Than Doubles Funding For Offshore Projects, Potentially ‘Putting American Fisherman Out Of Business’
Biden’s budget allocates $60 million to expand the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) offshore wind permitting activities, an initiative fishermen say will damage their businesses and environmental groups warn could be killing whales. Experts warn that wind projects disrupt the whale’s habitats and generate disorienting noise, factors that could be contributing to a recent increase in whale deaths. So far, their requests for the Biden administration to investigate have been fruitless. Fishermen are also sounding the alarm on offshore wind efforts. “Offshore wind will put American fishermen out of business,” said commercial fisherman Jerry Leeman. >click to read< 08:02
Human waste may end oyster harvesting on the May River. Can Bluffton clean it up?
Larry Toomer’s business depends on the May River. On a cold January morning, he stood on the boat ramp outside the Bluffton Oyster Co. with a paper cup of steaming gas station coffee in hand. A lifetime of wrestling shrimping nets has left him with a sturdy build. His rose-colored face is in stark contrast with his ghost-white hair. Behind him, dense clouds of powdery fog swallowed the river, giving his shrimp trawler the illusion of flight. The well-worn ship is easily two stories tall. “Daddy’s Girls” is painted in black-and-blue block lettering on the side. Named for his three daughters, the trawler has become the unofficial town seal. When a home is on a septic system, he said, everything that is flushed down the drain goes into a tank below the house. The solids are filtered out and held in the tank. The liquids go into a drain field below. “Do you understand what I’m saying?” Toomer said, elaborating on the path of human excrement. “Every day, right out the toilet.” >click to read< 15:41
Fed Official: Offshore Wind Will Adversely Impact North Atlantic Right Whale
Ahead of his March 16 hearing on offshore wind at the Wildwood Convention Center, Congressman Jeff Van Drew is challenging the federal government and offshore wind companies to prove they have nothing to hide when it comes to negatively impacting the environment. “Hearings are critical,” he said in a statement released last week condemning President Joe Biden’s administration for “its continual lack of transparency with the American people – this time about the correlation of offshore wind development and the death of endangered whales.” Van Drew’s latest comments follow the release of a May 13, 2022 missive from Sean Hayes, chief of protected species for NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service. In the letter to Brian Hooker, lead biologist for Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Office of Renewable Energy Programs, Hayes laid out how offshore wind development in New England would negatively affect the North Atlantic right whale. >click to read< 08:04
Mount Pleasant to celebrate shrimping season with annual Blessing of the Fleet
The Lowcountry will gather to celebrate the local shrimping and fishing industries during the annual “Blessing of The Fleet” on April 30. The Blessing of the Fleet is a tradition local shrimpers have been a part of for years. The annual event will feature a boat parade, seafood samplings, shag and shrimp eating contests, and local artists and food vendors. >click to read< 17:35
The Whale slaughter continues, but is this just the beginning? By Jim Lovgren
Another Humpback Whale washed ashore on a New Jersey beach on March 1st , the 12th known Whale to die since the start of December, along the New York, New Jersey shoreline, coincident with multiple research vessels using active Sonar, seismic Pingers, and Ultra High Resolution Seismic sparkers. As more research vessels ply our waters, more dead Whales wash up on the beach. This is just the start of the gigantic ecosystem changing industrialization of the US continental shelf from the Gulf of Maine to Florida. We now have 23 dead Whales on the east coast within a three month period, and despite what government officials claim, it is not a normal amount. >click to read< 07:55
Blue State Enviro Groups Demand Answers From Green Biden Administration On Whale Deaths
Nonprofit groups in the state’s coastal towns have spent months trying to get the administration to place a moratorium on offshore wind projects until a thorough, transparent investigation can be completed to see if there is a connection to recent whale strandings. Since December 2022, over 20 whales have washed up along east coast shores near survey sites for future offshore wind projects in an unusual mortality rate, according to NOAA. “The low-frequency sonar used in the windmills is causing deafness in the whales. It’s one of those things that science is only going to pick up on years after the fact, in the meantime, whales are being killed,” James Lovgren, board of trustee member of Clean Ocean Action and retired commercial fisherman, told the DCNF. “You have to pause and ask, ‘why are we doing this?’” >click to read< 09:17
Biden’s Offshore Wind Dreams Face Rising Controversy, Opposition
By now, most Americans are likely aware of the increasing number of whales that have been found grounded on Atlantic beaches, some of which lie adjacent to offshore wind projects already under development. In a May, 2022 letter to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) lead biologist, Brian Hooker, NOAA scientist Brian Hayes warned that “the development of offshore wind poses risks to these species,” and that the “risks occur at varying stages, including construction and development, and include increased noise, vessel traffic, habitat modifications, water withdrawals associated with certain substations and resultant impingement/entrainment of zooplankton, changes in fishing effort and related potential increased entanglement risk, and oceanographic changes that may disrupt the distribution, abundance, and availability of typical right whale food (e.g. Dorrell et al 2022).”But that warning seems to have had little impact. >click to read< 09:53
Black Sea Bass fishing return
Locally caught black sea bass may be back on the menu in the Golden Isles from November through April during calving season for North Atlantic right whales. The Georgia Conservancy has spent the past two years in a research project funded by UGA Marine Extension Service and Georgia Sea Grant to study the innovation of on-demand traps in an effort to eliminate the threat of fishing gear entanglement of the whales. Black sea bass fishing off the Georgia coast has been banned during calving season for more than a decade to help protect the whales. >click to read< 15:24
USCGC Winslow Griesser Winslow Griesser’s commanding officer relieved of command
Lt. Cmdr. Benjamin Williamsz was relieved of duties as the commanding officer of USCGC Winslow Griesser (WPC 1116), Friday. Rear Adm. Brendan C. McPherson, commander of the Seventh Coast Guard District, effected the relief due to a loss of confidence in Williamsz’s ability to effectively command the cutter. Williamsz was administratively reassigned to shore duty at Coast Guard Sector San Juan immediately following a collision at sea on Aug. 8, 2022. Cutter Winslow Griesser and the fishing vessel F/V Desakata collided while underway off the coast of Dorado, Puerto Rico, resulting in the death of one of the Desakata crewmen, injury to the other, and the loss of the fishing vessel. No Coast Guard personnel were injured in the collision. >click to read< 18:58
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 95′ Raised Forecastle Steel Dragger, 1400HP Detroit 12V-149
To review specifications, information, and 28 photos’, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here< 12:10
Fishermen gather in D.C. to press Congress for ‘catch share’ changes
fishermen from each corner of the country descended on the nations capital last week banding together to confront what they describe as a predatory regulatory system that treats fishing rights “like stocks on Wall Street.” The group of more than a dozen fishermen make up a loose organization known as the Catch Share Reform Coalition. They presented a proposal to several U.S. senators, members of Congress and the head of NOAA Fisheries to rework regulations that they say have enabled investors to amass large amounts of fishing permits, cornering parts of the industry at the expense of local fishermen. Members of the group each fish out of different ports, using different types of gear and fishing for different species. But they said they are all united in their goal to keep fishing rights in the hands of local fishermen. >click to read< 07:06
Last of broken down boats leaving old Port Royal dock. Now new construction can begin
At a Thursday auction, ordered by a federal court, an old shrimp trawler sold for $50. It will be moved shortly, Town Manager Van Willis said. The town previously removed the oil and fuel from the vessel. A sailboat also was up for sale at the auction, Willis said, but there were no bidders. As a result, Willis said, “It’s officially ours now.” The town plans to scuttle the sailboat. The town’s plan to replace one of the few publicly owned commercial fishing docks remaining in South Carolina comes as Safe Harbor Marinas begins its initial work in a major redevelopment that will transform the town’s waterfront. >click to read< 13:23
The Reason Rock Shrimp Were Almost Never Brought to Market
One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. That simple saying sums up the story of how a Florida boat builder-turned-fisherman came to introduce the world to rock shrimp. It’s difficult to imagine now, but back in the 1970s, shrimp trawlers hauling catch off the southeastern coast of the U.S. routinely dismissed a particular variety of shrimp as not worth the effort. In 1968, Thompson debuted his state-of-the-art fiberglass shrimp trawler, the R.C. Brent Jr., to little acclaim. Unfortunately, traditional shrimpers at the time weren’t ready to embrace Thompson’s fiberglass technology. With a growing family to support and boat sales on the wane, Thompson set out to prove the superiority of his fiberglass design — by going fishing. >click to read< 09:10
A portrait of offshore wind companies
All of the prominent offshore wind companies originated in the oil and gas industry: Ørsted (Danish Oil and Natural Gas), Equinor (Norwegian Statoil), British Petroleum, Avangrid (Spanish Iberdrola gas), and Shell Oil (Dutch/UK). These past enemies of environmentalists, now dancing partners, continue to generate revenue from fossil fuels. Ørsted even profited from burning coal this past year. Given the industry’s history of misleading the public about climate change, it’s not unreasonable to question their assertions now. These companies lose money from offshore wind operations. However, backed by generous upfront government subsidies, the ongoing construction of wind farms compensates for these losses. Because federal subsidies will contribute 30% of the capital costs, taxpayers will pay these predominantly foreign-owned, for-profit companies, billions of dollars. Orsted predicts that South Fork Wind will cost $53 million per turbine. >click to read< 11:27
“Looking Back; “Fishery management; best available science, or politics?” 2009. By Jim Lovgren
I wrote this piece at the beginning of the Obama administration, concerning the politization of fishery science, over fourteen years ago. The rash of east coast marine mammal strandings and the governments response to them, eerily reminded me of this article and the reasons I wrote it. If you
change a few words, Bush to Biden, and big oil to big wind, you get pretty much the same thing, the politization of science to benefit wealthy corporations. >click to read< 17:05
Proposed Snowy Grouper Management Measures Will Harm the Stock and Commercial Fishermen — Help Us Fight
Last fall the [SAFMC] South Atlantic Fishery Management Council approved Amendment 51 to the South Atlantic Snapper/Grouper FMP. Now the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is considering whether or not to sign it into law. Amendment 51 would modify snowy grouper management measures for the worse. It will continue to allow recreational sector over-harvesting, increase recreational dead discards, harm the stock, and deal another devastating blow to commercial fishermen in the South Atlantic. Our commercial fisheries are under attack with a 43% reduction of ACL and Amendment 51 is just the latest salvo with more to come. Now is our chance to stand up for conservation and commercial fishermen. >click to read< 10:45
100 MPH Process: Fisherman Dewey Hemilright of Wanchese, NC on Wind Energy
“Sometimes I wish I wasn’t so entrenched in this stuff,” commercial longline fisherman Dewey Hemilright said. “It’s hard to turn my mind off.” Hemilright, who fishes out of the northern Outer Banks village of Wanchese, serves on the federal Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council as well as numerous advisory committees. Lately he has turned his attention to offshore wind energy and its potential impacts on fisheries, including commercial, recreational, and for-hire charter businesses. “I don’t think people understand the magnitude of these wind energy areas from Maine to South Carolina, a massive amount of acreage if you add it all up, and what a disruption to the seafood industry this could be,” he said. “And the leases are going for such huge amounts of money I worry that the commercial fishing industry will amount to a grain of sand on Jockey’s Ridge.” Hemilright calls the recent acceleration in ocean bottom leasing a “100 mile-per-hour process.” >click to read< 10:29
NOAA pleads for urgency in right whale conservation, lobster gear changes
A previously unscheduled appearance before the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Council gave the opportunity for NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Janet Coit to advocate for the necessity of adapting to new lobster and crab trapping gear to save both North Atlantic right whales and the lobster industry. A deal cut by Maine legislators in a recent congressional spending bill delayed new right whale protections for six years, so the agency is looking to have its new rules set up and ready to go when that period expires. In the meantime, there’s options open to expand on-demand fishing gear so there are fewer large ropes suspended in the water. The bill allocated $26 million to ASMFC for ropeless, on-demand gear, along with monitoring and cost recovery. >click to read< 08:09
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 80′ Steel Shrimper with Freezer Hold, Cat 3406
To review specifications, information, and 10 photos’, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here< 11:50
Feds push ignorance defense for whale killing by offshore wind development
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and the NOAA Fisheries agency have both put out what amount to “arguments from ignorance” claiming that offshore wind development has nothing to do with the recent whale deaths. “We know nothing about it so it must not be happening” is a ridiculous defense to the charge of offshore wind development causing the death of a lot of whales. But this is exactly what the Feds are now saying. NOAA Fisheries is a scientific agency and their version is more scientific, which is important because this is really a scientific issue. Let us look at their arguments. >click to read< 17:38
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for January 31, 2023
Snapper Grouper Discard Mortality Reduction & Private Rec. Permitting (Amendments 35 & 46)/REMINDER: Southern Shrimp Alliance Needs Your Help/Legislative Update. The last year or so the South Atlantic Fisheries Management Council (SAFMC) has been working on multiple Snapper Grouper Amendments. Amendments 35 and 46 were voted on and approved for scoping and public comment at the December SAFMC meeting. Informational webinars with opportunities to provide public comment for both amendments are scheduled soon (Amendment 46 webinar is scheduled for January 30th and February 6th at 6pm and Amendment 35 webinar is scheduled for January 31st at 6pm). Links >click to read< 12:04
With dock closing, Georgetown shrimpers ask if local port could become new home
Waterfront seafood vendor Independent Seafood will close after more than 80 years, leaving Georgetown shrimp boat owners without a long dock that has been key to their livelihoods for generations. The sale of the lot and its brick building at the southern end of Cannon Street comes at a time that Georgetown County is seeing lower seafood sales than years past and fewer trawlers in county waters. An idea to replace the lost dock space to keep remaining shrimp boats in town involves a spot not far away from Independent Seafood’s dock — the dormant Port of Georgetown, soon to be turned over to Georgetown County from the state ports authority. >click to read< 08:25
Louisiana Shrimping Industry Faces Uncertain Future in 2023
Shrimpers now face some of the lowest prices they have ever seen due to massive amounts of shrimp being imported from overseas, according to Larose-based trade group Louisiana Shrimp Association. Acy Cooper Jr, the Louisiana Shrimp Association’s president, says the math around shrimp imports are simply not in the Louisiana shrimp industry’s favor. With Louisiana able to meet roughly 25% of the overall U.S. shrimp market demand – shrimp importers from countries like Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia have brought to market more shrimp than the United States will typically consume each year, driving the price on the open market for Louisiana shrimp lower and lower. >click to read< 13:53
New Bedford fishing industry considers compensation for offshore wind’s impact
Massachusetts and eight other Atlantic Coast states proposed the establishment of a regional fisheries compensatory mitigation fund administrator. In June, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) issued a draft framework for mitigating impacts to commercial and recreational fisheries. Stakeholders have until Jan. 31 to submit comments to a Request for Information released by the states on Dec. 12 to guide the process. New Bedford Port Authority Executive Director Gordon Carr said the initiative and leadership of the nine states and the extensive work involved in issuing the scoping document for a regional fisheries mitigation fund administrator and seeking stakeholder input through the RFI process is greatly appreciated. >click to read< 08:06
South Carolina Shrimper Finds Smooth Sailing with Help of EDA Revolving Loan Fund Program
James Bradley is a second-generation commercial fisherman from South Carolina. He’s the owner of Bradley’s Commercial Fishing, a family-owned business on St. Helena Island. The company provides shrimp and other seafood items to local restaurants. Fishing has been a proud tradition for the Bradley family, which has been in the seafood business for more than 100 years. An able seaman who learned how to shrimp and fish from his father, Bradley served as captain of the company’s shrimp trawler, F/V Bradley’s Pride, which would sail the Atlantic off the South Carolina coast. It served as the centerpiece of Bradley’s company and its main source of revenue. After more than five decades in business, however, he realized it was time to buy a new boat.>click to read< 19:46
North Carolina Fisheries Association Membership, Southern Shrimp Alliance Needs Your Help!
As indicated below, the U.S. International Trade Commission has now issued questionnaires in its sunset review proceeding to the U.S. shrimp industry, U.S. shrimp importers, U.S. shrimp purchasers, and exporters and processors in the Chinese, Indian, Thai, and Vietnamese shrimp industries. The responses to these questionnaires, which are due on or before February 6, 2023, will provide the basis for the Commission’s analysis as to whether to keep the antidumping duty orders on Chinese, Indian, Thai, and Vietnamese shrimp in place for another five years. Thank you, in advance, for your assistance in meeting the U.S. International Trade Commission’s request for information. >Click to read, and access links< 13:11
