Daily Archives: March 20, 2016

Coast Guard rescues three New London fishermen after their boat catches fire

www.uscgnews.comclients4007696238-6e6e91002741a867657c4b4efc68ce88e1bd7488Crew members from the U.S. Coast Guard Station New London rescued three New London fishermen from an area south of Fishers Island Sunday morning after their boat caught fire. The father of one of the three crewmembers of the Long Shot, a 50-foot liner stationed in New London, called the Coast Guard from shore about 6:45 a.m. Sunday to tell them the boat had caught fire on Cerberus Shoal, located about halfway between Fishers Island and Montauk. Read the rest here 17:59

Investigators claim Skipper to blame for sinking of north-east trawler

A skipper of a north-east trawler that sank off the Atlantic coast has been blamed for causing it to capsize. The Banff-registered Kairos sank off the Isles of Scilly last May, after overturning as the crew tried to recover a lost net in rough seas. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch launched a probe into the incident, and released their findings yesterday – ruling skipper Alan Bolt’s actions were “directly” to blame for the boat being lost. The body ruled the 46-year-old did not consider the hazards of continuing to try and retrieve a lost net in worsening sea conditions, and that the boat’s loss was “inevitable”. Read the story here 14:10

Letter: Rafael stains the whole waterfront,

Congratulations to NOAA, the IRS, and the Coast Guard for taking down Carlos Rafael. His demise is cheered by the intrepid fishermen of New Bedford. The fishermen who venture hundreds of miles out to sea for many nights are loyal to their fishing tradition. They must be, to survive. If a crew member shirks, the crew must make up for his failure. No parasites at sea. The Coast Guard at Otis sleep next to their choppers, and rise up at night to go out, whether stormy, icy, foggy, or all three, to save the souls of the fishing folk. No parasites on Coast Guard choppers. Read the rest here 11:33

Their proposal would hurt North Carolinians – Jerry Schill, President, North Carolina Fisheries Association

ncfa 3 finishedIn response to a letter to the editor, “Thoughts on marine fisheries,” Wednesday, March 16, I offer the following comments. It should be noted that the Kinston authors sent the letter to several media outlets. On the subject of shrimp trawling, the writers fail to acknowledge the many studies done by researchers over the years that have documented bycatch associated with this fishery and that despite decades of trawling, overall benthic productivity is dramatically increased. They also ignore the efforts by commercial fishermen to work proactively to reduce bycatch. Those studies began in the late 1980s and resulted with bycatch reduction devices in shrimp trawls. Currently, even though North Carolina is ahead of federal requirements to reduce bycatch, there is cooperative research ongoing to reduce it even further. Read the rest here 10:11

Federal regulations are sinking New Hampshire’s historic fishing industry

On New Hampshire’s Seacoast, Granite State fishermen tell the tale of an out-of-control federal agency more dangerous than any sea monster. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration severely limits their catch of ground fish, flounder and cod that dwell in the Gulf of Maine. International competitors face fewer rules and supply most U.S. seafood. Dave Goethel of the Yankee Fishermen’s Cooperative in Seabrook estimates that NOAA, which manages U.S. fisheries and the president’s climate change agenda, has reduced his catch by 95 percent. Read the rest here 09:40

Walker administration says loophole costs $1.4M in taxes from some of the big Washington-based factory trawlers

100 Dollar Bills HD WallpaperGov. Bill Walker’s proposed fish tax increase has drawn attention to a loophole giving a discount of as much as $1.4 million a year to some of the big Washington-based factory trawlers that fish off Alaska’s coast — and Walker’s administration is working to fix it. Price estimates used by the state to assess existing taxes on 300 million pounds of yellowfin sole are less than one-sixth of the true prices upon which the taxes are supposed to be based, according to officials at the state Fish and Game department. Four other types of fish have also been discounted, some drastically, the department says, while one has been overvalued.  Read the rest here 00:11