Daily Archives: April 15, 2016
Coast Guard Assists 2 on disabled vessel off Beauford Inlet
The Coast Guard rescued a husband and wife today one and a half miles southeast of Beaufort Inlet. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector North Carolina received a report at approximately 12:10 p.m. that the 45-foot fishing boat Captain Dump II out of Marshallberg was disabled and at anchor with a married couple aboard. A 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew from Coast Guard Station Fort Macon launched at approximately 12:30 p.m. The boat crew towed the fishing boat back inside Beaufort Inlet, where the fishing vessel Lady Jane took the fishing vessel in tow. The two fishing vessels are en route back to Marshallberg. 20:32
Stonington fish wholesaler calls on Sen. Blumenthal for help
Ten years ago Gambardella Wholesale Seafood would take in fish from eight to ten boats a day. This week they only had one boat. The Stonington fish processing plant sits silent more often than not these days which is why owner Mike Gambardella invited Senatory Richard Blumenthal to meet with him and fishermen on Friday. “I need help so bad,” he tells the senator. “It’s terrible.” Gambardella says outdated federal fishing regulations are sinking his family business. The fish aren’t coming through his doors because fisherman are limited on what they can reel in. Read the rest here. 17:53
Ocean salmon seasons set by PFMC, pending NMFS final approval
The Pacific Fishery Management Council struggled through week-long negotiations over widely contrasting salmon outlooks before setting sport and commercial rules for coastal Oregon, Washington and California on Thursday afternoon. Its decisions still require approval by the National Marine Fisheries Service. Chinook salmon fishing will be allowed from all ports, with reduced commercial seasons bearing the brunt of cutbacks in southerly waters. The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission will adopt ocean salmon regulations for state waters at its April 22 meeting in Bandon. The commission typically matches regulations set by the Management Council. Read the article here 11:19
Burnt twice: Digby County halibut fishermen handed $45,000 in penalties
An illegal offload of halibut ended up costing three Digby County fishermen more than $45,000 in fines and lost revenue. Chris Titus, Peter Titus and Trevor Frost pled guilty April 5 to offloading halibut without an observer, failure to weigh the fish on a proper scale and offloading prior to haling in. Fisheries officers observed the illegal offload on Brier Island on June 10, 2015 and stopped a truck in Yarmouth carrying 712 pounds of halibut. The officers seized that halibut and the truck and another 182 pounds aboard the fishing vessel. Fisheries sold the fish for $7,129. The fishermen paid a $12,000 bond to get the truck back and the judge imposed a $14,000 fine. But the Fundy Fixed Gear Council (FFGC) also imposed sanctions,,, Read the rest here 10:13
Former “Deadliest Catch” cast member headed to court on child porn charges
A local man once known for his role on the popular reality TV series Deadliest Catch series now faces some disturbing charges in Spokane County after he was caught with child pornography with girls as young as five years old. Paul Albert Edgren was a cast member for two seasons of Deadliest Catch, the Emmy award winning show on the Discovery Channel. He starred in six episodes between 2010 and 2011 as a deck hand on the Wizard, the crab ship captained by Keith Colburn. Die-hard fans of the show may remember Edgren left the crew to pursue a mountaineering career. He came back to Spokane and, according to court documents, three years later, a cyber tip from the Center For Missing And Exploited Children led detectives to his South Hill home. Read the story here 09:55
By the Numbers – Forum convinces many commercial fishing is sustainable
Those attending the forum, sponsored by The Providence Journal, Leadership Rhode Island, Rhode Island College and the Mystic Aquarium, were given electronic remote controls that allowed them to vote anonymously on multiple-choice questions. At the start of the program, 69 percent of audience members said commercial fishing is sustainable. At the end, that had risen to 78 percent. When broken down by groups, 88 percent of the people who said they were in the industry also said that the industry should regulate fishing, while 35 percent of recreational fishermen agreed, as did 43 percent of the people who identified themselves as consumers of fish. Read the rest here 07:41
Is commercial fishing sustainable? An industry at crossroads
A diverse panel of New England fishing experts, from a top federal administrator to a seasoned commercial fishing captain who says the scent of burnt coffee has replaced the smell of fish in his home port, gathered Thursday evening and tried to answer one question. Is commercial fishing sustainable? The discussion about the future of the region’s fishing industry featured a series of exchanges between two colorful fishing captains, an aquatic ecologist from the University of Rhode Island, a lawyer for Earthjustice and a fisheries expert from the Environmental Defense Fund. Read the rest here 06:17
Fishermen-heavy crowd shows frustration with catch rules, monitoring costs at RI forum
A forum on the sustainability of the commercial fishing industry revealed significant frustration in a fisherman-heavy crowd and a few suggestions for future changes, but little tangible optimism, Thursday night at Rhode Island College. “Right now, there are more fish in the Atlantic Ocean than there was 20 or 30 years ago — we are just not allowed to catch them anymore,” said fisherman Mark Phillips, a New York native who has fished out of New Bedford for several decades. Phillips and New Hampshire fisherman David Goethel, who sued the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in December over catch monitoring costs, were the two fishermen on the forum’s six-person panel. Read the story here 05:53
