Daily Archives: June 18, 2016
Decades ago, North Kingstown’s Bob Bercaw chose quahogs over cubicles, and he never looked back
Bob Bercaw’s livelihood began with a $20 rowboat that his mother gave him when he was just 10. His father died when Bercaw was 6, and they didn’t have much money. Spending $20 was a big deal for the Saunderstown family. The little boy took his rowboat on the Narrow River and caught blue crabs and white perch, which he sold around the neighborhood. In two weeks, he paid his mother back — and found his calling. Before she died of breast cancer a decade later, Ruth Bercaw gave her son advice: “Go to college, but if afterward, you want to take a job as a garbage collector, then why not?” After Bob Bercaw earned a business degree from Johnson & Wales University, his uncle offered to get him into IBM in New York City. Bercaw blew it off. He’d rather be on the water. By 1979, he had a wood boat and was raking for quahogs. Read the story here 20:58
Brexit: Prominent Fisherman Calls On Geldof To Apologise
A leading fisherman has demanded Bob Geldof apologise for his Remain campaign flotilla stunt which was “disrespectful to hard working communities”. Skipper Jimmy Buchan added he’d never seen such a blatant attack on working class people. On Wednesday UK Independence Party (UKIP) leader Nigel Farage and Labour MP Kate Hoey led a flotilla of fishing boats up the Thames supporting Brexit as better for fishermen. Interrupting the fishermen’s plea to take back control of British waters, multi-millionaire singer Geldof sought to “intercept” HIJACK the Fishing for Leave flotilla. Jimmy Buchan, a Peterhead skipper, was on one of 30 fishing boats among the flotilla and called on the celebrity activist to apologise. Mr. Geldof’s gesturing and everything about it was so wrong. I was on the boat standing next to Nigel Farage when this happened and I could hardly speak. “I’ve seen a lot in my 56 years but I’ve never seen hard-working people attacked like this. Read the rest here 19:19
A Fathers Day tribute – This Old Salt: Lobster Fishing With Daddy
I wake to the smell of toast and something else that I can’t quite determine yet. As my pup stretches beside me and licks my face, I gaze at my Fitbit only to see it’s 4:15 AM. I groan and sit up in the bed. The second mystery smell I recognize as boiled eggs and strong tea. At this point my stomach gurgles wanting tea and reminding me why I should not stay up late and drink wine before heading out fishing the next morning. This is a lesson I still not have learned obviously despite my 46 years on the planet. My father is downstairs in the kitchen mumbling to himself— something about the timing of the eggs and pants that won’t stay up. I reach for the clothes I laid out the night before and begin to dress in layers. As I bend to place the third pair of socks on, I appreciate whoever the talented person was who knitted them by hand. My toes will likely be numb by mid-morning but at least less so with the wool socks in my rubber boots. Descending the stairs, I watch the man I have loved and looked up to as my hero all of my life. Read the story here 16:16
‘Wicked Tuna’ captains captivate, spur laughs, dollars for Friends of Rollo charity event in San Diego
The first thing you notice when boat captains Dave Carraro, Dave Marciano and Paul Hebert of the popular TV show “Wicked Tuna” hang out: They actually might … gasp … like each other. When the captains sat down for a kickoff event Monday at Bali Hai on Shelter Island for “Tuna Wars II,” though, the good-natured jabs and laughs flow. Carraro, the most consistently successful captain on the show, faux-gloated about his well-appointed boat, FV-Tuna.com. Heber, who guides the underdog Wicked Pissah, pounced: “You don’t like saltwater in the hot tub. That’s a buzzkill.” The response from Carraro: “Paul’s a couple french fries short of a Happy Meal.” The tuna hunters climbed onto local boats Wednesday and Thursday to explore waters on the opposite coast, while raising gobs of cash for Friends of Rollo — the group that helps children embark on saltwater fishing trips. Read the story here 12:26
China rock lobster deal under fire – gives a foreign entity control of a highly valuable WA commodity
A veteran of WA’s rock lobster industry has hit out at a deal that allowed a Chinese conglomerate to buy local fishing rights. Peter Prideaux said the deal between Kailis Bros and Legend Holdings to create KB Foods set an alarming precedent for foreign ownership in the fishery. “The Western Rock Lobster Fishery is one of the most valuable fisheries in the world,” he said. “Competition for control, primarily by processors, and an ever smaller band of surviving fishers has driven access costs through the roof. “Pot prices and leasing costs have increased six-fold in about five years. This is not an industry suffering from lack of investment capital, in fact, quite to the contrary.” Mr Prideaux said the Legend deal effectively gave a foreign entity control of a highly valuable WA commodity. Read the rest here 11:26
U.S. Rep. Walter Jones and other congressmen want South Atlantic red snapper fishery reopened
The representatives said data produced by a Florida research institution shows the South Atlantic red snapper stock is healthier than what federal data indicates so the fishery should be reopened to commercial and recreational fishing. The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries program, announced the South Atlantic red snapper season is closed this year because the total number of red snapper removed from the population in 2015 exceeded the allowable level, according to the NOAA Fisheries website. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, a subsidiary of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, has data that shows the red snapper stock is healthier than the federal data indicates. “Unfortunately, reports indicate these data are not being considered as ‘best available science’ and, therefore, are at risk of being excluded from the (South Atlantic Fishery Management) Council’s deliberations,” Jones and his colleagues said in a letter to NOAA Administrator Kathryn Sullivan. Read the rest here 09:26
East Coast Fishermen voice objections over plan for wind farm off New York coast
A long-stalled plan to build a forest of power-producing windmills off the coast of New York may finally be gathering momentum, and that is sparking concern among commercial fishermen who fear the giant turbines will ruin an area rich with scallops and other sea life. Federal officials announced earlier this month that they would auction off the rights to build the wind power farm on a 127-square-mile wedge of the Atlantic Ocean. The tip of the wedge begins about 11 miles south of Long Island’s popular Jones Beach and spreads out across an area, sandwiched between major shipping lanes, where trawlers harvest at least $3.3 million worth of sea scallops each year, as well as smaller amounts of mackerel, squid and other species, according to a study commissioned by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. “There’s got to be a better place,” said Eric Hansen, a scallop fisherman based in New Bedford, Massachusetts. Read the rest here 08:39
