Daily Archives: July 31, 2016
Restrictions on tap for southern New England lobster fishery
New restrictions are on tap for the region’s historic lobster fishery, which is grappling with an unprecedented decline. Scientists have said lobsters off southern Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut have declined in the face of the warming ocean. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is considering ways to help preserve the species, and a report from the commission says one way to preserve lobsters could be to increase the minimum harvesting size. The commission’s lobster board might take action on the issue Thursday. “The biggest challenge I see is trying to establish an appropriate goal to manage the fishery in the face of what the scientists are telling us is the decline caused by ocean warming,” said Dan McKiernan, a member of the lobster board. Read the rest here 15:43
Back in the game: boat building returns to Harbour Grace
With a crack of a champagne bottle on the hull, a longtime Newfoundland fishing family launched a brand new boat on July 28. Roy Careen of Point Lance had the vessel built for the skipper, his son Christopher. The launch of the Nellie C., named for both Roy’s mother and his wife’s mother, was a special moment for the Careens but an even prouder moment for the owners of Harbour Grace Ocean Enterprises (HGOE). The last vessel built in the Harbour Grace facility was back in 2005. General Manager of HGOE, Paul Lannon, said he and his group took over the business in 2013 and right away saw opportunities to get into boat building. “There’s a growing demand for new fishing vessels of various sizes because of changes to regulations in the industry and people fishing different species, so yards are very busy throughout the Maritimes and Atlantic Canada,” said Lannon. Read the rest here 12:46
Chatham Coast Guard crew medevacs injured fisherman
Coast Guard Station Chatham crewmembers medevaced an injured fisherman Saturday night near the entrance of Great Round Shoal. A person aboard the fishing boat Illusion, which was about 30 miles east of Nantucket en route to its homeport of New Bedford, contacted Coast Guard watchstanders Saturday and reported a crewmember suffered a severe hand laceration and required immediate medical attention. A response boat crew from Coast Guard Station Chatham launched with two fire department EMTs aboard to rendezvous with Illusion and aid the fisherman. The Coast Guard and fishing boat met at the entrance of Great Round Shoal where the injured fisherman was transferred aboard the Coast Guard boat. The EMTs provided the man care while he was transported to Saquatucket Harbor to awaiting emergency medical services personnel. Link 12:05
PETA wishes Warren Sapp well after shark attack, sends (delicious cruelty-free) fake lobster
Warren Sapp was bitten by what appeared to be a nurse shark while hunting lobster off the Florida Keys on Wednesday. The former University of Miami and NFL star will be getting at least one get-well card. And some fake lobster. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, best known as PETA, said it was not only sending its best wishes to Sapp via a card, but would also send him some “delicious cruelty-free vegan lobster” for his enjoyment. Also, PETA appears fond of football puns. “We heard about your interception of a defensive shark’s lobster dinner,” PETA wrote in its response to Sapp according to an email sent to the Miami Herald. “We wanted to pass along some delicious cruelty-free vegan lobster in the hope that it’s a winner with you and yours. Read the rest here, and eat more lobster! 11:15
Retired trawler to be first artificial reef piece
An artificial reef project aimed at boosting red snapper populations in South Texas waters hit a major milestone earlier this week with the issuance of a final permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The recipient was Friends of RGV Reef, which may now proceed with sinking the reef’s first vessel. Gary Glick, the group’s president, said the retired trawler Gulf Explorer will be sent to the bottom in state waters 13.75 nautical miles north of the South Padre Island jetties and eight nautical miles offshore, likely next month. The group got a good deal on the 30-ton shrimper — plus a retired ocean-going tugboat also slated for sinking — from Billy Kennon of Marine Salvage & Services Inc. in Port Isabel, Glick said. Read the story here 10:57
Aquarium scientist helps lead effort to designate Marine National Monument
An effort being led in part by Mystic Aquarium Senior Research Scientist Peter Auster is working to get President Barack Obama to designate a 4,000-square-nautical-mile area of ocean off Cape Cod as a Marine National Monument, which would be the first in the Atlantic Ocean. Located 150 miles southeast of Cape Cod, it is also a place that Auster said companies are beginning to show interest in mining the seamounts for precious metals. Designation of the area as a national monument would prevent “commercial extraction activities” such as mining, oil and gas drilling, as well as commercial fishing. Activities such as recreational angling, whale watching and boating would be permitted. Working with environmental groups, they are working to get the designation request to Obama to sign before he leaves office. Read the rest here 10:28
The unusual, mysterious American eel
I recently watched a man fishing in the Arkansas River at Little Rock who caught an American eel. When he set the hook, the angler was pleased with the reaction. The fish surged away, stripping line against the drag. The man grunted and cranked, smiling all the while. When the 2 1/2-foot fish was finally beached, the man’s demeanor abruptly changed. I doubt he could have been more horror-stricken had he landed a 20-foot anaconda. He dropped his rod, ran to his pickup, extracted a .357 revolver and proceeded to plug the “beast.” When the gun was empty, he smiled again, turned to me and said matter of factly, “I hate @#$+& eels.” For 23 centuries, man speculated on the origin of the eel. Aristotle was convinced that eels rose spontaneously from mud. Roman scholar Pliny the Elder believed young eels came from bits of skin adults rubbed off on rocks. Scandinavians postulated that another fish, the Aalmutter, was the “eel mother,” while Italian fishermen espoused the idea that eels copulated with water snakes. In early America, it was generally assumed that eels arose spontaneously from horse hairs that fell in the water. Read the rest here 10:02
‘Horrible’ season: North Coast crabbers haul in third of average catch
Asked to describe this year’s nine-week commercial Dungeness crab season that should have lasted seven months, Eureka-based crab fisherman Jubal Hall was quite frank. “It was garbage,” he said. “It was horrible.” Hall, 40, is now on his way to Alaska to make up for his losses by fishing on the notoriously dangerous waters of the Bering Sea. While it’s not his preference, Hall said he needs to be able to make up for the financial losses that this year’s dismally short crab season and a second job on the side could not.“I’m broke,” he said. “I’m going up to Alaska because that’s what I’ve got to do to survive.” The Dungeness crab season on California’s North Coast was the hardest hit by toxic algae blooms that have persisted now for over a year straight. Read the story here 09:46
From sea to sale: Fishermen skip processors, go straight to buyers
Many of the salmon that wind up in the nets of the fishing vessel Ounce have their buyer’s name on them from the moment they come out of the sea. Out in Cook Inlet, Chuck Lindsay and his business partner Hannah Heimbuch will haul in silver, red and chum salmon from their drift gillnets and sort them for clients in Alaska and elsewhere. Though most of them will cross the dock at one of the area’s processors, about one-fifth will be carefully packed into a cooler in the back of Lindsay’s truck and delivered to his customers’ doors. Lindsay, a co-owner of Kenai Wild Salmon Co. with Heimbuch, has directly marketed part of his catch to customers for the past three years. Once the boat has docked for the day, if he and his partner are not fishing the next day, they will deliver the fish in the morning. The fish is always delivered within 12 hours, he said. Read the rest here 08:11
Officials are calling off the search for the fishing vessel Alaska Juris.
The U.S. Coast Guard released a statement Saturday saying it’s believed that the ship sank in approximately 5,400 feet of water. A problem in the engine room Tuesday led to flooding on board the Alaska Juris, forcing the crew to abandon ship. All 46 crew members were rescued by good Samaritan ships, and there were no injuries. The Coast Guard, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Fishing Company of Alaska coordinated a search of the area northwest of Adak, Alaska, where the fishing vessel Alaska Juris was last seen. There was no sign of the ship. Unrecoverable diesel sheen was located in the search area believed to be from the Alaska Juris. The cause of the fishing vessel Alaska Juris sinking is under investigation. Link 03:15
