Daily Archives: October 18, 2016
Cape May fisherman gets restraining order in pilot whale killing case
A Cape May commercial fisherman charged with killing a pilot whale in 2011 has gotten a federal order prohibiting federal agents and a defense investigator from speaking to informants in the case. Defense attorney Bill Hughes Jr., of Cooper Levenson, in Atlantic City, said in court documents the informants told his investigator they were threatened and harassed by federal agents. And in its submission, the U.S. Attorney’s Office alleged the defense investigator had misled the informants while interviewing them. The order follows an Oct. 17 teleconference between U.S Magistrate Judge Cathy L. Waldor, Hughes and lawyers for the U.S. Attorney’s Office. The order says that individuals who previously had contact with the informants, including federal agents, federally deputized state agents, and the defense counsel’s private investigator, cannot have further contact with them. Read the story here 20:02
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for October 17, 2016
Click here to read the Weekly Update, to read all the updates, Click here 18:39
Season Finale – ‘Deadliest Catch: Dungeon Cove’ 9 PM ET/PT on the Discovery Channel
Tonight marks the season finale of Deadliest Catch: Dungeon Cove,” airing at 9 PM ET/PT on the Discovery Channel. After weeks battling the Pacific Ocean, Oregon’s crab fleet nears the finish line, but crossing won’t be easy. With lethal waves blocking his path, Captain Mikey Retherford Jr faces a deadly bar crossing into port, with his son on board.Captain Sehlbach and the F/V Galway Bay crew aren’t the only ones facing a difficult path to the finish line in the finale though. Tuesday’s season ender will find Captain Miket Rutherford Jr facing a deadly bar crossing into port while his is on board! It’s a must-see finale that promises to have fans on the edge of their seats and one that no fan will want to miss. Video here and here 17:43
Lu Dochtermann’s letter to James W. Balsiger – You should read it.
Also addressed are Glenn G. Merrill — Sustainable Fisheries Administrator, and Penny Pritzker, Secretary U.S. Department of Commerce. He cover’s a lot of territory in the letter from by-catch, to catch shares. Dear Sirs: You are both aware of our vessels, F/V North Point and F/V Stormbird who fish BSAI & GOA halibut, crab, and tender salmon in Bristol Bay — and of my significant investment in vessels, pots, gear and quotas for those grounds. Likewise, that my investment is enormously impacted when unforgiving behavior in the trawl groundfish industrialized mega-sized effort strikes at the heart of the sustainability for other bottommost stocks. ,,, In perspective with the fact that “Greed is Good” is increasingly the main motivator in all aspects of economic societies, it is particularly seemly omnipotent in the globalized fishing business, where “bigger is always better” and “the little guy” is meant to be squeezed out as the ‘market liberalization’ theory’s resource corrupt room gets smaller. Read the letter, click here 16:18
Poor Striper Spawn Reported in Chesapeake
The Maryland Department of Natural Resources announced yesterday that the annual Juvenile Striped Bass Survey indicates that the 2016 striper spawn in the Chesapeake was well below average. However, it also found one-year-old striped bass from last year’s very successful year-class in abundance. Striped bass spawning success is strongly affected by environmental conditions such as rainfall and varies greatly from year-to-year, with occasional large year-classes interspersed with average or below-average year-classes. “While this year’s striped bass index is disappointing, it is not a concern unless we observe poor spawning in multiple, consecutive years,” said Fishing and Boating Services Director David Blazer. Read the rest here 15:03
A Drone May Save Your Life in the Future.
Drones have many uses—from military strikes to package delivery. One of the most important uses is to save lives. In times of emergency, a drone is often the cheapest and most efficient way to find a missing person, deliver needed medicine, or survey a disaster scene. In the case of cardiac arrest, it could take an EMT ten or more minutes to get to the scene. Brain death occurs in 4 – 6 minutes. An emergency drone can get a defibrillator to a patient within a 5 square mile zone within a minute, increasing the chance of survival from 8 percent to 80 percent. The drone tracks emergency mobile calls and uses GPS to navigate to the crisis. This same drone can be used by the Coast Guard when they are a distance from a capsized boat. Aside from dropping multiple flotation devices to conscious victims to buy time until the Coast Guard reaches them, GPS transmitters in the flotation devices enable the Coast Guard to pull the survivors from the cold water faster. Read the rest here 13:57
Iceland’s fishermen vote to strike
The Icelandic fleet is set to stop fishing next month after union members voted overwhelmingly in favor of strike action over falling earnings. Ninety-one percent of members of the Icelandic Union of Marine Engineers and Metal Technicians voted for a strike, as did 90 percent of the members of associations affiliated to the Seamen’s Union representing deck crews. The ships officers’ union had previously voted to accept the terms of an agreement with owners’ federation SFS (Iceland Fisheries). There are several issues that the pro-strike unions are deeply dissatisfied with, including the percentage that crews of new vessels pay towards construction costs, which is felt to be excessive, not least because there is a number of new vessels set to join the Icelandic fleet over the coming year, with both freezer and fresher trawlers being built at yards in China and Turkey for Icelandic operators. Read the rest here 12:02
Seafood Industry Australia – Industry finds its voice as campaign for a united peak body gains momentum
A national campaign to form a united peak body for the seafood industry is gaining momentum. Voluntary contributions totalling $406,000 have been secured from the wild catch, aquaculture, post harvest and retail sectors to fund the next two years of forming Seafood Industry Australia. Chair of the implementation group, Veronica Papacosta, said with 52 days left in the campaign, she was confident of getting it across the line. “We’re very close to our minimum target, so I think we’re past the tipping point of whether this’ll happen — it will, which is really, really exciting,” Ms Papacosta said. “But now the pressure is on to make sure we get it right, to make sure we are a national body, to make sure we represent the whole of Australia.” Australia’s, at times, fractured fishing industry has long recognised it needed a clearer, united voice to speak to government and consumers. Read the story here 09:53
Boat owner describes devastation when his 42ft Bruno get’s ripped apart
The owner of a boat that was ripped apart in Bailey’s Bay by Hurricane Nicole has likened the ordeal to “losing a family member”. The storm not only tore apart Aldo Pace’s boat but also his livelihood as a commercial fisherman and with upwards of $300,000 worth of damage, he has no insurance to fall back on. Mr Pace, 62, got the 42ft Bruno Stillman fishing vessel about 25 years ago, using it for his charter business followed by offshore commercial fishing. He had wanted to take it out of the water but all the boat yards were full. Mr Pace had already called the insurance companies but they said they don’t provide storm cover for boats for Bailey’s Bay as it is a high-risk area. It left him no choice other than to tie down the boat as best he could and hope for the best. Read the story here 09:14
Fire destroys Owls Head lobster boat, community rally’s
Todd Nickles said the fishing community has rallied to offer its collective hand after his lobster boat was destroyed Saturday night by fire. The cause of the blaze aboard the 31-foot Double Trouble II has not been determined, Nickles said Monday as he stood by the remnants of the burned vessel, which was surrounded by yellow tape. There were no immediate responses to an email message left Monday afternoon with the Maine Department of Public Safety and a phone message for the state fire marshal investigator about the fire. Nickles said he does not believe it was intentionally set. The boat is insured, Nickles said, but he does not know if the insurance covers lost income. Read the story here 08:38
Coast Guard confirms new icebreaker will be ready just in time for Hell to freeze over
With three icebreakers at over 40 years of use and abuse in the Polar Regions, the Coast Guard finally announced that the new icebreaker currently under construction will be complete just in time for Hell to freeze over. In a recent hearing of the House Subcommittee on the Coast Guard on Monday, chairman Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) asked U.S. Coast Guard vice commandant Adm. Charles D. Michel on whether or not a new icebreaker would be constructed at all. Adm. Michel responded with, “Yes, we have been in talks with Lucifer and his Minions of Doom regarding the deadline and we are all in agreement that this timeline works for us.” “This is very exciting,” said former serial killer Ted Bundy, from the the Seventh Circle of Hell. “Our all-knowing and gloriously hateful lord of fire will be able to continue his reign of sin on the unholy all thanks to the speedy manufacturing of Vigor Industrial Shipyard and the US Coast Guard.” Read the rest here 08:17
