Monthly Archives: November 2016
Millennium Marine lawsuit claims lost sales
Millennium Marine, the boatbuilding company in Eastport, is seeking $226,662 in damages and also claims to have suffered losses of $430,000 because of defaults by the city and county, including business interruption and lost sales caused by delays in repairs following a 2014 fire at its building, The Quoddy Tides reported. Disputes between the company and the city began earlier this year over disagreements around the company’s rent payments. The company’s attorney, Joseph Baldacci of Bangor, told the newspaper that the attorneys for the city and county have received the lawsuit. But city attorney Dennis Mahar said the case had not been filed in Washington County Superior Court and the city had not been served with the complaint. Read the rest here 19:20
Skull found in crabpot determined to be 2,300 years old
Scientists have determined that a skull found in a crab pot off the coast two years ago dates back about 2,300 years, Grays Harbor County Coroner Lane Youmans said Tuesday afternoon. The skull was discovered by fishermen in late February 2014 about three miles offshore and southwest of Grays Harbor and was turned over to the FBI for DNA analysis. A sample of it was sent to Beta Analytics in Miami, Fla. for radiocarbon dating. An earlier report indicated the DNA profile showed that the sample was from a female. “The lab analyzed the sample and determined it to be approximately 2,300 years old … around 360 to 400 B.C.,” Youmans said. “The remains will be turned over to Dr. Guy Tasa … the Washington State Physical Anthropologist in Olympia … so he can release them to the appropriate tribe.” Read the story here 15:50
Coast Guard escorts 4 to safety after heavy winds, seas damage fishing boat off Portland, Maine
The Coast Guard assisted four people to safety Wednesday after heavy winds and seas damaged a fishing boat about 40 miles southeast of Portland, Maine. A fisherman aboard the Gracelyn Jane sent a distress hail to Coast Guard Sector Northern New England watchstanders Tuesday evening and reported their fishing boat was disabled with four people aboard. The man reported the crew lost their GPS, the boat was losing power, and their windows had shattered. On scene weather at the time was 30 knot winds and 10-14 foot seas. The 270-foot Coast Guard Cutter Northland, homported in Portsmouth, Virginia, was approximately ten miles from Gracelyn Jane’s location and quickly diverted from their patrol to help. A helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod also deployed to provide assistance. After arriving on scene, Northland’s crew found the Gracelyn Jane regained power and made way toward shore escorted by the Coast Guard. Once closer to shore, a response boat crew from Coast Guard Station Boothbay Harbor relieved Northland’s crew from their escort and accompanied Gracelyn Jane into Boothbay Harbor, Maine. Link 15:27
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 160′ Catcher/Freezer/RSW Trawler
Specifications, information and 30 photo’s click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 12:31
Catch Shares: NSW fishermen face difficult decisions as deadline looms for reform package
Friday is a big day for New South Wales fishermen. Those that want to leave the industry and take advantage of a government buyback have to decide by that date. Those that want to keep fishing are anxiously waiting to find out if they can buy-up the other’s shares and they are wondering what it will cost them. Peter Ragno fishes out of Wallace Lake near Tuncurry on the Mid North Coast. His family have been fishermen since 1891, catching prawns and mud crabs, mullet, brim and whiting among other species. The government has reduced the quote linked to his shares so just to maintain his business he will need to buy licences worth close to a quarter of a million dollars, money he cannot afford to borrow. Read the rest here 11:54
Sport groups pressure Oregon governor to stop changes in Columbia River net plan
Four powerful sportfishing groups have asked Oregon Gov. Kate Brown to keep the Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission from significantly altering a plan to move gill-nets from the lower Columbia River in 2017. In a stern letter delivered Monday to the governor and commission, the coalition threatens to withdraw support from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife if a revision to the Columbia River Plan is adopted. It was signed by representatives of the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, Association of Northwest Steelheaders, Coastal Conservation Association and the Northwest Guides and Anglers Association. Read the rest here 11:06
‘King Louie’, the 23-pound lobster bought by a vegan who wanted it returned to its watery home
A massive lobster taller than a toddler was caught in the Bay of Fundy and then bought by a vegan activist so it could be returned, alive, to its chilly home. Catherine MacDonald, co-owner of the Alma Lobster Shop in southern New Brunswick, said the 23-pound lobster, dubbed “King Louie,” was possibly a century old. “It’s beautiful,” said MacDonald in a phone interview Tuesday. “For a lobster to be 23 pounds and to be that large, there was nothing else that was going to be a predator, except man.” The lobster is very healthy, and about four feet long, said MacDonald. It was caught by a fisherman in St. Martins, N.B. MacDonald said the crustacean was sold for $230 to a Nova Scotia vegan who requested it be released back into the ocean. And so King Louie returned home on Tuesday, she said. Read the rest here 09:58
Willapa gillnetters losing grip
It’s been a tough two years for gillnetters on Willapa Bay. Battered by increasing costs, stifled by stricter regulation and furious over fewer fishing days, commercial gillnetters have been gritting their teeth since 2015 when a new management plan was instituted by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. As some in the industry were forced to sell their boats and find new work, others remain steadfast and galvanized in their resolve in calling for change in what they say has been mismanagement by WDFW officials in Olympia. Over the past three years, the commercial gillnetting industry on Willapa Bay has gone through a gauntlet of highs and lows. Record catches were celebrated during 2014 only to be followed by the devastating 2015 season that was largely stifled under new regulation. Read the story here 08:56
Oregons season delay doesn’t stop crab preparations
Although Oregon’s crab season has been delayed indefinitely, many Brookings commercial fishermen on Tuesday continued preparing for the start of the season — whenever that may be.The season — which traditionally begins Dec. 1 — has been postponed due to elevated levels of the shellfish toxin Domoic acid found in crab off the coast of Garibaldi, a northern Oregon port. However, the season will open Thursday in and around Crescent City. “Some boats are fishing in California,” Brookings fisherman Willy Goergen, captain of the Catalyst fishing vessel, said Tuesday. “My crew’s on the gear pile, switching out pots and changing tags over, ropes — we’re going to have to fish a different area than we anticipated.” The California crab season is limited to the ocean from Crescent City to just north of Eureka. Some Brookings fishermen — those who have California permits — will go fishing over the border, but others will wait until the Oregon season opens. Read the story here 08:28
Coast Guard issues temporary safety zone near Morro Bay Harbor Entrance
The Captain of the Port will be enforcing a temporary safety zone due to hazardous conditions in the vicinity of the Morro Bay Harbor entrance from November 29 –December 13, 2016. The safety zone will encompass all navigable waters from the surface to the sea floor near the inside and outside of the mouth of the Morro Bay Harbor entrance. This action is necessary to reduce significant hazards subject to the vessels, the harbor and the public during periods of poor weather conditions. The Coast Guard will energize the Morro Bay “Rough Bar Warning Light” to signify that rough bar conditions exist at the harbor’s entrance. No vessel or person is permitted to operate in the temporary safety zone unless authorized by the Captain of the Port or her designated representative. Read the rest here 20:18
Narragansett Fishermen Part Of New England Photography Exhibit at Fishing Heritage Center in New Bedford
Connecticut-based photographer Markham Starr has dedicated almost a decade to documenting New England’s fishing industry. His photos, featured in an exhibit at the Fishing Heritage Center in New Bedford, include a type of fishing unique to Rhode Island. Starr photographed fishermen across New England and says he took a special interest in the trap fishers of Point Judith in Narragansett. “It’s an ancient type of fishing,” said Starr. “They’ve been doing it probably 150 years in Rhode Island, and other traps like it go back even earlier. But there’s only three practitioners left, really, because it requires a lot of manpower.” The Fishing Heritage Center exhibit features black and white photographs of the Point Judith fishermen, as well as the commercial fishermen of Massachusetts and Maine. The exhibit at the Fishing Heritage Center in New Bedford is on display through January 17th Read the rest here 19:39
What went wrong on the Kaipara bar?
On Saturday, Francie captain Bill McNatty took what one local described as a ”coin toss” risk – to cross the Kaipara Harbour bar with 10 passengers on board. The result was deadly. Mr McNatty died along with seven of his passengers as the boat capsized. With a series of investigations under way, more details about the accident are emerging. They raise questions not just about Mr McNatty’s role, but the rules that govern charter fishing boats and lifejacket use. Another Kaipara Harbour boat charter operator, Tony Walles, claimed Mr McNatty was a “cowboy” who took “dangerous” risks. “Bill was a cowboy … bloody crazy,” he said. Read the story here. Then, there is , ‘the Queen of the Kaipara’. Flora Thirkettle has seen a lot of shipwrecks but none like this. The 88-year-old said last Saturday’s capsizing of The Francie charter boat has stunned the community and sounded a warning of just how “roaring” and “wild” the Kaipara seas could be. She has spent her life fishing by the old wrecks of the Kaipara Harbour, near the sandbar area known as the ‘graveyard’. Read the story here 15:54
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for November 28, 2016
Click here to read the Weekly Update, to read all the updates, Click here 14:33
FISH-NL challenges FFAW to public debate
FISH-NL’s Ryan Cleary is challenging the leadership of the Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union (FFAW) to a public debate, in the latest salvo between the two groups vying to represent the province’s fish harvesters. “Fish harvesters deserve answers, honesty, and a clear vision for the future — not yet more FFAW lies and deception,” said FISH-NL president Ryan Cleary in a news release on Monday. “Most fish harvesters do not trust the FFAW, or, as the union is better known these days, the ‘saltwater mafia.’ Cleary wants a debate to quash what he calls the “smears and fear mongering” by the FFAW around several issues, including that FISH-NL supports an end to the northern cod stewardship fishery. “The union has mutated into a business that prospers as the fishery dies at its feet,” Cleary said. The FFAW is gaining the support of the Newfoundland and Labrador Federation of Labour in its ongoing war of words with FISH-NL. Read the rest here 11:37
Trawler crew vanishes without trace off Fraser Coast
The Sunshine Coast prawn fishing fraternity fears a trawler and its crew that vanished without a trace off the Fraser Coast met a sudden and catastrophic end. The search for Mooloolaba-based Night Raider, which has not been heard from since November 12, was scaled back by authorities on Monday after an extensive operation that involved helicopters, police and volunteer marine rescue vessels and patrols of the shoreline and inlets. Veteran professional fisherman Grant Sainty, 60, has been identified as the skipper and devastated relatives and colleagues say it is out of character for him not to be in touch. Industry insiders told The Courier-Mail their game can be dangerous and a rollover while fishing, sudden sinking or fire could be to blame for the disappearance. One of Mr Sainty’s two crew has been revealed as Port Macquarie father-of-six Doug Hunt, 38, while a 24-year-old man also was on board. Read the story here 10:52
23-pound lobster caught in N.B.
A whopping 23-pound lobster was caught off the coast of St. Martin’s, New Brunswick. He’s estimated to be more than 100 years old. Alma Lobster Shop is home to the king critter but it might not be for long. “We’re not sure what we’re going to do with him yet,” Elizabeth Macdonald, who works at the shop, told CTV Atlantic. She suggested they may auction him or sell him and at $11 a pound, so he could fetch more than $230. Video, read the rest here 10:33
Sonoma Coast Dungeness crab season delayed
Thousands of crab traps, stacked six feet or higher, line the sides of Westshore Road surrounding the Spud Point Marina, a clear indication this year’s commercial Dungeness crab season along the North Coast is off to another rocky start. “Look at what’s happening at Spud Point — there’s probably 10,000 pots sitting out there. Those are guys who aren’t going out,” said Charlie Beck, a Bodega Bay fisherman who has been crabbing in the waters off the Sonoma Coast nearly 40 years. “Our small fishing fleet is getting destroyed. Last year was the worst season that we’ve ever seen, and this year it’s looking pretty bleak, especially for the smaller boats.” State health officials last week recommended an indefinite delay for Dungeness along a 180-mile stretch of coastal waters along Northern California, from Point Reyes in Marin County to Humboldt Bay in Mendocino County, dealing another blow to the North Coast’s lucrative wintertime crabbing season following last year’s 4½-month delay. Read the story here with 12 images 10:01
As anniversary nears, reports on deadly F/V Orin C sinking unfinished
Saturday will mark the one-year anniversary of the sinking of the Orin C and the death of Gloucester fisherman David “Heavy D” Sutherland, but the final federal reports on the deadly incident still will not be released until January. Representatives of the Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board on Monday confirmed the new timetable for releasing the findings of the separate investigations and restated the government’s intention to release the reports simultaneously. “We were really pushing to have a completed report before the anniversary of the tragedy to help bring some closure up here,” said Lt. Karen Kutiewicz of the Coast Guard’s District 1 Headquarters in Boston. “That was our goal. Unfortunately, it’s not the reality.”The draft of the Coast Guard’s internal casualty investigation was completed earlier this year and forwarded during the summer to Washington, D.C., for review by officials at Coast Guard headquarters. In July, the NTSB said it expected to release the conclusions of its investigation “sometime in the fall.” An NTSB spokesman on Monday said the agency has not yet concluded its investigation and does not expect to have the final report until mid-January. Read the story here 09:01
“Operation Broken Glass” – Three Men Plead Guilty for Illegally Harvesting and Selling American Eels
Three individuals pleaded guilty in federal district court in Charleston, South Carolina, to trafficking more than $740,000 worth of juvenile American eels aka “elvers” or “glass eels,” in violation of the Lacey Act. Harry Wertan, Jr., Mark Weihe and Jay James each pleaded guilty to selling or transporting elvers in interstate commerce, which they had harvested illegally, or knew had been harvested illegally, in South Carolina. The pleas were the result of “Operation Broken Glass,” a multi-jurisdiction U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) investigation into the illegal trafficking of American eels. To date, the investigation has resulted in guilty pleas for ten individuals whose combined conduct resulted in the illegal trafficking of more than $2.6 million worth of elvers. Operation Broken Glass was conducted by the USFWS and the Justice Department’s Environmental Crimes Section in collaboration with 17 state and federal agency’s. Read the rest here 08:28
Dec. 1 – Scallop season opens with high hopes
After an eight-month hiatus when, like summer tourists, the only scallops in local stores are “from away,” the Maine scallop fishing season is finally opening, at least for a handful of harvesters. All along the coastline, licensed scallop divers are allowed to start fishing for the succulent bivalves today, Thursday, Dec. 1. Dragger fishermen will have to wait to wet their gear until next Monday, Dec. 5. The season opens on an optimistic note. Over the past five years, scallop landings have increased steadily, from just over 175,000 pounds of scallop meats (about 1.5 million pounds in the shell) during 2011 to almost 453,000 pounds in 2015. According to Trisha Cheney, a resource management coordinator at the Department of Marine Resources, 635 harvesters—77 divers and 558 draggers–had licenses to fish for scallops last year and are eligible to get licenses in 2016. Of that group, Cheney said, 445 licensed harvesters actually participated in the fishery. There were, she said, 52 active divers, 373 active draggers and 20 “unknown” harvesters who DMR can’t identify as working in either category. In 2009, only 168 harvesters fished for scallops in Maine. Read the story here 21:32
North Carolina Commercial Fisherman Pleads Guilty to Illegally Harvesting and Selling Atlantic Striped Bass
The 
announced that today in federal court, James Ralph Craddock, 71, of Manns Harbor, pleaded guilty to federal charges regarding the illegal harvest and sale of Atlantic Striped Bass from federal waters off the coast of North Carolina in 2010. According to information in the public record, in February 2010, a Special Agent with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) received information that commercial trawlers were illegally fishing for Atlantic Striped Bass in federal waters off the coast of North Carolina. A single patrol vessel in the area intercepted one of 17 commercial trawlers in the EEZ, the fishing vessel Lady Samaira, boarded the vessel and found 173 Atlantic Striped Bass. The captain later admitted to taking the fish from the EEZ. Given the other commercial trawlers in the same area, NOAA conducted an analysis of electronic data and written reports from those vessels. Based on its review, NOAA determined that during the North Carolina 20-day ocean trawl season in January/February 2010, Craddock, then Captain of the 74-foot commercial fishing vessel Capt Ralph, harvested over 12,000 pounds of Atlantic Striped Bass. Read the rest here 19:50
The Bahamas: No Chinese Commercial Fishing Allowed
Speculation having been rife for several weeks about the remote possibility of large-scale fishing in Bahamian waters by Chinese fishing vessels. The Prime Minister of The Bahamas, the Rt. Hon. Perry Christie, has put the matter to rest in a statement released on November 22, 2016, unequivocally stating: “We are not going to compromise and no discussion will lead to a conclusion that this government would have contemplated or agreed for that to happen.” Christie emphatically stated in reports in the Nassau Guardian and Tribune daily newspapers that no mass commercial fishing will take place under foreign ownership. Christie said commercial fishing is reserved only for Bahamians, that there are no fisheries negotiations with the Chinese. The Prime Minister reiterated his government’s policy of conserving the Bahamas’ fisheries and natural resources. Read the rest here 18:47
FFAW claims harvesters revoking signed support for FISH-NL
The president of the Fish, Food and Allied Workers Union (FFAW) says some fish harvesters are having a change of heart about FISH-NL. In a news release Monday, Keith Sullivan said his union is being contacted by people who want to revoke their signatures on membership cards that supported Ryan Cleary’s breakaway group. “It’s become very clear that harvesters are not buying the hollow agenda of anger and division with no plan that FISH-NL is trying to sell,” said Sullivan. The release states the “surge” in requests to revoke signatures “comes at the same time as Cleary questioned whether there should be an inshore northern cod fishery at all this year.” Read the rest here 16:37
2017 Bristol Bay sockeye forecast in line with recent average
Bristol Bay can look forward to a regular season in 2017 after two years of hard work, if the forecast is to be believed. Alaska’s largest sockeye run has blown past projections the last two years, but next year the Alaska Department of Fish and Game predicts an average harvest. “A total of 41.47 million sockeye salmon (range 31.20–51.73 million) are expected to return to Bristol Bay in 2017,” according to an ADFG report released Nov. 15. “This is virtually identical to the most recent 10-year average of Bristol Bay total runs (41.39) and 27 percent greater than the long-term mean of 32.76 million.” For commercial fishermen, this means next year’s harvest will also be average, with a commercial harvest of 29 million. “A Bristol Bay harvest of this size is 2 percent lower than the most recent 10-year harvest which has ranged from 15.43 million to 37.53 million, and 34 percent greater than the long-term harvest average of 20.52 million fish (1963 to present),” the report states. Read the rest here 15:14
Local crab hauls set to hit ports on Thursday; buying price set at $3 per pound
The following is a press release issued by the Humboldt Fishermen’s Marketing Association: fishermen in District 6 (North Jetty Humboldt Bay to Oregon Border) can begin setting crab pots today, but many local fishermen may stay tied up. Rough ocean conditions and a very large northwesterly swell forecast by the National Weather Service is expected to produce unsafe conditions on the ocean and Humboldt Bay Bar. Meanwhile, boats out of Trinidad and Crescent City will also begin setting pots. Dungeness crabs in District 6 have tested free of domoic acid (a naturally occurring compound) and are reported to be of exceptional quality with high meat recovery. District 6 is the only area north of Point Reyes, San Francisco open to crab fishing in California. Oregon could open as soon as December 15, and Washington State sometime later. Because of limited fishing area and high crab quality, the three local fishermen’s associations (Humboldt, Trinidad, and Crescent City) discussed the possibility of waiting to begin fishing in order to negotiate with crab buyers for a higher price. Unable to achieve consensus on the issue of price, the crab fleet will start fishing with an ex-vessel price of $3 per pound. The first local crabs of the season will be delivered to our ports on December 1st. Link 14:33
‘Dumping Day’ docked by blustery forecasts in effort to make lobster hunt safer
Safety is of the utmost importance to today’s lobster fishers. And safety holds special significance for old-timers to whom the precautionary measures are a mournful reminder of sailors who paid the ultimate price in pursuit of Canada’s most valuable sea-dwelling commodity. “We try to make Dumping Day safe as we can,” says longtime lobsterman Ashton Spinney. “Still, there’s danger … Unforeseen accidents happen. “Spinney is a member of the body that oversees Lobster Fishing Area 34 (LFA 34) in southwestern Nova Scotia — an approximately New Jersey-sized body of water that has the largest catches of Canada’s 41 lobster fishing districts. Canada’s billion-dollar lobster business remains the most lucrative fishery the country and a crucial economic engine on the East Coast, employing about 30,000 harvesters in the Atlantic provinces. Spinney, who is coming up on his 60th Dumping Day, says in his early years, fishers would set out to sea in up to 130 kilometre per hour winds, restricted only by time and nautical nerve. He says the rules have since changed to only allow boats to set sail if the weather permits safe travel. Contingencies like this have likely spared lives in recent years, Spinney says, but still today, every angler risks life and limb upon exiting the harbour. – Read the rest here 11:21
Fishermen’s federations adopt united stance on Brexit
The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation
(SFF) and the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations (NFFO) agreed the key outcomes they want from negotiations to leave the EU at a recent meeting in Edinburgh. The organisations say fishermen across the UK have welcomed Brexit as an opportunity to secure significant economic benefit for coastal communities once the UK regains control of its 200 mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). At the meeting it was agreed they would seek fairer shares of catching opportunity for UK vessels and full control over access to the UK EEZ by fishing fleets. They also want to see the creation of a “fit-for-purpose” management and regulation system, including a grass roots revision of fisheries management based on “sustainable harvesting and sound science.” The federations are calling for the establishment of mutually beneficial trading relationships with the EU and other countries. They also agreed that there must be no roll-over of the current Common Fisheries Policy (CFP) and that negotiations regarding fisheries should not be entangled with non-fisheries issues. And they insist negotiations must benefit all sectors of the fishing industry, including inshore and offshore fleets, fish and shellfish. Read the rest here 09:52
Will Trump Be Able To Undo Papahanaumokuakea, Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monuments?
In the months leading up to the Nov. 8 election, President Barack Obama signed a series of proclamations to dramatically increase the amount of land and water that is federally protected from commercial fishing, mining, drilling and development. On Aug. 24, he established a nearly 90,000-acre national monument in the Katahdin Woods of Maine. Two days later, Obama expanded Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument around the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands by 283 million acres, making it the world’s largest protected area at the time. And on Sept. 15, he created the first national monument in the Atlantic Ocean, protecting more than 3 million acres of marine ecosystems, seamounts and underwater canyons southeast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts. It’s mostly speculation at this point as to what Trump will do but groups on both sides of the issue are keeping a watchful eye on things. Advocates for commercial fishing interests on the East Coast have started nudging policymakers to consider what changes the next administration could make. But West Coast and Hawaii industry groups are still gathering information and developing plans. Read the rest here 08:47
Wanted: Lobstermen willing to try out life vests
The Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety is asking New England lobstermen to help design a life jacket they would actually wear every day. It could be a matter of life or death. Researchers will visit Maine docks this winter to recruit fishermen to try out different kinds of personal flotation devices, or PFDs, for a month to determine which designs work best for daily use aboard a lobster boat. The lobstermen will be paid to test the life vest, and can keep it for their own use once they are done. “This isn’t about making lobstermen wear anything, telling them what to do or regulating anything,” said principal investigator Julie Sorensen of the Northeast Center. “It’s about making PFDs comfortable enough that fishermen want to wear them.” Statistics suggest it will be a hard sell, but well worth it. Researchers at the Northeast Center hope their PFD design study, which is being conducted with Fishing Partnership Support Services of Massachusetts, will help manufacturers tailor flotation devices to the lobster industry and convince fishermen a vest can save their lives without making them miserable or poor. In two years, they will return to the docks with the most popular design for nine-month trials. Read the article here 08:07
Commercial Fishing Boat Runs Aground in Montauk
A 55-foot commercial a commercial fishing dragger, the Miss Scarlett, based in New London, Conn., ran aground on the beach along Navy Road in Montauk at about 6 a.m. Sunday near high tide. There were no injuries reported. The crew of the Miss Scarlett remained onboard the stranded vessel until they were picked up by a skiff from another boat around noon. The stranded vessel, which was located just west of the Port Royal, became a destination for families who flocked to the beach to take pictures of it throughout the morning. Read the rest here 17:34
