Monthly Archives: December 2016
Marathon fisherman pinched for untagged lobster traps, bad bouy charges
A Marathon commercial fisherman faces more than 130 conservation counts after being charged with fishing illegal lobster traps. Franklin Garcia Jimenez, 40, was arrested before dawn Tuesday as part of a trap-tag case filed by Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers. Garcia is charged with “fishing more than 50 working, untagged traps,” agency information Officer Bobby Dube said. FWC Investigator Danielle Munkelt and Officer Adam Garrison also filed counts accusing Garcia of using buoys that were painted with the wrong colors and buoys that do not meet legal size requirements. All of the 136 counts are misdemeanors. Garcia posted a $68,000 bond and was released from the Monroe County jail Thursday. Read the rest here 20:45
Fukushima radiation has reached U.S. shores – Poses no danger to humans or the environment, they say.
For the first time, seaborne radiation from Japan’s Fukushima nuclear disaster has been detected on the West Coast of the United States. Cesium-134, the so-called fingerprint of Fukushima, was measured in seawater samples taken from Tillamook Bay and Gold Beach in Oregon, researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution are reporting. Because of its short half-life, cesium-134 can only have come from Fukushima. Also for the first time, cesium-134 has been detected in a Canadian salmon, the Fukushima InFORM project, led by University of Victoria chemical oceanographer Jay Cullen, is reporting. In both cases, levels are extremely low, the researchers said, and don’t pose a danger to humans or the environment. Read the rest here 16:53
Accusations fly at hearing into Alaska Juris sinking
A Coast Guard hearing into the July sinking of the Alaska Juris took a volatile turn on Thursday as a marine contractor once charged with shore repairs alleged that misconduct by some Japanese crew contributed to safety problems. Herb Roeser, owner of Seattle-based Trans-Marine Propulsion Systems, alleged in his testimony that Masashi Yamada, a Japanese entrepreneur with wide-ranging business holdings, wielded behind-the-scenes control of the factory ship’s owner, Renton-based Fishing Company of Alaska. Roeser said Japanese crews working for one of Yamada’s businesses, Anyo Fisheries, “basically ran” the Alaska Juris. Over the years, Roeser said, the Alaska Juris had been weakened by not only age but also improper modifications ordered by Japanese crew and their rough fishing tactics that slammed metal trawl gear — known as doors — against the stern of the vessel and contributed to cracks. Roeser testified that when he stopped working for the company in 2011, he told the U.S. owner, the late Karena Adler, that “you need to put that ship in the scrap yard because nothing good is going to come of it.” Read the rest here 16:11
Executive Order — Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience (includes typo’s!)
By the authority vested in me as the President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, 43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq., it is hereby ordered as follows: Section 1. Purpose. As recognized in Executive Order 13689 of January 21, 2015, (Enhancing Coordination of National Efforts in the Arctic), Arctic environmental stewardship is in the national interest. In furtherance of this principle, and as articulated in the March 10, 2016, U.S.-Canada Joint Statement on Climate, Energy, and Arctic Leadership, the United States has resolved to confront the challenges of a changing Arctic by working to conserve Arctic biodiversity; support and engage Alaska Native tribes; incorporate traditional knowledge into decisionmaking; and build a sustainable Arctic economy that relies on the highest safety and environmental standards, including adherence to national climate goals. The United States is committed to achieving these goals in partnership with indigenous communities and through science-based decisionmaking. This order carries forth that vision in the northern Bering Sea region. Read the rest here 14:56
Federal judge tosses another fisheries management rule
Federal judges keep smacking down the North Pacific Fishery Management Council’s decisions. For the second time in the last three months, a federal court has overturned a management decision made by the North Pacific council and enacted by the National Marine Fisheries Service, or NMFS. The United States District Court of Washington overturned a 2011 decision relating to halibut quota shares harvested by hired skippers on Nov. 16. Federal courts have overturned several council decisions in recent years. In September, a the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the council’s 2011 decision to remove Cook Inlet, Prince William Sound and Alaska Peninsula salmon fisheries from federal oversight. In this case, the North Pacific council made a decision in 2011 regarding which halibut quota holders can use a hired skipper instead of being required to be on board the vessel. Read the story here 14:09
FISH-NL announces Crowd Funding Campaign; all hands on deck
The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) is launching a crowd funding campaign today to raise $16,000 to fund the conclusion of the breakaway union’s membership drive. “If you want to see a prosperous fishing industry in Newfoundland and Labrador, we urge you to support the cause,” says Ryan Cleary, president of FISH-NL.“This battle has been compared to David vs. Goliath, but while the FFAW has unlimited funds at its disposal — as well as a definitive list of all fish harvesters in the province — FISH-NL has overwhelming momentum fueled by hundreds of volunteers.” It’s not just fish harvesters who are urged to contribute to the cause, but all Newfoundlanders and Labradorians concerned about the future of rural communities and their sputtering economic engine — the fishery. The funds raised will be used to purchase media advertising, hire staff to oversee the conclusion of the membership drive, and travel/office expenses. “The will for change is unstoppable,” says Cleary, “but only if all hands are on deck.” PLEASE NOTE: FISH-NL operates based on fairness for all harvesters — donations do not translate to influence within FISH-NL. To fish processing companies and the offshore sector — keep your money, FISH-NL is for inshore harvesters only. For more information, contact Ron Woodman 697-6026 Click here for gofundme page.
Crab Fishermen Rescue Entangled Whale Near Bodega Bay
Three fishermen on the boat, Legacy, risked their lives to save a whale entangled in crab pots near Bodega Bay. They didn’t have time to call for help, it was an emergency situation. Legacy crewman Valentine Parnell described the initial encounter with the whale. “Mark comes along side it and we notice that its blowhole was spouting off…it’s trapped. Absolutely trapped,” Parnell said. Legacy deck boss Ken Garliepp said, “I mean it was cutting into him to where he was bleeding, so I don’t know how long it would have been til he’s getting ripped apart by sharks. He definitely needed help.” Using boat hooks, the men snagged lines and started cutting. Piece by piece the old lines slowly came off. At first the whale resisted, but then something miraculous happened. Video, read the story here 10:22
Sister of missing Night Raider fisherman wants answers, asks why search didn’t start sooner
The prawn trawler departed Urangan, at Hervey Bay, on November 11 and headed east before the trawler’s Vessel Monitoring System, a mandatory system that provides hourly updates on the location of all trawlers in Queensland waters to Fisheries, stopped responding on November 12. Leigh Ann Hunt said that is when a search should have started to find her little brother, 38-year-old Douglas Hunt, along with the two other men aboard, aged 24 and 60, who remain missing. A Fisheries Queensland spokeswoman said while the VMS was not an at-sea safety system, it could be used in search and rescue operations by providing the last known position of a vessel. For the next six days, Fisheries Queensland attempted to make contact with the Night Raider and notified other vessels in the area along with the family of the vessel’s owner. Read the rest here 09:10
Stranded Dragger Aground in Montauk is Freed
The 55-foot steel-hulled dragger that ran aground in Montauk on the morning of Nov. 27 was finally pulled free Tuesday by the tugboat Judy M., the hole in her hull having been patched by an underwater diver the day before. The vessel, the Miss Scarlett, was towed across Long Island Sound to a boatyard in North Kingston, R.I., where she will be refurbished. Before the towing could begin, though, she received an inspection from two Coast Guard officers, who spent over an hour on board. “The state of the main engine is going to determine what happens next,” Rob Morsch, one of the boat’s owners, said as he watched the Miss Scarlett being pulled free. Much will depend on how much water got into the cylinders. “Air compresses, water doesn’t.” An insurance adjuster was on hand for the entire operation Tuesday. Read the story here 08:17
Venezuelan fishermen turn to piracy as industry collapses
As Venezuela continues on its downward spiral into economic collapse, in the coastal state of Sucre, out-of-work fishermen have turned to piracy, killing dozens who still venture out into the open sea, trying to make a living. was once home to the world’s fourth-largest tuna fleet. But the fishing industry, along with almost every industry in Venezuela has collapsed, and people have become desperate. It is a desperation born out of being unemployed, having no money to feed their families, and looking at a future that seems to be bleak and empty. So gangs of pirates have been formed, and they prey on those who still try to venture out to fish, stealing their catch and motors. They gangs don’t stop at just stealing, they quite often tie fishermen up and throw them overboard or shoot them, said Associated Press And a dead fisherman’s family is not safe from the gangs, either. Read the rest here 20:11
Obama Administration Approves Nation’s First Ocean Management Plans
President Obama’s National Ocean Council has approved the nation’s first ocean plans for the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic regions. The plans feature databases about the regions’ marine life and habitats. They’ll inform how to plan commercial and recreational activities at sea, while protecting those resources. Grover Fugate, executive director of the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council, said the databases are open to the public. “So people can see the information that’s going into federal decisions and also state decisions,” said Fugate, “but also then to create a more coordinated decision-making process.” “We’re looking to the ocean for clean renewable wind energy as well as tidal and wave energy,” continued Brooks. “The ocean is increasingly supporting aquaculture and gas pipelines and cables. So ocean planning is an effort to get out ahead of the increasing use of our ocean and be proactive about managing it comprehensively based on science and with the best data possible.” Read the rest here 18:14
1st US Offshore Wind Turbine Breaks Before It Even Opened For Business!
A wind turbine that’s part of the first U.S. offshore wind farm broke down before the site started commercially producing power. It’s not clear why the turbine isn’t spinning and generating electricity, says Block Island wind farm owner Deepwater Wind, but the company suspects the turbine’s generator was damaged by a drill bit accidentally left inside. Deepwater Wind claims that it will be repaired and working “in the near term,”. The offshore wind farm was supposed to open last month, but developers are still awaiting final approval. Commercial operations of the wind turbines are set to begin later this month. Three miles off the Rhode Island coast, Block Island was supposed to generate enough electricity to power 17,000 homes. But the five turbines would have cost $300 million each, effectively $17,600 dollars per home — and that doesn’t include the costs of operating the turbines. Link 14:19
UPDATE: 2 remain missing after boat sinks near Dutch Harbor
Neither of the two missing crew members from a 117-foot vessel that sank off Dutch Harbor late Tuesday was found Wednesday, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. Operation Specialist 1st Class Trevor Frommherz, with the Coast Guard’s District 17 Command Center, said that three good Samaritan vessels assisting the cutter Alex Haley with the search for crew from the Exito returned to Dutch Harbor Wednesday afternoon. Three of the Exito’s five crew were rescued shortly after it sank about 14 miles northeast of Dutch Harbor. “We had the Alex Haley stay on scene — they searched throughout the night,” Frommherz said. “There was no sign of the two missing crew members.” Note: It appears the Coast Guard identified the vessel as a fishing vessel, when in actuality the vessel was being used to transporting cargo for Trident Seafoods between Dutch Harbor and the Aleutian community of Akutan. Read the rest here 13:58
Cool Fishing Electronics Gifts for the Holidays
If you’re looking for the just right holiday gift a boating angler – or you just want to drop some hints about what’s you’d like to find under the tree – here are seven portable marine electronics, electro-optical and accessory items that make great gifts for boaters. This is very cool! The most affordable and compact thermal imaging scope yet, the pocket-size FLIR Ocean Scout TK night-time navigational tool reveals objects such buoys, boats and floating debris, as well as people overboard and marine mammals. It also stores up to 1,000 JPEG images and four hours of video. The five-hour rechargeable internal battery will power the scope for five hours on a single charge. See the other items here 12:31
Scallop & Fishing Industry, Municipalities, Sue Feds to Ensure Seafood Interests Are Considered in NY Bight Wind Energy Project
The Fisheries Survival Fund (FSF), which represents the majority of the limited access Atlantic scallop fleet, is the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit seeking a preliminary injunction to delay an anticipated lease sale for the development of a 26-mile long wind farm project approximately 11 miles off the coast of Long Island, scheduled for December 15, 2016. The story was broken today by the Associated Press.,, The filing alleges that the leasing process for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) did not adequately consider the impact the proposed New York Wind Energy Area would have on the region’s fishermen. The site chosen for the 127 square mile wind farm is in the waters of the New York Bight on vital, documented scallop and squid fishing grounds,,,The lawsuit argues that fishermen’s concerns regarding the location of the lease area received “virtually no attention or analysis” from government officials ahead of the planned December 15 lease sale, despite fishing stakeholders repeatedly making their concerns known. Read the story here 11:40
Catch Shares – Fishing Family Devastated by NSW Government Fishery Reforms
Tears come to Donna Cook’s eyes as she describes the sale of her and her husband’s family fishing business; forced, they say, by the impact of the NSW Government’s fishing reforms. After five generations spanning more than 100 years of working the Macleay, the Cook family sold their Stuarts Point fishing business earlier this year to an investor. “We’ve always been a successful fishing family, we’ve bought a home and raised five kids,” Donna told the Argus. “But we lost 60 per cent of our income from the reforms. “We just couldn’t go on.” The State Government reasons that the reform will ensure economic viability and environmental sustainability for the sector. But Donna said the changes have crippled fishers from around the State, with many forced to sell out to wealthy investors and large scale fishing operations. Catch Shares! Read the story here 09:42
Coast Guard medevacs injured fisherman in Pybus Bay, Alaska
A Coast Guard Air Station Sitka MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew medevaced an injured mariner off the fishing vessel Vendor in Pybus Bay, near Fredrick Sound, approximately 80 miles south of Juneau, Wednesday. The Jayhawk crew hoisted the 37-year-old man and transported him to awaiting emergency medical personnel in Sitka. Coast Guard Sector Juneau watchstanders responded to a mayday call from the mariner on VHF channel 16. The mariner requested assistance after reportedly suffering from a leg laceration. Watchstanders consulted with the duty flight surgeon and requested the launch of the Air Station Sitka Jayhawk and a Station Juneau Response Boat-Medium. “Having communication and safety devices on board your vessel is critical in Alaskan waters,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Francell Abbott, Sector Juneau watchstander. “Having a VHF radio allowed this mariner to call for help and allowed our crew to quickly get him to EMS.” Weather on scene was 12-mph winds, 1-foot seas. Link 08:39
FISH-NL takes its message to Port de Grave
FISH-NL (Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador) is just about finished its provincial tour, with a scheduled late-afternoon meeting Wednesday in Torbay being the last stop for now. But a few hours before that, president Ryan Cleary and fellow FISH-NL executive Jason Sullivan met with a few harvesters at St. Luke’s Church Hall. Less than 10 people showed up, and Cleary said that wasn’t unexpected, given Port de Grave is among the ports where inshore harvesters still have it pretty good thanks to a strong crab fishery. “3L is a little different from anywhere else in the province,” Cleary told The Compass prior to the meeting. “It’s doing better because the crab is still good, because money is coming in and people are not suffering here like they are everywhere else.” Read the story here 17:12
Arraignment set for man accused of landing 183 illegal lobsters
James A. Santapaola Jr., the Gloucester lobsterman accused of landing 183 illegal lobsters last month at a local lobster wholesaler, committed a similar offense in 2006, according to the incident report filed by Massachusetts Environmental Police. On Wednesday, Gloucester District Court Clerk Magistrate Margaret Crateau issued a criminal complaint against Santapaola, 40, of 16 Forest Lane, for allegedly landing the illegal lobsters at Captain Joe & Sons Inc. on East Main Street on Nov. 8. Crateau set Jan. 20 for Santapaola’s arraignment in Gloucester on the misdemeanor charges. The criminal complaint charges Santapaola landed 569 lobsters at Captain Joe & Sons on Nov. 8 that included 144 undersize lobsters, two egg-bearing female lobsters and 37 lobsters with V-notches indicating a breeding female. Earlier, Environmental Police officials said the wholesaler is not culpable in the illegal landings because it never took the lobsters into its possession. Read the rest here 16:09
3 rescued, 2 still missing after fishing vessel sinks near Dutch Harbor
A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew and four good Samaritan crews responded to the sinking of fishing vessel Exito after it began taking on water 14 miles northeast of Dutch Harbor, Alaska, Tuesday evening. Three of the vessel’s five crewmembers were located by the good Samaritan crew of the Afognac Strait. The crewmembers were brought on board the vessel and are being transferred to Dutch Harbor. The Jayhawk aircrew and good Samaritan crews on the commercial fishing vessels Commitment, Blue North and Northern Lead continue to search for the remaining two crewmembers of the Exito. The crewmembers brought on board the Afognak Strait reported that one of the remaining crewmembers had put on immersion suit and was last seen preparing to abandon ship. Coast Guard Sector Anchorage watchstanders received a phone call at 9:38 p.m., Tuesday, from the owner of the Exito reporting that the vessel was taking on water and the crew was preparing to abandon ship. Coast Guard 17th District watchstanders diverted Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley and requested the launch of the Air Station Kodiak Jayhawk. Link 15:37 About F/V Exito
Coast Guard rescues 5 fishermen from aground fishing vessel off Moclips Beach, Wash.
The Coast Guard rescued five fishermen off an aground commercial fishing vessel in the vicinity of Grenville Bay, north of Moclips Beach early Wednesday morning. The five-man crew was removed from the vessel by an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Coast Guard Sector Columbia River and transferred to Quinalt Indian Reservation emergency medical services. Watchstanders at Sector Columbia River in Warrenton, Oregon, were notified of the grounding at 3:30 a.m., by the crew of the Qualaysquallum, a 58-foot, steel hulled tribal fishing vessel, homeported in Westport. No injuries or pollution have been reported. The vessel’s crew deployed the vessel’s anchor before abandoning ship via helicopter. The fishing vessel reportedly has less than 3,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 8,000 pounds of crab aboard. The cause of the incident is under investigation. Link Watch video here 14:41
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 104ft. Steel Canadian built Seiner
Specifications, information and 39 photo’s click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 12:55
Mystery surrounds alarm failure on sunken Alaska Juris, a siren that could “wake the dead”
When water first began flooding into the Alaska Juris on July 26, a network of bilge alarms should have unleashed a cacophony of sound to alert the crew that something was wrong. “The siren can wake the dead. Anywhere on the vessel you can hear the alarm,” said Ben Eche, an electrician who did shore-side work on that alert system, in testimony Tuesday during Coast Guard hearings in Seattle into the sinking of the vessel. All 46 crew members survived. But crew testified the alarm did not go off, a troubling development that prompted Coast Guard officials to question Eche about how the system operated. Eche said he had tested the alarm system while the Alaska Juris was in port, and it worked properly. Read the story here, and watch the proceedings here 11:36
Will lobstermen/fishermen wear PFDs?
Think of the Maine lobsterman, and a few iconic images come to mind: a rugged boat with a wire trap on the rail; gloved hands holding a thrashing lobster and a gauge to measure whether it’s of legal size; a salty-looking fisherman wearing a T-shirt, oil pants and rubber boots, but no PFD (personal flotation device) or life jacket. According to an NEC report, fishermen generally described themselves as being proactive about safety whenever possible. Virtually all boats carry and maintain the safety gear required by the U.S. Coast Guard. A few years ago, many lobstermen began rigging rope ladders off the sterns of their boats to help them climb back on if they went overboard, and some run a line under the rail to a “kill switch” they can tug to shut off the engine if they are being pulled overboard. Lobstermen cited several reasons for their reluctance to wear PFD’s,, Read the rest here 11:04
Controlling Agreements – Who owns the fishing licence?
According to an official from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO), controlling agreements in the inshore fishing fleet on Canada’s East Coast are almost a thing of the past. In 2007, DFO asked fishers throughout the region to declare whether or not they had such agreements. Those who declared themselves to be party to such deals were given a deadline, 2014, to get out of the agreements. Morley Knight, Department of Fisheries and Oceans says about 700 fishers declared controlling agreements and almost all of them have complied with the department’s policy. He added that since 1979, the department’s policy regarding controlling agreements has been clear. A policy to preserve the owner/operator rule — simply that the holder of a commercial fish licence is the person who has control of the management and operation of the fishing enterprise — was enacted in 1979, during the tenure of former fisheries minister Romeo LeBlanc. Still, many fishers entered into agreements with third parties — fish processing companies and other business enterprises — that saw control of the fishing enterprise go to those companies. Read the story here 10:29
Tiger Shark Caught 10 Years To the Day After Being Tagged
Fishermen sometimes think they can tell when a fish they’ve hooked has been caught before. Maybe it fights harder, or tries every trick in the book to shake the hook loose, but it’s hard to know for sure. Except when surf fisherman Zach Wolk reeled in an 11-foot, 5-inch female tiger shark at Cape San Blas in northwestern Florida back in October; he knew for sure because of the embedded tag. What he didn’t know, until later, was that he’d caught the tiger shark 10 years to the day that it was first tagged in the Gulf of Mexico – Oct. 25, 2006. The information came courtesy of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Wolk jotted down the shark’s tag number, and, after taking a few photos for posterity and releasing the creature back into the Gulf, sent the info off to NOAA. Photos, read the rest here 09:47
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council is meeting in Anchorage December 6 thru 14, 2016
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council will begin their meeting week on Tuesday, December 6, and continue through Tuesday December 14, 2016 at the Hilton Hotel, 500 W. 3rd Avenue, Anchorage, AK 99501. The AGENDA and SCHEDULE are now available. The Council’s meeting will be broadcast live beginning their first day via Adobe Connect Listen Online 09:16
Ocean City Letter States ‘Unconditional Opposition’ To Baltimore Canyon Marine Sanctuary Designation
Calling a potential designation of the offshore Baltimore Canyon as the nation’s first Urban National Marine Sanctuary potentially “devastating” to the multi-million dollar fishing industry, resort officials this week agreed to send a letter of opposition to state and federal representatives. In October, National Aquarium officials announced they were seeking an Urban National Marine Sanctuary designation for the Baltimore Canyon, a vast 28-mile long and five-mile wide submarine canyon off the coast of Ocean City that lies at the center of the resort’s multi-million dollar fishing industry. According to the National Aquarium’s petition drive, a designation of the nation’s first Urban National Marine Sanctuary for the Baltimore Canyon “presents a unique opportunity to connect an urban population to the ecological treasure using cutting edge deep sea exploration technology.” Read the rest here 08:42
Video: Coast Guard responds to fishing vessel’s may day call near Martha’s Vineyard
Coast Guard crews escorted a disabled 47-foot fishing vessel to safety Monday evening into Tuesday morning from 30 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. The fishing vessel Pilgrim became disabled after its mast broke and was left hanging over the side. Coast Guard watchstanders at Sector Southeastern New England were notified Monday at around 4:30 p.m. by Pilgrim’s captain via marine radio of the situation. An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod launched and was able to locate the vessel based off Pilgrim’s may day call. After locating Pilgrim, the helicopter crew remained on scene until Coast Guard Cutter Albacore arrived to take over. The Albacore stayed with Pilgrim until Pilgrim’s sister ship, Shamrock, arrived Tuesday morning and was able to help the Pilgrim crew make repairs at sea. Watch video here 16:54
