Daily Archives: March 28, 2017
On The Hot Seat! Dare GOP confronts N.C. GOP chair on shrimp vote
In the wake of the N.C. Fisheries Commission’s approval of a petition putting greater limits on shrimp trawling, the Dare County GOP has written a letter requesting that N.C. GOP Chairman Robin Hayes appear before its executive committee and “provide relevant information regarding his personal involvement and influence in the 2016 appointment process of members of the North Carolina Fisheries Commission.” In its letter to Hayes, dated March 16, the Dare GOP said the commission’s approval of the petition represented a decision to “ignore science and destroy our state’s shrimping industry,” and accused Hayes of intervening improperly in the process of selecting commission members. The letter goes on to say that, if Hayes does not comply with that request to appear before the local party, he should resign his post as state party head. The Dare County Board of Commissioners has also expressed anger,,, continue reading the story click here 21:44
Fishermen hope bumper sticker gets Trump’s attention
For struggling Town Dock fishermen, President Trump’s promise to eliminate regulations and spur the economy means they might finally have success in their long fight to rescind the catch restrictions they say are not only unfair and based on bad science but are putting them out of business. So in an effort to attract Trump’s attention and help spread their message in Washington, they have printed up a bumper sticker that will be appearing on vehicles here in coming days. The sticker features a picture of Trump giving a thumbs-up next to a fishing boat with the slogan “Make Commercial Fishing Great Again,” a spin on Trump’s popular campaign slogan “Make America Great Again. (Mike) Gambardella said if fishermen just had the chance to explain the long-standing problem to Trump, “his head would spin.” Read the story here 20:36
3/29/2017 As a point of clarification from the article that was posted in the newspaper in CT about the bumper stickers being made here, I need to clear something up. There was a reference to the state allocation issues and the disparity between the quota’s allowed southern states VS northern states. I, in no way shape or form am looking for the quota’s to be re distributed from the southern states to the northern states. The idea of this campaign is to shed light on the issues that affect us all. From south to north we are all affected by the unrelenting regulatory policies that have been moved forward by our out of control federal agencies that have miss managed our industry for decades. We are all suffering from the same problems, and now may be our last chance to bring these issues to light. We must ALL work TOGETHER to turn the tide so that ALL fishermen benefit regardless of where we reside, or where we fish. I hope this clears up any confusion about where we stand on this issue. Here’s to a prosperous future! Michael Gambardella 18:20
State to San Diego fishermen: Drop dead
Over 100 people gathered in Pacific Beach on March 20, for the release of data from a five-year, $4 million study of the state’s South Coast Marine Protection Areas. The study began in 2011 and studied 12 areas of our shoreline’s ecosystem. Creation of these areas closed off recreational fishing in much of the oceanfront in the San Diego area. Erin Meyer, senior scientist from the Ocean Science Trust, the nonprofit agency assigned to coordinate the data, advised to group, “The purpose of the meeting was not to defeat the MPAs or debate its merits.” However, several angler groups and charter boat operators had questions. “What exactly are you monitoring?” asked Doug, a crewmember aboard the Black Jack charter boat out of Dana Landing in Mission Bay. The study, from data gathered by Sea Grant California, focused on different phases in 12 areas, including ecosystem, tides, kelp forest, spiny lobster, and sea birds. There was good news. Shad Catarius, a commercial lobster fisherman, was on the study group for the spiny lobster issue. read the story click here 20:08
Lobstermen in winter far from idle
Throughout the summer and fall, your best bet for finding a lobsterman to talk with is to stake out the dock before sunrise. In the winter, you’ll find area lobstermen in their garages or shops where they spend the season tinkering with their boats, repairing lobster traps and assembling new ones. Not only do lobstermen always have to work for their supper, they also have to be accountants, mechanics, electricians and painters when it comes to maintaining their fishing vessels. Lobsterman Jon Carter, who fishes out of Bar Harbor, is spending his off-season repainting the pilothouse roof, redoing the bulkhead and installing a new 400-horsepower John Deere engine into his fishing boat. continue reading the story here 15:31
Lobsters seized from offshore trawler donated to homeless veterans by Massachusetts Environmental Police
Massachusetts Environmental Police donated lobsters seized from an offshore trawler in New Bedford to veterans after officials determined the lobsters could not be returned to the water. Environmental police officers conducted an inspection of an offshore trawler in New Bedford on Sunday and found the vessel caught more than 500 lobsters. Commercial trawlers are limited to 100 lobsters daily and cannot exceed more than 500 lobsters if caught outside of state waters, authorities said. “After counting the lobsters being offered for sale, it was determined the vessel was over the 500 count limit,” according to the Environmental Police. “Officers seized the lobsters and cited the vessel for being over the limit.” read the rest here 13:21
How a Floating Bale of Cocaine Led to the Florida Keys’ Worst Murder in Decades
The Florida Keys are many things: a sun-bleached playground for the ultrarich, a blue-collar home to thousands of fishermen and hospitality workers, a rural chain of coral rock emerging just above the rising seas. There are ugly bar fights and plenty of drugs. But there’s hardly any gun violence. A young couple brutally executed a few feet from their young children? Never. Rosado and Ortiz’s mysterious killing on October 15, 2015, sent locals from Key Largo to Islamorada into a panic and left sheriff’s deputies scrambling. Detectives would follow a trail of violence and blackmail for months before divining its source: Jeremy Macauley, a fisherman with a troubled past who’d found a bale of pure cocaine floating in the turquoise sea. Months later, a prosecutor’s suicide and a surprise jailhouse interview would further muddy the tale. continue reading the story here 11:57
Prosecutor reviewing sex-abuse allegations against ‘Deadliest Catch’ star Sig Hansen
Snohomish County prosecutors are re-examining allegations that celebrity crab-boat captain Sig Hansen sexually abused his toddler daughter nearly three decades ago, after the now 28-year-old woman recently went public with the claims against her estranged father. Deputy prosecutor Matthew Baldock last week informed an attorney for Melissa Eckstrom, Hansen’s estranged daughter, that Snohomish County Prosecutor Mark Roe recently asked him to review the 1990 case file “to see if criminal charges are viable.” The prosecutor’s office declined to file charges against Hansen in the early 1990s after at least three reviews of the case. Under Washington law, sex crimes committed against children generally can be prosecuted up to the victim’s 30th birthday. Eckstrom turns 29 next month. continue reading the story here, and review Facts About Sig Hansen website here 10:53
20-year shellfish harvester says he can’t wait long for return of cod
The return of an expanded commercial cod fishery in Newfoundland and Labrador can’t come soon enough for Basil Goodyear, a fisherman in Lumsden who’s been relying on shellfish for about 20 years. Goodyear first started fishing crab and shrimp with three of his brothers in 1997. But as the stocks of shrimp and crab continue to fall, Goodyear is looking for somewhere to turn. He told CBC Radio’s The Broadcast on Monday that he might be able to tough it out if a full commercial cod fishery returns in five years’ time, but he says 10 years is too long to wait. Goodyear predicts there will not be many people left in the fishing industry in a decade unless there are quota increases in some species. He is not sure how much longer his crew can last with crab and shrimp alone. continue reading the story here 09:02
Yacht Captain in fatal crash is guilty
The New Jersey captain who was operating the 60-foot yacht that collided with a Stonington fisherman’s boat off Watch Hill Reef in September 2015 was found guilty on Monday of three violations of Coast Guard navigation rules. Licensed Captain Cooper Bacon, 76, was piloting the larger vessel between boat shows in Rhode Island and Connecticut when he collided with 81-year-old Walter Krupinski’s 23-foot Steiger center console. The Stonington resident, who was a commercial rod and reel fisherman, was fishing off Watch Hill Reef and had decided to head home for the day when the collision occurred, resulting in Krupinski’s death. continue reading the story here 08:34
