Daily Archives: May 17, 2017
Proposal to move Bay of Fundy tidal turbine raises fishermen’s concerns
A fishermen’s group in the Bay of Fundy is worried about Cape Sharp Tidal Venture’s plan to temporarily move its tidal turbine from a designated testing area to a site where an environmental assessment has not been carried out. The Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association said the move endangers fish and violates the rules governing the development of tidal energy in the area. The Cape Sharp Tidal Venture turbine is a joint project between Emera Inc. and OpenHydro. The turbine is currently in the Minas Passage near Parrsboro, N.S. Cape Sharp Tidal confirms that work is currently underway to remove the turbine. It wants to bring it to another area in the Bay of Fundy to do operational tests that would run about five days. “They have no approval to conduct that testing and more importantly is there will be no environmental-monitoring equipment at the site,” said Colin Sproul, spokesperson for the Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association. click here to read the story 20:15
Aboard the Tradition: Fishermen work to get Trump’s attention on Thames River
Supporters of President Trump are gathering in southeastern Connecticut Wednesday. Among them are a group of fishermen who organized on the Thames River. These fishing vessels were on a different kind of mission. News 8 was on board the Tradition, a 70 foot vessel that is one of more than 25 boats out trying to get the president’s attention hoping for change to what they say are outdated and over regulated rules that could eventually kill the fishing industry here in New England. The vessels set out from Stonington at around 8 a.m. for the one hour sail to the Thames River. The Tradition works out of Rhode Island but the boats there Wednesday also came from Connecticut, New York, and Massachusetts. Video, read the story here 19:00
Tragedy at sea spurs a father to act – John Gurney implores fishermen to prepare for the worst.
It’s said the most unspeakable grief is that of a parent losing a child. John Gurney has been dealing with that grief since last June, when his son Luke, a well-liked Island conch fisherman with a wife and two young sons, drowned in a tragic accident when he was ensnared by a trawl line and swept overboard. Last week, Mr. Gurney spoke to The Times about the 11 months that have passed since that horrible day. In a conversation punctuated with an occasional laugh and silences of abject sorrow, Mr. Gurney, a gregarious man who looks younger than his 73 years, talked about his love for his son, who was also his business partner and one of his closest friends. He talked about Luke’s love for his work, for his family and his friends. He reminisced about the hundreds of people who spoke to him at Luke’s celebration of life at the Portuguese-American Club, where he heard about the many good deeds his son had quietly done over the years, expecting nothing in return. Click here to read the story 18:42
Bristol Bay fleet chilled more salmon in 2016 than ever before, according to study
The Bristol Bay salmon drift fleet sold more chilled salmon to processors last year than ever before. Bristol Bay is the world’s largest salmon fishery, and is making efforts to sell a larger portion of its catch as fillets, rather than canned. Filling those fresh and frozen orders requires chilling at the point of harvest, which more fishermen are apparently doing. According to the BBRSDA survey, chilling bonuses averaged 16 cents per pound last season. Depending on the base price, the percentage that 16 cents represents can be too large to ignore. While most new boats come with refrigerated seawater systems installed and more are added to older vessels each year, the study found there are still plenty of skippers who are holding out. Click here to listen, and read the story 16:30
Are shrimpers abandoning ship?
When Tam Nguyen’s family immigrated to Port Arthur more than 40 years ago, her father made a living owning and operating shrimp boats, the same thing he did in Vietnam. But Nguyen, who works as a quality inspector at JBS Shrimp Packing Inc. in Port Arthur, said she is glad her six children have left the family business.,,, Nederland resident Kyle Kimball, a third-generation shrimper, loves the work but expects the family business will end when he retires. “It’s grandfather to dad to me to nobody. You don’t want your family to do something like this,” said Kimball, 53. His daughter, Bella, 17, said she plans to go into nursing – a decision her father strongly supports. Click here to read the story 14:51
Historic seiner Veteran returns home to Gig Harbor
The Veteran has come home. The historic purse seiner built by the Skansie Boatbuilding Company in 1926 was recently gifted to the Gig Harbor BoatShop and now resides in the same harbor in which it was launched. For nearly 90 years, the boat was used by commercial fishermen, starting with two generations of Gig Harbor fishermen, Peter Skansie and then his son, Vincent. They fished in Alaska and the Salish Sea. After Vincent Skansie quit fishing, Whitney Cannery purchased the boat and then about 10 years later sold it to commercial fisherman Francis Barcott. When Barcott suddenly died of a heart attack in 1995 while fishing Veteran in Hood Canal, Barcott’s son sold it to another long-time commercial fisherman, Nick Fahey, who fished out of Anacortes. Fahey fished the Veteran for 10 years, then used it as a pleasure boat until earlier this year when he gave Veteran to the BoatShop. All the time he owned Veteran, Fahey went to great lengths to take good care of it, Click here to read the story 13:49
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 55′ Raised Foc’sle Aluminum Trawler/Scallop LAGC-IFQ permit, 3406T Cat
Specifications, information and 6 photo’s click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 12:08
Commercial rock crab season emergency closure extended for public safety
The emergency closure of the Northern California commercial rock crab season, which was set to end today, has been extended by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) due to public safety concerns over potential toxins in the area. The closure covers commercial rock crab fishing from Bodega Bay in Sonoma County to the Oregon border. The closure comes after state health officials detected high levels of domoic acid in rock crabs found in the region last fall, which can pose health risks and be toxic if eaten. The closure was set to expire today, but CDFW Director Charlton H. Bonham extended the commercial crabbing restriction using a new authority granted to him this year. Click here to read the story 09:42
Strip club onboard Alaskan fishing boat making comeback
An Alaska man is resurrecting a strip club he operated on board his converted crab boat before he was convicted on waste disposal charges involving the vessel. This time, he’s billing the enterprise as a nightly protest. Darren Byler says he will begin his summer-long “First Amendment Freedom of Assembly” demonstrations Thursday on the 94-foot Wild Alaskan. He says the demonstrations will feature exotic dancers on board the boat, anchored off a harbor near the island city of Kodiak. Byler has long alleged he was hit with the federal “poop” charges because authorities and others disapproved of the exotic-dancer business he ran in 2014. He is appealing his federal case. “I’m protesting the fact that I was singled out and targeted for morality,” he said. “I don’t like being bullied by the government, and I’m doing this because I can. This is my way of winning.” Click here to read the story 08:53
Commercial fishermen plan flotilla for Trump’s graduation speech at Coast Guard Academy
A group of fishermen will greet President Trump and send congratulations to graduating cadets from a flotilla on the Thames River during the United States Coast Guard Academy commencement today. “Our message is ‘make commercial fishing great again’ and it’s a congratulatory effort to say thank you to the Coast Guard class of 2017,” said Joel Hovanesian, of Wakefield, who is a member of the Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance. The purpose of the flotilla is also to raise the President’s awareness of regulatory issues in the fishing industry, especially since one of the platforms he ran on was over-regulation and its burdensome effects on small businesses, said Meghan Lapp, fisheries liaison for Seafreeze Ltd., of North Kingstown. “Every single fishing vessel is a small, mobile corporation, so if he’s seeing 15 or 20 boats, he’s seeing 15 or 20 small businesses right there and there’s thousands of them along the East Coast,” she said. “In the fishing industry, we’re dealing with a lot of over regulation and we believe there’s a lot of things that could be done to make the industry thrive again.” click here to read the story 07:28
Video, click here Local fishermen hope President Trump will help commercial fishing industry
We will be getting live updates, and will be posting photo’s on this page, Click here
