Monthly Archives: June 2017
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 50′ Steel Stern Dragger, CAT C-18, Northern Lights 20 KW, Permits Available
Specifications, information and 3 photos click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here Vessel underwent approximately $ 100,000 in upgrades at the Derektor Shipyard in 2016 14:55
At U.N. Ocean Conference – Brett Tolley Touts Small-scale Fisheries
Fisheries activist Brett Tolley of Chatham has told many people about the plight of small-scale fishermen like his father, who left the industry because he couldn’t compete with big corporate interests. Last week, he told that story to world leaders in a special forum at the United Nations in New York.,, “We can’t buy our way out of this problem,” he said. The government rules that regulate commercial fishing tend to empower large corporations, and Tolley said that needs to change. Fisheries management that’s based on the allocation of shares (catch shares) or quotas of a particular catch tend to privatize the oceans, rather than treating them as shared public resources, he argued. Those policies tend to concentrate access to fisheries to a few big players. click here to read the story 13:47
UN Ocean Conference Aims for Paris Climate-Like Accord for Ocean Health
The first ever UN Ocean Conference came to a close on 9 June with a “Call For Action”, where over 1,300 voluntary commitments were made to support ocean health, and aspirations for a new convention to protect biodiversity in roughly half of our planet which lies beyond national jurisdictions.,, Considered to be the largest gathering for the oceans ever convened, the Ocean Conference that took place at the UN headquarters in New York was designed to boost support for Sustainable Development Goal 14 (SDG14), which lays out ambitious targets to conserve and sustainably use marine resources. Heralded by Sir Richard Branson and Leonardo DiCaprio,,, click here to read the story 13:22
Economic Contribution of White Shrimp Commercial Fishing in the Gulf of Mexico States
The annual commercial landing values of wild American white shrimp in the Gulf of Mexico Region in 2015 reached $153.7 million, which is about 75.3% of the average annual landing values during the last five years. The total economic contribution of commercial shrimping in 2015 amounted to $291.7 million (Figure 1). Commercial shrimping created 4,114 jobs and generated labor income amounting to $104.1 million in the Gulf regional economy. The white shrimp commercial fishing industry generates annual tax revenues for the Gulf States and the U.S. federal government. A total of $17.8 million were estimated to have been paid by households and businesses in 2015 to the federal government as social insurance tax, tax on production and imports, corporate profit tax, and personal income tax. The Gulf States were expected to have collected taxes from households and businesses in 2015 amounting to $8.7 million as social insurance tax, tax on production and imports, corporate profits tax, and personal tax. Click here to read the story 12:16
A new lobster boat gets launched in Rockport Harbor and the town cheers
The Cummins inboard engine rumbled to life like a charm Saturday afternoon, June 10, and Rockport fisherman Kenny Dodge gave a slight smile and nod. Inside, though, you knew he was grinning big. He stood on the deck of his new 47-foot lobster boat, the Hemingway, reached through the window for the wheel, and reversed the vessel into the Goose River Channel. It was a boat launching of magnificent proportions for a town that prides itself on supporting its working waterfront.,, The day culminated five years in the making: Dodge had worked through past winters building the Hemingway in his West Rockport boat barn. Click here to read the story and see a bunch of nice images! 09:55
Updated: Husband Charged with Homicide After Reporting Wife Missing in Lake
Pennsylvania State Police have filed charges against the husband of an Albion woman who reportedly went missing in Lake Erie over the weekend. Erie News Now has learned Christopher Leclair, 48, has been charged with criminal homicide in the death of his wife Karen. Karen Leclair, 51, was reported missing Sunday afternoon. Christopher Leclair told the U.S. Coast Guard she had fallen off their commercial fishing vessel on Lake Erie Sunday afternoon. State Police tell us surveillance video catches Christopher Leclair and his wife heading onto the lake on Saturday and Christoper returning alone. Investigators say the video shows Christopher Leclair heading out on the water again Sunday. click here to read the story and related articles 0
Surveillance Video Helps Police Charge Husband in Wife’s Murder – When questioned by police, the other woman said Leclair spent the night at her house Saturday and the two discussed moving in together. click here to read the story 12:51
The “Redheaded Stepchild of Fishing” – Controversial drift-gill net fishery wins long-fought battle
Federal fishery managers denied a proposal this week to immediately shut down Southern California’s most controversial fishery in the event that wide-mesh gill nets accidentally kill a handful of certain marine mammals or sea turtle species. The swordfish and thresher shark fishery will remain open, even if it kills several whales or sea turtles, the NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries decided. The decision not to institute so-called hard caps on the fishery comes after a public review period initiated last year was extended to discuss the law proposed by the state’s Pacific Fishery Management Council in 2014. For the few dozen fishers who still catch swordfish and thresher sharks off Southern California in deep-water drift gill nets, the decision brought a big sigh of relief. click here to read the story 08:38
Construction project could be a boon for Whatcom commercial fishing fleet
The Port of Bellingham has awarded a $750,000 contract to American Construction of Tacoma to fix three deteriorated piers. Work is expected to be completed on two piers before Sept. 24, prior to the start of the fall commercial salmon and crabbing seasons in early October. Repairs to the Sawtooth Pier will start in early October so it doesn’t impact the commercial fleet during the summer. Both projects are not expected to impact recreation boaters at Blaine Harbor, said Mike Hogan, a spokesman for the port. The improvements will allow for more equipment and weight on the piers. Large areas of the three piers are currently under significant load restrictions, Hogan said. The fixes will also allow for more commercial ships to be tied up. click here to read the story 21:11
Woman Reported Missing in Lake Erie After Falling From a Fishing Boat
Pennsylvania State Police have issued search warrants as they are called in to assist in the case of a woman missing in Lake erie, after her husband reported she fell off a boat Sunday afternoon. She is identified as 51-year-old Karen LeClair of Albion. Her husband 48-year-old Christopher Leclair says it was the commercial fishing vessel he operates, the “Doris M.” that she fell from. According to Sgt. Brook Tolbert of the PA Fish and Boat Commission, Mrs. Leclair, a partner with her husband in a commercial fishing enterprise called, Lake Erie Fishing was not wearing a life vest. . “Mr. Leclair indicated that she was not wearing a life vest, there were plenty of life vests on board the vessel at the time, but she was not wearing it and she’s not required to wear it,” Video, click here to read the story 20:43
Greenstick Tuna Fishing
Inspired by commercial tuna fishermen, a new generation of recreational anglers now targets tuna with a green stick. The boats around us, fishing commercially, were outfitted with a 40-foot vertical pole called a green stick. At the time, only a few commercial boats rigged this way. By the next season, half the charter fleet had joined the stick fight. Lately, green sticks are popping up on private boats, and smaller versions are available for boats less than 30 feet. But installing, rigging and using this deadly tactic is a major investment of time and money. Here’s how to do it right. click here to read the story 16:15
We import 92% of the seafood our nation consumes. Has the time come?
Many years ago I often wondered what would have happened if the entire nations commercial fishermen went on strike. And I mean all aspects of the commercial fishing industry. All coasts, all fisheries, everything, the whole kit and caboodle. It was at a time when the industry was beginning to feel the effects of legal abuses of the court system by the environmental organizations that were itching to control the way fishermen went about their business. It was probably in the early ninety’s. I always thought that a show of unity on such a grand scale would enlighten the powers that be to realize how much of an economic force the industry represented. Back then, we felt things were getting pretty bad. Our livelihoods were under attack by eco zealots who felt as they do today, that fishermen’s jobs meant less than the food they supplied the nation. If I had to guess, back then American fishermen were probably providing around half of the seafood we consumed as a nation. I recall thinking we could have a profound effect on the way we were perceived and have greater control of our own destinies. click here to read the story 13:45
FISH-NL raises concerns of conflict of interest over marine escort contract awarded to FFAW executive member
The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) is calling on the FFAW-Unifor to explain an apparent conflict of interest involving an executive member of the union who won a lucrative marine escort contract with the offshore oil industry. “Fish harvesters demand and deserve an explanation,” says Ryan Cleary, President of FISH-NL. The Eastern Princess II, a fishing vessel owned by Nelson Bussey, who serves on the union’s executive board (Inshore, Avalon Peninsula), was apparently hired in recent weeks to escort the Hebron oil platform out to sea. Marine Escorts are regularly contracted for offshore oil and gas operations to guide marine vessels safely through open water, avoiding fishing gear. The FFAW decides which fishing boats are hired through the union’s Fishing Guide Vessel Program. It’s not known how many fishing boat owners expressed interest in the contract. click here to read the press release 13:11
Local fishermen praise decision to cancel new protection for endangered animals
The new rule would have allowed for suspending swordfish fishermen for two entire fishing seasons if too many endangered animals were getting caught in their nets. After 35 years of fishing out of Morro Bay, Jeremiah O’Brien is breathing a sigh of relief for the industry. “We’ve got 110 permits on the West Coast and under 24 being used,” said O’Brien, who is also vice president of the Morro Bay Commercial Fishermen’s Association. Advocates say taking away the regulation hurts dwindling communities of endangered species, but O’Brien says fisherman already avoid catching endangered species at all costs. “The last thing we want is anything in the world but swordfish,” said O’Brien. The veteran fisherman says in the swordfish industry, they’re required to have observers on board with them, a vessel monitoring system, net limitations and strict off-limits areas in the Pacific Ocean. click here to read the story 12:40
Heavy ice off East Coast 2017 caused by winds, cold temperatures, and icebergs
Heavy sea ice off Newfoundland and southern Labrador has been an issue for months: it brought record-breaking numbers of polar bear visitors onshore in early March and April and since then has hampered the efforts of fisherman to get out to sea. Let’s look back in time at how the ice built up, from early January to today, using ice maps and charts I’ve downloaded from the Canadian Ice Service and news reports published over the last few months. The tour is illuminating because it shows the development of the thick ice over time and shows how strong winds from a May storm combined with an extensive iceberg field contributed to the current situation. Bottom line: I can only conclude that climate change researcher David Barber was grandstanding today when he told the media that global warming is to blame for Newfoundland’s record thick sea ice conditions this year. I suspect that because Barber’s expensive research expedition was scuttled, he simply had to find a way to garner media attention for his project — and the media obliged. click> Read to the end and decide for yourself. 11:07
Some fishing expected in Egegik and Igushik this week, and Port Moller test effort underway
The Port Moller Test Fishery made its first sets this weekend, catching 12 then 20 sockeye on its out-and-back from stations 2 to 12. A little bit of commercial activity is expected this week in Bristol Bay, with managers and the market trying to get a sense of the early part of the run. The R/V Pandalus went out and back for its first test of the Bristol Bay offshore run over the weekend. On Saturday, (3) sockeye were caught in the 4 1/2 inch mesh, and (9) in the 5 1/8 inch, with most of the activity towards the inshore stations. On Sunday, after six sets, the boat recorded (12) fish caught in the four-and-a-half, and (8) in the five-and-an-eighth. Station 4 saw the most activity. Last year the first sets saw about the same number of fish, but the water temperatures are almost three degrees (Celcius) cooler than they were in the first sets in 2016. Audio report, click here to hear/read the story 10:28
Feds announce emergency funding for ice-impacted harvesters in N.L., Quebec
The federal government has finally stepped in to provide emergency financial assistance to fish harvesters impacted by severe ice conditions in Newfoundland and Labrador.Fisheries and Ocean Minister Dominic LeBlanc announced Friday up to $5 million has been allocated for payments for eligible applicants in Newfoundland and Labrador, and Quebec, under the Ice Assistance Emergency Program. Application forms for the program will be available on the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) website as of June 23. They will also be available at DFO and Service Canada offices in the ice-affected areas.,,, In response to the announcement, the Fish, Food and Allied Workers (FFAW-Unifor) union called it unacceptable to not include fish plant workers in the income support program.,,, “Better late than never,” FISH-NL president Ryan Cleary said in a news release, adding the group has been lobbying for emergency funding since April. click here to read the story 09:53
Inside the Multi-million-Dollar World of Eel Trafficking
The alleged kingpin of one of the biggest domestic wildlife smuggling operations ever to hit the East Coast is exactly where you’d expect to find him on a rainy evening in early May: firmly planted in a swivel chair at a big green metal desk inside his renovated Quonset hut on Foster Street, in Ellsworth, Maine. At this post Bill Sheldon waits day and night for fishermen to come and fill his bowl with writhing masses of baby eels. The 72-year-old fisherman wears glasses, a blue flannel shirt, jeans, duck boots, and a brown L.L. Bean baseball cap. His cell phone goes quack, quack, quack when it rings. The sign above his head reads, “Buying Glass Eels Here,” with the day’s market price: $1,250 per pound. (so much more about the fishery in this article than “trafficking”) click here to read the story 09:26
Monument review includes Northeast Canyons and Seamounts, Papahahanoukuakea National Marine Monument’s
President Donald Trump’s call to review 27 national monuments established by three former presidents,,, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke made his first recommendation Monday: Proposing a reduced size for the Bears Ears National Monument in Utah. He is set to issue a final report in late August for all the monuments. A closer look at five of the monuments that are being re-examined: Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monument, The designation closed the area to commercial fishermen, who go there primarily for lobster, red crab, squid, whiting, butterfish, swordfish and tuna. A coalition of commercial fishing groups filed a lawsuit in March to overturn the designation. They argued the creation of the monument would bring economic distress to fishermen and their families. Papahahanoukuakea National Marine Monument,The decision to expand the monument was the subject of fierce debate within Hawaii, with both sides invoking Native Hawaiian culture to argue why it should or shouldn’t be expanded. click here to read the story 08:30
The Rise and Fall of the World’s Most Famous Fishing Spot
Houston oil man Alfred Glassell Jr. landed a 1,560-pound black marlin off the coast of Cabo Blanco in northern Peru on August 4, 1953, bagging himself a world record that stands to this day. He hooked the fish at the once-legendary underwater canyon known as Marlin Boulevard and eventually landed it after fighting the sea beast for nearly two hours. Footage of the fish leaping out of the water in an attempt to get free of the hook was used in the 1960 film of Ernest Hemingway’s classic The Old Man and the Sea. During the spot’s heyday, A-listers like Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne, Humphrey Bogart, Joe DiMaggio and Ernest Hemingway flocked to Cabo Blanco in the hopes of landing the big one. Click here to read the story! 20:58
US cancels new protection for endangered West Coast whales
The Trump administration on Monday threw out a new rule intended to limit the numbers of endangered whales and sea turtles getting caught in fishing nets off the West Coast, even though the fishing industry had proposed the measure. The National Marine Fisheries Service said it decided the new protection was not warranted. The action is one of the first by the Trump administration targeting protections for threatened species off the Pacific coast, said Catherine Kilduff, an attorney for the Center for Biological Diversity conservation group. The regulation was designed to reduce the numbers of humpback whales, leatherback sea turtles and other large creatures that accidentally become tangled in mile-long nets set adrift by commercial fishermen overnight to catch swordfish off California and Oregon. click here to read the article (read between the lines, folks) 18:00
Mid-Atlantic Council Approves Squid Amendment
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council approved the Squid Amendment to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan during a meeting last week in Norfolk, Virginia. The amendment includes measures to reduce latent (unused) permits in the longfin squid fishery and modify management of longfin squid during Trimester 2. After considerable discussion and consideration of public comments, the Council selected preferred alternatives and adopted the amendment for Secretarial review and implementation. Below are summaries of the issues addressed and the Council’s preferred alternatives. click here to read the notice 16:55
Gold vs. Salmon: How Pebble Mine Threatens Alaskan Salmon
The environment and natural resources have been a topic of great controversy in the United States and throughout the world, especially in recent years. We have always had a battle between industrialism and conservation. From one end, profits must grow, jobs must be made, and mouths must be fed. Yet from the other end, we must protect our planet, the environment, and the many species of wild animals that roam the globe.,,, In Alaska there is a hot debate going on between which is more important, salmon or gold. In 2001 a Canadian mining company called Northern Dynasty Minerals began exploring and testing an area of Alaska that is located East of Bristol Bay, North of Lake Iliamna and South West of the Lake Clark Natural Reserve. They were going off of data provided by Cominco Alaska Exploration, who in 1987 discovered a site of possible mineral wealth in the region.,,, If this article has moved you, then please do not sit idly by. Thank you Nikolai! click here to read this excellent article 14:23
Shelving shrimp: Inside Katsheshuk II, OCI’s $8-million bet on groundfish
For years the Katsheshuk II hauled in shrimp off the shores of Newfoundland. The ship caught, processed and froze the shrimp to be sent to customers. But shrimp stocks have shrunk, leaving Ocean Choice International with too many boats for too small a quota, so the company is spending $8 million to convert the ship. “The shellfish resources are declining but in general, some exceptions, groundfish is increasing,” says Blaine Sullivan, the chief operating officer for OCI. The Katsheshuk II is being overhauled so it can start fishing for groundfish. The industry is hoping for the eventual return of cod, but in the near future it will be other species. click here to read the story 13:57
President: “Fishermen for Trump, I like that,”
President Donald J. Trump came to New Jersey on Sunday to headline a fundraiser for the re-election of Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-NJ 3rd District) at Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster. While the event was closed to the media, cellphone video posted from the event shows the President speaking to assembled guests – who sources say helped raise more than $800,000 for the MacArthur campaign – and asking where his fishermen were seated as he reaches into his suit pocket and fishes out a Fishermen for Trump bumper sticker created during the 2016 election by the RFA. “Fishermen for Trump, I like that,” the President said on Sunday at Bedminster while holding up the bumper sticker in front of the audience, flanked by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and Rep. MacArthur. click here to read the story 12:57
Seven Years Later, Deepwater Horizon Still Spilling Into Legal System
The BP oil spill has faded from the global headlines, but seven years later, the effects on residents of the Gulf Coast and the legal system nationwide are far from over. While the journey has been long and difficult, there are lessons for those injured and their lawyers. The Deepwater Horizon Claim Center will likely shut down this year after paying an estimated $13 billion in individual and business claims for economic and property damages. As it does, payments from related settlements, this time with Halliburton Energy Services Inc., Trans-Ocean Offshore Deepwater Drilling Inc. and other defendants, will start. Thousands of claimants are expected to divide $1.24 billion.,,, Those in the seafood industry received $2.3 billion in compensation for business and economic losses. Of that, $520 million was not paid until late last year, which means some people waited six-and-a-half years to receive all of their money. click here to read the story 11:40
Ray Hilborn: World fish stocks stable
Speaking at the SeaWeb Seafood Summit on Wednesday, 7 June in Seattle, Washington, U.S.A., University of Washington fisheries researcher Ray Hilborn said the perception that the world’s fish stocks are declining is incorrect, and that fishing could sustainably be stepped up in areas with good management. “There is a very broad perception that fish stocks around the world are declining. Many news coverages in the media will always begin with ‘fish stocks in the world are declining.’ And this simply isn’t true. They are increasing in many places and in fact, globally, the best assessments are that fish stocks are actually stable and probably increasing on average now,” Hilborn said. click here to read the story 09:57
A crabbing boat sinks, a father is lost, a son rescued
In the final minutes of Ed Charnock’s life, he and his son clung to each other to conserve body heat in the frigid Chesapeake Bay. Jason Charnock handed his dad the only lifejacket he could grab from their fast-submerging crabbing boat. But the choppy water swept it away. “The boat sank, and Dad kept on floating away staring at me,” Jason Charnock told the Coast Guard in a statement he provided to The Associated Press. “I was looking for a helicopter to come,” he said. “I kept looking, and then looked back to see where my dad was, he wasn’t there and must have went under.” For this dwindling island community in the Chesapeake Bay, Ed Charnock’s drowning in late April struck a rare blow. click here to read the story 08:52
Stop efforts to limit the number of charter and head boats — the first step toward for-hire catch shares!
This Wednesday, June 13th, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council will again consider snapper-grouper for-hire limited entry at its meeting in Ponte Vedra, Florida, so it’s important to tell the SAFMC that you oppose limited entry as soon as possible. Please click here today to submit a comment — just a sentence or two will do. Limited entry will set up a “stock market” for permits, setting the stage for charter and head boat catch shares — privatizing access to the fishery –- something that will destroy jobs and hurt fishing communities. click here to read the notice click here to make E-public comment by noon, 6/15/2017 07:32
South Atlantic Fishery Management Council meeting in Ponte Vedra Beach, June 12-16, 2017
The public is invited to attend the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council to be held at the Sawgrass Marriott, 1ooo PGA Tour Boulevard, Ponte Vedra Beach, FL 32082 . Click here for details Webinar Registration: Listen Live, Click here 19:05
We must fight any plan to drill off the Jersey Shore
Drilling for oil and natural gas off the coast of New Jersey is a bad idea that never goes away.,,, Back in the late 1970s and early 1980s, oil companies actually drilled exploratory wells off Atlantic City. They didn’t find significant enough deposits to continue the effort. But here we are again. New Jersey’s two U.S. senators and House members from coastal districts are opposing the latest push for offshore drilling, just as they have done every time this issue has bubbled to the surface, no matter their party. And the argument — a good one — against offshore drilling is always the same: Why endanger the state’s $44 billion-a-year tourism industry and the 500,000 jobs it supports? Half of that revenue is generated from counties along the coast. Offshore drilling could also threaten the state’s $7.9 billion-a-year fishing industry and the 50,000 jobs it creates. click here to read the story 17:54
