Daily Archives: July 4, 2017
UPDATE: F/V Miss Shauna – Coast Guard suspends search for missing fisherman south of Montauk, NY
The Coast Guard has suspended the search Tuesday evening for a missing person who was last seen aboard a fishing vessel 25 miles south of Montauk, New York. Missing is a 55-year old crewmember from the fishing vessel Miss Shauna who was last seen at 4:00 p.m., Monday, and was not wearing a life jacket at the time. For approximately 28-hours, a number of Coast Guard units, as well as several fishing vessels, ran 22-search patterns and covered an area over 4,200 square miles. -USCG- 23:29
‘It means a lot’ – Wounded warriors treated to Fourth fishing trip
Tuesday morning and the Fourth of July arrived in Gloucester as if ordered directly from the fine weather catalog: warm, sunny and the water of the Atlantic like glass. A perfect day for fishing. Roland Snow used to dream of days such as this during each of his 10 deployments throughout the Mideast — first as an Army noncommissioned officer and later as a member of the Air Force – following the carnage of 9/11.,, On Tuesday, Snow joined nearly 70 other veterans and their invited guests aboard the 100-foot Yankee Freedom for a free day of groundfishing, courtesy of Dave Marciano of the TV show “Wicked Tuna,” Tom Orrell of the Yankee Fleet charter company, Jim Destino of Destino’s sub shop, the city of Gloucester and the Wounded Warrior Project. click here to read the story 22:44
Irish Fishermen fear UK limits will push EU boats into Irish waters
The UK’s withdrawal from the London Fisheries Convention will push more EU trawlers into Irish waters and is a major concern for the Irish fleet, according to fishermen. Skippers of fishing vessels in Howth, Co Dublin, expressed concern on Tuesday about the decision to expel foreign ships from a 12 nautical mile (22km) limit around UK shores in two years’ time. Most were primarily occupied by what the decision may portend, with the possibility of a 200 nautical mile (370km) exclusion zone covering all British waters a concern for the Irish fleet, according to Howth-based skipper Richard Branagan. click here for video, read the story 16:51
Preliminary findings of necropsies -Two whales suffered blunt trauma, another killed by fishing gear
Injuries suffered by at least two of six North Atlantic right whales found floating lifeless in the Gulf of St. Lawrence appear to be consistent with ship strikes, marine mammal experts say. Tonya Wimmer of the Marine Animal Response Society said Tuesday that the preliminary findings of necropsies on three of the whales indicate that two of them sustained blunt traumas that caused extensive bruising along their sides and internal hemorrhaging. A third died after becoming snarled in fishing rope that wrapped around one flipper and inside its mouth. click here to read the story ,,,, Whale deaths raise concern – The first dead whale spotted on June 6 was a 10-year-old male who was last seen in Cape Cod Bay on April 23 by the Center for Coastal Studies. The elapsed time between those sightings was only about six weeks. The other identified dead whales included two adult males, at least 17 and 37 years old, and a highly valuable 11-year-old female. Through DNA analysis, two of the males were known to have sired calves. The two remaining unidentified whales were a male and a female. click here to read the story 14:11
Shortage of Workers Expected to Affect Upcoming Gulf Shrimp Season
Boat owners said new restrictions on work permits for foreign workers are forcing them to count on whichever workers they can find. Boat owner Marcelino Ochoa said his employees at the shrimp basin are currently getting their boats ready for their time out on the Gulf. Crew member Carlos Martinez, 66, said he’s been a shrimper for about 25 years. He said he has no plans to retire anytime soon. “We’re already used to doing this type of work. So, we do it with pride because we like it,” he said. Ochoa said he’s been struggling to find workers willing to spend months on the water doing tough labor. He said younger generations are just not interested in these types of jobs. Ochoa added he was lucky to get what he could, young or old, to fill positions on his 13 boats. click here to read the story 12:52
UPDATE: Coast Guard continues to search for missing fisherman south of Montauk, NY
The Coast Guard and local fishing community continue to search for a 55-year-old man who went missing from a fishing vessel 25 miles south of Montauk, New York, Monday afternoon. For the past 18 hours a number of Coast Guard units, as well as 10 fishing vessels, have searched units more than 4,000 square miles for the missing crewmember of the fishing vessel Miss Shauna. The crewmember was last seen at 4:00 p.m., Monday, and he was not wearing a life jacket at the time. The 51-foot fishing vessel Miss Shauna is homeported in New Bedford, Massachusetts. If anyone has information regarding this case, please call Sector Long Island Sound at 203-468-4401 -USCG- 12:32
Cod salvation and devilish interference
The more people I talk to about the fishery the more I become convinced that there are three root causes of the reoccurring catastrophes in the fishing industry. Those causes are corporate profits, election votes and union agendas. Combined, they add up to political interference. We have been digging and tunnelling for hundreds of years but we still have more non-renewable resources left under the ground than we have renewable resources left under the water. What does that tell us about our track record on managing our renewable resources? Click here to read the op-ed by Harvey Jarvis, Portugal Cove–St. Philip’s 11:11
New York – State DEC officials agree to meeting over LI fishing permits
The state Department of Environmental Conservation has agreed to meet with Long Island fishing interests over long-held complaints about access to restricted commercial fishing permits following a move by local legislators seeking quicker action on state fishing rules. The meeting, brokered by Assemb. Fred Thiele (I-Sag Harbor), is expected to address the complexities of acquiring, transferring and even passing to family members permits to fish for vital local fish such as striped bass and fluke. It may also address so-called latent permits, in which a large percentage of existing permits are held but not used. Fishermen also have complained of long-standing moratoriums on certain species of fish. click here to read the story 09:29
What if the cod came back? The push to reinvent Newfoundland and Labrador’s fishery
If you want to find out if there’ll ever be a vibrant, successful commercial cod fishery off Newfoundland and Labrador again, start with the guy whose boat sank in some of the most formidable waters in the country. “Groundfish is not coming back, it is back,” says Brad Watkins, who is determined to be at the vanguard of a reimagined cod business. Two years ago, his boat, the Atlantic Charger, sank in the frigid waters of Frobisher Bay, off the coast of Nunavut, nearly costing the lives of the nine men on board. Despite that severe setback, Watkins is back in the game, investing hundreds of thousands of dollars in state-of-the-art fishing gear and capitalizing on easy-on-the-ocean technology. click here to read the story 08:58
4 loaded Bristol Bay fishing boats swamped in bad weather
At least four commercial fishing vessels partially sank in Bristol Bay after boats heavy with salmon had difficulty navigating poor weather in the region. U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Bill Colclough said the four vessels were all partially submerged Monday in different parts of Nushagak Bay after they were swamped by waves and began taking on water.,, Colclough said good Samaritan vessels assisted in recovering everyone on board and no one was injured. He did not know Monday how many people were rescued.,,But the sinkings come as the salmon season in Bristol Bay ramps up. Alaska Department of Fish and Game area biologist Tim Sands said fishing in the area had been getting progressively slower since the end of last week, but that Monday morning the sockeye run surged. click here to read the story 08:21
