Daily Archives: July 24, 2017
Veteran Nushagak drifter, greenhorn daughter have best season ever
Longtime Bristol Bay fisherman Hector Sanchez of f/v El Nayar hauled in more salmon than ever this year, and it was his daughter Toni Sanchez’s first year as a crew member. Work on a commercial fishing boat can test the temperaments of those on board. Skippers often demand intensive labor from their crew, for long hours without sleep and little food, and not everyone takes to the job. Pre-existing relationships between captain and crew can often be strained when on the water, and sometimes crewmembers will quit mid-season. Audio report, read the story here 20:51
Coast Guard, Good Samaritans respond to vessel in distress near Port Moller Saturday
A salmon tender on its way out of Bristol Bay began taking on water Saturday afternoon near Port Moller. Chief Petty Officer Shawn Eggert said the fishing vessel Kona Kai relayed a mayday from the 76-foot Cachalot that they were taking on water with four souls onboard. “The Kona Kai started heading towards the scene to render any kind of assistance they could provide,” said Eggert. “While that was happening, District 17 Command Center directed an Air Station Kodiak C-130 plane as well as an MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew to the scene.” Eggert did not know what had caused the vessel to take on water Saturday. Winds were reported out of the northwest with seas around seven feet. According to the Coast Guard, the ship’s master had wounded his hand during the ordeal and needed to be medevaced. click here to read the story 18:43
Study Reviews Trawler Effects on Seabed
An international group has taken a close look at how different types of bottom trawling affect the seabed. It finds that all trawling is not created equal — the most benign type removes 6 percent of the animal and plant life on the seabed each time the net passes, while the most other methods remove closer to a third. A University of Washington professor is among the main authors on the study, led by Bangor University in the U.K. and published July 17 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The meta-analysis looks at 70 previous studies of bottom trawling, most in the Eastern U.S. and Western Europe. It looks across those studies to compare the effects on the seabed of four techniques: otter trawling, a common method that uses two “doors” towed vertically in the water or along the bottom to hold the net open; beam trawls, which hold the net open with a heavy metal beam; towed dredges, which drag a flat or toothed metal bar directly along the seafloor; and hydraulic dredges, which use water to loosen the seabed and collect animals that live in the sediment. click here to read the story 16:04
NMFS Requests Comment on a Change to Bluefin Regulations
NOAA is seeking public comment regarding a request from the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance for an exemption from a regulation that prohibits having unauthorized gear on board while fishing for, retaining, or possessing a bluefin tuna. In their application, the Alliance suggest that the use of electronic monitoring, already required by federal fishing authorities is a sufficient at-sea monitoring to verify that the catch of bluefin tuna occurred on authorized gear.,,, The National Marine Fisheries Service is accepting public comment on the matter. Comments must be received by August 1, 2017, and may be submitted online. click here to read the story 15:09
Choosing the best wet weather gear for your job
Finding and selecting the right wet weather gear will always depend on the task at hand. There’s no one-size-fits-all solution. If you work in commercial fishing, for example, then heavy-duty clothing will likely be your best bet. This includes things like oilskins and rain-resistant PVC. But if you work in dairy farming – or just need extra layers for the colder months – then there is a variety of lightweight and mid-weight gear that could be better suited. It all depends on the amount of protection and flexibility you need. You must also consider mobility too. If you have an active job, like a farmer who’s on and off quad bikes all day, you’ll need to prioritise mobility and weight distribution over warmth. click here to read the article 14:07
Coast Guard medevacs fisherman 14 miles southwest of Cape Lookout, NC
Station Fort Macon personnel medevaced a man Sunday night aboard a fishing vessel 14 miles southwest of Cape Lookout. Sector North Carolina watchstanders received a call from the crew of the fishing vessel Lady Catherine requesting a medevac of a 54-year-old crew member reporting chest pains.Station Fort Macon launched a 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew with two Atlantic Beach Fire and Rescue EMTs aboard. The crew met the vessel inbound to Station Fort Macon but were unable to transfer the patient due to rough seas. A Station Fort Macon crew member and two Atlantic Beach Fire and Rescue EMTs then boarded the Lady Catherine to give medical assistance. The Lady Catherine moored at Station Fort Macon, and Atlantic Beach Fire and Rescue EMT personnel transported the patient to Carteret General Hospital in Morehead City. –USCG– 13:51
Expert’s talk at LaGrua Thursday to focus on benefits of local sea-to-table options
Meghan Lapp, an expert on the commercial fishing industry and its regulations, will give a talk entitled “Sea to Table: Bringing the Bounty of the Sea to You” on Thursday at 7 p.m. at the LaGrua Center at 32 Water St. The Stonington Economic Development Commission is sponsoring the presentation, which will focus on how local harvesters provide fresh seafood, navigate fishery regulations and science, and what species are fresh, local and available. Admission is free. Lapp, of Narragansett, is a fisheries liaison for Seafreeze Ltd., a producer and trader of sea-frozen fish in North Kingstown. She is on the Habitat Advisory Panel and the Herring Advisory Panel for the New England Fishery Management Council, the Ecosystems and Oceans Planning Advisory Panel for the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Menhaden Advisory Panel for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.,,, “I heard what was going on with the fishing industry and the regulations and it upset me, and I got politically involved,” she said by phone on July 7. “From there I actually built commercial fishing nets in New Bedford for about four-and-a-half years and I did lobbying for the industry on my own time.” click here to read the story 13:22
Why Scotland’s Struggling Fishing Industry Backed Brexit, and Why Its Fishermen May Regret It
It’s 4 a.m., and the boat’s spotlights, affixed to both the wheelhouse and a spindly mast, illuminate the greasy deck. The Launch Out, a 60-foot prawn trawler based out of Pittenweem on Scotland’s east coast, mows through the waves on its way toward the fishing grounds. Inside the wheelhouse, the captain rolls matchstick-thin cigarettes and checks his course on the GPS. Below the deck, his two sons fumble with their yellow oilskins and ready their orange rubber boots. Outside, I watch as the ink-black sea slaps into the boat’s hull, rocking it like a cradle. The wooden deck creaks, the water fizzes, and the wind howls through the hood of my jacket. click here to read the story 11:54
Don Cuddy: An independent fisherman struggles to hang on in an uncertain fishery
It was 4 a.m. as I crossed a deserted Sagamore bridge but the night sky was already beginning to lighten. When I turned into the lot on School St. in Hyannis I could see the boat, its white hull splashed with green from the glow of the starboard running light. I clambered aboard. On the Angenette, a 40-foot wooden dragger built in 1946, Captain Ron Borjeson waited along with his grandson Trent Garzoni. Lost amongst the tourist hordes and tricked-out sportfishing boats crowding the Hyannis docks these are guys you don’t notice anymore — independent commercial fishermen, struggling to pursue their traditional livelihood. Reductions in the catch limits and rising expenses are constant worries. The fluke quota was cut by 30 percent last year and again this year, while just to tie up in Hyannis for the season costs eleven grand. click here to read the story 10:37
Water police not told of missing trawler for four days, WA inquest hears
An inquest has heard there were critical delays in police being notified about a missing prawn trawler that sank off the Pilbara coast in 2015, resulting in three deaths. A coronial inquest has begun in Perth into how Murray Turner, 57, Chad Fairley, 30, and Mason Carter, 26, died. Mr Turner’s trawler, the Returner, sank about 20 kilometres off the Karratha coast in July 2015. The inquest heard police were only notified about the missing vessel almost five days after it stopped communicating with the Department of Fisheries’ monitoring system, which is primarily used as a surveillance and compliance tool. click here to read the story 08:35
Bryan Schroder, U.S. Attorney for Alaska, and the case of the missing fisherman
Bryan Schroder, a veteran federal prosecutor in Alaska, was nominated Friday by President Donald Trump to be the U.S. Attorney for the District of Alaska. Schroder has been the acting head of the Alaska district since Karen Loeffler stepped down after being asked to resign by the Administration. He had served as First Assistant U.S. Attorney and Criminal Chief for the United States Attorney’s Office, District of Alaska since 2005. A retired U.S. Coast Guard Captain, Schroder is a graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy, and the University of Washington School of Law.,, In a recent case that Schroder handled, a Port Graham couple has been charged with faking the death of a man who was facing prison time on another count to which he had already plead guilty. click here to red the story 07:59
Girlfriend Helped Him Fake Death at Sea to Avoid Jail – The indictment says Rodriguez sent a flurry of Facebook messages to plant the seeds of the fabricated emergency. click here to read the story 09:12
