Daily Archives: July 30, 2017
Two more North Atlantic right whales found dead on Newfoundland’s west coast
Two more dead whales have washed ashore on Newfoundland’s west coast. The federal fisheries department says the discoveries bring the total of confirmed North Atlantic right whale deaths to at least nine. The department says one of the animals had not been counted amongst the previous eight right whale carcasses that have been spotted in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in recent weeks. Officials didn’t immediately say when the carcasses washed ashore. click here to read the story 20:39
Best boot? A commercial fisherman’s likes and dislikes.
After six weeks away from home fishing in Bristol Bay, you’d think I would have larger concerns than what to wear on my feet. However, as go the feet, so go I. Consequently, here’s my rundown of my likes and dislikes when it comes to boots. No doubt in Bristol Bay, hip boots and Xtratufs ruled my world. Xtratufs are the foot gear of choice for most commercial fishermen working the deck of a boat. They’re a good boot, but much of the reason they are so popular is marketing. The cannery stores carry Xtratufs exclusively. The reality is that though they are well made, Xtratufs have little ankle support. They are soft, and woe to the fisherman who drops an anchor on his toe. click here to read the story 15:49
2 West Coast commercial fishing vessel mishaps included in NTBS Safer Seas Digest 2016
The National Transportation Safety Board cited two mishaps involving vessels around Ventura Harbor among 27 marine-related boating accidents as part of its Safer Seas Digest 2016. The agency’s annual report, released online Thursday, is part of an effort to help improve safety in the boating industry. “We hope that (the report) continues to help the marine industry discuss and address the safety issues confronting it,” said Robert Sumwalt, the NTSB’s acting chairman, in the 2016 Safer Seas Digest.The mishaps mentioned in the report include a July 29, 2015, collision in which the captain of a commercial fishing boat, Ferrigno Boy, lost control of the boat as it maneuvered near the Ventura Harbor Boatyard. The 70-foot-long squid boat hit the docks there. No one was injured in the accident. click here to read the story 14:22 To read the report click here
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission Summer Meeting in Alexandria, Virginia – August 1 – 3, 2017
Starts August 1, 2017 12:00 am Ends August 3, 2017 12:00 am. Location The Westin Alexandria, 400 Courthouse Square, Alexandria, Virginia 22314; 703.253.8600 For ease of access, all Board/Section meeting documents have been combined into three documents – Main Meeting Materials1 click here. (which includes all of the main meeting materials for August 1 through the American Eel Board on August 2); Main Meeting Materials 2 click here (which inlcudes main meeting materials for Atlantic Menhaden Board all meetings on August 3) and Supplemental Meeting Materials click here (which include all Board supplemental materials with the exception of the Shad & River Herring Board). Links to individual board/committee materials can be found below. Board meeting proceedings will be broadcast daily via webinar beginning August 1st at 9:45 a.m. and continuing daily until the conclusion of the meeting (expected to be 4:30 p.m.) on Thursday, August 3rd. click here for webinar link 13:36
Senators move to combat illegal seafood import activities
Senator Thad Cochran is pushing a bill in appropriations to reactivate federal monitoring of illegal activities involving shrimp exports to the United States. Previously the Senate Appropriations Committee approved the FY2018 Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations Act. It includes a Cochran-added provision that directs the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to lift the stay imposed by the Obama administration that excludes shrimp from the Seafood Import Monitoring Program. click here to read the story 12:25
Sole survivor of fishing boat tragedy reveals how he swam to shore in only a pair of tracksuit bottoms and a faulty life jacket
He was the sole survivor of a fishing boat tragedy that claimed the lives of his three crew-mates. Now Lachlann Armstrong has revealed for the first time how he cheated death when the Louisa sank off the coast of the Hebrides in April last year. His electrifying testimony describes how, wearing nothing but a pair of tracksuit trousers and a faulty life jacket, he swam for his life, battling in complete darkness through water just a few degrees above freezing, toward a shore he could not even see.,,, He spoke of the terrifying moment the crew awoke to the boat sinking and the panic when they realised the emergency vessel (raft) wouldn’t inflate. click here to read the story 11:34
Popular Notre Dame beach turned into salvage spot for damaged vessel
A tour boat operator in Little Burnt Bay is astounded that a company has been allowed to built a temporary road on a popular public beach, at the height of tourist season, to tow in a damaged boat. The fishing vessel Straits Foam was damaged in this year’s harsh ice conditions in Notre Dame Bay, and had been adrift outside the Bay of Exploits for seven weeks, says Graham Wood, who runs Mussel Bed Tours. The work to bring that boat in to shore and salvage it includes building a temporary road from the beach out to the boat to tow it in to shore. “The first word that came to mind was ‘horrified.'” click here to read the story 10:28
Tonight: Captain Greg Mayer gears up for more bluefin action on ‘Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks’
As National Geographic is about to premiere its fourth season of Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks Sunday, July 30 at 10 p.m., the Outer Banks of North Carolina face a lot of unknowns. It’s likely that many OBX vacationers won’t be able to tune in tonight, at least not from Hatteras or Ocracroke islands, which have been out of power for days because of a mishap involving an electrical cable near Bonner Bridge. Visitors have been evacuated from both islands, so as they modify their vacation plans, they’ll have to catch the bluefin TV action on the mainland. This season on Wicked Tuna: Outer Banks, the captains head to the deep waters of the ocean looking for that competition-winning payday. A few captains head south from the waters of Gloucester, Massachusetts, to go head to head with the North Carolina captains. All of them have the bluefin in mind. click here to read the story 10:00
It’s a waiting game for this year’s Fraser River pink salmon run
For this year’s Fraser River pink salmon run, the commercial boats hoping to fish in local waters are stuck in a wait-and-see scenario. With run numbers remaining low, the Pacific Salmon Commission’s Fraser River Panel has kept the fishing season closed in both the U.S. and Canadian waters near the mouth of the Canadian River. It’s unclear at this point whether the run is just late or will be much weaker than expected, said Pete Granger, a local reef net fisherman. If it turns out to be a weak run, it will be the second consecutive one for Fraser River pink salmon. click here to read the story 09:03
What’s next for the ‘Codfather’?
The “Codfather” quashed any hopes for high courtroom drama when he pleaded guilty in March to falsifying fish quotas, false labeling of fish species, conspiracy and tax evasion, 28 counts in all. The real action is behind the scenes, as federal and defense attorneys wrestle over the fate of New Bedford fishing mogul Carlos Rafael’s fishing empire, said to be one of the largest groundfish fleets in the nation. It’s something Cape fishermen, and fishermen all over New England, are debating and watching closely. click here to read the story 08:36
