Daily Archives: September 13, 2017
Tarpon Springs boat captain returns after fateful encounter with Irma
The captain had few words to say after he got off the airplane, but most of them were about his former deckhand. “Carl Sheperd was the best man, best friend,” Capt. Edward Potter said. “I can’t say anything more … but I love that man.” It was just weeks before that the men had set off on Potter’s shrimp boat, the Capt. Eddie, from Pelican Point Seafood in Tarpon Springs for a shrimping trip to the Florida Keys. About a week into their journey, Hurricane Irma developed and came barreling west toward the Florida Straits. Potter, 61, on just the start of what is typically a 30- to 40-day excursion, thought they could outrun it. But the storm caught up with them, pummeling the boat, the two men on board and their feline passenger, Motorboat. Only Potter made it back alive. click here to read the story 23:16
From Captain Jack Molan – Book Launch! We have lift off!
My book of short stories, “You Can’t Make This Stuff Up!” is available on Amazon, both paperback and E-Book (click here) This covers thirty years in the Bering Sea, the stories will grab you! Please share with your friends, in the new world of self publishing, its the best way to spread the word. After reading, please visit Amazon and leave a review. The reviews are really important and will get the book more exposure. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I did writing. Click here for a short video about how I came to write such a tail. 16:57
New Jersey Anglers and Commercial Fishermen: Discussion on negative impact of Fishing Limits
A trip to Annapolis, Maryland might be what saves the 2018 New Jersey fishing season. Saltwater anglers and their allies crowded the Stafford Township municipal chambers, where the Marine Fisheries Council held its regular Sept. 7 meeting. Although the first hour was filled with its usual reports and comments, the Council’s second hour saw passionate arguments and discussion from Council and audience members about what to do with the ever-shortening fishing season and its negative impact on commercial fishermen throughout the state and beyond. click here to read the story 15:29
South West Nova Lobster Fishermen to demonstrate Sept. 14
Stakeholders in the lobster fishing industry will be demonstrating at Department of Fisheries and Oceans offices in Digby, Tusket, Meteghan and possibly Barrington on Thursday, Sept. 14 at 8 a.m. Spokesperson Alan Thurber says there will be a designated person at each location to provide information about the fishermen’s agenda and strategies towards the “problems that are at hand now.” “The demonstrations are to express concern with the failure in the systems between DFO and Ottawa,” he said. click here to read the story 14:31
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 43′ Torres Tuna/Charter, Twin Detroit 6V71TA’s, Westerbeke-BTD-10 KW Generator
Specifications, information and 48 photos click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 13:51
NOAA Fisheries Announces Illex (Shortfin) Squid Fishery Closure on September 15
After reviewing new landings information, we now project that the Illex squid fishery will reach its domestic quota for the 2017 fishing year on September 15. NOAA Fisheries is therefore closing the directed fishery in federal waters effective September 15 through the end of the fishing year, December 31, 2017.click here to read the notice 12:24
Pilot Program – Port allows fish sales from boats at Fisherman’s Wharf
Fishermen have been granted the legal right to sell fish from their boats at Fisherman’s Wharf for the first time in nearly two decades. The pilot program, approved by the Port Commission on Tuesday afternoon, will last for one year, at which time the Port will consider making it permanent. The effort is meant to help fishermen survive in the rocky fishing industry. “We’re struggling just to keep our boat here,” said Giuseppe “Joe” Pennisi, who captains the fishing boat “Pioneer” out of San Francisco. click here to read the story 11:37
Ottawa attacks fishermen
Finance Minister Bill Morneau sucker-punched Canadian business owners, and now Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc wants to finish fishermen off. Mr. Morneau’s attempted seizure of retirement savings held by small business owners, farmers, doctors and lawyers has already been well-documented. In a similar attack, Mr. LeBlanc is going after fishermen, many of whom have spent decades building retirement nest eggs from their investments in licences and vessels. While he’s at it, Leblanc is using the same kind of Orwellian double-speak, and engaging in the sort of sham consultative processes, that Mr. Morneau has attempted. In a speech this summer in Chester, Nova Scotia, Mr. LeBlanc said he wants to “bring our government’s support for the middle class to life through a progressive fisheries policy.” Sound familiar? click here to read the op-ed 11:12
Our Friend, Groundswell Fisheries Movement Founder Stephen R. Taufen has passed away
Stephen R. Taufen, a prolific writer on commercial fishing issues, was air ambulanced to Anchorage, and was hospitalized at Providence Hospital with an inoperable hematoma. Stephen was in intensive care for a few days, and later, out of intensive care, was lucid, and appeared to be recovering. Stephen’s hematoma began growing again, he lost consciousness and, with family advice and consent, has been removed from life support. Stephen passed away this morning at 03:45. He was the Founder of Groundswell Fisheries Movement. Truthfully, we have lost a great man who cannot be replaced. We extend our sympathy and sorrow to all that know him, his mother, his brother, and his friends. Steve was a man with heart, dignity, and fairness. Perhaps a look at Groundswell and the content he posted on his website will give people a sense of what he stood for. He was always loyal to the underdog. 10:46
Orange, yellow, blue, and even ‘Halloween’: The rarest lobster colors, explained
It may feel like a new, brightly colored lobster has been pulled off the New England coast and onto your social media feeds every other week over the last few months. Maybe you’ve seen a rare, blue lobster before. But what about yellow? Or the ghostly, one-in-100-million white lobster caught last month in Maine? However, according to New England Aquarium spokesman Tony LaCasse, this has actually been a “slow summer.” Ever wonder why lobsters come in so many distinct colors? Here’s why. click here to read the story 09:01
FFAW bloated with millions more in fees and government revenue than union dues
The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) estimates the FFAW-Unifor will be fed by almost $5 million more this year from harvester fees and government sources than from membership dues, proving the union has lost its way. “The FFAW-Unifor has mutated into a labour sea monster with tentacles in management, science, dockside monitoring, grading, professionalization, and safety,” says Ryan Cleary, President of FISH-NL. “It’s often said that the FFAW doesn’t make money from fishermen, but through fishermen. The union executive grows fat with huge salaries and pensions while inshore harvesters are being starved out.” In 2017, FISH-NL estimates the FFAW-Unifor will collect $7.9 million in fees from inshore harvesters for services such as dockside monitoring and grading, as well as from various government contracts/grants. click here to read the story 08:11
