Daily Archives: September 20, 2017
The Latest – Hurricane Maria and Tropical Storm Jose Updates 800 PM AST
At 800 PM AST, the center of Tropical Storm Jose was located near latitude 39.4 North, longitude 68.6 West. Jose is moving toward the northeast near 8 mph (13 km/h), and this general motion with a decrease in forward speed is expected through tonight. A slow westward motion should begin by Thursday night. On the forecast track, the center of Jose is expected to meander off the coast of southern New England during the next few days. click here to read the advisory
At 800 PM AST (0000 UTC), the eye of Hurricane Maria was located by an Air Force reconnaissance aircraft near latitude 18.9 North, longitude 67.5 West. click here to read the advisory 20:23
‘DFO has to step in,’ says fisheries official of St. Marys Bay black market lobster
Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans says there are “clear indications” of abuse in the First Nations food, social and ceremonial lobster fishery underway this summer in St. Marys Bay, N.S. Since June, non-Indigenous lobster fishermen have complained that some Indigenous fishermen are using the fishery to cloak a black market lobster fishery. “They are making it clear DFO has to step in,” said Morley Knight, assistant deputy Minister with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Bay of Fundy lobster fisherman Chris Hudson liked what he heard. “We are satisfied with what DFO had to say. We’re anxiously looking to see if they do what they say, and that is enforce the rule of law, which is all we are asking,” click here to read the story 19:56
Gov. Scott Directs FWC to Ease Reg’s, Waive Fees for South Florida Commercial Fishing Industry Following Hurricane Irma
Governor Rick Scott directed the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) to implement several changes to help South Florida’s commercial fishermen recover from the effects of Hurricane Irma and get back to work. The elimination of these regulations combined with the waiving of fees will allow more commercial fishermen in South Florida, especially the Florida Keys, get back to work by easing certain tag requirements and allowing more cooperation in the industry. The Governor has been laser focused on ensuring that the entire state recovers from Hurricane Irma, as well as the Florida Keys, which was one of the hardest hit areas. The Governor has set a goal of October 1st to have the Keys open for business. click here to read press release 18:31
Unconstitutional? Carlos Rafael argues against vessel forfeiture, poses new buyer for fleet
New Bedford, Massachusetts-based fishing magnate Carlos “Codfather” Rafael has challenged the government’s proposal to seize his fleet of 13 groundfish vessels, arguing that the act is unconstitutional, according to court documents filed by his legal team. Forfeiting the vessels and their corresponding permits, which are allegedly worth more than USD 30 million (EUR 25 million), would be a violation of the excessive fines clause of the Eighth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, Rafael’s lawyers said in court documents submitted for review to U.S. District Court judge William Young in Boston. click here to read the story 15:22
Local buyer for Carlos Rafael’s fishing permits, court documents say – Two prominent businesses in New Bedford possess the means to acquire the permits based on financial means and ability to operate a fleet of that size: Whaling City Seafood Display Auction and Eastern Fisheries. Neither returned requests for comment. click here to read the story 9/21, 16:09
Lobster boats collide off South Bristol, one sinks, no injuries reported
Two lobster boats collided off South Bristol the Tuesday morning, and one of the vessels sank, according to U.S. Coast Guard Station Boothbay Harbor. There were no injuries. U.S. Coast Guard Sector Northern New England is investigating the cause of the accident. The names of the individuals and vessels involved are not being released, according to William Armstrong, officer in charge at Coast Guard Station Boothbay Harbor. Around 8 a.m. Tuesday, the boats collided “3-4 miles” offshore, Armstrong said. The second vessel sustained only minor damage. click here to read the story 14:20
Russian trawler hulls protected with Cathelco systems
Chesterfield based business Cathelco are supplying hull corrosion protection systems for three trawlers which mark the first stage in modernising the Russian fishing fleet. The freezer trawlers are being built by the Vyborg Shipyard for the Arkhangelsk Trawl Fleet JSC who will operate them in the North and Far East fishing basins. Each vessel will be equipped with the latest trawl equipment enabling the production of up to 160 tons of raw fish products per day. The first in the series of vessels, named The Barents Sea, is 86m in length and 17m in breadth will be rated to Ice3 class with hull strengthening to Arc4. The trawler will have an automated fish filleting and canning plant together with facilities for processing fish oil and meal. click here to read the story 13:45
Star of ‘Deadliest Catch’ meets privately with utility workers at Robarts Arena
Edgar Hansen, one of the stars of the Emmy-winning “Deadliest Catch” documentary series, met with utility workers who are restoring power in Southwest Florida Monday at Robarts Arena. Hansen’s publicist reached out to Hansen on Sunday night after driving past the FPL staging area, a mini-city of more than 1,000 workers who are clearing trees and fixing downed power lines. Some of them have been set up in Sarasota for about a week before Irma arrived. The workers represent more than 30 states, coming from as far as California and Canada. click here to read the story 12:46
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 43′ Fiberglass Dragger, Detroit 8-V-71 with Permits
Specifications, information and 32 photos click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 11:38:49
David Morgan, heroic deckhand in deadly 1986 Bodega Bay shipwreck, dies at 62
Nine people out for a day of ocean fishing perished in the sudden tragedy that struck the Merry Jane party boat just outside of Bodega Harbor in 1986, but more might have died had deckhand David Morgan not responded as he did. Moments after the impact of a great wave threw 19 people overboard, Morgan grabbed every life jacket and ring and floating device he could find and flung them into the water. He broadcast a call for help from the nearby Coast Guard station and, to calculate how many people were overboard, he asked two passengers to count everyone still on the boat. His wife, Kathie Morgan, recalls, “He woke up screaming in the night for a month after that, night after night.” David Morgan, who fished commercially until 1996 and then changed to work on solid ground and in his free time fished the Napa River with his wife for fun and dinner, died Sept. 8 at his home just north of Santa Rosa. He was 62. click here to read the story 10:53
Jose forces New Bedford fishing fleet to stay in port
The incoming storm has essentially shut down the fishing industry in New Bedford for at least a day or two. Fishermen are not taking any chances with Jose, and it appeared that nobody was heading out onto the water Tuesday morning. Tony Soares, who works for Carlos Seafood, spent the past 24 hours overseeing the massive effort of tying up and securing almost 40 fishing vessels in the Port of New Bedford “I call everybody [and] make sure everybody tied the boats,” said Soares, who was checking the lines by hand around 6 a.m. Tuesday. Video, click here to read the story 09:09
Instead of fighting global competition, Alaska’s salmon industry is (reluctantly) embracing it
Forty years ago, Alaska had a near monopoly on supplying the world with salmon. But then Norwegian fishermen began experimenting with salmon farming — raising fish in enclosed ocean pens. By the 1990s, international salmon farming had taken off, not just in Norway, but also in Canada, Scotland and Chile. As global supplies skyrocketed, Alaskan salmon prices plummeted. “In 1988, the price for Sockeye salmon in Alaska was well over $2 a pound. By about 2000, the price had fallen to 40 cents a pound,” says Gunnar Knapp, an economist and fisheries expert with the University of Alaska, Anchorage. click here to read the story 07:05
