Daily Archives: September 30, 2017
Hurricane Harvey: Port Aransas family weathers storm in shrimp boat
The word of a hurricane didn’t stop one Port Aransas family from staying in town. But where they did stay may come as a surprise. John and Molly Nixon stayed on their 600-ton shrimp boat – the Polly Anna. They made the decision to ride out the storm while it was still a tropical depression. But quickly, that turned into a category four hurricane. “I’ve never seen the wind blow so hard,” John Nixon said. “It was just screaming. It was so loud. It felt like a freight train was coming by you.” Video, click here to read the story 21:42
Coast Guard medevaced fisherman suffering possible heart attack off Reedsport, Ore.
Coast Guard crews medevaced a man suffering from symptoms of a possible heart attack from a fishing vessel 18 miles off Reedsport, Friday night. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector North Bend were contacted around 8 p.m. by the fishing vessel Leann crew. The crew reported one of their deckhands was suffering a possible heart attack and requested assistance, the Coast Guard boat crew and aircrew launched in response. The aircrew lowered their rescue swimmer onto the fishing vessel and then both swimmer and deckhand transferred to the motor life boat. Once transferred to EMS personnel on shore, the deckhand was taken to Bay Area Hospital in Coos Bay. -USCG- 15:37
Fire-damaged fishing vessel in San Diego Harbor continues to smolder
A fire that tore through a docked commercial fishing and research ship near Seaport Village continued to smolder Saturday. The blaze initially erupted for unknown reasons inside the 120-foot Norton Sound at about 9:30 a.m. Friday. It was unclear if anyone was aboard the vessel when the fire broke out. Firefighters initially battled the flames from inside, finding no victims, but were ordered to pull out because of the intensity of the fire inside the boat after about a half-hour. The fire seemed to mostly burn itself out, then flared up again later in the day. The interior of the vessel continued to burn throughout Friday and into early Saturday. click here to read the story 15:01
At Seattle-based seafood giant Trident, a new generation is at the helm
Joe Bundrant’s first Alaska summer with Trident Seafoods was back in 1979, a tense time for the Seattle-based company founded by his father Chuck Bundrant. The Bristol Bay salmon run was in full swing. But a bitter strike over low prices kept nets out the water, and shut down the regional harvest. Chuck Bundrant had piled up debt to build the Bountiful, a 165-foot processing vessel that was then only a year old. He didn’t want it to sit idle. So, he urged the fishermen to cross the picket line and allow him to freeze their sockeye catch. When the season was over, he pledged to settle with them on a fair market value “He just said, ‘Trust me.’ And those guys went fishing. It was a very powerful lesson for a young guy,” click here to read the story 12:35
What Happened to the Armchair Environmentalists and Climate Alarmists When the Hurricanes Hit?
There are two ways to get ahead. Pull yourself up or push other people down. There are few better exponents of the pushdown option than the environmental groups and their supporters. They are, for the most part, urban guerrillas, useless people who do little or nothing except undermine the lives of others. They are the green bullies who tell others how to live, yet, hypocritically, live in similar lifestyles.,, Where was Greenpeace during the recent hurricanes?,,, I learned a great deal about these urban guerrillas over forty years of working with primary producers like farmers, foresters, and fishermen. No, I won’t be politically correct and call them fishers. Then, there’s the seal hunt! click here to read the story 11:14
Fishermen fear Scottish lobster stocks ‘could collapse’
Fishermen fear that lobster stocks could be on the verge of collapse after an increase in the numbers being caught and a surge in the value of the shellfish. Boat captains operating on the east coast say that fewer lobsters are being brought to shore, with smaller specimens among the catch than in previous years. The Scottish Government has recently introduced catch restrictions for unlicensed fishermen in a bid to keep the numbers being caught down. But there are fears that Scottish waters could be about to see stocks collapse similar to the situation which developed in Norway in the 1970s and 1980s. click here to read the story 10:07
SMAST East opening draws interest nationally
The official opening of the second SMAST facility created ripple effects beyond its location on South Rodney French Boulevard. Construction crews erected SMAST East at a cost of $55 million. The names on the guest list, which packed into the first floor of the 64,000 square foot building Friday, displayed its incalculable value to the SouthCoast. From the political arena, Cong. Bill Keating, Sen. Mark Montigny, Rep. Antonio Cabral and Mayor Jon Mitchell addressed the crowd at the ribbon cutting ceremony. NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Administrator and former New Bedford Mayor John Bullard and former dean of SMAST Brian Rothschild sat in attendance. Eastern Fisheries President Roy Enoksen and Executive Director of New Bedford Seafood Consulting Jim Kendall each listened to the 90-minute presentation that ended with a ribbon cutting. click here to read the story 09:34
Florida Fishermen Pin Their Hopes On Stone Crab Season after Hurricane Irma
On Florida’s Marathon Key, lobster boats pull up to the docks in the afternoon, same as they would on any September day. But this year, instead of hauling in thousands of valuable spiny lobsters, most are unloading the few traps they can find, and maybe a quarter of the usual catch. Boat captain Carlos Moreira is tired after a long day at sea searching for lost traps. “Well you gotta start somewhere, so you just look for one,” says Moreira. “Yesterday, from where I had my traps to where I found them, they were 7 miles away. And to travel around, and try to find a 7 and a half inch buoy in the Gulf of Mexico, is a challenge.” click here to read the story 08:16
A double whammy at trap yard – First, a fire, then a hurricane. What can possibly come next? “A lot of guys lost a lot of gear again. They rebuilt all the traps lost in the fire, so all those traps were lost for a second time,” click here to read the story
