Monthly Archives: September 2017
MSA Reauthorization – Fishing rule reforms debated on Capitol Hill
How large of a role should the federal government have in regulating fishing fleets? Republicans and Democrats on the House Committee on Natural Resources discussed this question Tuesday in Washington, D.C., as part of renewed efforts to reauthorize and potentially amend a 40-year-old law that works to prevent overfishing and provide aid to fishing fleets.,, Several changes to the law have been made since 1996, such as setting annual catch limits and a 10-year timeline to rebuild overfished or depleted fish stocks. Republican committee members such as Alaska Rep. Don Young said these changes have taken a one-size-fits-all approach rather than provide more flexibility for regional fishery management councils to manage their own fisheries. click here to read the story 09:47
Watch Legislative Hearing on 4 Fishery Bills – click here for video
Amendment 22: Lack of action on whiting pleases most local fishermen
The New England Fishery Management Council on Tuesday didn’t appear to have much interest in limiting future access to the whiting fishery that includes Ipswich Bay. “It’s a victory of sorts,” said longtime Gloucester fisherman Al Cottone, who also is the executive director of the city’s Fisheries Commission. “It showed that the council really has no appetite for limiting access to the whiting fishery.” The proposal, developed by the council’s whiting committee during the formation of proposed Amendment 22, still will include the option of limiting access when it goes out to public comment at some point this winter.,, Cottone, along with fellow Gloucester fishermen Joe Orlando and Russell Sherman, spoke in opposition to limiting access to the fishery,, click here to read the story 09:15
Constitutionality of seizing Carlos Rafael’s permits in question
Judge William Young decided half of Carlos Rafael’s fate on Monday: The New Bedford fishing mogul was sentenced to 46-months in prison with three years supervised release and a $200,000 fine. The other half, which Young continues to take under advisement, involves the 65-year-old’s 13 groundfish vessels and permits. In court Monday, Young repeatedly questioned the constitutionality of the forfeiture, citing the excessive fines clause in the Eighth Amendment. “I have grave doubts given the value of the vessels and permits,” Young said. ”…That the appraised value doesn’t exceed four times a maximum guidelines fine.” click here to read the story 08:41
Chignik fishermen slay record six million humpies
The unexpected banner pink year filled a gap after the sockeye run came in well below expectations, and helped push the Chignik salmon fishery past and estimated $15 million in ex-vessel value. An incredible pink salmon run helped the Chignik salmon fishery rebound, after the sockeye run fell well below expectations. The fleet landed just over six million pinks, double the previous biggest harvest since statehood. click here to read the story 08:21
Inmarsat launches new Pacific North West Pricing Plan for Fleet One
The new single SIM subscription plan represents the latest Inmarsat initiative to enhance vessel performance for Pacific North West fishers, while also ensuring the safety of those at sea. The targeted offer covers the Gulf of Alaska, South East Alaska, and the North West Canadian and US coastal area (Washington, Oregon, and California), as well as parts of the Bering Sea*. It delivers free Fleet One-to-Fleet One voice calls for up to 30 minutes, Pay-as-you-go IP data and the seasonal flexibility to suspend services during inactive periods. click here to read the story 17:48
“This is the stupidest thing I ever did,” ‘Codfather’ is sentenced to 46 months for skirting tax and fishing regulations
Carlos Rafael, the New Bedford, Mass. fishing magnate whose brash business style earned him the nickname “The Codfather,” was sentenced to nearly four years in prison Monday for tax evasion and flouting fishing quotas, a case that could impact the ability of hundreds of fishermen to continue working out of the port where he ran his illicit enterprise. In the federal courthouse in Boston, Rafael, 65, told US District Judge William G. Young he mislabeled more than 700,000 pounds of fish not out of greed, but to protect workers whose jobs were threatened by limits on dwindling cod stocks. click here to read the story 15:04
And just four years ago, we posted this article that should be revisited at this time. Carlos Rafael and His Fish Are the American Dream – click here to read the story.
Owner of One of the Nation’s Largest Commercial Fishing Businesses Sentenced for Falsifying Records & Smuggling Proceeds Abroad, US Justice Dept. click here to read the presser
FISH-NL – Northern Cod – “Why is DFO setting us up to fail?”
Earlier this year, DFO gave harvesters two options for fishing northern cod off Newfoundland’s east coast and Labrador for 2017: 1) fish the entire season at the weekly limit; or 2) fish only from Sept. 17th-Nov. 30th at double the weekly limit. Harvesters who choose option one, and have one cod IQ (individual quota), can fish with six gill nets. Harvesters who choose option 2, and who have three combined IQs (and many harvesters do), are essentially fishing six times the weekly limit, but are still limited to six gill nets. click here to read the press release 14:11
Collaborative project between researchers, fishermen aims to reduce West Coast seabird bycatch
A collaborative project between researchers and the West Coast sablefish fishing industry is showing promise for reducing the number of seabirds caught in longline fishing gear, in particular several albatross species including one threatened with extinction. The combination of using streamer lines (also called bird-scaring lines) to protect longline fishing gear from seabird attacks on baits, and setting hooks at night when the birds are less active can significantly reduce seabird mortality, the researchers say. click here to read the story 12:39
Stewart Lamont: ‘We’re in the relationship business – we sell lobster on the side’
Stewart Lamont, 62, managing director of Tangier Lobster Co. and founder of the Lobster Council of Canada, represents the lobster sector in the Nova Scotia Seafood Alliance.,,, My cousin, a friend and my mentor, had a lobster export business. He recruited me in 1981 saying we’d work six months with six months off; I could do the two things I wanted – travel and write. It sounded superb. I didn’t want to go into the real world anyway. We’d operate six months, shut down, come back six months later. Increasingly, clients would give us a blast – “where were you in February when we needed a good lobster?” We decided we had to run year-round. click here to read the story 11:59
Two well-known marine survival companies become one as LRSE of Tiverton, RI, buys Landrigan Corporation of Boston
Jim O’Connor got his start in the life raft and survival equipment business in 1978 working for Landrigan Corporation of Boston and on Sept. 1, he became the proud new owner of the company having purchased it from Jean Landrigan. O’Connor, who owns Life Raft and Survival Equipment company of Tiverton, R.I., will now have the combined resources of the two most well-known names in the industry. Landrigan Corporation is one of the oldest companies in the life raft and marine safety equipment business, started 50 years ago. click here to read the story 11:03
Port au Choix fisherman says halibut tags are a union money grab
A fisherman in Port au Choix is protesting a Fish, Food and Allied Workers (FFAW) Union policy he believes is illegitimate. Dean Olfrey recently caught three halibut without purchasing the mandated tags from the Fisheries Science Stewardship and Sustainability Board (FSSSB). Olfrey says it now appears he will not be getting charged for this protest, due to what his lawyer calls “union interference.” The FSSB had introduced the halibut tags as part of its Atlantic Halibut Sustainability Plan for the 4R fishing region. But harvesters outside of Newfoundland and Labrador, though fishing in the same region, do not have to use the tags. click here to read the story 09:37
Hurricane Maria Public Advisory 0800 AM EDT Update
At 800 AM EDT, the center of Hurricane Maria was located near latitude 33.3 North, longitude 73.1 West. Maria is moving toward the north near 7 mph (11 km/h), and this general motion with some decrease in forward speed is expected through tonight. A turn toward the north-northeast is expected on Wednesday. On the forecast track, the center of Maria will pass east of the coast of
North Carolina during the next couple of days. click here to read the update 08:59
Ottowa Targets 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 is 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. In a speech this summer in Chester, N.S., 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 story 08:34
UPDATED: Poachers plead guilty to fishing violations after Buzzards Bay arrests
Four men pleaded guilty Monday in Falmouth District Court to fishing violations and paid $1,000 each after being arrested Sunday for illegally taking undersized black sea bass out of season and undersized scup. The four men — Son Nguyen, 38, of Springfield; Hai Nguyen, 45, of Southampton; Lam Nguyen, 42, of Hamden; and Raymond Ung, 52, of Agawam — were taken into custody and brought to the Bourne state police barracks, police said. The vessel, trailer and vehicle were impounded and all fishing gear was seized as evidence. click here to read the story 19:24
SAFMC – Officials OK red snapper fall season
Federal fishery officials approved a plan Monday to allow Southeastern anglers to harvest red snapper in the Atlantic Ocean later this fall, which would be the first open season for the popular game fish since 2014. Under the plan, the season would last six to 12 days spread out over several three-day weekends and would begin at the end of October. The decision must be approved by NOAA Fisheries, the federal agency that oversees all fishing regulations in federal waters. If the agency approves the decision, it will set the exact number of days the season will last and when it will start. The decision also opens red snapper to commercial fishing, although boats will be limited to just 75 pounds of fish per trip. click here to read the story 19:12
New England Fishery Management Council meeting in Gloucester, Sept. 26th thru 28th
The New England Fishery Management Council will be meeting at the Beauport Hotel in Gloucester. To read the final agenda, click here Register click here to listen live via webinar. 17:40
Headed for the Slammer! – Carlos Rafael sentenced to 46 months in prison
Judge William Young sentenced Carlos Rafael to a 46-month prison term, but he held off on a decision regarding the forfeiture of any permits or vessels. Rafael also received three years supervised release. His attorney William Kettlewell requested the sentence be served at Fort Devens. Rafael will have credit for the time he spent in jail earlier in his life, which equated to about nine days. He’ll also pay a $200,000 fine. click here to read the story 17:08 There will be updates to this story
Codfather gets nearly 4 years – click here to read the story 18:05
FISH-NL says inshore harvesters charged $1,000 by their own union for tuna tags, more than fish is worth
The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) is questioning why the FFAW-Unifor is charging inshore harvesters $1,000 for a bluefin tuna tag when fishermen can’t get much more than that from the sale of a fish. “This seems to be yet another FFAW-Unifor money grab,” says Ryan Cleary, President of FISH-NL. “The real question here is why the union is charging its members anything at all? The FFAW is supposed to be in the business of helping harvesters, not profiting from them.” click here to read the press release 16:49
Hurricane Maria Public Advisory 200 PM EDT
At 200 PM EDT, the center of Hurricane Maria was located near latitude 31.4 North, longitude 73.0 West. Maria is moving toward the north near 7 mph (11 km/h), and this general motion with some decrease in forward speed is expected through Tuesday night. On the forecast track, the center of Maria will move well east of the southeast coast of the United States during the next day or so. click here to read the update 14:04
One plant is processing more shrimp thanks to the elimination of tariffs under European free trade deal
The new free trade deal with Europe has only been in effect for a few days but one seafood processor in Newfoundland and Labrador says it’s already meant more work. Ocean Choice International has extended work at the Port au Choix plant.,, On Sept. 21 the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement, or CETA, came into effect. It dropped tariffs on 96 per cent of the Canadian seafood sold into Europe.,, As part of the tradeoff for the elimination of tariffs, Newfoundland and Labrador agreed to drop minimum processing requirements. They required fish caught off the province to be processed there. click here to read the story 12:54
Four Arrested in Bourne on Fisheries Violations – Vessel, Trailer, Vehicle Impounded and Gear Seized
On Sunday at approximately 2:19 PM, an Environmental Police Officer was conducting recreational marine fisheries inspections on vessels returning to Taylor Point Marina in Bourne. Upon approaching a vessel that had just hauled out, the Officer observed one of the four males on the vessel run up a hill towards the rail road tracks with a white bucket. The male then dumped a quantity of fish behind some bushes. The Officer approached the male with the bucket and observed six small Black Sea Bass on the ground. The Officer placed the male party in handcuffs and recovered the fish. He escorted the male party back to the vessel and the three other occupants. The Officer asked all four individuals if there were any more Black Sea Bass in the vessel. They all responded no. click here to read the story 11:46
Tribute – Wake held for skipper who mysteriously disappeared at sea
A wake has given closure to friends of a Coast fisherman who is believed dead after his fishing trawler disappeared off the Fraser Coast late last year. Grant Sainty, 60, was skipper of the Mooloolaba-based Night Raider which mysteriously vanished along with fellow fishermen, Port Macquarie father-of-six Doug Hunt, 38, and another man aged 24. The tragedy began to unfold on November 11 when the trawler left Urangan, in Hervey Bay, about 9.45pm. Between 80 to 100 people showed up to former fisherman Jeffery Davis’ home to pay their respects and share stories. click here to read the story 11:14
Florida Keys seafood industry begins gear recovery after Hurricane Irma
To find the lobster, Florida Keys commercial fishers must first track down gear scattered or destroyed by Hurricane Irma. “Just like on shore, the underwater has patterns of destruction,” Bill Kelly, executive director of the Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association, said Thursday. “Some areas have suffered major devastation, really hard hit,” he said. “Other areas are not so bad.” One large Middle Keys family operation estimates having lost 6,000 traps, Kelly said. click here to read the story 11:00
FISH-NL says proposed Liberal tax changes will hurt inshore harvesters when they sell out; drive up the cost of licences
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Monday, Sept. 25th, 2017 The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) says proposed federal tax changes will negatively impact many inshore harvesters when they sell out. “Harvesters do not have pension plans so the money from the sale of their licence is their retirement plan,” says Ryan Cleary, President of FISH-NL. “The changes to capital gains will mean many inshore harvesters will have less to live on in their retirement years, which may actually drive up the cost of fishing licences.” click here to read the story 09:27
UK Fishermen enjoy ‘black gold rush’ as demand for cuttlefish hits all time high
Fishermen from across the UK are flocking to the South West to land the inky mollusc – which is related to the squid – in record numbers. They are taking advantage of the lack of quotas with 100 tonnes being landed by just five or six boats. Last week a record £700,000 worth of cuttlefish was put through the tills at Brixham fish market in Devon with prices at an all-time high of £5 a kilo. And struggling British fishermen say they could be an unexpected saviour of the local economy. Skippers have descended on waters around Brixham from as far away as Scotland and Northern Ireland to take advantage. Many boats are being double crewed and only resting in port for the bare minimum of time to maximise the amount of they are able to catch. click here to read the story 09:16
Controlling Agreements – DFO cracks down on fishing licences it says are fronts for corporations
Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans is taking action against more Atlantic fishermen it says are holding inshore fishing licences as fronts for corporations. The department says it has notified a number of fishermen in “controlling agreements” that their licences are forfeit. “There are a number of cases that we’ve told the individuals that we believe they are in a controlling agreement. We’ve told them we believe their licences are not eligible for renewal,” says Morley Knight, assistant deputy minister for DFO. Such licences are known in the industry as company licences. A fisherman holds the inshore licence — as required by DFO — but in name only. click here to read the story 07:59
Move aimed at halting backdoor corporate takeover of inshore fisheries – Corporate interests fighting back click here to read the story 12:48
Day’s of Reckoning – Feds seek prison time for Carlos Rafael; sentencing Monday, Tuesday
More than a year and half after “The Codfather” was arrested, the fate of Carlos Rafael and 13 of his fishing permits will be decided Monday and Tuesday. In March, Rafael, 65, pleaded guilty to falsifying fishing quota, bulk cash smuggling and tax evasion. His sentencing was originally scheduled for June 27. A few delays later, the case is set to wrap up Monday and Tuesday in front of Judge William Young in U.S. District Court in Boston. The government and the defense each filed to the court Wednesday their recommendation for Rafael’s sentencing. Here’s a summary of the nearly 70 pages of documents. click here to read the story 07:51
‘The Codfather’ case puts federal fishing regulations to the test – For 30 years, Carlos Rafael, better known in New England fishing circles as “the Codfather,” has brazenly billed himself as the industry’s most successful outlaw. click here to read the story 13:19
Fishery management goes back many decades
Beginning in the early 1970s, I became interested in fishery management. The declining number of striped bass or rockfish caught my attention, and I tried to help the situation the best way I knew how. I became a member of Save Our Stripers and then a part of Bob Pond’s effort to get the government to pay attention to his studies on the Nanticoke River that indicated there was something wrong with the eggs carried by female rockfish. Then there was a group of watermen in the Upper Chesapeake Bay that tried to establish a hatchery in Elkton. I went with them to collect males and females and then breed them in tanks before placing the tiny fry in ponds once used to grow catfish. Unfortunately, one pond still held a few catfish that were very happy to see all that food dropped in their laps. click here to read the story 16:43
Sept. 25th – Celebrating The Iconic Maine Lobster Industry On National Lobster Day
For the third year in a row the Maine Lobster industry is gearing up to celebrate National Lobster Day on September 25th. Maine Lobster is an American icon that has been enjoyed by diners across the world for centuries.,, “Most people don’t know that the best time to enjoy a Maine Lobster is during late summer and fall, which is why we celebrate National Lobster Day on September 25th,” said Dave Cousens, Maine Lobsterman. “It’s important to us that we bring attention to our industry during the time when our catch is at its highest.” click here to read the story 14:17
South Atlantic Fishery Management Council meeting in Charleston September 25-29, 2017
The public is invited to attend the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council to be held at the Town & Country Inn, 2008 Savannah Highway, Charleston, S.C. Complete (revised) Agenda Click here for details Webinar Registration: Listen Live, Click here To visit the SAFMC click here 13:59
