Daily Archives: October 11, 2017
Canning conundrum Slow tuna season cuts cannery production
ASTORIA — Back-to-back poor albacore tuna seasons have slashed production for canneries on both sides of the Columbia. In Astoria, Northwest Wild Products has canned approximately half their typical total, about 25 cases, an amount they say will likely sell out before the New Year. Sportmen’s Cannery in Seaview reported canning around 8,000 pounds of albacore — 20,000 pounds less than last season. Sportsmen’s Cannery co-owner Tina Ward estimated that tuna canning, including retail sales and processing for sport fishermen, usually accounts for “at least 70 percent” of their business. click here to read the story 21:52
Legislative Hearing on Endangered Species Act, Hydropower Bills – Thursday, October 12, 2017 10:00 AM – Watch Live.
H.R. 3144 (Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers), To provide for operations of the Federal Columbia River Power System pursuant to a certain operation plan for a specified period of time, and for other purposes. – H.R. 3916 (Rep. Ken Calvert), To amend the Endangered Species Act of 1973 to vest in the Secretary of the Interior functions under that Act with respect to species of fish that spawn in fresh or estuarine waters and migrate to ocean waters, and species of fish that spawn in ocean waters and migrate to fresh waters. “Federally Integrated Species Health (FISH) Act” Starts 10:00, click here to read the info 18:59
FFAW-Unifor legal action – threatening to sue its own members who speak out against it.
Well-known Port Saunders fisherman Conway Caines received a registered letter today from the FFAW demanding a retraction/apology for statements he made on VOCM’s Open Line in mid-September. Caines’ comments were critical of the FFAW over the 2016 scallop decision in which the Supreme Court of Newfoundland and Labrador ruled in favour of scallop fishermen who took on the union over a compensation fund for lost fishing grounds in the Strait of Belle Isle. Copies of the registered letter are attached. click here 17:14
Time passes but the Otter remains the same
Walt Fossek is 88 years young, and his boat, the Otter, is 104 years old. Both wear their age well. Fossek is active, mentally sharp and a great storyteller and the Otter draws daily interest from tourists who wander around the marina, wondering at the elegant lines and excellent condition of the old wooden boat. If these visitors are lucky, Fossek will be on board and in a story mood, sharing tales from his 50 years as the owner and operator of the well-maintained antique vessel. Fossek celebrated his birthday last month by doing one of his favorite things in life — working on his boat. click here to read the story 14:46
BREAKING: Judge orders Carlos Rafael to forfeit 34 permits and 4 boats
Carlos Rafael must forfeit four fishing vessels with an appraised value of $2.2 million and 34 permits as ordered by District Judge William Young on Wednesday. In a 16-page Memorandum and Order Concerning Forfeiture, Young described the methods he used in determining forfeiture, which includes the “Bulldog” along with eight permits, the “Olivia and Rafaela” with its 11 permits, the “Lady Patricia” and its four permits and the “Southern Crusader II” and its 11 permits. click here to read the story 14:23
Codfather must forfeit 4 vessels, 34 permits – Young said he refrained from adding the 88-foot Athena and the 81-foot Hera II to the list of forfeited vessels because the two boats “have scalloping permits and scalloping is not involved in this wrongdoing.” click here to read the story 
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 38′ Young Bros. Tuna Boat, 440HP Yanmar 6LY3/STP Diesel
Specifications, information and 9 photos click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 14:00
‘Playing with fire’: Fishing’s cruel seas and even crueler economics
On Feb. 12, 2013, an unseasonably warm evening, five young fishermen departed the West Head wharf on Cape Sable Island, N.S. aboard the Miss Ally, a 12-metre Cape Islander. The men, spanning in age from 21 to 33 — three of them fathers of young children—were headed out in pursuit of halibut, a valuable winter catch. On deck that night were Billy Jack Hatfield, a recently-engaged 33-year-old; Cole Nickerson, 28, a burly and strong former junior hockey player; Joel Hopkins, a 27-year-old father of two who absolutely loved the thrill of fishing; and Tyson Townsend, 25, a gifted athlete with a seven-month-old daughter. At the wheel, piloting the boat into darkness, was Katlin Nickerson, Miss Ally’s 21-year-old captain and owner. click here to read the story 13:13
Fisherman says dispute not between natives, non-natives
When Alex McDonald went to check on his fishing boat in Comeauville on Monday, it was gone. Later that day a Department of Fisheries and Oceans patrol found the Buck and Doe burning on St. Marys Bay.,, “But I don’t believe it’s the (non-native) guys I fish beside. I think it’s outsiders that did this.” Two other boats that belong to non-Aboriginal fishermen, who also fish from Saulnierville, have been hit. The accusation by Wagner and other fishermen is that some non-native lobster dealers have been buying lobster from First Nations members while the season is closed. click here to read the story 11:37
Coast Guard, HFD rescue 20 fishermen from aground vessel off Honolulu
Twenty fishermen were transported to shore from an aground vessel less than a half mile off Honolulu early Wednesday morning. Honolulu Fire Department Jet Ski crews transported fishermen from the vessel to a Coast Guard 45-foot Response Boat-Medium for further transport to awaiting emergency responders at Ala Wai Harbor. A Coast Guard MH-65 helicopter crew hoisted two of the fishermen and the master of the vessel and transported them to Honolulu airport. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Honolulu received three reports of the 79-foot commercial fishing vessel Pacific Paradise grounded off Diamond Head click here to read the story 10:58
Cuomo threatens to sue if fluke quotas aren’t reallocated
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo threatened Tuesday to sue the federal government if two interstate fishery-management agencies meeting in December fail to reach an “equitable” redistribution of the coastwide quota for fluke. In a letter to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross on Tuesday, Cuomo wrote it was “imperative” that the federal and interstate agencies take “immediate action” to “reallocate” the quota for fluke “in a fair and equitable manner or New York will be forced to take legal action to protect the interests of fishermen in this state.” Cuomo gave the agencies until December to act. click here to read the story click here to read the letter 09:46
Alabama Red Snapper Reporting System – Snapper checks show fear of exceeding quota unfounded
Preliminary numbers from the Alabama Red Snapper Reporting System, aka Snapper Check, indicate the fear that Alabama anglers would exceed the 2017 quota were unfounded. “Using the Alabama Snapper Check numbers, we’re going to be well within the historic allocation for Alabama, so the 39-day season did not put us over, which was a concern for the commercial fishing community and part of the charter fishing community,” said Scott Bannon, Acting Director of the Alabama Marine Resources Division (MRD). “Now the concern we have is what the MRIP (Marine Recreational Information Program) numbers will show, and those numbers are not out yet.” click here to read the story 09:11
Legends of lure Demand soars for Andy Betnar’s Astoria-made Fatal Flash Lures
A commercial fishermen and fishing guide, Andy Betnar considers his other business a part-time hobby. That’s how it started anyway. It all began in 2008 when Betnar sought to re-engineer a legendary fishing lure, one that had become so renowned on the Willamette River that it was affectionately named the “Nelson Blade” after originator/creator Dudley Nelson. Nelson was an innovative Portland-area fisherman. He was famous for his homemade spoons and spinners, but never produced the lures commercially. Instead, Nelson regularly passed them to fishermen who happened to be on the same stretch of river and inquired about what he was using. As Nelson aged, dwindling availability of the lures prompted Betnar to recreate what many consider the best salmon fishing spinner. click here to read the story 08:36
Stock Island Fishermen bank on stone crab to salvage season
Commercial trap fishermen are banking on a healthy stone crab season to help cover losses from a shaky start to spiny lobster season that was more than disrupted by Hurricane Irma. Fishermen will start pulling their traps for stone crab season and harvesting crab claws on Sunday. The season runs through May 15. Thousands of spiny lobster traps were either destroyed, damaged or moved several miles when Hurricane Irma ravaged the Florida Keys on Sept. 10, a little more than a month after the lobster season started. On Tuesday, commercial fishermen Justin Martin and Patrick Brennan loaded stone crab traps onto a boat at the docks off Front Street on Stock Island. click here to read the story 08:01
