Daily Archives: December 18, 2017
F/V Misty Blue: Bodies of missing fishermen found and recovered
The bodies of the two missing fisherman from the Misty Blue have been found by state police divers, a department spokesman announced this evening. “Our divers recovered two bodies from the sunken vessel Misty Blue today. The first recovery was at 10:30 a.m., the second at 4:20 p.m. We offer our deepest condolences to their families. I have no further information to relay,” said spokesman Dave Procopio. The search for the missing men was called off Dec. 5. That same night state police announced they had found the sunken boat. click here to read the story. 18:51
Canada is investing in science to protect our waters from oil spills
The Government of Canada is committed to keeping our marine and coastal areas clean and safe for the benefit of current and future generations. That is why we are taking concrete action, under the Oceans Protection Plan, to protect our marine and coastal areas from potential oil spills. Today, the Honourable Scott Brison, President of the Treasury Board and Member of Parliament for Kings-Hants announced on behalf of the Honourable Dominic LeBlanc, Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, more than $80 million in new science funding for new partnerships, improved knowledge and new technologies that will help mitigate and prevent marine incidents such as oil spills. Why not stop drilling then? click here to read the press release 15:47
State Police Divers Search for F/V Misty Blue Fishermen
State police divers are searching the waters off Nantucket for two fishermen who were aboard the vessel Misty Blue when it sank Dec 4, a spokesman said. Lt. Tom Ryan a Massachusetts State Police spokesman, confirmed today that divers are searching for the two missing fishermen. He did not have any other details. Mondays dive followed the postponement of at least five State Police dives because of weather conditions. click here to read the story 14:53
Sanfilippo resigns from Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission
Longtime Gloucester fisherman Gus Sanfilippo has resigned from the state’s Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission, leaving Arthur “Sooky” Sawyer as the only Gloucester resident on the commission. Sanfilippo, appointed to the commission in May 2016 as part of Gov. Charlie Baker’s wholesale purge of existing commission members, said he resigned so he could spend more time fishing.,, Sanfilippo’s resignation leaves Sawyer, who also serves as president of the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association, as the solitary Gloucester resident on the commission — though member Louis D. Williams, who resides in Salem, lists Gloucester as his principal port for lobstering. click here to read the story 11:44
Kodiak officials prepare for ‘disaster’: An 80 percent decline in Gulf cod catches in 2018
Kodiak officials already are drafting a disaster declaration due to the crash of cod stocks throughout the Gulf of Alaska. The shortage will hurt many other coastal communities as well. Gulf cod catches for 2018 will drop by 80 percent to just under 29 million pounds in federally managed waters, compared to a harvest this year of nearly 142 million pounds. The crash is expected to continue into 2020 or 2021. Cod catches in the Bering Sea also will decline by 15 percent to 414 million pounds. In all, Alaska produces 12 percent of global cod fish. click here to read the story 09:12
Bertie, lobsterman to The Queen, dies aged 80
A former Cardigan Bay fisherman who made world news when the Royal Yacht Britannia stopped and The Queen purchased lobsters from him, has died at his Poppit Sands home. Boat owner Bertram Wynn, popularly known as Bertie, along with crew member and close friend Robert ‘Tonka’ Rees, made daily trips to sea from their Cei Bach base near Poppit to pick up and set strings of lobster pots. In the summer of 1989 they were a few miles off Cardigan Island when to their amazement the Royal Yacht, conveying The Queen for her annual holiday at Balmoral in Scotland, stopped and the royals waved to them. click here to read the story 08:39
What’s fair in breaking up the empire of ‘the Codfather’?
Randy Cushman, a fourth generation fisherman in Maine, knows what the crimes of Carlos Rafael cost him.,,, Rafael, whose downfall came after he boasted of his scheme to undercover IRS agents posing as Russian mobsters, is now serving a 46-month sentence in federal prison.,,, Senator Elizabeth Warren fired off a letter in August warning of “needless, immense damage” if permits leave New Bedford. Governor Charlie Baker asked that the permits at least stay in Massachusetts. click here to read the story 07:16
