Monthly Archives: January 2018
SouthCoast fishermen call NOAA’s civil action against Carlos Rafael ‘overkill’
New Bedford- Current and former area fishermen balked at NOAA’s reach in its civil action against Carlos Rafael. “It’s total overkill,” said Stephen Lozinak, captain of fishing vessel Marsheen Venture and who has been fishing for more than five decades. “The whole thing is overkill. All it’s doing is hurting the workers in the city of New Bedford.” >click here to read <21:01
Montauk fishermen rescue dovekie, a tiny sea bird
A Montauk fishing boat traveling 60 miles south of Long Island rescued a penguin-like sea fowl called a dovekie struggling in the waters Thursday. Doug Davidson, a crew member of the Montauk-based Caitlin & Mairead, saw the tiny bird “having trouble in the waves” and used a shovel to help it aboard, said Bonnie Brady, executive director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association. Brady said 30-mph winds had whipped up 13- to 15-foot seas the night before, perhaps disorienting the dovekie. Her husband, Dave Aripotch, captains and owns the boat. >click here to read<18:28
Our View: Loss of Gillnetter magazine signals bellwether change
For all who care about the fishing industry and Columbia River heritage, the end of the Gillnetter is a sad occasion marking the close of an era (see “Magazine documented the life of fishermen,” The Daily Astorian, Jan. 8). Combined with the atrophying of the Columbia River Fishermen’s Protective Union and the death Jan. 8 of legendary Ilwaco fish processor Pierre Marchand Jr., the loss of fishing’s longtime trade publication signals a bellwether change. >click here to read the story< 17:51 
Coast Guard medevacs ill fisherman off Atlantic City, NJ
The Coast Guard medevaced a fisherman, who reportedly suffered from a respiratory issue Thursday, approximately 60 miles east of Atlantic City, New Jersey. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Delaware Bay’s command center were notified by crewmembers of the fishing vessel Illusion of the ailing crewmember at approximately 6 a.m. The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Willow, a 225-foot seagoing buoy tender homeported in Newport, Rhode Island, was directed by Sector Delaware Bay watchstanders to the Illusion and took the man aboard,,, >Video, click here < 15:35
NOAA Names Michael Pentony new Regional Administrator of Greater Atlantic Region
Today, NOAA Fisheries announced that Mr. Michael Pentony is the new Regional Administrator for NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office in Gloucester, Massachusetts. He will assume his new duties on January 22, 2018. Mr. Pentony has been with the agency since 2002, serving in a series of positions including as the Assistant Regional Administrator for the Sustainable Fisheries Division since 2014. He succeeds retiring Regional Administrator John Bullard who had been in the position since 2012. >click here to read< 15:04
US cold snap was a freak of nature, quick analysis finds
Consider this cold comfort: A quick study of the brutal American cold snap found that the Arctic blast really wasn’t global warming but a freak of nature. Frigid weather like the two-week cold spell that began around Christmas is 15 times rarer than it was a century ago, according to a team of international scientists who does real-time analyses to see if extreme weather events are natural or more likely to happen because of climate change. >click here to read< 12:46
Lobstermen speak out against proposal to have Maine’s entire fleet report data
Maine doesn’t require all of its lobstermen to share their fishing data, and they say reporting even 10 percent of the country’s largest lobster fishery is enough to give state and federal regulators statistically valid data. That’s the argument advanced by lobstermen, the Maine Lobstermen’s Association and the state Department of Marine Resources against a proposal for 100 percent reporting, at a hearing held Wednesday by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. >click here to read< 11:09
Speaking of America: ‘Here, you have the freedom’
When the communists came to his Vietnam town, fled to a fishing boat, jammed already with 50 of his wife’s family. As they cast off, they saw a barge filled with refugees sink, “and I saw a couple hundred people die in the water.,, Forty-two years later, he is a man content to see his sons and daughters make their own way as citizens here, even if they do not follow their father back to the sea. He made it here, he says, through exhausting days and nights, pulling shrimp aboard his trawler at sea for a week until the hold was full, and returning to port only long enough to unload and set out again. >click here to read< 10:23 
Commercial crab season to open Monday but local crabbers want another test done
Following several delays, the commercial Dungeness crab fishing season for Humboldt, Mendocino and Del Norte counties is opening Jan. 15, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Wednesday.,,, Trinidad commercial crabber Craig Goucher said there are currently no plans to set gear Jan. 12. Instead, he said, local crabbers plan to wait until Jan. 15 to drop gear. “We’re going to set some test gear out and get it processed and determine what the pick out is,” he said Wednesday afternoon. “We can legally get that sample on the 15th.” >click here to read< 09:34
Negotiations could further delay crab catch – Columbia crab fishermen can start placing their pots in the ocean Friday morning, but first they have to settle on a price with processors. >click here to read< 10:17
A unique educational experience, designed for fishermen, by fishermen
The Marine Resource Education Program (MREP) offers fishermen, and others with a stake in healthy fisheries, an opportunity to learn the basics of fisheries science and how the fishery management process works. It provides an inside look at the fisheries science and management processes, demystifies the acronyms and vocabulary, and equips fishermen with the tools to engage in shaping regulatory action and participating in collaborative science. MREP is offering two upcoming workshops that are organized and moderated by members of the local fishing community: >click here to read< 09:11
Oceantech company offers benefits for lobster industry
When Premier Stephen McNeil toured the Volta Labs startup house in Halifax last month, one company that seemed to catch his eye was SeaSmart, a new oceantech company based in Mahone Bay. Led by CEO Mark Lowe, the SeaSmart team has developed “smart lobster traps” that contain sensors to tell whether lobsters have entered the trap. The system tells fishermen, while they are still on dry land, whether there is enough product in their traps to justify going out to sea to harvest them. >click here to read<23:00
Commercial Dungeness Crab Season to Open in Northern California
The northern California Dungeness crab fishery in Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte counties will open 12:01 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 15, 2018. The opener will be preceded by a 64-hour gear setting period that will begin at 8:01 a.m. Jan. 12, 2018. California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Director Charlton H. Bonham had delayed the season a total of three times after crab quality test results in November and December indicated that crab were not ready for harvesting. Jan. 15 is the latest the Director can delay the season due to quality testing. >click here to read<21:23
NOAA’s civil action against Carlos Rafael involves scallop permits
NOAA seeks $900M, all permits from Codfather in civil action – On Wednesday, the federal agency responsible for managing the nation’s fisheries issued the charging documents against Rafael, his seafood company, Carlos Seafood Inc., and 28 other businesses entities related to the New Bedford fishing mogul — including two unnamed scallop captains from his fleet. >click to read the story< 20:28
NOAA’s civil action against Carlos Rafael involves scallop permits – new allegations involve misreporting in the scallop fishery >click to read the story<
Inside DFO’s Battle to Downplay a Deadly Farmed Salmon Disease
Part One of a series. Provincial lab played key role in denying existence of HSMI in BC. In 2002, Dr. Ian Keith, a senior DFO veterinarian, began noticing strange heart lesions when he examined Atlantic salmon from B.C.’s growing fish farm industry. Keith was likely the first to detect signs of Heart and Skeletal Muscle Inflammation. The disease, first found three years earlier in Norwegian farmed salmon, went on to plague the industry there, killing up to 20 per cent of salmon in some outbreaks. >click to read the story< 19:21
Part II: DFO’s Plan to Gut Rules Protecting Wild Salmon from Fish Farm Disease – Part two of a series. After court losses, federal government has new strategy to protect industry. >click here to read< 1/11/18 20:29
FISH-NL commends Ottawa on new lifeboat stations, but search-and-rescue helicopters still work banker’s hours
The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) says Ottawa’s commitment to new lifeboat stations in this province is commendable, but it’s not the No. 1 search-and-rescue issue facing mariners “The Canadian military’s Gander-based, search-and-rescue Cormorant helicopters are the fastest form of rescue and they still operate on banker’s hours,” says Ryan Cleary, President of FISH-NL. “A lifeboat won’t cut it when the survival time in the North Atlantic — in the absence of a survival suit — is measured in minutes.” click to read the press release 18:28
NTSB: Lack of preparation, training a factor in death of 2 on Alaska crab boat
On December 6, 2016, the motor vessel Exito slipped below the surface of icy Dutch Harbor waters, never to be seen again. Aboard when it sank were two men, contractors for Trident Seafoods. Their bodies were never recovered. Now, over two years later, the National Transportation Safety Board has released a report detailing several factors that it says could have saved the two men. click here to read the story 16:53
Boothbay Harbor Shipyard sold to Andy Tyska and Bristol Marine
Andy Tyska, president of Rhode Island-based Bristol Marine, has announced the acquisition of Boothbay Harbor Shipyard. Located at the head of Boothbay Harbor, the shipyard joins Bristol Marine’s two other locations of working waterfront–including boat yards in Bristol, Rhode Island, and Somerset, Massachusetts. A vital part of Maine’s shipbuilding tradition, Boothbay Harbor Shipyard has accommodated a wide range of vessels since its founding in the later 1800s — including tall ships and super yachts, tugboats and Navy vessels, sailing yachts and work boats. click here to read the story 13:46
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 41′ Norman Libby Lobster Boat, 750HP Iveco Diesel
Specifications, information and 6 photos click here To see all the boats in this series, Click here 12:20 
Tiny glass eel draws big money, political muscle and poachers
During the past few years, the GOP-controlled General Assembly has slashed the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries budget by about 40 percent, leaving departments understaffed and some employees bending under heavy workloads. At the same time, a review of more than 3,000 public documents shows that several elected and former state Department of Environmental Quality officials prompted what appears to be hundreds of hours of DMF time finding ways to justify obtaining a share of the federal glass eel quota to benefit just one company in Jones County — American Eel Farm, owned by Rick Allyn. click here to read the story 11:26
Lobsters must be comfortably numb before cooking: Swiss government
Switzerland has banned the common culinary practice of throwing fresh lobsters into boiling water as part of an overhaul of its animal protection rules. “Live crustaceans, including the lobster, may no longer be transported on ice or in ice water. Aquatic species must always be kept in their natural environment. Crustaceans must now be stunned before killing them,” say the rules adopted by the government on Wednesday that will take effect in March. click here to read the story 10:22
Private Oceans: The enclosure and marketisation of the seas
Neoliberalism, the restructuring of global capitalism that has taken place since the 1970s, has made commercial fishing vastly more profitable for corporations and large boat owners. Fish and ordinary fishers have fared much worse. Our oceans face overfishing, habitat destruction, pollution and a biodiversity crisis driven by warming water linked to climate change, while government policies exclude thousands of ordinary people from commercial fishing. Private Oceans: The enclosure and marketisation of the seas, examines the effects of one of the main causes of this exclusion, Individual Transferable Quotas (ITQs), pioneered in the 1980s in New Zealand fisheries, and further developed in Iceland through the 1990’s and now an intrinsic part of the Common Fisheries Policies (CFP) of the European Union. click here to read the story 08:58
Kodiak fishermen find extra work through halibut research amid stock concern
The Pacific halibut fishery may see a drop in stock over the next few years and the International Pacific Halibut Commission, which regulates the fishery, uses surveys in Kodiak waters to collect data.The surveys also give local fishermen another job to tackle during the winter season, especially with the recent announcement of the 80 percent cut to Pacific cod quota in 2018. click here to read the story 23:10
Trump administration backs off Florida drilling proposal
In the face of vocal bipartisan opposition, the Trump administration said Tuesday it would not allow offshore oil and gas drilling in Florida waters, partially rolling back a proposal it unveiled last week. “We are not drilling off the coast of Florida,” said Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke at a hastily called news conference in the Tallahassee airport after meeting with Gov. Rick Scott. click here to read the story 19:08 
Michelle Malkin Investigates – Preview: Fishing Wars | Drowning in Regulations
Commercial fishing boats in New England are going under at an alarming rate and hard-working families are being demonized by a multi-million-dollar environmental industry whose only product to sell is fear. In this edition, Michelle Malkin travels to the northeast to meet with those in the fishing industry to learn more about how they are drowning in government regulations. click here to watch the preview 16:47
Potting for cod in a Marlborough Sounds marine reserve
A while back we talked to Tom, a ranger in Akaroa who was working with MPI and NIWA to survey the marine reserves on Banks Peninsula. The survey looked at blue cod numbers in the two marine reserves, with the study allowing DOC to look at the effect those reserves are having on the wider Banks Peninsula fishery.,,, As the boat reached its first stop, the expert skipper flicked on his depth sounder to locate the band of rocky reef and rubble around the island where the crew would lower the first pot. Video, click here to read the story 14:58
Jersey UK: Foul weather hurts fishing industry’s peak period
Don Thompson said that although the weather was beginning to improve, fishermen would now need to spend days sorting out tangled fishing gear left in the sea during the storms. The poor weather also affected freight ships, which were unable to dock in the Island on a number of occasions, leading to a shortage of fresh food in supermarkets. Mr Thompson added: ‘I would say the guys have been able to get out about two days out of 20, some on only one [day] – it has been really severe. click here to read the story 12:56
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Drilling plan may not change much locally but still worries fishermen
Last week the Trump administration proposed to drastically increase the amount of Alaska waters open for oil and gas leasing. Along with keeping Cook Inlet open, it would also make areas near Kodiak and the Gulf of Alaska available for drilling, both of which are currently closed. Yet, it’s unclear if companies will be interested in drilling there even if the plan is approved. Still, the move worries local environmentalists and fishermen. click here to read the story 10:54
The Auction Block closes its doors as hope for sale dwindles
Fishermen in Homer will have one less fish buyer in town in 2018. The Auction Block announced via Facebook on Dec. 20 that it would officially be closing its doors. The fish buyer and processor entered bankruptcy back in September and has been working on selling the business to California-based Southwind Seafoods. But the deal may be in jeopardy after the City of Homer objected to the sale. The Auction Block has been one of Homer’s larger fish buyers for about 20 years and the business may live on under the Southwind Seafoods banner,,, click here to read the story 10:01
Untouched salmon
The future of commercial salmon processing will go online in Norway later this year when the machines take over a plant just north of the Arctic Circle. If the operation proves successful – and there is every indication it will – Alaska should get ready to see yet another radical change in the labor-intensive business that helped shape the territory and fire the push for Statehood in the 1950s. click here to read the story 09:25
