Monthly Archives: April 2018
Coast Guard to Remove 1,500 Gallons of Fuel From Burnt Ship Currently Docked Along Eureka’s Waterfront
The Coast Guard is coordinating fuel removal and salvage operations Thursday for a fishing vessel that caught fire Wednesday near Eureka. Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Humboldt Bay pollution responders have determined the 47-foot vessel, Midori, is safe to tow to the Eureka Municipal docks, where a reported 1,500 gallons of diesel will be removed before the boat is salvaged. Fuel removal has not been scheduled. >click to read<23:17
FISH-NL calls for IMMEDIATE ACTION on northern cod, including moratorium on seismic; harvest of more seals
The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) recommends Ottawa follow scientific advice on northern cod and restrict removals from all sources to the lowest possible level until the stock clears the critical zone. FISH-NL also calls for an immediate freeze to all scheduled offshore seismic activity off the province’s east coast, support for the taking of the entire seal quota, the introduction of tags in the food fishery, and the ordering of an independent review of “epic” federal fisheries mismanagement in the Newfoundland and Labrador region. >click to read<21:22
‘Two guys are doing all of the work’: Orcas’ inbreeding may devastate the population
Just two male whales fathered more than half the calves born since 1990 in the population of southern-resident killer whales, a sign of inbreeding, scientists have learned. “It was a shocker to find out two guys are doing all of the work,” said Ken Balcomb, director of the Center for Whale Research and an author on a paper published this week in the peer-reviewed scientific journal Animal Conservation. The findings are based on a new genetic analysis of the whales that frequent Washington’s Salish Sea and Puget Sound. >click to read<20:15
UFA Announces Officer and Executive Committee Changes
United Fishermen of Alaska (UFA) announced the transition in its leadership effective April 15, with the election of Matt Alward succeeding Jerry McCune as president, Bob Kehoe replacing Alward as vice president, and new executive committee members Rebecca Skinner and Sue Doherty. Jerry McCune has served most recently as UFA president since 2014, as well as from 1992 to 1996, and has served as a paid or volunteer lobbyist for UFA throughout the past two decades. He was named to the UFA Alaska Seafood Industry Hall of Fame among the initial inductees in 2009, and will continue to serve on the UFA executive committee. Matt Alward represents North Pacific Fisheries Association on the UFA board and,,,>click to read<18:37
Haines Fishermen’s Alliance to advocate for salmon, habitat in face of large mine
A new Haines fishermen’s group called the Haines Fishermen’s Alliance will work to advocate for salmon and salmon habitat. “It is a group of fishermen outside of the group that was already started and has been around for many, many years, which is the Lynn Canal Gillnetters Association, a group of like-minded people who have serious questions about having a large-scale industrial mine above the watershed that is feeding our industry, our fish,” said Haines resident JR Churchill, who helped form the group. >click to read<17:11
Fishermen air concerns about Vineyard Wind
Looking to create a sea change in energy production in Massachusetts, Governor Charlie Baker signed “An Act to Promote Energy Diversity” with overwhelming bipartisan support in 2016. A key provision of the legislation mandated that utilities solicit long-term contracts with offshore wind farm developers, with the goal of adding 1,600 megawatts of offshore wind power by 2027. Fast-forward to Tuesday night, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hebrew Center, where federal and state officials, along with representatives from Vineyard Wind, gathered for a “scoping session” to hear how Islanders feel about having the first large-scale offshore wind farm in the United States – 106 turbines, 700 feet tall, spaced about a mile apart, covering 167,000 acres>click to read<15:47
Nova Scotia Lobster Fishermen Fed Up with Mis-Communication By DFO
Lobster fishermen in Southwestern, Nova Scotia are frustrated and disappointed with the lack of direction, mis-communication, and overall support from Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s (DFO) regional management. Five separate fishermen’s associations joined forces in 2017 to form the Southwest Lobster Science Society (SWLSS) to work towards a partnership-based approach to fisheries management and conservation; a move which was touted to be a historic partnership between industry, environmental non-governmental organisations (ENGOs) and regulators. Yet, the newly formed partnership has struggled to move forward as the regulators (DFO) >click to read<11:34
Wind, ice influence price of lobster
Speculate. That’s about all fishers, or anyone else, can do about the season-opening price for lobster in any given year, and Ken Blanchard shrugs off any suggestion it will go much above $8 a pound starting out. Bluster among landlubbers has it nearly twice that, $15. With bigger wind to deal with, Blanchard, who makes a living on live-catch lobster and crab as a licensed fisher plying waters of the outer Bay of Islands, sees active storms and bigger local backwater icefields on Penguin Arm and Goose Arm as more pressing concerns as the harvest looms. >click to read<09:07
Coast Guard comes to aid of boat on fire off coast of Trinidad
A Coast Guard Sector Humboldt Bay MH-65 Dolphin helicopter and four-member crew were dispatched to an area about 12 miles off the Trinidad coast this morning after reports of a boat on fire were received. The fishing vessel Midori called the Coast Guard just before 9 a.m. and reported that they had a fire on board. The five people on board Midori soon abandoned the burning vessel and got into a life raft. They received assistance from a second fishing boat, the Pacific Bully,,, >Video click here<>click to read<21:15
Ice still holding up crab fishery
The Canadian Coast Guard still has about five to seven days of ice-breaking operations around New Brunswick’s Acadian Peninsula, the acting superintendent of Ice Operations Atlantic, Trevor Hodgson, reported Wednesday. Ice had started its normal regression from the Gulf of St. Lawrence by early March but a few days of northeasterly winds in mid-March reversed that trend. “It hit the Gulf pretty hard, he said. “It essentially took all the ice that was in the Gulf and compacted it into three big piles,”,, >click to read<20:49
Despite sector shuffle, New Bedford fishermen will still be…
Whispers filled the convention room at the Hilton Wednesday as the dozens in attendance attempted to count the raised hands, which signified votes of the New England Fishery Management Council. The three attempts to accurately tally the votes only added to the drama of a discussion that involved a groundfishing ban that’s affected New Bedford since November. In the end, the vote didn’t provide a resolution for those fishermen out of work and the shoreside business affected by the ban. <click to read<18:27
Bluffton has the last hand-shucking oyster house in SC; owner wants to ‘keep it alive’
A new video shows viewers a Lowcountry maritime tradition that hasn’t changed in more than a century. The video, with sweeping views from high above the May River, puts a spotlight on traditional oyster farming with the Bluffton Oyster Company, reported to be the last hand-shucking oyster house in South Carolina.”Basically what we’re doing now is the exact same methods that were done back in the early 1900s when there were 25 or 30 almost identical places doing the same thing,” the business’ owner Larry Toomer, also Bluffton’s mayor pro tempore, says. Watch the video >click to read<17:23
Charges filed in high-grading case against Ilwaco charter skippers
Several local charter skippers and crewmen could soon be reeling in hefty fines and jail sentences. Following a nine-month Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife investigation, the state in early April filed a total of 37 criminal charges against six men affiliated with Pacific Salmon Charters: David Gudgell, 57, of Seaview; Robert Gudgell, 56, of Longview; Thomas Merriman, 61, of Sammamish; Brian Cables, 59, of Ilwaco; Patrick Gore, 28, of Deer Island, Ore.; and Richard Mercado, 52, of Tacoma. Investigators say the men systematically urged,,, >click to read<14:55
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 49ft. 11in. Lobster/Longliner, 6 Cylinder Volvo
Specifications, information and 33 photos >click here< To see all the boats in this series, >Click here<12:44
Sustainable Shark Bill Recognizes Sacrifices of U.S. Fishermen, Fin Ban Undermines Them
At a House Natural Resources subcommittee hearing today, John Polston, a fisherman and member of the Sustainable Shark Alliance (SSA), testified in support of legislation that would promote shark conservation by incentivizing other nations to meet the same high standards of sustainability as U.S. shark fishermen. In testimony before the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans, Mr. Polston, owner of King’s Seafood in Port Orange, Florida, praised the Sustainable Shark Fisheries and Trade Act (SSFTA) as a “proactive bill that levels the playing field for American fishermen.”>click to read<11:16
NOAA ship crashes in Seattle’s Lake Washington Ship Canal
A research vessel with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) crashed Monday while passing through Seattle’s Montlake Cut of the Lake Washington Ship Canal, according to witnesses and a spokesman for the agency. The incident — which resulted in damage to one of the ship’s propellers, hull dents and paint scrapes — remains under investigation, NOAA spokesman David Hall said in an email. The boat, which the agency calls The Rainier, “made contact with the seabed and a concrete wall,” Hall said. No injuries were reported. >click to read<10:50
Billfish Conservation Act: Hawaii seafood wholesalers fear Congress could block mainland marlin exports
Last year, Garden & Valley Isle Seafood, Inc. exported roughly 300,000 pounds of freshly-caught marlin to the mainland. The sales added up to nearly $1.5 million worth of striped marlin, blue marlin and spearfish to wholesalers, supermarkets, chefs and restaurants. Hawaii seafood exporters fear those sales may soon suffer serious slowdowns – more specifically, that Congress is about to pull the plug on that lucrative mainland marlin market. Bills in both the U.S. Senate and U.S. House call for amending the Billfish Conservation Act to prevent the commercial export of marlin caught in Hawaiian waters to the mainland. >click to read<10:08
Investment pool could help sustain fishing on Washington coast
One of the knottiest problems confronting the Lower Columbia commercial fishing fleet is how to enable the next generation to begin the costly climb into owning their own permits. A new private $2 million investment pool aims to facilitate a “permit bank” — a kind of matchmaking service between willing sellers and qualified buyers who agree to keep their boats anchored in the economy of Ilwaco, Chinook and Nahcotta. >click to read<08:54
Norm Peters, the bearded skipper of North Rustico, dies
One of Prince Edward Island’s best known fishermen has died. Norm Peters, known as the bearded skipper, fished lobster out of North Rustico, and ran tours when the lobster season was done. Peters was a common sight on the Island’s tourism promotions. In 2012, he represented the Island at the China Fisheries and Seafood Expo, where he attracted a lot of attention, even appearing on the front page of a Beijing newspaper. >click to read<19:12
The Sting – Houston restaurants, fish markets cited for illegally purchasing game fish
Nineteen Houston-area restaurants and fish markets have racked up more than 150 citations after they were caught illegally purchasing game fish from undercover officers during a recently completed sting, officials announced Tuesday. A two-year operation conducted by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department’s law enforcement division found that the restaurants and fish markets were willing to bypass legitimate commercial fish dealers and purchase saltwater fish in the black market. Those fish included sea trout, red drum (redfish), red snapper, Southern flounder, black drum, catfish and croaker. >click to read<18:21
THREATENED – Scallop fishing off the coast of Long Island
Scallop fisherman Chris Scola pilots his 39-foot dredging boat out of the port at Montauk, steaming 10 miles out to sea. The bearded 44-year-old captain says if Gov. Andrew Cuomo achieves his dream of creating 2.4 gigawatts of offshore wind energy, fishermen will have to steer clear of any giant turbines placed on top of their rich scallop beds. Scallopers see offshore wind development as a threat to their livelihoods and are suing the federal government to protect their fishery, potentially throwing a wrench in Cuomo’s master plan. 14 photos >click to read<16:56
Iceland company to resume commercial hunting of fin whales
A whaling company in Iceland said Tuesday it is preparing its fleet to bring commercial hunting of fin whales back to the Nordic island nation after a two-year freeze. Whaling company Hvalur hf (Whale Inc.) said it is readying two vessels for the 100-day summer whaling season. Fin whale hunting stopped in Iceland after the 2015 hunt, when Japanese authorities refused to import Iceland’s catch because of unmet health code requirements. Fin whales are the world’s second-largest whales after blue whales, and Iceland is the only country where the marine mammals can be hunted commercially. >click to read<15:24
Trump administration defends Obama’s Atlantic monument – Requests Judge dismiss Fishermen’s lawsuit
The Trump administration on Tuesday defended an underwater monument established by former President Barack Obama to protect marine life in the Atlantic Ocean and asked a judge to dismiss a lawsuit from fishermen trying to eliminate it. The fishing groups sued in federal court in Washington, challenging the creation of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument by the Democratic former president in 2016. It’s a 5,000-square-mile area off of New England that contains fragile deep sea corals and vulnerable species of marine life, such as right whales. >click to read< 13:22
Get your fresh, wild caught seafood while you can
Get your fresh, wild caught seafood while you can. That’s the message from third generation Bowen-based commercial fisherman Terry Must. Mr Must has been fishing commercially for 35 years. He said in that time his access to fishing waters off Bowen has been cut by 50 per cent. “We’ve lost half of the area we used to be able to fish,” he said. He said governments and green groups had been nibbling away at the commercial fishing sector for the past 20 years. He warns it could reach the stage where the consumption of wild caught seafood in Australia becomes a thing of the past. >click to read<11:19
Green Insanity: Offshore Wind Project Cost Mind-Boggling $10K Per KW
Off of the shore of Block Island on the Rhode Island coast, five wind turbines are operating and supplying power to the island. It took years of state and federal policymaking, environmental impact assessments, and town hall meetings for the 30-megawatt wind farm to come to fruition due to its cost and degradation of vistas. It cost $300 million—$10,000 per kilowatt—about 10 times more than the cost of a new natural gas combined cycle unit. Further, it is 55 percent more costly than what the Energy Information Administration (EIA) expects a first-of-a-kind offshore wind unit to cost—$6,454 per kilowatt. >click to read<09:22
Fishermen fear fallout from proposed wind farm project
Comments surrounding Vineyard Wind’s offshore wind projects filled the Waypoint Convention Room on Monday night and they came from a diverse group ranging from climate change deniers to environmentalists. But the main discussion revolved around jobs. Fishermen strongly criticized the process with one saying he feared Europeans would commandeer all the jobs associated with offshore winds. >click to read<08:43
Series of Public Hearings on Offshore Wind Starts in New Bedford – >click to read<10:02
Newcastle Co-op braces for impact of seismic testing on commercial fishing industry
A lot of dead fish – that’s the fallout a Hunter commercial fishing industry leader expects after seismic testing is finished off the coast of Newcastle. Western Australia-based company Advent Energy received approval from the Commonwealth regulator in January to use an air gun to shoot acoustic pulses into the ocean floor in search of gas deposits about 30km off the east coast. The testing, which will take place over three to four days this week, was due to start last Monday but a cyclone in Queensland delayed the survey vessel’s journey to the Hunter. >click to read<21:51
Northern Peninsula harvesters surprised and disappointed by crab price announcement
Harvesters in the 3K region of the Great Northern Peninsula experienced a slight 2 per cent increase in crab quota this year. But the price designation of $4.55 – a price far below what they had hoped for – has many in this fishery frustrated and seeking answers. Englee fisherman Ronald Patey says without a better price for this new crab quota, which is roughly half of what it was in years past, harvesters will struggle to make ends meet. Chair of St. Anthony’s Port Authority Ernest Simms says the latest announcement around crab prices is a definite disappointment. >click to read<20:14
12-year-old boat builder unveils Jacob’s Pride in Winterton
Twelve-year-old Jacob Hiscock has interests that aren’t necessarily the norm for kids his age in Newfoundland and Labrador. He’s not interested in working in an office when he grows up and instead plans on making a career on the water, whether it’s with the coast guard, as a fisherman, or as a boat builder. With his grandfather Frank French, Hiscock has made some major strides on his latest effort at boat building with Jacob’s Pride, a five-foot wooden boat that just touched down on the water in Winterton. >click to read<18:35
Gregory Mayhew has passed away
Gregory Mayhew, 72, died peacefully at his home in West Tisbury on Wednesday evening, April 11, enveloped by the love of his family. Greg battled chronic illness for many years, although this was rarely apparent, due to his ready smile and upbeat nature. Gregory was born Sept. 19, 1945, at the Martha’s Vineyard Hospital. He was the third of Benjamin C. Mayhew Jr. and Eileen (Sullivan) Mayhew’s five children.,, Fishing was in Greg’s blood from birth, and was a family affair. >click to read<16:30
