Daily Archives: May 4, 2018
Coast Guard medevacs 57-year-old fisherman 97 miles east of St. Catherines Sound
The Coast Guard medevaced a 57-year-old man Friday from a fishing vessel 97 miles east of St. Catherines Sound. Watchstanders at the Coast Guard’s Sector Charleston Command Center received notification from a crewmember aboard the 72-foot fishing vessel Lady Helena stating a crewmember was suffering from chest pains. A Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Air Station Savannah arrived on scene at 9:12 a.m., hoisted the crewmember and transported him back to the air station at 9:46 a.m. where EMS was waiting. -USCG-23:12
Fisheries and Oceans standing committee question why owner-operator system can’t work in B.C.
Young West Coast fishers made the trek to Ottawa, two in gumboots, to testify and advocate for change in British Columbia’s fisheries management system, causing an immediate ripple effect. Federal policymakers who are amending the Fisheries Act, or Bill C-68, have submitted a motion to study owner-operator fleets after listening to the independent fishers who want the policy enforced on the West Coast. In B.C., fishers lease quotas from owners who have purchased the fishing rights. Multinational companies, or foreign investors, can own quota and licenses on the West Coast, but not on the East Coast of Canada. >click to read<18:31
TRAP GEAR CLOSURE IN CAPE COD BAY EXTENDED THROUGH MAY 15TH
The Division of Marine Fisheries has enacted an emergency regulation to extend the Large Whale Trap Gear Closure for a portion of Cape Cod Bay through May 15th. Affected lobstermen may begin to set their gear on Wednesday May 16th. The duration of this closure extension may be shortened or further prolonged based on the results of continuing aerial surveys. This extended closure only applies within those waters of Cape Cod Bay south of 42° 08’ north latitude and those waters north of Cape Cod west of 70° 10’ west longitude (map). >click to read<16:06
Fisherman’s last stand: No one could save the captain who refused to abandon his boat
It sounded like a plane crash, a shuddering boom and scraping of metal as the Fisherman’s Provider II rammed up on Frying Pan Shoal, a lurking hunk of rock in the Atlantic Ocean, about two kilometres off Canso, N.S. The boat had pulled away from the wharf of the historic fishing village just a few hours before, geared up for a four- or five-day trip of catching halibut. Now she was in trouble. Stuck fast, while her crew — Roy Campbell, Anthony Cooke and Brian Sinclair —were panicking. The three men had been in their bunks and were jolted awake upon impact.,, The men wrestled into their survival suits, deploying the life raft, calling 911 and hollering for their captain, Roger Lynn Stoddard, to forget about the damn boat, put his suit on, get in the raft and come with them. But Stoddard wasn’t budging. And he wasn’t panicked. He was at the helm, reversing the vessel, trying to work her off the rocks,,, Big story >click to read<15:18
Amid crab industry labor shortage, Maryland Rep. Harris says approval of 15,000 guest worker visas ‘imminent’
Federal immigration officials have agreed to approve 15,000 new guest worker visas for seasonal work, including in a Maryland crab industry grappling with a significant labor shortage, U.S. Rep. Andy Harris said Thursday. U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services would not confirm any changes to its H-2B visa program, which brings 66,000 immigrants to the country for work that employers can show they are unable to hire Americans to do. >click to read<13:09
Late Petersburg man named 2018 Fisherman of the Year
United Fishermen of Alaska, the state’s largest organization for commercial fishermen, has posthumously named Michael Bangs of Petersburg as its Fisherman of the Year for 2018. Bangs helped develop the roe-on-kelp and dive fisheries in Southeast Alaska. He’s the former president of the Southeast Alaska Regional Dive Fisheries Association. Bangs had been chair of the Southeast Regional Subsistence Advisory Council and served on that body since 2003. He also served on the Petersburg Fish and Game Advisory Committee. Bangs passed away at his home in February.>click to read<12:29
FISH-NL reiterates call for province to allow in outside buyers in light of shrimp fiasco on Northern Peninsula
“Inshore harvesters are blocked from earning the best possible price for their shrimp by a pricing system that doesn’t work for them,” says Ryan Cleary, President of FISH-NL. “The situation is a mess, with harvesters warning of ‘war on the water,’ and it’s time for the province to get off its arse.” Inshore harvesters on the Great Northern Peninsula are reporting catch rates of shrimp in the Gulf of St. Lawrence to be “as good as they’ve been in their lifetimes,” but an unfair price is keeping 8-10 boats in communities like Port aux Choix and Port Saunders tied to the wharf. >click to read<10:47
Fishing lobster aboard the Jaxton Brock in the Northumberland Strait
The piercing sound of a winch shattered the predawn ocean calm as a yellow trap was hauled up from the Northumberland Strait’s pitch-black waters onto the Jaxton Brock’s deck at about 4:20 a.m. It was the first catch of many on Wednesday and inside the traps were a true Pictou County delicacy: lobsters..,, The Jaxton Brock is a brand-new vessel that still smells of fresh paint and is named for Warren and Suzanne’s grandson, expected later this year. Warren was proud of their boat’s performance. “It turns on a dime,” he said. >click to read<10:10
Maine Men Sentenced for Illegally Trafficking American Eels
Today, William Sheldon was sentenced in federal district court in Portland, Maine, to six months in prison followed by three years supervised release for trafficking juvenile American eels, also called “elvers” or “glass eels,” in violation of the Lacey Act,, Sheldon was also ordered to pay a fine of $10,000, forfeit $33,200 in lieu of a truck he used during the crime, and may not possess a license to purchase or export elvers as a special condition of his supervised release. Also sentenced today for elver trafficking offenses was Timothy Lewis, who received a sentence of six months in prison followed by three years supervised release, with the special condition that he too may not possess a license to purchase or export elvers. Lewis was also ordered to pay a $2500 fine. Thomas Reno was also sentenced today to one year probation. >click to read<08:57
