Daily Archives: July 13, 2018
Washington State Ferries vs crab pots: The price of the conflict
The summer season is a very busy time for the Washington State Ferries when several million people are expected to catch a boat. But it is also a busy time for crab fishermen. However, improperly set crab pots can halt ferry travel. “We actually had five ferries damaged by crab pots. Two of them were only superficial damage and it only took them out of service for a few hours,” Captain Scott Freiboth from the Washington State Ferries. “We used a submersible remote-controlled robot to asses that damage and were able to repair them almost immediately. The other three vessels were pulled from service which cut into our available ferries.” >click to read<21:07
Shem Creek’s Wando dock up for sale, one of last for area shrimp boats
One of Shem Creek’s last remaining shrimp boat docks is quietly up for sale. The loss of the Wando dock could be the tipping point for the vanishing fleet in the creek made famous by its hanging nets. The Wando dock is one of the last three commercial docks mooring shrimp boats that are a picturesque hallmark of the creek. Five boats now tie up there — about half the fleet that once existed. In previous years, it was common to see shrimp boats tied off three or more abreast and their catch sold from the docks. Losing it could mean those boats would have nowhere else to tie off, much less sell their shrimp. It also could put more development pressure on the owners of the other two. >click to read<19:32
Seafood Processing: How robots can help local fisheries
New England is known for being an excellent source of lobster and other seafood. But while fishing is done locally, much of the processing is outsourced to other countries.,,, Northeastern University professor Taskin Padir is hoping to change that. He was selected to lead a new project to bring collaborative robots developed at the university into processing plants at America’s busiest fishing port, located in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The goal, he said, is to increase production and efficiency, keep workers safe, and stimulate local job growth. Called Collaborative Robotics to Foster Innovation in Seafood Handling, or the FISH project, this is one of 14 robotics-related challenges recently announced Advanced Robotics for Manufacturing (ARM). <click to read<17:09
East End forum on potential offshore wind turbine sites turns tense
A public forum on potential offshore wind farm sites turned tense as East End commercial fishing representatives railed against the renewable energy source and its potential impact on their industry. The forum, held Wednesday at the Montauk Community Center, was dominated by commercial fishermen who largely said none of the proposed sites were fitting. “These should be removed off our fishing grounds completely,” said Bonnie Brady, executive director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association. Those who spoke declined to suggest the western sites as appropriate, saying they didn’t want to hurt colleagues’ livelihoods either. >click to read<13:56
Supporting Stonington Fishermen, Courtney Stands Alone from Connecticut Delegation backing HR-200
Representative Joe Courtney was the lone member of the Connecticut delegation to vote in favor of a reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, a 1976 law that governs marine fisheries management in U.S. waters. The bill was opposed by all but a handful of Democrats,,, The bill also includes a measure he sought to allow for commercial fishing boats to be used by the government when it surveys northeastern waters to establish what fish are prevalent. Currently, the trawling is done by a vessel owned by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that is unreliable. >click to read<11:36
The secret life of lobster (trade): Could we be in hot water?
In a paper published in Frontiers in Marine Science, researchers, including lead author Joshua Stoll of the University of Maine School of Marine Sciences and the Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, map the global trade routes for lobster and quantify the effect they have on obscuring the relation between those who catch the valuable crustacean and those who ultimately eat it. The team’s findings indicate that in today’s hyper-connected world, a growing number of nations are acting as “middlemen” in the supply chain. This makes it increasingly difficult to trace where seafood goes and difficult to anticipate changes in market demand. >click to read<10:30
NTSB Says Icing Caused Fatal Sinking of FV Destination in Bering Sea, issues related Safety Alert
The National Transportation Safety Board has issued a marine accident brief >click to read<and a related safety alert>click to read< warning mariners of the dangers of icing following the agency’s investigation of the sinking of the fishing vessel Destination in the Bering Sea last February with the loss of all six crew members. The 110-foot, 196-gross ton, fishing vessel Destination sank in frigid, remote waters 2.6 miles northwest of St. George Island, Alaska, on February 11, 2017. >click to read<09:36
Poachers stealing lobsters from traps off Sainte-Anne-des-Monts in the Gaspé
A pilot project to determine the viability of lobster fishing near Sainte-Anne-des-Monts, off the north coast of the Gaspé Peninsula, is being bedeviled by whoever is stealing lobsters from fishermen’s traps. Four fishing boats — two belonging to the Malecite Nation and two to non-Indigenous fishermen — have been authorized by Fisheries and Oceans Canada to catch lobsters in the area this season. It’s part of an “exhaustive scientific process” Fisheries and Oceans is carrying out to determine whether lobster fishing in the area is sustainable, said Guy-Pascal Weiner, commercial fisheries co-ordinator for the Malacites in Cacouna, near Rivière-du-Loup. >click to read<08:41
At 75, Capt. John Rade Still the ‘High Hook’
A survey probably isn’t needed, but if you ask just about any experienced fisherman who shuffles along in his or her weathered oilskins and deck boots among the well-used docks and boats of Montauk Harbor who is the king of rod-and-reel commercial fishing (a “pinhooker” in local slang), most are likely to agree that John Rade, better known as Johnny, is the one who wears the crown. The legend of Captain Rade’s unique ability to catch fish runs long and deep, more than half a century on the water to be precise, and at the age of 75, he is still at the top of his game. In commercial dockside talk, he is “high-hook” for the large catch of fish he packs out for market almost every day in season. >click to read<08:02
