Daily Archives: July 28, 2018
Nearly 300 Sea Turtles Dead as Red Tide Plagues Southwest Florida
Hundreds of sea turtles have washed up dead along the southwest Florida coast as an ongoing red tide event persists in the waters. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has logged 287 sea turtle deaths since the virulent algal bloom started in October, the Associated Press reported. That figure is twice the average number of turtle deaths in those waters each year, Allen Foley of the commission’s Fish and Wildlife Research Institute told the AP on Thursday. Foley explained that the turtles get sick and die when their food gets contaminated by toxic bloom. >click to read<19:09
Shrimp boat worker found, accused of assaulting shipmates with sledge hammer
Lee County deputies arrested a shrimp boat worker who allegedly assaulted the boat’s captain and another worker with a sledge hammer before disappearing into the water off Fort Myers Beach on Monday, according to an incident report. Deputies led a search for Brandon Scerri, 23, after the boat docked outside of Trico Seafood on Fort Myers Beach and his shipmates reported that he had vanished. He was found “alive and well” Wednesday and was arrested on suspicion of aggravated battery shortly after. Scerri was taken to Lee County Jail, where he remains in custody. >click to read<13:13
Four P.E.I. fishermen net fines for illegal practices, charged under the federal Fisheries Act
Several lobster fishermen reeled in hefty fines Thursday for illegal fishing practices. The biggest hit was delivered to Eric Leard MacKinnon, 53, of Murray River. He was fined $28,200 and suspended the first day of the 2019 lobster fishing season after pleading guilty to hauling in 82 undersized lobsters. MacKinnon said he was prepared to pay the fine in full right away. He was nabbed on May 30 at Machon’s Point wharf following a routine inspection by fisheries’ officers. MacKinnon, like three other lobster fishermen appearing in provincial court in Georgetown Thursday, was charged under the federal Fisheries Act. >click to read<11:37
Harpswell lobster boat races returning Sunday
They’re back. The greatly missed and much-loved annual lobster boat races are returning to Harpswell on Sunday after a four-year hiatus. And it isn’t a day too soon. “The buzz around town has been insane,” said Larry Ward, the head of the Harpswell Lobster Boat Races Committee and a co-organizer of this year’s event. “It has been sorely missed.” The races, last held in 2013, begin at 10 a.m. in Pott’s Harbor. There will be 31 race classes, ranging from non-working boats to Novi boats, with first-, secondand third-place finishers. Ward said the race committee has secured more than $9,300 in cash, gift certificates and bank cards to award the winners. >click to read<11:16
Value of Bristol Bay salmon rises, even as the fish shrink
Bristol Bay’s strong salmon returns stand in stark contrast to other parts of Alaska where the fish have trickled in slowly or seemingly not at all. Statewide, though, fish of all species are coming in smaller. Here’s why. 2018 has been a year for the Bristol Bay record books as total sockeye run surpassed 61 million on Thursday, putting it just a half-million fish behind the largest run of 61.7 million in 1980. Bert Lewis oversees commercial fisheries in Bristol Bay, Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. He’s impressed at the strength of the Nushagak district’s run and even at Bristol Bay’s east-side districts, which came in “late but solidly.”>click to read<10:46
Today, from noon to 4 p.m. – Stonington fishermen holding open house to promote freshly caught seafood
As part of the Blessing of the Fleet, the fishermen of Stonington are sponsoring an open house at Gambardella Wholesale Fish Dealers at the Town Dock from noon to 4 p.m. to provide an inside look at how seafood is caught, processed and distributed. Local fishermen will be on hand to explain how the fishing equipment works and what it’s like to bring in the catch from out at sea. Visitors will also be able to tour the Regulus, a scallop boat, and the Tradition, a trawling boat. And there will be food. >click to read<09:33
On Long Island, fishing is a family business and a way of life
Mark and Mary Bess Phillips are among a dwindling number of commercial fishing families on Long Island. On Wednesday, July 25, they discussed their experiences while their boat the “Illusion” was docked at Greenport Harbor. >click to watch<08:34
