Daily Archives: August 31, 2018
PFD’s – A case for life jackets for all: By Roger R. Locandro
Andre Penton of Fogo Island died June 27 this year in a boating accident on a pond not far from his home in Joe Batt’s Arm. The Fogo Island community mourns his death, with condolences to his wife Rita, his three sons and their families. Although his death was not directly due to drowning, it brought back my own memories of dangers on the water.,, People drown. Don’t take any chances on or around the water. I took chances and almost paid for it with my life. Some years ago, I was commercial seining for salmon in the Gulf of Alaska, out of Cordova. >click to read<22:49
Fisherman saves dog in distress in the middle of Greenwich Bay
A local shellfisherman taking part in a boat race, winds up saving a dog in distress, found paddling in the middle of Greenwich Bay. Every Monday, a dozen or so boats with crews to match, use a ‘race’ as an excuse to unwind on Greenwich Bay. But Monday, August 20th was different. While onboard the Quing Long, quahogger by trade Jody King noticed what he first thought was a mop floating in the water. “I yelled at it and it turned around. God it’s eyes got about this big,” said King. He thinks the dog seemed like it had been in the water “at least, over an hour,” he said. Video, >click to read<19:46
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for August 31, 2018
>Click here to read the Weekly Update<, to read all the updates >click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here<17:14
California passes bill to ban drift net fishing
California is set to officially ban commercial fishermen from using drift nets off its coasts. The state legislature passed a bill Thursday that would make it ultimately unlawful for commercial fishers to use shark or swordfish drift gillnets, as well as troll lines and hand lines that are more than 900 feet in length, unless they are used as set lines. The law will set up an transition program to phase out fisherman’s use of shark or swordfish drift nets by offering incentives to those who voluntarily give up their previously received permit. The state would fund the transition by using $1 million in funds from its Ocean Protection Council for whale and sea turtle entanglement.,, The California state bill now awaits Gov. Jerry Brown’s (D) signature. He has until Sept 30. to sign it into law. >click to read<15:54
Catch and Release: Humpback snared in a fishing net
A group of 85 whale watchers witnessed humpback whale “Owl” thrash for 50 minutes while caught in a fishing net Thursday afternoon off the Isle of Shoals, said Peter Reynolds who led the tour. Jen Kennedy, executive director of the Blue Ocean Society for Marine Conservation, said the fishing net was deployed off the purse-seiner” vessel “Western Wave” and the net “completely encompassed the 32 year-old humpback.,, A Coast Guard spokesman said a Coast Guard boat patrolling at the time, about 2:15 pm Thursday, responded to the incident, took about 40 minutes to get there and by the time it did, the fishing net had been lowered and Owl was freed. >click to read<15:13
Coast Guard rescues 3 fishermen in response to EPIRB activation near Port Isabel, Texas
The Coast Guard rescued three crewmembers from a life raft after their fishing vessel caught fire approximately 40 miles east of Port Isabel, Texas, Friday morning. Eighth Coast Guard District watchstanders in New Orleans received an emergency position indicating radio beacon alert from the fishing vessel Master D, which provided an approximate location of the vessel. Coast Guard Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi watchstanders diverted the Coast Guard Cutter Coho to the location. The Coho crew located the fishing vessel on fire, as well as the three-person crew in a life raft nearby and transferred them aboard the cutter. >click to read<12:19
Scallop War – French fishermen vow to ‘use the heavy artillery’ in next Channel clash with English scallop rivals
French fishermen now appear to be planning to step up their attacks on British vessels as they branded out trawlers “roast beef”. One, Pierre Sophie, raged the “war” is not over and vowed to keep attacking UK fisherman in the English Channel. In one rant, he said: “Will (sic) come back with more boats! We’ll have to get the heavy artillery out!!!” He also shared footage of the violent clash on Tuesday with the caption: “Bunch of b*****ds”. Another fisherman, , Steph LF, boasted about the attack, saying how “the little French frog… ate some f***ing British roast beef”. >click to read<11:34
Difficult fishing season for some fishers in Hay River, N.W.T.
It’s been a difficult summer for commercial fishers on Great Slave Lake, at least according to one fisherman who has been in the business for 40 years. Although he’s caught plenty of fish this year, Duncan Richardson said they haven’t been the right kind. Last year was a bumper year for whitefish, which is where the money is. But, this year, Richardson guessed 40 per cent of his catch was whitefish, while the other 60 per cent was trout and coney. He said he’ll be lucky if he breaks even this year. “I don’t know if it was the water or whatever it is, but it sure screwed things up,” said Richardson. “It was a bad season. Just bad. I don’t know how to explain it.” >click to read<10:37
Dolphin, porpoise found dead near Minas Basin turbine site
A dolphin and a porpoise have been found dead along the shore of the Minas Passage since the installation of OpenHydro’s instream tidal turbine late last month. The dolphin was found along the shore near Highland Village at the end of July and on Aug. 4 the porpoise was found dead near Bass River.,, Meanwhile Fisheries and Oceans Canada has declared that the 1,000-tonne turbine in the Minas Passage is now in violation of its special dispensation under the Fisheries Act because monitoring equipment meant to evaluate whether it kills marine animals isn’t operational. The turbine has been spinning but not generating power on the floor of the Minas Passage. >click to read<09:57
Captain with Bristol County Sheriff’s Office Convicted of Smuggling Rafael Profits to Portugal
A Captain with the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office was convicted today by a federal jury in connection with helping Carlos Rafael, known as the Codfather in the fishing industry, and the owner of one of the largest commercial fishing businesses in the U.S., smuggle the profits of his illegal overfishing scheme to Portugal. Jamie Melo, 46, of North Dartmouth, Mass., was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States and one count of structuring the export of monetary instruments. U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper scheduled sentencing for Oct. 24, 2018. The jury acquitted the defendant of one count of bulk cash smuggling. >click to read<08:31
