Daily Archives: April 10, 2019

Lobsterman accused of witness retaliation in headless tuna case

Harold E. Wentworth, 41, with listed addresses of 28 Revere St. and 24 Liberty St., was arrested Wednesday by officers from Massachusetts Environmental Police and Gloucester Police on charges that on March 12 he retaliated against the prime witness against him in the tuna case..,,, According to police reports of Wednesday’s arrest, the prime witness against Wentworth contacted Environmental Police Officer Ryan Lennon on March 28 that he suspected Wentworth dumped some of his gear into Pigeon Cove earlier in the month and may have committed other retaliatory acts, such as cutting his lobster trawls. On Monday, Lennon and the witness reviewed security footage of Pigeon Cove from March 12. >click to read<21:57

As wind giants set sights on NY, fishermen demand a role

As global wind-energy interests set their sights on more than a dozen offshore U.S. energy area’s, two longtime British fishermen who act as go-betweens to the offshore wind industry and the fishing community advised Long Island fishermen to stay vigilant and demand a seat at the table when waters are divvied up. Two dozen Long Island fishermen gathered in Montauk Monday to hear how two veterans of Europe’s maturing offshore wind industry worked to bring their industry into discussions on siting projects in waters that have traditionally been their workplace. It hasn’t been easy, and successes have come only recently, they said. >click to read<16:46

Bill C-60: Reviewing the Fisheries Act – B.C. North Coast residents to Ottawa: ‘We can’t make a living fishing’

Lax Kw’alaams Band Mayor John Helin called for more consultation as he painted a grim picture,,,“In my community we have a fleet of 70-80 gillnetters that can’t make a living,,, Prince Rupert resident, Chelsey Ellis,,, Ellis grew up on the East Coast, where she’s seen the benefits of the owner-operator policy for fish harvesters. In her statement, she said this is not the same in British Columbia, where there has been a steady increase of licenses and quota being transferred from fishermen and away from coastal communities.>click to read<15:44

Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 87.7 Steel Shrimper/Longliner/Scalloper Cat 3412

Specifications, information and 22 photos >click here< To see all the boats in this series, >click here< This vessel has big power and a big reduction at 720 HP with 7:1 gear. She pulls hard, great 2 dredge scallop boat. 12:07

Swordfish season could re-open later this year

A sudden end to the “Swordfish Season” for Hawaii long-liners, but not because the fish stock is running low. Instead, it is because of run-ins with another ocean creature. “This year the swordfish industry is closed, it closed about two weeks ago,” stated Eric Kingma the Executive Director for the Hawaii long line Association.  But those boat had to suddenly shutdown because of 17 loggerhead turtles, which are an endangered species. Video, >click to read<11:13

Man charged with illegal lobster fishing in Greenwich, Stamford

A 72-year-old Stamford lobsterman has been arrested on hundreds of charges of illegally fishing from 94 lobster traps in the waters of Stamford and Greenwich at the end of last year. Eugene Karbowski, of Cedar Heights Drive, has been charged by the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection with 94 counts of fishing untagged lobster parts,,, After his arraignment Tuesday before Judge Bruce Hudock at the Stamford courthouse, Karbowski’s defense attorney Bruce Koffsky said his client has been a lobsterman for decades, back when someone could make a living doing it. Koffsky said.,,, The great lobster die-off in the west end of Long Island Sound in 1997 has thrown the industry into a tailspin and reduced the number of lobstermen in the area from 311 in 1998 to 76 in 2016. >click to read<

Your Thoughts? New rule would turn back clock for US fishing industry

A Proposed Rule – Shipping Act, Merchant Marine, and Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act) Provisions; Fishing Vessel, Fishing Facility and Individual Fishing Quota Lending Program – >click to read< In the second half of the 20th century, the U.S. fishing industry was plagued by too many boats chasing too few fish. Overfishing was rampant, profits for fishermen were low and the federal government fueled the flames by subsidizing the construction of new fishing vessels with taxpayer dollars. By the mid-1990s,,,, Now the Trump administration wants to forget all of those hard lessons learned and begin subsidizing new fishing vessel construction again in a rule proposed last November that could be finalized any day. >click to read<09:11