Monthly Archives: June 2019
Ken MacDonald – Hanging out at the wharf
Port Morien wharf. It’s an annual rite of spring in many of our coastal communities. As predictable as the longer hours of daylight and buds sprouting on the trees, the wharf emerges from its winter hibernation. Boats are launched, equipment is checked and traps are transported to the wharf, stacked neatly; ready to load. This beehive of activity takes place in the weeks leading up to the May 15th opening of the lobster season, as it has been for decades. In its heyday, the wharf was a scene of perpetual activity. Boats were sometimes tied four and five alongside each other. Fishermen docked in the same place at the wharf, and many of us can still remember where they tied up their boats. As kids, we could look from a distance and knew who owned every boat. >click to read<09:52
Tributes paid in Orkney following French lifeboat tragedy
The three RNLI stations here in Orkney paid tribute after lifesaving colleges in France lost their lives in a lifeboat tragedy on Friday. Crew at stations in Longhope, Kirkwall and Stromness, all posted messages on their Facebook pages following the news that three lifeboat crew from the Société Nationale de Sauvetage en Mer (SNSM) died while responding to a fishing boat in distress in a storm. The all weather lifeboat Jack Morisseau of SNSM, with seven crew aboard, suffered smashed wheelhouse windows and capsized several times, some 800 meters off the coast of Les Sables d’Olonne, as Storm Miguel swept in from the Atlantic. Three of the seven crew died, with the others rescued. >click to read<09:07
Top brass exit Nature Conservancy amid sexual harassment investigation
#MeToo strikes again. This time it is within the world’s leading conservation organization, the Nature Conservancy. The first to exit the organization due to an investigation into sexual harassment and workplace misconduct were Mark Burget, head of the group’s North American operations, and Kacky Andrews, who led global programs.,,, Well, hold on. There’s more. Friday CEO Tercek resigned, just a week after McPeek’s exit.,,, Tercek joined The Nature Conservancy in 2008 from Goldman Sachs. (surely an environmentalist!),,, I’ll end with a little nugget I found. Friday Mary Kay, Inc., an original glass ceiling breaker among corporations offering opportunities to women, announced it has partnered with the Nature Conservancy in a program called the Texas Fisheries & Coastal Resilience Program. >click to read<18:27
Mary Kay Inc. Partners with The Nature Conservancy to Advance Sustainable Fishing in Gulf of Mexico – Mary Kay Inc., an international leader in corporate and social responsibility, today announced its partnership with The Nature Con – >click to read<
Scallop vessel finds itself in challenging situation when it runs aground in Tiverton, Digby County
After a nine-day trip at sea the crew of the scallop vessel Digby Challenger expected to be offloading their catch on Sunday, June 9. But the vessel found itself facing another challenge instead. Around 5 a.m. the boat grounded on the shoreline in Tiverton, Long Island, down on Digby Neck. The crew was not injured. Photo’s, >click to read<15:49
South Atlantic Fishery Management Council meeting June 10 – 14, 2019 in Stuart, FL
The public is invited to attend the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council to be held June 10 – 14, 2019 at Hutchinson Island Marriott,
555 NE Ocean Boulevard, Stuart, FL 34996. Complete Agenda >click here< for details. For Webinar Registration: >Click here< To visit the SAFMC >click here<15:30
Today, We Miss and Remember Richard M. Gaines – March 20, 1944 – June 9, 2013 Gloucester, Massachusetts
On many a morning, Richard Gaines would walk through the front doors of the Gloucester Daily Times, exchange a few brief hellos, and then walk briskly to his desk in the far left corner of the newsroom, sit down and make the first of what would seem like hundreds of phone calls. “I’m going to cause some trouble today,” he’d proclaim. He would mouth those words with both a twinkle in his eye and a profound sense of pride. >click to read, in Richards memory< I miss you, Richard, everyday. You impacted my life.11:29
After pause, Maine may have missed the boat on offshore wind
Six months ago, a Norwegian company called Equinor submitted a winning bid of $135 million to lease a patch of ocean bottom off Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts from the federal government. It won a similar lease off New Jersey in 2016. Last winter the company submitted a third bid, off New York, and this summer is expected to bid on another round of leases off Massachusetts. Why all the investment activity? The Northeast coast of the United States could become a second hub for commercial-scale offshore wind power, an Equinor vice president explained, one that could rival its position in the United Kingdom.>click to read<10:55
“Wolverine” – Initial assessment did not reveal evidence of vessel strikes or fishing gear entanglement
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans says the death of a North Atlantic right whale in the Gulf of St. Lawrence does not appear to be the result of a recent vessel strike or entanglement in fishing gear. A necropsy was conducted Friday on the shores of Miscou Island in New Brunswick, and the government said the initial assessment was inconclusive. The nine-year-old male known as “Wolverine” was towed there after his carcass was discovered in the Gulf on Tuesday. >click to read<10:16
North Carolina: After public input, panel leans toward Southern flounder harvest reduction
State fisheries managers plan to reduce the harvest of southern flounder – commercial and recreational – by 62-72% to address problems with the spawning stock.,, met to select preferred management options for Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan Amendment 2,,, N.C. Fisheries Association Executive Director Glenn Skinner said he’s been talking with commercial fishermen,,, “Their concern is when it will happen this year,” he said. “We’d ask you to do it in December. We need (the flounder harvest) this year. A lot of people still have hurricane damage. We need to be able to reinvest in the industry. Reductions have been made before (to the flounder harvest). They may not have been enough.”>click to read<09:26
A big haul on Big Kandi
Jason George has a simple formula for improving water quality in Minnesota lakes: Take out the carp. George is hoping to remove 100,000 pounds or more under a special permit that is allowing his firm—Mike’s Rough Fish of Waterville, Minnesota—to harvest the fish.,,As of Wednesday, George was still waiting for the carp to spawn, which would make them more vulnerable to netting. They’re running a few weeks behind schedule due to the slow warm-up, he said. >Video, click to read< 08:37
First Nation in New Brunswick demands DFO allow access to crab fishery
The chief of the Eel Ground First Nation in northeastern New Brunswick is calling on the federal government to honour treaty rights and allow access to the snow crab fishery. Chief George Ginnish says the community, also known as Natoaganeg, has been waiting for 20 years to exercise their rights. He says the band council authorized a treaty fishery for snow crab, but the Department of Fisheries and Oceans has seized their traps.,, AFN Regional Chief Roger Augustine said the DFO has seized 31 snow crab pots so far. He’s asking Fisheries and Oceans Minister Jonathan Wilkinson step in,,, “It is disturbing to me and does not make sense that a First Nation would be given a licence but no quotas,” Augustine said. >click to read<22:54
Stonington commission says plan for dredging clams could benefit recreational beds
The town Stonington Shellfish Commission has given a local fisherman the go-ahead to apply for a permit to harvest clams by boat in exchange for 20 percent of his catch, which would be returned to recreational clam beds.,, The fisherman, Edwin Emery, owns a 37-foot Novi fishing boat with a dredge. On Thursday, he told the commissioners that his plan was to dredge clams from beds that have not been harvested in 30 years, and bring them to market.,, Emery said after the meeting that he was interested in the permit because it was his “only option to continue fishing,” because of rising costs. >click to read< 18:12
Drenched US documented its second-wettest May on record
While the continental United States recorded its wettest 12-month period in recorded history this year, historic flooding and record-shattering rainfall amounts landed May 2019 as the second-wettest month in the United States. Precipitation across the contiguous U.S. that accumulated over the June 2018 to May 2019 12-month period shattered the previous record for any 12-month period with 37.68 inches, 7.73 inches above average. “The previous June-May record was 35.47 inches and occurred from June 1982 to May 1983. The previous all-time 12-month record was 36.20 inches and occurred from May 2018 to April 2019,” Reppert said. (not a mention of climate change!)>click to read<14:42
Chill Wind Of Reality Blows Through The Green Energy Lobby
In recent weeks, some observers of the energy scene have been wondering if the long honeymoon of the renewables industry might finally have come to an end.,,, This is all very different to a couple of years ago when the wind industry and newspapers started shouting, in unison, that a new era of offshore wind was on the way. While a few spoilsports pointed out that there was almost certainly less to these announcements than met the eye, and wondered how exactly these alleged cost savings were to be achieved, the hype continued unabated. ,,, All this means that many environmentalists have pinned their hopes on offshore wind. There’s plenty of space out at sea, there are no neighbors to object, and the industry is saying that prices are going to drop through the floor. >click to read<13:08
Bill C-68 will protect smaller inshore fishery operators from corporate takeover, group says
Trudeau government legislation that enshrines the independence of Atlantic Canada’s inshore fishing fleets and enhances protections for fish stocks and fish habitat has cleared the Senate. The news is a relief to Martin Mallet. “This is great news. We’ve been waiting for this for a long while,” said Mallet, executive director of the Maritime Fishermen’s Union.,,, Minister expects new Fisheries Act to pass. In North Vancouver, federal Fisheries Minister Jonathan Wilkinson also welcomed the Senate vote. >click to read<12:06
Ninety Foot Crab and Demersal Fish Trawler Delivered
Shipbuilding Asia and Macduff Ship Design are pleased to announce the completion and handover of a new 90 foot fishing vessel for the Piercy family of Newfoundland Canada. The vessel Atlantic Titan, built in Vietnam by Shipbuilding Asia and designed and kitted by Macduff Ship Design, has the capability to fish for crab and to trawl for demersal fish. >click to read<10:28
Toxic lobsters? – Long Island Sound dumping dispute nears tipping point
Connecticut says the new underwater dump site is needed to maintain the state’s economic development effort – including its lucrative submarine construction business at Electric Boat’s shipyard,,, New York says the site will be harmful to its ecology and tourism, and Connecticut could, and should, dump the material it dredges up somewhere else.,,, Toxic lobsters? Lobstering is still done in Long Island Sound, though there are far fewer lobsters than in the past. >click to read<10:08
Virtual Interview with “Acoustic Dome” Team – would repel seals with sound waves, hopefully sharks would follow…
Concern is growing in the tourism industry that the party might be over for Cape Cod beaches if the local seal population – and thus the shark population – continues to grow. A growing population of seals – the sharks’ primary food source – appears to be drawing ever more sharks into our waters. Earlier this year an “acoustic dome” concept was floated by two Cape Cod men.,,,The gray seals are the “problem” and the solution. Few are quick to realize that the great white sharks are simply a symptom. Prior to the passage of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) in 1972 the siting of a gray seal in Cape Cod waters was a rare event. (now an estimated 50,000 in Cape waters.) >click to read<08:55
June 7, 2019 – Small Mesh Trawl Squid Fishery Season Extension
The Director of the Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) has declared an extension to the season when trawlers may fish with small mesh for squid in certain waters under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth that are south and west of Cape Cod (Declaration Notice and Permit Conditions). Trawlers may continue to fish within the small mesh squid trawl exempted area, as described at 322 CMR 4.06(1),,, >click to read<21:53
New regulation for Maine fishermen might ease tension in ‘grey zone’
Melanie Sonnenberg, the general manager of the Grand Manan Fishermen’s Association, said there’s been some tension between fishermen in the zone because American fishermen are worried Canadian fishermen are stealing lobsters from their traps at night. Canadian fisherman can check their traps after dark, but American fishermen aren’t regulated to do so. Until now. New legislation in Maine will now allow American fishermen to check their traps at night. >Audio report, click to read<20:03
Menhaden Mural and Otis Smith Plaque Unveiled in Lewes
Art and history come together on a new mural dedicated to and inspired by the fishing industry and a former mayor. On March 25th, Damon Pla began working to capture the history of Lewes’ Menhaden Fishing Industry in a mural on the side of the Beacon Motel. About 8 weeks and many rain showers later and he’s ready to share it with the town. ,,,, “The Menhaden Fishing Industry was part of Lewes’ history in the 1900s,” he explains. “It also charts the history of the owner of the fishing industry, who was Otis Smith.” Smith was the town’s Mayor for 18 years. >click to read<19:08
Scotland warns Ireland it will force fishing boats to leave Rockall waters
The Scottish government has warned Ireland it will send its fisheries patrol vessels to force Irish fishing boats to leave a 12-mile zone around Rockall, the tiny disputed island 260 miles west of the Co Donegal coast. In a formal letter of notice, the Scottish external affairs minister Fiona Hyslop has warned the Irish Government that it will deploy its vessels to protect Scottish fishing rights around Rockall. The Government here, which contests the Scottish claim on Rockall and also the claim of exclusive fishing rights, has condemned the move but on Thursday the Minister for Agriculture and Fisheries Michael Creed briefed fishing industry representatives about the impending Scottish action. >click to read<18:08
Capsized ocean rescue vessel leaves three dead in French storm
Three rescuers from the French ocean rescue service died Friday when their vessel capsized in rough seas as a giant storm pummelled the country’s Atlantic coast. Three of them died while four managed to swim to shore, the statement added.,,, The captain of the fishing boat is also missing, and officials said he probably had crew members on board as well. “So far we haven’t been able to find the fishing boat. We’ve found fragments of the boat and an empty lifeboat,” the regional maritime authority told AFP. >click to read<17:02
Maine Voices: Nordic Aquafarms isn’t acting like a good neighbor to Belfast residents
Its continual changes of plan and apparent misrepresentation of its land rights should raise questions among regulators.,,, For instance, As time went on, the company dropped and changed one after another of the plans that had made it sound like a clean and responsible business for our community. The company’s effluent pipe, it turned out, would be dumping 7.7 million gallons a day of warm (59 to 64.4 degrees Fahrenheit) wastewater in the bay – more than neighboring Bayside is authorized to dump in a year. This water, containing 1,484 pounds of nitrogen per day, as well as another 400 pounds of suspended solids and other chemicals, would be discharged through a pipe that has been shortened by over a third and will be many miles away from any “deep ocean currents.” >click to read<15:47
So This Pipe Is Just Spewing Blood And Fish Guts Into The Open Water – >Video, click to read<
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for June 7, 2019
From Our Executive Director- Glenn Skinner – At the special MFC meeting held June 6 the Marine Fisheries Commission approved their preferred management options for Amendment 2 to the Southern Flounder FMP. The preferred management measures chosen would: >Click here to read the Weekly Update<, to read all the updates >click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here< 13:17
Connecticut’s last commercial seaport — Stonington — shines in Mystic shadow
It’s a hodgepodge of a parade for sure, but one that holds the same significance year after year in this Connecticut fishing village. Upon completing their lap around the square, the pirates, pipers and hot rods, along with the spectators, move en masse the short distance to the Town Dock for the annual Blessing of the Fleet.,,, The blessing and its reason for being, too, have evolved. What once was a way of life for this little village has literally sailed out to sea. “We don’t have enough fish coming through the door,” said Mike Gambardella, whose family owns one of the last packing facilities and wholesale fish houses in Connecticut. >click to read<12:34
Lobstermen tell regulators: Give us fewer buoy lines, but let us fish them how we want
Brian Tripp, a Sedgwick lobsterman, urged Maine to adopt a buoy line tagging system to help reduce the number of lines that link a fisherman’s buoys to his traps by 50 percent, which is what federal regulators say it will take to protect the endangered right whale from deadly entanglements. Under current state law, most Maine fishermen have a right to fish up to 800 of these surface-to-seabed lines. To meet the federal risk reduction goal, Maine can issue each fisherman 400 buoy line tags, Tripp said – half the number they are allowed to have now. Fishermen could live with that if they had the freedom to fish those 400 buoy lines how they want, he said. >click to read<11:21
Copper River harvest hits 429,630 fish and rising
That sixth opener was the charm, “a very welcome relief for this fleet,” said drift gillnet harvester John Renner. “It appears to be a larger run than predicted,” said Renner, in a phone call from his Cordova home on Wednesday, June 5, in the wake of the 36-hour opener of the 2019 Copper River commercial salmon season, which ended at 7 p.m. the previous evening. “The fish are also large and healthy, indicating a larger component of older fish,” Renner said. “They are spread out across the flats offshore and onshore. “ >click to read<10:56
North Pacific fish council enters Pebble debate, over state’s objections
The state of Alaska believes the North Pacific Fishery Management Council is overstepping its bounds, by weighing in on the Pebble Mine Project in Bristol Bay. A proposed comment letter drafted by the Council prompted a strong reaction from the state, during the Council’s June meeting in Sitka. During its Sitka meeting Wednesday morning (6-5-19), the Council reviewed a letter it planned to send to the Army Corps of Engineers commenting on the draft environmental impact statement — or DEIS — of the Pebble Mine. >Audio clip, click to read<08:54
Its not Lob-ter, Jeremy. Its Lob-stah. – Jeremy Roenick provides shenanigans while lobster boating
In the latest edition of “Where in the World is Jeremy Roenick?” (not an actual title … yet?), we get some fun video footage of JR “hunting” for lobster in Boston before Game 5 of the 2019 Stanley Cup Final. Roenick has a fun time with Captain Fred Penney of Two Buoys Lobster Tour. If you’re familiar with JR’s antics with locals, you’ll know that shenanigans will be had, and JR does not disappoint. >Video, click to read< 08:14
