Monthly Archives: July 2019
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for July 19 , 2019
Legislative updates, Bill updates, Calendar, >Click here to read the Weekly Update<, to read all the updates >click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here<08:50
The President has seen the sticker, signed it, and heard your concerns, thanks to Rob Simmons!
First Selectman Rob Simmons, who was in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday for the Northeast State Leadership Day, said he had an opportunity to speak directly with President Donald Trump about local issues and concerns. He also talked about the troubles Stonington’s fishing fleet has had with over-regulation.,,, Simmons said he also told the president that when he came to the Coast Guard Academy two years ago speak at graduation, local fishermen had 15 boats in the Thames River with flags, banners and other symbols of support in the hope that he would help them out. Simmons then showed Trump a bumper sticker he had made up during that time that said, “President Trump, make commercial fishing great again.” >click to read<07:55 Here is a collection of photos from Flotilla 2017 >click here<
On this page find the stories from beginning to end of the flotilla, and a very nice note from A nice note to the Fishermen of Flotilla 2017 from Sargeant Steven Stanko, >click to read<
Coast Guard aircrew medevacs 42-year-old woman off fishing vessel near Noyes Island, Alaska
A Coast Guard aircrew medevaced a 42-year-old woman off a fishing vessel near Noyes Island, Thursday. The MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Sitka transported her to Sitka where they transferred the woman to waiting emergency medical service personnel, who took her to Mt. Edgecumbe Hospital for further care. Around 11:40 a.m., Coast Guard Sector Juneau watchstanders received a call from Craig City Harbormaster staff, who stated a member of the crew was bleeding and in an out of consciousness after a blunt object impacted her head. Video, >click to read< 21:05
Puget Sound orcas look fatter … maybe because they’ve moved away
It appears that endangered orcas that live around Puget Sound may be moving elsewhere. Groups of southern resident killer whales aren’t showing up this year like they used to. Researchers link the scarce sightings with scarce chinook salmon, the orcas’ favorite food. Salmon runs on the river have fallen dramatically the past few years, so it looks like the killer whales are finding food somewhere else. This month, the whales were seen for just two days around San Juan Island.>click to read<19:36
Fishing which cost five Scottish lives in a year is ‘most dangerous’ UK job
Commercial fishing has become Britain’s most dangerous occupation with six fishermen dying in the space of just one year. New accident investigation data shows that five of the six deaths occurred in Scottish waters.,,, The revelation comes two weeks after campaigners raised concerns that the number of workplace deaths had rocketed by over 70% in 2018 in Scotland, fueled by a rise in deaths in agriculture, forestry and fishing. >click to read< 18:39
Baker, Vineyard Wind mum on Feds’ project guidance – Why Vineyard Wind should’nt proceed without answers
The federal government has offered new “guidance” on the Vineyard Wind offshore wind project, Gov. Charlie Baker said, but neither the governor’s team nor project officials will talk about it. The Baker administration chose Vineyard Wind in May 2018 for the state’s first commercial-scale offshore wind effort under a 2016 clean energy law and state officials are counting on the project,, On Wednesday, a Baker spokesman declined to comment when asked about the nature of the project guidance. >Click to read< 16:28 Offshore wind should not go forward until there are answers – Val Oliver – BOEM assures us that Vineyard Wind’s self-imposed, mitigation efforts will protect the critically endangered North Atlantic Right Whales in their Dynamic Management Area and important migratory path. But Vineyard Wind is going to be allowed to “self- monitor, self-restrict, and self- report” without any state or federal oversight or enforcement.>click to read<
Tide turning on wearing safety gear – Campaign says lobstermen listening
On Wednesday, Carpenter stopped by the Everett R. Jodrey State Fish Pier to check out the 11 different varieties of personal flotation devices available for inspection and purchase as part of the Lifejackets for Lobstermen campaign being run by the Northeast Center for Occupational Health and Safety. The campaign, designed to convince more commercial lobstermen to wear personal flotation devices while fishing, has spent the summer in 40 lobstering communities up and down the New England coast. Photo’s, >click to read< 15:18
NOAA Sets 2019 Management Measures for Northeast Groundfish, includes jointly managed stocks with Canada
We are approving Framework 58 and implementing new catch limits for seven groundfish stocks for the 2019 fishing year (May 1, 2019 – April 30, 2020), including the three stocks managed jointly with Canada. These revised catch limits are based upon the results of stock assessments conducted in 2018. >click to read< 14:37
Supply and Demand – Fishermen In Iceland Will Not Hunt Whales For The First Time In 17 Years
Fishermen from Iceland will not hunt whales this summer, this will the first year in 17 years that the fishermen will abandon the whale hunting season. Owners of fishery companies explained why they will be skipping this season, they said that the low demand for whale meat in countries like Japan has forced them to abandon the whale hunting season this year. Loftsson explained their decision, he said that this was all because of the low demand in the Japanese Market. But according to a captain, the real reason why fishermen were skipping this year’s hunting season is that the permit was not handed out in time. >click to read< 14:03
Warmer Northumberland Strait not good news for lobster fishery
As climate change warms the waters around Prince Edward Island, it could bring a new threat of disease to lobsters. University of Maine researcher Richard Wahle said his surveys of the waters around P.E.I. contain both good and bad news for the lobster fishery. There was good news in recent counts of baby lobster.,,, Warming waters around Rhode Island have led to shell disease and a drop in the lobster population there, he said. >click to read< 12:05
Hibernia platform shut down after oil spill off Newfoundland into the Atlantic Ocean
Production has stopped aboard the Hibernia oil platform off the coast of St. John’s after an undetermined amount of oil spilled from a storage cell into the water. An oil sheen was spotted Wednesday, and the company said in a news release that the spill was an “isolated activity.” In a separate release issued about six hours later, the company announced the rig had halted activity. >click to read< 09:13
Pacific City and Astoria honor their maritime heritage and culture with decades-old celebrations
In many towns along the Oregon Coast, boating isn’t just a livelihood or a means of recreation, but a way of life, the foundation that defines a community. In coming weeks, two towns will celebrate their maritime history with festivals that have been going strong, in one community, for decades; in the other, more than a century. In Pacific City, 2019 marks the 60th anniversary of Dory Days, which runs July 19-21. The festival opens Friday,,, Astoria is preparing for its 125th celebration of the Astoria Regatta, Aug. 7-10. >click to read< 08:43
LePage appeals to Trump on lobster regulations
Former Maine Gov. Paul LePage sent a letter this week to President Trump opposing proposed regulations designed to protect endangered North Atlantic rights whales that LePage says will be detrimental to the state’s signature lobster industry. In his three-page letter, LePage called the proposal by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to reduce the number of end lines – the ropes that connect traps to buoys – by 50 percent “another federal overreach in response to big money environmentalists.” >click to read<08:05
Bend Over! – Critics Say Wind Farm Rates Constitute Price Gouging
There are a lot of ways to deflect the criticism, but really none to refute it: The South Fork Wind Farm will charge higher rates for the power it generates — three to five times more than its parent company, Ørsted/Deepwater, will charge in nearby markets. Despite complaints from all sides, freedom of information requests, and now a lawsuit, neither the Long Island Power Authority nor Ørsted have shed any light on the matter. East Hampton Town doesn’t even know the cost per kilowatt-hour ratepayers will be charged. In fact, though, every ratepayer in the PSEG/LIPA system will pay for the wind power generated, and the power will not be earmarked for East Hampton, as many at first believed, but for the entire grid. >click to read< 19:40
#NOPIPE – Fishermen still determined. No pipe in the Strait
Lobster traps are out of the water now in Nova Scotia as fishermen along the Northumberland Strait wrap up a successful spring season. The wharves on the Nova Scotia side are quieter than they were a year ago when 200 fishing and pleasure boats and 3,500 people readied for the #NOPIPE Land and Sea Rally on July 6 in Pictou Town and Harbour. People and boats from Nova Scotia, P.E.I., New Brunswick and Pictou Landing First Nation gathered in strong and vocal opposition to Northern Pulp’s proposal to discharge 60-80 million litres of treated pulp effluent daily into the Northumberland Strait. >click to read< 18:58
Englund Marine celebrates 75 years, and are hosting “thank you” events at seven locations on Friday!
On Friday, July 19, in celebration of the milestone, the company will be hosting a “thank you” event at each of their seven retail stores. The entire Englund family and the crews at all the locations wish to express their gratitude for the long years of support given to them by their customers and the communities they serve. There will be drawings, giveaways and special deals on clothing, boots and raingear. All customers, community members and suppliers are encouraged to stop by, join in the festivities, and take advantage of the sale prices. Englund Marine was founded on July 22, 1944 by Axel and Freda Englund in a small store front at the foot of 15th Street in Astoria. It continues today as a family-run business. >click to read< 16:23
“It is official”!!! Lobstermen to rally in Stonington Sunday
Last week, Stonington lobsterman Julie Eaton, speaking for most members of her industry said just about the same thing in a posting on Facebook announcing plans for a rally on the Stonington Fish Pier at noon this Sunday., The rally is being called to protest a proposed NOAA Fisheries rule that would force Maine lobstermen to remove half their buoy lines from the Gulf of Maine to reduce the risk that endangered right whales might become entangled in the fishing gear. “It is official,” Eaton posted. “We are holding a Lobstermen’s Rally … on the Stonington Commercial Fish Pier.” >click to read< 15:22
Chief calls for state of emergency and fishery closure in light of Big Bar slide in Fraser River
A state of emergency and complete fishing closure should be called because of the Big Bar rock slide in the Fraser River, said Esket (Alkali Lake) Chief Fred Robbins Tuesday. “Along the coast they aren’t feeling the impact and on July 18 they can start fishing, but I believe there should be a complete closure for all fishing on the coast,” said Robbins,,,Robbins called a meeting in the community on July 12 and told members they would not be fishing until the rock slide is dealt with. Robbins is proposing different options to deal with the slide.,, “We need more boots on the ground and government to government to government discussion.” >click to read< 14:28
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 68′ Steel Longliner, Cummins KT19, two 30-kw gensets, Federal Permits
Specifications, information and 23 photos >click here< To see all the boats in this series, >click here<12:47
Maine DMR rejects group’s petition to change aquaculture lease process
Meanwhile, the company pitching a 40-acre oyster aquaculture lease on Maquoit Bay continues to await,,, A group known as Save Maquoit Bay, comprised of coastal property owners, lobstermen and fishermen, submitted a 189-signature petition asking officials to include a stipulation requiring the department to consider whether any other locations near a proposed lease site could “accommodate the proposed activities while interfering less with existing and surrounding uses of an area.” >click to read< 12:17
Elderly Vallejo boat captain ‘held hostage’ by wrecked ship
Doug Wagoner thought he’d prepared well for his retirement, but found out that the city of Vallejo is literally blocking his plan. The 80-year-old is not getting any younger. A boat captain for 30 years — and a fisherman for 35, most of that time commercially at San Francisco’s Fisherman’s Wharf — Wagoner said he moved the trawler he lives in and his three work boats to the Vallejo Marina 20 years ago. It was then that Wagoner bought a 28-foot barge,,, Shortly after that, the city docked a rusting, 142-foot, 28-foot-wide, World War II-era, three-story, steam ferry troop ship and onetime floating restaurant, between the barge and the exit, blocking it in. >click to read< 08:58
Refusing to Leave! St. Bernard fisherman in Washington, DC to make their case for millions in federal aid
Fishermen and elected leaders from St. Bernard Parish are refusing to leave Washington, DC without $150 million in federal disaster aid, funded through a federal fisheries disaster declaration. They say repeat openings of the Bonnet Carre spillway has flooded the coast with fresh water that seafood cannot tolerate. St. Bernard Parish President Guy McInnis said the openings are destroying the $4 billion regional seafood industry and the money would be used to subsidize fishermen, repair fishing grounds and coastal waters. >click to read< 08:35
Naturalist Peter Trull: Don’t Blame The Seals
Why are there virtually no codfish to be found in the waters off Cape Cod? Depending on who you ask, it’s because of the eating habits of the thousands of gray seals now living in local waters, or it’s because of decades of chronic overfishing plus ecological changes, like warming oceans. Peter Trull, Pleasant Bay Community Boating Curriculum Developer and Naturalist, comes down squarely on the latter cause. He calls blaming the seals “the biggest misconception” that exists on this topic today. >click to read< 07:18
U.S. company fined nearly $3M for 2016 fuel spill in B.C. First Nation’s fishing territory.
A Texas-based company has been fined over $2.9 million in penalties after pleading guilty to a diesel spill from a tugboat that ran aground and sank in a First Nation’s fishing territory on B.C.’s Central Coast. The decision against Kirby Offshore Marine Corp. was handed down Tuesday in Bella Bella, B.C. The Nathan E. Stewart tugboat spilled 110,000 litres of diesel and heavy oils in October 2016. Last year the Transportation Safety Board found that a crew member missed a planned course change because he fell asleep while alone on watch. >click to read< 19:08
New England Joins Mid-Atlantic to Require eVTRs for Vessels with Federal Commercial Permits for Council-Managed Species
The New England Fishery Management Council is taking steps to bring all commercial fishermen who hold federal permits for Council-managed species into the digital age by requiring vessel trip reports (VTRs) to be submitted electronically instead of on paper. These electronic reports are known as eVTRs, and this proposed action will apply to all of the Council’s fishery management plans. The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) has been working since December of 2018 on a Commercial eVTR Omnibus Framework Actionthat would apply to all vessels with federal commercial permits for MAFMC-managed species, which include,,, >click to read< 17:41
The City of Whittier declares a State of Emergency following a July dock fire
The City of Whittier is declaring a State of Emergency following the dock fire back on July 7th. In the declaration from the city manager, it says the aftermath of the fire is beyond the city’s means and has caused “extreme peril to the wellbeing of persons and property within the City of Whittier.”
In the declaration, it says money from the Whittier Small Boat Harbor reserves will be used to pay for the damage and will be reimbursed when insurance money comes through. >click to read< 17:05
Nitrogen from sewage and farms is starving Florida corals to death, study says
Nitrogen from improperly treated sewage and fertilizer runoff from farms and lawns is starving Florida Keys corals to death, according to a new study published in the journal Marine Biology. The study led by Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Looe Key, in the Florida Keys, showed that higher nutrient. levels in Florida waters is a key cause of coral bleaching and death. As nutrient runoff from farming and from a growing population increases the amount of nitrogen levels in the water, corals are actually dying before >click to read<15:56
Cape Coral fishing captain admits illegal grouper, snapper hauls, federal prosecutors say
A Cape Coral fishing boat captain faces possible federal prison time after admitting in federal court Monday that he illegally caught and sold 50,000 pounds of red grouper and red snapper over five years, in defiance of Gulf of Mexico limits. Federal prosecutors said Mark Zywotko lied about the size of his boat’s haul of the grouper and snapper in reports fishing boats must file reporting catches of some popular and protected gulf reef fish. >click to read< 12:40
Maine: Lawsuit claims lobster company took advantage of man’s dementia
The retired longtime owner of one of the region’s largest lobster dealerships is accusing the company that bought his Spruce Head Island business eight years ago of taking advantage of his dementia to negotiate a revised lease agreement. A lawsuit on behalf of William Atwood, 81, of Owls Head, was filed June 12 in Knox County Court against Maine Lobster and Processing LLC. Atwood sold his businesses — Atwood Lobster and Warnershores LLC — to Maine Lobster and Processing LLC in May 2011. Maine Lobster is part of a larger company, Mazzetta Lobster Company LLC. >click to read< 12:04
PFMC plans transition for non-Indian commercial Area 2A halibut fishery; new season-setting process begins
The Pacific Fishery Management Council is requesting public comment on structuring the West Coast Area 2A non-Indian directed commercial halibut fishery for the upcoming year. The public is encouraged to comment at the September and November council meetings as management of this halibut fishery transitions from the International Pacific Halibut Commission, or IPHC, to the council. In June, the council committed to working closely with the IPHC and stakeholders on the transition. >click to read< 21:45
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