Monthly Archives: October 2019
North Pacific council votes to hike observer fees in 2021
The costs for on-board fisheries observers will be increasing, and no one in the industry is particularly happy about it. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council voted to adjust the observer fee percentage to 1.65 percent of ex-vessel values. It was previously set at 1.25 percent. The increase is intended to cover additional observer services to reach the target coverage rate set out by the council for the various fisheries across the North Pacific region. >click to read< 14:15
Sides battle over Monterey Bay’s anchovy population
A fishing industry group says it has new findings supporting its contention that there is a healthy population of anchovies, which is counter to a nonprofit’s lawsuit challenging how the number of anchovies are determined. Meanwhile, Monterey fishermen say there are tons of the little guys in the local fishery. Gino Pennisi and Neil Guglielmo have been fishing out of Monterey for years, in Guglielmo’s case, since 1956. Both say anchovies are plentiful. But the nonprofit group Oceana,,, >click to read< 13:07
Fishermen urged to remove gear from non-UK waters ahead of Brexit
With two weeks until Brexit, fishermen who have deployed static gear in non-UK waters are being urged to get ready by removing it ahead of 23:00 hours on 31 October. The UK will become an independent coastal state after Brexit and there will be no automatic right to fish in the waters of EU or other states. An agreement on fishing has been agreed with Norway until the end of 2019. However, access to fish in EU waters will be a matter for future negotiation. >click to read< 11:50
Former Deadliest Catch fisherman Jerod Sechrist Arrested, faces heroin possession charge. A Skipper says finding good crew is challenging.
According to the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office inmate database, Sechrist, 33, was arrested on Oct. 5 by the Tampa Police Department in Tampa, Florida. He was charged with one felony count of possession of heroin and one misdemeanor count of possession of drug paraphernalia.,, In an interview earlier this year, Deadliest Catch Captain “Wild Bill” Wichrowski said putting together a good crew in the commercial fishing industry has gotten more challenging. “It’s harder to find excellent guys,” he told the website. “They used to be lined up 12 deep,,,”>click to read< 09:23
Fishing boats collide 35 miles west of Dry Tortugas, Coast Guard medevacs two fishermen
The Coast Guard medevaced two crewmembers from the fishing vessel, Miss Amy J, after the boat collided with another fishing vessel approximately 35 miles northwest of Dry Tortugas, Tuesday. A Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew and the Coast Guard Cutter Isaac Mayo (WPC-1112) crew arrived on scene and determined that two men from the Miss Amy J sustained injuries. Photo’s, >click to read< 23:31
RI lobsterman goes overboard, drowns off NY coast
Justin Zinno, 26, is being remembered by his family as a loving son and a hard-working man. His mother told Eyewitness News he was well-liked in the community and worked as a lobsterman for years prior to the accident. Tiverton police say Zinno left the Main Street port aboard the Sakonnet Lobster II. The vessel was about 75 nautical miles southeast of Montauk when he went overboard, according to Lt. Daniel Raymond. >click to read< 21:02
Fall lobster fishery now underway in Digby and rest of LFA 35 district
Lobster Fishing Area (LFA) 35 opened at 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 14 with the 93 full time and four part-time licence holders in the district heading to the fishing grounds in the upper Bay of Fundy. “When the season opens and the Digby fleet is coming through the gut,” looking from Delap’s Cove, “there’s a false sunset inside the Annapolis Basin,” said Colin Sproul, president of the Bay of Fundy Inshore Fishermen’s Association. “There’s 60 or 70 boats coming out of there with four or five crabs’ lights each. You can see it right over the north mountains. It’s unbelievable. It’s like a sunset coming out of the basin at midnight.” >click to read< 18:40
Red King Crab Quota Down 12% As Stock Trends ‘Toward Fishery Closure Thresholds’
Commercial fishing opens Tuesday, Oct. 15 for Bristol Bay red king crab. This season, the declining population has forced managers to set the total allowable catch (TAC) at 3.8 million pounds. That number is 12 percent lower than last year, as well as the lowest since the fishery was rationalized in 2005. Even if fishermen catch all of the TAC, it’ll be the smallest harvest since 1982. “This is not good news,” said biologist Ben Daly of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. “We’re trending toward fishery closure thresholds.” >click to read< 15:11
2019 Climate Ready Fisheries Act: Rep. Cunningham meets with Lowcountry fishermen, will introduce sustainable fishing bill
2019 Climate Ready Fisheries Act – Congressman Joe Cunningham met with fishermen on Shem Creek to discuss the impacts of climate change on the fishing industry. The democratic representative for South Carolina’s 1st Congressional District says he plans to introduce a bill on Capitol Hill Tuesday that will encourage sustainable fishing. Rep. Cunningham says development and rising costs have forced fishermen out of business Shem Creek. But tonight he says the way to save the industry is to preserve the environment. >click to read< 12:05
Pacific Northwest Tribes Want Columbia River Dams Razed
Two Pacific Northwest tribes on Monday demanded the removal of three major hydroelectric dams on the Columbia River to save migrating salmon and starving orcas and restore fishing sites that were guaranteed to the tribes in a treaty more than 150 years ago.,, Proposals to merely curtail operations, let alone remove the structures, are controversial, and the prospects of the Columbia dams being demolished any time soon appear nonexistent. But tribal leaders said at a news conference along the Columbia River that the Treaty of 1855, in which 14 tribes and bands ceded 11.5 million acres to the United States, was based on the inaccurate belief that the United States had a right to take the land. >click to read< 10:18
Fight of Seacoast fishermen depicted in ‘Last Man Fishing’ documentary
A year-round jig fisherman, catching with rods and reels up to 60 miles offshore, Tim Rider is now a documentary film star.,, He’s described by film producers as a “renegade,” whose “dream of supporting his family as a fisherman is met with numerous challenges.” The filmmakers say Last Man Fishing calls “to question the ethics of the seafood industry and its impact on small scale fishing across the United States.,, The documentary, by filmmaker/director JD Schuyler, goes deep into the politics of fishing, in Rider’s case, his opposition to so-called catch shares mandate. Photo’s >click to read< 22:26
Coast Guard experiencing VHF-FM radio outages throughout Southeast Alaska, reminds public of secondary means of emergency communication
Coast Guard Sector Juneau personnel are experiencing multiple VHF-FM radio outages throughout Southeast Alaska and may not be able to hear or respond to distress calls on channel 16. Currently, waterways affected by Coast Guard VHF-FM radio site outages include the Gulf of Alaska between Yakutat and Sitka, Cross Sound, Peril Strait, Hoonah Sound, Southern Chatham Strait, Sumner Strait, the waters surrounding Zarembo Island and the west side of Prince of Wales Island. >click to read< 20:38
Fishermen warn of ‘mayhem’ on seas in event of no-deal Brexit, concerns of conflict between trawlers from different countries
Fisherman Michael Cavanagh has no doubts about the potential for violence on the high seas in the event of a no-deal Brexit at the end of the month. The Greencastle-based skipper says that just after the initial March 29th deadline passed, an Irish crew fishing for crab off Scotland got a nasty shock, even though there had been an extension. “They went to haul their pots, but 400 of them had already been hauled and the eye (which crabs crawl through) had been cut out of all the pots. And it wasn’t Boris Johnson who did it.” >click to read< 16:14
The failed ban
The coming year marks the 30th anniversary of the state of Alaska’s attempt to control world salmon markets by banning fish farming in the 49th state. It would seem an appropriate time to review what has happened since then: Farmed salmon production, a meager 271,000 tonnes per year at the time of the 1990 ban, has grown to more than 2.2 million tonnes per year – a more than eight-fold increase. Bristol Bay sockeye salmon that spent the late 1980s trading near an average, annual price of $2 per pound ($4.24 per pound in 2019 dollars, according to the federal inflation calculator) is now worth $1.35 per pound or about 32 percent of its pre-ban value , according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game figures. >click to read< 13:00
How a P.E.I. couple went from being on EI to providing 50 jobs at their clam factory
What started out four years ago with just a handful of workers selling frozen clam meat from a small building in a backyard in Ellerslie, P.E.I., has now grown into a commercial operation with more than 50 employees during peak season. Carla and David Annand have both worked for years in the seasonal fishing industry — David fished lobster and mackerel, while Carla worked in quality control at a seafood plant. >click to read< 11:08
Why aren’t they there? Cod still overfished, feds say
The federal government last week released data showing that cod stocks in the area remain overfished. “Overfishing is occurring”, says NOAA, “Abundance is very low, says Mass DMF Director David Pierce, “It just doesn’t make sense right now that the cod hasn’t rebuilt,” Fisherman Ed Barrett added. Angela Sanfilippo, president of the Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association, called cod a “bycatch,” citing an abundance of haddock over the past 18 months, and said fishing fleets operate under strict regulation. >click to read<
Opinion: Fishermen, like farmers, deserve support
While I agree with the Editorial Board’s view that small family farms are not getting appropriate consideration and are finding it difficult to do business (Our View, Oct. 4), I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out the duplicity of some of the points that were made, such as “… as Maine farmers know, smaller farming operations are generally good stewards of the land just as a matter of course.” This confidence and understanding are rarely extended to fishermen, even Maine fishermen. by Monique Coombs, >click to read< 08:46
Body found as search for missing fisherman in Cork enters its fourth day
A BODY has been recovered in the massive air-sea search operation for a missing Irish fisherman. The body was recovered by divers from an area of Dunmanus Bay in West Cork that was being searched for Kodie Healy (24), who failed to return to port last Wednesday evening.,, The massive search operation for Mr Healy was stood down following the discovery. The tight-knit fishing industry in west Cork was devastated at the disappearance of Mr Healy last Wednesday. >click to read< 16:25
A Fundraiser for Commercial Fisherman Frank Pruitt, Organized by Lisa Lewis
Frank Pruitt who will turn 62 on October 27th. He has been a commercial fisherman all of his life and with being a commercial fisherman there are no benefits . He has recently been diagnosed with spindle cell carcinoma lung cancer. It is a very very rare form of cancer of the lungs. There is absolutely nothing the doctors can do for him. He has no health insurance being a commercial fisherman. Please, Donate if you can. >click to read< 15:16
Booming wind industry’s big worry
Land-based turbines are rising by the thousands across America, from the remote Texas plains to farm towns of Iowa. And the U.S. wind boom now is expanding offshore, with big corporations planning $70 billion in investment for the country’s first utility-scale offshore wind farms.,,, The Interior Department cited the surge in corporate interest for offshore wind projects in saying it wanted more study before moving forward. It directed Vineyard Wind to research the overall impact of the East Coast’s planned wind boom.,, Federal fisheries officials have been among the main bloc calling for more study, saying they need to know more about the impacts on ocean life. >click to read< 14:23
Massachusetts: Environmental Police Update on Carlton Hendricks III Contaminated Shellfish Case
Carlton Hendricks III of Mashpee was accused of the harvesting shellfish from an area closed to commercial harvest due to contamination, attempting to sell those contaminated shellfish into commerce and attempting to conceal that the shellfish came from contaminated waters by misrepresenting the harvest area on his shellfish tags. Dr. David E. Pierce, Director of the state’s Division of Marine Fisheries concludes that Mr. Hendricks did commit the violations of which his was accused. >click to read< 11:30
Sea Trials Begins for the Second Offshore Fisheries Science Vessel for the Canadian Coast Guard
The future Capt. Jacques Cartier, the second of three Offshore Fisheries Science Vessels (OFSV) to be designed and built by Seaspan at its Vancouver Shipyards (VSY), began sea trials today as scheduled from Seaspan’s Vancouver Drydock where final outfitting, set to work and commissioning has taken place since her launch at VSY in June. >click to read< 10:07
Crabbers remember horrors of red tide. They’re hoping for a better season this year
Born and raised in Cortez, Lightning Campbell has fished and crabbed the waters of the Gulf of Mexico for most of his 72 years. With memories still fresh of how last year’s red tide outbreak drastically affected the stone crab harvest, Campbell says he will put out 4,000 stone crab traps this season. Asked what he thinks about prospects for this year’s stone crab harvest, which begins Tuesday, Campbell says it’s too early to tell. >click to read< 09:05
Final stretch for herring protections
“After 10 years of debate, the New England Fishery Management Council has finally accepted the proposals favored by Cape communities and what would keep midwater trawls off our coast year round. It will have benefits for all our commercial and recreational fisheries and the nearshore ecosystem,” said John Pappalardo, chief executive officer of the Chatham-based Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance, which has worked to advance the rules. “This is it,” said Pappalardo. “We need people to speak out for herring one more time to make sure these important rules become a reality.” >click to read< 19:55
Growing tradition: Alma lobster fleet launch brings out the community
Lobster fishermen will be feeling the love early Monday in Alma, N.B., when about 10 boats leave the harbour for the start of lobster season. The village of Alma is hosting its lobster festival over the weekend to coincide with the start of the season. The festival started on Friday with crafts and karaoke. There is a barbecue and music on Saturday. The pancake breakfast kicks off Sunday’s activities.,, The evening ends with people gathering to prepare for the launch, which is scheduled for just after midnight. Photo’s >click to read< 18:50
Police investigating fire of Membertou commercial fishing boat
Cape Breton Regional Police are investigating a fire that caused serious damage to the Membertou II commercial fishing boat early Saturday morning.
Kelsea MacNeil (spokesperson for Membertou Development Corporation), Hubert Nicholas (director of fisheries for Membertou) and Captain John Bonham Paul all confirm police are investigating the blaze. The boat was docked at the Dobson Yatch club when it caught on fire. Around 3:30 a.m. Membertou Chief and Council, Membertou Fisheries Division and Paul were notified of the blaze. >click to read< 16:54
2.6 million farmed salmon dead on south coast of Newfoundland, company says
A massive salmon die-off on Newfoundland’s south coast has led to the suspension of licences for Northern Harvest Sea Farms in Newfoundland and Labrador. The die-off first occurred on Sept. 3, but information about the incident did not go public until weeks later. No estimate for the amount of dead salmon in the Northern Harvest pens were disclosed until Friday, when the company announced 2.6 million salmon had died. “As a result of the ongoing investigation and evidence of non-compliance,,, >click to read< 14:45
Opinion: Reducing whale entanglements
Oregon’s commercial crabbing industry prides itself on sustainability. Though Dungeness crab has been harvested commercially since the late 1800s, this population is considered to be stable to increasing along the West Coast—thanks to commercial and recreational regulations that protect the breeding population and ensure the state’s official crustacean will be conserved for future generations. Now, the fishing industry is facing a new environmental challenge—whale entanglements in crabbing gear. by Dr. Caren Braby, >click to read< 11:40
Get Up Close and Personal With the Gig Harbor Commercial Fishing Fleet Aboard the Veteran
You’ve seen the fleet tied up in the Harbor. Here’s your chance to experience commercial fishing from a front-and-center vantage point aboard the historic purse seine vessel Veteran. Join a USCG licensed skipper with extensive commercial fishing experience aboard the Veteran during a fall seine “opening.”,, The Skansie purse seiner Veteran, launched in 1926, is a beautifully restored sample of one of the most recognized and significant vessel designs to have originated from Gig Harbor. >click to read< 10:44
Gardaí issue appeal to ‘well-intentioned’ locals searching for fisherman Kodie Healy
The gardaí have appealed to the public not to put their own lives at risk in the search for the missing fisherman off Dunmanus Bay.,, He was responding to the huge numbers of local people who have turned out to search for missing fisherman Kodie Healy who failed to return home on Wednesday evening, after a day fishing from his trawler. >click to read< 09:05
