Monthly Archives: October 2019
Washington tribe partners with Cooke to farm Northwest native species
The Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe is pleased to announce a joint venture with Cooke Aquaculture Pacific. The joint venture will initially work to rear sablefish (black cod) and sterile triploid, all-female rainbow trout. The venture will require reinstatement of the farm lease at Port Angeles, in exchange for significant investment by the venture in new infrastructure and local jobs in the area. The two partners will work together to rear these Northwest native species in Port Angeles Harbor. >click to read< 13:23
Northern Pulp focus report now available to public – Claims no impact on marine life
The long-awaited focus report filed by Northern Pulp states that the mill’s proposed effluent treatment facility would exceed stricter federal guidelines being developed for pulp and paper plants. The report also shows that treated effluent coming out of the proposed pipe near Caribou won’t be cleaner than what ultimately enters the Northumberland Strait now at Boat Harbour. The report’s contents and the more than 20 studies done by Northern Pulp to create it were made public by the Environment Department on Thursday. >click to read< 10:28
Lobsters, fish fall victim to low oxygen levels in Cape Cod Bay
Two weeks ago, lobstermen working off Scorton Creek started seeing something they had never experienced. Lobsters, in fact everything in their traps, were coming up dead. Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries senior biologist Robert Glenn started fielding phone calls from puzzled fishermen Sept. 23. The fishermen were worried there might be something in the water that was killing the lobsters, fish, shellfish, even sea worms. It turns out, it was something missing from the water: oxygen. >click to read< 09:15
Beto promises to ‘guarantee long-term survival’ of nation’s fisheries
Presidential candidate Beto O’Rourke, after visiting a small fishing business in New Hampshire a month ago, is releasing a plan Friday that his campaign says will “guarantee long-term survival” of the industry and the nation’s fisheries.,,, O’Rourke’s plan also promises to protect small boat fisheries by asking the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission to review purchases of fisheries by large corporate hedge funds and “evaluate their impact on the market.” >click to read< 08:05
Amid a big fight for cod in the Bering Sea, can remote Adak survive?
A heap of slimy fish heads nearly filled a deep tote. Above, workers finished sorting stacks of decapitated halibut they had run through a grim mechanical apparatus. “Right here we have a guillotine blade,” said Mike Lauer, showing off the de-heading device. “We’ll sell the cheeks, and then we can use the heads for bait,” he added. Lauer is in charge of quality control for Golden Harvest, a processing plant on Adak that’s at the center of a fish war in the Bering Sea pitting two small Aleutian Island communities against large out of state fishing interests. And the implications of that fight could stretch to other coastal fishing towns in Alaska. >click to read< 21:08
The Next Generation: Fleet Fisheries’ new scallop boat is turning heads
When you see the new fishing vessel Viking Power, you’ll know it. Due to arrive in New Bedford in early November, the unusual-looking scalloper has a hull that slopes outward at the bow. Just below the water line, it comes to a rounded point, like the nose of rocket. Fleet Fisheries owner Lars Vinjerud II commissioned the boat. He said the aerodynamic shape serves two goals: to make the boat more fuel efficient, and to make it more comfortable and safer for the crew. The boat should do less pitching in rough seas. “This boat has a lot of firsts,” Vinjerud said. “This whole boat is outside the box.” Photo’s, >click to read< 18:18
Video – Brand new scalloper F/V Viking Power maiden launch >click to watch<
An Inlet Seafood owner says lease is not a ‘partnership,’ – Orsted Wind Plans Montauk Operations Site
“We are pleased to be locating an operations and maintenance facility in Montauk to service our South Fork Wind Farm and bring additional jobs to the area,” Thomas Brostrom, chief executive officer of Orsted,,, In the same announcement, Bill Grimm, an owner of Inlet Seafood, is quoted saying that the agreement between Inlet Seafood and the developers outlined how fishermen and offshore wind developers “can work at the dock alongside each other.” Yesterday, however, Mr. Grimm denied that he had made that statement, which has been reported elsewhere. >click to read< 16:21
Son of former Middletown Police Chief charged with stealing fishing, crabbing equipment from the Belford Seafood Co-op
The alleged burglary happened on Aug. 18, but Robert Oches, Jr., 42, was arrested on September 17, confirmed Middletown police. He was charged with criminal mischief, burglary and theft of property.,,, “I will say that Middletown police did their investigation very thoroughly before making this arrest,” said David Tauro, dock manager of the Belford Seafood Co-op. >click to read< 14:15
Cape Bald Packers abandons Richibucto-Village, but will rebuild in Cap-Pelé
The New Brunswick-based seafood processing company saw fires 17 days apart devastate plants in the two eastern New Brunswick communities in February. The Richibucto-Village plant housed about 150 workers. “I know this decision will come as a disappointment to our former workers and the broader community,” Louis Arsenault, manager of the company’s Richibucto division, said in a release. >click to read< 12:45
Making a living from the river: Net maker keeps craft alive as fishing culture on Southern Indiana’s White River changes
The White River has provided a source of food and livelihood for generations of Southwestern Indiana residents such as Petersburg, Indiana, resident Larry Haycraft. However, encroaching invasive species, pollution, changing lifestyles and bureaucracy – byproducts of modern living – are changing the river and its role in the community. Haycraft is keeping the craft of traditional net making alive even as inland commercial fishing is in decline in Southern Indiana.”I’m a fourth-generation master net maker,”Haycraft said. “There are very few of us left.” >click to read< 11:25
Fishermen catch 2 billionth sockeye salmon in Bristol Bay this year, since record-keeping began
This year, during the fishery’s second largest harvest on record, Bristol Bay commercial fishermen hit another historic number: the 2 billionth sockeye salmon caught by commercial fishermen since record-keeping began in the late 1800s. “It wasn’t supposed to happen this fast, but the last couple of seasons had huge returns,” said Nushagak/Togiak Area Management biologist Timothy Sands. >click to read< 10:24
10 years after lives lost in Sea Gypsy sinking, safety regulation still not enacted
Ten years after the sinking of a small fishing vessel off the coast of Newfoundland, Sea Gypsy Enterprises off the coast of Newfoundland, a safety measure that was highlighted by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada in the wake of the incident has still not been enacted.,, The Sea Gypsy Enterprises sank 130 kilometres east of Cape Spear on Sept. 12, 2009. Three fishermen were rescued, the body of a fourth crew member was recovered from the scene, and another man was lost at sea. >click to read< 09:00
Homosassa Community Helps “Bait Lady” Repair Boat
The Homosassa community is coming together to help their beloved “Bait Lady” get back on the water after her boat sank in August.,,, Bonnie Van Van Allen, known as “The Bait Lady,” has been selling bait from her boat in Homosassa for over 20 years. But when she was out in the gulf on August 30, she wasn’t able to get back to shore before a storm hit. But it didn’t take long for the Homosassa fishing community to come together to help. >click to read< 08:20
Time to rethink halibut bycatch regulations
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) is meeting in Homer, A major item up for discussion is Bering Sea/Aleutian Island Halibut Abundance Based Management (BSAI Halibut ABM).,, Directed halibut users are often small-scale fishermen harvesting halibut one hook at a time. Many operations are family owned and contribute to the livelihoods of captains, crews, vessel owners, and communities throughout Alaska. Therefore, if we want small boat fisheries to remain viable and to support sustainable fishing practices and economic opportunities for Bering Sea and Aleutian Island fishing communities, we need to design management plans to do that. By Josh Wisniewski >click to read< 22:32
Pink liquid flows in Fortune Bay, Area fishermen want more information on whether cleanup will affect them
A cleanup operation is underway in Fortune Bay, where Northern Harvest Sea Farms is emptying out its salmon pens following a massive fish die-off. The company, owned by aquaculture giant Mowi, has been cleaning out its salmon farming equipment since September.,, The company is using divers and has hired large purse seiner vessels from Newfoundland and Labrador and New Brunswick to clean out their pens. On Wednesday morning, gallons of pink liquid flowed from the side of two large vessels at one cleanup site in Fortune Bay. >click to read< 18:58
You Can Learn A Lot by Towing Two Nets at Once
Scientists and fishermen boarded the F/V Karen Elizabeth on September 12 with a joint mission: conduct a study of the NOAA Ship Henry Bigelow’s trawl net used for the twice-yearly scientific survey of the Northeast shelf. The Karen Elizabeth can tow two nets at once, making it the perfect platform for examining net performance under different conditions. The study is focused on how the net performs at different spreads, and what differences in catch can be attributed to that spread. Photos, >click to read< 17:15
FISH-NL launches ‘Full-Steam Ahead’ crowdfunding campaign
FISH-NL launched the “Full-Steam Ahead” public crowdfunding campaign today to raise $40,000 to support the ongoing province-wide membership drive. “Every time FISH-NL has put out a call for support, inshore harvesters, their families and our supporters in rural Newfoundland and Labrador have answered,” says Cleary. “We need you once again to push this movement over the top.” >click to read< 16:12
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 1997 42′ Provincial High Sheer Lobster boat, 500HP John Deere
Specifications, information and 12 photos >click here< To see all the boats in this series, >click here< 13:01
Survival of kiack fishery threatened, say Yarmouth County fishermen
A fishery that provides lobster fishermen with a favourite bait for their catch is struggling with a declining population. Gaspereau, also known as alewife and locally as kiack, swim up rivers in the spring to spawn in the still waters of lakes and return to sea in the fall. George Emin has been fishing kiack for 25 years, He blames Nova Scotia Power,,, Another huge issue impacting the kiack fishery is the massive influx of cormorant >click to read< 12:06
Alaska canned pink salmon purchased for food assistance programs
Millions of pounds of Alaska’s 2019 harvest of pink salmon is now earmarked for child nutrition and related domestic food assistance programs, thanks to a U.S. Department of Agriculture purchase of over $25 million in canned product from four processors. USDA officials announced on Sept. 20 the purchase of 442.3 million cases of one-pound tall cans of pink salmon for the federal agency’s food assistance programs,,, >click to read< 10:36
Fishing vessel on fire capsized in port docked at Manzanillo, Mexico
Fire erupted on board of purse seiner (tuna fishing) Maria Veronica, docked at Manzanillo, Mexico, readying to depart for fishing, on Oct 1. Fire quickly spread into major, engulfing vessel in flames and billowing heavy smoke with toxic fumes. Some 1200 people, mainly port personnel, were evacuated. Vessel capsized and sank portside along the berth, similar to recent major fire accident in Norway,,, Video, >click to read< 09:55
From grief to gratitude – April McCarthy’s husband was lost at sea
April McCarthy walks down a gravel path in the cemetery in Tors Cove, a small community on Newfoundland’s Southern Shore, towards her husband’s grave. She picks at some of the weeds that have crept into the site, that’s boxed in with a wooden frame, filled with white stones. Flowers and ornaments line the base of Chris McCarthy’s black tombstone. But his body is not buried here.,,, Sept. 12, 2009, It was a Saturday morning, and the Sea Gypsy was heading in with a full load of shrimp. Around 11 a.m., the boat started to slow. It was taking on water. >click to read< 08:19
10 years after lives lost in Sea Gypsy sinking, safety regulation still not enacted – >click to read<
The Women Doing Canada’s Most Dangerous Job: Fishing
“The first two captains I asked for employment—one was a family friend and the other my uncle—told me no when I asked for a job,” Fleet said. “As I’d never done it before, I didn’t exactly know what the risks and dangers were.” At the time, Fleet knew of only one woman who worked on a lobster boat, out of an estimated 1,500 Grand Manan residents in the industry. The only position she found was available because few others wanted to take it. Notorious for being reckless and hard to work with, the captain had lost two of his crewmen overboard the previous spring, though he was able to retrieve them safely. When she heard Fleet would be working with him, Fleet’s mother cried. >click to read< 21:01
Fishing Vessel Crew Member Held For Assault On The High Seas After Allegedly Stabbing Ship’s Captain Off Pensacola Coast
United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida Lawrence Keefe today announced a criminal complaint against Robert Odom, a crew member on a commercial fishing vessel who allegedly attacked and wounded the vessel’s captain with a pellet gun and long-blade knife as the vessel was underway in the Gulf of Mexico off Pensacola. The criminal complaint against Odom, 46, was lodged by the United States Coast Guard Investigative Service. >click to read< 19:56
Gondan Shipyard launches new Freezer Trawler
Saturday (Sep28) at GONDAN Shipyard in Figueras, at high tide, the launching of a new Fishing Stern Trawler Vessel built for Prestfjord AS took place. The vessel, designed by Kongsberg Maritime has a length of 77.3 m and a beam of 17 m. Built-in steel with aluminum superstructure, the stern trawler will operate in Arctic areas, in the Barents Sea and Svalbard waters. >click to read< 18:17
DUI interlock issue nearly sinks fisherman
The finicky nature of Washington’s ignition interlock program almost landed a man in jail after he failed to have the machine calibrated on time. Scott Goldade, 45, appeared before Pacific County South District Court Judge Nancy McAllister on Wednesday Sept. 25 for sentence compliance violations. Goldade works as a boat engineer for commercial fishing vessels. When Goldade got back from fishing on July 16 he realized he’d missed his service date when his car wouldn’t start. >click to read< 15:36
Federal Liberals treat East Coast fishery as ‘second class’; move to ban at-sea fish farms off BC, but not eastern Canada?
The Federation of Independent Sea Harvesters of Newfoundland and Labrador (FISH-NL) accuses the Liberal Party of Canada of talking out of both sides of its mouth for promising to phase out at-sea salmon farms in British Columbia while ignoring Eastern Canada. “The impact of open-pen aquaculture is the exact same on both coasts, with the same companies reportedly operating on both ends of the country, but the Liberal policy is strictly for the West Coast,” says Ryan Cleary, President of FISH-NL. “How does that make sense? How is that fair? Do the Liberals consider the East Coast fishery a second-class industry?” >click to read< 14:41
Arch bridge collapses in Taiwan, plummeting oil tanker into fishing boats
A towering arch bridge over a bay in eastern Taiwan collapsed Tuesday, sending a burning oil tanker truck falling onto boats in the water below. An air force helicopter, fishing vessels and more than 60 military personnel, including divers, were searching for possible victims. Six people are believed trapped on one of the fishing boats, the National Fire Agency said. The 460-foot-long bridge collapsed about 9:30 a.m. in Nanfangao, a tiny but often-crowded Pacific coast fishing village. Video, photos, >click to read< 13:24
The Toothy Grin of Bow Art! Shark mouth painted on his vessel is catching lots of attention
The new paint job on the boat Wedgeport fisherman Jeff Boudreau bought last year is snagging lots of interest. Knot Too Shore is wearing a toothy shark grin across her bow that can’t help but be noticed and it’s the perfect fit for Boudreau’s boat.,,, He says the shark mouth on his vessel is catching lots of attention “It’s only been on two days and people have been talking about it a lot.” >click to read< 11:09
China tariffs sinking overseas sales, Provincetown lobstermen not feeling the pinch
“It’s killed our price. It’s killed our markets,” said state Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante of Gloucester.,,, Multiple Massachusetts businesses, especially those in Gloucester, have been adversely affected as they cannot compete with Canadian wholesale prices. But the lobstermen themselves are not feeling the pinch, and if anything are seeing their prices rise, Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association Executive Director Beth Casoni said. “The fishermen are happy,” Casoni said. “They’re making money.” >click to read< 09:29
