Monthly Archives: November 2019
Operations continue in New Brunswick as Connors Bros. files for creditor protection
Connors Bros., a major producer of seafood products in New Brunswick, has filed for protection from creditors, but it has reassured fishermen and others who depend on the company that things will carry on as usual.,,, That’s the understanding of Melanie Sonnenberg of the Grand Manan Fishermen’s Association. Sonnenberg said the company reached out to the group to assure members that there would be no interruptions in operations, and that bills would continue to be paid. >click to read< 17:35
All about Andrew – the fisherman who became Patron Saint of Scotland
The Bible tells us he was a fisherman who converted to Christianity and became one of Jesus Christ’s original disciples, so perhaps it’s no surprise he’s also the patron saint of fishermen and fishmongers. Why he’s the patron saint of singers and pregnant woman – and is believed to offer protection against sore throats and gout – is not so clear. Saint Andrew never actually visited Scotland during his lifetime but his kneecap, arm and fingerbone did arrive in Scotland – among other relics after his death. Fourth century monk Saint Rule was instructed to take them and sail west,,, >click to read< 14:32
Coast Guard suspends search for person in the water in Mobile Bay, Alabama
The Coast Guard suspended its search, Saturday, for a person in the water in Mobile Bay, Alabama. The Coast Guard and local agencies began searching Friday after watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Mobile received a report of a capsized boat in Mobile Bay. Coast Guard crews searched an area of 1,152 square nautical miles over the course of 29 hours but were unable to locate the missing crewmember. (USCG) >click to read< 12:54
The shrimp boat that capsized near Fort Morgan Friday morning does regular business with Billy’s Seafood in Bon Secour, according to Billy Parks, the owner of the seafood market. The ship, named “The Chief” capsized around 4 a.m., according to ALEA Marine Patrol. (WKRG)>Video, click to read<
Offshore wind farm proposals causing concerns for fishing industry
Sen. Susan Sosnowski (D – Dist. 37, South Kingstown, New Shoreham) was pleased to hear about the changes made to two offshore wind farm proposal last week, calling the revisions “positive development.” The developers of this project, Mayflower Wind and Vineyard Winds, are hoping to place an 84-turbine array off Martha’s Vineyard and another 15 turbines in the Rhode Island Sound. According to Sosnowski, she still has some remaining concerns. Same here, Senator! Where are the cease and desist orders? >click to read< 11:04
Ropeless Fishing Gear: New Crab Pot Could Help Reduce Whale Entanglements
Last year 46 whale entanglements were reported off the West Coast, and crab gear was responsible for about a third of them. According to Derek Orner, a bycatch reduction program coordinator with the National Marine Fisheries Service, this a growing problem,,, His agency recently announced grants for several ropeless fishing gear projects, including a new kind of crab pot developed by Coastal Monitoring Associates of California. >click to read< 09:43
Nova Scotia Lobster Exports: ‘Nothing else in our province comes close to it’.
Thousands of kilograms of live Nova Scotia lobster take off from the Halifax Stanfield International Airport everyday, shipped in bulk across the globe, often destined for customers in the United States, Europe and increasingly, Asia.,, However, the future of Nova Scotia’s lobster fishery isn’t as rosy as some would assume. A combination of historic landing rates, lobster politics and tighter regulations could impact fishers across the province. >click to read< 08:27
Coast Guard Report: Catch misreported on 350 fishing trips by Northeast multispecies groundfishery vessels
In its 21-page report, the Coast Guard said the analysis by its Boston-based First District enforcement staff identified more than 350 vessel trips during the period of 2011 to 2015 in the Northeast multispecies groundfishery “where there appears to be evidence of misreporting.” The analysis placed a particular focus on potential misreporting by vessels fishing in seasonal fisheries or fishing the same stock in more than one stock area. The goal of the misreporting, according to the report, is to keep fishing without exceeding catch limits and annual catch entitlements. >click to read< 07:10
Update: Coast Guard, agencies continue search for person in the water in Mobile Bay, additional details
The Coast Guard and local agencies are continuing their search for a person in the water in Mobile Bay, Alabama, Friday. Of the three mariners reportedly aboard the commercial fishing vessel when it sank, one crewmember was rescued by a Good Samaritan vessel earlier and another was found deceased by rescue divers. The other crewmember has yet to be found. >click to read< 19:06
1 Killed, Another Missing After Shrimp Boat Capsizes – The accident involved a 50-foot (15-meter) shrimp boat named “The Chief.” The vessel had three people aboard at the time of the accident. >click to read<
Hawke’s Bay commercial fisherman Karl Warr wants the public to see the job for what it is.
He’s installed a camera on board his boat to live stream what he’s doing to a website. “Personally it’s about, you know, showing the provenance of the product to our customers so rather than me tell them how it is, it’s right there on film to have a look yourself.” He’s broadcasting his methods to the world. Even his bycatch, the species he doesn’t intend to take, will be seen. It’s a risk he’s willing to take. Video, >click to read< 14:32
I Rescued as Coast Guard, local agencies searching for persons in the water in Mobile Bay, Alabama
The Coast Guard and local agencies are searching for two people in the water in Mobile Bay, Alabama, Friday. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Mobile received a report at approximately 5:00 a.m. of a capsized fishing vessel approximately five miles south of the entrance to Mobile Bay. A nearby Good Samaritan vessel rescued one passenger from the water in fair condition. Two passengers are still missing. >click to read< 12:33
Some B.C. salmon runs face ‘meaningful chance of extinction’ after landslide
The landslide prompted officials at multiple levels of government to organize a rescue mission that saw thousands of salmon, which are very vulnerable to stress, lifted by helicopter across the rocks that blocked their migration route. But despite that effort, prospects are dismal for the salmon in the upper reaches of the river, according to Dean Werk, president of the Fraser Valley Salmon Society. “We’re talking about virtually a collapse — a total collapse — of the salmon stocks above the Big Bar slide,” ,,, >click to read< 12:10
Blessing of the Fleet honors Trinidad’s fishing community
Hundreds gathered on the bluffs above Trinidad’s bay on a clear and crisp Thursday morning for the annual Blessing of the Fleet. As people walked to the site where the ceremony was held at the intersection of Trinity and Edwards streets, lively tunes were pumped through the speaker system.,, “We are so grateful for this glorious, crisp, dry fall day,” she said, “for the opportunity to gather together as a community to celebrate, honor and give thanks for the bounty of the oceans and for those whose livelihoods provide us with its nourishment.” >Photo’s, >click to read< 11:26
U.S.-China trade war is a boon for Atlantic Canada’s lobster harvesters. But what’s the catch?
Exports of Canadian lobster rose to a record $266-million from $112-million in the 18 months between January, 2018, and June, 2019. Meanwhile, U.S. exports have plummeted, especially in Maine, where live lobster exports to China collapsed by 81 per cent between June, 2018, and the same month this year. It’s all pumping millions of dollars into Atlantic Canada, fuelling a boat-building boom, sending pickup-truck sales soaring and giving lobster crews six-figure salaries, a significant raise from the recent past. >click to read< 10:17
This entrepreneur uses her kelp farm to help women in recovery
Three women join Francke and her husband, Brent Nappi, aboard the Linda Kate. They show up in jeans and sweatpants but change into oversized Grundéns overalls and boots. All hands are clad in bulky orange fishing gloves, and all eyes are on Francke. These women are all in recovery, and they are working together on a boat for the first time today. >click to read< 08:42
The secret Richmond lab where Bay Area crab season annually learns its fate
Each year, the fate of Northern California’s Dungeness crab season is in the hands of a few scientists in a quiet East Bay lab examining a small container of tan goo. At the California Department of Public Health lab in Richmond, the goo is viscera, or the internal organs of a Dungeness crab, and the scientists study it to determine whether a neurotoxin called domoic acid is present.,,, While the commercial Dungeness crab season is on hold for an entirely different reason — a lawsuit,,, >click to read< 07:56
George Washington’s Thanksgiving Proclamation
“Americans don’t know it and children aren’t taught it, but George Washington is responsible for our Thanksgiving holiday. It was our first president, not the Pilgrims and not Abraham Lincoln, who led the charge to make this day of thanks a truly national event.” On October 3, 1789, George Washington issued his Thanksgiving proclamation, designating for “the People of the United States a day of public thanks-giving” to be held on “Thursday the 26th day of November,” 1789, marking the first national celebration of a holiday that has become commonplace in today’s households.
Thanksgiving Proclamation: >click to read< 20:20
Opinion: The high price of our food
The deaths of three fishermen in the sinking of the scalloper F/V Leonardo out of New Bedford this week reminds us that not all fish come from “farms” in an industry where injury and deaths are no strangers.,, Take a walk past the Gloucester Fisherman’s Memorial and read tablets listing thousands of names In New Bedford, the names of Mark Cormier Jr., 35, Jerry Bretal, 51, and his stepson Xavier Vega, 29, have been added to the grim roll in a city that has mourned often over the last three centuries. >click to read< 18:44
Fishing boss steps down from British firms amid probe into £6m handed to ministers in Namibia
A powerful fishing magnate has been forced to quit a network of companies in the UK after becoming embroiled in a major corruption probe. Thorsteinn Mar Baldvinsson’s family-run fishing empire has a major hold on Britain’s lucrative cod rights and sells fish to supermarkets including Tesco, Marks & Spencer and Sainsbury’s, as well as fish and chip shops across the UK. But after almost 40 years in charge, the man dubbed the ‘Codfather’ has had to put his career on hold. >click to read< 16:59
Bugaled Breizh: Crew asked not to mention submarine, inquest told
A rescue helicopter pilot who attended a capsized French fishing vessel off Cornwall 15 years ago has told an inquest the crew was told not to mention the presence of a submarine. The trawler Bugaled Breizh sank in January 2004, with the loss of all five crew members. The inquest in Truro is examining the deaths of two of the men, Yves Gloaguen and Pascal le Floch. “I was not happy about this decision,” Capt Peter McLelland said. >click to read< 16:25
Update: WEATHER DELAY!!! Fishermen Helping Kids with Cancer to hold the Maple Ridge herring sale on Saturday!
Update (November 29): Fishermen Helping Kids With Cancer (FHKWC) announced that due to inclement weather conditions, the sale has been postponed and rescheduled to December 7.
A herring sale will take place Saturday, Nov. 30, in the front parking lot at Bruce’s Country Market, 23963 Lougheed Hwy. in Maple Ridge, starting at 8 a.m. and continuing until the fish run out. The idea for the fundraiser was sparked by the three-year battle a B.C. fisherman’s daughter had with cancer. She helped in the planning of the event, but died at the age of 17, just a few days before the inaugural sale. To date, Fishermen Helping Kids with Cancer has raised more than $650,000 for children being treated for cancer at B.C. Children’s Hospital. Video, >click to read< 13:04
Video: Maine lobstermen look to Asian Carp as potential solution for bait crisis
“My bait bill today was ridiculously high, I think. But there’s people that spend more,” said Lobsterman Steve Train. The rising costs are credited to increased demand, but also new regulations that limit the catch for one of the most popular fish for lobstering – herring. “The reality is it’s not the just the price, it’s the availability. Without the herring coming on to put in the bait bags to catch lobsters… we’re going to have a bait shortage,” said Train. The state estimates a nearly a 50,000,000 pound herring gap in the next year. >Video, click to read< 11:19
Posing as a Commercial Fisherman, Agent used lobster to butter up fentanyl dealer
Prosecutors said a Stoughton man sold fentanyl on several occasions to an undercover DEA agent who was posing as a commercial fisherman, offering lobsters to the alleged drug dealer in a sign of goodwill. Matthew Pizarro, 30, pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston Nov. 26,,, According to an affidavit filed by a VA investigator, the investigation involved an undercover DEA agent posing as a commercial fisherman who wanted to buy drugs. During on exchange on July 30, 2018, according to the affidavit, the undercover agent gave Pizarro a cooler of lobsters as a gift. Thank you! >click to read< 10:32
Science Advances report says marine protected areas may not be enough to preserve biodiversity
The paper published Wednesday in the journal Science Advances said climate change will erode the effectiveness of “static” marine protected areas across the globe, and “dynamic ocean management” is needed to preserve biodiversity when species or ecosystems move because of a changing ocean. When the critically endangered whales appeared unexpectedly in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in 2017, the results were disastrous. Twelve right whales whales died and Canada implemented speed limits in shipping lanes and temporary fishing-zone closures. Nine more died this year. >click to read< 09:05
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North Carolina: New blue crab management plan in the works
N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission recently announced it is moving forward with management measures for the blue crab that are designed to end overfishing. One of the biggest proposed changes is establishing closed seasons for the harvest, said Jason Rock, biologist supervisor with the Division of Marine Fisheries. >click to read< 15:09
Hope, history and redemption abound at the boatyard
There’s the frugal albacore fisherman gearing up for another go on a Canadian boat named after an American animated film. There’s the historic fishing vessel from a famed fishing family that last graced local waters more than 50 years ago being fully restored and ready to return. There’s an all-aluminum commercial vessel being rebuilt and repurposed into a bigger, faster and more-capable craft. Stories of hope, history and redemption abound at the Port of Ilwaco Boatyard, where the sole public boatyard on the Pacific Coast of Washington draws a unique clientele each season. >click to read< 13:56
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 50′ x 20′ Fiberglass Dragger, 479HP 6 Cylinder Cat C18 , Perkins 24 KW Auxiliary
Specifications, information and 57 photos >click here< To see all the boats in this series, >click here< 12:47
Opposite forecasts for SE pinks, Bristol Bay reds; Cook Inlet busts
Biologists are forecasting another weak pink salmon year for Southeast and another strong sockeye salmon run for Bristol Bay coming in the 2020 season. The forecasts for Southeast Alaska and for Bristol Bay, released in late November, continue the trends of the past few years in both areas. In Southeast, biologists are forecasting about 12 million fish to be harvested, with a range of 7 million to 19 million fish. >click to read< 11:51
Scientists review divisive whale risk reduction model
A panel of scientists gathered in Woods Hole, Mass., last week to evaluate a controversial “decision support tool” used by NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service to design proposed rules aimed at protecting endangered North Atlantic right whales and other large marine mammals from entanglement with fishing gear. Last spring, the NOAA Fisheries Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team (TRT) recommended that the fisheries service adopt new rules that would, among other requirements, force Maine lobstermen to remove from the water 50 percent of the vertical lines used to connect traps on the bottom to marker buoys on the surface. >click to read< 11:07
Fishermen Desperate for Hurricane Irma Disaster Relief
U.S. Virgin Islands fishermen aired their grievances at a public meeting held by the St. Thomas/St. John Fisherman’s Association on Monday, where they were told the $10.7 million received from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to rebuild the territory’s fishing industry is still not ready to be disbursed to individual fishermen. Fisherman’s Association Chairman Julian Magras said promises made to the association have not been followed through. “To say that we have a concrete update on where the money is, we do not,” >click to read< 10:00
