Daily Archives: December 4, 2019
Southeast Alaska fisherman pleads guilty to illegally harvesting $35,000 worth of sea cucumbers
A Southeast Alaska commercial fisherman has been convicted for his role in illegally harvesting nearly 7,500 pounds of sea cucumbers near Prince of Wales Island. Jonathan McGraw Jr., of Naukati Bay, pleaded guilty to fishing in closed waters and providing false information on a harvest report. Both are misdemeanors. In 2018, McGraw and two others were charged with illegally fishing in a scientific preserve near Whale Pass. That area has been closed to fishing since the 1980s. >click to read< 21:13
F/V Darana R Hosts NOAA Fisheries Scientists During Fall Survey
A dozen scientists and staff members from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center visited the 90-foot F/V Darana R in Point Judith, Rhode Island on October 3. The stop was a port call in the midst of the fall NorthEast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program (NEAMAP) survey off the coast of Rhode Island.,, Captain Jimmy Ruhle, son Bobby Ruhle, and crew member Rigo Rodriguez deploy and retrieve all fishing gear, and work with six survey staff from VIMS. The survey collects data including catch, effort, and environmental conditions. Photo’s, >click to read< 18:50
Vineyard Wind: delayed project reveals bluster in US’s offshore wind ambitions
The recent decision by the Interior Department to hit the pause button on plans to build the first major US offshore windfarm off the Massachusetts coast means the project now hangs in the balance. Amid federal agency infighting, does the country risk squandering a vital resource of clean energy? We investigate. The waiting game: could Vineyard Wind be the new Cape Wind? >click to read< 16:09
FV Sally J – A Community Restoration Project
This past year, the iconic commercial fishing vessel the Sally J, located in front of the Lopez Island Historical Museum, had her gillnet gear reinstalled. The restoration of the Sally J has been a Lopez community effort from the time she came to the museum until now, and the historical society would like to acknowledge all of the people who have contributed this year and in the past, and give you an update on the progress made this year. >click to read< Lopez Island Historical Society >click to visit< 15:25
Most likely Carnival Cruise Lines is responsible for 18+ Right Whale deaths in the past 3 year, at which rate they would soon be extinct.
Human caused Right whale deaths have suddenly, in sync with a plummeting whale birthrate, put the right whale on the path to extinction.,,, There is the simple answer, to halt the march towards extinction. There is an easy way to prevent those 18 deaths and at least bring that -18 up to 0. We can stop the majority of the anthropogenic Whale deaths with a simple Cruise Ship lane modification between PEI and the tip of the Gaspe Peninsula. Prior to 2007 ships were almost solely responsible for Right whale deaths, but since 2008 fishing line entanglement deaths have increased and fishermen have become the main target. However data from the past 3 years indicate many more ship strike deaths than entanglement deaths. >click to read< 12:41
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 40′ Young Bros. Lobster Boat, 450HP Caterpillar 3208TA
Specifications, information and 15 photos >click here< To see all the boats in this series, >click here< 11:26
Jones Act changes would ‘jeopardise countless US jobs’ in offshore wind
US fisheries advocacy body the Fisheries Survival Fund (FSF) has claimed proposed changes to the Jones Act – requiring that cargo, including wind turbines, shipped between US ports be transported on American-flagged vessels – could cost ‘countless of job opportunities’ to local companies in the rapidly emerging Northeast Atlantic offshore wind sector. “These proposed modifications would place foreign-owned offshore wind energy companies at a unique advantage not afforded to the thousands of US-owned maritime industries, including commercial fisheries,” said FSF counsel David Frulla. “FSF is not submitting this letter to oppose offshore wind energy development in its entirety,, >click to read< 09:21
Shrimping has begun off the Eastern Shore of Virginia.
White shrimp, which thrive in the Gulf of Mexico and south Atlantic Ocean, typically only venture as far north as North Carolina in any significant numbers. A ghost of a shrimp market has existed off Virginia for only one or two weeks out of the year, but this year, it’s something different. This fall, six watermen have been granted licenses to trawl for much larger quantities of the succulent 4-8 inch shrimp in an experimental fishery,, >click to read< 08:18
Coast Guard rescues boat captain from attack off Marco Island
The U.S. Coast Guard is out searching for an empty fishing boat that was last seen around 70 miles off Marco Island. The captain of that missing boat was allegedly attacked on Monday by a crew member wielding a “blunt object.” Members of the Coast Guard left their Fort Myers Beach station before 11 a.m. on Tuesday. Their mission was to find that missing boat: The Road Runner. Video, >click to read< 07:42
Rafael’s own fishery complaints opened door to his downfall. Coast Guard report details extensive fishing violations
In January 2015, angered by cuts to his portion of federal groundfish disaster relief, Rafael publicly railed against the process and said he planned to sell his more than 40 vessels and the approximately 60 federal fishing permits attached to them. And with that, five federal law enforcement agencies saw their opening.,,, New Hampshire fisherman David Goethel, in the question-and-answer segment, complained that none of the fish dealers who participated in the scheme — particularly Rafael’s infamous New York dealer — were indicted. >click to read< 06:14
Coast Guard report details extensive fishing violations – “I can’t tell you how angry my fishing community is over this,” Marshfield fisherman Ed Barrett said. Barrett felt NOAA, the New England council and fishermen knew that Rafael was fishing illegally. Rafael had a long history of fishing violations and bragged openly about how he could beat the system, and yet Audyatis said the investigation that eventually caught him didn’t start until 2015. >click to read<
