Monthly Archives: January 2020
DFO says south coast cod numbers down – ‘This new assessment model is overly pessimistic,’ Atlantic Groundfish Council
Cod stocks are at critical levels off the south coast of Newfoundland and Labrador, according to the new model used by the Department of Fisheries and Ocean,, Even if there was no fishing permitted in the area this coming season, the stock is predicted to decline further. DFO says the natural mortality of the fish caused by predators and changes to the environment is around three times that of fishing mortality.,, But at least two organizations are slamming the new way DFO compiles its data. >click to read< 18:54
Cod stock in Area 3Ps off southern Newfoundland in ‘critical zone’ until at least 2022
– New model used to determine cod biomass questioned by industry, union. There are fewer cod in the 3Ps area off southern Newfoundland than ever recorded, according to new data released Wednesday by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO). >click to read< 21:45
Chesapeake Bay: Targeting male blue crabs for harvest is preventing female crabs from having offspring
The Bay’s crab fishery is currently regulated to limit the harvest of female crabs, in a so-far successful effort to ensure that enough survive to reproduce and maintain the crustacean’s overall abundance — and sustain the estuary’s most valuable fishery. But researchers have wondered — and even worried at times — if harvesting more male crabs (or jimmies, as watermen call them) than females could be having an impact on the population. >click to read< 17:27
1 dead, 2 missing after shrimp boat sinks off North Carolina, search continues
The Coast Guard rescued two crew members from a shrimp trawler when it went down in the Pamlico Sound on Tuesday, officials said. One of them was pronounced dead at the hospital, and two others are still missing.,, Two crew members were located by the aircrew and taken to Sentara Albemarle Hospital in Elizabeth City. One was hypothermic and the other, who required CPR, was pronounced dead at the hospital, according to the release. >click to read< 15:35
Coast Guard pulls two fishermen from water, searching for two others in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina
The Coast Guard pulled two mariners from the water after their vessel sank on Tuesday night, and is currently searching for the other two crewmembers in Pamlico Sound, North Carolina, Wednesday morning. Watchstanders at the Coast Guard’s Fifth District command center received a distress signal from an emergency position indicating radio beacon registered to fishing vessel Papa’s Girl. >click to read< 14:01
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 49′ 11″ x 19′ Novi Lobster/Gillnetter, Split Wheelhouse, Cat 3306
Specifications, information and 26 photos >click here< To see all the boats in this series, >click here< 11:14
Marine Protected Areas: May or May Not Include Actual Protection
Clearly, a marine protected area is a region of the ocean—and the marine life therein—set aside to be preserved in its natural state, kept safe from human exploitation, right? If only it were that simple. MPAs can involve a spectrum of objectives from allowing sustainable fishing and gathering to protecting biodiversity to conserving sites of scientific or cultural interest. In the end, unless it is created and managed in accordance with globally recognized standards, an MPA is whatever a particular jurisdiction decides it will be. >click to read< 10:43
Crabbers brave ‘sloppy seas’ to start harvest
Fishing crews reported enduring ‘sloppy seas’ for most of the season so far. “It was a little rough,” said Paul Blaylock of the F/V Amanda C, upon delivering their first catch of the season on Jan. 2. “We got a little wet.” The weather has fishermen and processors hopeful for more favorable conditions in the coming days. “It’s been a struggle. The fishing windows are very narrow right now,” 11 photos, >click to read< 08:59
Fishermen bound for Alaska receive prayers
A crowd of people gathered at the Port of Newport International Terminal at noon on Tuesday, Jan. 7, where prayers were offered for local commercial fishermen who are headed this week to Alaska’s Bering Sea. South Beach Church Pastor Luke Frechette called everyone in. “Closer,” he said, as dozens of people — fishermen, their families and their friends — formed a circle. The large fishing vessels, geared up, lined the dock behind them. >click to read< 08:17
Letter to the Editor: (and the rest of the world) Urging Action on Seal Population Control
The exploding seal population is a consequence of the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act, which allowed for the rapidly growing seal overpopulation. Seals attract great white sharks, which feed upon them and ferociously attack humans. We once had a thriving fishing industry, kept healthy in part by a bounty system of predator control. That ended in 1972 with the passage of the protection act, which not only lifted the bounties on fish-eating predators like seals, but placed them under perpetual protection, immune from mitigation. Now fully recovered, the seal population has grown beyond what any reasonable person would consider healthy. Ron Beaty >click to read< 07:15
Feds answer lawmakers’ calls to fast-track replenishment of Dune Road
Army Corps of Engineers will begin seeking bids Wednesday for a project to replenish a severely eroded beach along Dune Road in Hampton Bays after lawmakers pushed for the federal agency to fast-track the work. The barrier island has sustained several washovers since October in the area near the Shinnecock Commercial Fishing Dock, the state’s second-largest fishing port, putting millions of dollars’ worth of infrastructure in jeopardy. >click to read< 16:04
Future of offshore fish farming in federal waters at issue in court
The potential environmental and economic consequences posed by proposals for fish farming in federal waters dictate that Congress — not a federal agency — must decide how to regulate the industry, an attorney told a federal appeals court Monday. At issue before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was a September 2018 ruling by a federal judge who threw out National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s rules for fish farms in the Gulf of Mexico, saying Congress never gave the agency authority to make them. >click to read< 14:58
Meet Chris Schillaci who Joins Greater Atlantic Region’s Aquaculture Program! – In December, Chris Schillaci joined the Greater Atlantic Region’s aquaculture program, bringing ten years of experience to his new role. We asked Chris a few questions as he was settling in. >Click to read<
Florida Keys Fisherman Can’t Dip A Toe In Keys Waters For Five Years
A commercial fisherman in the Florida Keys has been sentenced in a case involving undersized lobster. The sentence also keeps him out of the water for quite some time. Alfredo Gonzalez was the captain of the lobster boat Perseverance when Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers stopped the vessel off the Gulf side of Marathon on Jan. 13, 2018. >click to read< 11:51
Skipper Michael Joyce says fish littering the shore indicates stocks higher than expected
A Lark Harbour fisherman says it’s frustrating to see thousands of mackerel wash up dead on local shores, while fishermen were not permitted to catch any of the fish last season.,,, Andrew Smith, a stock assessment biologist for Atlantic mackerel with DFO, says the input of harvesters is an important part of studying fish stocks, but he said the scientific data doesn’t support the idea that stocks are higher than estimated. >click to read< 10:29
Virginia faces a threatened shutdown of its large commercial fishery for Atlantic menhaden.
Virginia faces a threatened shutdown of its large commercial fishery for Atlantic menhaden after federal officials found the state had allowed too many of the commercially and ecologically important fish to be taken from the Chesapeake Bay. In a letter released Thursday, the head of the Commerce Department agency that regulates federally managed fisheries declared Virginia out of compliance with an interstate management plan for menhaden. >click to read< 09:12
RODA Calls for 4 Nautical Mile Transit Lanes in New England Offshore Wind Areas
Today, RODA submitted a proposal to the U.S. Coast Guard, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and the National Marine Fisheries Service calling for the designation of 4 nm transit lanes through the New England wind energy lease areas. 4 nm transit lanes would preserve safe and efficient passage along the routes most often used by fishermen. >click to read< 08:30
Fishermen call for 4-nautical-mile lanes between offshore wind turbines – >click to read<
In praise of those who make our lives more comfortable – John DeMonti
How I take for granted the things that just appear on the store shelf and, increasingly, at my doorstep. It makes me feel sheepish to know that men go out in boats into the frigid Atlantic Ocean so, when I’m flush, I can have a feed of lobster. I know that they are paid well for their catch, thanks, in large part, to a burgeoning middle class with purchasing power in China. But I’ve also stood before the fishermen’s memorial in Lunenburg that lists the names of the more than 600 folk from Lunenburg County who have lost their lives ensuring that fish gets on all of our dinner plates. >click to read< 07:27
A ‘battleship’ of a crab boat – Owner of Alaska crab boat thought of Scandies Rose as unsinkable
The F/V Scandies Rose, which was managed out of Seattle, sank suddenly near Sutwik Island, off the coast of the Alaskan Peninsula. Two crew members were rescued by the Coast Guard from life rafts; the other five were not found. Two of the lost crew members and one of the survivors were from Washington. Dan Mattsen, who owns the Scandies Rose with two other partners, said he is still processing what happened. He is interviewed by KIRO Radio’s Dori Monson >click to read, listen< 19:27
Long Island: Study to assess whether shellfish dredging affects Oyster Bay Harbor
Researchers from Stony Brook University plan to study how mechanical shellfish harvesting kicks up sediment in Oyster Bay Harbor over the coming year. How the sediment affects the environment under the waves is a hotly contested issue that could impact negotiations for a new lease on the town’s shellfish beds. Baymen, independent shell fishermen, allege that shellfishing company Frank M. Flower & Sons Inc.’s methods are damaging the environment. The company’s lawyer said he expects the study to show their methods are safe. >Click to read< 16:25
“New Year’s happy news.” Fishing boat reels in $1.79 million tuna to start the year
Captain Masahiko Yamamoto has the fish story of the new year, the day he hit the lottery at sea, landing a million-dollar catch. Yamamoto, 57, was on his boat when he heard that a 276-kilogram bluefin tuna he landed sold at the first auction of the year at the Toyosu fish market in Tokyo on Jan. 5. The winning bid of 193.2 million yen ($1.79 million) from a Tokyo-based sushi chain operator was the second-highest ever in the New Year’s auction.,, The waters here have produced tuna fetching the highest price in the New Year’s auction for nine consecutive years, making Oma famed as the “pole-and-line fishing bluefin tuna town.” >click to read< 11:22
Rising costs drain contingency fund for Canada’s new fisheries science ships
According to a memorandum prepared for Jonathan Wilkinson, the former minister of fisheries and oceans, the project had already used $19 million in contingency funds by May 2019. But more was needed, the memo said, to cover “escalating project costs such as labour rates and owner’s changes, as well as other unexpected increases to project costs including transition into service costs.” “Access to the remainder of the contingency funding [redacted] is now required,” the two-page memo said. >click to read< 10:21
‘We really don’t know what happened’ – son of fisherman who died in Wexford tragedy says as search continues for second man
A search resumes this morning for a Wexford man who has been missing since the trawler he was fishing on sank late on Saturday night. Willie Whelan, who is in his 40s, was fishing off Hook Head with another man, Joe Sinnott (65), who was winched from the sea and rushed to hospital but who died later. The trawler, a scallop fishing vessel, was said to be in good condition and working in good sea conditions when it sank. >Click to read< 08:38
Search for missing fisherman continues – A search has resumed for a fisherman missing since the trawler he was on sank on Saturday night. >click to read<
A commercial fisherman, Stephen E. McCullough, passes away
Stephen E. McCullough, 48 of Cape May, New Jersey, passed away on Thursday, January 2, 2020 after an extended illness. With a passion for being on the water, Steve worked as a commercial fisherman since his teenage years. Steve is dearly missed and forever loved by his family. Steve’s family will receive friends from 10am until 11am on Thursday, Jan. 9th, at the Spilker Funeral Home in Cape May. In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions are suggested through “In Memory Of” online at www.inmemof.org/steve-mccullough – These funds, in honor of Steve, will be distributed by Steve’s family to a future distressed family (or families) within the commercial fishing industry. >click to read< 07:18
Sea Scalloper F/V Martha Rose Joins Menemsha Fleet
The Martha Rose, a 77-foot sea scalloper with a rich history, had her maiden voyage this week as the newest member of the Menemsha fleet. The boat is captained by Wes Brighton, a well-known fisherman on the Dutcher Dock, and will employ a crew of three.,, She was originally named the Lindsay L., though Mr. Brighton said the name was changed briefly to Hannah Boden for her role in the 2000 film The Perfect Storm. >click to read< 05:55
Fall 2019 Pacific Islands Fishery Newsletter
Aloha! Enjoy our latest newsletter. Includes a Message from the Council’s Executive Director, The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council embraces its duty, and that of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), to not only conserve and manage fish stocks, protected species and habitat but also ensure the viability of our region’s fisheries and fishing communities. Addressing the US seafood trade deficit and illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing are goals of this Administration,,, >click to read< and continue at the newsletter. 18:02
Bycatch – From problem to opportunity. Nils E. Stolpe/FishNet USA
For as long as I have been involved in the commercial fishing industry, and that’s going back for what is approaching forty years, there has been a widespread feeling that “things would be better if this industry were administratively housed in the Department of Agriculture (DOA).” Whether at the state level, in state waters within three miles of the coastline, or the federal level beyond three miles, there’s always been a sort of wistful “wouldn’t it be great if we were over there” view of the DOA, and the reasons for this aren’t awfully difficult to fathom. The Department of Agriculture, no matter whether state or federal, is mostly focused on promotion, and fisheries agencies, no matter the level, are regulatory in nature, in organization and in attitude. This is glaringly obvious with the National Marine Fisheries Service, the federal fisheries agency, which in recent years has become almost totally focused to the virtual exclusion of anything else on limiting – rather than enhancing – the commercial production of fish and shellfish. >click to read< 15:06
Old Farmer’s Almanac Vs. NOAA’s Winter Forecasts
Weather.com reported this week that massive winter storms of snow, ice, and freezing weather have wreaked havoc across the Midwest and Northeast. In addition, Weather.com reported that over 400 daily cold records were set since the cold flowed into the continental US in mid-November. NOAA’S Winter Climate Forecast The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast in the Autumn, that warmer-than-average temperatures were in store for the country.,, The Old Farmer’s Almanac bases its winter forecasts on astronomical space science of the 1800s and extreme skill and experience of their forecasters. And importantly on honesty, because they have to get it right. No choice. If they don’t, farmers suffer and they themselves go bankrupt. >click to read< 11:57
UPDATED: Father-of-four who died in trawler tragedy named, Search for trawler has been stood down
The man who died after being winched from the sea off Hook Head following a fishing tragedy has been named locally as Joe Sinnott, from Kilmore Quay in Co Wexford. Mr Sinnott (65), a well-respected fisherman and a father-of-four, was picked up by rescue crews after an automatic distress signal was sent from the stricken Alize fishing boat, which was positioned off Hook Head at around 10.30pm last night. A sea and coastal search continues today for a second man, aged in his 40s, who was also on the Alize. >click to read< 10:41
Search for trawler has been stood down; One fisherman dies, another missing – A multi-agency search operation near Hook Head is winding down due to worsening weather conditions and visibility as darkness approaches. It is expected to resume again on Monday morning at approximately 8am. >click to read< 16:55
Man accused of killing Franky the pug arrested after domestic violence call
A Hancock man accused of killing a lobsterman’s pug who had not been seen since violating his bail conditions nearly six months ago was arrested over the weekend in Gouldsboro. Nathan A. Burke, 38, was arrested without incident,,, Burke and 24-year-old Justin Chipman of Steuben were charged with aggravated cruelty to animals, aggravated criminal mischief, burglary and theft in connection with the August 2018 killing of a pug named Franky owned by Winter Harbor fisherman Phil Torrey. >click to read< 10:02
Life at sea: Battling the elements for a good living
The last time they went out on a four-day fishing trip they made £30,000, and estimate they will lost out on roughly £5,000 because of the weather. “If you were to go out of the harbour just now and your engine were to conk out – you wouldn’t see next week,” skipper John Clark said. “Only two boats were in the fish market today and demand was very good. Boxes were going for £300 – that’s why we want to get back out again. “But with our job, the weather dictates our fishing time.” Video, photos, >click to read< 09:01
In Alaska, commercial fishing remains dangerous despite increased safety measures
Commercial fishing was once the most dangerous job in the country, (Scott Wilwert said, and during the 1970s and 1980s an increase in accidents and deaths ultimately led to the passage of the Commercial Fishing Industry Vessel Safety Act of 1988. The regulations required boats to have survival suits and life rafts and to carry out onboard safety drills, among other safety measures.,, “There was a time in the ’70s and ’80s where, I think, even the fishermen would tell you that there was a mentality, that ‘you have to go out but you don’t have to come back’ kind of thing,” Wilwert said. “That just doesn’t exist, nobody thinks that way anymore.” >click to read< 07:29
