Daily Archives: March 11, 2020

Cook Inlet setnet permit buyout bill stalled in Senate

Senate Bill 90, sponsored by Sen. Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, would establish a mechanism in law for setnetters on Cook Inlet’s East Side to set up a permit buyback. There’s no funding included in the bill, but the establishment of the mechanism itself would allow stakeholders to seek funding, whether it comes from the federal government, state, or private equity. ,, The East Side setnet fishery has gradually been losing value for years. For the last few decades, user-group politics have led to the Board of Fisheries reducing the time and area allowances for setnetters on Cook Inlet’s East Side, who compete for salmon headed for the Kenai and Kasilof rivers, which also host large sport and personal-use fisheries. more, >click to read< 20:46

What happens when you strap a GoPro to a lobster?

Zachary Fowler was the winner of “History’s” Alone Season 3,,  Since then, Fowler has taken his half-million-dollar winnings and parlayed it into a sustainable YouTube video and production enterprise,,  One of his recent bouts of mischief caught on camera was to strap a GoPro to a lobster he’d just caught in a trap 30 minutes earlier.,, “Lobster traps are more like feeding stations and if you watch them on underwater cameras, lobsters are constantly going in and out of them, contrary to what people think is a ‘trap,’” he said. more, Video, >click to read< 18:58

Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 100′ Canadian built Purse Seiner, aluminum power skiff

To view specifications, information, and 40 photos >click here< To see all the boats in this series, >click here< 15:58

Herring fisherman – Our fishery is in peril because of anti-fishing propaganda to demonize our livelihood

It’s hard to believe public sentiment of this fishery has gone from sustainable and economically viable to a so-called environmental atrocity in just a few years. Herring fishing has brought millions of dollars of economic benefit to my home town. This year has brought substantial herring returns and lengthy spawn deposition, yet the environmental movement has us in their sights and protesting has become much more trendy and profitable than resource extraction. Our fishery is in peril, not for scientific reasons or the status of herring stocks, but because of anti-fishing propaganda that use drones and expensive photography equipment to demonize our livelihood,,, more, by Josh Young, Pender Harbour, B.C.   >click to read< 12:47

‘Everybody wanted Brexit’, Arbroath’s situation is complex.

“We’re actually fishing creels on traditional whitefish grounds just now,” says John Cargill, discussing his day’s work at sea, one which threw up a decent catch of crabs. “There is no whitefish within 100 miles of here.  “There is no point in building a boat to catch haddock when there is not a haddock in 100 miles. That’s my opinion.”,, “Most of the fishermen I know, everybody wanted Brexit,” said Mr Cargill, who started out in the industry in 1982, aged just 16, on the whitefish boats. “It might be a bit sticky on the shellfish to start with if we don’t get a deal but I think it’s worth a gamble instead of being run by the EU.” The 53-year-old said his vote for Brexit was “nothing to do” with his work as a shellfish specialist in Angus and claims he “couldn’t understand” why the UK chose to join the EU in the first place. more, >click to read< 10:52

Lobsterman Julie Eaton running for House District 134

Lobster boat Captain Julie Eaton has announced she is running for Maine State House of Representatives for District 134. District 134 represents the towns of Frenchboro, Swans Island, Southwest Harbor, Tremont, Stonington, Deer Isle, Cranberry Islands, Vinalhaven, Isle-au-Haut, North Haven and the Marshall Island Township. She will run as a clean elections candidate as a Democrat with special emphasis on fishing issues, the opioid crisis and supporting small businesses in the coastal communities along her district, more, >click to read< 09:56

“Everybody is getting paid but us,” Crabbers struggling after Jessie’s Ilwaco Fish Company failure

More than a week after Jessie’s filed paperwork to enter receivership, fishermen such as Teall are feeling the fallout. Teall is a crew member of the F/V Beachcomer, owned by Jim Kary, and has worked for Kary for about 15 to 18 years. Receivership documents filed by Jessie’s show the boat was owed more than $30,000 before the company closed its doors. Teall would have made about $4,500 from that last load of crab, he said. “Other than not getting paid, it’s the best season I’ve had since working for Jim,” Teall said. more, >click to read< 07:46

Asking? The Feds are asking!!! Fed asking ships to slow down in Cabot Strait to protect right whales

Transport Canada is trying a new voluntary speed limit in the Cabot Strait as a part of its plan to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale.
First announced in February, the voluntary speed limit would see vessels over 13 metres long slow down to 10 knots in a portion of the Cabot Strait between April 28 to June 15 and Oct. 1 to Nov. 15.,, Another measure impacting the Cabot Strait and Gulf of St. Lawrence is the government’s push to get more marine mammal observers on board vessels throughout the region. Sanders said Transport Canada and the Department of Fisheries and Oceans are working closely with shipping companies, cruise lines and ferry operators to get trained observers on board. more >click to read< 07:03