Monthly Archives: March 2020
Protecting Commercial Fishermen from Preventable Diseases
Seamen take on a very high risk of injury compared to workers in many other industries. Hazards specific to the job create certain common types of accidents among maritime workers. One of the potential hazards in a fishing vessel is the spread of communicable diseases because of poor hygiene or an unsanitary environment. These medical emergencies can be avoided with “medical survival skills”. Here is a list of things that should be done onboard to prevent the spread of disease:,, Who is liable for the spread of preventable disease on a commercial fishing vessel? The skipper has a responsibility to create a clean and healthy work environment. >click to read < 16:38
Lobsterman: Cocaine, booze and sleep deprivation caused at-sea injuries
Lobsterman Jody LeBlanc had been awake for most of two days, snorting cocaine and drinking alcohol aboard the F/V Jacqueline Robin, when he was knocked over by a deck-breaching wave and injured so severely, LeBlanc makes that allegation in a federal lawsuit claiming his injuries are permanent and caused by a reckless culture of drug and alcohol abuse aboard the lobster boat, that “rent” was collected from the crew to buy drugs and booze, and its consumption was “encouraged.” Being litigated in U.S. District Court of New Hampshire, LeBlanc’s suit was filed by Maine attorney Alicia Curtis, who did not respond to a request seeking comment or an interview with her client. >click to read< 15:17
In America’s largest salmon fishery, preparations begin for coronavirus prevention ahead of the season
Around Bristol Bay, community leaders, health facilities and local entities are working to coordinate their preparations for the coronavirus. Thousands of fishermen, processors, and cannery workers will travel to Bristol Bay in the coming months to participate in the commercial fishery. As of Thursday afternoon, no one in the region had been tested for COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Alaska’s first known case of the disease was announced Thursday afternoon. >click to read< 11:26
Crab season continues as whale entanglement risk remains low
From a California Department of Fish and Wildlife release: The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is providing the following important update on the status of the commercial California Dungeness crab fishery which includes the Northern Management Area (Fish and Game Districts 6, 7, 8 and 9) and Central Management Area (Fish and Game Districts 10 and south). more, >click to read< 09:42
Coronavirus: Proposed lobster fishery closure thumbs down. Not all lobster dealers agree.
A proposal by the Nova Scotia Seafood Alliance to temporarily close the lobster fishery in Lobster Fishing Areas (LFA) 33 and 34 is not getting industry support. An Industry conference call involving about a dozen industry representatives resulted a consensus by the majority that there be no variation order to close the lobster fishery in LFAs 33 and 34.,, Not all lobster dealers agree closing the fishery is the best way to deal with the situation. “The answer is not shutting down the industry,” said Erica Smith, president of Fishermen’s Premium Atlantic Lobster Inc. on Cape Sable Island. more, >click to read< 08:07
Coronavirus: “These are not normal times” Situation changing ‘by the hour’ as seafood industry reels
New Brunswick’s seafood industry is reeling as the coronavirus fallout spreads in traditional markets around the world. “Things are changing by the hour,” said Melanie Sonnenberg of the Grand Manan Fishermen’s Association.,, It is a concern shared by other companies. It is estimated well over a thousand international workers are employed in the industry during the processing season, which begins in May. The spring lobster season on the Bay of Fundy’s north shore also starts in May. And in Dipper Harbour, fisherman Greg Thompson is pretty sure of one thing: prices will be rock bottom. >click to read< 06:47
Marathon kids grow up to be industry professionals
When visitors and locals pour in to the Original Marathon Seafood Festival this weekend, they’ll be thinking about the tasty seafood. Maybe they’ll wonder about the commercial fishermen who do battle to provide the delicacies. Few will consider how young some of these fishermen are. Well, we GROW fishermen in the Keys. They come out of the womb and, seemingly, in no time they’re holding a pole. Or driving the boat. Or working the stern. That’s the case for two young men from Marathon — Cole McDaniel, 16, and Tony Palma, 15. They do it for fun and they do it for work. more, >click to read< 17:24
Beth Said Yes! But what was the question?
Beth Said Yes! and I thought he had popped the question. But what question did he ask? It was the boat I wrote about a few weeks ago. While visiting Bar Harbor, Maine, on a cruise aboard a huge liner, my wife and I, along with our friends Bob and Beth were taking an excursion on a sightseeing boat when it appeared. The lobster boat with traps piled on the back had the name Beth Said Yes! painted boldly on her stern and both sides of the bow. more, >click to read< 15:55
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for March 13, 2020, Industry Funded Economic Survey reminder
Legislative updates, Bill updates, Calendar, >Click here to read the Weekly Update<, to read all the updates >click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here< Industry Funded Economic Survey: It is very important that all fishermen fill out this survey and return it. This information is so NC can get an accurate value for our fishing industry. Deadline will be March 20, 2020. If you have not received an economic survey, or have questions, please contact Chris Dumas 910-962-4026 or via email [email protected] 11:19
Marine Electronics: Time to work, sonar tells squid fishermen
We have a hundred times more efficiency using Wesmar sonar. Without it we wouldn’t go fishing. For sardines you have to have it. Sonar is the main thing for us. It tells us when to start work,’ said Anthony Russo, owner of two large purse seiners in the Monterey fleet. He owns two of the largest purse seiners in the fleet, 88-foot King Philip and 78-foot Sea Wave. He bought Sea Wave in 1989 and built King Philip in 1999. They are part of a 25-vessel fleet in Moss Landing, California that fish almost daily for squid, sardines, anchovy or mackerel. more, >click to read< 08:22
Lawmakers kill SB948 bill threatening watermen’s oyster licenses
A bill that recently prompted hundreds of watermen to descend on the Maryland State House to protest threats to their ability to harvest oysters has been withdrawn from consideration. Senate bill 948’s axing marks a legislative victory for Maryland watermen, who have had to defend their livelihoods from state regulation on numerous occasions through the years. “We’re tickled that it was killed,” said Jeff Harrison, president of the Talbot Watermen Association. more, >click to read< 07:14
Lobster buyers and processors call for shutdown of N.S. fishery as coronavirus guts world markets
Lobster buyers and processors in Nova Scotia want an immediate stop to all lobster fishing in the province because the coronavirus pandemic has crushed the markets for it,,, The industry association held an emergency conference call Thursday to discuss “the current unprecedented market situation.” The problem is that more lobsters are being caught than the industry or market can absorb. “The collapse of markets in the Pacific Rim, Europe and now North America make the challenge monumental as of today and for the short term future at least,” the summary states. >click to read< 06:07
Lobster fishery temporary shutdown proposed by buyers for LFAs 33 and 34 due to ‘collapse’ of markets -“Over 75 companies participated in the conversation and agreed all lobster harvesters in LFA 33 and 34 should immediately stop fishing and that a variation order be issued by DFO,” more, >click to read< 09:58
Coronavirus: International turmoil keeps the lobster at home
Commercial fishing is a notoriously condition-dependent occupation. As of early February, however, in addition to the changeable sea and the here-today, gone-tomorrow nature of the work—as well as ongoing tariffs—local lobster fishermen like Brian Aresco of Carpinteria also had to contend with a ban on seafood imports due to the COVID-19 outbreak in their best market, China. Aresco said the price for lobster went from $16 a pound to $8 overnight. After expenses, he would be left with about $100 for 16-hours of work. more>click to read< 18:18
Coronavirus: Perfect storm?
What no one could foresee when the sun rose in Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) on Jan. 23 and everything seemed so normal was that the planet was already hurtling toward a global economic slowdown with possibly devastating repercussions for a fragile, Alaska economy dependent on oil, tourism, fisheries and the state Permanent Fund – all now suffering the fallout from the consequences of an invisible, contagious and too-often-deadly pathogen. A month before that sunrise, with Utqiagvik still cloaked in darkness, a new coronavirus spawned no one knows exactly where was already spreading in Wuhan, China far to the south and west. more, >click to read< 15:09
A year in the life of a tuna boat helicopter pilot
I had 25 minutes of fuel on board and no place to land except our boat or the sea. As I got closer, I could clearly see the boat heaving in the swell. My eyes were wide as I flew the approach and, with concentration levels dialled up, I stuck it to the pad as trained. My mechanic ran out to strap the machine down. He got the first one on and I rolled the throttle back to ground idle. I could taste the sea spray off the bow. I was flying off tuna boats and loving it! more. >click to read< 13:10
Coronavirus: B.C. commercial fishery amid sectors fearing COVID-19 current market fallout
B.C.’s seafood sector, currently strike by a collapse in exports to Asia for the reason that of COVID-19 all through the new Lunar New Yr, is bracing for the probability of cafe and grocery retail outlet closures alongside the U.S. West Coast due to the fact of the pandemic. The worthwhile halibut fishery is due to open up March 20 in B.C. and that capture is “almost entirely marketed to white tablecloth dining establishments from Vancouver to San Diego down the I-5 corridor,” said Christina Burridge, executive director of the B.C. Seafood Alliance. more, >click to read< 10:03
Crab, oyster exports to China down as coronavirus impacts trade – “My company is about 70% export,” said Ken Wiegardt of Wiegardt Brothers Inc., an oyster producer in Nahcotta that operates under the trade name Jolly Roger. The virus “has certainly taken a big chunk” out of his orders this year, he said. China is not accepting shipments of live food, including shellfish and crab. more, >click to read< 11:21
Rep. Genevieve McDonald seeks re-election to House District 134
Representative Genevieve McDonald, D-Stonington, has announced her re-election campaign as a candidate for the Maine House of Representatives for District 134. “It has been my honor to serve this district and I hope to continue working for the people as their representative in Augusta,” she said in a news release. McDonald is a commercial lobsterman and serves on the Joint Standing Committee on Marine Resources, according to a press release. more, >click to read< 08:25
Opinion: If EDF wants to do something about improving cod stocks it needs to address the other factors
The fact is if the Environmental Defense Fund wants to improve cod stock it needs a more holistic approach to cod conservation, taking into account all the factors affecting cod. Not approaching the situation in this manner is just plain wrong. There are a number of other factors that the EDF needs to address if they want to bring back cod stocks. The first is the gigantic seal population that has a dramatic impact on fish populations, including cod. EDF needs to confront the marine mammal conservation community if it wants to conserve cod. more, by Fisherman Theodore Ligenza >click to read< 07:51
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
Efforts begin to remove grounded vessel off Oregon Inlet
Collaborative efforts have begun to remove a fishing vessel that was grounded off of Oregon Inlet on the night of February 29. The crew of the 72-foot scallop boat were safely removed by an air crew from U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City the following morning, and until the vessel is towed away, it still remains stranded about 50 yards near the shoreline, and roughly a half mile south of ORV Ramp 4 on Bodie Island. more, >click to read< 19:08
Coronavirus Breakthrough! Live lobster shipment from Nova Scotia to China resumes
For the first time in more than a month, live lobster from Nova Scotia has been flown to China, after fear of the coronavirus and travel restrictions caused market sales to plummet. Premier Stephen McNeil said just under 70 tonnes of live lobster were shipped from the Halifax Stanfield International Airport to China on Saturday, which is about two-thirds of a full flight. “We’re just hoping it’s the first of many,” McNeil told reporters at the legislature Tuesday. more, >click to read< 16:45
Fukushima Fishermen Aim to Expand Catches for Survival
Fishery operators in Fukushima Prefecture, home to the disaster-crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant, are set to expand their catches, aiming to shore up a local fishing industry that has struggled with unfounded rumors about radiation contamination. There are concerns that an expansion of catches may trigger a price collapse but fears of a possible decline of the industry are seen outweighing such considerations. photo’s, more>click to read< 14:53
Fight to keep Snake River dams is not over
Those who see breaching the dams as the best option to restore salmon populations and the endangered killer whales that feed on them, will be working hard to get that determination changed, Dam-breaching advocates insist that the electricity produced by dams could be replaced with wind and solar production, said Rick Dunn, general manager of the Benton PUD. But utilities disagree. Breaching and risk of blackouts The Snake River dams provide insurance against blackouts, he said. Without them the probability of regional blackouts in the Northwest would double, according to the draft report. more, >click to read< 13:00
