Monthly Archives: June 2020
Sitka man in an “aggravated and confrontational state”, charged with ‘terroristic threatening’ in harbor disturbance
Sitka police received a 9-1-1 call at about 8:15 P.M. that an intoxicated man was on a vessel, brandishing a knife and making threatening statements toward his fellow crew members and passersby. He may also have had a gun. On arrival, officers say they found Nicholas Bryant in an “aggravated and confrontational state.” >click to read< 10:32 Crewmember Arrested After Armed Confrontation in Sitka Harbor – Bryant refused to exit the vessel or to follow the officers’ instructions, but after they put a single round of pepper gas on deck, he came out and surrendered without further incident, the department reported. He was arrested and charged with two felony counts of “terroristic threatening in the second degree” and two felony counts of third degree assault. >click to read<10:32
Health department says OHA denied request to test Newport workers before outbreak occurred
Lincoln County Public Health says the Oregon Health Authority denied a request to test workers at a Newport fish processing plant prior to a COVID-19 outbreak at the facility the first week of June, which infected 124 workers and at least eight of their close contacts. According to The Astorian, “Outbreaks at Bornstein Seafoods in Astoria and Pacific Seafood in Warrenton prompted Michael McNickle, the county’s public health director, to call for mandatory, continuous testing paid for by businesses.” The authority told McNickle in an email that although there was internal discussion on the matter, they were “not at this time recommending mandatory, continuous testing at food processing facilities.” >click to read< 09:14
With demands for an investigation, Skipper describes how local boats are pushed out of fishing grounds
James Anderson said the 27 metre long German-registered fishing boat Pesorsa Dos could have caused serious damage to the Alison Kay had she been successful in her alleged attempts of running a line through the Alison Kay’s propeller during an incident off the west coast of Shetland last week. Video footage of the confrontation was widely shared by fishermen on social media and picked up by a number of news organisations. The Maritime and Coastguard Agency has been informed. Politicians and fishermen’s organisations have called for an investigation to be conducted. >click to read< 08:12
Brexit: EU preparing to row back on rights to fish in British waters
Brussels is preparing to back down over a Brexit fishing deal and acknowledge for the first time that European fleets do not have an automatic right to fish in British waters. In a concession to help to unlock negotiations, Michel Barnier is understood to accept that the UK will have to be treated as an independent coastal state and have annual negotiations with the bloc over fishing quotas from next year. The EU’s chief negotiator told European diplomats that the compromise would have to wait until other parts of the deal were closer to being finalised. >click to read< 22:19
Richard R. “Capt. Rich” Dulski
Richard R. “Capt. Rich” Dulski, 58, of Brielle passed away on Wednesday, June 10, 2020 at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune. Rich was born and raised on Staten Island, NY. Rich took his boating captain’s license at the age of 17 and passed on the first time which is rare. He has been a captain for over 40 years working for the Gambler, F/V High Stakes, F/V Austin and, most recently, the F/V Amanda C, out of the Fishermen’s Dock Cooperative, Pt. Pleasant Beach. Rich has fished everywhere from Cape May to Montauk, L.I. to the Grand Banks. He is survived by his devoted wife Mary, daughter Elizabeth Dulski, two sons Richard and Michael, his Mother, and many relatives, and friends. >click to read< 20:36
New Jersey’s Commercial Fishing Industry Struggles to Stay Afloat
In the wake of the pandemic, the industry—the fifth largest in the country—has been in rough waters. Will July and August bring relief? Atlantic Cape Fisheries, of which Sam Martin is chief operating officer, is a large commercial fishery as well as New Jersey’s largest producer of farmed oysters. “Last year we sold 2.5 million oysters, and we planned to sell 5 million this year, but sales so far are down about 80 percent compared to last year.” The bottleneck that Martin spoke of has throttled not only oystering, but New Jersey’s entire commercial fishing industry, “When I tell my boats to go fishing, I tell them, ‘Don’t bring in a lot,’” says David Tauro, general manager of the docks at the Belford Seafood Co-Op Belford, founded in 1953, is the smallest of New Jersey’s six commercial fisheries, but its pain is shared by the larger ones, such as Viking Village in Barnegat Light and Lund’s Fisheries in the state’s largest commercial fishing port, Cape May. >click to read< 17:53
“Trainee Fisherman of the Year” – Scalloway fisherman and NAFC student scoops top award
Campbell Hunter, who is a crewman on the local whitefish boat Guiding Light (LK 84), received the award in a virtual ceremony last night (Monday). The Fishing News Awards shine a spotlight on the achievements, innovations, and successes of the commercial fishing industries of the UK and Ireland over the last year. Mr Hunter was brought up in Scalloway where his family was mainly involved in the fish buying and processing industry. He decided his future lay in fish catching and while still at school enrolled on the NAFC’s “Maritime Skills for Work” programme, successfully gaining five SQA units relating to maritime activities. On leaving school, Mr Hunter enrolled on the centre’s Seafish “Introduction to Commercial Fishing” programme, >click to read< 15:16
Commercial Fisherman Scott M. Boyce Sr., of Belford, New Jersey
Scott M. Boyce Sr., 61, a lifelong resident of Belford, passed away May 30 at home. Scott was born Oct. 26, 1958 in Red Bank, a son of the late Norma and George Boyce. Scott was a commercial fisherman with the Belford Seafood Co-op. He and his brother Brian owned and operated the fishing boat The Linda. Scott is survived by his devoted wife of 32 years, Ann Boyce, along with their son Scott Boyce Jr. Scott also leaves behind his brother and sister-in-law, Brian and Ronnie Boyce; nephews, Brian and Heron; and nieces, Lauren and Ivy. He was predeceased by his brother George Boyce. >click to read< 14:18
Belize Fishermen hold meeting over proposed lobster prices
As we reported last week, the fishermen are dissatisfied that there is a significant decrease in the price of lobster. This weekend fishermen from northern Belize met in Caye Caulker,,, “We know that the prices are very low and I could guarantee that the Government of Belize is not aware of this. This is just an advantage that the cooperatives are taking from all fishermen to bring down the prices but I think it’s time that the fishermen come united and send a message not only to the management of the cooperative or to the government. I want them to understand that we are not the stepson we are sons of this nation we are the second industry that every year we give the government more than $20 million to the government and I think it’s time that the government puts it’s hand inside this cooperative because there are many dirty things happening inside the cooperative >cick to read< 13:12
Anna Maria Island: Brad Lisk’s life celebrated in true Island style
The life and legacy of longtime Island resident and Dcoy Ducks’ bartender Brad Lisk was celebrated Saturday with a boat brigade, an ash spreading ceremony in the Gulf of Mexico and an after-party. Brad passed away at the age of 51 on March 25 after suffering a massive heart attack on March 20 , a heart attack preceded by previous heart issues. He left behind his two sons, Shane Pelkey Lisk and Tanner Pelkey Lisk, both of whom share their dad’s strong ties to Anna Maria Island. At 6:10 p.m., on Saturday, June 13, a procession of about 20 boats that departed from Longboat Pass arrived offshore at 68th and 69th streets in Holmes Beach. The commercial fishing boat Savage Lady flew a large banner on the starboard side that said, “Hang Loose Brad Lisk.” The boat brigade was greeted by dozens of people gathered on the beach,,, >click to read< 10:15
New Opportune joins the local fleet
Opportune has been sold to other Shetland partners of Avrella Fishing Company and will be re-named Avrella in due course. Skipper Ross Christie and his father Jim own the 28m long vessel which was bought from Whitehills, near Macduff, and was shot blasted, repainted and had her three Caterpillar engines overhauled and hydraulic pipework renewed at Peterhead before she was taken north. Ross’s brother Alwyn is mate on the vessel, which was built in 1998 at Astilleros Armon in Spain as Harvest Moon. photos, >click to read< 09:22
Long Island Coronavirus Hangover: Fishermen’s business remains in the doldrums even as restaurants reopen
While many local fishermen sell to local retailers, a steady local business even through the pandemic, the lion’s share of local fish go to companies that distribute to restaurants throughout the region and across the country. Three months of lockdowns over the coronavirus has backed up the market for the products, leaving warehouses for local frozen fish such as squid fully stocked, while drastically reducing demand for local clams and oysters..,, The summer is normally a prime time for fishing trawlers that harvest squid, said Greenport commercial fisherman Mark Phillips, but the market has been backed up by months of shutdowns and a closure of some export markets, including to China. Phillips said he was hopeful the start of restaurant reopening increases demand for squid, his primary fishery right now. >click to read< 07:47
Reminder: June Webinar Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council Meeting, June16th-17th
Due to public health concerns related to the spread of COVID-19, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s June meeting will be conducted by webinar only.,, The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will meet via webinar this week, June 16-18, 2020. The agenda, briefing materials, and other details are available on the June 2020 Council Meeting web page. Participants are encouraged to review the June 2020 Webinar Guide for step-by-step instructions for joining the webinar, connecting your audio, commenting and voting procedures, and troubleshooting tips. >click to read, with plenty of links!< 14:38
Fighting for fishermen on a bi-partisan, bi-coastal basis during Coronavirus crisis – Senator Ed Markey
Restaurants have shuttered and large export markets have been disrupted. Fishermen have lost access to critical points of sale and sources of income. With a decreased demand for fresh seafood, many boats sit idle in port. Meanwhile, boat payments are due and families need to be fed. In the U.S. Senate, I have been fighting on a bipartisan basis alongside Sen. Elizabeth Warren and Alaska senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan to secure dedicated economic assistance for the fishing and seafood industries in COVID-19 economic relief packages. Thankfully, this bi-coastal effort got results. The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, enacted into law on March 27, included $300 million in assistance for fishery participants and $9.5 billion for affected agricultural producers. >click to read< 12:22
Can we really break the China habit?
China is a hard habit to break.Even after its early mishandling of the coronavirus disrupted the country’s ability to make and buy the world’s products, further exposing the faults of its authoritarian system and leading it to ratchet up its propaganda war, China’s economic power makes it the last best hope for avoiding a protracted global downturn.“When this all started, we were thinking, Where else can we go?” said Fedele Camarda, a third-generation lobster fisherman in western Australia, which sends most of its catch to China. “Then the rest of the world was also compromised by the coronavirus, and China is the one getting back on its feet.”“Although they’re just one market,” he added, “they’re one very big market.” >click to read< 10:56
Coast Guard medevacs Fisherman 131 miles west of Venice
The Coast Guard medevaced a man with a reported moray eel bite from a fishing vessel 131 miles west of Venice, Florida Sunday. A Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew responded to the call and safely transported the 23-year-old man to Tampa General Hospital in stable condition. Coast Guard Sector St. Petersburg watchstanders received a mayday call at approximately 9 p.m. Sunday from the captain of the fishing vessel Miss Gail. A Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater C-130 Hercules aircrew also responded. >click to watch< 10:04
“This community is very resilient” – Coronavirus doesn’t stop 91st annual Blessing of the Fleet in Biloxi
It’s going to take more than a tropical storm and a worldwide pandemic to stop the Blessing of the Fleet in Biloxi. On Sunday, the 91st annual event took place with a few changes, including one that brought back a tradition to the tradition. Normally, the holy water comes from a much bigger boat, but this year because of COVID-19 concerns, it was launched from the stern of the Terri Lynn – the shrimp boat of this year’s Shrimp King Eddie Rhodes. “It’s a big honor to have everybody on it,” he said. “This doesn’t usually happen.” >click to read< 08:29
“We were pumped”! Lobster fishermen find and retrieve big anchor outside of Malpeque Harbour
Matt Wall was out fishing last week, hauling lobster traps, when he noticed something unusual. “It just seemed like the traps were stuck on the bottom,” he said. Wall and the crew quickly realized they had snagged an anchor. “I didn’t think it was a big deal at the time, there’s all [kinds of] anchors out there, net anchors, small stuff,” Wall said. It was bigger than they first thought and when they pulled it up it slipped out of their grasp. But Wall marked the spot. He had a diver scheduled to come out and look for the anchor on Tuesday, but after fishing on Saturday, Wall decided to head back out and look for it again. Photo’s, >click to read< 18:30
Maryland’s wild oyster harvest doubles from last year
Despite having fewer days to work, Maryland watermen harvested nearly twice as many wild oysters last season as they did the previous year, state officials report. Even so, a new study finds the state’s population of bivalves is in much better shape now than it was two years ago, with abundance up and overfishing down. As a result, state fisheries managers say they’re weighing whether to maintain catch restrictions put in place last season or relax them for the next wild harvest season, which normally begins Oct. 1. Data presented Monday night to the Department of Natural Resources’ Oyster Advisory Commission indicates that the overall abundance of adult, market-size oysters in Maryland’s portion of the Chesapeake Bay has rebounded considerably since 2018 and is now at the fifth highest level since 1999. >click to read< 17:01
Inspiring Women: Virginia Oliver – The Lobster Lady!
Arguably the world’s oldest licensed lobster fisherman – 99 year old Virginia Oliver is one of a kind. This short film gives viewers a chance to meet this inspiring woman and ride along as she and her 74 year-old son Max haul their lobster traps in Spruce Head, Maine. Virginia’s positive approach to life as well as her infectious laugh will capture viewers heart’s and inspire them in their own lives. We ran this story, >This is very cool! Happy Birthday! Celebrate the Lobster Lady’s 100th birthday on TV< on May 23rd. The link has disapeared, but we found the Vimeo! >Click to watch<, and once again, Virginia, Happy Birthday!
Stranded at Sea in The Time of Coronavirus
Spanish fisherman Josu Bilbao boarded a Qatar Airways flight headed for the Seychelles in January, just as he had done for the past 15 years. Ahead of him, four uninterrupted months of hauling tuna out of the glistening Indian Ocean. As it turned out, catching the fish was the least of the problems for the 56-year-old captain of Albatun Tres, one of the world’s largest tuna fishing boats. The coronavirus then swept the world, countries shut borders, planes stopped flying and Spain became one of the countries worst hit by the virus. Bilbao and his crew were stuck. As the Indian Ocean fleet shift was extended ship owners tried to figure out a way to get workers home. Aboard the ship avoiding infection became the priority. >click to read< 09:43
Biloxi, Mississippi: The 91st annual Blessing of the Fleet is happening Sunday!
After being pushed back a week due to bad weather, the 91st Blessing of the Shrimp Fleet takes place Sunday. The 91st Blessing of the Fleet is set to start at 2 p.m. in the Biloxi Channel when they drop the Memorial Wreath to honor deceased fishermen. Boats will form in the west end of the Biloxi Channel near the Beau Rivage and the parade will float east. The Committee encourages the boat owners from St. Michael, Vietnamese Martyrs and Blessed Seelos churches and the community to come out and celebrate this long-standing tradition in Biloxi. >video, click to read< 17:30
Point Judith fishermen optimistic as Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument restrictions ease
Removal of restrictions for an underwater national park sealed off from commercial fishing trawlers and lobstermen will now provide a bonanza of opportunities for fishing boats in Point Judith, said Fred Mattera, advocate for commercial fishing. According to Mattera, executive director of the Commercial Fisheries Center of Rhode Island, this once lucrative fishing spot will now again enable them to bring back large hauls to be sold to for restaurants, grocery stores and ingredients for other foods. Last Friday President Trump removed those restrictions and opened the area once more to fishing, but the decision has produced an outcry from various environmental groups warning of the potential destruction to unique marine life. >click to read< 14:49
I’m a Maine lobsterman. I leave a lot of my life up to chance. But I don’t know if I can handle this level of uncertainty.
Herman Coombs is a lobster fisherman in Orrs Island, Maine. He’s been fishing since elementary school, he says, and went full-time after high school. In all those years, he can think of two times when the price of lobster has been any lower—in 2001, in the weeks after 9/11, and during the Great Recession. With restaurants in Portland and Lewiston—Maine’s largest cities—still closed for dine-in seating, and the state’s crucial tourism industry sure to take a massive hit this summer, he’s worried. “Right now, we’re only hauling about once every two weeks. That’s because of the weather. We’re getting a lot of wind in the afternoons, which ends up being pretty gusty, and isn’t a lot of fun. And the prices.,, >click to read< 11:19
Fishermen’s Superstition’s: No bananas! No Whistling! But above all, it’s bad luck to be superstitious!
Luke Whittaker set out to learn whether there are superstitions that live on among local fishermen. Here’s what he heard. Jerry Matzen III, commercial fishermen “Hang your coffee cup mouth towards the stern so you don’t sink. And no whistling in the wheelhouse or cabin — otherwise you’ll whistle up a storm, like we are having today. I learned the coffee cup one from Kerry Suomela Sr. when I worked on the F/V Southern Cross and it always stuck with me.” Tim Teall, commercial fishermen “Well, to begin with, you never want to paint your boat green because it’ll beach itself in a storm. Never set a coffee cup or a bucket on the boat upside down — the boat will roll over! Don’t whistle in the wheelhouse, because it’ll make it get windy out. But above all, it’s bad luck to be superstitious!” >9 photos, click to read<10:41
Fisherman’s Wharf: Restaurant threatens commercial fishing operation’s survival over a parking lot conflict
The parking area at Pier 47 could be used for al fresco dining as soon as next week but that space is where Giuseppe Pennisi, of Pioneer Seafoods, has been selling fresh-caught fish right off his boat for years. Now, the Port of San Francisco has ordered him to stop. “They said our business was causing problems for Scoma‘s but there’s no one even down here anymore except for people buying a few fish,” Pennisi said. Scoma’s owner Tom Creeden says they’ve submitted plans to Port of San Francisco officials to use the parking space for outdoor dining. Pioneer Seafoods will have to shut down its operations by June 15 after being given less than five days notice. It would also be a blow to Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco, which receives 3,000 pounds of fish from Pennisi every two weeks to feed the homeless. >video, click to read< 08:37
Crew of Alaska bound factory fishing trawler worries after company rejects more Coronavirus screening
American Seafoods will forgo additional COVID-19 screening of the Ocean Rover factory trawler, a move that has some crew worried and wanting more assurances the disease has not found its way onto the Alaska-bound vessel. American Seafoods has been buffeted in the past two weeks by test results from crews of three other vessels unloading frozen fish in Bellingham. Testing positive: 94 crew on the American Dynasty, four on the American Triumph and 21 on the Northern Jaeger, findings that rattled the North Pacific seafood industry, which is struggling to keep the virus off boats and shore-based plants as the busy summer harvest season approaches. >click to read< 18:48
Pacific Seafoods Charleston branch unaffected by coronavirus
While the Newport branch of Pacific Seafood has recorded 124 positive cases of COVID-19, the Charleston branch of the same company has been unaffected. “The cluster of COVID-19 cases in Newport has not impacted our operations or team members in Charleston. No workers from Newport have relocated to Charleston, or to any other facilities,” said Lacy Ogan,,, Pacific Seafood in Charleston has reported that safety precautions are in place. These steps have included increased cleaning protocols, face coverings, daily temperature checks, staggered shifts to allow for less people together and restricted access provided to the facility. >click to read< 16:43
Fishermen post shocking video footage of ‘intolerable’ behaviour
Fishermen have described the conduct of Spanish gill-netters to the northwest of Shetland as “intolerable” after video footage was posted on social media showing a Spanish gill-netter allegedly attempting to run a rope through the propeller of a local whitefish trawler. This latest video evidence takes the ongoing skirmishes over access to fishing grounds to a new level and highlights why the local fishing industry is so keen to leave the European Union, and with it the Common Fisheries Policy (CFP). The battle between Spanish gill-netters and local trawler men has been ongoing for a long time with most local whitefish boats reporting over the years that they have been at the receiving end of attempts to drive them out of their traditional fishing grounds. >Video, click to read< 14:46
Golden and Graves introduce bi-partisan legislation to make disaster relief funds available to fishermen
In a bipartisan effort, Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) and Rep. Garret Graves (R-Louisiana) on Thursday introduced legislation to make additional disaster relief available to thousands of fishermen whose businesses are harmed by a pandemic. The legislation would amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation Act to allow fisheries disasters to be declared due to pandemic, such as Coronavirus. My bipartisan bill with Congressman Graves would make pandemics an allowable reason to declare a fisheries disaster, opening up a process to direct federal relief funds to affected fishing communities. >click to read< 11:55
