Daily Archives: July 25, 2020
Death of young woman onboard Sanford fishing boat prompts police investigation
Anna Mannering was dancing and having fun with crewmates onboard the F/V San Granit as it made its way deep into the Southern Ocean on the evening of January 27.It was the 21-year-old’s first expedition on a commercial fishing vessel, and she had recently become engaged to a crew member. But that same night, Anna was found unresponsive in her cabin and later pronounced dead. Tragically, the 21-year-old was the second crew member to have died on the 67-metre San Granit, in just over a year.,, A Sanford spokeswoman said: ‘’Sanford can confirm this was not a workplace accident but a sudden death. It was a shock and very sad for the crew to lose one of their team.” >click to read< 19:34
Memorial service held for Petty Harbour Fishermen’s Co-operative founder Tom Best
Nearly four months after his passing, family and friends of Petty Harbour Fishermen’s Co-operative founder Tom Best honoured his life and legacy Saturday, amid the coronavirus pandemic. Best passed away on March 31 after a battle with cancer. He was 74. After a memorial service, Best’s brother Reg carried his ashes down Southside Road from St. George’s Anglican Church to the co-operative, which Best helped establish. His obituary describes him as a “fiercely proud inshore fish harvester who dedicated his life’s work to advocating for sustainable fisheries and communities.” >click to read< 17:29
Bristol Bay Fisheries Report: July 24, 2020
A lull in returns today at 468,000 fish, the daily harvest bay-wide was about half what it was the day before. The total run is 55.9 million fish, about half a million away from last year’s. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has released the final environmental review for the proposed Pebble Mine. A Seattle-based seafood processor will pay out more than $440,000 to workers at a Bristol Bay cannery, the result of a settlement after the company was sued in June. “We think that it is a fair and just compensation for the workers that were held for 12 days at a hotel without being paid,” said Jonathan Davis, a managing partner of the San Francisco-based Arns Law Firm, which filed the lawsuit. The firm took on the case pro bono, so it will not receive any compensation for its work. The processor, North Pacific Seafoods, was sued for false imprisonment and failing to pay the workers, among other charges. >click to read< 15:30
Pebble Mine is closer to a federal permit; supporters and critics respond
Lisa Reimers is a board member of Iliamna Natives Limited. She supports Pebble’s development. Her and my dad they’ve both passed now, but they were both big supporters of resource development,” Reimers said. “They thought their families should work. This is a good project, and we want to see something positive happen out in the area. We don’t see any projects coming down the pipeline that would help the area and make it grow, so people can continue to live out there and prosper.”- Bristol Bay Native Corporation’s President and CEO Jason Metrokin says the report fails to really address these concerns. “The final EIS is really no different,” Metrokin says. “To have such significant changes during the process and the later weeks and months of the process just goes to show, at least in our opinion, that the process seems like it’s focused on a political timeline rather than a regulatory timeline.” >click to read< 12:36
‘Blame the fishermen’ media narrative only hurts the endangered right whale
It is not easy to see this population of giants of the sea become extinct, and yes, it is sad. Perhaps it’s because it hits us so hard that we feel the need to point the finger at the culprits. This even more true for the media, who rush to get answers, right away and without asking themselves the real questions.,, If we play the game of “Whose fault is it?”, only in this way will we be able to place the shipping vessels among the guilty parties. As happens too often, the article in question used fishermen as easy targets for a gratuitous accusation under the circumstances. When a whale is hit by a shipping vessel, it either gets injured or dies. In the dock are also the fishermen, for whom blame is almost automatic. >click to read< 10:27
There is Nothing Like a Lobsterboat Race
As a sports reporter, I’ve covered just about every big championship the sports world has to offer. But none come close to being as hardcore as the annual lobsterboat races in Jonesport. One weekend a year, fishermen and women, who usually use their boats to haul lobster traps, empty out their cabins, trick out their engines, and see how fast those babies can go. The reckless beauty of fishing vessels charging through the Atlantic takes your breath away. It quickens your pulse. How, you think, are these clunky boats going so insanely fast? By Charlotte Wilder >video, click to read< 09:36
Fisherman’s Wharf Pier 45: City commission to approve loan program for crab trap replacement
San Francisco is expected to begin demolition next week on the remains of the large Pier 45 shed in Fisherman’s Wharf that was destroyed by a May fire along with the thousands of fishers’ crab traps stored inside.,, Meanwhile, the Port Commission is preparing to finally approve a loan program using $1 million in Port funds to help fishers replace destroyed traps. Under the Port’s loan program, fishers can apply for $100 per replacement trap 
for the first 200 they buy and then “all remaining funds will be allocated proportionally based on the outstanding debts of each applicant,”,, John Mellor told the commission he has fished out of Fisherman’s Wharf for more than 40 years. The fire destroyed his crab gear, which is “essential for making a living as a fulltime fisherman.” “It’s a very desperate situation for the San Francisco fishing community and I can’t emphasize enough that we really need your help.” >click to read< 08:18
