Daily Archives: July 28, 2020
On the fishing docks of Point Judith: Sales are down, but they still work hard in the heat
She was surrounded by 450-pound barrels of the bottom fish, brought in by draggers. Despite wholesale lobster prices being down from the pandemic, boats are still going out to scratch out a paycheck. It’s all they have. Andrea was wearing orange oilers and rubber boots in the sun, driving a huge needle through four frisbee-size skates at a time to make a “string.” The bait not only lures lobsters but is good eating for them during the days they’re in traps before being hauled. Andrea joked that her skates are what makes lobsters taste good. I asked how old she is. She smiled and said, “None of your business,” then allowed she might be in her mid-60s. She’s a longtime fixture on the docks, having started “The Bait Company” there 36 years ago to serve the big boats that go out to sea. photos, >click to read< 22:15
Coast Guard rescues fisherman as commercial fishing vessel sinks near Columbia River entrance
The Coast Guard rescued a fisherman from the water Tuesday morning after his vessel began taking on water and sank near the Cape Disappointment bar. At 1:30 a.m., watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Columbia River received a VHF-FM radio mayday call from a man aboard a 37-foot commercial fishing vessel taking on water near Cape Disappointment, identified as the Fishing Vessel F/V Brejoh. A Coast Guard Station Cape Disappointment 47-foot Motor Lifeboat crew and a Sector Columbia River MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew responded. >click to read< 20:14:
Coast Guard rescues two after fishing vessel sinks near Barnegat Light, New Jersey
The Coast Guard rescued two men 33 miles east of Barnegat Light early Tuesday morning. Watchstanders at Sector Delaware Bay were notified at 5:30 a.m. via Channel 16 that a 68-foot fishing vessel, F/V Viking Stariper had begun taking on water and its crew requested assistance. They informed the watchstanders that they had begun to make preparations to abandon ship into a life raft. “The crew’s use of their emergency equipment helped Coast Guard search crews locate them quickly and prevent loss of life today,” >click to read< 15:43
Kuskokwim Bay Commercial Fishery Processing At Capacity
Seattle based E&E Foods is buying and processing the salmon on a ship anchored in Goodnews Bay. Chief Operating Officer Ken Eg says that the ship can handle 70,000 pounds of fish per day, and it’s often been buying more than that during recent openings. Eg said that about 70% of that poundage is sockeye salmon. The rest is divided between chum and kings, with coho expected to arrive by the beginning of August. The number of fishermen participating in the fishery has grown from 25 fishing the first openings, to 70. The majority are in Quinhagak, with the rest in Goodnews Bay. E&E wouldn’t disclose how much the fishermen are paid per pound of salmon, but called the price “competitive” and said that fishermen can get extra cash. >click to read< 12:05
Three generations of the Hamada family have fished British Columbia’s coast. Will the latest outlive the salmon they seek?
The Hamadas tell me this story on a November night in 2019 in their one-story home built by Satoshi, tucked away in the heart of Richmond, a city that borders Vancouver. They moved into the house five months after Dereck was born. Huddled around a kitchen table better suited for two people, Satoshi, Dereck, June, and I peer over fishing catch receipts, dated newspaper clippings, and black-and-white photographs scattered across the tabletop, illuminated by bright-white kitchen lights overhead. Our conversation was supposed to have happened at sea aboard the Three generations, the family boat built by Satoshi in 1967. Dereck and Satoshi had invited me to join them on a chum fishing trip to mark Satoshi’s 66 years of fishing on the BC coast. Instead, we have gathered indoors, to look back on 2019, the year that everything changed. >click to read< 10:34
Fighting for Fish – The Cod Wars and Today: Lessons from an Almost War
Not once, but three times in the 20th Century, cod was almost the causus belli between Iceland and the United Kingdom in a string of events referred to collectively as the “Cod Wars.”1 The Cod Wars, taken together, make clear that issues of maritime governance and access to maritime resources can spark inter-state conflict even among allied nations. Fishing rights can be core issues that maritime states will vigorously defend. The First Cod War started on September 1st, 1958. Icelandic coastguardsmen sought to arrest and impound any British trawlers within their new 12-mile limit. >click to read< 09:59
The U.S. “wind belt” – Map Shows ‘Low-Impact’ Locations for Wind Power
Wind energy developers both onshore and offshore face numerous challenges. Concerns about noise from wind turbines, disruption of visual aesthetics, and danger to wildlife have led to the cancellation or delay of several projects in recent years. The group’s analysis focused on finding land with high wind energy potential, but where impacts would be low to wildlife and the surrounding land. The Nature Conservancy partnered with organizations in each of the 17 states it studied, and gathered more than 100 data sets from conservation and land use organizations as well as state agencies. The group said more than 60 scientists worked to develop the siting map, with an eye toward helping developers avoid unsuitable sites. >click to read< 09:16
Cole Charles Rutzer – Memorial service is planned, date to be announced
Cole Charles Rutzer was born to Greg Rutzer and Lesley Ashby at Providence St. Peter in Olympia, Washington on March 5, 1998. The past few years Cole spent most of his time with his father and captain Greg, cousin Brent Gilbertson and friends Dylan Furford and Kaleb Orton working as a deckhand on the Pacific Dynasty. Cole died on July 2, 2020. His loyal companion, black lab Trigger, stayed with him until the end. Cole’s family plans to hold a service to honor his life near the end of August at Roberta Merino’s home. The date has yet to be set. Details of this gathering will be announced to the community once confirmed. >click to read< 08:03
