Monthly Archives: July 2020
Coronavirus snagged the R.I. fishing industry, so state let fishermen sell direct to the public
In the spring, when the state closed restaurants to stop the spread of the coronavirus, fishermen were hit hard. Prices dropped dramatically. In some cases, wholesalers stopped buying, and fishermen had no place to sell their catch. To help fishermen navigate this storm, the state temporarily changed some regulations to allow them to peddle their catches directly to consumers, fish markets and restaurants, instead of selling exclusively to wholesalers. Fifteen Rhode Island fishermen are “actively using” their direct-sale licenses, according to Nichole Ares, principal biologist for the DEM’s marine fisheries division. The fishermen have sold about 13,000 pounds of fish for a total of about of $40,000. More than 160 fishermen applied for the licenses,,, photo’s, >click to read< 18:43
Fishing Dragger Struck and Sunk by recreational boat in dense fog near Montauk Inlet
Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound received a report of a collision about a quarter-mile from the inlet at about 6:30 a.m. The commercial fishing vessel F/V Petrel, based out of Montauk, had been hit by the sailing yacht Chaos, a 40-foot powerboat, according to Petty Officer Anthony Pappaly, a Coast Guard public information officer. The crash occurred just north of the Bell buoy, where the commercial fishermen were getting ready to put out their net. The two people aboard the Petrel, the captain and his first mate, were taken aboard the Chaos as their boat began to sink into the harbor. Friends of the commercial fishermen said the other boat was going 30 knots, which is just under 35 miles per hour on the road. >click to read< 13:53
Body of Shrimper Reported Missing Pulled From Lake Pontchatrain, Louisiana
William Segrave, 65, left home Thursday afternoon in his 28-foot shrimp boat. He was reported missing Friday after family members found his empty boat still in gear near the foot of the Highway 11 bridge, the St. Tammany Parish Sheriff’s Office said. The body was found about noon near the Interstate 10 Twin Span bridges and will be turned over to the St. Tammany Parish coroner’s office for autopsy to determine a cause of death and positive identification, the Sheriff’s Office said. >click to read< 10:58
Michael Shellenberger: Let’s Get Serious, Let’s Go Nuclear
Whatever your views on climate change, the idea that trying to run modern, civil societies on sunshine and breezes might somehow prevent it is, of course, a complete nonsense. One environmentalist who called it out, loud and early, was Michael Shellenberger. As a long-time advocate for reliable, affordable and safe nuclear energy, and critic of intermittent renewables, calling wind and solar worse than useless, Michael combines common sense, logic and reason, in an era when those attributes have become scarce commodities. Here’s Michael having a crack at some of those who would drive us back into the Stone Age, if they were ever given the chance. Why Climate Activists Will Go Nuclear—Or Go Extinct >click to read< 09:03
Rep. Kennedy Backs Offshore Wind – “Jobs and Justice Initiative” “Through the JJI we will deploy a clean energy job core to support on and offshore wind, solar panel installation, energy storage, energy efficiency, building retrofits, cleaning of toxic sites, urban farm and community garden installations, national park maintenance, and environmental justice,” Kennedy said. >click to read<
Maine: 1 in 3 Lobstermen got small Paycheck Protection Program loans
About $14.9 million in forgivable Paycheck Protection Program, or PPP, loans of less than $150,000 have been handed out to 1,358 Maine lobstermen, according to an analysis of newly released U.S. Small Business Administration data. That puts lobstermen ahead of full-service restaurants, real estate offices, beauty salons and home builders, which rounded out the top five Maine industries receiving small PPP loans. Maine’s $1.4 billion-a-year lobster industry – including those who buy, sell and process lobster as well as catch it – have received 1,495 forgivable PPP loans worth at least $24.2 million, so far. Fishermen got the lion’s share of the industry’s total PPP money, but only because they outnumber dealers, retailers and processors. Some dealers got loans of up to $1 million. >click to read< 07:15
Markey touts $15 million he steered to New Bedford’s North Terminal
Senator Ed Markey brought his senatorial campaign to New Bedford Friday afternoon, touting his efforts to secure waterfront infrastructure and fisheries disaster assistance funding for the city. Markey made the stop in the Whaling City as part of the launch of his statewide bus tour, the “Leads and Delivers Tour,” designed to spotlight the accomplishments the senator says he has made for the state on Capitol Hill. The focus of the stop at City Pier 3 was highlighting the $15.4 million in Department of Transportation funding to improve the New Bedford port’s infrastructure and the $28 million in fisheries disaster assistance from the CARES Act that Markey says he advocated for. >click to read< 17:47
Seattle seafood company reports 6 more crew have Coronavirus in Dutch Harbor
The cases are onboard the American Triumph, which is operated by Seattle-based American Seafoods. Last month, the company announced that more than 100 crew members on three of the company’s six vessels had tested positive for the virus. At the time, experts questioned the company’s decision to mandate a five-day quarantine period, rather than the 14 days recommended by many health officials. American Seafoods subsequently said it had extended its quarantine period to two weeks. The cases announced Friday bring the total tally of positive cases on American Seafoods vessels to 117 since late May, according to spokesperson Suzanne Lagoni. >click to read< 10:18
Great white sharks not the only threat gray seals bring – Here’s Why.
Over the winter, gray seals have — thanks in large measure to the protection afforded by the Marine Mammal Protection Act — further augmented their numbers. The “gray seal buffet” is once again open for business. But this season is, of course, unlike any in recent times. For the Cape and Islands, the coronavirus poses a far greater threat to the safety of its beachgoers and well-being of its economy than white sharks. But those threats are not necessarily unrelated. Here’s why. The Marine Mammal Protection Act is distinctive in that it not only protects all marine mammals, it protects them in perpetuity, regardless of their numbers and impact on co-existing species, including humans. Let me hasten to acknowledge that the act was necessary and appropriate when it was passed almost 50 years ago and remains so in most respects. Because it protects marine mammals permanently, it in effect relies on nature to take its course in controlling marine mammal populations and finding an appropriate balance among competing and coexisting marine species. >click to read< 09:06
Longtime Shrimper Wayne Magwood and F/V Winds of Fortune retire from Shem Creek
Winds are blowing in a new direction for a historic shrimping vessel that has been a fixture on Shem Creek for more than 30 years. The Winds of Fortune, a staple of Shem Creek’s maritime history, has sold. Wayne Magwood, longtime shrimper and captain, originally purchased the vessel in 1987 and hauled it to the Lowcountry from Alabama. Three decades later, it’s now departing from its dock after being scooped up by a seafood distributor from Holden Beach, N.C. The new owner of the vessel, 26-year-old Aaron Robinson, is the owner of the seafood market that his grandfather started in 1983. >click to read< 08:33
Atlantic Canada Fish harvesters still waiting for federal Coronavirus aid to flow
As the policy analyst for CFIB in P.E.I., in early May I worked with my colleagues to write a letter to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Member of Parliament for Nova Scotia’s South Shore, Bernadette Jordan. This letter pleaded for help for fish harvesters, the folks who risk their lives on the water harvesting one of Atlantic Canada’s most important resources and exports, lobster. Lobster harvesters were deeply concerned about a quickly evaporating market and a glut of product driving down the price of their livelihood.,, While this was going on, the federal government was rolling out its array of programs to subsidize business: the Canada Emergency Business Account (CEBA) , the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB), the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy (CEWS) and the Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Agreement (CECRA). by Marley Kingston >click to read< 07:43
Fisheries across nation seeking monitor waivers
What began in the fisheries of New England has spread across the country. Fishing stakeholders from as far away as the West Coast and Alaska have joined Northeast commercial fishermen in pressuring NOAA Fisheries to extend — and uniformly apply — waivers from having to carry at-sea monitors and other observers on vessels while the COVID-19 pandemic still rages. The Seafood Harvesters of America, an umbrella organization that represents 18 separate fishing groups from Maine to Alaska, wrote to NOAA Fisheries and Department of Commerce officials this week to advance many of the same safety arguments against reinstating observers aboard commercial fishing vessels in the midst of the pandemic. >click to read< 16:30
Iconic sardine carrier Pauline to be restored for group’s educational mission
Built in Thomaston in 1948, the “pretty Pauline” was the queen of the fleet, carrying sardines from the coves of Vinalhaven and the waters around remote offshore islands at the mouth of Penobscot Bay such as Wooden Ball and Seal to the North Lubec Canning Co.’s plant in Rockland. For the past decade or so, the boat has sat unused alongside the breakwater at the Billings Diesel & Marine shipyard in Stonington. Harlan Billings, late owner of the shipyard, kept Pauline afloat and the yard did some work on the boat’s hull to keep it tight. A few years ago, he donated the boat to OceansWide Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Newcastle that, among other educational projects, has organized the Traps to Treasure program in Gouldsboro. >click to read< 15:23
Coast Guard searching for shrimp fisherman in the water in Lake Pontchatrain
The Coast Guard is searching for a person in the water in Lake Pontchatrain, Louisiana, Friday. Watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector New Orleans received a report that a 63-year-old male got underway on Lake Pontchatrain on a 28-foot shrimping boat Thursday afternoon and did not return. His brother then discovered the vessel Friday morning washed ashore. The boat operator is described as blonde with blue eyes, short and stocky. To be updated, -USCG- 13:39
Resource Rich: Are You Sick of Being the HAVE NOT Province?
Newfoundland outports began as an act of defiance against the British rule. People moved to the coves and coasts, which are now more unique than anything I have seen in the world. We opted for a life of self rule and governance. A way of life that we chose rather than what could have been inflicted on us. We weren’t accepting the status quo back then. It’s time we rise and defy the status quo once again. Closing the fishery, three decades ago, meant 31,000 people out of work, overnight. That was the greatest devastation of all time to this province. It was a blow of massive proportion. So profound in fact, that we are still not over it. That’s about to happen again with our oil industry if we don’t take action now. >click to read< 12:50
Jonathan Meyer a.k.a. JonnyFresh, has been in wholesale fish for 25 years. Now he’s bringing fresh catches to your doorstep.
Longtime veterans of the fish industry, including Marlboro resident Jonathan Meyer, saw their industry struggling to keep up. The businessman and entrepreneur, who has spent the last 25 years serving as a wholesaler for top distributors, suddenly found himself out of work. Yet, it was during the coronavirus pandemic that Meyer viewed an opportunity to reinvent himself and his business into a more intimate experience for customers. “At the beginning of Coronavirus , people were asking me for fish, ‘where can I get fish?’ You couldn’t get any groceries in April,” photos >click to read< 11:12
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for July 17, 2020
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< 10:11
The futurist
If you are an Alaska commercial fisherman or someone who simply cares about the fate of the state’s small, rural communities still dependent on commercial fishing as their economic reason to exist, you can consider the man in the expensive suit above the devil. He is Norwegian Bendik Søvegjarto, chief executive officer of a company called Bluegrove. He and Bluegrove want to transform the way salmon are raised. “Cost reductions will obviously make seafood producers more competitive and more profitable, even as the seafood they make becomes more affordable for their customers.” The key phrases there – if you are an Alaska commercial fishermen – are “cost reductions” and “more affordable.” >click to read, and read you must< 08:26
Flotilla honors Andy Gove with service at sea – Photo Gallery
Fishermen in 60 boats crowded with family and friends came to Stonington Harbor on July 12 from Searsport and Vinalhaven, North Haven and Isle au Haut, to pay tribute to Andy Gove, the man they called “uncle.” It was the first Sunday after the Fourth of July, a day usually set aside for the lobster boat races that Gove often won. The races had been canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. So Gove’s daughter Myrna Clifford suggested a boat parade to honor her dad, who had died on June 20. So on the day of the boat races, her mother, Rose, and family gathered on the deck of the Miss Katie, a powerful fishing vessel once owned by Gove and known up and down the coast as the former Uncle’s UFO. Photos, >click to read< 06:54
Lobstermen gather for foggy farewell to Andrew Gove – Dozens of lobster boats gathered off Greenhead on foggy Deer Island Thorofare Sunday morning to remember and pay tribute to “Uncle” Andrew Gove. A fisherman for 82 years, Gove retired from the sea last year at the age of 89 and died late last month at the age of 90. >click to read<
Doing everything right to save their own lives! Coast Guard rescues 2 from boat fire near Cape Lookout, N.C.
The Coast Guard rescued two people after their 35-foot fishing boat caught fire and began to take on water approximately 15 miles southeast of Cape Lookout, Thursday morning. Coast Guard Sector North Carolina command center received a mayday call from a person aboard the 35-foot fishing boat Double G stating there was a fire onboard and they were taking on water. “The mariners did everything right to save their own lives by using the correct lifesaving equipment available to them, to include their VHF radio, life jackets, life raft, EPIRB, and strobe lights. The simple use of this equipment can mean the difference between life and death. <photo’s, >click to read< 15:12
Asian market collapse means more spot prawns for us
Spot prawn season ends tomorrow, but that doesn’t mean you won’t be able to get the sweet-fleshed delicacy — indeed, seafood lovers can now order the Doctor Prawnie Henry pack from Organic Ocean, consisting of five one-pound tubs of flash-brine-frozen spot prawn tails. “We just love her to death for what she’s done for us,” said fisherman Steve Johansen, as he ripped the shell off a wriggling spot prawn and ate it raw on the dock of the False Creek wharf. “It’s like a drug,” he said. “They’re wild, they’re tasty, they’re sweet, they’re sexy.” Johansen is one of 264 licensed spot prawn harvesters that fish the coast from Vancouver to Alaska during the annual six- to eight-week season. >click to read< 12:06
Rep. Genevieve McDonald wins primary for House seat representing islands
Rep. Genevieve McDonald is all but assured a second term in the Maine House. The Stonington Democrat won Tuesday, July 14, the Democratic primary for Maine House District 134 that represents Vinalhaven, North Haven, Isle-au-Haut, Deer Isle, Stonington, Southwest Harbor, Tremont, Swan’s Island, Frenchboro, The Cranberry Isles and Marshall Island Township. The winner of the primary is likely to be the winner in November. She defeated primary challenger Julie Eaton of Deer Isle. >click to read< 11:15
Florida stone crabbers asking FWC to hold off on new rules
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission may enforce tougher rules on fishing to help increase the stone crab population, but fishermen say that could destroy their business. We talked to some of the members of the Florida Stone Crabbers Association who say a one-two punch of COVID-19 and these new rules will make a bad situation even worse. “I’m afraid that’s it’s going to cripple the livelihood of so many people out there,” said Carrie Doxsee. FWC says the state’s stone crab population is declining due to overfishing. Video, >click to read< 09:59
Ropeless gear is not the silver bullet – New technology promises to save the whales by reducing the need for crab fishing lines.
“We are working with fishermen to see what works and what doesn’t and what allows the fisherman to survive economically,” says Geoff Shester, a Monterey-based scientist with nonprofit Ocean. In June, the Ocean Protection Council awarded $500,000 for the testing of pop-up gear in the coming fishing season. The money will pay for five prototypes, including designs by Marina-based Desert Star Systems and Watsonville-based McFarlane Marine Services. The money will also go to fishermen participating in the research. A new crab industry group, California Coast Crab Association, is pushing back. Its president, Ben Platt, described the RAMP regulations as “an existential threat to our livelihoods”,,, >click to read< 08:39
The public is credited with helping Cape Breton fishermen through Coronavirus impacted lobster season
Herb Nash, president of the 4Vn management board, said catches were decent this year and those prices made the crustaceans a meal for everybody instead of simply a rare treat. “Instead of lobsters $7-$7.50 lb at the end, lobsters were $5 pound, so people were buying them,” the 55-year-old fisher said. “The local markets helped a lot this year.” This year, people could purchase lobster for $45-$50 a dozen compared to $70-$75. “If the local market wasn’t as good as it was, more lobster would have had to be shipped out to sell and I think we would have been swamped with lobsters.” Nash said with the pandemic affecting the community and businesses, they were grateful to get through it and get a paycheck.,, ”While this season was a historically difficult one, Nash can recall the 1970s when the lobster catches were bad back then — sometimes 15-25 pounds per day. >click to read< 18:13
British Columbia Fishermen catch a barracuda far from its home in California
A commercial fisherman knew he was staring at a fish out of place when a barracuda landed in his net on Vancouver Island, far from its typical habitat in southern California. Tyler Vogrig, 24, said he’d seen the long, silvery body of the muscular fish with giant teeth before, but in Hawaii. Vogrig said he and his father Brian were catching sockeye at Alberni Inlet as part of their stock-assessment work for Fisheries and Oceans Canada when they hauled in the barracuda.“ We couldn’t believe it,”,,, The fish are normally found in Baja California in Mexico, bordering the state of California, but have also recently been seen as far north as Washington state neighbouring B.C. >click to read< 16:37
Harvesters remain resilient in facing economic challenges of Coronavirus
No one reading this needs to be reminded that we are in uncharted waters as thousands of Alaska fishermen set out to sea for the salmon season. As a fisherman with two young boys, I felt a deep sense of both privilege and responsibility as I set my nets in the glacier-fed waters of Taku Inlet in late June. Most fishing seasons the biggest questions are: Will the salmon come early or late? Will they be swimming deep or along the shoreline? This summer the questions are: Will Alaska’s independent fishermen financially survive the coronavirus? Will there be buyers willing to pay a decent price for their catch? Will fishermen get access to the personal protective equipment and testing that they need to avoid the spread of coronavirus? Will the long-fought Pebble mine be permitted while Bristol Bay’s fishing fleet is out risking their lives? By Tyson Fick >click to read< 14:47
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 63′ Steel Clammer, twin 3406 Cats, Isuzu 30 KW Generator
To review specifications, information and 20 photos, >click here< , in 2018/2019 major projects were completed by the owners, are listed. To see all the boats in this series, >click here< 11:53
8 more wild salmon restoration projects to receive funding in B.C.
Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan addressed the Greater Vancouver Board of Trade on Tuesday, saying climate change and increasing demand for seafood products has put unprecedented pressure on Pacific wild salmon. The latest projects will receive about $10.5 million from the joint federal and provincial fund established in 2018 to help the recovery of stocks in steep decline.,,, “Speaking to British Columbians, I want to assure you that our government is moving ahead with the transition from open-net pens,” she said, adding Ottawa will develop a comprehensive process to ensure all voices are heard in the decision-making process. >click to read< 10:24
Ghost gear project first of its kind in Nova Scotia – New Brunswick fishermen consider ways to recycle end-of-life lobster traps
‘Tackling Ghost Gear: Collaborative Remediation of Abandoned, Lost, and Discarded Fishing Gear (ALDFG) in Southwest Nova Scotia’ is a $432,000 project being funded through the federal government’s Sustainable Fisheries Solutions and Retrieval Support Contribution Program (SFSRSCP). The project is scheduled to run from July 2020 to March 2022.,, >click to read< 08:43
N.B. Association Looks To Recycle Lobster Traps – A New Brunswick fishermen’s association is trying to come up with ways to recycle end-of-life lobster traps. The Fundy North Fishermen’s Association has received funding through the federal government’s Ghost Gear Fund. Executive director Lillian Mitchell said there are several ways to recycle fishing lines and rope, but there is no responsible way to dispose of lobster traps. >click to read<
Ilwaco: Commercial tuna season starts strong
The commercial albacore tuna season kicked off over the weekend with fisherman delivering their first catch of the 2020 season to local processors. Favorable weather and sea conditions culminated in a successful start, fishermen reported. “The last couple days were excellent,” said commercial fishermen Christian Johnson of the F/V Two Fishers upon delivering 7,300 pounds of tuna to Ilwaco Landing on Tuesday, July 14. Johnson was out fishing for 10 days along with fellow commercial fisherman James Plymer before returning to port Tuesday. Photo’s, >click to read< 16:37
