Monthly Archives: August 2020
Alaska and B.C.’s salmon runs expected to be worst ever recorded
Salmon returns on the west coast look bleak this year. Alaska’s salmon returns have been so poor that some communities already are claiming fishery disasters. The socket salmon run on B.C.’s Fraser River is expected to be the worst ever recorded,, in Alaska, the Cordova City Council passed a resolution last week, asking the state to declare disasters for both the 2018 Copper River sockeye and chinook salmon runs and the 2020 sockeye, chum and chinook runs at the Copper River and Prince William Sound,, The Pacific Salmon Commission (PSC) says this year may turn out to be the worst for sockeye salmon in the Fraser River since tracking began in 1893, >click to read< 12:56
Always Top Quality! Your Seafreeze Ltd. Price Sheet for August 2020 Has Arrived!
Contact our sales team today! To review the complete price list from Seafreeze Ltd., >Click here< – “The only thing we treat our fish with, is respect” Seafreeze Ltd! >Click here to visit our website<! 11:55
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 42′ Solid Fiberglass Bruno Lobster/Gillnetter/Tuna
To review specifications, information and 46 photos, >click here< To see all the boats in this series, >click here< 10:45
Rooting for fishermen
I am a retired commercial fisherman from Gloucester, and I am very concerned regarding these fishing grounds of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts. Back in the 60s, I fished for whiting there with may dad. We had a 90-foot vessel. The canyons are about 100 miles from land. We would go through the canal and than head east to the canyons. It would take us all day to get there. I remember seeing a small lobster boat fishing off shore next to us and remember my dad said, quote, “What a nut to be out here in March with such a small boat.” That was Capt. Bob Brown of Swampscott. He was the first lobster boat to set traps in the canyons, and he did well. >click to read< 08:54
2 confirmed dead, one rescued after fishing boat sinks off Vancouver Island
Two men are dead and another man has been rescued after their fishing boat sank off Vancouver Island Tuesday. On Tuesday afternoon, the B.C. Coroners Service confirmed it was investigating at least one death in the incident. The coroner confirmed a second body had been recovered late Tuesday evening. “Both bodies were flown to Victoria where a coroner took jurisdiction of investigations of two deaths, both involving Canadians,” said B.C. Coroners Service spokesperson Andy Watson. >click to read< 07:45
Here comes that science! Long term Orsted study finds lobsters don’t mind offshore wind turbines!
Flagged as an early concern when construction was first proposed off the Lincolnshire and East Yorkshire coast, a six year analysis coordinated by developer Orsted and Holderness Fishing Industry Group has revealed no significant negative impact on the ecology of European lobsters. Work began in 2013 during the construction of Westermost Rough offshore wind farm, the Danish’s giant’s first in the region from where it now leads the world. Located five miles off the coast, it is within one of the species’ largest commercial fishing grounds. >click to read< 18:20
Coast Guard rescues Fisherman, continues search after fishing vessel floods 85 miles off Cape Flattery, WA
The Coast Guard rescued one fisherman from a lifeboat early Tuesday morning after a 66-foot commercial fishing boat began to take on water about 85 miles offshore of Cape Flattery with three people aboard. Watchstanders at multiple Coast Guard units received a VHF radio hail for help at about 2 a.m. from a person aboard the Canadian-based commercial fishing vessel Arctic Fox II reporting the vessel was taking on water and the three people aboard planned to abandon ship. >click to read< 12:47
2 people missing after fishing boat sinks near Victoria – >click to read< 16:25
Giving to Maine Lobstermen’s Association Legal Defense Fund will mitigate the impact of right-whale rules and protect thousands of other businesses.
The Maine lobster industry is the backbone of our coastal communities from Portland to Eastport. Machias Savings Bank has been one of Maine’s leading sources of financing for this industry for decades and we understand that as the industry ebbs and flows, so do the economies of Maine’s coastal communities.,, According to data collected by the National Marine Fisheries Service, no right whale deaths or serious injuries have ever been documented in Maine lobster gear.,, I ask the people of Maine to stand with me in supporting the industry that has buoyed Maine’s economy for decades., by Larry Barker, >click to read< 11:22:31
Maine lawmaker calls for renewed investigation into Vinalhaven killing
Roger Feltis, 28, was killed on the evening of June 14 at the home of Dorian and Briannah Ames. The couple has claimed that they killed Feltis in self-defense. A grand jury declined to indict the couple on charges last month. “Anyone who read the newspaper accounts of the story realizes that something is gravely amiss in this whole thing,” Evangelos said. “We want a credible investigation.”,, Feltis went to the Ameses’ home on Roberts Cemetery Road the night he died to confront Dorian Ames. In the months since Feltis moved to Vinalhaven, he had allegedly been harassed by the couple. The harassment seemed to start after Feltis took a job as a sternman on a lobster boat a job that Dorian Ames had also been seeking, according to Feltis’ girlfriend, Jennie Candage. >click to read< 10:35
Pregnant crewmember medevac’d from fishing vessel near St. Paul, Alaska
A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak aircrew hoisted a pregnant crewmember from a fishing vessel 200 miles northwest of St. Paul, Alaska, Saturday. Saturday morning, District 17 Command Center personnel received a medevac request from the captain of the fishing vessel Northern Jaeger for a 22-year-old female crewmember reportedly experiencing medical complications due to pregnancy. The a 308-foot factory trawler was located approximately 200 miles northwest of St. Paul. >click to read< 09:12
Jermaine Owens delivers North Fork seafood to your door, and now he has a restaurant, too
When Jermaine Owens was 12 years old, he remembers watching his father Thomas Reed, hard at work processing fresh fish at Cooper’s, a local retail fish store on Carpenter Street in Greenport. The young Owens would see the boats come in and dump their catch, and then watch as his father, a professional fish cutter, would apply his skill. In those early days, the seed of a vision was planted, one bloomed at an unlikely time — in the middle of a global pandemic. In February, Owens realized his dream of starting his own business, creating North Fork Seafood LLC, a full-service seafood company that sells fish to several commercial customers and restaurants and also offers home delivery for individuals and families. >click to read< 07:52
Falmouth beach closes after lobster boat spills diesel fuel
The northern beach at the Falmouth town landing is closed after a lobster boat spilled diesel fuel into the water Monday morning. According to the Department of Environmental Protection, a local lobsterman had beached the boat on purpose to do maintenance. When the tide came up, the boat didn’t. When the tide went back down, the boat tipped over and spilled the fuel. photo’s, >click to read< 15:08
Researchers find chemical toxins from personal care products in stranded N.C. and Fla. dolphins and whales
A group of Florida researchers have discovered chemical toxins used in some personal care products in stranded dolphins and whales. The study, led by Florida Atlantic University (FAU), examined five toxicants in blubber tissues of 83 dolphins and whales in North Carolina and Florida from 2012 to 2018. This included triclosan,,, “When dolphins and whales eat fish with concentrations of the chemicals, the toxic elements enter their bodies. “Dolphins eat a variety of fish and shrimp in these marine environments and so do humans.” >click to read< 13:00
UBC study: Women are key to fisheries, so why don’t they get credit?
Most summer mornings, Jessica Taylor awakens before dawn and puts coffee to boil, the rich steam an alarm clock for her predominantly male crewmates. The Sointula-based, sixth-generation fish harvester’s subtle opening to another day fishing is vital for the crew’s mental well-being and successful catch, yet beyond the boat, it will often go unnoticed in official fisheries data. So will Taylor’s role as a female fisher. That’s a global trend, according to researchers at the University of British Columbia, and one they valued to be at least $7.4 billion ($5.6 billion US) a year globally. The study is the first to estimate the dollar value women contribute to fisheries. >click to read< 11:58
A Decade old interview with a Maine Lobsterman
Now you’re probably asking yourself why you’d want to watch an interview that is more than 10 years old of a Maine lobsterman. And my best answer? Nostalgia. The video is by a channel called Organic Nation and was posted on their page back in October of 2009. So, technically, this video is actually more than a decade old. The video was shot at the Common Ground Fair and features a Maine lobsterman named Ty Babb. He is, or at least was at the time, a Maine fisherman from Tenants Harbor. >click to read< 10:21
Prince Edward Island Lobster fishermen prepare for fall season after challenging spring
“I’m feeling good about the season,” said Peter Hustler, who has been fishing since he was 15. “Everybody has to make an income.” Demand for lobster plummeted as the pandemic forced restaurants to close earlier this year. The price dropped as low as $3.50 per pound. “It hurts, it hurts, and it hurt this spring, too, but I think everything is going to work out,” he said. “I’d like to see the price at $4.50 or $5 … and I believe it might happen.” >click to read< 19:09
Deadliest Catch Sig Hansen star buys in to Norwegian entrepreneur “ghost fishing” idea
Hansen has recently acquired ten per cent of the company, confirms Ceo Helge Trettø Olsen of Resqunit AS. Now it’s going to be invested in Canada. The crab fisherman, who was born and raised in Seattle to Norwegian parents, begins the conversation with E24 in kav karmøysk, but quickly jumps over to his preferred English with “I’m just fucking with you.” And the idea is quite simple: the yellow float is attached with a degradable boom mule wire over an escape hatch on the the tein.,,, Now Resqunit is to launch a further developed model, replacing the cotton wire with an electrical device that can more precisely release the float to the surface. (hit translate option) >click to read< 18:02
Friendship lobster boat races refuse to let coronavirus pandemic ‘sink us’
With the theme and rallying cry of “COVID-19 Didn’t Sink Us,” 52 vessels registered, including a handful of newcomers, for 31 speedy water battles during the annual Friendship Lobster Boat Race on Sunday, July 19. While a handful of the state’s lobster boat races were not held this summer due to the pandemic, Rockland, and later Friendship, went off without a hitch. Rockland hosted its races in June and Friendship in July. Elizabeth-Ann Bartlett said for the Friendship event some trailered boats to the site and others anchored offshore. “But all came ready to race,” she said. >click to read< 14:48
Coronavirus: How fishing trade transformed to survive lockdown
Some fishermen and women have said business has boomed since coronavirus forced them to transform their trade. The industry has been hit hard by the pandemic with fish prices plummeting in March when lockdown began. But some small-scale fishermen said their “savior” was starting to sell direct to households via social media. Some businesses also started using sheds and garages to process their catches after lockdown restrictions were introduced. Cornwall Rural Community Charity (CRCC) said it helped 25 businesses to secure grants to diversify. >click to read< 12:11
Baker Polito Administration Announces Coronavirus Disaster Relief Funding for Fishing and Seafood Industries
The Baker-Polito Administration has announced the distribution of $27.8 million in federal disaster relief funding to mitigate the financial impacts to the fishing and seafood industries from the Coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. The Division of Marine Fisheries worked with fishing industry stakeholders to develop a plan to distribute the federal fisheries assistance, which has now been approved by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. >click to read< 11:12
Burying The Truth: No Sensible Environmentalist Supports Filthy (offshore) Wind & Solar
Even after 30 years and endless subsidies, no country is powering itself exclusively with the wind and solar; no country ever will. But that doesn’t stop our political betters berating us, should we ever beg the question about the purported logic of throwing endless $trillions at something that’s already proven to be an abject failure. 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. >click to read< 09:40
Humpy harvest in PWS surges to exceed 12M fish
Harvests of over 9 million pink salmon over the past week have pushed Alaska’s yearly total to over 25 million fish, including upwards of 12 million humpies caught in Prince William Sound. Alaska Department of Fish and Game finfish area management biologists in Cordova said the cumulative pink salmon harvest in the Sound through Aug. 1 alone was estimated at 10.5 million common property fish and 1.5 cost recovery fish. Preliminary commercial salmon harvest data compiled by ADF&G through Tuesday, Aug. 4, put the total commercial salmon harvest in Prince William Sound at 11.2 million fish, including 12.3 million pink, 1.9 million chum, 902,000 sockeye, 4,000 coho and 4,000 king salmon. >click to read< 19:03
A Letter to NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Chris Oliver about the resumption of Observer coverage
Mr. Oliver. Recently you sent out an announcement about the resumption of Observer coverage set to begin on August 14th in fisheries where coverage had been suspended due to the Corona virus outbreak for the last 5 months. Personally I find your reasons for the resumption of observer coverage to be not only reckless, but dangerous to the health and safety of the American fishermen who make their living from the sea.,, Yet you, in your infinite bureaucratic knowledge of what is right and what is wrong, think that at this time it is vitally important that observers be placed on fishing vessels where they can endanger the health of not only the crewmen but their families. Interestingly, you have not put your own employees at risk. You have cancelled trawl survey’s for the remainder of this year so as not to risk their exposure to this lethal disease. This despite the fact that the NOAA trawl survey vessels are state of the art, and their crew could actually be quarantined before a trip to assure their safety. I’m sure they would be happy to collect two weeks of pay for sitting around watching TV somewhere. >click to read< 15:05
Massachusetts Congressional Candidate meets with members of the Gloucester Fishing Community
August 7, 2020, I had the distinct honor of visiting one of my most favorite cities in the world, Gloucester, Massachusetts, on Friday, July 24th. The purpose of my visit, during this pandemic, was to meet with several tried and true men of the Gloucester fishing industry, a staple of the culture, lifestyle and lifeblood of this historic community. “Our catches continue to get smaller, while government oversight gets bigger”, said one of the fishermen. “The industry has suffered strangulation by government regulation”,,, The Gloucester fishing community must be addressed with transparency, and not with lip service. Topics touched upon were disaster relief, international fish coming into the States at lower prices than freshly caught fish from our own community, wastewater affecting our fish supply and the impact of COVID to the fishing industry. >click to read< 12:08
‘Okay, so what do we do?’ – New Markets Reshape Crab Industry
“China shutting down was when we first started to feel the impact of the (coronavirus) pandemic, then the closures of restaurants and stores hit us full blast,” says Novotny. “All of a sudden nothing was going out.” “But necessity is the mother of invention. Everyone from the crabbers to the processors to the mom-and-pop places started saying, ‘Okay, so what do we do?’ and you started to see Pacific Seafood start shipping crab all over the country.” Until the pandemic, flash-freezing techniques, which freeze crabs in a briny block of ice to maintain flavor and texture, was a niche market, used primarily for small orders. >click to read< 10:37
Three New Zealand Fishermen sentenced to prison in the Falklands
Three New Zealanders were this week handed custodial sentences at the Falklands’ Magistrate’s Court after pleading guilty to violent disorder. Samuel Goldsworthy, Sonny Ball, and Chassy Duncan were each sentenced to prison terms lasting 14 months, 12 months, and eight months respectively. The court heard that the three Kiwi fishermen were in Deano’s bar in Stanley on the evening of Monday June 29, having all arrived separately. Also in the pub were a group of friends having drinks. One of the defendants, Sonny Ball, arrived after last orders had been rung, and took exception when he was refused service. As he was leaving the pub, Mr. Ball attacked one of the group of friends in an “out of the blue”,,, >click to read< 08:32
Barnegat Light longline boat’s surprise catch
You can file this in one in the category of unique catches. An opah weighing 125 pounds was landed by longline vessel Alexandria Dawn, which docks at Viking Village in Barnegat Light. The boat returned Aug.4 from nearly two weeks of fishing for tuna and swordfish at the Georges Banks, near the Canadian line. The vessel’s Captain Bob Brewster made about two dozen sets, one of which caught the opah, said Viking Village employee Austin Schwerzel, who photographed the crew with the fish. >click to read< 15:02
Alaska fishermen face ‘perfect storm’ of problems during Coronavirus pandemic, but state grants could help
On Friday, the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development announced that the COVID-19 small business grants program was being expanded. Starting Aug. 6, commercial fishermen across Alaska can apply for grants worth between $5,000 and $100,000. Before that date, fishermen were ineligible for help as they typically don’t have business licenses. Many in Alaska’s fishing industry need the assistance. Robert Venables, the executive director of Southeast Conference, said fishermen across the region had been reporting poor returns. “This year it’s been a perfect storm, the slump has continued. The catch is even worse than last year, by far,” Venables said. >click to read< 13:56
Matthew Roy Bigwood, Commercial fishing boat builder, founder of Bigwood Propeller Corp
Matthew Roy Bigwood, 65, passed away peacefully at his home on August 1, 2020. He was predeceased by his brother, Jonathan L. Bigwood. He is survived by his wife Mary Alice Bigwood (Kennedy); as well as his sister-in-law Peryntha (Perrie) Bigwood and nephews, Justin Emerson and Jonathan (Trevor) and many other loving family members and friends.,, His father Waldo aka (Jack) was a carpenter by trade and the two boys Jon and Matt inherited Dad’s many talents. In the early 70′s they built a 28 foot wooden lobster boat named The Marian Louise, after Grandma Bigwood, in the back yard in Spencer. They also built three large, steel commercial fishing boats on the property in the Mills. >Click to read< 10:50
PEISPA, PEIFA disappointed with the opening date of fall lobster season
The opening day is Monday, Aug. 10. A media release issued from the PEISPA explains this date will create difficulty for lobster processors to handle the large number of lobsters that will be harvested in the first week. The release goes on to say the fall season would usually start on Aug. 9, but since that date falls on a Sunday this year, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) supported changing the opening date. “We are very disappointed that DFO rejected our simple but impactful request to start the fall fishery on Aug. 7,” said Jerry Gavin, executive director of the PEISPA. The P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association (PEIFA) also made a formal request for an earlier start date, confirmed executive director Ian MacPherson. >click to read< 09:54
