Monthly Archives: October 2020

Angry mob trap Mi’kmaw fishermen at a lobster pound in southwestern Nova Scotia

An angry mob of non-Indigenous lobster fishermen trapped two Mi’kmaw fishermen inside a lobster pound in southwestern Nova Scotia late Tuesday evening. According to Jason Marr, a Mi’kmaw lobster fisherman with the Sipekne’katik First Nation, N.S., the angry crowd also set fire to his van and threw rocks at the facility’s windows in West Pubnico while he and another fisherman, Randy Sack, were trapped inside. Marr said he fled to the lobster pound in West Pubnico Tuesday evening when he heard that a mob of non-Indigenous fishermen were heading to the wharf,,, >click to read< 09:30

Collins and several colleagues call on NOAA to resume ‘usual operational tempo’

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) should get back to its regular schedule of conducting fisheries research surveys, which have been cancelled since May due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and several colleagues. Additionally, NOAA should identify and resolve any challenges created by the pandemic that prevented this year’s surveys to ensure surveys are safely conducted in 2021, the lawmakers wrote in a Sept. 30 letter sent to Dr. Neil Jacobs, acting administrator at NOAA. Among the members who joined Sen. Collins in signing the letter were U.S. Sens. Richard Burr (R-NC), Roger Wicker (R-MS), and Doug Jones (D-AL). >click to read< 09:00

Reality TV and Real Work in the Fishing Industry

Fishing may be the world’s second oldest profession, but the industry is about as visible as a quiet cousin at a family reunion. Unassuming, keeping to itself, it is largely ignored in talk about work and the economy.  All of which belies its oddly large footprint in reality TV. Some of these “fishing industry” shows look at huge, highly capitalized and often nationalized factory fishing fleets.  But most usually focus on much smaller, community and family-based single-owner boat crews that are part of a local fleet. >click to read< 08:09

Commercial fishermen rally in Digby, Ex-fisheries minister calls for pause on out of season fishing and protests

Several hundred commercial fishermen held a rally Tuesday in Digby, N.S., as tensions continued to simmer over expanded Mi’kmaw lobster fishing in the area. There were calls for a pause on all out-of-season fishing by First Nations and an audit of commercial licences awarded to bands following the 1999 Marshall decision that recognized their right to fish for a moderate livelihood. Afterward, some fishermen gathered outside a lobster facility in New Edinburgh suspected of buying lobster harvested by Mi’kmaq fishermen when the season is closed. There was an RCMP presence at the rally, which was held on the eve of the Wednesday opening of commercial fishing in Lobster Fishing Area 35 in the Bay of Fundy. >click to read< 22:03

“Challenging,” “Inconsistent,” “Strange” – Rotten tuna season comes to a close

It’s been a stinky season for Washington and Oregon commercial tuna fishermen. The final albacore tuna landings are offloading at local ports this week, ending was has been a tough overall 2020 fishery. “Challenging,” “Inconsistent,” “Strange” and “Worst ever” are some of the words used to sum up the season by local processors, commercial and recreational fishermen. Catch coast wide this season has been about two-thirds of the 20-year average, according to Western Fishboat Owners Association Executive Director Wayne Heikkila, who monitors the commercial tuna fishing season coast wide from California to Washington as part of non-profit group representing 400 albacore fishermen on the West Coast. photos,  >click to read< 18:25

Three people and three dogs rescued from a 40-foot shrimp boat taking on water

The Coast Guard rescued three boaters and three dogs from a 40-foot shrimp boat taking on water Tuesday, near Pascagoula, Mississippi. Coast Guard Sector Mobile watchstanders received a radio call at 7:47 a.m. via VHF Chanel 16 from Coast Guard Cutter Jacob Poroo, reporting a person in the water holding on to a life ring in the Pascagoula Ship Channel. The Jacob Poroo’s 26-Foot Over the Horizon-IV crew and a Station Pascagoula 29-Foot Response Boat-Small II launched to assist. The name of the vessel is F/V Miss Angela. >click to read< 16:12

The US Coast Guard has accepted the Birdon America 47C MLB at the National Motor Lifeboat School

The US Coast Guard has accepted the Birdon America 47C MLB SLEP First Article Vessel at the National Motor Lifeboat School in Ilwaco, WA. The boat will undergo a four-month operational assessment by members of NMLBS. The NMLBS trains personnel to become elite Coast Guard surfmen. The 47 MLB is the standard lifeboat of the USCG. The boat is designed to weather hurricane force winds and heavy seas, capable of surviving winds up to 60 knots, breaking surf up to 20 ft and impacts up to three G’s; and, if the boat should capsize, it self-rights with all equipment remaining fully functional. >click to read< 13:24

Gov. Edwards announces program to help Louisiana shrimpers

Gov. John Bel Edwards announced the creation of a $250,000 program that will pay part of the cost shrimp fishermen will have to pay for mandated devices to protect sea turtles and other animals from getting trapped in their nets. The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries will operate the Skimmer Turtle Excluder Device Reimbursement Program (STEDRP), which will reimburse up to 60 percent of the cost for two skimmer Turtle Excluder Devices, commonly called TEDs. >click to read< 12:02

Brexit: Could a fight over British fish put a Brexit deal at risk? – Why the Brexit Talks Could Still Fail

For generations, boats have left this port to fish in the waters between France and England. Look across the water from Boulogne on a clear day and you can see Dover. It is just two and a half months until the end of the year, and the close of Britain’s transition period. If a Brexit trade deal has not been agreed by that point, Boulogne’s fishermen may face a truly profound change to their lives. Even if there is a deal, access to British coastal waters may be curtailed. If the UK leaves without an agreement, then the impact would probably be felt much more severely. >click to read< , Why the Brexit Talks Could Still Fail>click to read<,  Brexit: Fishing in Troubled Waters >click to read< 10:30

Maine fishermen donate catch to food bank, local schools

Brian Pearce of North Yarmouth usually heads out on the 45-foot Gracelyn Jane from April or May through January, fishing for monkfish or groundfish, hake, haddock, pollock, redfish, and cod. As with most everything else, though, this year was different. When Coronavirus hit, the market for local fish, primarily restaurants and exports, was among the many casualties. Pearce, along with many Maine fishermen, found it wasn’t worth the time and cost to fish, so they tied up their boats. But early Monday morning, Pearce docked at the Portland Fish Exchange and unloaded about 2,000 pounds of pollock, hake, cod, redfish, and haddock after a quick overnight trip. >video, click to read< 09:20

Shipping disasters: The Race Against Catastrophe

In the last few days of 2018, as the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, Norway, lay cloaked in the long darkness of polar night, a shrimp trawler called the >F/V Northguider< ran aground off the coast of one of the islands. A gale howled. The engine room flooded with seawater. A Norwegian coast guard helicopter managed to quickly rescue the crew. The ship, though, remained behind, along with the 300,000 liters of diesel oil stored in its fuel tanks. An oil spill in the surrounding Nordaust-Svalbard nature reserve—home to walruses, polar bears, and a wealth of seabirds—seemed all but certain. >click to read< 07:52

To the editor: Thank you, fish processors

The 2020 commercial fishing season will go down in the history books. In March and April, the prospect of executing statewide fisheries was in question amidst the COVID-19 pandemic and even communities that rely upon fisheries as their economic drivers were pressing for partial or complete closures. Cordova and the opening of the Copper River District were in the spotlight as the first Alaskan salmon fishery to come on line for the summer salmon season. by Dennis Zadra  >click to read< 19:44

SW Cornwall fishing industry fears destruction from Coronavirus and a ‘no deal’ Brexit double whammy

The South West fishing industry faces potential destruction from a “no deal” Brexit coupled with the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, a leading industry figure says. Jim Portus, chief executive of the South Western Fish Producer Organisation, said there is concern a “bad deal” or “no deal”, when the transition period ends in January 2021, will be disastrous for the UK fishing industry, which led the march for Brexit. He said: “I don’t want to see fishermen sacrificed for the UK to get a good deal. We want to be part of that good deal. We’re in a situation where we could face a double dose of nightmare with Covid and Brexit and our fishing industry risks being destroyed. >click to read< 17:10

New York’s restaurants and seafood need help from Congress

Each summer in the Bronx, the New Fulton Fish Market teems with fresh seafood harvested by U.S. fishermen in the waters off New England and the Mid-Atlantic. Fishermen land New York’s famous oysters, lobster, Montauk Sea Bream, and countless other offerings that quickly make their way to restaurants like Grand Banks. In New York and New Jersey alone, the commercial fishing industry is valued at $11 billion. When you consider the additional $17 billion market size for the restaurant industry, the value of these two industries is staggering. They fuel our coastal economy, employ thousands, and are significant economic drivers. >click to read< 16:10

Anna UK-24, a strong resemblance to the latest generation of twin riggers fishing in the North Sea, but is a new design

The 27.75 metre by 8 metre breadth Anna has hull lines and a round underwater shape that have been developed from scratch, and there’s going to be plenty of interest in the fuel consumption figures once a decent amount of fishing time has been put in. Albert Romkes went to the Hoekman  Shipbuilding yard in Urk for the new twin-rigger’s construction, using a hull fabricated in Poland, and reports are that Anna has performed well in its first trips at the end of the summer. The full set of fishing gear, including warps, Thyborøn trawl doors and trawl gear, has been supplied by the VCU net loft in Urk. >video, photos, click to read< 13:39

Power Companies Fight For Legislation, With Customers Paying The Price

Across the country, electric utilities have worked the levers of power to win favorable treatment from state policymakers. This week, a Richmond Times-Dispatch and ProPublica investigation found that Dominion Energy, Virginia’s largest public utility, successfully lobbied to reshape a major climate bill to cover its massive offshore wind project. The move shifted risk from the company’s shareholders to its ratepayers. As a result of the legislation, a typical residential customer’s bill is projected to increase by nearly $30 per month over the next decade. Dominion says its wind project is necessary to meet the state’s new renewable energy goals. >click to read< 12:37

The true cost of wind power is staggering, and despite wild claims to the contrary, is becoming more even expensive, not less.

Dr John Constable and Gordon Hughes have done what the mainstream media have never done and what renewable energy rent seekers would rather they didn’t: they’ve opened the books of account to show that where the true cost of onshore wind and solar is staggering, the cost of offshore wind power is out of this world. The dramatically falling costs of renewables are now a political, a media, and conversational cliché. However, the claim is demonstrably false. Audited accounts show that far from getting cheaper, wind power is actually becoming more expensive. Politicians and journalists would be certain about the matter. >click to read< 08:46

New Zealand’s largest salmon farmer rechecks results after half its farms failed to meet environmental standards

The Marlborough District Council has issued two fines and a warning after Cawthron Institute’s inspection of New Zealand King Salmon’s farms found five in nine were non-compliant. One farm in Pelorus Sound’s Forsyth Bay was even deemed “significantly non-compliant” due to pollution under its pens, caused by fish waste and uneaten fish food falling to the bed. Compliance was judged against a farm’s resource consent conditions and guidelines laid down by central and local government to encourage “environmentally responsible” aquaculture – both of which the Forsyth Bay farm breached. >click to read< 17:57

Do you think your seafood is cheaper? It is. The Coronavirus pandemic caused a drop in demand

The ongoing pandemic has impacted nearly every aspect of life on the South Shore, including the commercial fishing and lobster industries. “It’s hurt them big time,” said retired Cohasset fisherman Matt Marr. “There are so many things that factor in. Most of the restaurants are closed, hotels are empty, casinos are empty, cruise ships don’t exist anymore. Those places bought a lot of lobster. So, their markets have definitely diminished.” Reduced business at restaurants has caused a significant drop in demand, said Tommy Alioto. The pandemic didn’t affect lobstermen’s ability to do their job, but the low demand caused an excess of inventory and a drop in price. >click to read< 15:30

George E. Lineham of Sanbornville NH has passed away

On the Evening of Friday, Oct. 2, 2020, George Edward Lineham died quietly in his Sanbornville, N.H. home. He was surrounded by the presence and love of his family as he passed. In 1952, George entered the U.S. Army as a Paratrooper in the #187 Airborne Division, in the Korean War. After returning home to Rhode Island, from his dedicated time in the service, George married his sweetie, Lucy. Together, they brought three sons into this world. Stephen Edward “Beanie,” John Robert “Bobby,” and David Alan “Porky.” Through his hard work and experience, and the footsteps of his father, George earned his Masters Plumbing and Masters Electrician licenses at an uncommonly young age. George continued to thirst for new business ventures, this man grew no moss! He passed the septic business onto his sons. From there George decided to give the commercial fishing business a try with his oldest son Stephen as his first mate. >click to read< 11:43

Stone crab season opens Oct. 15 with new regulations in place

For roughly a week now, armadas of Floridian crabbing fleets and their deckhands have boated miles offshore into the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean to lay their traps on the depths. Come Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020, these crabbers will venture out again to launch Florida’s stone crab season, hauling in anticipated bounties of Menippe mercenaria and their treasured claws. “We’re putting them out right now,” Richard Stiglitz, owner of the Homosassa-based Salty Bones Fisheries, said about 650 of his 10,000 traps. It’ll take some time before crabbing crews know what kind of season they’ll have. >click to read< 10:05

Scientists perplexed by this year’s low chum salmon numbers in Yukon River

The latest estimates aren’t just bad, they’re “absolutely dismal,” says Stephanie Quinn-Davidson, director of the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission in Alaska. Every year scientists count fish as they swim upstream by Eagle, Alaska, on the way back from the ocean. Scientists manually review the data from the Eagle sonar. While it can be tricky, they can separate chum from other fish by size, speed, and direction of travel. This year the station’s fall chum estimate is 23,828 fish. >click to read< 08:47

Coast Guard conducts overflight of areas near Lake Charles affected by Hurricane Delta

The Coast Guard is conducting critical incident search and rescue overflights Saturday along the Western Gulf Coast Region for Hurricane Delta post-storm operations. A Coast Guard Aviation Training Center Mobile HC-144 Ocean Sentry aircrew conducted overflights near Lake Charles to assess damage and identify hazards. Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter and MH-65 Dolphin helicopter aircrews conducted overflights near Lake Charles and other impacted areas. As of 1 p.m. Saturday, there have been no reports of Coast Guard post-storm emergency distress calls, or search and rescue incidents.photos, >click to read< 16:03

Chance remark leads to movie role. “You guys with the movies or something?” Then something happened. Something always happens.

It happens to commercial fishermen of a certain age. Fishermen of a certain pedigree. After a lifetime on the water, they begin to view their world through a different prism, one that assembles the puzzle pieces in just the right way.,, Within the next fortnight, Bob Morris will turn 63. He still lobsters out of Pigeon Cove,,, He watched as a group of people walked toward him.  “They were young people, all clad in black,” he said. As they passed, he gave them a little shot. Nothing serious. Just the type of dig that passes for a friendly introduction along the docks. “You guys with the movies or something?” “In fact we are,” said Matthew Balzer. Balzer is the writer and director of a film called “The Catch.” A nice video trailer!   >click to read< 13:55

Several Fisheries around Alaska asking for disaster relief – Five legislators ask Dunleavy for disaster declaration

Several fisheries around the state are asking for disaster relief from the state and federal government due to low returns, low prices due to the pandemic, and alleged mismanagement. Seafood processors are also struggling. Southeast Alaska is asking for disaster funds due to low coho returns and low prices on the heels of a disaster declaration in 2016 due to a crash in pink salmon numbers. >click to read< 10:36

Electronic monitoring long-awaited boon for Cape Cod fishermen

Cape fishermen first started advocating for the use of electronic monitoring in 2006, said Melissa Sanderson, chief operating officer of the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance. “I would say it’s a long time coming,” said Sanderson of the 14 years it took to finally have approval. But six years ago, Maine fishermen revived interest with their own pilot program and Cape fishermen joined the following year using equipment and technical support provided by The Nature Conservancy and grants from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. >click to read< 09:09

Our fishery is not only neglected, but for sale

Imagine our centuries-old fishery taken over by a foreign country. Imagine a minister of fisheries representing our province’s interest rubber-stamping this proposal. Imagine the recommendation coming from a five-member all-male board with little experience. The unimaginable above is truly our reality for our iconic industry. Denmark has recently bought interests in the Newfoundland fisheries, with the aim to now purchase additional fishing companies. Those Newfoundland and Labrador companies they have bought have been operating here for many years. By gaining access to processing plants, Denmark will also gain control over the fishing resource through fishermen who have been given quotas for various species. >click to read<  by Gus Etchegary 08:20

North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for October 09, 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< 22:56

Video: Four adults, two infants, and three dogs rescued from three grounded shrimp boats near Rollover Pass in Gilchrist, Texas

The Coast Guard rescued six people after their vessels became aground in the Intracoastal Waterway north of Rollover Pass in Gilchrist, Texas, Friday. Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston watchstanders received a report of three fishing vessels aground in the Intracoastal Waterway north of Rollover Pass. The fishing vessels identified in this rescue mission are F/V Golden Eagle, F/V Bossy Page, and F/V Family Tradition  The vessel’s occupants, four adults, two infants and three dogs, did not have lifejackets and were concerned about possible rollovers occurring due to weather conditions. >photos, video, click to read< 21:47

Trudeau government rejects lobster quota system for commercial inshore fleet

Fisheries and Oceans Minister Bernadette Jordan issued a statement Friday after meeting with commercial fishermen the day before. “As confirmed in that meeting, there is no plan to move to a quota system for the commercial lobster fishery and it is not being considered,” Jordan said. For decades, conservation in the billion-dollar commercial lobster fishery has been maintained by limiting the number of licence holders and traps. Stocks throughout Nova Scotia lobster fishing areas are healthy.  Three Mikmaw parliamentarians have proposed the creation of an optional Atlantic First Nations fisheries authority to administer an Indigenous fishery. >click to read< 19:13