Monthly Archives: November 2020
Man rescued after being spotted clinging to the bow of his sunken boat 86 miles east of Port Canaveral
The Coast Guard is monitoring the safe return home of Stuart Bee, a 63-year-old man, who departed Cape Marina, Port Canaveral, Friday, and was rescued Sunday, by the 225-meter motor vessel Angeles crew about 86 miles off the coast. The Angeles’ next port of call is Wilmington, Delaware. Bee is in contact with his brother who will assist in bringing him home once in Delaware. Receiving the alert, the Angeles’ crew lookout spotted Bee clinging to the bow of his boat at approximately 10 a.m. and brought him aboard, 5 photos, >click to read< 19:23
RCMP: Two charged following alleged incidents in St. Mary’s Bay during fisheries dispute
The charges were laid under the Vessel Operation Restriction Regulations for unsafe activity in St. Mary’s Bay near Saulnierville. On Nov. 26, the RCMP charged 34-year-old Brandon Alexander Maloney, of Hants County, for unsafe operation of a vessel in relation to an incident that took place Sept. 20 in St. Mary’s Bay. Maloney was a fisheries manager for Sipekne’katik at the time of the alleged incident. He has since been elected to council and no longer holds that manager position. Also charged is 26-year-old Shaquest India Miller of Yarmouth County, for unsafe operation of a vessel, relating to an Oct. 12 incident, in St. Mary’s Bay. Both are scheduled to appear in Digby Provincial Court on Feb. 15. >click to read< 17:23
If Brexit is to mean anything we must end fraud of EU fishing boats registering as British
Last week, with surprisingly little fanfare given the years of high-profile politicking over our territorial waters, the Fisheries Bill was written into UK Law. The long awaited Bill slipped quietly into legislation,,, The fact that the fishing industry was the first industry to be sold out by Labour and Conservative governments as we entered the European Economic Community means, I firmly believe, it must be the first industry to be returned to the status demanded by full sovereignty. I watched hours of debate, as the Bill passed through the commons onto the House of Lords, in which more attention was given to marine conservation and sustainability than to how this bill will affect the United Kingdom’s fishing industry and coastal communities. >click to read< 15:25
Systemic racism: another view
A recent column by Dr. Jim Guy on the lobster fishery question (“Systemic racism plagues Nova Scotia’s fishery,”) is most thought provoking. Dr. Guy posits that at the core of this dispute lies systemic racism, luridly comparing the situation to the segregationist Jim Crow south of America’s past. I do not agree with his position, instead seeing the dispute as one between fishers contesting jurisdictional licensing and conservation issues and not one of race, much less one of systemic racism, where the very administrative arms of society are imposing racially biased polices against Indigenous fishers. By David Delaney, >click to read< 12:35
Friends and family raise nearly $100,000 for F/V Emmy Rose fishermen lost at sea – Please donate if you can.
A campaign to help the families of four fishermen lost at sea last week was approaching $100,000 Sunday night. The fundraising effort on the for-profit crowd funding platform called GoFundMe had raised just over $95,000 to ease the financial burdens of the four crewmen’s families. The Portland-based fishing vessel F/V Emmy Rose sank off the coast of Massachusetts during the early morning hours of Nov. 23. The fishermen who lost their lives at sea have been identified as (Captain) Robert Blethen Jr. of Georgetown, Jeff Matthews of Portland, Ethan Ward of Pownal, and Mike Porper of Gloucester, Massachusetts. >click to read< 10:18
There are four gofundme pages our readers should be aware of for the Families of F/V Emmy Rose – >click to read<
A history of toxic chemicals in the fish farming industry
When fish farms first appeared on the coast in the late 1970s, they seemed like an interesting idea. They could provide food, meet consumer demand, and perhaps alleviate the stress on wild stocks.,, Atlantic salmon and Norwegian owners became the new face of fish farms. The salmon are densely packed into the net pens, moving among their own faeces, fish pellets, and chemicals that are regularly dumped into the pens to deter the prevalent bacteria and sea lice that these conditions give rise to.,, “Many of the pesticides, insecticides and fungicides used by salmon farmers are derived from the Second World War’s chemical weapons programs,” writes Don Staniford in A Stain upon the Sea. These chemicals, used internationally, have poisoned the land via commercial agriculture, but were never intended to be dumped into the sea via aquaculture. >click to read< 09’10
LFA 33 to open, Monday a no-go for LFA 34: weather forecast leads to split start of commercial lobster season
The fishery in Lobster Fishing Area (LFA) 33, which runs along the province’s south shore will open as scheduled on Monday, with boats leaving at 7 a.m. But that’s not the case for LFA 34 off southwestern Nova Scotia, which, following days of fine weather over the weekend, won’t see boats heading out for dumping day on the traditional last Monday of November. With boats loaded with traps and gear for the start of the season, two industry and stakeholder conference calls held over the weekend,,, “The lobster fishery is vital to our region and our province, and there is a very real anxiety among our community members that this important economic driver is in jeopardy, >click to read< 15:30
Sipekne’katik First Nation receives proposed moderate livelihood fishery memorandum of understanding from feds
Federal Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan has sent a proposed memorandum of understanding to the Sipekne’katik First Nation regarding its moderate livelihood fishery. The band says the draft MOU is being reviewed by its lawyers before it will be shared with the public. The only detail made available so far is that it includes an acknowledgement of the band’s right to sell its catch. “This agreement has the potential to be a historic recognition of our treaty rights,,, Sipekne’katik Chief Michael Sack said in a news release Sunday morning. >click to read< 10:29
“Seared Diver Scallops”: In these tough economic times, this dive harvester is trying to keep money in the province
Through late summer and early fall, Tim Ball spent as much time as possible underwater in his dive gear, scouring the seabed off the Burin Peninsula for scallops. It’s an ocean-to-table operation that sees his hand-harvested scallops quickly making their way to dinner plates in the downtown of St. 
John’s. Terre Restaurant in St. John’s is one of the destinations for Ball’s scallops. For Ball, that means, among other things, using locally made bags and boxes for packing his scallops and using a Burin Peninsula cab company for sending his catch into St. John’s. “They’re amazing,” said head chef Matthew Swift. “Anywhere else in the world … the idea of marketing day boat scallops is sort of a pipe dream. >click to read< 09:04
For commercial fishermen, November is the cruelest month
November trips can be treacherous, and the forecast was unnerving, 9-foot swells in the afternoon and gusts as strong as 40 miles per hour. But the 56-foot F/V Leonardo, its diesel engines groaning after a series of repairs, steamed out to fishing grounds 24 miles southwest of Martha’s Vineyard. It would not return, and three fishermen, Mark Cormier Jr., Gerald Bretal, and his step-son Xavier Vega, were never found. Ernesto Garcia, the lone survivor, was rescued by a Coast Guard helicopter crew at dusk, about two hours after the ship capsized. >click to read< 07:33
Fishing Boat Sinks 24 off Vineyard – November 24, 2019. The fishing boat F/V Leonardo out of New Bedford sank Sunday afternoon 24 miles southwest of the Vineyard. 
The U.S. Coast Guard rescued one mariner from the vessel. A search and rescue operation is underway for three others. Sector Southeast New England received an EPIRB (Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon) signal at 3:18 pm, F/V Leonard, >click for 10 posts<
EU backs U.S. lobster trade deal
Thanksgiving just got a little bit better for the Maine lobster industry. The European Union parliament on Thursday approved a mini trade deal with the United States, which includes the elimination of customs duties on U.S. lobster imports. The passage with 638 votes for, 45 against and 11 abstentions was the last major political step for the deal to come into effect. As a result, the 27-nation EU will drop its 8% tariff on U.S. lobsters for the next five years and work to make the move permanent. >click to read< 06:35
Hendrika Jacoba GY-127 – The Latest in Stellendam Yard’s Trawler/ Seiner Series
Klaas van den Berg and his family have taken delivery of the new Hendrika Jacoba GY-127, the latest in an ongoing series of fly-shooter/twin-riggers coming from the Padmos yard. In the fishing company’s forty-year history, this is the first newbuild, and the 24.95 metre overall, 8.50 metre breadth 
Hendrika Jacoba replaces a 40-metre former beamer built in 1982 as GO-38, which was initially converted to work as a twin-rigger before a subsequent refit added fly-shooting capacity. The deck is laid out with split netdrums mounted in the aft gantry and the seine/trawl winches are controlled by a Marelec trawl computer with options for automatic modes. photo’s, information, >click to read< 13:15
‘Bad things can happen on nice days’: Lobster season safety takeaways
Neil LeBlanc still remembers the moment he and a crew member made eye contact after the man had been pulled overboard from their lobster vessel. A rope was clenched in the man’s hand. “I remember him looking right at me. As soon as we made eye contact, he was gone.” LeBlanc knows from experience how fast you can disappear from the deck of a vessel.,, But that calm April day in 2016, LeBlanc says, also shows how things can go wrong at any time. As soon as their crew member Wayne Jacquard had gone overboard that day, as soon as their eye contact had been made, LeBlanc was turning the boat around to retrieve their man. Helping him onboard with the rescue was crew member Alderic DeViller, known to his friends as Beef (his nickname). >click to read< 10:30
Resolute Delivered To Fraserburgh Owners
Pelagic trawler Resolute BF-50 has been delivered to owners Castlehill in Fraserburgh, calling in its home port for the first time the delivery trip from Spain, before heading for fishing grounds and landing its first trip in Norway. The order for the new Resolute was placed in November 2018, with the 69.80 metre LOA by 14.60 metre breadth newbuild replacing a Norwegian-built vessel of the same name, while the owners this time opted to build in Spain. >click to read< 09:09
Past lobster season openers starts and misses in southwestern Nova Scotia
There are years the opening of the lobster fishery off southwestern Nova Scotia goes off without a hitch, but not always. The season is always slated to start on the last Monday of November, but sometimes the weather says otherwise. The opening day, when fishermen head to sea to set their traps, is known as dumping day. After traps have been set, boats can start hauling their catches at one minute after midnight, when day two gets underway. Here’s a look at some past season openers. 2015: Good start, good price – The lobster season got off to a good start with decent opening day weather and better yet, a better price than in previous years. Fishermen were being paid around $6 a pound for their landings. photos, >click to read< 07:49
Charleston Fishing Families looks to help prepare for Christmas during tough crabbing year
The Charleston crabbing community in Coos Bay is hit hard yet again, not only with COVID, but with another delay to the start of the season this year. Crab season is delayed to December 16th and there is always the possibility of that changing. That’s why the Charleston Fishing Families organization is stepping up to help their community during the holiday season. “We’re going to provide the Christmas breakfast, dinner, and toys for the kids this year,”,,, The nonprofit is accepting applications for this holiday program. They are looking to help 25 commercial fishing families, and families associated with the industry, like dock workers,, >video, click to read< 17:41
Lobster: the last, best fishery – Part 2, The new cod?
“Another likely contributing factor is the large amount of food the fishery provides to lobsters, as many lobsters escape traps after having fed on its bait; it has been said that we are basically ranching lobsters,” says Rochette. Also, as reported in Part 1, increasing water temperature has so far been 
favourable to lobsters in Canada, given we are in the northern part of the species’ range. But for how long can that last, as waters continue to warm? And what lessons have we learned from the collapse of the groundfish stocks? Could lobsters be the new cod? photos, graphs, video, even Boris Worm! >click to read< Part 1, November 26, 2020 >click to read< 13:18
Pretty Rugged: Camden author’s book spotlights women of the fishing industry
For the past two years, Camden author Ali Farrell has poured her all into her second book, a book showcasing the strength of Maine’s female fishermen, entitled Pretty Rugged: True Stories From Women of the Sea. Originally slated to be released in June, the book is finally available for preorder with shipments anticipated in time for Christmas after the pandemic delayed some photoshoots and tagalongs on fishing boats. As the book nears its release, Farrell is abundantly thankful to the lobstermen allowed her and her team to document their lifestyle, and for her team, including many photographers traveling hours to wharf locations to withstand various conditions on the water. photos, >click to read< 11:09:34
Lights will shine around the world for lost Brixham fishermen
The mothers of the two fishermen lost at sea have both welcomed calls for a plaque to be erected to their sons on the beautiful Man and Boy statue on Brixham harbour. And fishing communities around the world will be shining lights in a mass event on December 5 in memory of Adam Harper and Robert Morley, lost when the Joanna C capsized. A plan to turn out all the lights in a two minute silence was called off after Adam’s mother revealed that her son was afraid of the dark and asked people to shine a light instead in his honour. On Saturday December 5 at 6.14pm – to mirror the time of Saturday morning’s 6.14am distress call – people in Brixham are being asked to shine lights into the air in tribute. >click to read< 09:23
Replenishment, or Misguided Retribution?! Trouble brewing ahead of start to Nova Scotia fall lobster season
The recent seizure of lobster traps in St. Marys Bay by federal officials could lead to big trouble on the water. Chief Mike Sack of the Sipekne’katik First Nation says Indigenous fishers whose traps were taken last weekend and on Wednesday will replace them by taking the traps of commercial fishers when the fall season opens Monday in southwestern Nova Scotia, a huge event known as Dumping Day. “Dumping Day is going to be about 400,000 traps that our people get to pick from to replenish our traps,” Sack said in an interview, referring to the start of Canada’s largest and most lucrative lobster fishery. >video, click to read< 08:02
Tension could rise again on Monday in lobster dispute on east coast – The ongoing dispute between Indigenous and non-native lobster fishers could get tense once again. Last weekend, and on Wednesday, agents from Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) seized hundreds of Indigenous lobster traps, ostensibly because the traps were set before the season opens on Monday.. >click to read<
DFO officers seize 500 lobster traps in St. Marys Bay
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans says enforcement officers are going back to St. Marys Bay in southwestern Nova Scotia where they seized hundreds of lobster traps on the weekend in an area used by Mi’kmaw fishermen. Todd Somerville, DFO’s director of conservation and protection for the Maritimes, said 500 traps were seized for a variety of violations. “Untagged gear, improperly configured gear, gear that hadn’t been tended in a while. There was gear where dead lobsters were found. Over 6,000 lobsters, live lobsters, were returned,,, >click to read< 18:17
Richmond herring sale for kids with cancer next week
Fishermen Helping Kids with Cancer (FHKWC) is hosting their 10th annual herring sale to benefit the BC Children’s Hospital Foundation on Dec. 5. Every year, FHKWC hosts a herring sale to raise funds towards purchasing books, musical instruments, laptops, games and other gifts to make the experience of kids receiving cancer treatment more comfortable. >click to read< 15:32
There are four gofundme pages our readers should be aware of for the Families of F/V Emmy Rose
We have four gofundme pages to post for review, and the first is Rosalee Varian’s fundraiser, Supporting FV EmmyRose fishermen’s families. F/V EmmyRose four fishermen’s families – We have set up this page to support the families of the F/V EmmyRose and to ease their financial burden. The F/V EmmyRose sank early Monday morning, November 23, off the Massachusetts coast. >click to read<, and please donate if you can.13:28
Celebrating Ethan’s Life – Patricia Donahue is organizing this fundraiser, It’s with heavy hearts we start to find a way to navigate this road of grief that we have been dropped on. Ethan Matthew Ward was a hard worker, a loving father, dedicated boyfriend, an honest friend, and man any family member could be proud of. He fought his own demons but never let them define him. He pushed himself to be better and do better for his family, >click to read< and please donate if you can.
Ashley Gross and Michael Porper – Graham Hults is organizing this fundraiser, Of her crew was a Michael Porper, who is the love of Ashley Gross, a lifelong resident of Peaks Island. Ashley and Michael are the parents of Grace, their daughter. This fund is being established to provide support for Ashley and her daughter. >click to read<, and please donate if you can.
Funeral service expenses Jeff Matthews – Jeff Jmath is organizing this fundraiser. Jeff Matthews lost his life at sea. Doing what he loved to do, fishing. He spent his life out on boats, working hard. There isn’t a person that knows him that wouldn’t tell you he was one of the hardest workers they have met. >click to read<, and please donate if you can.
Lobster: the last, best fishery – Stocks are healthy, but why?
In the early 2000s, while he was working on one of Clearwater Seafoods’ four offshore lobster boats in Lobster Fishing Area (LFA) 41, Frank – not his real name – was deeply impressed by the incredible lobster catches, and the incredible size of the lobsters. Frank tells the Halifax Examiner that at the time there hadn’t been a lot of lobster fishing in LFA 41, and it wasn’t until 2007 that Clearwater obtained the last of its eight licences, which gave it a 
monopoly on offshore lobster. The boat Frank was on would fish with 27 strings of gear, and each of those had 125 traps for a total of 3,375 traps. They would fish close to the 50-mile line, which divided the offshore from the inshore fishery. Frank remembers when on a single day in the fall of 2005, they landed 28,000 lobsters. Part 1. >click to read< Part 2 – 11:05
Bering Sea red king crab in high demand
Gabriel Prout, owner of Alibi Seafoods and part-owner of the F/V Silver Spray, brought 175 king crab totaling 1,000 pounds to the docks last week, which he and his crew had caught in the Bering Sea. After the F/V Silver Spray delivered their 28,000-pound quota of crab to a seafood processor, they were free to deliver the extra unblocked quota to whomever they wanted. Cars lined up for the next six hours until the crab sold out. Prout, who owns and operates the Silver Spray with his family and a friend, brought back triple the amount of crab as last year to sell at the docks. >click to read< 09:43
Fishermen vow to prevent construction of Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm – would rather die than allow it to go ahead
French fishermen have declared that they would rather die fighting than allow a fully approved offshore wind farm to be built off Brittany, and have vowed to take direct action to prevent construction. The row has led the French wind industry to write to President Emmanuel Macron, warning that it is being “held hostage to sterile debates’ led by organisations “stirring up false fears’ about renewable energy. The fishermen’s association from the nearby British island of Jersey is supporting their French counterparts’ opposition to Saint-Brieuc, arguing that the project would push French fishing boats out of their territorial waters and into UK waters. >click to read< 08:47
Coast Guard medevacs chief engineer 70 miles northwest of Saint Paul Island, Alaska
The Coast Guard medevaced a fisherman from a commercial fishing vessel approximately 70 miles northwest of Saint Paul, Tuesday. An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Kodiak safely hoisted the 43-year-old man, at approximately 12:25 p.m., and transferred him to awaiting emergency medical services personnel in Saint Paul Island for further transport to Anchorage. At 7 p.m. Monday, 17th District command center watchstanders received a medevac request from F/V Frontier Spirit for the chief engineer who was experiencing abdominal pain. >video, click to read< 15:30
Trump Dumps Pebble – administration denies permit
The Trump administration on Wednesday denied a permit for a controversial gold and copper mine near the headwaters of the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery in southwest Alaska. The Army Corps of Engineers said in a statement that the permit application to build the Pebble Mine was denied under both the Clean Water Act and the Rivers and Harbors Act., The agency “concluded that the proposed project is contrary to the public interest,” according to the statement from Col. Damon Delarosa, commander of the corps’ Alaska district. >click to read< 14:41
Marine Board of Investigation: Coast Guard looking for details regarding F/V Scandies Rose ahead of public hearing
After almost a year of investigation into the Dec. 31, 2019, sinking of the F/V Scandies Rose that left only two survivors, investigators are still looking for information before a public hearing in February. The Coast Guard’s Marine Board of Investigation will hold a public hearing into the loss of the F/V Scandies Rose from Feb. 22 through March 5. The public hearing will be recorded and livestreamed for those who cannot attend in person. The MBI is looking into why the 130-foot crabber sank near Sutwik Island on New Year’s Eve, which resulted in the deaths of five crew members,,, The MBI also has the testimonies of the two survivors, Dean Gribble Jr. and John Lawler, who were found floating in high seas and freezing temperatures. >click to read< 13:25
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: Aluminum 48′ Purse Seiner, (2) 425HP John Deere Diesels, 16 KW Generator
To review specifications, and information, and 4 photos >click here<, To see all the boats in this series. Seller is encouraging offers for a quick sale. >click here<12:29
