The pre-dawn blaze in May devastated an 85,000-square-foot warehouse at the end of Pier 45 in Fisherman’s Wharf. Fishers, who lease space from the port to store their equipment, say the port knew but did not stop homeless people from entering and setting camping and cooking fires within the building, which contained flammable materials and lacked automatic sprinklers and fire extinguishers. Many businesses were forced to acquire new gear for this month’s Dungeness crab season while some remain shut out altogether, they say. >click to read< 08:31
Daily Archives: December 17, 2020
U.S. Coast Guard Works to Make BSAI Crab Fishery Catch Less Deadly in 2021
Within the commercial crab fishing fleet of Alaska’s Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) sail some of the most widely admired and respected fishermen on earth. The BSAI crab fishery was widely considered the most hazardous U.S. commercial fishery in the 1990s after 73 fishing-related fatalities.,, laws did not address the problem of overloading vessels with crab pots, a major cause of vessel disasters and deaths. This gap in safety regulations was partially corrected by the Coast Guard in 1999 with the introduction of a dockside stability and safety compliance check program.,, Recent tragedies in these fisheries have shed light on just how important stability checks are for the fishing fleet. F/V Destination and F/V Scandies Rose sank in February 2017, and New Year’s Eve 2019, respectively, claiming the lives of 11 fishermen. >click to read< 22:50
This Year May Decide the Fate of BC’s Wild Salmon – Feds to phase out all Discovery Islands fish farms in 2022
Three decisions may well seal the fate of wild Pacific salmon along the coast of British Columbia this year. The first was the Department of Fisheries and Oceans’ decision to essentially legalize high sea lice infestations on fish farms for periods of time last spring. The second was DFO’s calculated response to the Cohen Commission’s recommendations that fish farming must end by Sept. 30, 2020 in the Discovery Islands unless the federal fisheries minister can show that they cause less than minimal risk to migrating juvenile Fraser River sockeye salmon. Minister Bernadette Jordan said that there was no real risk. The third decision is said to be imminent. >click to read< 19:07
Feds to phase out all Discovery Islands fish farms in 2022 – The federal government says it will phase out all fish farms in B.C.’s Discovery Islands by June 2022. Fisheries and Oceans Canada says no new fish of any size may be introduced into the region from now until the phase-out date. Existing salmon farms can continue to operate in the island archipelago, located between Vancouver Island and the B.C. mainland, until June 30, 2022. After that date they must be free of fish and closed down. >click to read< , Government of Canada moves to phase out salmon farming licences in Discovery Islands following consultations with First Nations – DFO press release, >click to read<
Livelihoods Threatened: Massachusetts lobstermen concerned about proposed regulations to protect whales
The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries is proposing multiple amendments to current rules regulating fixed gear fisheries in an effort to protect an the North Atlantic right whale. Two local lobstermen say the proposed regulations threaten their livelihoods. “It’s gonna take roughly 30% of my income away from me,” said Dave Magee,,, Tom Tomkiewicz, a Fairhaven lobsterman, was not sold on the regulation, the regulations could cut 30% of his catch and up to 50% of his income,,, “All the bait guys, the marine supply guys, the shipyards, down to the restaurants we go to once or twice a week. We’re not going to be able to go because we won’t have the money. It’s going to affect a lot of people not even involved.” >click to read< 13:07
Icelandic Fishermen haul back an unexploded World War II mine
The Icelandic Coast Guard received a call yesterday afternoon when a trawler caught an unexploded mine in its fishing gear. The Coast Guard’s command centre requested that the ship return to harbour in Sandgerði and dispatched the explosive ordnance disposal unit. When the boat landed, 
the crew evacuated, and the EOD unit prepared to move the mine from the ship with floatation devices. When the boat landed, the crew evacuated, and the EOD unit prepared to move the mine from the ship with floatation devices. >click to read< 11:20 Unexploded World War II mine detonated – >video, click here<
Yarmouth is heartbroken by fishing tragedy – ‘It’s such a feeling that ‘sad’ doesn’t even describe’
If there is one thing Yarmouth prides itself on, it is for being a fishing community.,, There are ups. And there are downs. It’s almost like wedding vows. For better, for worse. For richer, for poorer. In sickness and in health. And sometimes, tragically, ‘till death do us part.,, Southwestern Nova Scotia has 
not been immune to loss, heartbreak and tragedy on the sea. And it can also be cruel. And now comes more heartache. The scallop dragger F/V Chief William Saulis and its six-member crew was on its way into port on Tuesday, Dec. 15 when something went terribly wrong. >click to read< 10:19
F/V Chief Williams Saulis: ‘Hearts are extremely heavy’ as search for missing N.S. fishing crew ends
The Maritime Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre said late Wednesday afternoon that it is suspending the search for five missing fishermen in the Bay of Fundy. The news comes after 36 hours of searching for the crew of the Chief Williams Saulis, a scallop vessel based out of Yarmouth, N.S. The RCMP will now handle the investigation as a missing persons case. The JRCC said the search covered 260 nautical miles by sea and air. One body was recovered on Tuesday night, but had not yet been publicly identified. >click to read< 07:16
Body of Newfoundland Fisherman Recovered, Search for Others Called Off in Nova Scotia – Residents of the Town of Fortune are rallying around the family of a man whose body was recovered,,, The man, Michael Drake, was one of six crewmen on board the Chief William Saulis,,, >click to read<
RCMP suspend search for Chief William Saulis fishermen due to impending storm – Chief Deborah Robinson of Acadia First Nation also expressed her condolences in a statement on Thursday morning. Eugene Francis, nicknamed Geno, was a community member who lived on the Yarmouth reserve, growing up in Milton, N.S., where his parents and son still live. “We were devastated to hear that Geno was among those on board and our thoughts and prayers are with his family and all the families, both Indigenous and non-Indigenous, who are impacted by this tragic event,” Robinson said. >click to read<
