Monthly Archives: December 2020
UPDATED: Search suspended – Coast Guard, partners search for missing fisherman off Big Island
Multiple rescue crews are searching for a 32 year-old male who is reported to have fallen overboard late Wednesday. At 4:50 p.m., Wednesday, Sector Honolulu watchstanders received a phone call from the master of the commercial fishing vessel F/V Sea Goddess reporting the situation. Sector Honolulu watchstanders immediately issued an urgent marine information broadcast and launched rescue crews including partner agency assets. >click to read< 21:50
Hazardous Bar Crossing Procedures: Coast Guard urges safety, preparedness for the 2020-2021 Dungeness crab season
The Coast Guard urges commercial fishermen to ensure vessel safety to prevent maritime emergencies before the opening of the Dungeness crab season scheduled to begin Dec.16. The Coast Guard reminds all commercial fishermen that prior to crossing a restricted bar between sunset and sunrise, they must notify the Coast Guard on VHF-FM channel 16 or 22A to provide their vessel name, position, number of people aboard, destination and any vessel limitations. After crossing, they are required to report back a safe transit or otherwise. >click to read< 19:59
Family owned working waterfront fishing businesses displaced by waterfront developments on Great Lakes
For three generations, the Minor family, today brothers Carson and Landon and their father Paul, have been up before first light to board their fishing tug and make their way to their fishing grounds on Lake Erie. Most mornings, the Minors leave from Port Colborne, Ont., Each afternoon they return to the port to unload their fresh catch of perch and pickerel.,, Without warning, the unloading zone their family had used for more than 70 years was blocked off. They were forced to move to a new port further away from their fishing grounds, increasing travel time and putting them at greater risk during bad weather.,, The Minors’ story is not new, nor is it isolated. Working waterfront access is being affected by coastal gentrification, also called “coastal grabbing” >click to read< 16:47
Sipekne’katik First Nation Chief frustrated, ceases lobster fishery talks with feds
In a letter sent Wednesday to Fisheries Minister Bernadette Jordan, Sipekne’katik Chief Mike Sack says the department has neither the “desire nor the ability” to recognize and implement the Mi’kmaq band’s constitutionally protected treaty right to fish. Sack expresses frustration with the nation-to-nation discussions and says Ottawa has tried to lump his band’s treaty rights in with regulation of commercial licenses. A spokesperson in the minister’s office was not immediately available for comment. >click to read< 14:31
Family of fisherman lost at sea, Michael Porper Jr., thanks public
It’s been more than two weeks since Michael Porper Jr. was lost at sea, and his family continues to struggle with grief. The 38-year-old Gloucester native was among the four crewmen aboard the dragger F/V Emmy Rose when it went down early Nov. 23 off Provincetown. “It’s difficult, sometimes it’s really hard — just too much,” said his father, Michael. Porper said his son, known as Mikey, was born, raised and attended schools in Gloucester, and started working on fishing boats when he 15. “He really never stopped,” he added. “His great-grandfather was a famous fisherman, and he wanted want to be just like him,” he said, referring to Capt. Robert Porper, noted by author Gordon Thomas as a “highliner” in the fishery, his vessels catching more halibut than any other Gloucester schooners. >click to read< 11:24
Confined Space: Trawler engineer died after asphyxiation by gas, says Marine Accident Investigation Branch
An engineer on a fishing trawler died after he was asphyxiated by gas that leaked into a refrigerated saltwater tank where he was working without any safety precautions, an investigation has found. Three other crew members were also “nearly overcome” when they tried to rescue second engineer William Ironside on the trawler Sunbeam in Fraserburgh on August 14 2018. A Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) report found the fatal accident happened because Mr Ironside entered the tank, which was an enclosed space, “without any of the safety precautions normally associated with such an activity”. >click to read< 09:29
Was an Arctic Fox Actually Rescued From an Iceberg Miles Offshore by Commercial Fishermen?
Once readers clicked on the ad, they landed on an 80-slide story with the headline: “These Fishermen Noticed Something Unbelievable Atop An Iceberg… What Was It?” It detailed the story of a fishing boat crew that found an Arctic fox on an iceberg. We were a bit surprised to find that this story was true. The crew was from South Labrador in Canada. On Dec. 9, 2020, we reached out to one of the crew members, Alan Russell, who told us that the use of the word “unbelievable” was “perfect. ”Yes it took us by surprise for sure. Me and my father fished our entire life and never seen anything like it! May never see it again. Links, photos, and a real fact check, >click to read< 08:26
Massachusetts Lobstermen Raise Concerns Over Proposed Whale Regulations
At a public hearing on Tuesday, the Massachusetts Department of Marine Fisheries (DMF) shared its recommendations to extend a seasonal commercial gear closure to areas north and east of the Cape from February 1 through April 30. “I’m just trying to plan for the future of fisheries. I mean, if we have a closure this will really close down the state to any type of income,” said Mike Lane, a fisherman who asked whether the state would require modifications to other kinds of fishing gear. Officials were unable to provide an economic impact report based on these recommendations,,, (someone that was there said there was a lot of ropeless chatter) >click to read< 07:30
Chesapeake Bay Says Goodbye to a Classic Virginia Deadrise Boatbuilder
Edward Diggs, an iconic builder of deadrise workboats, left the Chesapeake Bay for good on Thanksgiving after a long, well-lived life. He was 93 and had lived for many years in the home he built with his family on Mobjack Bay in Redart. Diggs began building boats with his father and later built with Alton Smith,,, Diggs boats were large (44-50’), high-sided, and built stout. Mr. Edward’s last large boat is a good example: Dutch Girl is 50’ x 15’, built in 1992 at Horn Harbor for Capt. Dave Thompson. Thompson took her to New York,,, >click to read< 18:20
Owner Operator/Fleet Separation Policies: Measures to prevent corporate takeover of Atlantic inshore fleets go into law
Wednesday, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans published amended Atlantic Fishery regulations that include the so-called owner-operator and fleet-separation policies. The owner-operator policy requires the eligible holder of a fishing licence to be the beneficiary of the licence, and fleet separation prevents processing companies and buyers from also holding fishing licences. “It’s a great day for the inshore fishery and we’re super happy with the results of this announcement,” >click to read<14:16 To read more about this, >click here<
Minister Jordan strengthens protections for inshore commercial fish harvesters on East Coast – Under the authorities granted by the modernized Fisheries Act, Fisheries and Oceans Canada has amended the Atlantic Fishery Regulations, 1985 and the Maritime Provinces Fishery Regulations to clarify the rules governing inshore licences and create new enforceable requirements. >click to read<
‘We’ll be shafted’: Amid EU trade talks, there’s little optimism at Brixham harbour
Even before the sun rose, the harbour-side of Brixham, which bills itself as the birthplace of the trawling industry, was bustling. Fishermen, market workers and merchants were busy with their early morning tasks, landing, preparing, and auctioning off gleaming hauls of dover sole, monkfish and scallops. But in the background, thoughts of the Brexit negotiations taking place hundreds of miles away in London and Brussels were hovering. In truth, there was precious little optimism at the harbour. The most common responses, accompanied by a variety of colourful expletives, were variations on: “We’ll be sold down the river again” or “We’ll be shafted, we always are.” >click to read< 12:43
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 45′ Fiberglass Dragger/Scalloper with Federal Permits
To review specifications, and information, and 15 photos, with Federal Permits, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here<11:03
Fishing community, others respond to tragedy of lost Portland vessel
Two weeks since the sinking of a Portland fishing boat with all four crew seem to have little eased the loss for members of the maritime community and others. But businesses, fishermen and hundreds of individual donors are trying to help family members of the four men, three of whom were from Maine.,,, “The crew on the F/V Emmy Rose were honorable men. All were extremely passionate about the fishing industry, but most importantly, they loved and cared for their families more than anything in the world,” Rosalee Varian wrote. “These four men were the best out there. They will be deeply missed, but they will never be forgotten.” >click to read< 10:23
WDFW: Toxin domoic acid delays commercial Dungeness crab season until at least Jan. 1
The commercial Dungeness crab season opener faces a delay until at least Jan. 1 due to an excess of the marine toxin domoic acid in the guts of sampled crab, the Tri-State management group announced Tuesday evening, Dec. 8. The season had been previously set to start Dec. 16, depending on whether crab reached required minimum meat standards by then. “This decision was based on domoic acid tests of Dungeness crab collected by WDFW and analyzed by the Washington Department of Health,,, >click to read< 08:31
Court OKs deal to keep Jessie’s Ilwaco Fish Co. afloat
San Francisco-based Pucci Foods is positioned to take ownership after a ruling by Judge Goelz on Monday, Dec. 6, in Pacific County Superior Court in South Bend.,, With up to 65 employees depending on the time of year, Jessie’s has been one of the largest employers in Pacific County, according to the Washington State Employment Security Department. It was also Ilwaco’s biggest water customer. With the commercial Dungeness crab season looming, many were concerned about the possibility of losing a primary seafood processor ahead of the lucrative fishery and the impact of having fewer places for fishermen to deliver crab and compete for their business. >click to read< 07:57
Crew Of O’Hara Corporation Trawler And Community Member Test Positive For Coronavirus
Unalaska reported 10 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday. All but one is among the crew of the F/T Enterprise, a trawler. The infected crew members are in isolation in Unalaska’s quarantine facility and are being monitored by staff from Iliuliuk Family and Health Services, City Manager Erin Reinders said. Contact tracing is underway. “The O’Hara Corporation is greatly concerned by the recent positive COVID test results on board the F/T Enterprise,”,, “Our primary concern is the health of our crew and preventing impacts to the community of Unalaska.” The tenth case the city reported Monday is an Unalaska resident. >click to read< 17:57
Opinion: The Reason for No Season – Jim O’Connell
These are 2 females. The black shelled female on the left did not shed this year for the first time skipping the yearly shed. It now has eggs. It was a pound and a half and does not have to shed every year anymore.,,, Canada is not protecting the reproductive potential with it’s seasonal rules. They force the lobstermen to throw the baby out with the bath water. Lobstermen who are trying to make a living for the whole year in two months are targeted on the most important lobster for reproduction.,,, The First Nations have publicly come out and said they want to improve the regulations on the present method for sustainability. Jim O’Connell, >click to read< 15:36
Skipper pleads not guilty in fatal Price Edward Island lobster boat collision
The skipper of a lobster boat that was involved in a collision that killed two people has pleaded not guilty. A lawyer for Clarence Barry White, 52, of Murray River, entered the not guilty pleas Tuesday in P.E.I. Supreme Court in Charlottetown. Justin MacKay of P.E.I. and Christopher Melanson of Nova Scotia died in the June, 2018 incident, in waters off Murray Harbour. An investigation by the Transportation Safety Board of Canada found White’s boat was on auto-pilot at the time of the collision. >click to read< 13:42
No legal basis for the UK’s distant-waters vessels to fish cod in Norwegian waters from the end of this year
Britains latest state-of-the-art trawler, the £52 million Kirkella, has been laid up in Hull as the Government failed to negotiate new fishing quotas with Norway in time for Brexit Day on 1 January. Instead of ‘taking back control’ with the revival of the UK’s fishing industry, trawlermen in Hull face losing their jobs and the country faces the demise of the distant-waters fishing industry. >click to read< 11:05
NPFMC closing Cook Inlet federal waters to commercial salmon fishing
Council action on incorporating the federal waters of Cook Inlet into a federal Fishery Management Plan was necessitated by a lawsuit brought against federal managers by the United Cook Inlet Drift Association, which represents the drift gillnet fleet of Cook Inlet and was unhappy with state management. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ordered that NPFMC incorporate the federal waters of Cook Inlet into a federal Fishery Management Plan by the end of the year. >click to read< 10:04
Lobster Fishing Area 34 took to the water early Tuesday morning – They departed around 4 a.m.
Crews in part of Nova Scotia’s largest and most lucrative commercial lobster fishery dumped their traps Tuesday, launching the season more than a week late because of weather-related delays. The start of the commercial season in southwest Nova Scotia, known as Dumping Day, was staggered this year, with Lobster Fishing Area 33 starting on schedule last Monday, while Lobster Fishing Area 34 was delayed. Fishing vessels and crews in LFA 34 have been waiting on standby, and finally got the go-ahead Monday evening to take to the water early Tuesday. >click to read< 08:56
Helping those in need – Sam Parisi
This letter is to ask for donations to the Gloucester Fisherman’s and Seaman’s Widows and Orphans Society Fund. I have been on the board of directors for more than 40 years. We are a nonprofit group, and our directors and President John Cunningham are not paid. We give the widows and orphans a monthly check, which is very little, as we can only give what we receive in interest. I would like to increase those benefits but need your help to do this. >click to read< 08:12
NCLA Seeks Summary Judgment in Case Challenging NOAA’s Unlawful at-Sea Monitor Mandate
The New Civil Liberties Alliance, a nonpartisan, nonprofit civil rights group, has filed a motion asking the U.S. District Court for the District of Rhode Island to award summary judgment in favor of NCLA’s clients in Relentless Inc., et al. v. U.S. Dept. of Commerce, et al. NCLA argues that the U.S. Department of Commerce, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and the National Marine Fisheries Service have no power to make fishermen pay for monitors the government puts on their boats. So, NCLA is asking the Court to declare NOAA’s regulation seeking to implement an industry-funded, at-sea-monitor mandate on the nation’s Atlantic herring fishermen unconstitutional and set it aside. >click to read<20:31
Why a clash over crustaceans is roiling Canada
It’s a battle about jobs and livelihoods, ethnic identities and cultures, and deeply embedded family and social traditions. Yet it’s also a clash about something else: the future of what was once one of the most fecund fisheries in the world. Both sides recognize they have a shared interest in keeping the industry thriving in a place that has been traumatized by declining fish stocks. This is especially true at a time when the pandemic has temporarily cut off customers for the area’s succulent crustaceans. >click to read< 19:05
Lobsters to be given away to Mainers in Need Christmas Eve
Nothing says Maine generosity quite like giving away lobsters to those in need. And on Christmas Eve, no less. Local lobsterman, Noah Ames, and his family have been giving away lobster to those in need in the past and now, in the dumpster fire that is 2020, they’re not stopping as the need for food assistance is greater than ever. >click to read< with a message and details from Noah Ames! Merry Christmas!
Factory farmed salmon: inland farms offer alternative to diminishing wild stocks, with bigger carbon emissions
One of these land-based salmon farms is planned for Bucksport, Another is intended for Belfast,,, Meanwhile, Nordic Aquafarms, a Scandinavian company with two farms in Denmark, one in Norway and plans for another in northern California, has chosen Belfast for its site. A more ambitious project than that planned for Bucksport, the company hopes to create the second largest such farm in the world. Welcomed by officials for its potential contribution to the town’s economy, there has been opposition from some local people,,, Land based farming using an RAS, recirculating aquaculture system, raises the fish with no exposure to the ocean other than fast flowing, temperature controlled water which is pumped in and out of the fish tanks round the clock. >click to read< 14:15
Delay, Delay, Delay. No Dec. 7 start to LFA 34 commercial lobster season off southwestern N.S.
While there had been a weather window for a possible start to the LFA 34 commercial lobster season later in the day on Monday, Dec. 7, it’s been decided that window wasn’t ideal enough to get things underway, and so the season start has seen another delay. The plan as of Monday morning was now for a conference call at 4 p.m. to discuss a possible Tuesday, Dec. 8 opening. A time of 4 a.m. for a Tuesday opening is being looked at it. The season had originally been slated to start on Nov. 30. >click to read< 12:09
Always Top Quality! Your Seafreeze Ltd. Price Sheet for December 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<! 10:30
Extended delay – Commercial Dungeness Crab fishing ban extended until Dec. 16
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife extended the delay of commercial crab fishing Nov. 24 from Point Arena down to Mexico after it spotted whales in crab fishing grounds. Scott Edson fishes in Half Moon Bay and isn’t surprised by the delay extension until Dec. 16. He expects the current delay to last even longer. Edson said the delays are a disaster for commercial fishermen trying to survive during a tough season and a pandemic. Increased delays cost him money in an already limited season,,, >click to read< 08:59
Lobster fishermen call for ‘dumping day’ changes
Repeated delays to the start of the lobster fishing season in part of Nova Scotia’s most lucrative fishery have some harvesters calling for a change to the rules to prevent the money-burning setback in years ahead. The launch of the season, known as dumping day, happens on the last Monday in November for Lobster Fishing Areas 33 and 34, two large fishing regions that wrap around the southwest coast of the province.,, Lobster fisherman Michael Larkin said he’d like to see some flexibility added to the rules around dumping day,,, >click to read< 07:56
