Daily Archives: February 18, 2021
Man dies after falling overboard from fishing boat
A fisherman has died after going overboard from local whitefish trawler Copious 30 miles south east of Sumburgh in the early hours of the morning on Thursday. The Sumburgh based search and rescue helicopter and the Lerwick lifeboat were both tasked to rescue the man after the alarm was raised at 3.20am. “Officers were made aware around 4am on Thursday, 18 February, 2021, of a man having gone overboard,,, >click to read< 18:08
Canada outlines its 2021 measures to protect North Atlantic right whales
The Government of Canada remains committed to protecting the endangered North Atlantic right whale. To help prevent entanglements with fishing gear, Fisheries and Oceans Canada is building on last year’s successful measures by continuing to close fishing areas wherever and whenever North Atlantic right whales are present in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Bay of Fundy, and Roseway Basin Critical Habitat,,, To help prevent collisions with vessels, Transport Canada will be re-implementing its 2020 season measures, including a restriction on vessel speed throughout much of the Gulf of St. Lawrence to protect areas where whales are detected,,, >click to read< 17:06
Florida to Supreme Court: Ga’s excessive water use killing bay’s oysters
In the early 1980s, Steve Rash would drive across the bridges that ring Florida’s Apalachicola Bay and see fishing vessels so crammed together on the water that a person could walk from boat to boat. There were hundreds of oystermen using traditional wooden hand tongs to harvest the estuary’s culinary jewel. Business was good. As recently as 2008, one in every 10 residents of Franklin County held an oyster license. Together, they harvested roughly 10% of the country’s wild oysters. But all of that came crashing down in 2013, when the oyster population collapsed and never recovered. >click to read< 12:23
Southlander to restore 106-year-old boat for history
Brian Railton beams from ear-to-ear at the thought of restoring a 106-year-old fishing boat in his backyard.,,, Railton bought the hand line fishing boat just before New Zealand went into lockdown last March. It was owned in Dunedin and for various reasons the boat was unable to be transported from Careys Bay to Wyndham until last week. “It had always been in the Otago Harbour and was hand lining up till 20 years ago.” Video, >click to read< 10:26
How the $250M Clearwater Seafoods purchase by 7 Mi’kmaw First Nations came to be
“In the beginning, we wanted a pathway, a clear pathway on how we’d end up with 100 per cent of the ownership of the company,” said Chief Terry Paul of the Membertou First Nation. “Most all of the prospective partners walked away … because of our insistence on what we were looking for.” Paul made the comments during an online chat with Clearwater founder John Risley that was put on by the non-profit Public Policy Forum. >click to read< 09:42
Battle fishing between Alaska and the Aleutians
“The waves were smashing into the boat. The tide was coming in, and the boat was starting to tip. This was late in the season, and we couldn’t see anybody around. Our radios were broken, so we couldn’t call for help, and our greenhorn captain was having a complete mental breakdown. He was an emotionally unstable guy anyway. He was up on the fly bridge of the boat, ripping components out and throwing them overboard, including things that worked. Myself and the other deckhand, Erik – there were only three of us on the boat – we were looking at each other: ‘What do we do? Do we need to get our survival suits on? Like, what’s happening here? Are we going to die?’” >click to read< 08:58
Lobstermen fear new rules as Biden revokes Trump executive orders on regulation
New executive orders are flying off President Joe Biden’s desk. Many of those orders seek to reinstate regulations lifted by former President Donald Trump or enact new ones. Mainers who make a living on the water are particularly concerned about new regulations, and Maine’s Congressional delegation is concerned, as well. They’ve sent multiple letters to federal agencies, attempting to inform the rulemaking process on fishery management plans. >click to read< 08:16
UPDATED: Firefighters battle huge ship fire at Port of Tacoma’s Pier 12
Tacoma firefighters battled a large ship fire in the Port of Tacoma into the early morning. The vessel on fire is the 356-foot Alaskan fish processor Aleutian Falcon, moored at Trident Seafoods on Pier 12. Engine companies on the scene were reporting two large plumes of black smoke from the ship and towering flames amidships. At midnight, the ship was reported listing heavily. >click to read< 07:32. Crews on three fire boats battled a stubborn fire for hours overnight on a moored commercial fishing boat at the Port of Tacoma, more video, >click to read< 11:05
