Monthly Archives: February 2021
Canada launches new aircraft to improve conservation and ocean protection
Fishery officers require state of the art aerial surveillance equipment to continue the important work they conduct protecting Canada’s marine resources, ensuring compliance with fisheries management measures and enforcing the Fisheries Act from coast to coast to coast. In 2019, Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced a five-year, $128 million contract with PAL Aerospace-located in St. John’s, to deliver a new fleet of four aerial surveillance aircrafts, including two long-range maritime patrol aircrafts. When operational, the planes will fly out of three bases of operation: St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador; Halifax, Nova Scotia; and a brand new facility in Campbell River, British Columbia. >click to read< 15:22
‘Wicked Tuna’ rivalry gives way to cooperation
The coronavirus pandemic’s tidal wave of challenges made its way to the high seas, and viewers of “Wicked Tuna” will see a new dynamic when the 10th season opens with a 90-minute premiere Sunday at 9 p.m. The show is known for following Gloucester fishermen in the highly competitive hunt for giant bluefin tuna and the race back to shore in search of the highest price,,, That is until COVID-19 prompted a business shutdown nearly a year ago, with restaurants shuttered or operating at a fraction of their capacity. The market and demand for the usually lucrative bluefin sank. “It was great to see fishermen working together with buyers to do the best we could in these difficult times,” said Capt. Dave Marciano,,, >click to read< 14:03
Federal lease allows Oregon State’s offshore wave energy testing facility to move ahead in 2021
The lease for PacWave South is the first marine renewable energy research lease the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has issued in federal waters off the West Coast. The estimated $80 million facility will be located offshore southwest of Newport, Oregon. The project still must receive licensing approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission before it can move forward. Obtaining the lease is an essential component of the licensing requirements. >click to read< 12:22
Body pulled from the sea has been identified as a missing commercial fisherman
Two of the three men on board the Joanna C lost their lives when the boat sank in November, with Captain Dave Bickerstaff dramatically saved from the wreckage by lifeboat crews. 
Now the family of Robert Morley, 38, have confirmed a body brought from the sea in December has been formally identified. Robert’s dad Barry Woolford said: “To all the beautiful people of Brixham it is with much sadness that I have to inform you that our son Robert Morley has been identified as the body that was brought from the sea at Bexhill in December. >click to read< 10:53
The Coronavirus pandemic could change U.S. fisheries forever. Will it be for better or for worse?!
The first symptoms appeared long before Covid-19 gained a stronghold on U.S. shores, as China went into its first lockdown and a critical export market disappeared overnight,,, Then as social distancing rules kicked in here, another major organ of the U.S. supply chain, restaurants, where most seafood purchases are made, fell limp. Many fishermen across the country have pivoted to direct-marketing models by selling their catch off their boats,,, To many in the food industry, the pandemic’s impact has exposed the fundamental vulnerabilities of a system that has long favored efficiency over resilience. >click to read< 09:48
Fundraising appeal launched to support family of fisherman who died at sea
Joseph Lacaste, 45, was out with the trawler Copious when he fell overboard in the early hours of yesterday (Thursday). Despite rescue attempts from the coastguard and RNLI, he was later confirmed to have died. His friend Robie Johnson set up a fundraiser for the family, She said his family were struggling financially and needed help paying their mortgage. >click to read<, and >click here<, Help Josephs Family Fundraiser, and please donate if you can. 07:36
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. >click to read<
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
Coast Guard completes 3 rescues during busy crab season opener
Station Cape Disappointment, along with Station Grays Harbor, launched 47-foot Motor Lifeboat [MLB] rescue crews at 7:30 a.m. for a fishing vessel taking on water near Willapa Bay. A Coast Guard helicopter eventually hoisted three individuals and their dog off their capsized vessel. The crew was then diverted at 9:15 a.m., south in the vicinity of Gearhart, Ore., to assist another fishing vessel with an injured crewmember. Simultaneously, a separate MLB rescue crew was assisting the crew of a 66-foot fishing vessel off the coast of Long Beach, Wash. The initial distress call came in at 9:30 a.m., stating a vessel with five people aboard was disabled and drifting to shore, dragging its anchor. In 16 to 18-foot seas,,, >Video, click to read< 21:49
Community fundraiser launched to save Cadgwith Cove fishing lofts in Cornwall
The Cadgwith Cove Fishing Trust has been formed to try and purchase the winch house, gear loft and cold storage building, all of which are used crucial to Cadgwith’s fishing industry. “I don’t think they’ve ever come up for sale at the same time. We’ve got to make sure they’re are preserved for future generations. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and we must take this opportunity.” said John Trewin, Skipper, Silver Queen Tommy Phillips who fishes out of Cadgwith fears the lofts may become holiday lets or flats if funding isn’t secured to preserve them for those that fish out of the cove. Video, photos, >click to read< 17:55
Moscow orders return to motherland of fish and fishermen
Trawlers will lose quotas unless they are customs declared in Russia, catch is to be processed in domestic plants and foreign investors might be kicked out of the industry. – Russian federal authorities are ready to take strong measures to strengthen national control over the fisheries. In a decree signed late December 2020, Prime Minister Mikhail Mishustin ordered all trawlers built abroad to undergo customs declaration in Russia. If not, they will lose their catch quotas,,, Russian companies today own and operate about 70 undeclared trawlers acquired abroad. They are landing their catch and shifting crews in foreign ports.,,, The Russian government is also pushing for more domestic fish processing, and several incentives are introduced to bring catch back home. >click to read< 16:21
Maine: Local legislators focused on the commercial fishing industry, float several fisheries bills
The 130th Maine Legislature has released a list of bills proposed in the House and Senate,,, The lobster fishery, in particular, is grappling with the prospect of offshore wind energy development and conservation measures, both of which could affect lobstermen and their livelihood.,, Fisherman and state Rep. William “Billy Bob” Faulkingham (R-Winter Harbor) is sponsoring “An Act to Prohibit Offshore Wind Energy Development” (LD 101).,, Rep. Genevieve McDonald (D-Stonington), who also is a fisherman, is sponsoring three fishing-related bills. >click to read< 13:36
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 64′ Dixon Longliner, 425HP, Mitsubishi, complete refit
To review specifications, information, and 7 photos, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here< 11:31
Herring Fishermen Sue Chevron Over California Oil Leak
A pipeline rupture that gushed hundreds of gallons of oil into the San Francisco Bay spurred a class action filed Tuesday that accuses a Chevron refinery of prioritizing profits over safety and threatening the survival of herring in the area for years to come. “We have been working for years to preserve and protect the herring that spawn in the Bay,” said plaintiff John Mellor, a longtime fisherman and vice president of the San Francisco Herring Association. On Feb. 9, a Chevron refinery in the East Bay city of Richmond, California, discovered a pipeline leak,,, >click to read< 10:45
Tugboat Rex is back in service
Ralph Criteser donated his trusty tugboat to the Port of Toledo when he closed down his moorage on the Yaquina River in early 2019. At his docks, boathouse and workshop, the World War II veteran of the U.S. Navy helped successive generations of local fishermen get their professional sea legs. “In the early years, Ralph not only took care of us but took care of our boats. Our boats were like his family,” one fisherman said. “A lot of us came here with not a lot of money and not a lot of experience in boat work, and Ralph really kind of took us under his wing and made sure we sailed out of here safely, and he really was responsible for any success that any of us might have had in the fishing industry.” His words were met with applause and shouts of “hear, hear” from the crowd. photos, >click to read< 09:55
“The Fishmonger” Tommy Gomes to Star in TV Show and Open Point Loma Seafood Market
San Diego’s seafood culture, from its fishermen to the city’s chefs and restaurants, will be the subject of a new television show premiering Monday, March 1, on the Outdoor Channel. The Fishmonger stars local seafood expert Tommy Gomes, a native San Diegan and former commercial fisherman whose long career in the industry includes 15 years with Catalina Offshore Products, where he founded a walk-in fish market for the wholesaler and started a educational dinner series. >click to read< 08:50
Humboldt County crabbers opposed to ropeless gear bill, the Whale Entanglement Prevention Act
A bill recently introduced to the California State Assembly is expected to deliver a blow to the ailing crab fishing industry,,, Assembly Bill 534, or the Whale Entanglement Prevention Act, was written and introduced to this state chamber by Assemblyman Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) on Feb. 10 and is sponsored by the environmental organizations Center for Biological Diversity and Social Compassion in Legislation. The proposed legislation would require Dungeness crab fishing operations to only use ropeless gear by Nov. 1, 2025. >click to read< 22:50
Mass, R.I. Public Hearing: Summer Flounder, Scup, Black Sea Bass Commercial/Recreational Allocation Amendment
Might want to get this out there- it’s going to be important the industry get involved. Tell the Council status quo! Comments may be submitted at any of five virtual public hearings to be held between February 17 and March 2, 2021 or via written comment until March 16, 2021. Wednesday, February 17, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.: Massachusetts and Rhode Island, Thursday, February 18, New Jersey, Wednesday, February 24, Delaware and Maryland, Monday, March 1, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.: Virginia and North Carolina, Tuesday, March 2, 6:00 – 8:00 p.m.: Connecticut and New York >click to read< 16:10
A Deep Green Freeze: An Existential Threat To America’s Future
Gas and power prices have spiked across the central U.S. while Texas regulators ordered rolling blackouts Monday as an Arctic blast has frozen wind turbines. The less we use fossil fuels, the more we need them. A mix of ice and snow swept across the country this weekend as temperatures plunged below,,, “My understanding is, the wind turbines are all frozen,”,,, >click to read< 13:53
What to do about seals?
Atlantic Seal Science Task Team, Dear Sir/Madam, I wish to contribute input to the work of the Atlantic Seal Science Task Team related to DFO’s science activities and programs regarding seals, and the role of the animals in the ecosystem in Atlantic Canada and Quebec. To begin, I want to refer to the February, 1990 Independent Review of the State of the Northern Cod Stock by the late Dr. Leslie Harris, a report that questioned the impact of seals on the marine ecosystem. The Review Panel, which held a series of province-wide public hearings at the time, was “repeatedly confronted” by inshore fishermen with the issue of the growth of the seal herds, and the impacts on the abundance of cod.,, >click to read< By Ryan Cleary 12:04
Harris, Dorchester watermen react to Executive Order workboat mask requirement
Dorchester County watermen and the Eastern Shore’s congressman are opposed to a requirement to wear masks on commercial fishing vessels. U.S. Rep. Andy Harris, R-Md.-1st, spoke out Friday, Feb. 12, against the Biden Administration’s Executive Order 13998, which requires the wearing of masks on all federal and federally regulated transportation vehicles and vessels to prevent the spread of COVID-19. He said the Coast Guard announced they will enforce this mandate that all commercial fishing vessel occupants will be required to wear masks. >click to read< 10:49
Alaskans pursue permanent protections for Bristol Bay
Robin Samuelsen still recalls his first meeting about the prospective Bristol Bay. It was around 2005 or 2006, in Dillingham, Alaska. Listening to an early plan for developing a copper and gold mine in the spawning grounds of Bristol Bay’s abundant salmon, this Curyung tribal chief and commercial fisherman quickly made up his mind. “You’ll kill off our salmon,” Samuelsen remembers saying, adding: “I’ll be up there to stop you.” >click to read< 09:25
Evidence shows Maine lobster gear has not contributed to decline in Right whale population
In today’s world, it is hard to discern truth from opinion, or fact from calculated lies.,, The fact is also that no documented right whale death has ever been attributed to Maine lobstermen. There has only been one known entanglement in the past 20 years (2012). That whale was disentangled and set free.,,, The combination of ship strikes and snow crab gear entanglement was catastrophic, but had nothing to do with Maine lobster gear. The “guilt by association” assumption by environmental groups and NOAA/NMFS is unwarranted and unacceptable. By Jack Merrill. >click to read< 07:55
This Year’s Dungeness Crab Fishery a Shell of its Former Self
New regulations and price strikes delayed the start of the season. Dungeness crab fishermen face the worst catch numbers in decades. CDFW monitors for whales, and sea turtles and can delay or halt Dungeness crab commercial fishing if they determine that the risk of entanglement is high. That happened twice at the beginning of this season. The presence of humpback whales kept the fishermen out of the water from the originally scheduled start date of Nov. 15 until Dec. 23. Some fishermen, like Ben Platt, president of the California Coast Crab Association, worry that the new regulations will squeeze the season into a few months every year. Half Moon Bay-based fisherman Tim Obert agrees. “The Thanksgiving market’s huge for us,” he says. “The RAMP has taken that out.” >click to read< 21:10
