Monthly Archives: February 2021
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for February 5, 2021
Legislative updates, Bill updates, Calendar, >Click here to read the Weekly Update<, to read all the updates >click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here< On Thursday, January 28, 2021 the North Carolina Fisheries Association filed amotion to intervene as a party-defendant in the lawsuit filed against the State of N.C by the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) of North Carolina. If you would like to contribute/donate to NCFA to help with this lawsuit, click! 10:00
New crab boat faces the harsh realities of a tough season
The commercial Dungeness crab season is well underway and there’s a new boat in town. When a retired school teacher looking for a hobby and well-established fishermen in Charleston get together, a boat is built. “He said he just bought some plans and he showed them to me, and they were exactly the kind of boat I was looking for,” said Bill Lucero, an owner of the Michelle Marie Fishing Vessel. “So, one thing led to another and we decided to build this boat.” video, photos, >click to read< 08:06
Video: RNLI Peterhead rescue of fishing boat just seconds away from crashing on to rocks
The alarm was raised at 4.30pm when one fishing vessel was towing another into Peterhead Harbour and the tow broke due to stormy conditions. The video, from RNLI Peterhead, shows the heroic effort by volunteers to rescue the vessel that was just seconds away from crashing. The vessel was dangerously close to crashing into the rocks at Peterhead South Breakwater and due to an easterly gale and significant swell combined with a backwash. photos, >click to read< 07:27
Jacksonville: Coast Guard suspends search for missing crab fisherman near Buckman Bridge, Man identified
The Coast Guard suspended the search Friday for a man who went missing after reportedly falling overboard a 30-foot fishing vessel near Buckman Bridge south of Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Thursday. Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office received a report at 7:57 a.m. of a 30-foot commercial fishing vessel unmanned and running in circles near the southside of the Buckman Bridge. >click to read< 19:31
Missing boater identified -The missing boater in a multi-agency search has been identified as 20-year-old Michael Vaughn III, who disappeared after falling overboard from a 30-foot commercial fishing vessel near the Buckman Bridge Thursday morning. >click to read<
Federal Government and Province of Nova Scotia Invest More Than $44M in the Fish and Seafood Sector
The funding will support 11 projects focused on the adoption of new technology and partnerships that will improve the effectiveness and sustainability of the fish and seafood sector. The funding will enable these local organizations to provide high quality seafood and to preposition their organizations for a successful return to regular business in a post COVID-19 world. The Atlantic Fisheries Fund will continue to invest in projects over the seven-year life of the program. The commercial fisheries and aquaculture industry, Indigenous groups, universities, academia, industry associations and organizations, including research institutions, may apply. >click to read< 14:58
Seabed mining ban – a win for marine life, fishing and culture
The Northern Territory Government first declared a three-year temporary ban on seabed mining in March 2012 and has since extended it twice under both the Country Liberal Party (CLP) and Labor Governments. With the temporary ban due to expire in March, Territorians have made it clear that they want a permanent ban. It’s great to see today the Government listen and act on this important issue. “The Top End has some of the last healthy tropical coasts in the world. Seabed mining is like bulldozing the seafloor. It would decimate our marine life, pollute our waters, threaten our fishing and destroy places of cultural significance.” >click to read< 12:37
Always Top Quality! Your Seafreeze Ltd. Price Sheet for February 2021
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<! 11/22
Offshore Wind Plans Will Drive Up Electricity Prices And Require ‘Massive Industrialization Of The Oceans’
Joe Biden’s climate advisors (crackpots) are calling for the immediate approval of a slew of pending offshore wind projects. In New York, Governor Andrew Cuomo is calling for 9 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity to be built by 2035. Other East Coast governors (a real crackpot)are also floating multi-gigawatt offshore plans. In all, according to a report issued by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management last June “approximately 22 gigawatts of Atlantic offshore wind development are reasonably foreseeable along the East Coast.” >click to read< 10:34
Crab boat gets stuck near Buckman Bridge Thursday, 19-year-old fisherman still missing
The U.S. Coast Guard is now the lead agency in the search for a missing teenage boater fisherman who disappeared after falling overboard from a 30-foot commercial fishing vessel near the Buckman Bridge Thursday morning. Other crab boat captains searched along the southern span of the Buckman Bridge throughout the day. The Coast Guard received notification at 8 a.m. after the Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office received a report from an off-duty police officer who said a vessel was unmanned and running in circles near the bridge. >click to read< 08:39
Coast Guard hoists ailing fisherman man near Cold Bay, Alaska
An MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew launched from Forward Operating Location (FOL) Cold Bay and hoisted the man, who was experiencing symptoms of appendicitis, and brought him to Cold Bay where he was placed in the care of awaiting EMS in stable condition. Watchstanders in the 17th District command center in Juneau received the medevac request at about 9:18 a.m. from the fishing vessel Arica. > Video, click to read< 23:31
Maine lobsterman catches 1 in 30 million yellow lobster named Banana, and donates it to UNE
A Maine lobsterman caught a rare one in 30 million yellow lobster and donated it to the University of New England. Tenants Harbor lobsterman Marley Babb caught the lobster and reached out to the university after first contacting the Maine Department of Marine Resources. The Department of Marine Resources’ Jessica Waller is working on a lobster research project with UNE’s Markus Frederich. She contacted him and asked whether UNE might be interested in housing the lobster. >click to read< 20:13
Denmark to Build North Sea Island to Serve as Wind Power Hub
Denmark has agreed to build an island in the North Sea that would gather and distribute electricity from wind energy farms. The 210-billion kroner ($34 billion) artificial island will be created about 50 miles off the country’s west coast and will connect to several European countries. It would start with 3 gigawatts of capacity, enough to cover the electricity needs of 3 million European households, the Danish Energy Agency said. “The energy hub in the North Sea will be the largest construction project in Danish history” Climate Minister Dan Joergensen said Thursday. “It will make a big contribution to the realization of the enormous potential for European offshore wind.” >click to read< 13:35
Fight for our fisheries. Provincial politicians need to pressure Ottawa to manage our fisheries
Gus Etchegary doesn’t mince words when it comes to the state of Newfoundland and Labrador’s fishery. The longtime fishery advocate laments that since the 1992 cod moratorium the federal government has “practically abandoned” the province’s fishery. The fishery is federally regulated, but he says doesn’t absolve the provincial government from its role “to be continuously pressuring Ottawa to take on the role that they were given in 1949, and that is to manage our fisheries in the same style as Iceland and Norway,” he said, pointing to two fishing powerhouses in the North Atlantic. >click to read< 12:15
Developing: Shrimp boat stuck near Buckman Bridge, captain nowhere to be found
A shrimp boat without a captain is stuck near the Buckman Bridge Thursday morning, according to the Jacksonville Fire and Rescue Department. JFRD originally tweeted that they were responding to a “marine incident” at 8:53 a.m. Rescue crews say the boat is somehow connected to the bridge, either by water current or just stuck. JFRD says it has also received reports of someone in the water. To be updated, >click to read< 10:42
Boat stuck near Buckman Bridge, captain nowhere to be found – Fire officials say the boat capsized, and they also received reports of “someone seen treading water” near it fire department spokesman Eric Prosswimmer said. “It is a commercial boat,” >click to read<
Missing fisherman’s mum ‘not ready to say goodbye’ after family already hit by tragedy
A mum whose son is missing at sea has spoken about her “unbearable pain”. Carl McGrath and his two crewmates Alan Minard and Ross Ballantine were on board the Nicola Faith, which was due back into port at midnight last Wednesday, but never returned to Conwy. Despite a huge search and multiple reports of debris across the coast, no trace of the boat or those on board has yet been found. Carl’s devastated mum Julie, who has already lost a son, says she’s “not ready to say goodbye” to 34-year-old Carl. >click to read< 09:37
First Nation has right to catch lobster, but N.S. laws mean they can’t sell it. New court fight targets ‘economic racism’
A First Nation trying to establish its own self-governed lobster fishery is setting its sights on the Nova Scotia government. “We’ve always said that we’re going to hold everyone accountable for their actions,” Sipekne’katik Chief Mike Sack,,, “This is just finally coming to the forefront.” “We are more resolved than ever to bring this to court, as we have lost so much in the face of the violence and economic racism aimed at us from the commercial fishery throughout the fall,” >click to read< 08:10
Lobster fisherman ruined financially by the Long Island Sound lobster die-off, escapes a prison sentence
Carlos Santos of Westbrook was described in federal court as a successful lobster fisherman until the total collapse in the Long Island Sound lobster population,,, Santos, 58, agreed to work off some of his debt by taking an offer from the owner of a Bridgeport marina to secretly sink boats that had been abandoned by the owners on marina property. Santos was charged with obstruction of navigable waters by sinking vessels The cause of the collapse of the lobster fishery, by some estimates, lobster landings fell 100% in 1999-2000, is still a subject of debate; explanations have run from an increase in water temperature to pesticide use. But there is no question that Santos and the 1,300 other Long Island Sound lobstermen were out of work. >click to read< 18:58
Barhan Boat Works: Built by fishermen for fishermen
Salmon fisherman Dave Barhan picked an unusual spot to build boats during the off season: White Bear Floral’s greenhouse. On his second season of boat building, the retired teacher recalls driving around the area looking for a shed or pole building large enough to construct a 28-foot commercial fishing skiff. He spied the greenhouses behind the florist and thought it the perfect place. Owner John Birkeland was skeptical at first, but became a believer when Barhan, his two sons and a fourth fishing partner rolled out the first aluminum boat, dubbed “Big Momma.” They call the business Barhan Boat Works, or BBW. Their motto: “Built by fishermen for fishermen.” >photos, click to read< 16:24
A legal dispute over the sale of boats owned by Carlos ‘The Codfather’ Rafael is heading to court
Carlos Rafael, whose fishing operations were based out of New Bedford, Massachusetts, was once the owner of one of the largest commercial fishing operations in the U.S. Rafael was sentenced to nearly four years in prison in 2017 for dodging quotas and smuggling profits overseas. The case against Rafael included forced divestiture of his assets,,, Rafael complied, but a New Bedford fish auction house sued him with a complaint that he didn’t honor a right of first refusal agreement to buy boats. BASE Inc., filed suit claiming it suffered millions of dollars in damages because it wasn’t able to buy the boats. >click to read< 15:04
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 83′ Steel Shrimper/Trawler, Caterpillar 3412 Diesel, Kort Nozzle
To review specifications, information, and 15 photos, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here<11:44
CDQ Leaders, Western Alaskan communities join to buy out crab industry pioneers
Thirty communities, Coastal Villages Region Fund (CVRF), and Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation (BBEDC) announced significant crab industry acquisitions to bring new revenues to Western Alaskan communities. The buy-out of the Mariner Companies, a Seattle-based fishing enterprise majority-owned by Kevin Kaldestad and Gordon Kristjanson, provides participating communities with opilio and red king crab quota, equaling 3% of the total crab fishery; while CVRF and BBEDC will acquire full ownership of seven crabbing vessels. The deal enables communities to increase their revenues from the fisheries to deliver more programs and benefits to their residents and provides additional revenue for CVRF and BBEDC programs that serve those communities. >click to read< 10:53
Sipekne’katik files court action against Nova Scotia to claim fishing treaty right
The Sipekne’katik First Nation has filed a court action against the Attorney General of Nova Scotia to challenge a provincial regulation on purchasing fish products, saying it’s unconstitutional.,, The Sipekne’katik First Nation launched its moderate livelihood lobster fishery in September 2020,,, Though the term “moderate livelihood” was not formally defined by the court, a subsequent decision ruled that the government has the authority to impose some regulations for the purposes of conservation, subject to nation-to-nation consultations. >click to read< 10:09
Betrayal – Brexit fishing deal ‘fell short’ of industry expectations, government admits
The deal signed by Boris Johnson with the EU on fishing after Brexit fell “short” of industry expectations,,, Speaking at a House of Lords committee on Wednesday George Eustice told peers that “it’s fair to say that we didn’t get everything that we wanted on fishing”. Boris Johnson previously hailed his fishing agreement as a success, but fishermen accused the prime minister of “sacrificing” them in trade talks and having “totally capitulated”. >click to read< 09:24
Coronavirus: Unalaska fish processing plant reopens after outbreak forces monthlong shutdown
The reopening is a bright spot for the Bering Sea fishing industry, which has been hampered by COVID-19 outbreaks at multiple boats and onshore plants. UniSea’s processing plant has a year-round workforce, and its facility handles multiple species from cod to crab. The pollock season opened Jan. 20 but the 11 boats that typically deliver their catch to UniSea have been able to hold off, That’s because the pollock fishery operates as a cooperative, where vessels have a fixed quota of fish they can catch and deliver to a specific plant. “Our fleet have been extremely supportive of our situation and patient with our reopening schedule,” Enlow said. “But they, like UniSea, are anxious to get the season started.” >click to read< 08:32
Roy ‘Admiral’ Waller tributes as king of Hull trawler skippers dies aged 90, went to sea at age15
Tributes have been paid to Roy Waller, one of the giants of Hull’s post-war fishing industry, who has died following a short illness aged 90. He was a trawler skipper for 40 years, eventually retiring in 1995. During his career at sea, he twice won the prestigious Silver Cod Trophy awarded annually by the British Trawler Federation to the skipper, crew and vessel landing the greatest quantity of fish within the year. He became a skipper at the age of 25, having started out as a deckie learner. He was one of the youngest ever skippers. “In the 1970s, he was even given the nickname of ‘The Admiral’ because that’s how everyone saw him. He was hugely respected in the industry.” >click to read< 07:22
‘It was devastating’: Revisiting the Groundhog Day storm of 1976 on its 45th anniversary
It’s nearly impossible for any Feb. 2 – Groundhog Day – to roll around in southwestern Nova Scotia without people thinking back to the Groundhog Day storm of 1976. On a day when the weather forecast was for warm temperatures and 30 mph winds, the region got walloped by strong winds, storm surges and power outages that went on for days. Sustained wind speeds of 135 mph were clocked over Grand Manan and they topped 100 mph in Yarmouth. The storm devastated fishing communities where boats were tossed around and wharves were destroyed by the wind and the storm surge. School closed and children spent days at home. Due to the power outages, businesses were closed too. There was destruction everywhere. Lots of photos, >click to read< 17:46
MPA Fishing Ban: Another Industry Sell-Out,,, For what? Big Wind, or Conservation?!!
The NFFO has hit back at the Marine Management Organisation’s announced intention to outlaw towed gears in the Dogger Bank SAC and the majority of three other offshore MPAs, describing the move as a ‘further sell-out of fishing’. Describing the announcement as a shocking development, ‘Not even lightweight seine nets are to be permitted,,, The proposals amount to a further sell-out of fishing. It augers ominously for other areas and for fishing communities in our increasingly crowded seas.’ Many will now be asking what has changed. They will also be asking how the government can permit the development of four of the largest wind farms in the world on the same site but take such a sledgehammer to fishing. >click to read< 14:47
Bottom trawling ban for key UK fishing sites
The Marine Management Organisation says it plans to safeguard fishing areas in Dogger Bank and South Dorset by completely banning bottom trawling. The sites are already designated as protected areas,,, Greenpeace recently dropped concrete blocks on to Dogger Bank. The MMO is consulting on proposed by-laws prohibiting bottom-towed gear on the sites. The consultation runs to 28 March 2021.,,, The NFFO described the proposals as having delivered “a sledgehammer to fishing”. “This punishing reversal comes on the back of the government’s failure to deliver on fishing in the Brexit negotiations, and damaging delays in the export of fish and shellfish. >click to read< 13:55
Coast Guard Motor Lifeboat Victory placed on restricted duty
For more than 60 years, one name was the best hope for large commercial vessels stranded or imperiled at sea off the central Oregon coast. Victory. The 52-foot motor lifeboat Victory came to Newport’s Station Yaquina Bay in 1956 (although it remained nameless until the 1970s). It was the first of four steel 52-foot vessels built by the U.S. Coast Guard to replace its aging wooden lifeboats, Invincible and Triumph, and was joined in the early 1960s by the Intrepid, Invincible II and Triumph II, stationed at Grays Harbor, Coos Bay and Cape Disappointment, respectively. The four boats are the only named vessels smaller than 65 feet in the guard’s fleet. “Right now, we’ve basically restricted the use of all four of our 52-foot special weather boats here in the Pacific Northwest,” >click to read< 11:18
Nova Scotia: Appeal judge rejects delaying $340,000 payment to fisherman
A motion to suspend payment of more than $340,000 to a Cape Breton fisherman has been rejected by the Nova Scotia Court of Appeal. Justice Carole Beaton ruled that numbered company 3102602 Nova Scotia Limited (Roderick Jeffrie, president) is to abide by a previous Supreme Court ruling and pay New Waterford fisherman Paul Fraser. The award to Fraser was made last year after a lengthy trial into the transfer of a crab allocation from Fraser to Jeffrie. Supreme Court Justice John Bodurtha ruled in favour of Fraser in awarding compensation for the eight years Fraser’s quota was used by another company. “I am convinced after reviewing all the documentation from DFO and hearing testimony of the witnesses,,, >click to read< 10:03
