Daily Archives: April 17, 2021
Seacor Power: Two more dead crew identified – search of capsized lift boat continues – Nine still missing
Confirmed deaths stood at four after the Lafourche Parish coroner identified the latest victims, both found inside the jackup barge: Anthony Hartford, 53, of New Orleans and James “Tracy” Wallingsford, 55, of the northeast Louisiana village of Gilbert. Hartford’s wife, Janet, said a knock came to her door at 3 a.m. with news of her husband’s death. >click to read< Seacor Power death toll rises to four as dive teams recover two bodies -The 
confirmed death toll in the Seacor Power liftboat disaster has risen to four, after dive teams recovered two bodies inside the overturned oil exploration vessel in the Gulf of Mexico. Nineteen crew members were aboard the Seacor Power when the vessel flipped over in about 50 feet of water during hurricane-force winds and high waves on Tuesday. Six were quickly rescued, nine remain missing, and now four are confirmed dead. >click to read< What we know about capsized lift boat Seacor Power and rescue efforts off Louisiana coast, an inventory of related stories, >click here< 20:55
Salmon season delayed for Half Moon Bay fishermen
Fishermen are facing a shortened commercial salmon season,, “This is the least amount of fishing time that I can remember for California fishermen since the closures of 2008 and 2009,” said Half Moon Bay fisherman Don Marshall.,, Pacific Fishery Management Council made the season restrictions recommendation,, Fisherman Scott Edson said the shortened season would be tough when he fishes out of Half Moon Bay, but it could have been worse given the circumstances. He struggled during crab season and knows this will be an important few months to make a living this year. “I have to produce for salmon. Crab didn’t do anyone any favors,” Edson said. >click to read< 17:10
Something ‘fishy’ about state’s herring data, argues a former Sitkan
The Sitka Sound Sac Roe Herring Fishery closed last week, but not before harvesting around 16,000 tons of herring, the biggest commercial harvest in nearly a decade. Commercial fishermen want the lucrative fishery to continue. And while the state is in the middle of a lawsuit with the Sitka Tribe of Alaska over the management of the fishery, the state maintains that its model is conservative. But the model has its critics. >click to read< Was the 2021 Sitka herring fishery built on irrelevant data? Was a slaughter of older herring the result? How risky could that be, anyhow? fishy numbers: an inquiry – Peter Bradley >click to read<14:55
In New England, “The resource keeps diminishing.” Clammers Dig Through The Pandemic For Fewer Shellfish
In Maine, the largest clam producing state, fishermen produced their lowest haul in more than 90 years at a little more than 1.3 million pounds in 2020. Nationwide totals aren’t compiled yet, but Maine’s haul typically accounts for more than half the U.S. total, and hauls in other clamming states such as Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York have been trending downward in recent years. “The resource keeps diminishing.” The clamming industry has had to contend with more marine predators of clams such as green crabs and milky ribbon worm in recent years. >click to read< 13:33
Deadliest Catch: Capt. Keith Colburn Talks Loss, Rifts, And Nearly Losing F/V Wizard
Captain Keith gave us a shockingly honest reveal of his mindset of the fleets’ captains, and also spills about the recent trashing of the Wizard that nearly killed his brother Monte. And as for Captain Keith Colburn of F/V Wizard, he will still be competing with his fellow Dutch Harbor crabbers, some of them friends, others not so much. In season 17, Discovery says that “half the crab boats of the Bering Sea fleet are tied up in Seattle” while “an existential threat faces the fishermen who make the long-haul trip to Dutch Harbor, Alaska,” because they face “a potential closure of the entire fishery” for the 2021 season. The crab survey conducted during the summer by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game didn’t happen because of Coronavirus,,, >click to read< 10:50
Commercial Crab Fisherman David Anthony Sherwood, Kodiak Island, Alaska
Dave born in Mankato, Mn on January 1, 1957 passed away unexpectedly in his sleep on April 1, 2021. He attended high school at Mankato West where he excelled at swimming and tennis. He joined the Army which took him to Hawaii. Upon completion of his service he stayed in Hawaii for many years. He traded the Hawaiian island for Kodiak Island, Alaska. Dave’s life was bound to Alaska where he was a crab fisherman on the Bering Sea for many years. Our family was on the receiving end of many of his “catch” as he would send home huge boxes of the biggest and best seafood we had ever seen or eaten. >click to read< 09:26
Cranberry Islands communities get second round of vaccine via lobster boat
For Maine’s island residents, getting vaccinated isn’t as simple as driving to a vaccination site and getting in line. It takes a complete community effort, and vaccine administrators needed some extra help to move from island to island. Enter Captain Richard Howland, of the Fishing Vessel Victoria. Normally he’s hauling lobsters on his boat. Friday, it was the vaccine. “They needed a big, safe, comfortable boat. It’s blowing about forty easterly, so… I got a big boat.” Video, >click to read< 08:29
