Monthly Archives: April 2021
Commercial herring fishery winding down
The Sitka Sound Sac Roe Herring Fishery is winding down, and state biologists expect to close the fishery soon. In an interview on Thursday (4-8-21), Area Management Biologist Aaron Dupuis said the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is shifting out of “active management” mode. “We’re still going out there. We’re flying, we’re monitoring the commercial fishery. We’re not leaving it alone to do its thing,” he said. “So we’re definitely on top of this, but it’s for sure winding down. I’d expect it to go another day or two tops.” >click to read< 08:46
Polluted water flowing into Tampa Bay could cause massive algae bloom, risking manatee and fish habitats
Millions of gallons of water laced with fertilizer ingredients are being pumped into Florida’s Tampa Bay from a leaking reservoir at an abandoned phosphate plant at Piney Point. As the water spreads into the bay, it carries phosphorus and nitrogen – nutrients that under the right conditions can fuel dangerous algae blooms that can suffocate sea grass beds and kill fish, dolphins and manatees. It’s the kind of risk no one wants to see, but officials believed the other options were worse. >click to read< 18:38
A campaign to bring 100-year-old steam trawler Viola back home to Yorkshire from an island off Antarctica
Resting on the ex-whaling station Grytviken in South Georgia, an island south east of the Falkland Islands, the now-rusted Viola has only snow-capped mountains and albatrosses for company on the sub-Antarctic isle. But over in Hull, a campaigning group called the Viola Trust is hoping to raise £3m to bring the Viola back home,,, Despite her rust and age, the Viola is in surprisingly good condition. She is the oldest steam trawler in the world with her engines still intact. >click to read< 14:46
MAIB Report – Flooding and sinking of Fishing Trawler Ocean Quest
On 18 August 2019 and about 70 miles north-east of Fraserburgh, the UK registered trawler, Ocean Quest, sank as a result of an engine room flood. The source of the flood has not been determined; however, it was almost certainly a result of shell plating or hull weld failure. The crew tackled the flood with fixed and portable pumps, but were not able to get the situation under control. The alarm was raised as soon as the flood was discovered, the crew were well prepared for the abandonment and all were rescued safely by a coastguard helicopter. >click to read< 12:32
Absolute Inequity – Family of lost fisherman denied Workers’ Compensation survivor’s benefit
The mother of a fisherman who died when his scallop boat sank says she was shocked to learn his family won’t receive an accidental death benefit because he was single and had no children. Aaron Cogswell, 29, was one of six men who died when the Chief William Saulis sank off the coast of Delaps Cove, N.S., in December. His mother, Lori Phillips, said she recently learned that the Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia will not pay the $15,000 lump sum survivor’s benefit to the family. “A survivor is a survivor, if it’s a wife or,,, Phillips said she asked the board to put the denial in writing, so she knew exactly why >click to read< 10:48
Prince Edward Island lobstermen struggle through uncertain 2020 season
The fishing industry has certainly hit rough waters in the past, but the 2020 season was like few had ever seen,,, There is little doubt pandemic woes played a partial role in the fact lobster catches were down approximately 8.6 per cent compared to 2019, which was a record year. As Charlie McGeoghegan, chair of the PEI Lobster Marketing Board, puts it, much of the reason for that decrease was due to the fact the spring season was delayed two weeks. Fish plants had issues with getting out-of-province workers in due to border restrictions and self-isolation policies. >click to read< 09:55
F/V Nicola Faith: Crowd burst into applause fisherman’s funeral cortege travels through Welsh town
The Nicola Faith fishing vessel disappeared near Conwy on January 27. Its three crewmen, skipper Carl McGrath, 34, Ross Ballantine, 39, and Alan Minard, 20, were onboard at the time. An extensive search for the trio and their vessel was launched and the bodies of the three men were discovered at different coastal locations in England on three consecutive days in March. On Thursday, the funeral of Mr McGrath was held at St Mary’s Church in Conwy with restricted numbers due to ongoing Covid-19 guidelines, but many of his family and friends were able to pay tribute as his funeral cortege made its way through the town. >click to read< 07:38
Fish Trawler With Over 80 People On Board Has Caught Fire In Sea Of Okhotsk
A fish trawler with over 80 people on board has caught fire in Russia’s Sea of Okhotsk, there is no threat of sinking, according to preliminary information, a spokesman for the regional emergency services told Sputnik on Thursday. “The burning trawler is around 200 kilometers [124 miles] away from Magadan, the holds of the vessel are in flames,” the spokesman said, adding that there are over 80 people on board. No injuries have been reported so far, the spokesman went on to say. >link< 21:18
P.E.I. lobster boat captain said he was at the wheel during fatal collision
The captain of a boat that crashed into another in a fatal collision that killed two people told an investigator he didn’t know how he didn’t see the other vessel. Clarence Barry White is facing two counts of criminal negligence causing death in connection with the June 9, 2018, collision that killed Chris Melanson and Justin MacKay. On Thursday, White’s statement to a Transport Canada investigator was played in P.E.I. Supreme Court in Charlottetown during the third day of his trial. White was the captain of the Forever Chasin’ Tail when it collided with the Joel ’98, which Melanson and MacKay were on. During the interview, White said he couldn’t understand how he didn’t see the Joel ’98 before the collision. “It’s surreal to me, but I cannot explain it,” he said. >click to read< 20:24
Tight-Knit Fishing Communities Navigate Drugs
Johnnie*, a salt-and-pepper fisherman in his late 50s, is smiling as he tells me what happened one dark night last year. “It was like a movie star, dropping down from the sky off the helicopter to get to my crewmate, pitch of night,” he says. “The Coast Guard—this handsome guy, my wife would’ve loved him, like Rock Hudson—dropped down from the moon. Felt like hours after we had given him all the Narcan we had. The Coast Guard still didn’t carry it back then, did you know that? So they pulled him up into the clouds and we all were left below at sea.”, “It’s not the first time that’s happened on our boat,” Johnnie says. “If we didn’t have that Narcan on board though, kid probably wouldn’t have made it.” >click to read< 19:13
Coast Guard medevacs an injured fisherman 113 miles southeast of Cape Cod
The Coast Guard medevaced an injured fisherman 113 miles southeast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Wednesday. At approximately 3:34 p.m., Coast Guard District One watchstanders received notification from a crewmember of the commercial fishing vessel Motivation, home-ported in Cape May, New Jersey, reporting a 50-year-old crewmember experiencing shortness of breath and a fever and requested assistance. video, >click to read<15:24
Mi’kmaw community requested a crab season opener delay from DFO prior to boat sinking
The fisheries manager for Elsipogtog First Nation in New Brunswick says the community asked the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to delay the opening of the crab season days before a boat capsized off Cape Breton killing two crew members. According to Dawn Levi, the season started too early and a request was made to delay it. “We had a call last Thursday, on the call were industry representatives including DFO, I requested a delay in the season until it was safe for all our boats to be out there,” According to Levi, DFO said the season was starting because of “protocol.”. >click to read< 12:47
After two-year break, seiners hopeful herring fishery will continue into future
The Sitka Sound Sac Roe Herring Fishery opened in late March, after a two-year hiatus. Less than half the fleet is fishing this spring, but the seiners who have stuck around have hauled in catches every day over the last week and a half. KCAW spoke with two commercial fishermen shortly before the fishery opened about the importance of herring to their businesses and lives. Justin Peeler is standing on the deck of his boat, the F/V Defiant, Matt Kinney runs the F/V Hukilau. audio, >click to read< 11:08
Obituary: Nevin Stanley May, Ketchikan, Alaska – Commercial Fisherman
Born in Prentice, WI, Nevin came to Ketchikan in 1967. In his words, “I thought it was the greatest place you could imagine. It was wide open, you could do just about anything you wanted.,,, Nevin began his storied career as a commercial troller soon thereafter and continued for more than 40 years, selling the F/V Cheryl in 2012. Through his years fishing, he made friends (and probably some enemies too!) with local, state, and federal politicians, and helped to shape some of today’s fishing regulations. He co-founded the Alaska Trollers Association and was a board member for several years. He was also a member of the Seafood Producers Co-Op, and served as chairman of the board from 2001-2002. Nevin was an avid hunter, both locally and nationally. >click to read< 10:05
Parading in protest – Lobstermen call for abolishment of closures
About 40 lobster boats participated Wednesday in the boat parade protesting Massachusetts’ current closure of virtually all of its state waters to commercial lobstering as a protection for the North Atlantic right whales. The boats, which primarily hailed from Gloucester, Manchester and Rockport, staged around Ten Pound Island in the late afternoon and then headed in single file toward the head of the harbor. Nancy MacDowell of Rockport was at the state fish pier to support her lobstering family in its effort to bring awareness to the closure and the negative impact its is having on those who lobster in state waters. photos, >click to read< 09:05
FV Tyhawk: Missing fisherman’s brother says he drowned trying to save others
As Derek Sock raced to his brother’s sinking fishing boat on Saturday, Craig Sock was fighting to save his shipmates in the frigid waters 16 nautical miles off the coast of Nova Scotia. The Tyhawk was making its second run of the day to set lobster traps when it began to take on water. As the crew tried to ready the life raft, the Tyhawk suddenly capsized, trapping Jumbo, as Craig Sock of Elsipogtog First Nation was known, and another man in the wheelhouse. Jumbo managed to toss that man out a window and both men surfaced. Derek said his brother lost his life trying to save his crew mate. >click to read< 07:57
Gloucester whale protest
Today about forty lobster boats went by my dock in Gloucester to protest against rope entanglement. They were headed to the Fisherman statue in town. They must have gone by over ten times hoping their message would get the presses attention. I can understand their their frustration. Photos, >click to read< Sam Parisi 19:15
Fishermen: “Sea-life in Dublin Bay facing wipe-out” from offshore wind farm surveys
More than 40 fishermen claim marine surveys are damaging fish and wildlife. The surveys are being done as part of offshore wind farms. Fisherman Paddy Macaulay told us that a previous windfarm survey on the seabed in 2011 “destroyed everything on the seabed”. He said: “All life that we sustain our living from was gone for two and a half years, and slowly it came back”. As part of the offshore licence, companies behind the wind farms are required to engage (seat at the table, Pilgrims?) with the fishermen who claim that is not happening. Fisherman Sean Ryan said: “This is only the survey phase when they go into the construction phase,,, >click to read< 13:55
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 49’2″ X 22’6″ Millennium Marine Lobster Boat, 1000HP Cat C-18
To review specifications, information, and 37 photos of this vessel, and watch the video, >click here<, To see all the boats listed here with the Boat of the Week feature, >click here<11:36
Sunken vessel found in sea search thought to be missing F/V Nicola Faith
A sunken vessel has been found during a sea search for a fishing boat which vanished with three of its crew. The bodies of Carl McGrath, 34, Ross Ballantine 39, and Alan Minard, 20, were later recovered after the Nicola Faith went missing off the coast of Colwyn Bay on the evening of January 27. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) said on Tuesday that a sunken boat had been found around two miles off the coast in Colwyn Bay. It is thought to be the missing fishing vessel. >click to read< 09:53
Inquests of fishermen who vanished off North Wales coast hear when last contact was made with crew – Today, Senior Coroner for North Wales East and Central, John Gittins, opened their inquests in Ruthin. >click to read<
California Crab Groups Oppose Legislation Requiring ‘Ropeless’ Gear
The crabbing season has been repeatedly delayed by state agencies citing concerns about whale sightings,,, The most recent industry challenge comes in the form of proposed legislation which would require crabbers and many other fishermen to use “ropeless” traps by the end of 2025 in order to avoid killing or harming sea creatures which can become snared in lines stretching from a trap at the sea-floor to a buoy at the surface. In a recent press release, Ben Platt, president of the California Coast Crab Association, an industry group formed last year, says AB 534 “promotes an unproven and unviable fishing method that presents significant operational and safety risks to West Coast fisheries.” >click to read< 08:13
PEI fishermen to integrate ‘weak rope’ in 2023
Gear adjustments regarding the North Atlantic Right Whale for the 2021 fishing season are consistent with last year. Rope markings on fishing gear, first implemented in 2020, are designed to help pinpoint where right whale entanglements in gear take place. The fact there haven’t been any entanglements since the marking became mandatory is positive, Melanie Giffin, Program Planner with the PEI Fishermen’s Association, said. “It is kind of a good news story that we don’t know if they are working or not,” she said. According to Barre Campbell, DFO Media relations, there were no North Atlantic Right Whale entanglements or deaths reported in Canadian waters in 2020. However, there is a plan to follow,,, >click to read< 23:08
ITS TIME FOR A FISHING INDUSTRY BUY OUT BY OFFSHORE WIND
If Offshore wind farm companies want the commercial fishing industry to support the construction of massive wind farms on their long time historical fishing grounds, then those companies must offer a vessel buy out option to fishermen before they are put out of business by these same wind developers.,,, While the Biden administration is busy throwing billions of dollars to people who aren’t even citizens, how about throwing a few billion to the commercial fishermen that your green new deal is about to destroy. If multi national corporations are allowed to just prance right into our territorial waters and take them over from the local fishermen leaving them bankrupt and out of work, then the federal government ought to own up to the damage it is creating to the fishing industry and create a voluntary buy out program, jointly financed by them and of course the Windmill companies,,, >click to read< By Jim Lovgren 21:37
Washington State making a muddle of saving salmon
Local experts connected in various ways with salmon fishing and conservation must be ready to blow a gasket over the Washington Legislature’s latest clumsy efforts to “help.” In legislators’ defense, saving salmon is a supremely messy business, with more murky cross currents and furious undertows than a dangerous outer coast beach.,, Intentional confusion is added by outsiders whose only interest is in grabbing salmon for themselves or using the issue merely as a means to generate financial donations from well-wishing urbanites. And as if all that wasn’t enough, salmon management is also bound up with the need to help Washington’s endangered resident orcas, and with the obligation to coordinate some policies with Oregon and Canada. >click to read< 18:31
Renewal programme continues as Courageous joins local fleet
Skipper Ian Shearer and his partners Christopher Irvine, James Johnson and Malcolm Reid sailed into their home port of Symbister on Saturday after crossing the North Sea from Hvide Sande in Denmark where the vessel was built. The new vessel replaces the previous Courageous, formally known as the Guardian Angell, which they had bought from Yell in 2015. The move enabled the young fishing partnership, four men were aged between 17 and 25 at the time, to get a foothold in the local industry. The fifth shareholder in the company is local fishing agent LHD. >click to read< 14:37
Yemen: Fishermen find valuable ‘whale vomit’ and become rich
In southern Aden province, restrictions are looser, drawing displaced fishermen from more dangerous coasts like Hodeidah. But work is scarce, as are equipment and boats, and more often than not Yemenis who once had their own vessels now join larger fishing parties and must share the spoils with several others – as well as the costs. But one day in February, a group of fishermen from the village of al-Khaisah, including some displaced from Hodeidah, hit the seas for what would prove to be a most profitable voyage, one that would transform their lives. They came across a giant sperm whale corpse, which contained a mammoth chunk of ambergris, a rare substance known as “floating gold” or “treasure of the sea”. >click to read< 11:18
Dungeness Crab season is going strong on Oregon Coast
The commercial Dungeness crab season has been underway for about four months. About 11 million pounds of crab have been off-loaded so far. The Dungeness Crab Commission says season yields go up and down each year. This year is expected to be a down year, but the commission doesn’t expect to see too steep a drop in the overall catch. >click to read< 09:10
Coronavirus: Data shows pandemic landed blow on P.E.I. lobster fishery in 2020
P.E.I.’s lobster fishery in 2020 never quite recovered from a late start caused by the pandemic, although sellers were able to quickly change gears to keep export sales close to 2019 values. The P.E.I. lobster fishery had record landings in 2019, well over 40 million pounds, but landings were down 8.6 per cent in 2020, according to preliminary numbers from the provincial government. The start of the spring season was delayed two weeks,,, >click to read< 08:25
Some question if early crab season is to blame for FV Tyhawk tragedy
Concerns are being raised about what an early snow crab fishing season could mean for smaller vessels after a boat capsized on Saturday off the coast of Cape Breton, N.S. The Tyhawk belongs to the Elsipogtog First Nation in New Brunswick. Four of its crew members were rescued from the water but one, identified by community members as Seth Monahan, died. Captain Craig Sock is still missing after bad weather halted the search on Sunday, he is also presumed dead. “The government decided in their infinite wisdom that in order to save the whales and interaction with them with the fishing gear and that, that they would go early,” said Jody Pratt, harbour master with the Richibucto port authority. >click to read< 19:19
Scientists, First Nations team up in fresh attempt to revive struggling B.C. herring stocks
For decades, the fish were viewed as a virtually inexhaustible resource. They were canned, frozen, used as fertilizer, and even rendered into slippery goo to grease logs being skidded out of the forest. But the once coastal-wide bonanza is fizzling out. This year, most of the waters off B.C. were closed to commercial herring boats, with the only quota being allowed in the Strait of Georgia, along Canada’s southwest coast. The first collapse of the stocks happened in the 1960s, due to overfishing. They were allowed to recover but have had ups and downs in recent decades. The herring fishery in Eastern Canada has also been facing tough times. >click to read< 13:48
