Monthly Archives: May 2021
Fishing vessel with NZ links believed to be at centre of Fiji beheading at sea
The TIRO II is listed as belonging to Nelson-based company Ocean Vision Ltd on the Ministry for Primary Industries website, and is shown to be near Fiji on the international Marine tracking website. The longline tuna boat and its crew have been at the centre of a major search operation in Fijian waters since six men abandoned ship after the alleged beheading. Five of the six men who jumped overboard remain missing. >click to read< 08:48
Prospect-area mackerel fishermen haul after DFO sets season quota
“Mackerel is a big part of our living around this coast and always has been,” Darrell Countway said, a fisherman and member of the Prospect Area Full-Time Fishermen’s Association. Countway is one of the dozens of fishermen who were ready to set up a roadblock if the Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) further delayed their season. “It would have been three, four months’ worth of work for no pay,”,,, DFO eventually set the quota at a 50 per cent reduction from last season at a 4,000-tonne total allowable catch for the fisheries in Atlantic Canada and Quebec. Video, >click to read< 07:20
Commercial fishermen being ignored on wind farm projects
For the past three decades, Town Dock fishermen and their counterparts across the Northeast have struggled to stay afloat in the face of strict regulations designed to rebuild depleted stocks of cod, flounder and other species. But now that many of the species have rebounded and government regulators are increasing the amounts of fish they can land, the fishermen face a new threat: offshore wind farms. Longtime Town Dock fisherman Bob Guzzo said the federal government is giving away land that fishermen have used to feed people for more than 300 years. “I’d like to pass this on to someone else who wants to go fishing,” he said. >click to read< 18:54
This comment is excellent-Seems like we can add to the list of lies from big wind, if anyone is keeping score. I would doubt it, their whole industry is based on lies!
Letter: Brexit mess will last for decades
Last-minute negotiations were all about the fishing industry. Instead of helping them the fishermen have been badly let down, being paid £23million in compensation. We are unable to sell our shellfish to the EU which is the main market. Not to mention problems for farmers and dairy and processed meat exporters. We are now no longer allowed to fish for cod in Arctic waters after a failed deal with Norway, which was an automatic right while part of the EU. Your fish and chips will certainly go up in price now I’m afraid folks!,,, Then there’s Northern Ireland. >click to read< 16:41
N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission moves forward with amendment to Shrimp Plan, Southern Flounder update
The draft amendment focuses on reducing bycatch of non-target species and minimizing habitat impacts. It includes a suite of options ranging broadly from status quo to a complete closure of all inside waters, including Pamlico Sound, to shrimp trawling. The Division of Marine Fisheries will announce the public comment period and advisory committee meetings by news release in the next couple of weeks. Also, the Marine Fisheries Commission received an update on southern flounder. Division Director Kathy Rawls reviewed the updated timeline for Amendment 3 to the Southern Flounder Fishery Management Plan. >click to read< 11:26
Spanish Fishermen Who Crept Into Ireland, Under-Recorded, Got Pinched, Issued €9,000 Fine!
A Spanish fishing boat has sparked outrage in Ireland after it was caught deceptively under-recording the amount of fish it caught, in a move that is sure to set fuel to another debate about the EU’s unpopular Common Fisheries Policy. F/V Armaven Tres, was temporarily detained by inspectors in Castletownbere, a fishing town in West Cork, where the master was ‘fish slapped’ with a fine of €9,000 (£7,739). Castletownbere is located on the Beara Peninsula by Berehaven Harbour and is also known as Castletown Berehaven. A regionally important fishing port, the town also serves as a commercial and retail hub for the local hinterland. >click to read< 10:44
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for May 21, 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< 09:33
Crew members questioned after alleged beheading at sea onboard a tuna longliner
Six crew members from the vessel the F/V TIRO II jumped overboard during the reported “violent incident” on Monday. One person was aboard a life-raft, with the other five entering the water without lifejackets. The man in the life-raft has been found, with the Fijian Rescue Coordination Center releasing photos of the moment he was located on Wednesday. After taking on water Thursday night, FV TRIO II sank yesterday morning. photos, >click to read< 09:03
Canada cuts Atlantic mackerel quota in half to ‘rebuild stock’, to be released in two phases to ensure access
Canada has slashed the quota in half for Atlantic mackerel, from 8,000 tonnes last year to 4,000 tonnes this year. “This is a difficult decision that has economic impacts on commercial harvesters and their communities, but the science is clear: stronger actions need to be taken to rebuild the Atlantic mackerel stock,” said Federal Fisheries and Oceans Minister Bernadette Jordan in a news release Friday. That will help ensure fishermen in Newfoundland, where mackerel arrive later in the year, get access to some quota. >click to read< 08:03
1 man dead, 1 survivor after lobster boat overturns in St. George’s Bay
One man is dead while another survived after a lobster boat overturned in St. George’s Bay on Newfoundland’s west coast on Friday morning. Bay St. George RCMP received a call about the overturned 22-foot vessel, near Lower Cove, at around 8:15 a.m. When firefighters and paramedics arrived at the scene, they saw a man in the water who appeared to be dead. He was recovered by local fishermen and his body was turned over to police. >click to read< 21:56
P.E.I. lobster falls by $2 a pound
Earlier this month, fishers were selling their catches for around $8 for canners and $8.50 for markets, the highest prices in about 15 years. Charlie McGeoghegan, chair of the Lobster Marketing Board of P.E.I., said the price went as high as $8.50 a pound for canners and $9.00 for markets. Now those prices have dropped. “We were glad to see that first week, the price where it was. To our disappointment though, the Monday after Mother’s Day, they dropped it in a lot of cases [by] two dollars a pound,”,, >click to read< 17:14
Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser – $2 billion river diversion is opposed by many. I am opposed.
Turning the tide on land loss in coastal Louisiana is a matter of self-preservation. However, the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority’s (CPRA) plan to address coastal land loss is a staggering $2 billion river diversion,,, I oppose this large-scale river diversion, and I’m not alone. The parish councils of Plaquemines, St. Bernard and St. Tammany have joined in because those communities will lose already limited flood protections while the negative impact to their fisheries environment upends the livelihood of fishermen who rely on fresh water, salt water and land. >click to read< 12:28
Fisheries rights trial for 4 Mi’kmaw fishermen delayed
The trial for Ashton Joseph Bernard, 31, Arden Joseph Bernard, 22, Rayen Gage Frances, 22 and Zachery Cuevas Nicholas, 34 was supposed to begin Friday morning in Bridgewater provincial court. By prior agreement, federal Crown prosecutor Denis Lavoie was supposed to enter an agreed statement of facts into the record during Friday’s hearing, then close the Crown’s case. The stage would then be set for arguments over whether the four men had a treaty right to fish when they were arrested and charged in September 2019. >click to read< 11:05
Port of Redwood City reels in public with mini-Fisherman’s Wharf
Giuseppe Pennisi, a third-generation commercial fisherman, had been doing business for the past five years in San Francisco but lost his spot at Pier 47 as a result of Covid-related changes. For months, the Chico resident drove to Bay Area harbors looking for one that could handle a fishing trawler and was open to fresh fish sales to the public. He didn’t even know Redwood City had a harbor until he found it on Google Earth and dialed the office to explain what he wanted to do. Pennisi was stunned by Zortman’s response. >click to read< 10:01
CDFW Director calls for statewide closure to mediocre crab season on June 1, due to presence of Whales
This decision was not what the California Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group recommended, said Del Norte County District 4 Supervisor Gerry Hemmingsen, a crab fisherman who is part of the working group. While many crab fishermen pulled in their gear earlier than normal, the few that are still fishing will be impacted by this decision, For crab fishermen in central California, the season closure comes roughly four weeks early. Despite his decision, Bonham acknowledged the difficult season many commercial crab fishermen have had. >click to read< 09:01
A kind Maine Lobsterman saves the day for a little Hummingbird
Daniel Closson was working on lobster traps in his shop, when he came across a little hummer that had gotten itself stuck in a crack between two boards, and was just hanging there by it’s little beak. It’s at that point Daniel reaches up and ever-so-gently takes the hummingbird in his hand, and removes the little winger from it’s trap. Then he simply walks over to the door and holds his hand out, and it just flies away, lickity split. >click to watch/read< 08:09
USCG and RCAF helicopter crews rescued over two dozen fishermen from a sinking vessel on a stormy night.
An offshore fishing trawler named Atlantic Destiny was in distress and her crew of 31 was battling a fire while the vessel was without power or steerage and shipping water. There initially was no direct line of communication with the stricken vessel, which may have experienced an engine room explosion and was running on emergency backup power. Information relayed from other fishing vessels in the vicinity suggested the situation was dire, but the crew had not yet given up hope they could save her. “As soon as we hear something like that, we start acting swiftly,”,,, But with 31 people to extract, this would be especially challenging. “It was a very large number of people to rescue in a very difficult location.” >video, click to read< 19:38
Coming To America! Danish Wind Farm Operator Suffers Massive Financial Losses
Apart from literally burning cash, there is no faster way to squander money than by piling it into an offshore wind power project. It’s hardly news that the true cost of generating electricity using wind power is staggering; the cost of doing so offshore is astronomical. Instead of producing ‘free’ energy with purportedly ‘endless’ sea breezes, offshore operators like Denmark’s Orsted is delivering a tale of woe for its shareholders. The Global Warming Policy Forum reports. >click to read< 16:13
New Bedford is America’s number 1 fishing port for 20th straight year
The National Marine Fisheries Service released its annual report on the health of the nation’s fishing industry on Thursday,,, New Bedford ranked No. 1 for the value of seafood landed at its port for the 20th consecutive year in 2019, with $451 million worth of fish hauled in by its boats. That was up by $20 million compared with the year before, and far outpaced the second-ranked Port of Naknek, Alaska, which had $289 million worth of landings. NOAA officials said New Bedford’s dominance remains driven by sea scallops, which account for 84% of the value of all landings there. >click to read< 14:21
Copper River wild salmon fishery off to a slow start
Drift gillnetters out on the first Copper River opener of the 2021 wild salmon fishery harvested an estimated 1,957 Chinook, 8,197 sockeye and 173 chum salmon, and within 24 hours much of the catch was delivered to Seattle via Alaska Airline’s “Salmon-Thirty-Salmon” jet. Airline officials said the first flight brought in 17,000 pounds of wild Alaska king and red salmon headed for markets in Seattle, Dallas-Fort Worth, Los Angeles, San Francisco and Chicago. When the jet, painted to look like a gigantic king salmon, arrived at SeaTac, Alaska Airlines Captain Tim deal, with First Officer Bill Jacobson, held up a sample of the catch, a 37-pound Chinook salmon. >click to read< 13:05
Prospect area mackerel fishermen demand answers after lucrative season halted by DFO
The fishermen were prepared to set up a roadblock if they didn’t hear back from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans about why the season was halted. While most commercial fisheries for Atlantic mackerel have not started for 2021, a number of fisheries in the Maritimes region are open year-round or opened on April 1.,, DFO issued a variation order to temporarily close the Maritimes region mackerel fishery. About 72 fishermen and their crew from the Prospect area who fish and set traps in St. Maragaret’s Bay are affected by the closure. They say there is mackerel in the waters but they aren’t allowed to pull in their nets because they haven’t been given their quota. video, >click to read< 10:29
Commercial Dungeness Crab fleet ordered to end operations June 1 for whale endangerment concerns
An order to end the current crabbing season six weeks early in Northern California will deliver another blow to crab fishermen in Humboldt County after seeing record low landings this season, fishermen said. “The price on crab is very high right now. There might not be the most participation (out of the season) but there are still a lot of people who rely on springtime crabbing at a very high price,” he said. “It is quite unfortunate and sad that it is going to be closed earlier than normal.” California Department of Fish and Wildlife director Charlton Bonham ordered the state’s commercial dungeness crab fishing fleet to end its activities at noon on June 1, approximately six weeks earlier than the normal July 15 end for Northern California crab fishermen. All crab lines must be cleared by the end time set. >click to read< 08:33
Ørsted and Eversource partner with fishermen’s consortium – First Agreement of its kind
The agreement marks the first time an offshore wind developer and a commercial fishing consortium sign a substantial commercial contract in the history of U.S. offshore wind. Separately, Ørsted has also begun discussions with Sea Services to expand this scope into its Ocean Wind and Skipjack Wind Farms, serving New Jersey and Maryland respectively.,,, Sea Services CEO and co-founder, Gordon Videll, ”When our vessels and crews are not fishing, we will be providing Ørsted and Eversource with 24/7 monitoring of all designated wind project assets, as well as monitoring and education for vessels traveling in designated areas. As wind farms mature and grow, so will opportunities for the Sea Services consortium.” >click to read< 07:35
Ørsted, Eversource Hire Sea ServIces to Ensure Safety During Offshore Wind Farm Construction – >click to read<
Lobsterman recounts fire that destroyed boat, forced crew to go overboard
Todd Simmons and Damon Crumett were returning late Tuesday afternoon from hauling traps off Port Clyde when the engine to the 38-foot lobster boat Prestige began “cutting out.” The 57-year-old Simmons of Port Clyde, who was captain of the Prestige, said he noticed one of the gauges showed that the engine was overheating. He started to go down to look at the engine and when he opened the door, smoke began billowing out of the boat. >click to read< 06:55
Two members of Montauk Gossman fish dealer family charged with conspiracy and obstruction
Two Montauk fish dealers, members of the Montauk Gothman family, will be charged with conspiracy and sabotage in a federal court in Central Islip on Wednesday alleging illegally caught fish. Brian, Asa Gosman, and Bob Gosman Dock Inc. will be indicted in the indictment, according to documents submitted to the court of the Central Islip Eastern District Court. Christopher Winkler, a fisherman who allegedly sold Gossman fish caught above legal limits, was charged last week and acquitted of related plots and sabotage, his lawyer Peter of Northport. -Smith said he declined to comment further. >click to read< 18:05
Ilwaco: Boat fire spurs rapid early-morning response
The F/V Carmillo and crew were picking up bait to go crab fishing at Ilwaco Landing when the fire was first reported on board the vessel around 6 a.m. The crew were able to safely evacuate to the adjacent dock, according to Ilwaco Landing owner Mike Shirley, who arrived on scene as the fire unfolded. Shirley commended the fast reaction from the captain, including closing compartments and stuffing vents,,, 4 photos, >click to read< 15:20
Seacor Power crew tried to drop vessel’s legs, anchor to seafloor when it capsized
A squall was passing over the Seacor Power in the Gulf of Mexico, the wind pounded and visibility from the wheelhouse of the massive lift boat had dimmed when a decision was made, three hours after leaving Port Fourchon on April 13, to drop its massive legs and anchor them to the seafloor. The emergency plan was to raise the deck above the rising sea and wait out a storm that was much more powerful than forecast, according to an early assessment of the tragedy released Tuesday by federal regulators. In a preliminary report,,, >click to read< 11:43
Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound owners file countersuit
The Pettegrow family, owners of the Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound, has filed a counterclaim against Lobster 207, which purchased the lobster pound’s wholesale operation and has accused the family of embezzlement, theft and breach of contract. In the new claim filed in federal district court earlier this month, the Pettegrows, who continue to run the Trenton Bridge restaurant, contend that Lobster 207 broke its agreements with the family, engaged in smear campaigns to get out of contractual obligations and made the Pettegrows scapegoats for Lobster 207’s own failings. >click to read< 10:42
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 37′ Duffy Tuna/ Charter, 650HP, Volvo 12L Diesel
To review specifications, information, and 23 photos, >click here< , To see all the boats in this series >click here< 10:05
Honoring the life of a fisherman
Sunday’s memorial boat parade in honor of Donald Brewer Sr. The procession was led by Brewer’s son, Maynard Brewer, who captained the Sherm & Jake, which was named for two of Brewer’s grandsons and towed one of the dories from his stop seining outfit to honor him. Family members watched from the Southport bridge or aboard the Sherm & Jake,,, lots of photos >click to read< 08:58
