Monthly Archives: June 2021
Mark Lawton Doumit, a commercial fisherman, politician, public servant, has passed away in Tenino, Wash.
Mark was born in Longview, Wash., on November 26, 1961, to Eli and Patricia Doumit and was the 10th of 11th children. He grew up in his family’s hometown of Cathlamet, Wash. While still in high school, Mark began a lifelong passion for commercial fishing. He began his career in the industry in high school, working on the Columbia River as a fish buyer. In college he began a nearly 40-year career in Alaska working in canneries and crewing on drift gillnet boats in Prince William Sound and Bristol Bay. Mark bought his own commercial salmon fishing operation in Cook Inlet, Alaska in 1986 and spent the remainder of his fishing career between Cook Inlet in the summer and lower Columbia River in the spring and fall. One of his great joys in life was the opportunity to fish alongside his sons and so many of his family and friends. >click to read< 09:24
Mi’kmaw harvester wants lobsters seized by DFO accounted for
A Mi’kmaw lobster harvester wants to know what happened to his lobster after finally getting his fishing gear back from DFO,,, The gear had been sitting in a federal fisheries compound since then, and Matt Cope of Millbrook First Nation spent months trying to get it back. When Cope unloaded his gear this week, he was shocked to find damaged traps with ropes cut. “Traps aren’t cheap, ropes not cheap,” he said. “When they’re taking it for months at a time, and just all of a sudden giving it back when it’s all damaged, there’s no way we can fish like that.” >click to read< 08:50
Pacific salmon recovery report gives 32 recommendations to reverse declines
Wild salmon stocks are being affected by a range of impacts throughout their life cycle, which span from freshwater streams and rivers, to coastal ‘foreshore’ areas and deepwater marine environments, per the report. These threats include habitat degradation, impacts of flood control measures, predation, fishing activity, and threats of disease from fish farms. Based on these findings, the committee provided 32 recommendations to reverse salmon declines, which one witness, Richard Beamish, Scientist Emeritus at DFO’s Pacific Biological Station in Nanaimo, calls the “international Pacific salmon emergency.” >click to read< 07:58
“They just took our democracy away, folks,” – Heroic Ocean City BLASTS Bill to Fast Track Offshore Wind Farm
City Council on Thursday night blasted state legislation that would speed up development of a proposed offshore wind energy farm as a blatant power grab that strips Ocean City and other local communities of New Jersey’s longstanding tradition of home rule. “Essentially, they’ve taken our right to home rule away from us,” said Councilman Michael DeVlieger, the governing body’s most outspoken critic of the wind farm project. In the latest salvo by Ocean City opposing the wind farm, Council voted 7-0 to approve a resolution that denounces state legislation that would make it easier for the Danish energy company Orsted to build the project off the South Jersey coast.,, “A foreign entity is driving the political machine,” >click to read< 19:34
Shrimp prices set for Nfld. and Labrador, stockpiles and restaurant closures reducing shrimp demand in U.K.
A dollar a pound was not enough to lure the inshore shrimp fishing fleet in Newfoundland and Labrador to set their gear this spring. But most boats are hitting the water now, as the crucial summer shrimp fishing season opens. This week saw the price increase by 10 cents, to $1.10 a pound, for summer catches following a ruling by the province’s Fish Price Setting Panel. The U.K. and Europe are the main markets for shrimp exports from this province. >click to read< 13:54
Fishermen drive trenching support vessel out of Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm
The International Offshore Wind Farm media is outraged! Too bad. Trenching support vessel Aethra was forced to leave the Saint-Brieuc offshore wind farm,,, The Aethra was deployed on the site when a large number of fishing boats surrounded the vessel. The fishermen then proceeded to breach the 500-metre safety zone around the Aethra, fire distress flares, and threaten to board the vessel and sabotage the propulsion and hurl insults at the captain of the Aethra via VHF, according to Préfecture maritime de l’Atlantique. >click to read< 11:01
F/V Scandies Rose: NTSB board meeting set to determine probable cause of deadly sinking
The National Transportation Safety Board will hold a virtual public board meeting later this month to determine the probable cause for the 2019 New Year’s Eve sinking of the fishing vessel Scandies Rose. During the meeting, the NTSB’s five-member board will vote on the findings, probable cause and recommendations, as well as any changes to the draft final report. The NTSB board meeting will take place on Tuesday, June 29, starting at 9:30 a.m. ET, and will be streamed live to the public, with the board members and investigative staff meeting virtually. >click to read< 10:21
Banned Australian lobsters are sneaking into China via Hong Kong
Since direct shipments to China virtually ground to a halt last November, Hong Kong has become the world’s largest importer of Australian lobsters, with monthly trade growing more than 2000 per cent from October to April. While lower prices will have spurred some increased demand from Hong Kong consumers, experts say the dramatic spike is more likely due to a grey trade as the tasty crustaceans are sent across the border to the mainland. >click to read< 09:22
State government shutdown could close Alaska fisheries – “And with that, that summer fishery does not commence.”
If Alaska state leaders can’t resolve an impasse over the budget, large swaths of state government will shut down in July. That could include Alaska’s lucrative summer salmon fisheries, which is causing concern across coastal communities. Southeast Alaska’s summer salmon troll fishery opens July 1. That’s the same day nearly 15,000 state workers could be out of work. Among those is Grant Hagerman, a state fisheries biologist managing the fishery from Sitka. “We’re planning not to be here on July 1 unless we hear differently,” Hagerman said. “And with that, that summer fishery does not commence.” >click to read< 08:37
Commercial Fishing Up Close – Pat Morss
There has been a lot of sport fishing in close to the Eastern Point rocks recently, and this morning a spotter plane and two commercial fishing boats out of Gloucester got our attention. The photo captions below may just be my imagination, but this is what it looked like. >click to view ten photos< 07:43
DFO seized and released hundreds of short lobster from a First Nations vessel in Cape Breton
DFO said enforcement officers inspected a vessel Tuesday night in St. Peters canal operating under a communal food, social and ceremonial licence. The lobsters were released that night. Noel d’Entremont, acting director of conservation and protection in the Maritimes region, said no charges have been laid, but an investigation is continuing. A portion of the incident was captured on video and posted to social media showing lobsters being tossed back in the water by DFO officers. The FSC licence being fished was for a Cape Breton band, which DFO declined to identify. >click to read< 17:07
French and Jersey fishermen must talk
STOP – arrêt! It is time for the Jersey and French fishermen to sort out their problems for themselves. It is no use their relying on the parliamentary dignities of Paris and London, nor the statesmen of Jersey or Normandie – they do not understand your problems because they are not fishermen. For the past 20 or so years you have fished together under the agreement of the Bay of Granville. You worked this out together and you can do it again. >click to read< 14:17 From Denise Waller
Louis Harlow Nielsen June 25, 1930 – June 14, 2021 Oceanside, Ca.
Louis Harlow Nielsen was born at home during a dust storm on June 25th, 1930 in Manson Ia. Louis Nielsen began his life during the Great Depression. When he was two years old, the family moved to New Hampshire They settled in Portsmouth where Lou spent his early boyhood in a tribe of rag-a-muffins now known as the “Puddledock Kids.” After Lou’s father left, it became necessary for the children to find work, so seven year-old Lou got a job delivering newspapers. Fortunately the young boy found a job working for the Marconi family. Babe Marconi hired the nine year-old Lou, as a lobster lad to help out on his boat, but it was Babe’s wife Rose, who made certain the boy received a good breakfast every morning before setting out to sea. >click to read< 12:33
Blessing the Fleet. A tradition that still has meaning in this town
This weekend is the Portuguese Festival and the Blessing of the Fleet. I have written before about the historical importance of the Portuguese in Provincetown, and there is an aspect of their character that still defines this town. The Blessing, too, is an artifact of a centuries-old tradition. It has been going on for decades here in town, but, where once dozens of draggers lined up to pass the wharf and be blessed, now there is a much smaller number, along with lobster boats, charter fishing and whale-watch boats,,, >click to read< 11:25
UPDATED: The mystery of the lost-and-found ‘Perfect Storm’ photo album – “Don’t come back to my bar.”
After three days missing, The Crow’s Nest, the Gloucester bar featured in the 2000 movie “The Perfect Storm”, has had its photo album honoring the film and those who died on the original Andrea Gail returned. “We are thrilled to have our photo album back! It was sent overnight from Georgia,”. An anonymous note accompanied the album. The photo album, which went missing from the neighborhood bar on Sunday, featured photos of not only the actors in the film, but the original crew aboard the vessel who died. >click to read< 09:41
Stolen photo album that documents ‘The Perfect Storm’ filming returned to owners – Maryanne Shatford and her husband, Gregg Sousa, have their memories on display at their Gloucester bar, the Crow’s Nest. Among their most prized possessions was a photo album with pictures of Hollywood stars George Clooney, Mark Wahlberg and the other actors in the film. “Don’t come back to my bar. But I’m glad we got it back,” Sousa said. >click to read<
Fishing protest: ‘This isn’t about fishermen; this is about every single citizen of the State’
In the early hours of Wednesday morning, dozens of fishing boats cruised quietly up the river Liffey in a kind of stealth assault on the capital. The silence would not last long.,,, Children held placards demanding their futures be protected; fishermen wore baseball hats insisting being allowed catch 15 per cent was not enough, a reference to the proportion of fish available to them in Irish waters. Patrick Murphy, chief executive of the Irish South and West Fish Producers Organisation,“The Irish people have to understand this isn’t about fishermen; this is about every single citizen of the State,” photos, video, >click to read< 08:39
Green Appeasement? To gain from those they would deceive? Fishermen and tax-paying workers will lose.
Is the SNP government trying to appease the Green Party by attempting to enhance their own environmental credentials and profit from selling or renting off the Scottish seabed to the highest bidding wind farm developer; who appear to depend on our taxes providing subsidies for their profits Oh, what a tangled web could they weave, to gain from those they would deceive? In order for the SNP government and the developers to gain, someone else must lose. The losers possibly being every tax-paying worker in the country, plus the fishermen who will lose the seabed they depend on for a living; where they work in some of the most inhospitable and dangerous working environments in the world, the North Sea and Atlantic Ocean. >click to read< 07:33
UK’s fishing crews outraged at Brexit betrayal five years after
It’s 5am on a brisk June morning and on board the Girl Pamela fishing vessel, skipper Graham Nicholas is taking me through some basic housekeeping ahead of a 12-hour stint at sea. “If you need to piss or puke,” he says, “do it overboard. If you need to shit, do it in the bucket.” On the fifth anniversary of the vote to leave the EU, many say their industry has been betrayed Above all, he has one outstanding question. As Brexit negotiations faltered over fishing rights last year, “But if we’re so unimportant, how comes the Europeans fought so f****g hard for their fishermen?” >click to read<19:03
What do Deckhands earn and get paid on ‘Deadliest Catch’ and in the commercial crab industry?
There’s definitely money to be made in crab fishing, more if you star in a popular show about crab fishing. And the crab fishing industry is lucrative. While this is just a snapshot, it’s a pretty eye-opening one. According to a 2006 report, 505 commercial fishermen brought in over $127 million worth in crab loot. If that was evenly divided, it’d be $250,000 per person, but of course, things don’t work out that way. “Wages are often based on a share or percentage of harvest earnings. Newcomer deckhand earnings range from 1.5% to 10% of the adjusted gross catch, depending on location and type of fishery and the skills the worker possesses.” And it’s also situational: some crab fishers can make $50 to $100 a day as a flat rate if they want to play it safe. >click to read< 15:45
Say No for the Ocean, Citizens! Impact of Offshore Wind on Commercial Fishing Industry Discussed
Scallop fisherman and Viking Village fleet owner Jim Gutowski laid out the scope in size of one offshore wind farm turbine as a backdrop to his talk on “The Impact of Offshore Wind Farms on Our Commercial Fishing Industry”,,, Gutowski traveled to England and Scotland about five years ago to meet with commercial fishermen affected by wind turbines Asked by an audience member for details about any pros and cons of wind power that he heard there, Gutowski said, “From a fisherman’s standpoint I don’t think I heard too many pros. I heard tons of cons. I heard that ‘fish used to live here and now they don’t.’ I heard that ‘they told us we can fish inside of there and now we can’t.’ I heard ‘we can fish inside of them, but there’s no way we can do it.’ I saw Ramsgate in England, that was a bustling fishing port, and now it’s kind of a ghost town.” >click to read< 13:37
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 82′ Steel Stern Dragger, 525HP Cummins KTA 19 M
To review specifications, information, and 10 photos, >click here< , To see all the boats in this series >click here<11:46
Halibut fisherman encounters freak storm on trip back from Togiak
“At some point I’m thinking my arm’s failing, my body’s cramping and I’m losing control in my dexterity,” recalled Kaleb Westfall, captain of the F/V Peter. “Those thoughts creep into your head that you can’t do this forever. You are going to fail and it’s hard to multitask and disallow those thoughts and I had to put it to one wave at a time.” >click to read< 10:55
Something Fishy: A study in believe it or not
Researching my books I do come across some very interesting characters, none more so than former Maitland resident Athel D’Ombrain AM. Athel’s resume includes photographer, optician, naturalist, author, cricketer, pioneer angler, game fisherman and historian. Born in 1901 Athel’s contribution to society and inventiveness were significant. His fishing involvement was of most interest to me. One of Athel’s revolutionary plans was reported in the NSW Game Fishing Bulletin 1947. >click to read< 09:49
Nova Scotia is launching its own seafood quality certification program
Participating companies must meet a range of traceability, handling, processing and food safety standards including an annual product quality assessment prior to export. Keith Colwell, the province’s longtime minister of fisheries and aquaculture, said customers want proof of quality. Others certifications exist, including for live lobster, which is one of the species eligible for the Nova Scotia program. The most important standard is from the Global Food Safety Initiative — a certification required by big buyers like Walmart and Loblaws. But Nova Scotia officials argue the provincial program is more comprehensive because it includes an emphasis on quality as well as food safety. >click to read< 09:12
Making Waves! Fishermen protest in Dublin over EU fisheries policy
A flotilla of 55 trawlers from all around the Irish coast gathered at the entrance to Dublin Port before dawn before travelling up the River Liffey in convoy through the East Link Toll Bridge to John Rodgerson’s Quay., The fishermen are protesting over quotas cuts, the impact of Brexit and the EU Common Fisheries policy in the second such protest in as many months. The protesters will hold a rally at Guild St Park at noon, before a delegation will deliver a letter to the Taoiseach at the National Convention Centre. Photos, >click to read<
Fishermen from all over the country are making waves with Dublin protest – Fishermen and industry representatives are expected to list their demands later today, which are to be submitted to Taoiseach Micheál Martin at the National Convention Centre around 1:30pm. >click to read< 07:46
A flotilla will sail up the Liffey. ‘We want the Government to fight for us’: Fishermen to protest Brexit-related cuts
The Government faces a backlash from fishermen, In a sector that employs 16,000 people, the mood is restive and many fear ruin. “To put it in weather terms, we’ve been hit with not alone one tsunami but a second tsunami and that’s the problem,” said Seán O’Donoghue, chief executive of Killybegs Fishermen’s Organisation, the trade body for the State’s biggest fishing port in Co Donegal. “I’ve said this to the Taoiseach and the Ministers: I’m not interested in their sympathy. I’m interested in action.” >click to read< 21:00
Persistence, ability to overcome adversity keeps this local trawler going after 30+ years
The job of a trawler is the same every day: catch shrimp. But the opponent one is up against (weather, seas, Mother Nature) is always slightly different each day. Being able to adjust to the unknown is Thomas Crosby’s specialty on the water. It’s a skill he believes allows him to be a good fisherman. The captain of the ‘Limited Edition’ since the late 1980s, Crosby has been on the water for as long as he can remember. The experienced captain said a good trawler is capable of adapting, adjusting and rolling with the punches, even if they come often and from a lot of unexpected directions. >click to read< 18:28
F/V Catherine Lane: Wrecked shrimp boat breaking apart
The shrimp boat that wrecked June 9 near Cumberland Island is now breaking apart, littering the water and coastline. “I got contacted by Florida Fish and Wildlife to see if we could go out and take some pictures,” Cary Cosgrove said. “I thought we’d get out there and find a shrimp boat but we get out there and couldn’t find it,” That’s because in the ten days since the boat crashed, it had broken apart,,, “The hull is a couple hundred feet off the rocks,” Cosgrove said. “The remnants from the rest of the boat were scattered all over the place.” Video, >click to read< 15:31
Cuomo’s Closure of Indian Point Nuclear Power Plant a big step backwards to reduce CO2 emissions.
April 30th, the Indian Point nuclear power plant 30 miles north of New York City was shut down. For decades the facility provided the overwhelming majority of the city’s carbon-free electricity as well as good union jobs for almost a thousand people. Federal regulators had deemed the plant perfectly safe. New York’s governor, Andrew Cuomo, a key figure behind the move, said that the shuttering of Indian Point brought us “a big step closer to achieving our aggressive clean energy goals”. It’s hard to reconcile that optimism with the data that’s recently come out. The first full month without the plant has seen a 46% increase in the average carbon intensity of statewide electric generation,,, >click to read< 13:53
Lobster Market Is Going To Boom
Lobster, highly prized seafood, is a shellfish variety used as food materials. Seafood is rich in protein and considered to be one of the main ingredients for overall physical growth. Lobsters, being high in protein, have various health benefits. Owing to rising demand of seafood products, number of restaurants offering lobster is increasing which is driving the global lobster market. The report provides key statistics on the market status, size, share, growth factors of the Lobster. The study covers emerging player’s data, including: competitive landscape, sales, revenue and global market share,,, >click to read< 12:40
