Monthly Archives: June 2021
Individual transferable quota system hurting Tasmania’s fishing fleets
“ITQs have caused a decrease in owner operators and a decrease in active vessels in the fleet,, “Separation of ITQ ownership from the fishing sector has created a whole range of unintended consequences, which have ultimately seen the flow of majority of profits to investors, not the fishing fleet.” King Island Council deputy general manager Kate Mauric told the committee some fishermen felt disadvantaged due to contract management from investors, though this was not as pronounced on the island as elsewhere. >click to read< 10:54
Bristol Bay Fisheries Report: June 21, 2021
It’s the first Fish Report of the season! Data from Port Moller show a big push of fish might arrive in the Nushagak this week. But managers will wait to open fishing there until 100,000 sockeye have escaped up the Wood to protect the district’s king run. On the East Side, Egegik’s out fishing, and people in Naknek are getting ready.,, Messages to the Fleet, From Elaine: Wishing the awesome crew on the new f/v sugar mama a very successful season. Hope she lives up to her name The Gunnison Valley wishes their sea legged friends, Frances and Jeremy, all the best on the open water! ANd a special hello from Lidl the weiner dog! From the F/V Independence, Brent apologizes in advance. >click to listen/read the report<10:14
Video: Lobster Boat Races, Rockland style. Photos: 2021 Charles Begin Boothbay Harbor Lobster Boat Races
Videographer Terry Boivin was aboard a lobster boat owned by Willie Coombs, of Prospect Harbor, for the June 20 lobster boat races around Rockland Harbor. It’s a great ride along, and when Willie winds her up, and that turbo kicks in, you can feel the power! Thanks to Terry Boivin, and Willie Coombs for a great way to start today! >click to watch<
2021 Boothbay Harbor Lobster Boat Races – The 2021 Charles Begin Boothbay Harbor Lobster Boat Races were held Saturday, June 19 after skies cleared. Here, professional photographer Michael Leonard captures the action from West Boothbay Harbor. Race results will appear in a separate article. >click to view the photos< 08:01
2021 Boothbay Harbor Lobster Boat Races results >Click to read the results!<
John “Jack” Horan, of Newport, RI, Commercial Fisherman, has passed away
John “Jack” Horan, of Newport, RI, passed away Sunday, June 20, 2021, surrounded by family and friends. Born in Newport, Rhode Island on March 19, 1949, Jack was an active member of the community involved in Offshore Commercial Fishing and serving as a member of The Federal Fire Department. Jack also served in the First Calvary Infantry Division during the Vietnam War. He received an honorary Air Medal for his service during that time. After his service in Vietnam, Jack began offshore fishing lobstering and was known for his spear accuracy in harpooning large swordfish. Jack enjoyed fishing and lobstering throughout his entire life on his boat “FV Hanna”. He was generous, funny, and grateful for every day. Jack was a great storyteller, and he had many stories he loved sharing with friends and family. >click to read< 19:23
Raimondo picks Janet Coit, a source of trusted counsel, to lead the National Marine Fisheries Service
On Monday, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, Coit’s former boss in the Rhode Island State House, announced the selection of Coit to lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries office.,, But the work of the fisheries service is getting even harder as it’s faced with stepping into a brewing fight over coastal waters between fishermen and the developers of offshore wind farms. Coit wouldn’t say much about the expectations for her new job in Washington as she waited for the official word to come down from the Commerce Department. But she was certain that offshore wind will be in the mix. “That’s going to be such a hot-button issue that I’m heading into,” she said. >click to read<16:46
Portimão seeks skilled labour to restore historic fishing boat
A century-old fishing boat is to be restored to its former glory and displayed outside Portimão Museum. But there is one issue setting the project back, says the local council. There is a “lack of specialised labour to restore traditional vessels made out of wood”, says the council, adding that Portimão Museum is working hard to find the right people to give ‘Portugal Primeiro’ the makeover it “deserves and needs”. The restoration project is being led by Portimão Museum with the assistance of the local fishing community. >click to read< 12:24
Proposed net ban, restriction referendum raises concern among commercial fishing advocates
A proposed referendum for net bans and restrictions missed the state legislature’s crossover deadline, but its very introduction has caused alarm among some commercial fishing officials. State Rep. Bill Richardson, D-Cumberland, introduced House Bill 513,,, the fact it was proposed was enough to spark concern with commercial fishing advocates and a local marine biologist. N.C. Fisheries Association Executive Director and commercial fisherman Glenn Skinner and Crystal Coast Ecotours owner and operator Jess Hawkins have voiced their opposition. >click to read< 11:29
Commercial fishers fined for potentially disturbing migrating whales in Scarborough
Two commercial fishers who potentially disturbed migrating whales off Scarborough with their unsecured lines were the first to be prosecuted under new lobster regulations. The fishers, a 72-year-old from Beaconsfield and a 44-year-old from Bateman, pleaded guilty and were each ordered to pay $7453.90 in fines and court costs at Perth Magistrate’s Court on June 9. According to the amended Management Plan for Commercial rock lobster fishing introduced in 2014, the top third of the length of the pot lines must be held vertically in the water. The officers seized nine lobster pots as a part of the lines of each pot were trailing across the surface of the water. >click to read< 10:25
Will the offshore wind farm hurt the Morro Bay fishing industry? ‘We’re basically screwed’!
About 50% of Bill Blue’s annual income comes from the black cod he catches in the Morro Bay call area. Erecting wind turbines in the ocean there would likely force him and others who fish rock cod, albacore tuna, salmon, prawns, swordfish and black cod, also known as sablefish, to completely abandon the area. “What we’re seeing is the government going ‘Drop everything. We have to do this right now: clear all the obstacles, push the fishermen off the map,’ ” said Alan Alward, secretary of the Morro Bay Commercial Fishermen’s Organization, a nonprofit organization that advocates for the local fishing industry. >click to read< 08:34
‘Fishing in Ireland was sold out during the Brexit talks’ – Fishing families to stage rally in Dublin
Adrian McClenaghan is deeply proud of the fact four generations of his family have fished off the Irish coast. “But none of us faced the crisis that Shaun now faces in the industry. Fishing in Ireland was sold out during the Brexit talks. If this continues without the Government taking firm action to save our industry, there won’t be a future in the sector for the next generation of young fishermen.” The Donegal skipper and father-of-four will be one of the keynote speakers at a rally in Dublin on Wednesday,,,>click to read< 07:40
Tropical depression making its way toward Nova Scotia
Claudette, a tropical depression, may affect Atlantic Canada on Tuesday. The depression claimed 12 lives Saturday at it passed through Alabama and brought flooding to a number of southern U.S. states. According to the Canadian Hurricane Centre, the depression is moving over the southeastern U.S. today and tonight and is expected to move back over the ocean overnight and regain tropical storm strength off the Carolinas. >click to read< 16:26
The Escuminac Hurricane capsized 22 fishing boats off the coast of New Brunswick
Between June 18 and 21, 1959, an Atlantic hurricane caused one of New Brunswick’s worst fishing-related disasters. The incident, called the 1959 Escuminac disaster, killed 35 people and caused US$2.5 million worth of damage. On June 18, the storm developed in the Gulf of Mexico. On the same day, it hit Florida and strengthened into a tropical storm. The storm reached hurricane strength on June 19 but was turned into an extratropical cyclone the same day. The storm’s remnants hit Atlantic Canada before dissipating on June 21., In Atlantic Canada, around 45 boats were in the Northumberland Strait when the storm was approaching. They didn’t have radios to receive warnings. The rough water caused at least 22 fishing boats to capsize. >click to read< 14:50
“You’re going to take that little boat across the Inlet?!?”- The little setnet skiff that could
That was the prevailing theme around the Ninilchik Harbor when we showed up with a 21-foot open setnet skiff, headed for Bristol Bay. I have traveled across Cook Inlet from Ninilchik a number of times and never thought much of it, but it had been 20 years since my last crossing.,, Boats are bigger and they have far more power. Most people navigate by GPS rather than compass. The 40-mile crossing from Ninilchik to the mouth of Johnson River is obvious, as long as the fog doesn’t roll in. A compass heading is adequate. Dakota Tennant, Ben Doudna and I motored out of the Ninilchik Harbor at 3:30 on a Wednesday afternoon. The wind was out of the southwest,,, >click to read< 10:47
DEVELOPING STORY: Peter Pan Seafoods announces base price for Bristol Bay sockeye
Peter Pan Seafoods will pay its fishermen a base price of $1.10 for sockeye this season. This is the first time in at least 25 years that a Bristol Bay processor has announced its base price this early in the year, according to Travis Roenfanz, the Bristol Bay manager for the company. Roenfanz made the announcement at the PAF Boatyard in Dillingham before a crowd of fishermen. >click to read< 09:48
Conflicting statements create confusion over future of old Ayr fishing boat
The MVF Watchful has been sitting on an old slipway in Ayr’s South Harbour for around two decades. Previous attempts to have the vessel restored have sunk without a trace. Now campaigners, who are concerned the vessel’s condition is beyond redemption, have been left scratching their heads over differing accounts over its future from a local councillor and South Ayrshire Council. Both accounts from the local authority and the Ayr West Councillor appeared to contradict each other and Ayrshire Live was asked to investigate. >click to read< 09:11
My Father’s Hands
The first time I remember being aware of my father’s hands was when I was three. I wasn’t very tall, nor powerful. Standing on a main street of Juneau for the first time in 1962. The “Big City” life bustling around this small Little Norway-born boy. Before me loomed a large theater marquee that demanded I see “Hatari!” and the posted billboard showed John Wayne screaming at me to do so. I was terrified. So many people. So many lights. Too many days away from our own Mitkof Island home. Then my father’s large hand swallowed my tiny feeble one. Its warmth flowed down my arm to my torso and into my tiny black rubber boots. Looking up I could only see his hand. >click to read< 07:55 By Klas Stolpe
Common property
Almost four decades ago, a Juneau salmon seiner by the name of Wayne Alex filed a lawsuit aimed at blocking the state of Alaska from taxing commercial fishermen to finance hatcheries. The tax, which the Alaska Legislature obliging called an “assessment” in an effort to avoid an Alaska Constitutional prohibition on dedicated taxes, was intended to benefit private, non-profit aquaculture corporations controlled by commercial fishermen. As the scheme was designed, the hatchery corporations, or “associations” as they were officially called, would run a system of hatcheries to fill the ocean off the 49th state with a bounty of “common property” salmon to benefit Alaskans of all sorts – commercial fishermen, personal-use fishermen, sport fishermen, even subsistence fishermen. Though Alex sued over the tax, it wasn’t his real concern. His fear was that the hatcheries would one day come to replace fishermen like himself. Jump ahead now 39 years and turn your attention north from Juneau for 550 miles to the city of Seward at the head of Resurrection Bay. >click to read< 16:01
The First Montauk Blessing Of The Fleet Post COVID Brings Great Joy
The message that permeated on every vessel that took part in the first Montauk Blessing of the Fleet post COVID was that it was in fact a blessing it was happening at all. A year ago, the whole country was locking down, so many traditional East End events were canceled, and there was no annual Blessing of the Fleet in Montauk.,, On the F/V Anna Mary, the boat of Captain Anthony Sosinski and Fisherman John “Johnny Loads” Aldridge, family and friends celebrated with cold beverages, pasta salads, chips and dips, and an assortment of tasty home baked cookies. Sosinski displayed his talent of navigating the boat throughout the 75 or so commercial boats of all sizes that paraded from in the Harbor out to the Block Island Sound. Aldridge and his family and friends know what it is to feel God’s mercy. Eight years ago, “Johnny Loads” fell overboard only to be recused the next day by a 
Coast Guard helicopter as almost every commercial Montauk fishing craft was out there searching for him. >click to read< 12:25
Montauk Blessing of the Fleet – This drone footage by Joanna Steidle shows decorated vessels passing by robed clergymen, who give the boats their blessing. Onlookers can be seen gathered on the docks and shoreline. >click to watch<
New Jersey: Local Lawmakers Criticize Legislation to Fast-Track Offshore Wind Farm
“Suddenly, we’ve got a private, foreign company that is determining our position here. For the Legislature and governor to consider taking away home rule is shameful,” Cape May County Board of Commission Director Gerald Thornton said. Thornton and other critics of the wind farm proposed by the Danish energy company Orsted are also troubled by its possible harmful impacts,, Ocean City Council President Bob Barr said the legislation is “eliminating” decades of years of home rule for New Jersey towns in favor of Orsted. “It’s not even an American company”. “This unholy alliance was formed to steal sovereign U.S. territory in our 200-mile exclusive economic zone off our beloved Jersey Shore to build risky, unreliable, unwanted, unnecessary industrial wind farms,” said Tricia Conte, founder of Save Our Shoreline. >click to read< 09:46
New Jersey: Legislators Propose Bill To Limit Local Say Over Offshore Wind Farm Projects
The bill comes at a time when Ørsted’s proposed offshore wind project has been gaining opposition from several coastal communities concerned about the cables running underneath New Jersey beaches, including Ocean City and Long Beach Island. Assemblyman John Burzichelli, a southern New Jersey Democrat who sponsored the bill,,, “I can assure you, having been at ground zero of these discussions, we will allow nothing to happen that will disrupt Ocean City and the true gem that it is,” Burzichelli said at the state Assembly hearing during which the bill was advanced. >click to read< 08:45
Life of a Brixham fisherman selling catch straight off his trusty trawler
He’s the skipper, captain, engineer, cook, and cleaner of the Adela BM79 – a bright blue mini trawler. At 9 meters long, she’s Brixham’s smallest and self-professed ‘prettiest’ fishing boat. Recently, Tristan Northway has earned himself a new title to add to his roster, one that seemingly comes as naturally as the wind to a sail. Tristan is Brixham’s only licensed floating fishmonger; selling freshly caught fish directly from the boat on any day that he can get out to sea. “It’s not easy,” says Tristan. “I’m going out at 2 in the morning. I came home at 4 this afternoon. And I probably won’t go to bed until 10 tonight.” >video, photos, click to read< 07:44
Marine Engineer Joe Fletcher known as Joe Kelvin to fishing communities dies aged 92
He was the mainstay of Kelvin Marine Diesels, the firm that produced the engine that propelled Scotland’s fisheries. Over many decades, Joe Fletcher won the trust of fishing crews up and down the east coast of Scotland. Joe’s son Charles said: “Fishermen across the east coast and worldwide knew they had a friend in Joe Fletcher, a man who would always do his best to meet and often exceed their needs without compromising the business. He was reliable. On call night and day before people this side of the Atlantic even heard of the expression 24/7, Joe was always available on ship-to-shore radio calls to deal with engineering matters. In the days before the internet and mobile phones, ship-to-shore calls were a lifeline to fishing vessels nationwide. >click to read< 19:54
Lobster fishermen land a deer!
Two brothers lobster fishing off the coast of Antigonish, N.S., on Thursday morning hauled up an unusual catch. Justin and Luc Boudreau first noticed the deer’s head bobbing above the waves while they were fishing near Jimtown Beach. The animal looked to be headed for Cape Breton but had a long way to go. They hoisted the deer aboard. But the rescue wasn’t over. Once the deer caught its breath, it headed back overboard and into the water. >photos, click to read< Listen to the audio report with Justin Boudreau! 14:58
Lobsterman shares video of ‘tickling’ a skate, but animal rights people react with outrage
Jeffrey Dader was at work on Cape Cod Bay last week when he caught the skate in one of his lobster pots. He later posted a video of himself placing it on the side of his boat and saying ‘how do you tickle a fish’ before reaching over and touching it in thick gloves. Jeffrey, 29, said: ‘It made my day. It’s got such a happy looking face. It’s like a little baby face. While some viewers praised the footage as ‘cute’, others slammed the fisherman’s actions. video, photos. >click to read< 13:04
Tropical Storm Warning up along northern Gulf Coast with Claudette forming today
At 10 a.m. Friday, the National Hurricane Center said Potential Tropical Cyclone 3 was centered 220 miles south of Morgan City, Louisiana and moving north at 14 mph. It had sustained winds of 35 mph. It is expected to strengthen into Tropical Storm Claudette by afternoon and reach the northern Gulf Coast by Saturday morning. Winter dry air is still mixing down deep into the tropics. Yes, it is not cold air, but it is dry air. This almost always leads to asymmetrical tropical systems. The “wet” side is generally east of the storm track and it is in this region, where over the next 3-5 days we will see the wettest and stormiest, along with the highest winds and highest storm surge (if any, this is a weak system). >click to read< 11:41
Between June 18 and 21, 1959, an Atlantic hurricane caused one of New Brunswick’s worst fishing-related disasters. – The incident, called the 1959 Escuminac disaster, killed 35 people and caused US$2.5 million worth of damage. On June 18, the storm developed in the Gulf of Mexico. >click to read< – 16:41, 6/20/2021
International: BC crab poacher has to pay more than $12,000 in penalties
An almost three-year legal odyssey for a persistent local crab poacher, one that involved three enforcement agencies in two countries, ended in Surrey Provincial Court with a conviction, more than $12,000 in penalties, and a five-year ban on fishing anywhere in B.C. But the offender managed to keep his boat after his Canadian court date, unlike what happened to him in the U.S. legal system. >click to read< 10:10
How Deadliest Catch’s Captain Keith Really Feels About Sig’s Alliance System
Because Coronavirus knocked out any chance for Alaska Fish & Game to research crab populations, the captains of “Deadliest Catch” were essentially fishing blind when the season started. A resilient, resourceful group, they were determined to catch their quota and keep the fishery humming. And to that end, Sig Hansen of the F/V Northwestern proposed a cooperative alliance to his fellow captains. To team up, to communicate, to share intelligence, Hansen wanted these notoriously independent operators to find common ground for the common good. Keith Colburn of the F/V Wizard begrudgingly agreed, only with a sense of what he’s learned over 25 years as a boat captain. >click to read< 09:08
Governor Charlie Baker nominates locals for New England Fishery Management Council
The New England Fishery Management Council will lose four of its longest-serving members this summer because of term limits and two of the vacant seats could be filled by candidates from Cape Ann. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker has nominated Jackie Odell,,, Baker listed recreational fishing stakeholder Mike Pierdinock as his preferred candidate,,, On their way out Quinn, Balzano, Terry Alexander, of Maine, and Matthew McKenzie, of Connecticut, will be leaving the council when their terms expire on Aug. 10. >click to read< 08:23
KVH Introduces TracPhone® LTE-1 for Offshore Internet Access
KVH Industries, Inc., has introduced the TracPhone® LTE-1 Global marine communications system designed to provide recreational boaters and commercial mariners in more than 150 countries with Internet access up to 20 miles offshore. The system utilizes LTE Advanced (LTE-A) cellular network technology, which is faster than regular 4G LTE, and builds on KVH’s award-winning U.S.-only TracPhone LTE-1, which was introduced in 2018. >click to read< 20:26
Douglas “Daddy Doug” Guthrie Sr., commercial fisherman, netmaker of Harkers Island, has passed away
Douglas was born March 27, 1942, on Harkers Island to the late Irvin and Bertha Guthrie. He was an avid commercial fisherman, his favorite fishing being channel netting for shrimp. Douglas was a lifetime netmaker and was the first in Carteret County to introduce mechanical clamming, of which he invented the prototype. In his earlier years, he managed net houses in Florida, but the local waters called him back home, where he enjoyed being on Core Sound with his family. Douglas was a loving husband of 59 years, faithful father to his sons, constant friend to his siblings and beloved papa to his grand and great-grandchildren. >click to read< 18:34
