Monthly Archives: July 2021
Before she was Wild Alaskan, she was the F/V Shaman – and she ruled the King Crab fishery
Long before strippers gyrated for fishermen who boarded the Wild Alaskan for a night of fun, she was known as the F/V Shaman, one of the most profitable boats to ever throw pots in Alaskan waters. She had a million-dollar price tag when she was built in Tacoma in 1974, 110 feet long with a high wheelhouse. Made to shrimp and crab. And boy did the Shaman crab. Tom Hendel and his brother worked on the crew back in the late 70’s, when the Shaman was in its glory days. Back then, as Kodiak fishermen are fond of saying, “Crab was king.” And it was. Some made millions in the Bering Sea. But other mariners were not so lucky. “I gotta tell you, guys were dying every day it seemed like, back in the 70s and 80s. >click to read< 22:41 >Click for Wild Alaskan posts back to July 5, 2014<
Connecticut: Organizers focused on ‘the important things’ ahead of 68th annual Blessing of the Fleet
Stonington – In late 1989, rescue teams and U.S. Coast Guard personnel spent more than 11 days combing 10,000 square miles of ocean off the coast of Nantucket using three aircraft carriers and two cutters following the disappearance of the Heidi Marie, a 72-foot commercial lobster boat out of Stonington that went missing just before Thanksgiving. The search teams found evidence of possible distress that was believed to have killed the boat’s five occupants, Capt. Mark Middleton and crew members Arthur Banks, Kenneth Raymond Gould, Michael Lane and Ray Morris. Their bodies were never found, but their story and the stories of other local fisherman who died will not be forgotten, thanks in part to a long-rooted tradition that will return this weekend when St. Mary Church in Stonington hosts its 68th annual Blessing of the Fleet. >click to read< 22:10
DFO’s sweeping salmon fishery closures leave workers reeling – Commercial fishers are paying the price,,,
“When we got that news, we’re like, shit, what do we do? And then there’s a little glimmer of hope, they didn’t say Area 4 was going to be closed for sure. That’s where I’m sitting now.” Carpenter, who is 54 years old, said waiting for the federal Fisheries and Oceans Department’s next move is a “huge gamble.” He said he has things he can do to earn money and fill his freezer if he can’t go out and fish but he’s worried about some of the older fishers who don’t have the same options. “What are they supposed to do? They’re going to go home, they may drink themselves to death or they may lose their marriages, their houses, sell everything. Who knows?” >click to read< 17:57
Derelict fishing vessel sinks off Point Whitehorn
The derelict 1930s fishing vessel sank off Point Whitehorn while being towed from Blaine Harbor to Bellingham. The Bligh Island, a 79-foot wooden hull purse seiner, had been in the Port of Bellingham’s custody since 2017. The port put the abandoned boat up for auction, but there were no bidders, port public affairs administrator Mike Hogan said.,, The boat sank in about 160 feet of water off Point Whitehorn at the end of Birch Bay. To Hogan’s knowledge, the vessel is the first boat owned by the Port of Bellingham to sink. >click to read< 16:21
Divide and Conquer – With Friends Like These, Who Needs Enemies
Try and imagine a campaign by environmental NGOs to end the use of ploughs in agriculture, on the basis that it’s damaging to the biodiversity of rural regions and wrecks natural habitats. The immediate question would be what effect such a limitation would have on the availability of food. Turn it around and apply that question to demersal trawling, and nobody in authority or at any ENGO seems to equate fish with food. Fishing in Europe (and the UK, where the political climate in this respect remains much the same) has been under a wholesale assault from organisations that have little love for fishermen, yet the fishing industry itself remains at odds with itself, frequently doing the work of fishing’s opponents for them. The tactics are now familiar, pick as a target a relatively small sector over which there are already deep divisions within the industry, and go from there to deepen the divides, play on old enmities and appeal to long-held prejudices, and nurture the tall poppy syndrome. >click to read< 12:54
Scottish fish stocks not at peril from bigger catches
Fishers claim bigger, not smaller catches can boost key North Sea stocks and help the Scottish fleet avoid a potentially “devastating” blow from further quota cuts. The International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, wants to slash the total allowable catch for North Sea cod by 10.3% next year. Ices’ recommendation for west coast saithe, also known as coley, is for an even deeper cut, of 24%. At the same time, the organisation is advocating increases of 154% for North Sea and west coast haddock, as well as a 236% jump in the TAC for North Sea whiting. Scottish Fishermen’s Federation chief executive Elspeth Macdonald has previously described the overall advice package as “desperate news” , >click to read< 10:38
Stonington fishermen fight for their livelihoods: The fleet’s past, present and tenuous future
While they have weathered storms, the loss of 41 fleet members at sea, declining catches and restrictions on how much fish they can land, the aging group of mostly men who make up the Town Dock Fleet now face a set of new challenges that threatens their future and that of the state’s last surviving commercial fleet. These include the difficulty of luring young people into a grueling but potentially lucrative occupation and the leasing of vast areas of their fishing grounds to offshore wind energy companies that plan to erect hundreds of massive turbines. >click to read< 09:17
Crew escapes with their lives after F/V Mount Pavlof sinks near Ketchikan
Four fishermen escaped with their lives over the weekend after a seine vessel sank south of Ketchikan. Crewmembers from another fishing boat heard their distress call over the radio and arrived in time to rescue them. Around 3 a.m. Sunday, Pete Feenstra says he and a three-person crew were readying themselves for a salmon opener south of Ketchikan. Then he heard a mayday call from the radio. The Mount Pavlof, a fellow seiner, needed help. Feenstra says he looked at the navigation system aboard his 56-foot seiner, the Noble Provider, and saw that the vessel in distress was less than a mile away. And he knew what he had to do. Audio report, >click to listen/read< 08:09
James William Salter Jr., longtime Half Moon Bay commercial fisherman, has crossed the bar
Jim graduated from Los Altos High School in California where he met his childhood sweetheart, Jan. After many camping trips to Half Moon Bay, he and Jan decided to make the tranquil coast their home. His work ethic and desire to take care of his family led him to become a self-taught commercial fisherman for over 48 years. Together Jim and Jan ran Salter Crab Co., a business his children were also actively a part of, bringing live crab and troll-caught king salmon to farmers markets around the Bay Area for over 30 years. He introduced rock crab, a delicious, sweet but smaller crab with egg row, a highly sought-after delicacy to their numerous customers. “Eat rock crab, be strong, live long,” he would always say. Above all, Jim was an amazing husband and an extraordinary father and grandfather. >click to read< 20:50
Political science drives net ban referendum – most people don’t even know what a gill net is
Cape Carteret town commissioners’ decision last week to endorse a statewide referendum on the use of gill nets in the state’s coastal waters indicates a willingness to relegate complex scientific issues to a political decision. This devalues the expertise of biologists and scientists in the state’s Division of Marine Fisheries who regularly make these decisions on behalf of all stakeholders, to help one special group – recreational fishermen. Commissioner Jeff Waters, in casting the only opposing vote, correctly noted that fewer gill nets are being used every year, But Mr. Waters offered a far more compelling reason not to support the bill and that is most people who would vote in the referendum, “don’t even know what a gill net is and wouldn’t know what they’re voting on and so would just vote against gill nets.” >click to read< 19:11
Analyzing NOAA data confirms that speeding ships are killing endangered North Atlantic right whales
Most vessels are exceeding speed limits in areas designated to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales,,, The non-profit organization Oceana analyzed ship and boat speeds from 2017 to 2020 in speed zones established by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) along the US Atlantic coast. Non-compliance was as high as almost 90 percent in mandatory speed zones, while non-cooperation was as high as almost 85 percent in the voluntary areas,. Collisions with vessels are one of two leading causes of injury and death for North Atlantic right whales, with research showing that slowing vessel speeds to 10 knots (11.5 mph, 18.5 kph) reduces the risk of death by 80 to 90 percent. >click to read< 16:32
With admirable acknowledgment, we recognize Jim O’Connell, and his contribution to the issue of ship strikes – “North Atlantic Right Whale: How to kill a species with Fake News, from National Geographic of all places!“, and “Most likely Carnival Cruise Lines is responsible for 18+ Right Whale deaths in the past 3 year, at which rate they would soon be extinct”.>click to read both<, and other articles from Jim,, >click to read<. Thank you, Jim!
Captain Frank Gee remembered as a caring, and meticulous fisherman
If anyone was prepared for the dangers of the ocean, it was San Francisco resident and local fisherman Frank Gee. But earlier this month, his body was found washed ashore in Moss Beach. It was a shock to his family and the local fishing community who remembered a meticulous fisherman and caring brother who had survived the dangers of the sea before.,, He was no different as a fisherman and captain. Just years earlier, Gee, Erica Clarkson and Joshua “Aubri” Gift had survived the burning of his beloved boat, the F/V Ocean Gale, after an engine fire consumed the craft in just minutes. The details of the story are harrowing,,, “When they heard it was the Ocean Gale, everyone came running,” Clarkson said. “He loved that boat and when it burned it devastated all of us.” >click to read< 13:37
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 35′ Duffy Tuna Boat, 410HP Sisu Diesel, Phasor 3.5 kw Aux.
To review specifications, information, and 45 photos, >click here< , To see all the boats in this series >click here<11:16
Time to apply for second round of CARES Act relief
The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries mailed applications to seafood processers, wholesalers, commercial fishermen and aquaculture farmers on Tuesday, officially opening the state’s second round of CARES Act relief for fisheries. The funds are intended to mitigate the financial impacts on marine fisheries participants that suffered more than a 35% loss of revenue due to the pandemic. >click to read< 10:11
Vancouver Island fishermen upset after sudden salmon fishing closures
Bill Forbes and his crew geared up in French Creek to go salmon fishing. Forbes and his crew, who are heading to a spot near Prince Rupert, are one of the few commercial fisheries still open following a sudden and massive closure by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans on June 29. “They can’t keep blaming the commercial fishermen, we may be part of the problem but kicking us out is not the solution,” said fisherman Bill Forbes. “It throws this boat and all my crew, I’ve got three generations of Forbes’ on this boat and it just puts us out of work. I’m old but you know my grandson and my nephew are not. So they have to go someplace else and I don’t know where that someplace else is,” Video, >click to read< 08:54
Bristol Bay Fisheries Report: July 20, 2021
Bristol Bay’s run is tantalizingly close to breaking the record for the largest run ever to return to the bay. The run of 62.7 million fish is currently the second-largest run ever, less than 200,000 behind the largest run of 2018.,,, What happened when Bristol Bay became a limited entry fishery? Bristol Bay and other fisheries around the state have operated under a limited entry permit system for almost half a century. In 1972, people in Alaska voted to amend the State Constitution,,, Izzy Ross sat down with Fred Terisi, who worked as a lawyer in Dillingham just as the system was implemented in the early 1970s. >click to read< 07:44
Dennis R. Toothaker, U.S. Army Veteran, retired Maine lobsterman, has passed away
Dennis R. Toothaker passed away on July 6, 2021, at Maine Medical Center in Portland. He was surrounded by his family. Dennis was born on August 5, 1943, in Brunswick. Dennis attended Brunswick High School and received his diploma. He served in the United States Army. He went to Ranger School and drove tanks. He also did burial duty and guard duty while stationed at Fort Benning, Georgia. He worked at Pejepscot Paper Mill. Dennis started lobstering at age nine. He was surprised at the age of 15 when Cliff Moody (due to illness) trusted Dennis to run his lobster boat for the summer. He enjoyed tuna fishing and caught two tunas in a skiff. He retired as a lobsterman. >click to read< 21:26
Too Few Tuna! Commercial season off to standard slow start
Safe Coast Seafoods and Ilwaco Landing each recorded their first offload of the 2021 commercial tuna season Monday, July 12 in Ilwaco. Landings have been slow to start the season, fishermen and processors reported, which is par for the course. August has historically been the month with the heaviest commercial tuna landings for Oregon and Washington, with the season wrapping up around October, depending on weather. “It’s a pretty typical start with fish scattered and in low numbers, but we are encouraged that the water temperature and sea life look more typical and are in good shape to hold large numbers (of tuna) as they come in,” >7 photos, click to read< 18:49
SEA-NL accuses federal Fisheries Minister of favouritism. Demands an apology.
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) demands the federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans apologize for showing favouritism to her home province – describing Nova Scotia as “leading the way” in Canada’s seafood sector. “Bernadette Jordan needs to be reminded she’s the Minister for all of Canada – not just Nova Scotia,” says Ryan Cleary, interim Executive Director of SEA-NL, a new and distinct voice for the province’s licensed, owner-operator inshore harvesters. “Premier Andrew Furey himself must ask the Minister whether her goal is to lead the way for jobs and more fish to leave Newfoundland and Labrador,” said Cleary. “It’s time the Furey administration took a stand for the wild commercial fisheries.” >click to read< 14:49
RCMP check of U.S. fishing vessel in B.C. led to multiple weapon seizures and a U.S. warrant arrest.
The crew of an RCMP Shiprider vessel, boats that have been enforcing the Quarantine Act and Customs Act since the pandemic began, came across a 54-foot fishing vessel about two nautical miles from the border near Moresby Island on June 23, according to police. The captain and three occupants told police they were travelling from Seattle to Alaska to fish. Police directed the boat and crew to Bedwell Harbour for inspection from the Canadian Border Services Agency where undeclared prohibited firearms and parts along with unrestricted firearms were found. During the inspection, officers found one of the individuals was found to have a U.S. felony warrant for drug-related charges. >click to read< 13:17
Underwater gliders will monitor North Atlantic right whales in the Gulf of St. Lawrence
The newest glider will carry a hydrophone, which can identify the calls of right whales and report their locations,,, “There is no one way to effectively determine where the whales are at any given moment when they are in the Gulf of St. Lawrence,” Fred Whoriskey said, “So we need to start blending our approaches.” Aerial surveillance is only good on sunny days with few waves, he said, adding that hydrophones mounted on fixed buoys have their limitations. “This year we are deploying gliders into the shipping channels,” he said. “They go down, listen and detect whale calls and come up to the surface periodically and broadcast information whether there are whales there or not.” >click to read< 11:25
The fishing war over Brexit has begun! Norway races to catch fish before they reach UK waters.
The fishing war over Brexit has begun! Norway is racing to catch fish before they reach UK waters. According to rumors, BREXIT would trigger a fishing competition among Norwegian trawlers as the Scandinavians strive to collect as many mackerel and herring as possible before migrating to British waters. Northern European fishermen are no longer allowed to fish up to the UK’s 12-mile coastline border under post-Brexit laws. As a result, Norwegian boats are racing to grab their catch before the salmon migrate west in September. N-TV, a German television station, has prophesied an impending “herring and mackerel race” between Norway and the United Kingdom. >click to read< 10:14
British Columbia: Fishermen left high and dry over sudden DFO closures, financial relief needed.
Gord Johns, NDP MP for Courtenay-Alberni, is calling on the federal Minister of Fisheries and Oceans to provide immediate relief to salmon harvesters following the sudden announcement by her department to close 60 percent of commercial salmon fisheries on the west coast of British Columbia. “This decision has blindsided fish harvesters, many of whom have already heavily invested in fishing equipment and supplies for the season and now face financial hardship,” Johns wrote in a letter to the minister, Bernadette Jordan. >click to read< 09:10
You don’t need five shirtless dudes to catch a big fish. One badass woman can get the job done.
If I want to be as badass as Michelle Bancewicz Cicale from Seabrook, I have some work to do. But hey, you gotta start somewhere! Michelle has been fishing most of her life. Like most things, if you implement the three P’s, practice, patience, and persistence you are bound to get better at it. In 2015 she started fishing mostly for tuna and in 2019 she bought her own boat. The FV No Limits. “No Limits” seems like an appropriate name for Michelle’s boat. ESPECIALLY after she reeled in this monster of a Blue Fin on her first solo venture! photo’s,>click to read< 07:43
Queensland’s scallop industry in doubt
Fisheries Queensland says recent figures show scallop numbers are in serious decline with the biomass, or the amount that can be fished, dropping to 12 per cent of 1977 levels. But Queensland Seafood Industry Association treasurer and scallop fisherman Kevin Reibel said completely closing the fishery would be devastating to south-east Queensland communities. >click to read< 22:00
Southeast commercial salmon season off to slow start
Commercial net fishing for salmon in Southeast is off to a poor start in much of the region. Returns for most species are not meeting forecasts, which weren’t very high in the first place. With some exceptions, it hasn’t been a very encouraging start to the salmon season. “I guess for both net fisheries, gillnet and seine, we’re looking at poor chum salmon catches and poor sockeye catches and yet to be determined for pink salmon,” said Troy Thynes, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s management coordinator for commercial fisheries in the region. >click to read< 18:21
Our Lobsterman Toby Burnham Catches A Rare Blue Lobster! Of course, The world is going crazy!
He came in to Capt. Joe’s & Sons Inc to take pictures and is releasing it back to the ocean. The lobster is quite an eye catcher, but, Toby Burnham’s mustache? Wow! THAT is absolutely stunning! Photos, and links to other emerging press, located along the sidebar on the page, like CBS News National Morning Show Carries the Blue Lobster Story >click to read< 16:08
A Fisherman clung onto mooring ball in Hampton Harbor for an hour and a half this morning
A fisherman who ended up in the ocean water at Hampton Harbor while transitioning from his skiff to his vessel was clinging to a mooring ball during an outgoing tide when he was rescued by firefighters early Monday morning. Hampton Fire Chief Michael McMahon said the man was a crew member on a fishing boat and his skiff got away from him. Emergency rescue crews were called to the scene at 1:38 a.m. >click to read< 14:08
How Might Fish Farms Be Affecting the Lobster? Let us count the ways.
“There is a tremendous amount of waste generated by fish farms,” Milewski says. “I don’t think people have a sense of the scale.” A fairly typical farm of about 600,000 fish will generate around 40 tonnes of waste every month during its 22-month production cycle. “It’s understandable how that waste can change lobsters’ behavior, distribution, and abundance,” she adds. But the review also identified serious gaps in our understanding of the interactions between aquaculture operations and lobsters. While some aspects, such as the use of chemical pesticides, have been well studied, information on others, including waste discharges, disease, and noise, are limited or entirely lacking. >click to read< 11:02
Bristol Bay Fisheries Report: July 18, 2021
We’re on the edge of a record year – 61.3 million salmon have returned to Bristol Bay waters. The previous record was set in 2018 with a whopping 62.9 million salmon. Will 2021 be the year we break records once more? Messages to the Fleet – To: Capt. Brent Cathey on the F/V Independence. Hey Fluffy Buns. Please tell Matt Hakela that I still can’t find the pumpkin spice beard oil he wanted, so I’m sending some of your extra Rosewater Mustache Wax. Such a good thing you order it by the case! Finished up the bedazzling on all your work clothes. I’m cleaning closets next. Do you mind if I donate your Barbra Streisand and Spice Girls CDs? I need to make room for my Waylon and Cash collection. Miss you like crazy! From Montana Chick, audio, >click to listen or read< 10:12
