Monthly Archives: September 2021
Video: Coast Guard responds to 2 cases off of Nantucket
Coast Guard crews successfully medevaced a 47-year-old fisherman from the fishing vessel F/V Andrea A, and responded to a fishing vessel taking on water off the eastern shore of Nantucket, Massachusetts, Thursday. At 10:30, watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England Command Center were notified by the fishing vessel, Donny C, that they were taking on water approximately 110 nautical miles southeast of 
Nantucket. The vessel’s two dewatering pumps onboard were not keeping up with the flooding and the crew were making preparations to abandon ship. A Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew and HC-144A Ocean Sentry aircrew launched to assist and rescue the mariners. Coast Guard Cutter Escanaba (WMEC 907) was operating nearby and diverted to assist, along with fishing vessels F/V Blue Wave, and F/V Temptress. Video, >click to read< 13:11
Coast Guard rescues 2 from vessel on fire, taking on water 9 miles off Bulls Bay
A Coast Guard Station Charleston rescue crew saved two people after their fishing vessel caught fire and began taking on water approximately 9 miles east of Bulls Bay, Friday. The captain of the vessel, F/V Strictly Business, hailed Sector Charleston watchstanders via marine radio Channel 16 at 4:03 a.m., stating his 45-foot fishing vessel was on fire and taking on water. The captain activated his Emergency Position Indicating Radio Beacon (EPIRB) and switched to his satellite phone after losing communication on his VHF radio >click to read< 11:49
Peter Pan Seafoods to require employees to be vaccinated
A seafood processing company with operations in Alaska and Washington state will require its employees to be vaccinated,,, The policy will be enacted in tiers. The first tier includes employees at company headquarters in Bellevue, Washington; the Seattle warehouse; Alaska processing facilities in Valdez, Port Moller, Dillingham, and Alaska support centers in Dillingham, Sand Point and Naknek. >click to read< 09:54
Destin convoy: Brothers helping brothers ‘because we should’
Taking everything from generators to Gatorade, a group of Destin fishermen and others loaded up in the wee hours of Thursday morning and headed to Louisiana to help those in need after Category 4 Hurricane Ida ravaged the Gulf state. “We’re doing it because we should. They would do it for us,” said Capt. Travis Ream. Ream was one of 18 people in a nine-truck convoy of sorts, with two trailers in tow, that headed out Thursday at 3 a.m. to make the haul to Louisiana. “We’re a fishing community and 40% of our business comes out of Louisiana,” Krebs said. “We’re just like brothers … we’re all in this together.” >click to read< 08:34
Maine lobster industry rocked by new, unworkable federal regulations
New federal regulations created to protect the endangered right whale will close off a nearly 1,000 square mile strip in the Gulf of Maine to lobstering,,, “I was contacted yesterday by someone from the media to ask me about the closure, and that was the first I heard of a closure because a closure wasn’t even on the table for us. It wasn’t even supposed to be thought of and then, all of a sudden, Joe Biden just decided he needed to close a big area of ocean. It came as a surprise to everybody. It came as a surprise to the fishermen, it came as a surprise to everybody in the state of Maine, every politician. No one saw this 950 square mile closure coming,” Rep. Billy Bob Faulkingham said. >click to read< 07:29
Political parties differ dramatically on moderate livelihood response
The major parties vying to replace the Liberals at Canada’s helm both promise a dramatic course change on the moderate livelihood fishery file. But it would be in very different directions. With the Liberal share of the popular vote,31.4 per cent as of Thursday, compared to the Conservatives with 33.7 per cent, and the NDP, with 20.2 per cent, there is a potential for a sea change on the most high profile issue to come out of this province in recent years. An NDP government would allow moderate livelihood and treaty based fisheries to continue or be launched,,, A Conservative government would take a harder line with First Nations, according to incumbent West Nova MP Chris D’Entremont. >click to read< 17:50
Fishing for votes: parties don’t have much to say about wild fisheries (other than B.C. salmon)
Three of the country’s mainstream federal parties – Liberals, Conservatives and NDP – specifically mention Pacific salmon in their election platforms, but no mention of East Coast stocks. Here’s the skinny on what the parties have to say about commercial fisheries. Liberal platform: You’ll find mention of Canada’s commercial fisheries on Page 50 in the Cleaner, Greener Future chapter,,, Conservative platform: Fisheries gets its own heading on Page 36 of the federal Conservative platform, and starts off strong with this statement,,, NDP platform: Fisheries is found under the Building Canadian Industries and Supporting Good Jobs section on page 38,,, >click to read< 15:11
Chiefs in N.B. say DFO officers ignoring fishing rights
Indigenous chiefs in New Brunswick say the federal Fisheries Department is preventing members of the St. Mary’s First Nation from feeding their families after officers last week seized a lobster fishing boat operating in the Bay of Fundy. Canada is ignoring Indigenous rights to fish for food, social and ceremonial purposes and to a livelihood fishery, the six chiefs of the Wolastoqey Nation said Wednesday in a news release. “St. Mary’s First Nation members are being prevented from feeding their families by DFO enforcement, and at the same time DFO seems intent on escalating the situation,” the chiefs wrote. “This is creating dangerous conditions for everyone on the water.” >click to read< 12:06
Unexpected Changes – Backlash from lobster industry and elected officials on restrictions, closures
Barry Baudanza hadn’t had the chance to fully absorb all the changes headed his way after federal officials announced new rules governing the lobster industry the day before, but he knew one thing right off the bat: “This was the worst-case scenario.” But lobstermen, the fishing industry and elected officials are pushing back. They say the new rules will be expensive, dangerous, burdensome and impractical, and won’t reduce the risk to whales. And despite lobstermen’s concerns and protestations that they aren’t even seeing right whales in Maine waters, conservationists argue that the plan does not go far enough to protect the critically endangered animals. >click to read< 10:07
16 proposed laws that could be on the Massachusetts ballot in 2022 – # 10, Proposed by a conservationist known as the “Prince of Whales,” the ballot question would “ban the use of commercial fishing gear likely to entangle whales and sea turtles.” State officials would have to determine exactly which gear falls into that category, but anything that “employs vertical buoy ropes or gill nets would be prohibited.” >click to read<
It’s Very Bad. Incredible Hurricane Ida’s remnants swamp Northeast; at least 8 deaths linked to flooding
The remnants of Hurricane Ida dumped historic rain over New York City, with at least nine deaths linked to flooding in the region, as it swamped subway cars and submerged vehicles and homes. Catastrophic weather came to the largest city in the U.S. after a grim two weeks across the nation that has seen 20 dead in flooding in a small Tennessee town, wildfires threatening Lake Tahoe, Tropical Storm Henri in the Northeast and Ida’s landfall in Louisiana, which left 1 million people without power, maybe for weeks. Earlier Wednesday, the storm blew through the mid-Atlantic states with at least two tornadoes, heavy winds and drenching rains,,, >click to read< 08:09
Fisherman saved by OSU research vessel when his fishing vessel went down in heavy seas
Frank Akers, 70-year-old owner and operator of the 50-foot F/V Lanola, said he was about 38 miles west of Newport heading eastbound in heavy seas at about 10 p.m. on Aug. 28, when the first of a series of waves collided with his vessel, giving him only minutes to escape. Akers said he believes the first wave that struck the vessel had a log in it because he heard a crash. After the second wave hit, he looked back and saw his stern go under. His bilge alarms went off and he radioed a mayday call. >click to read< 21:06
Hurricane Ida Donations and Relief for Lafourche Parish – Overwhelming number of requests to donate
Lafourche Parish officials have received an overwhelming number of requests for the best avenues to donate to the Hurricane Ida relief efforts. Parish officials have already begun working with local non-profit organizations to help funnel donations to the community. Bless Your Heart Nonprofit Corporation will be accepting monetary donations as well as items such as cleaning supplies, non-perishable food items, water, industrial garbage bags, toiletries, baby items, and wasp spray. Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Houma-Thibodaux is also coordinating donations of food, supplies, and money, as well as volunteers. >click to read< 17:37
From the Office of Governor Janet T. Mills – A Letter to the Lobster Industry
In Letter to Lobster Industry, Governor Mills Calls Right Whale Rule “Extremely Disappointing” & Pledges to Work with Maine’s Congressional Delegation to Fight It. – September 1, 2021. In the wake of yesterday’s National Marine Fisheries Service’s Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Rule, Governor Janet Mills last night sent a letter to Maine’s lobster industry expressing solidarity with them and calling the rule “extremely disappointing”. In the letter to Maine’s lobster harvesters, dealers, and processors, Governor Mills pledges to work with Maine’s Congressional Delegation to determine the best way to address the industry’s and administration’s concerns: >click to read< 14:24
Captain Sig Hansen on riding out the Coronavirus pandemic on the Bering Sea – What a Time to be Alive.
F/V Northwestern Captain Sig Hansen says at the height of the pandemic, he and the crews felt “blessed,” because their work was deemed essential. “I’ve had friends that are on other fishing vessels that literally did not leave their boats for eight to nine months, they could not step on land,” “The state of Alaska, we went through our own COVID regulations. You’ve got federal, state, and then every harbor has its own set of regulations as well. So, quite honestly, we were so fortunate to be able to go out there and go to work, you know.” video trailer, >click to read< Deadliest Catch airs tonight at 8 p.m. on Discovery 13:18
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 72′ Stacked Wheelhouse Trawler, Cat 3412E, State and Federal Permits
To review specifications, information, and >102 photo’s click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here< 11:23
Coast Guard Aids Commercial Fishing Vessel Taking On Water Off LBI
A crew from Coast Guard Station Barnegat Light aided the commercial fishing vessel F/V Relentless after it took on water just outside the Barnegat Inlet off Long Beach Island Sunday afternoon. The family owned and operated 74-foot East Coast scalloper/dragger is based out of Viking Village in Barnegat Light, Boatswain’s Mate Second Class Philip Augustino, who piloted the 47-foot motor lifeboat, said the station received a call directly from the fishing boat captain at 12:30 p.m. on Aug. 29. When they arrived on the scene, the boat had already taken on about 3 feet of water in the engine room. >click to read< 09:48
Troll catch for chum salmon in Sitka Sound hits new record
The troll fishery for chum salmon in Sitka Sound has gone from looking pretty dismal to record-setting, almost overnight. A surge of hatchery-produced, fall chum has been pushing catch rates for trollers into numbers normally seen by the net fisheries. The troll catch for chum hit a new record last Friday, with almost half a million fish, about 50,000 more than the old record set in 2013. And the fishing isn’t over yet. Even more extraordinary is the turnaround in chum this year, from zero to hero. June and July were bad, and then August came. >click to read< 08:28
