Monthly Archives: October 2021
Hurricane Ida: Float the Boat Program offers help to local commercial fishermen
The Helio Foundation, a local community service group that has provided monetary support and other resources for residents down the bayou in Terrebonne Parish, is expanding their efforts with the Float the Boat Program. The program aims to provide monetary assistance for independent commercial fishermen in need of assistance with a boat that was sunk or needs to be moved in Terrebonne Parish due to Hurricane Ida. >click to read< 11:12
Florida Keys commercial fishermen caught with over 100 undersized lobsters
Three commercial fishermen working in the Florida Keys are facing felony conservation charges after state wildlife officers say they caught them with almost 130 undersized wrung spiny lobster tails on their boat Saturday night. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers said they caught the men as they were selling their catch to a fish house owner near Coral Key in the Middle Keys around 6 p.m. The men were still being held in Monroe County jail Monday night on a bond of $50,550 each. >click to read< 10:03
Quebec joins Nova Scotia in seeking historical share of redfish quota
Companies from Quebec hold a little under one-third of the offshore quota, while it’s around 50 per cent in Nova Scotia. The fishery was effectively shut down to protect the species in 1995. However, a now booming population is about to set off a huge harvest in an area known as Unit 1, which encompasses the Gulf of St. Lawrence and portions of the Cabot Strait. Quebec said it’s essential for the federal government to maintain the historical share of quota when large-scale fishing resumes in several years, even if the industry there is not ready. >click to read< 09:14
Skipper of stricken Banff boat thanks those involved in Shetland rescue
The 85ft Banff-registered Enterprise II suffered engine failure and began taking on water about 60 miles west of Sumburgh on Thursday. Force eight winds added to the choppy conditions – making it hard for nearby vessels to get the boat, which had six crew onboard, under tow. Now skipper James Lovie has thanked the coastguard, RNLI Aith and vessels that came to their aid and finally got them back to safety., “We appreciate greatly all those who were involved, and helped get us back to shore.” >click to read< 07:28
Commercial Fisherman Stephen Witwicki, 58, of Boothbay, Maine, has passed away
Stephen Witwicki, 58, of Boothbay, passed away peacefully at his home on Thursday, Oct. 7, 2021, surrounded by his loving family and friends after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. There wasn’t a commercial fishing job he didn’t do, but lobstering was his calling. He owned his own boat, which he named Pearl, and worked for himself, as well as working for Shafmasters out of Portsmouth, N.H., on and off for many years. If a there was a job on the water, Steve wanted it. Steve even went swordfishing out of Gloucester, Mass., on the Hannah Boden,,, >click to read< 21:52
Oregon: State regulators rushing to catch up on market squid fishery
If Joe Mulkey could fish for market squid year-round, he would. The emerging Oregon fishery ticks a lot of boxes for the commercial fisherman from Reedsport: the use of seine gear and electronics, and, of course, the recent profitability. In the past five years, the market squid fishery has moved from almost nonexistent to booming. Now boats that would normally fish for squid in California’s Monterey Bay have headed north and Oregon fishermen are seeing new opportunities in local waters, hunting the small, short-lived animals. >click to read< 18:55
Daughter continues work of father lost at sea on Maine fishing boat
In January 2020, the 42-foot fishing boat Hayley Ann sank 50 miles southeast of Portland. The Coast Guard never determined what happened. No distress call was sent. Only an automated emergency beacon alerted them to the tragedy. The disaster claimed the lives of Capt. Arnold “Joe” Nickerson, 60, of Arundel and his crewman, 44-year-old Christopher Pinkham of Boothbay Harbor. >click to read< 15:58
SEA-NL calls on Premier to draw line in sand for province’s inshore fleet over Gulf redfish
SEA-NL is calling on Premier Andrew Furey to take a stand for the province’s inshore fleet to ensure the sector is the primary beneficiary of the adjacent and exploding redfish stock in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. “Redfish could be to the inshore fleet what Hibernia was to the oil industry, but Premier Furey must draw a line in the sand to get us there,” says Ryan Cleary, interim Executive Director of Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador. >click to read< 13:17
Where to, struggling small-scale fishers? – “Fishing communities are in crisis”
Ousted from their homes in District 6 during the apartheid era, many of South Africa’s fishing families were re-located to places like Saldanha, Gansbaai and Kalk Bay to continue their craft. One such family were the Fortunes, now headed by Ishmael Fortune, a third generation fisherman,,, Up until 1994, quota systems regulated who got what, with expensive resources set as a condition on which allocation rights would be distributed. On September 1, 1998, the Marine Living Resources Act came into operation. Although having the right intentions, several contestable issues were highlighted, like a “balance between the rights of the individual rights-holder and those of the State.” >click to read< 12:27
U.S., Canadian Coast Guards respond to container vessel near the Strait of Juan de Fuca
The U.S. Coast Guard and Canadian Coast Guard responded to a container vessel that lost 40 containers during heavy weather Friday 40 miles from the Strait of Juan de Fuca. U.S. Coast Guard Sector Puget Sound received notification from Prince Rupert Marine Communication and Traffic Services at 12:49 a.m. Friday that the shipping vessel Zim Kingston reported losing approximately 40 containers overboard when the vessel heeled 35 degrees in heavy swells 38 miles west of the Strait of Juan de Fuca. The lost containers were initially reported to be general containers with no dangerous cargo. >click to read< 11:15
A year ago violence erupted in the lobster fishery, “moderate livelihood” fishery status unresolved
One year ago, confrontation and violence upended the normally business-like commercial lobster season in St. Mary’s Bay and Lobster Fishing Area 35 in southwest Nova Scotia. Tensions between Indigenous and non-Indigenous fishermen in the bay had erupted in several dangerous boat-ramming incidents.,, But a full year later, as the wheels of justice turn ever so slowly, none of those charged have entered a plea. Before we examine how that happened, it’s worth noting some updates in the troubled fishery. >click to read< 10:07
How much have things not changed?!! BIG BOAT vs small boat
I really dislike the issues of big boat vs small boat, and single boat owner vs multi boat owner. Were it only that simple!,,, Lately for many, it’s become a simple wish for survival. For some others, it’s a case of how much of it can I own or control? When it comes to big and small boats all fishermen know, and should be the first to admit; that when at sea in a storm, there is no such thing as a “big” boat. At least not at that point in time! It’s often said that size doesn’t matter, but in the case of the NE Catch Shares/Sector (CS) program it does seem to be a factor in the early period of this ill-conceived management plan. By Jim Kendall, Oct. 18, 2011 >click to read< 08:57
Blown Away: Tucker Carlson Exposes How Wind Energy Is Destroying Landscapes, Jobs
In the episode, “Blown Away: The People Vs Wind Power,” Carlson and his production crew uncover the human cost of wind energy, traveling across the country to find out how turbines have the capability to decimate wildlife and, in turn, peoples livelihood. Three months into his presidency, Joe Biden issued permits to foreign companies for a massive 160,000-acre wind farm, known as Vineyard Wind 1, off the coast of Rhode Island. Rather than tinker with Barack Obama’s scenic view in Martha’s Vineyard, the government decided to place the wind farm 15 miles off the coast. The area is home to one of the most productive fisheries in the country. video, >click to read<. a little more >here<15:01
Great ‘Green’ Job Hoax: Only China Profits From Making Wind Turbines & Solar Panels
The promise of thousands of jobs building wind turbines and solar panels is a renewable energy mantra; there are – but only in China. China itself is building nuclear power plants and hundreds more coal-fired power plants, as if its economic livelihood depends on it. Meanwhile, in those Western countries foolish enough to attempt to run on sunshine and breezes, those few jobs that did materialise are fast disappearing. However, as laid out below, don’t expect any meaningful or lasting employment. Unless, of course, you’re a Uighur slave building solar panels in a factory somewhere hidden in China. >click to read< 12:26
Shipwrecked Scalloper at Outer Banks set for removal
Officials say that work will soon begin to remove a shipwreck at the Outer Banks. A scallop boat called F/V Ocean Pursuit, also known as Cameron Scott, ran aground March 1, 2020, and is now deep in the sand. The crew was rescued. A dredging company from Buxton will begin a nearly $300,000 project on Monday, video, >click to read< 11:10
Gulf of Maine: Whale scientists fire back – Marine biologists disagree with a judge’s decision
Lobster industry professionals, elected officials and now a federal judge have expressed doubts as to whether the National Marine Fisheries Service used the best available science in imposing the closure, and whether the whales even frequent the area. They all argue that the statistical modeling used by federal regulators leaves much to be desired. Sean Todd, a marine biologist and director of Allied Whale, a marine mammal research group located at the College of the Atlantic in Bar Harbor, disagrees with both the decision to block the closure and the claim that there are insufficient data to justify it. >click to read< 09:27
Shrimpin’ Ain’t Easy
Miss Marilyn Louise, a third-generation commercial fisherwoman, is one of the largest contributors to the seafood supply chain coming through Mayport Inlet. The lifelong resident of Mayport Fishing Village walked me through what it’s like to live a life sustained by the ocean. As a child, Miss Marilyn learned to run shrimp boats from her father and grandfather. She’s since passed her knowledge and experience on to her own children, having taken her son out shrimping with her when he was only 11 days old, noting he had sea legs before he could walk on land. >click to read< 07:56
Opinion: Federal rules are sinking Maine’s lobster industry
As a lifelong Maine lobsterman, I understand the inherent dangers of my job. I keep watch on the forecast knowing that sudden weather changes can make the difference between a successful day at work and putting my crew’s life at risk. These days, however, the hazard posed by Mother Nature does not compare with the perfect storm of regulations coming out of Washington that threaten my job, our way of life and may eventually sink a fishery that has supported communities and generations of families here in Maine. By Kristan Porter >click to read< 15:18
Delcambre Shrimper Looses Boat, Livelihood and Dignity As Provider
For every hurricane during the past 40-years Preston Dore has rode out the storms at the Delcambre docks on his shrimp boat. After Katrina, Gustav, Isaac and a host of others, both he and the boat have walked away mostly unscathed. Hurricane Ida was different. The storm has cost him his boat, his livelihood and has stripped away his dignity as a provider for his family. Unlike previous hurricanes his current boat, the Demi Rae named after his 7-year-old daughter, was not in its Delcambre berth, but in a Chauvin dry-dock,,, The boat was an easy target for the storm’s 170-mph winds as it passed over bayou after bayou ripping the heart out of Louisiana’s seafood industry. >click to read< Donate to the Gulf Seafood Foundation’ “Helping Hands” for Hurricane Ida by clicking the “Donate” button. 11:47
It was a Fine #FishyFriday morning in Newlyn
Big shift in the weather this morning as strong winds and heavy skies give way to patches of blue and light winds… lots of fish, and photos! >click to read< 10:24
Delegation, Mills Urge Commerce Secretary to Rescind Right Whale Rule and Protect Lobster Fishery
Following the U.S. District Court of Maine’s order blocking the Lobster Management Area (LMA) 1 restricted area closure, which is a component of the National Marine Fisheries Service’s flawed and unfair Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Rule, U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King, Representatives Chellie Pingree and Jared Golden, and Governor Janet Mills sent a letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. In their bipartisan letter, the Maine Delegation and Governor Mills applauded the U.S. District Court of Maine’s decision halting the enforcement of the LMA 1 closure and urged Secretary Raimondo to use her authorities to immediately resolve the rule’s many shortcomings. >click to read< 09:16
NPFMC wrestles with crab crisis – Disagreement in industry on expanding red king crab savings area
Commercial crab crews normally embarked on the Bristol Bay red king crab fishery are on the docks this October, with their fishery closed for lack of sufficient stocks, while federal fishery managers ponder how to restore the abundance required for the harvest to resume in coming seasons. During its October meeting, held virtually because of the ongoing pandemic, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council voted to request an analysis on likely impacts of expanding the red king crab savings area through emergency rule to shift the northern boundary from,,, >click to read< 08:15
Brexit, an “ocean of possibilities”? British fishermen mixed
A heavy weather warning was announced this weekend in the North Sea. Rain and wind are already sweeping Peterhead and its pink granite dwellings. Located in the east of Scotland, the UK’s largest fishing port in terms of fish caught sees its boats returning for shelter. Except Peter Bruce, who will stay at sea until the last moment. ” We use so much gasoline to reach the whitefish fishing grounds that it is not financially worthwhile to come back for six to eight days.”,,, While Peter Bruce usually fills his holds with 50 tonnes of fish, he sometimes has to make do with 35 tonnes. Particularly since the 1is January. >click to read< 14:53
Captain medevac’d from commercial fishing vessel 40 miles off Baffin Bay
The U.S. Coast Guard medevaced a man from a fishing vessel 40 miles off Baffin Bay, Texas. Coast Guard Sector/Air Station Corpus Christi command center watchstanders received a medevac request via VHF-FM channel 16 at 5:23 a.m. from the fishing vessel F/V Jake M stating the vessel’s 58-year-old master was experiencing chest pains and an accelerated heart rate. photos, >click to read< 11:59
Keys Stone Crab: High Demand and Low Supply Equals Big Money
As one commercial fisherman colorfully put it, “I could catch more crabs on Duval Street right now than in the Florida Bay.” Understandably, Bill Kelly, the executive director of the Florida Keys Commercial Fisherman’s Association, expressed himself in a more understated way. “It’s not overwhelming, I can tell you that,” he told Keys Weekly about the 2021 stone crab harvest’s first weekend. Gary Graves, vice president at Marathon’s Keys Fisheries Market & Marina, which buys stone crabs from the commercial fisherman then sells them to the public, is a little more blunt. >click to read< 10:03
Misinformation Campaign: Twitter accounts tied to China lied that COVID came from Maine lobsters
Oxford researcher Marcel Schliebs first noticed the misinformation campaign when he saw a tweet from Zha Liyou, the Chinese consul general in Kolkata, India. The tweet by Liyou said: “Major suspect of covid via cold chain identified: A MU298 of Nov. 11, 2019 carrying food from Maine, US to Huanan Seafood Market, Wuhan, Hubei via Shanghai. During the next few weeks, many workers around moving this batch of seafood got infected.” >click to read< 07:50
Leadership – Famous fisherman reels in key leadership lessons
A man of the sea, Keith Colburn has a lot to offer landlocked leaders about staying calm as crises swirl.,,, His first gig? As a greenhorn on the F/V Alaska Trader, a 135-foot crabber/tender. “I went from the bilge to the bridge,” he says, referring to the bottom of a boat to the top. “I worked my way up from nothing. When I got to Alaska I didn’t have a thing.” In 1988 he became a full-share deckhand on the F/V Wizard. Two years later he moved from the deck to the pilot house. Two years after that he was named captain. Outside of performing well under pressure, Colburn refers frequently to the importance of communicating well as a leader. Colburn and I chatted a lot about leading under pressure, by Mark Gordon >click to read< 17:01
Results of probe into French trawler tragedy due in weeks
The conclusions of a British inquest into the 2004 sinking of a French trawler, which killed five people, will be delivered on November 5, the coroner said on Thursday. Judge Nigel Lickley has been hearing evidence since early October about how the Bugaled Breizh sank suddenly off Cornwall, southwest England, despite good weather. The bodies of two of the fishermen who died were recovered by British search and rescue teams. Lawyers for the victims’ families maintain that a submarine on exercises in the area at the time could have struck the boat and pulled it down. >click to read< 14:25
Coast Guard had earlier notice about California oil spill
The Coast Guard received multiple reports of a possible fuel spill off the Southern California coast earlier than previously disclosed and asked local authorities to investigate about 15 hours before its own personnel confirmed a large oil slick, which came from a leaking undersea pipeline, records show. The initial reports of a possible spill north of the Huntington Beach pier came into the Coast Guard about 5:30 p.m. on Oct. 1,,, The spill wasn’t confirmed until about 9 a.m. Saturday. >click to read< 13:11
Faced with crashing crab stocks, council looks to swiftly analyze closures and trawl impacts
As crab fishermen face a dire season in Western Alaska this year, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council is looking for quick analysis and the fleet is looking for more extensive closures to protect some crab stocks. Survey data has shown an approximately 90% drop in snow crab stocks since the last survey, pushing acceptable catch limits down, while the long-term decline of Bristol Bay red king crab has led to a complete closure in the fishery for the first time since 1994. The Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers Association, the trade group that represents the majority of crab harvesters in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands rationalization program, has estimated a $200 million loss for the fishery. >click to read< 11:12
