Monthly Archives: October 2021
Fishery Closures and the Ghosts of Past Mistakes
The news spread quickly across the calm June waters off the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, as fishers jumped on the radio to figure out what had just happened. The radio chatter was incessant as fishers wondered aloud where they’d be allowed to fish, if they would be out of business, and what the future would hold. “Everyone was freaking out because all of those questions were unanswered,” Christian says, adding this policy will likely end British Columbia’s commercial salmon industry.,, Under the PSSI, DFO plans to close 57 percent of the 138 Pacific salmon fisheries along the west coast of British Columbia and Yukon. >click to read< 10:06
Reaching Out
I am Kimberly Jo Scott and I am looking for my cousin Wayne Willet. 6 years ago we lost contact. He has lived and worked in Newport for the last 30 years. Mostly on boats. There has been a family emergency and so I need to get ahold of him. Please let me know if you have a contact for him or pass my contact information onto him. Thank you so much, I greatly appreciate any information. My number is 541)321-1029
Access: Fight over emerging redfish fishery amps up as offshore sector bites back
In a highly managed media event staged at Memorial University’s Signal Hill campus, officials from the Atlantic Groundfish Council, which represents more than 100 offshore groundfish licence holders in Atlantic Canada, and Ocean Choice International, fought back against what they say is an attack that threatens the livelihood of people linked to the offshore sector. “It’s time this attack stops. It’s negative. It’s divisive and it’s not good for the province,” said Martin Sullivan, CEO and co-owner of Ocean Choice International,,, >click to read< 07:51
U.S. Coast Guard medevacs a fisherman from a crab boat 200 miles southwest of Dutch Harbor
The Coast Guard medevaced a man from a fishing boat Tuesday approximately 200 miles southwest of Dutch Harbor. A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Air Station Kodiak hoisted an injured fisherman from the 117-foot, commercial fishing vessel F/V Patricia Lee at about 11:50 p.m. He was flown to Dutch Harbor and placed in the care of LifeMed personnel. >video, click to read< 20:39
Bootstrapping – How Lowell Wakefield Made Crab King
While king crab fishing is among the most dangerous and lucrative activities in the world, it is only recent technology that makes it possible to extract this bounty from the sea,,, This has not always been the case. What is now known around the world as a culinary delicacy did not start out that way. In fact, before the mid-1940s, there were no king crab fishermen, no king crab fishing boats, and nothing that could be called a king crab industry. King crab legs simply were not widely consumed before the Second World War. Essentially, this industry was created through an evolutionary process executed by one man and his company, Lowell Wakefield and Wakefield Seafoods, Inc. A chronology of entrepreneurship. >click to read< 17:30
NEFMC Endorses 2022 U.S./Canada TACs; Discusses Groundfish Framework 63
During its late-September 2021 meeting, the New England Fishery Management Council agreed by consensus to accept the U.S./Canada Transboundary Management Guidance Committee’s (TMGC) total allowable catch (TAC) recommendations for three shared groundfish resources on Georges Bank. These involve Eastern Georges Bank cod, Eastern Georges Bank haddock, and Georges Bank yellowtail flounder. The TMGC recommended the TACs based on advice from the U.S./Canada Transboundary Resources Assessment Committee (TRAC). >click to read< 14:34
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 65′ Fiberglass Longliner, with Federal Permits
To review specifications, information, with 8 photos, >click here< , To see all the boats in this series >click here< 12:35
Dungeness Crab Season Could be Delayed Again this Year – The push for pop-up gear systems
This year, according to NMFS data, there have been 16 confirmed whale entanglements along the West Coast through Sept. 30. That includes 10 humpback whales, four gray whales, one fin whale and a minke whale; 11 other reports could not be verified. The vast majority of these reports came from waters along California. The California Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group, known informally as the Whale Working Group, was created in September 2015 and is made up of industry players, government officials and environmentalists looking for solutions. >click to read< 09:53
Fishermen cited for trespassing at Amagansett’s Truck Beach
Fourteen East Hampton Town fishermen were cited for trespassing on an Amagansett beach on Sunday during an act of civil disobedience they hope will serve as a test case for beach access rights. Attorney Dan Rodgers said he will represent those who were issued summonses when they return to town justice court on Oct. 27 and will argue they were allowed to be there. “I can tell you this, the baymen and women that I represent are going to fight like hell,,, >click to read< 08:51
After Epic Fish Fight, Seabrook Woman Reels in a Massive Bluefin
If I want to be a bona fide badass like 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. “No Limits” seems like an appropriate name for Michelle’s boat.
>click to read< 07:37
2021 Irish Groundfish Survey Set for Later This Month
The annual Irish Groundfish Survey (IGFS) for 2021 will be carried out by the Marine Institute off the North West, West and South Coasts of Ireland from Saturday 30 October to Tuesday 14 December. The IGFS is a demersal trawl survey consisting of approximately 170 fishing hauls of 30-minute duration each in ICES areas VIa, VIIb, VIIg and VIIj. >click to read< 06:36
Former Challenger Becomes Becomes New Harvest Moon
Skipper James Third and his son AJ Third have bought the twin-rig prawn trawler Challenger FR 90, renaming her Harvest Moon FR 366. The vessel was built in 2010 by Parkol Marine Engineering to an SC McAllister design for Martin and Chaz Bruce and their late father Alistair Bruce of Fuimus LLP of Fraserburgh. The vessel has main dimensions of 19m LOA, beam 7m and 4.24 moulded depth, and a Caterpillar C32 main engine. >click to read< 13:03
Maine lobster rules should be based on real-world data – the government needs more than guesswork
The people involved in the Maine lobster fishery got a reprieve from new federal whale protection rules last week. U.S. District Court Judge Lance Walker ruled Saturday that the Maine Lobstering Union had successfully shown that a temporary ban on fishing would cause some of their members “irreparable harm.” Walker found that the government scientists failed to show that the rules would protect any whales, or even that there would be any North Atlantic right whales in protected areas to benefit from a closure. >click to read< 10:55
Oregon F&W Commission adopts 1st Dungeness Crab FMP to be developed on the West Coast
The Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission has adopted regulations for implementing the Oregon Dungeness Crab Fishery Management Plan. The FMP describes the status of Dungeness crab and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife management of two commercial crab fisheries, bay and ocean, and the recreational crab fishery in the bays and ocean. While the majority of regulations are already in place for the management described in the FMP,,, >click to read< 10:01
What was life like for fishermen in the 19th century?
We have a proud and rich heritage here in Suffolk, there’s no doubt about that. If you head out to the coast, you’ll find some amazing stories and tales going back centuries. In particular, Southwold is a place where fishing has been practised for 1,000 years. And one local man has spent decades working on his debut book, ‘Shorelines: Voices of Southwold Fishermen’, exploring the cultural and historical significance of the longshore fisherman that once populated the settlement. >photos, click to read< , out now and available from Black Dog Books. 08:45
‘Safety culture’ among fishermen sees fewer accidents, lower insurance
Premiums have fallen 57 per cent since 2015, creating $12 million in annual savings for the industry, but while lower rates reflect an increased focus on safety and fewer accidents, fatalities are still occurring. Last week, the captain of the Miss Janet went missing from the fishing boat off southwestern Nova Scotia. His body was recovered off the coast of Yarmouth.,, There has been no shortage of serious incidents in the past 12 months, including the death of all six men on board the scallop dragger Chief William Saulis,,, >click to read< 07:50
Experts Slam Biden’s Plan To Build Taxpayer-Funded Offshore Wind Farms
Energy experts criticized President Joe Biden’s plan to prioritize wind farms, arguing wind power is costly, inefficient, and indirectly produces greenhouse gas emissions.,, On average, however, offshore wind produces just 45% of its energy capacity,,, “It is amazing that they’re touting wind at the very time when the EU is going through an energy crisis, in which they’re shutting down factories, fertilizer production, agricultural processing because their wind isn’t working,” ,,,“That the Biden administration is out there touting it and we want to go in the same direction they’ve gone in, I don’t know, you can’t make this stuff up,” >click to read< 21:08 Britain to Downgrade Renewables, Embrace Nuclear Power – In the wake of Britain’s recent catastrophic wind drought, the Boris Johnson administration appears set to embrace nuclear power as their main strategy for achieving net zero. >click to read<
How Valuable Is FishNet-USA?
The question should actually be “how much is FishNet USA worth to you?” I’ve been writing stuff for the commercial fishing industry for over three decades. That’s a lot of words, and I suspect that no one who is on the present distribution list, who has read my columns in National Fishermen or on Saving Seafood, or has FishNet issues forwarded to them from someone on the list has not benefitted from some of them. Thanks to the Covid mess, and also thanks to what seemed to me to be some philosophical differences between me and some prior sponsors who were part of a commercial fishing consortium that was trying to get into the windmill business, my industry support has dwindled down to the point where the funds coming in just about cover my internet/telecommunications costs. Unlike just about all of our domestic fisheries, this is not sustainable. >click to read< By Nils Stolpe 16:26
An inside look at Seattle’s fishing industry
This unique network of professionals, ranging from shipbuilders to pipe fitters to marine electricians and more helps fuel the local economy and offers a range of career options. When fishing fleets, based at the Port of Seattle’s Terminal 91 on the Seattle waterfront in Interbay, return laden with their catch, a single ship might carry fillet blocks, loin blocks, surimi, roe, fish meal and fish oil, says Kelli Goodwin, senior manager, Maritime Operations at the Port of Seattle. These products are separated and loaded into export carriers, on-site freezer cold storage, rail cars (for fish oil) or long-haul trucks for domestic distribution. “The next fish stick or fish fillet sandwich you eat, likely was caught by a vessel that calls Seattle home,” >click to read< 14:05
RCAF marks 20th anniversary of the Cormorant
On the Oct. 11, 2021, the Royal Canadian Air Force’s CH-149 Cormorant fleet of AW101 helicopters celebrated 20 years since the aircraft’s initial delivery to Comox, British Columbia. This significant milestone compliments the fleet’s recent achievement of 100,000 flight hours. Since delivery of the CH-149 Cormorant helicopters, the Royal Canadian Air Force has been performing thousands of life saving missions throughout Canada, from the peaks of snowy windswept mountains, the east and west maritime coasts, to the high Arctic as well as internationally – providing humanitarian support. >click to read< 11:59
The 100-year-old NSW fisherman who has spent his life trawling
A lifelong professional fisherman is still braving rough seas in a tiny old trawler at the ripe old age of 100. Santo knows the Hawkesbury River better than anyone, having been on the water for much of his life as a dedicated commercial fisherman. He continues to head out on the waters of Broken Bay north of Sydney with his son Robert, 71, two nights a week as his 101st birthday in November approaches. >click to read< 09:02
Trident Seafoods’ Chuck Bundrant, a pioneer of U.S. fisheries off Alaska, dies at 79
Chuck Bundrant, an epic figure in North Pacific fisheries who started his career as a deck hand on a crabber and went on to cofound Seattle-based Trident Seafoods, died Sunday at his Edmonds home. He was 79. Bundrant was a fierce competitor who played a pivotal role in ushering in a new era in harvests off Alaska as foreign fleets were pushed out of the 200-mile zone and Americans rushed in to catch pollock, crab, black cod and other seafood. And as U.S. fleets gained control, he fought to ensure that Trident’s network of shoreside processing plants and seagoing vessels would prosper. >click to read< 08:02
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for October 15, 2021
Legislative updates, Bill updates, Calendar, >Click here to read the Weekly Update<, including a synopsis of a one-day Capitol Hill visit by Jerry Schill. To read all the updates >click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here< 19:05
It’s A No-Brainer: Emissions Free Nuclear Power Only Antidote To Net-Zero
Attempting to satisfy a net-zero carbon dioxide emissions target using unreliable wind and solar is a guarantee of energy poverty. Every country that’s attempted to rely upon sunshine and breezes as meaningful power generation sources, has suffered rocketing power prices and now finds itself suffering from scarcity of supply. The mandated renewable energy targets and endless subsidies to wind and solar were designed to destroy reliable and affordable power supplies, which is precisely what they have done. No surprises, there. Western Europe is bemoaning the fact that their ‘abundant’ wind resources are steadfastly refusing to deliver the goods.,, It’s a disaster, to be sure. >click to read< 13:55
One-Stop Longline Shop
Mørenot already has a long background in producing both longlines and hooks, so the addition of a set of deck hardware to the range makes the company into a one-stop longline shop, according to Mørenot Ísland’s managing director Magnús Smith. The Catch LineTech system is a full package of hauler, hook splitter and baiting machine with versions for both coastal and offshore vessels, all designed from the outset as electric systems, rather than having been adapted from existing hydraulic equipment. photos, >click to read<13:00
Coast Guard issues “party in interest” designation to owner/operator of container vessel
U.S. Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board marine casualty investigators boarded the container ship MSC DANIT, Saturday, in the Port of Long Beach. Prior to the visit, U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Braden Rostad, Chief of Investigations, Sector Los Angeles-Long Beach determined that the Mediterranean Shipping Company (MSC) DANIT was involved in a January 25, 2021, anchor-dragging incident during a heavy weather event that impacted the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The anchor-dragging incident occurred in close proximity to a subsea pipeline, which was subsequently discovered to be the source of the Orange County oil spill on October 2, 2021. >click to read< 12:09
The death of a lobster boat sternman has sparked a bitter upheaval on the remote island of Vinalhaven,,,
Ivy LaChapelle was hardly surprised when her 28-year-old son, Roger Feltis, moved from mainland Maine to Vinalhaven, a sparsely populated island of spruce-covered coves and hardened fishermen, accessible only by ferry. “He loved the water,” she said.,, The move was like turning a fresh page: He met a girl, Jennie Candage, landed a job as a sternman on a lobster boat with a boss who liked him, and had a circle of friends. But not everyone among Vinalhaven’s tight-knit population of 1,200 was welcoming. >click to read< 09:14
Inquest into Bugaled Breizh deaths sunk off Lizard coast of Cornwall
The Bugaled Breizh went down on January 15, 2004 off the Lizard Peninsula in favourable conditions, with no apparent defects to the vessel. The possibility a submarine may have become entangled in the trawling gear and dragged the vessel under has been proposed since it sank. But an inquest at the High Court heard on Thursday that the system of wires, chains, weights and nets that made up the trawling rig was found relatively intact on the seabed. >click to read< 08:44
Sanity! Federal judge blocks lobster fishing ban in the of Gulf of Maine
A federal judge in Maine on Saturday blocked a seasonal ban on traditional lobster fishing in a stretch of offshore waters in the Gulf of Maine that regulators say is needed to save the endangered right whale from extinction. In his 28-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Lance Walker said regulators had relied on “markedly thin” statistical modeling instead of hard evidence to show the thousand-square-mile area they had planned to close was really a hot spot for the imperiled whale. While the area targeted for closure may be a viable habitat for the right whale, there is no hard proof the whales actually gather there,,, >click to read< “This victory by the Maine Lobstering Union is a significant step in protecting one of Maine’s most precious industries – lobstering,” 21:10
Brixham fishermen recover rare ship relic off Dorset coast
A 19th Century anchor trawled up from the sea bed by a Brixham trawler could have come from a luxury liner or even one of Brunel’s magnificent steam ships. Or it could just be the anchor that tethered a hulk used by Royal Navy gunners for target practice.,, The latest one was hauled up off Bridport on the Dorset coast by skipper Dean Thomas and his crew on board Richard’s boat Rebecca.,, They were unable to lift the haul, and faced with the prospect of losing the entire net, they spent more than 12 hours slowly bringing it back to Brixham. >click to read< 16:40
