You don’t see shrimp trawlers working the sea like you once did. You don’t see them coming in with their photogenic outriggers up. To be clear, trawlers still work the sea but nowhere in numbers like they once did.,, Times were you’d see them out at sea working, nets out, capturing shrimp. Beachgoers would see several trawlers with nets up coming home with a haul. Beachgoers and locals alike knew where to get fresh-caught shrimp and it was no marketing spin. It was the real deal, but those days are slipping away. Regulations, pollution, imports, inaccessible shrimping grounds, mariculture, maintenance costs, aging fleets, and other factors have put the hurt on the shrimping industry. >click to read< 07:36
Monthly Archives: November 2021
FBI papers: The voyage of the Valhalla and its ties to Whitey Bulger and the IRA
The F/V Valhalla left Gloucester harbor in September of 1984 carrying 7 tons of weapons worth $1 million destined for the Irish Republican Army in Northern Ireland, according to the book “Black Mass.” The Valhalla met up with the Irish fishing boat Marita Ann to transfer the guns and turned back to Boston. The Marita Ann was quickly seized and the Valhalla was discovered in Boston Harbor two weeks later following McIntyre’s arrest when he confessed to being on the boat. An investigator who pieced together Valhalla’s route from “spare slips of paper tossed in the trash” said he recently watched the movie “Black Mass” and finally put together all the deceit and death. “At that time, corruption in a number of federal agencies based in Boston was rampant,”,,, photos, Part 2, >click to read< – FBI file on Boston serial killer James ‘Whitey’ Bulger declassified: photos, Part 1 >click to read< 07:04
Portland: Union Wharf being sold, preserved for maritime use
Union Wharf, keystone of the working waterfront in Maine’s largest city for 228 years, is being purchased by the Gulf of Maine Research Institute,, The wharf has been in private hands since it was constructed in the aftermath of Portland’s destruction in the American Revolution. Members of the Poole family have owned it outright since the 1950s, Working waterfront advocates have feared the property might wind up in less sympathetic hands,,, Instead the Pooles, led by brothers Charlie and Malcolm, are selling to their immediate neighbor, GMRI, a marine research institution >click to read< 16:29
Indian Brook man charged with allegedly threatening fishery officers in St. Marys Bay
In a news release, RCMP said the fisherman was following a coast guard vessel and came “dangerously close” to the bow. A collision was avoided because of maneuvers made by the captain of the coast guard boat. RCMP said the fisherman then threatened fishery officers who were aboard another boat working in the area. >click to read< 13:04
Captain Horatio “Raish” Beck, of Rodanthe, NC, has passed away
Captain Horatio “Raish” Beck, 81, of Rodanthe, NC passed away at home on Friday, November 12, 2021. Born August 17, 1940, in Rodanthe to Walter Henry Beck and Laura Etta Scarborough, he was the grandson of Levene Westcott Midgett and Lucretia Midgett. Raish fished all of his life and was a scallop boat captain for Wanchese Fish Company for 30 years. He was devoted to his family and a faithful man of God. He has numerous friends up and down the East Coast. >click to read< 11:45
Fisherman dies after being rescued from Plymouth Harbor
A missing fisherman was found unresponsive in the waters of Plymouth Harbor on Sunday afternoon but has since died. The man’s daughter, Kristen Svenson, told Boston 25 that her father, Micahel Furlong, passed away Monday in Plymouth. “We are asking for respect and space at this time. We have nothing prepared. This was very unexpected,” Kristen said. >click to read< 10:22 – Kingston lobsterman dies after he is pulled from the ocean off Plymouth – In a statement Monday, Plymouth County District Attorney Timothy Cruz said the harbormaster had been watching the boat, checked on it and found it unmanned after noticing the boat had not moved in more than an hour. Furlong was found about half a mile from the boat. >click to read< 14:04
NOAA audit questions Wespac’s grant award for DLNR
An audit by the Inspector General of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has found questionable expenditures of $1.23 million by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, and includes the citation of a sole-source contract of $344,525 by the CNMI’s Department of Lands and Natural Resources for a fishing vessel and training services. In addition to the $1,237,671 in questioned costs, the audit, which was released last week,,, In its comments to the audit, the council disagreed that it did not follow the competitive procurement requirements for the contracts where sole-source justification were provided. >click to read< 08:57
Unresponsive fisherman pulled from Plymouth Harbor
A missing lobsterman was found unresponsive in the waters of Plymouth Harbor on Sunday afternoon. The U.S. Coast Guard said they received a report around 1:20 p.m. of an unmanned lobster boat out in Plymouth Harbor. They began searching the area by helicopter. During the search, the Plymouth harbormaster reportedly found the lobsterman unresponsive in the water. >click to read< 19:23
Moratorium sought on herring fisheries; critical for salmon
Conservationists are calling for a moratorium on both the upcoming food-and-bait herring fishery in the Strait of Georgia and next season’s roe herring fishery,,, They fear herring living year-round in the Strait of Georgia are at risk due to fishing.,, Conservancy Hornby Island said Strait of Georgia herring stocks are little understood. The organization is among groups urging Fisheries Minister Joyce Murray to impose a moratorium on the fish-and-bait and the roe herring fisheries to rebuild stocks coastwide.,, Rob Morley, chairman of B.C.’s herring industry advisory board, has a different view of herring fisheries in the strait, saying scientific analysis and modelling show it’s a sustainable fishery with healthy stocks. “It is our feeling that it is a very well-managed sustainable fishery.” >click to read< 16:06
How Grand Bank made the ‘Grandy dory’ a Newfoundland icon
During the late 1800s and all of the 1900s, the small boat of choice along the south and southwest coasts of Newfoundland and Labrador was the dory.,, Simeon Lowell of Salisbury Point, Mass., is credited with inventing the dory in 1793. Over the ensuing decades these small, shallow draft, flat bottom boats measuring five to seven metres long, became so popular and were in such demand for fishing along the eastern seaboard that eventually “dory factories,” where they were mass-produced, were established. Around the same time schooners from Nova Scotia also took advantage of the lucrative fishing on our offshore banks followed by our own fishermen in 1891, led by Samuel Harris and at least 16 other schooner owners from Grand Bank. photos >click to read< 11:28
Capsized boat out of Pigeon Cove; GoFundMe started for replacement
After 19 days, F/V Lady M, the capsized fishing vessel at Pigeon Cove, has been brought to shore. The boat, owned by local fisherman Chris Wayrynen, broke free from its mooring and sank during a nor’easter in late October. On Saturday morning, Wayrynen’s diver friend, Andy Arnold, attached inflatables to the bottom of the sunken ship. With the boat raised, crews with Locke Crane Services of Tewksbury were able to pull it out of the water and place it on the Rockport Tool Company site. Wayrynen’s girlfriend, Michelle Testa, started a GoFundMe page to help raise money to pay for pulling the Lady M out of the cove and for a new boat. >click to read< Help, Storm Swamped Vessel. – Hello, my name is Michelle and I am fundraising for Chris Wayrynen. Chris suffered a tremendous loss on October 26 when his boat the LADY -M sank during a major Nor Easter. >click to read< and please donate if you can! 09:10
Island fishermen ‘worried’ as cons call to stop herring fishery set to start in days
Lasqueti Island herring fisherman Billy Forbes worries about the future of his four-generation long fishing family. After 51 years of captaining fishing boats in the Strait of Georgia, Forbes said he’s unsure if handing over the family’s namesake boat would be a gift to his grandson or a curse. “This is all he knows, so if there’s nothing left for him he’s gotta find something else,” said Forbes. Taylor Forbes, 23, said he has started to lose hope there’s a future in fishing. Video, >click to read< 08:21
Redfish return sparks Atlantic race to cash in on reopening of commercial fishery
The centre of attention is a large section of the gulf known as Unit 1, stretching from the western coast of Newfoundland across to Quebec’s Gaspé Peninsula and down toward the northern tip of Cape Breton. A federal Fisheries Department moratorium on commercial fishing of redfish was imposed in the area in 1995 and has remained in place ever since. But from 2011 to 2013, research showed that three robust redfish cohorts had propelled growth in the overall stock. “There’s probably more redfish in the Gulf of St. Lawrence now than we’ve ever seen in our recorded history,” >click to read< 07:19
COP That Wind & Solar: Nuclear Power Drives French Renewables Resistance
The French already get more than 70% of their power from nuclear plants. Now, thanks to a massive month-long wind power output collapse, that proportion is destined to increase. Following Europe’s ‘disastrous’ wind drought, that saw wind power output plummet throughout most of September and into October, and early November, the need for reliable power was never more keenly felt. Eager to avoid being locked into Russian gas supplies, like his German neighbours, French President, Emmanuel Macron has decided to reverse France’s policy of winding down its nuclear power generation fleet in favour of wind and solar, backed up with costly to run gas-fired plants. >video, click to read< 18:00
Gouldsboro Special Town Meeting on instituting a moratorium halting all major finfish aquaculture projects
What: Gouldsboro Special Town Meeting on instituting a moratorium halting all major finfish aquaculture projects until related ordinances can be updated. Why: American Aquafarms is proposing to build a 120-acre salmon farm in Frenchman Bay and a hatchery, processing plant and sludge handling operation in the village of Prospect Harbor. When: Monday, Nov. 15, at 6 p.m. Where: Gouldsboro Rec Center, Pond Road. Contact: Jacqueline Weaver, Friends of Schoodic Peninsula, 207-546-0826 14:33
Fishing chief says wind projects bring ‘new challenges’ for Scottish fleet
The fishing industry has a key role to play in the energy transition amid a “spatial squeeze” in Scottish waters. That was the message from Elspeth Macdonald, chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation,,, Ms Macdonald said fishers faced competition for territory from a range of other sectors, including aquaculture, oil and gas, and marine renewables. Marine protected areas are also a limiting factor on fishing opportunities, she added. And sea space is about to be “squeezed” even more by a raft of offshore wind energy developments as Scotland pursues its net-zero carbon emissions targets,,, >click to read< 11:36
Kiribati Terminates Giant MPA to Boost Tuna Fishing
The Phoenix Islands Protected Area, spanning more than 115,000 square nautical miles adjacent to U.S. waters, could be de-registered as a World Heritage Site and made accessible to commercial fishing if the government’s plan sails through. In 2008, Kiribati captured the global spotlight when it protected the planet’s last intact coral archipelago, which was threatened by over-fishing and climate change. Kiribati’s decision comes at the same time as the COP26 climate conference,,, >click to read< 10:41
New Factory Trawlers for the Canadian North
Last year saw the delivery of Ocean Choice International’s Calvert and an order placed for a new Polar Code standard trawler for Clearwater Seafoods and Ocean Prawns in Denmark, currently under construction at Tersan. Now an agreement has been struck with Qikiqtaaluk Fisheries Corporation for the design of a new trawler to replace the company’s existing Saputi, which dates back to 1987. >click to read< 09:29
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly & Special Update for November 12, 2021
Legislative updates, Bill updates, Calendar, >Click here to read the Weekly Update<, to read all the updates >click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here< 08:06
Maine Lobstering: A Family Business Facing Challenges
“Today, we really face multiple challenges including competition for the bottom fishing ground with plans to erect windmill generators, to huge increases in the price of bait due to limiting the Herring catches. Just getting new buoys made is tough,” said Capt. Steve Train, a lobsterman of Long Island, Maine. “There is a year-long wait for new traps because there aren’t a lot of people building them. And there is the closing of the federal offshore fishing grounds with the implementation of new regulations as part of the 1973 Endangered Species Act. All these challenges are driving our costs up.” West Bath, Maine Capt. Peter Doran agrees the industry has always faced challenges. photos, video >click to read< 19:04
Derelict sunken fishing boat hauled from the bottom of Morro Bay Harbor
Morro Bay now has one less boat in its waters after a sunken commercial fishing boat was pulled onto land Thursday afternoon. The 1970s-era wooden boat “Lady Maxine” had been at the bottom of the bay since late July. Prior to the sinking, its condition had severely declined after years of abandonment by its owner, according to Morro Bay Harbor Director Eric Endersby. Getting the boat out of the water wasn’t a simple job. photos, video, >click to read< 14:16
Fishermen feel “railroaded” – Standoff at sea sours fishermen, US Wind relations
After an on the water standoff between commercial fisherman Jimmy Hahn and a US Wind survey boat, Rep. Andy Harris met with area fisherman to discuss encroachment into fishing areas. The closed meeting Wednesday, also attended by state Sen. Mary Beth Carozza, included more than 12 fishermen primarily from Ocean City,, “If these wind mills are allowed to be placed out here, we’re out of business. You’ll no longer see any fresh seafood coming into Ocean City,” Hahn said.,, “It means a great deal having Rep. Harris listen,” he said. “You have to have someone to speak up. We’re just getting railroaded and we don’t have any say at all.” >click to read< 14:50
MCIB Report into Death of Galway Fisherman Published
An investigation into the death of a Galway fisherman who became entangled in gear off Salthill last year, found the weather deteriorated “significantly” after the vessel which he fished with his father left the harbour. Tom Oliver, a relative of the Olivers who rescued two paddleboarders in Galway Bay in August 2020, died after he was dragged over the stern of the six-metre fishing vessel Myia on November 2nd 2020. His father Martin, who was almost 62, was found dead at home the following morning. >click to read< 11:21
Thank You, Frank! Lobsterman donates buckets of lobsters to Maine veterans
We introduced you to Frank Thompson last week. He pledged to give away around 50 buckets of lobster to local veterans who entered in a drawing. Thompson more than made good on his promise, giving away 80 buckets filled with roughly 15 lobsters each. Set up outside the Furniture Gallery in Bangor, Thompson sent dozens of veterans home with a feast to savor and share. He says it’s a simple gesture compared to what our veterans do for us. >click to read< 10:09
Truck Beach Trespassing Cases May Head Out of Town
Attorneys for oceanfront property owners along what is popularly known as Truck Beach on Napeague have convinced a New York State Supreme Court judge to move the trespassing violations of 14 East Hampton Town residents from the town justice court to the Suffolk County Supreme Court. A hearing in justice court was to happen yesterday., “I can only describe this as the absolute height of bullying tactics,” Dan Rodgers, an attorney representing some of the fishermen,,, >click to read< 09:28
Commercial fishermen sue over Cook Inlet closure
Commercial fishermen are going to court in an attempt to keep Cook Inlet open to salmon fishing. That’s following a controversial decision by the feds to close a large swath of Upper Cook Inlet that’s long been managed by the state and is an important area for drift gillnet permit holders. The decision to close the federal Cook Inlet salmon fishery was approved by the feds last week but was first proposed last December by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, which sets policy in Alaska’s federal waters. >click to read< 08:08
Coast Guard medevacs crewmember from fishing vessel near Grand Isle, La.
The Coast Guard medevaced a crewmember from a fishing vessel Thursday near Grand Isle, Louisiana. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans watchstanders received a report over VHF-FM Channel 16 at approximately 1:15 a.m. from the 105-foot fishing vessel, F/V Bossman, of a crewmember who was experiencing chest pains and difficulty breathing. Watchstanders consulted with the duty flight surgeon, who recommended a medevac. Video,>click to read< 16:49
Watermen Meet Elected Reps Over Conflict – Conch Pots Destroyed By Offshore Wind Farm Survey Vessel
Last week, a US Wind vessel surveying offshore was outside the designated lease area and ran through a setup of conch pots and destroyed some of the commercial vessel’s equipment. Captain Jimmy Hahn, whose conch pots were destroyed, briefly confronted the survey boat Emma McCall,,, US Wind representatives explained how the survey vessel was out of the lease area and ran over the pots accidentally. For his part, Hahn believes the incident was a symptom of a much larger issue that is only going to get worse. Last week’s incident has captured the attention of the area’s elected officials. On Wednesday, U.S. Congressman Andy Harris and Senator Mary Beth Carozza held a closed-door meeting with local watermen.>click to read< 12:30
Lobster harvesters feel forced to fish until they die by DFO policy
Raymond O’Toole finds it hard fishing alone. He is 85. When he took over a lobster license at 14, there was little that could keep him and his punt off the water. This season, his 71st on the water, he broke a bone in his back heaving the wooden traps that can weight 50 lbs a piece. “I’d retire if I could sell or transfer my license, but when I die, it goes with me,”,,, Across the Strait in Mulgrave, 80 year-old Richard Power contends that his lobster license has long been tied to economic outcomes for his family. With eight siblings to feed, at 12 years old he took up the oars behind his half blind father in the dory. >click to read< 10:36
Oregon: Crab still tops state’s commercial fishing, but squid is gaining
Oregon’s crabbing industry is known as the state’s most lucrative in the fishing market, but another food from the sea is thriving off the coast: squid. In 2014, about 1,000 pounds of squid were caught by Oregon-based commercial fishers. Last year saw a huge jump, the haul was more than 10 million pounds. Josh Whaley, who has been fishing for squid since 2019,,, More market squid means more fishing opportunity and prompted Whaley to upgrade equipment to adjust to Seine fishing, a method of net fishing used to capture species close to the surface of the ocean, like sardines and squid. >click to read< 09:33
