Daily Archives: January 13, 2022
New Bedford Fire Department respond to reports of a fishing vessel on fire
“This morning at 1055 hrs, the New Bedford Fire Department received 911 calls reporting a fishing vessel fire at the southeast end of Leonard’s Wharf. Upon arrival, Command reported smoke extending from the F/V Prowess which was moored to two other fishing vessels. Crews advanced one handline and extinguished the fire. Crews performed ventilation and checked for fire extension with the assistance of battery-powered rotary and reciprocating saws. Marine 38 responded and was used to push the three vessels together due to the wind separating them making climbing between them hazardous. photos, >click to read< 19:16
SEA-NL says bottom-trawling must be banned from all three adjacent cod stocks (not just two)
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) has recommended that Fisheries and Oceans expand its ban on bottom-trawling to include all three cod stocks off the province’s shores. “Fisheries and Oceans cannot scientifically justify banning bottom-trawling for cod in two adjacent stocks when all three are in the critical zone,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s interim Executive Director. DFO allows for bottom-trawling of the cod stock off southern Newfoundland in fishing zone 3Ps. However, bottom-trawling is banned in the northern cod fishery off eastern Newfoundland and Labrador, and for cod in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. All three cod stocks have been designated by DFO science as in the critical zone, meaning fishing must be kept to a minimum. >click to read< 12:06
The Bodega Bay crab industry grew out of food demand during World War II
On a stormy spring day along the Sonoma Coast in 1951, brothers Steve and Bill Smith wove stainless steel wires around the sides of a steel crabpot in preparation for a day of crab catching. By the early 1950s, there were five fishing operations at Bodega Bay and about 100 fishermen who saw commercial crab fishing as a good side hustle, according to news reports at the time. Previously, Smith Brothers Fishery was the sole fishing business on the bay. Crab processing plants also employed women workers through the 1940s and 1950s to pick, weigh and pack Dungeness crabs. 18 photos, >click to read< 11:08
Virginia Olsen: People in Maine’s fishing industry are pleading for rational policies, not denying them.
As a member of the Maine Lobstering Union and a multi-generational lobsterman from Stonington, I read with interest The Lobster Trap, a collaboration between The Boston Globe and the Portland Press Herald. On one hand, I was impressed by the authors’ captivating storylines on the people and families who comprise our multi-generational industry and the recognition of the day-to-day challenges confronting us. On the other hand, I could not help viewing some of the series’ broad-brush inferences and conclusions as inaccurate, unfair and condescending. Precious few lobstermen qualify as wealthy “one-percenters,” as the authors suggest. The Maine lobsterman is not an “average worker,” and any comparison is an unfair characterization, whether made directly or by inference. >click to read< By Virginia Olsen 10:19
Public hoist can’t be used for commercial fishing – Commercial fish buyers may be on hook for harbor fees
The San Mateo County Harbor District is considering how to regulate sales between visiting fish buyers and commercial sellers within Pillar Point Harbor and will soon be discussing ordinances that will impact how much non-berthed vessels will pay in fees. After discussing the option of requiring visiting fishing vessels to obtain a Commercial Activity Permit before offloading product to a tenant fish buyer, the board directed staff to come back with an amended ordinance so that it would not officially require those visiting boats to pay $250 for the permit. This new ordinance will also determine if wholesale offloads to non-tenant buyers will be prohibited from the floating docks. >click to read< 09:39
Iceland: Coastal Fishermen Unhappy With Reduced Cod Quota
Small boat fishermen in Iceland are unhappy with the government’s decision to reduce their cod fishing quota from 10,000 tonnes down to 8,500 for the coming summer season, Last year a total of 670 fishermen held coastal fishing licences. “Certain politicians predicted [coastal fishing] would explode. However, since the current system was implemented, the number of fishermen has fluctuated between 600 and 726. “While handline fishing is romantic, there’s a lot of hard work and sweat and tears mixed in with the romance,” >click to read< 08:55
Cape Ann Museum celebrates family owned fishing vessels – seeking community participation
As the great-granddaughter, granddaughter and daughter of fishermen, Nina Testaverde Goodick always shared her family’s profound pride in its fishing vessels over the generations. “These fishing vessels were at the very core of our family,” the Gloucester woman said. “They provided for us — the Linda B., Peter & Linda, Sea Fox, Nina T. and The Midnight Sun to name a few. In our homes, you could always find a painting of these vessels, hanging in a place of honor.” In that spirit of pride and in anticipation of the city’s 400th anniversary, the Cape Ann Museum is seeking community participation for a future special exhibition about family fishing vessels. >click to read< 08:12
