Monthly Archives: January 2022
NOAA/DFO Officials on Risk Reduction and Protections for North Atlantic Right Whales
In December, NOAA Fisheries held another productive biannual engagement with officials from the Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada to discuss ongoing efforts by both countries to protect and recover North Atlantic right whales,,, While this was the last of the 2021 biannual meetings with Canada on this topic, it was my first as the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries. Both of our countries face the same challenge >click to read<,-Read about her background, >click here< 10:53
Shortened Dungeness crab season reflects industry uncertainty
Commercial crabbers have made quick work of this year’s Dungeness crab harvest, bringing substantially fewer crustaceans ashore with each lift. The haul has been so meager that even those who ply the waters south of Mendocino County,,, Closures and major catch restrictions in Alaskan crab fisheries, where king and snow crab stocks have plummeted, has heightened demand this winter for the Dungeness crab caught off Central and Northern California. “The thing that’s saving us is the price,” said Dick Ogg, “We’re down to two or three crabs per pot,” said Bodega Bay fisherman Tony Anello, one of many getting ready to pack it in. (Then the conversation of ropeless fishing begins,,,) >Click to read< – Campaigners say ropeless technology could spare whales in the Firth of Forth >click to read< 09:28
Commercial fishermen call for a fishing boat wharf accessible to the community
Commercial fishing operators say they’re “getting pushed out” of Devonport with nowhere to dock their boats after the last available berth is taken away to make way for King Island supply ship John Duigan. That’s according to Coastal fishing industry icons Peter Rockliff and Stuart Richey, who say TasPorts sent an email to Mr Richey two days ago informing of the loss of the only berth in Devonport they can use. “We berth our fishing boats where there’s a gap, and soon we won’t have anywhere,” Mr Rockliff said. >click to read< 08:40
Dunleavy Announces Alaska Bycatch Review Task Force Members
Governor Mike Dunleavy released the list of eleven Alaskans who will serve on the Alaska Bycatch Review Task Force. The mission of the task force is to better understand the unintended bycatch of fish such as halibut and salmon caught in both State and federal waters. The two remaining seats on the task force will be non-voting seats filled by members of the Alaska Legislature. “The 11 Alaskans who stepped forward to serve on the Alaska Bycatch Review Task Force represent key stakeholder groups and are recognized for not only their knowledge of fisheries, but their commitment to sustaining the resource for generations of Alaskans to come.” >click to read< 07:50
Nerja fishermen given 15-month jail sentence for catching thresher shark
Francisco Pastor comes from a long line of Nerja fishermen. At 50, he says he is going through an ordeal that “I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy.” Since November 2020, he has been serving a sentence for having had “the bad luck” of catching a thresher shark, an endangered species,,, Pastor, who was sentenced along with his cousin, to 15 months in prison, along with a three year ban from fishing and a suspended fine of 386,000 euros for a crime against wildlife. “I need a job, whatever it is, because I can’t go out fishing with my boat, which was how I made a living until just over a year ago,” >click to read< 21:46
91-year-old active fisherman in P.E.I. to be inducted into Acadian Business Hall of Fame
For many people, eventual retirement is the force that pulls them to work every day, but for 91-year-old Alcide Arsenault, it’s a love of the sea. “In the spring, when the ice goes, it’s just like a magnet that takes you back to the shore. I’ve always loved fishing.” Alcide, who lives in Cape Egmont, has been fishing lobster off P.E.I.’s north and south shores since 1944 when he was just 14 and could be the oldest active fisherman in P.E.I. On Dec. 3, he was named one of four 2022 inductees into the Acadian Business Hall of Fame, considered the highest and most prestigious recognition from the Acadian and Francophone Chamber of Commerce of PEI. >click to read< 10:50
Jordan’s moonlighter lobster licence decision deep-sixed
A 69-year-old Nova Scotia lobster fisherman who wants to sell his licence so he can take care of his two adult children with cerebral palsy has won a judicial review of the former fisheries minister’s decision to reject the transaction. Donald Publicover took the federal government to court after Bernadette Jordan, then fisheries minister, decided Aug. 5, 2020, to turn down the Brookside man’s request for an exemption to transfer his Category B lobster licence, Jordan, fisheries minister until she was defeated by Conservative Rick Perkins in South Shore-St. Margarets last fall turned down that request in a letter dated Aug. 5, 2020. Jordan’s decision was “unreasonable,” according to the judge. >click to read< 10:05
Working hard to ensure success of fishing industry in Brixham
I am delighted to be invited to write a column for the Torbay Weekly and as this is the first of which will, hopefully, be many, I must first do a quick introduction. I am managing director of Brixham Trawler Agents. The company is responsible for operating the world famous Brixham Fish Market, and providing all the services a fisherman needs as they go about their hard work. These services include landing their catch, keeping their catch refrigerated, grading the fish, selling the fish, and also completing all the administration including paying the trawler owners and the crew the amount that they have earnt. >click to read< By Barry Young 09:32
Off Washington state’s coast, Dungeness crabbers get early start to season, haul in bounty
Some 60 vessels in Washington’s oceangoing crab fleet worked through a stormy December to bring in more than 4.69 million pounds of Dungeness in a strong start to the annual harvest. The ocean harvest has unfolded in a stretch of coastal waters from Klipsan Beach south to the Columbia River. Fishers also have had to endure some tough, chilly weather during the final weeks of 2021. “We’re all from Alaska so it seems pretty normal to us,” said Daniel Crome, who was raised in Petersburg, Alaska, and fishes out of Westport with a five-person crew that as the catch rates dropped off, was cut to four. Back at the docks, these Dungeness have fetched $4.75 a pound or more. >click to read< 08:23
F/V Emmy Rose: Judge distributes nearly $1 million in damages to families of crew members
A federal judge has awarded nearly $1 million in damages to the families of four fishermen who died when the Portland-based Emmy Rose sank off the Massachusetts coast in 2020. U.S. District Judge John Woodcock wrote 33 pages about the loved ones left to grieve the tragedy and the difficult calculations involved in quantifying the loss. He said each man died “an unspeakably tragic and terrible death.” “Again, there is no evidence about how the vessel went down and it is possible that it sank suddenly and without warning, but it is more likely that there was some period of panic as the seamen worked in horrific conditions to avoid its and their awful demise,”,,, >click to read< 21:19
Everything You Need To Know About Monkfish
Monkfish certainly isn’t the prettiest fish in the sea. For everyone from the monkfish novice trying to get past its unseemly appearance to the aficionado looking to deepen their knowledge of the delicious groundfish, this guide is the perfect one-stop source. Learn to source and choose monkfish, store it properly, and serve it in recipes that will have your guests grinning from ear to ear! Unlike many other white fish, monkfish boasts no small bones. As such, monkfish is easy to prepare, and many fishmongers sell it as ready-to-cook steaks or fillets. Photos, also, scroll the page for lobster and beef! >click to read< 17:21
Fishermen, residents voice concerns about proposed Morro Bay offshore wind farm
An area of ocean 20 miles from the Cambria shoreline and about 35 miles northeast of Morro Bay could become home to nearly 400 square miles of wind turbines,,, Many, like Cheri Hafer, are concerned the area will prohibit commercial fishing. “One of our biggest enemies right now is industrialization of the ocean,” Hafer said. “Not just to fishermen, but to the marine habitat.” Larry Thevik, a dungeness crab fisherman, said many fishermen feel like their concerns aren’t being heard and that the impact it may have on the commercial fishing industry isn’t being thoroughly considered. >click to read< Public critical of environmental analysis for Morro Bay Wind Energy Area – A number of public speakers at an offshore wind energy impact analysis scoping meeting said a full environmental impact statement should be prepared before the federal government leases tracts in an area northwest of Morro Bay. But officials with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said a full EIS can’t be conducted on the effects of wind turbine installation,,, >click to read< 12:12
Oregon: 2021-22 Dungeness Crab season blowing past last year’s harvest
Tim Novotny is a spokesman with the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission. He says it was great to have this commercial crabbing season start on schedule for the first time since 2014, but the numbers as of Tuesday (Jan. 4) are also wonderful. “We finished our first month of the season so far with 12.8 million lbs. landed, so that surpassed last year. And our ex-vessel value has come in at $63.3 million. So that surpassed all of last year. >click to read< 09:50
Norway: Kids Slice Out Cod Tongues for Serious Money
For as long as anybody can remember, tungeskjaererne have been responsible for the local cod tongue trade, even as fish factories give up the money they would otherwise get from the tongues by donating the fish heads to children and teenagers. The tradition introduces young people to the fishing industry and teaching them the value of entrepreneurship and hard work seems to matter more than making an extra kroner or two.The job makes selling Girl Scout cookies or running a lemonade stand look like child’s play. Arctander knows tungeskjaererne who have made more than $11,000 in a single season. “I haven’t thought of anything else in the world where kids can make so much money,”,,, >click to read< 08:34
Chinese buyers snap up Maine’s lobster haul
Undeterred by biting winds as the temperature hovers around freezing, Maine’s lobstermen haul their traps out of their pickup trucks and onto their boats. It is shortly after dawn in the coastal town of Ogunquit, the start of another working day that will last about 12 hours. The tourists have gone and the “summer folk” have fled to the warmer climes of Florida. In Ogunquit’s Perkins Cove, a red icebreaker has been readied for the winter months, when it will make sure the lobstermen can reach lucrative fishing grounds in the Atlantic. >click to read< 07:14
Fisherman Stan Bagwell – a tribute to ‘one of Sidmouth’s characters’
Stan was the son of Robert and Martha Bagwell, his father and grandfather were local fishermen. Stan was no scholar, he spent all of his free time with his father at Ladram Bay where his father fished and was coastguard during the war. He cycled up Peak Hill early mornings and after school. Sometimes he travelled on his father’s motorbike next to the crab bait. At 15 he bought his first 12ft clinker built rowing boat, this leaked badly so he spent many hours repairing it. Stan’s ambition to have a trawler working out of Brixham was realized in 1972. >click to read< 21:42
Nova Scotia: Prosecutors add charges for 25 in lobster pound riot
Prosecutors have added more charges against 25 people accused of entering and ransacking a Nova Scotia lobster pound at the centre of a dispute about an Indigenous self-regulated fishery. Crown lawyer Robert Kennedy, however, said in an interview Tuesday the prosecution is willing to discuss “resolutions” for “at least some” of the accused, which would avoid further court proceedings. In January 2021, the RCMP announced that 23 people were facing a charge of break and enter, with eight also charged with mischief, for their roles in the Oct. 14, 2020, incident at the facility in Middle West Pubnico, N.S. >click to read< 14:55
Japan: Bluefin tuna goes for $145,000 as pandemic dampens New Year auction
The top price paid for a tuna at the first auction of the year at Tokyo’s Toyosu fish market fell for the third year running, with demand hit by the pandemic. The first tuna auction of the year at Toyosu market is a closely watched tradition that draws a horde of fish wholesalers every year. Wednesday’s top-priced 465-pound fish was caught off the northern Aomori region of Japan, famous for its quality tuna, and went to Michelin-starred sushi restaurant operator Onodera Group and Japanese wholesaler Yamayuki. The tuna will be offered to customers both in Japan and at the firm’s restaurants abroad, including in Hawaii, New York and Los Angeles,,, >click to read< 14:16
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 44′ Calvin Beal Lobster Boat, 750HP John Deere
To review specifications, information, with 31 photos, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here< 12:55
All-time high for Norwegian seafood
“2021 was another exciting export year for Norwegian seafood. We are in the very favorable position of having products in high demand the world over, even in times of crisis. This has resulted in a growth in demand, record export volumes and a total export value that Norway has never experienced before,” says Renate Larsen, CEO of the Norwegian Seafood Council. Cod is still the most important fish, One of the most exotic species from the north is the king crab. “The abolition of the quota for red king crab in Alaska combined with increased demand in Asia, the USA and Europe has led to the demand for king crab being greater than the supply,,, >click to read< 10:30
A European Revelation On Climate That Biden Should Heed
Believe it or not, the European Union is set to include nuclear and natural gas on the list of industries eligible for “green” investments. Someone, please pass the smelling salts to the Sierra Club. Wonder of wonders, nuclear and natural gas make the cut. All of this has implications for the U.S., where the Biden Administration is still fantasizing that solar and wind power can soon replace all fossil fuels. If Europe can admit the truth, how about the White House? >click to read< 09:14
Brexit fishing victory as England’s most lucrative port lands record £43.6m of seafood
Brixham Fish Market, in Devon, topped 2020’s £35.8million and the previous £40.3million record from 2017. And contrary to many Remainers predicting that leaving the EU would destroy the UK’s fishing industry, Barry Young, boss of Brixham Trawler Agents, said the port had thrived. The news emerged shortly after a change in post-Brexit fishing rules will increase the minimum percentage of British crew members that must be on board vessels to 70 percent. >click to read< 07:50
Gloucester Fisherman Robert W. Noonan has passed away
Robert W. Noonan age 70 was born on August 27th, 1951 in Salem, Ma. He passed away December 29th peacefully at Brigham and Women’s Hospital with his daughters by his side. He was the oldest son of the late William and Dorothy Noonan of Gloucester. Mr. Bob was a local fisherman and spent years aboard the Anne Rowe, The Odessa, The Explorer II and many other vessels. His time at sea led him to be a vivacious reader. Bob was an amazing storyteller, who turned what he saw at sea, at home and at play into short stories to leave for his family. His own story is one we were all blessed to have shared. >click to read< 15:03
Fire guts commercial fishing boat but spares injury
A man escaped injury in a boat fire last week in the Ilwaco marina. The F/V Tlingit Princess was billowing smoke from the cabin as authorities descended on the scene early Sunday afternoon at the Port of Ilwaco. Owner Earl Soule was the lone occupant on board at the time of the fire and was able to safely evacuate. “Everything I’ve got is in there,” Soule said as he watched the Ilwaco Fire Department douse flames flickering through the cabin windows. photos, >click to read< A GoFundMe campaign has been established. – Help Earl Soule rebuild after the fire – Please, donate if of you can and help them meet their goal. >click here< 14:46
Safeguarding the Outer Banks’ commercial fishing heritage by supporting the livelihoods of local fishermen
Dare County has released a video titled, “Dare County’s Commercial Fishing Industry: Safeguarding the Community’s Longstanding Heritage by Supporting the Livelihoods of Local Fishermen,” as part of the county’s ongoing effort to inform members of the public as well as state and national legislators about the impact that increased regulation is having on the those who work within the commercial fishing industry. >Video, click to read< 10:11
‘A force’: Former N.L. and federal cabinet minister John Efford has passed away
Former federal and provincial cabinet minister John Efford is being remembered as “true icon” of Newfoundland and Labrador politics. He died Sunday at the age of 77. Efford was born in 1944 in the small fishing community of Port de Grave. He became the provincial Minister of Fisheries and Aquaculture in 1996, four years after a moratorium on cod fishing in the province led to widespread economic collapse and despair, particularly in rural areas. Efford was a fisherman himself and, as minister, he fought hard for the industry’s recovery. >click to read< 08:52
SEA-NL: Standing Fish Price Setting Panel
SEA-NL says an immediate priority for the 2022 inshore fishery is for the province to amend its fish price-setting system to address a weakness that cost harvesters untold millions of dollars in last year’s snow crab fishery alone. “Inshore harvesters were not paid a fair-market return from their snow crab sales in 2021 because a provincial government regulation stood in the way,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s interim Executive Director. “The regulation must be amended before the start of the 2022 season, or what little faith that exists in the price-setting system will be gone altogether.”>click to read< 08:05
Finding his calling: Former lobsterman forges a new career
Coby Lesbines is a completely self-taught bladesmith and blacksmith. What started as a hobby for when Coby wasn’t lobstering has turned into a full-time enterprise, Barney Brook Customs. Coby made the difficult decision to part with the fishing industry in December after spending the last 12 years working on the water. It was a choice he made as the demand for his custom knives catapulted, especially after this past summer. >click to read< 21:12
California poised to impose wave of boat emissions rules in 2022
Like users of lawn mowers and gas leaf blowers, working boat captains, excursion operators and fishermen will be asked told to get on board with new engine emissions regulations starting as early as 2022. The California Air Resources Board released its proposed emissions regulations on commercial boats in September. After hosting hundreds of meetings and receiving an opposing petition signed by thousands of sport fishers in California, the air quality agency expects to finalize the first in a montage of stricter guidelines to upgrade the boats by next spring. >click to read< 13:21
Steve Connolly Seafood Company has closed
Steve Connolly Seafood Company, one of the last major seafood processors in Gloucester, is ending its wholesale and retail operations on Jan. 1. The company has its waterfront retail facility at 431 Main St., and a corporate site in Boston, according to its website. The website says that within eight years of Steve Connolly founding the company, it became the nation’s leading full service fresh seafood house. In 1990, the U.S. Small Business Administration named Connolly and his company the Small Business Person of the Year for Massachusetts. >click to read< 09:27
