Daily Archives: February 19, 2022
California Fisherman Survives Harrowing 5-Hour Swim After Falling Overboard
Scott Thompson, a commercial fisherman, took his boat out on the Santa Barbara Channel around 5 p.m. on Jan. 26. Five hours of swimming later, he wound up on an oil platform with no boat. On his way back, he stood up on the side of the boat but rough waters took hold of the vessel. Thompson lost his balance and fell. That left him stranded in the water and watching his boat drift away. He attempted to swim and catch up to it but was unsuccessful. Eventually, around 10 p.m., Thompson found his way to oil Platform Gail. >click to read< 20:16
F/V Villa de Pitanxo: Fishing vessel arrives in St. Johns with three survivors and seven deceased crewmen
The F/V Playa de Menduíña II, in which three survivors and seven of the deceased of the F/V Villa de Pitanxo were traveling, docked at 11.30 a.m. on Saturday in the port of San Juan de Terranova (St John’s). On F/V Playa de Menduíña II traveled the survivors of the F/V Villa de Pitanxo, the skipper of the ship, Juan Padín; his nephew, Eduardo Rial Padín; and the young Ghanaian Samuel Kwesi. After carrying out the appropriate procedures, the three left the Vigo fishing boat after five o’clock in the afternoon, six hours after the arrival at the port. After going down to port, the three were taken to an area hospital for a medical check-up. >click to read< 17:31
The crew of the F/V Villa de Pitanxo, one by one: from Raúl, only 24 years old, to Francisco, of retirement age – Little by little, the identities of those who were on board the ship that sank in Newfoundland and their stories are becoming known. Most have young children and some, like Samuel, had not yet been able to meet their last baby. >click to read<
Save the Gulf of Maine – The Maine Reset, Ep. 4: Never Forgotten
Derek Colbeth grew up lobstering, and then served for 5 years in the US Marine Corps. Now he’s a civilian again, but his heritage and livelihood is under attack on all fronts. Powerful interests are converging in a war against Maine Lobstermen. If Lobstermen lose this fight, Maine will never be the same. >Video, click to watch< 14:35
Save the Gulf of Maine – The Maine Reset, Ep.3: This is an Experiment
In this episode, interviews with two brilliant people that you won’t want to miss regarding offshore wind development in Maine. Carla Guenther PhD brings an oceanography perspective, and Long Island Commercial Fisherman Steve Train lays out some practical wisdom as only a fisherman can. Sandwiched in there are some of my own antics lampooning the empty suits from corporations who want to confiscate our ocean., >Video, click to watch< 13:15 ocean industrialization
Commercial Fisherman Ronnie Lee White has passed away in New Bedford
Ronnie Lee White, age 63, passed away unexpectedly on Thursday, February 10, 2022 in New Bedford. He was born in Charleston, West Virginia to Cecil Ronald White and the late Shirley Estep on April 26, 1958. Ronnie’s love for the ocean started at the young age of 16. For almost 50 years he was a commercial fisherman who served on many fishing vessels in Newport, RI. For the past 15 years, he served on multiple vessels out of New Bedford, MA. He was truly one of the best at what he did and worked extremely hard throughout his life spending weeks at sea doing what he knew best and loved the most. >click to read< 10:57
More dead crabs and lobsters along North East coast
The government is investigating after new reports of dead crabs and lobsters along the North East coast. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is to “undertake additional sampling” after fishermen reported further deaths. It said it had now received reports of “further dead or dying lobsters and crabs found in a small number of pots along the North East coast” and that it would be taking samples in the area to investigate. Adrian Noble, a Whitby fisherman of more than 40 years, said he believed there was “not a chance in the world” the deaths were caused by a naturally-occurring algae, adding the industry has been “decimated”. >click to read< 10:14
Pope Francis Laments ‘Tragic’ Shipwreck of F/V Villa de Pitanxo
“The Holy Father expresses his heartfelt condolences, as well as his solidarity, in these moments of sorrow.” The pope “prays to God for the eternal repose of the victims and expresses his closeness to the families who mourn their loved ones,” The Galicia-based trawler Villa de Pitanxo sank early Tuesday some 250 miles off the coast of Newfoundland with just three known survivors out of a crew of 24, making the disaster Spain’s worst fishing tragedy in 38 years. Current theories suggest that the ship, which was loaded with a good catch of halibut, was weighed down at the stern and, complicated by waves reaching eight meters in height, was flooded and sank in a matter of minutes. >click to read< 09:01
CDFW Announces a Statewide Fleet Advisory for the Commercial Dungeness Crab Fishery
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is issuing a statewide fleet advisory for the commercial Dungeness crab fishery due to a recent humpback whale entanglement, approximately 5 miles west of Cypress Point near Monterey Bay (Fishing Zone 4). The entanglement was first reported in late January involving heavy line from unknown fishing gear and CDFW is encouraging the commercial fleet and all mariners to be on the lookout for any entangled whale in this area and across California waters. >click to read< 08:40
