Monthly Archives: February 2022
Atomic Attraction: Wind Power’s Abject Failure Forces Europe to Embrace Nuclear Power
To call Europe’s rapid embrace of nuclear power ‘passionate’ is not overstatement. Much to the horror of wind and solar acolytes, a growing number of EU members are ready to declare nuclear power is not only clean and green, but wholly sustainable. Wind and solar-obsessed Germans and Brits are watching power prices go into orbit and the pro-renewables camp has been forced to grapple with months-long wind droughts when so-called ‘green’ energy couldn’t be bought at any price. Necessity may well be the mother of invention, but the stark realisation that wind power output can collapse for days and weeks on end is certainly the mother of a renewed attraction to nuclear power. >click to read< 11:16
Edward Scissorhands has a new home!
Ripley’s Aquarium in Toronto has been making a habit out of rescuing lobsters lately, and their most recent rescue isn’t just a rare cool colour: he actually has three claws. They’ve named the lobster Edward Scissorhands, or just Edward for short. He has three claws, and they can all be controlled independently. The lobster comes to them from Lobster Hub Inc., which is actually a food wholesaler that Ripley’s has taken lobsters from before. Video, >click to read< 10:25
Fishing vessel runs aground in Unalaska, pulled free by F/V Amatuli
A fishing vessel ran aground in Unalaska Saturday morning. It was en route to offload crab at local processing plant Westward Seafoods. The 92-foot F/V Kevleen K, homeported in Seattle, hit rocks near Little South America just before 10 a.m., according to port officials. The boat was pulled off the rocks by the F/V Amatuli about an hour later Why it ran aground is still unclear. >click to read< 08:44
Lobsterman Jason Joyce announces candidacy for House District 15
Jason Joyce, an eighth generation Swan’s Island lobsterman, has announced he is running for District 15 in the Maine House of Representatives. “I am passionate about defending our sustainable coastal fisheries and the marine ecosystem for our grandchildren and their children,” he said. “Standing against international offshore windfarm developments as they attempt to industrialize the Gulf of Maine is a big part of that fight. While defending Maine’s commercial fishermen is an issue of priority in our district, there are many other issues facing all of our communities that continue to threaten our way of life and traditions.” >click to read< 07:41 politics
Latest New-Generation Beamer
The seventh new beam trawler for Belgian owners to be delivered in the space of two years, F/V Avanti Z-26 is largely identical to Franson Z-91, which was has been fishing since last year. Avanti has been built for Steve Depaepe of Rederij Devan, whose family has a long connection with fishing. His father Freddy Depaepe was a well-known trawler owner and also a director of Belgian vessel operator’s federation Rederscentrale. In 1979 he ordered Van Eyck Z-53, which joined the fleet in 1981, and which is now alongside in Stellendam as it waits for a buyer. Photos, >click to read< 20:50
Ghost of seal hunt haunts Canadian trucker blockades over COVID-19 testing
Canadian cattle and pigs fed grain from the United States are going hungry. Some cattle and pigs en route from Canada to finishing and slaughter in the U.S. may be stuck aboard trucks. Behind the chaos lurks the ghosts of past political impasses over cod fishing quotas and the Atlantic Canadian seal hunt. What the long depleted Atlantic Canadian cod stocks and the nearly moribund seal hunt have to do with horn-honking truckers, cattle and pigs mooing and oinking with hunger pangs, and widespread public and political exasperation,,, You see where this is going, eh? >click to read< 19:36
Critics rip feds’ “half-baked” plan to save California salmon
Fishing groups and water suppliers fought the Biden administration’s proposed drought rules for California’s water system, telling a federal judge Friday the emergency plans won’t stop the demise of endangered salmon. The rules call for new water temperature targets and improved collaboration between federal and state officials on the management of California’s two main water conveyance systems. But the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations and other conservation groups cast the “interim operations plan” as a half-baked measure that will lead to a third consecutive year of salmon die-offs. >click to read< 17:36
“It was a mad scramble!” Dungeness crab season in Oregon reaches record-breaking value
The commercial Dungeness crab season opened up and down the Oregon coast on time last year. It’s the first time in years the season wasn’t delayed. And crabbers have been reaping the benefits. Kyle Retherford is the captain of the fishing vessel F/V Excalibur. “It was record-breaking for us,” he said. “Financially, it was the best year we’ve ever had in comparison to previous years. Last year was really poor.” Listen to the conversation, >click to read< 12:13
Journalistic Failure: Calling them out for missing the real story
Your piece on American Aquafarms’ new propaganda videos reads like a company press release instead of a news story in a serious newspaper. For some reason the EA abandoned all journalistic principles and allowed American Aquafarms (which is neither American nor an operator of a single fish farm) to hype its massive, polluting, job-destroying fish farm scheme without any standard journalistic examination. There was no context, no questions, no investigation and no acknowledgement of the overwhelming grassroots opposition to the project. The “story” is such a lame love letter that it would be funny if the situation weren’t so tragic. By Jed West, Prospect Harbor >click to read< 10:31
Full-on #FishyFriday in Newlyn
The repairs to the Fishermens Arms must be taking longer than when they built the place. Mordros looking good in the morning sunshine. some classy curves on the crabber Francesca’s revamped wheelhouse. A lot of fantastic photos of fish and other interesting happenings in Newlyn, Cornwall on #FishyFriday. Enjoy! >click to read< 09:28
The charm of a quiet fishing village in Aripeka, Florida
Restorative justice to be used in resolving charges in ransacking Nova Scotia lobster pound
Restorative justice is being used to help resolve a case involving 25 people accused of ransacking a Nova Scotia lobster pound at the centre of a dispute over Indigenous fishing rights. The Pubnico pound was storing lobster caught by members of the Sipekne’katik First Nation, which angered commercial fishers because the harvest was conducted outside the federally regulated season. Reached for his reaction to Friday’s development, Sipekne’katik Chief Mike Sack expressed surprise and called the referral to restorative justice a “cop out” and a way for the accused to avoid consequences. Video, >click to read< 07:38
New memorial scholarship honors Wrangell commercial fishing siblings Sig and Helen Decker
21-year-old Sig Decker and 19-year-old Helen Decker grew up commercial fishing with their parents on the family boat. “That was a really fun time as a family. It’s sort of the most genuine family time you can get is all being in a little tiny boat in the middle of nowhere and working together,” says Julie Decker, Sig and Helen’s mom. “At a certain point, I think they wanted more. So then they started crewing on seine boats and were on a couple 
different boats, and then eventually were in the same boat, the summer of 2020.” On July 27, 2020, Sig and Helen and two other crewmates, 29-year-old Ian Martin of Petersburg and 37-year-old Dennis Lord of Elmira Heights, New York, were killed in a car crash on Mitkof Island south of Petersburg while on a break from commercial fishing. >click to read< 15:14
Fishermen not feeling the effects of ‘marked decrease’ in Atlantic cod population
What started as a research presentation on rising ocean temperatures and decreasing cod supply by NOAA quickly turned into a revealing conversation about how scientists and their data often do not reflect fishermen’s experiences. Findings by a working group of researchers indicated that the lifecycle of the species is being influenced by the environment, specifically rising ocean temperatures, which have changed the fish’s spawning behavior and their predator-prey relationships. Fishermen did question is whether these facts are having the same implications that the researchers believe. Al Cottone, a Gloucester fisherman, says he feels cod are in different areas, and that he has noticed a change in the tides, too. >click to read< 10:56
Video: Commercial fisherman medevac’d 58 miles southeast of Nantucket, Mass
The Coast Guard conducted a medevac of a fisherman 58 miles southeast of Nantucket, Massachusetts, Wednesday. Coast Guard Sector Southeast New England watchstanders received a notification from the fishing vessel F/V Jean Marie, reporting that a crewmember was having trouble breathing, and were requesting assistance. Video, >click to read< 09:38
Could Shetland’s first RNLI lifeboat return home?
Shetland’s historic first RNLI lifeboat is looking for a new home, and its owner is keen to see if anyone in the isles would be interested in taking her on. The Lady Jane and Martha Ryland was brought to Lerwick in 1930 to give the RNLI its first presence in Shetland. After going out of service, she ended up in Dartmouth at the other end of the UK. She is currently owned by 30-year-old Charles Anderson, who bought the boat during lockdown with the aim of carrying out a restoration. Photos, >click to read< 09:02
Brexit deal branded ‘sell out’ after ‘shameful’ treatment of fishermen
The Trade and Cooperation Agreement which went live at 11pm on December 31, 2020 and is widely referred to as the Brexit deal, set out plans to fulfil the promises made during the Leave campaign. An estimated 92 percent of British fishing communities voted for Brexit, likely lured by promises of “reclaiming our seas” and turning Britain into an “independent coastal state” with higher quotas for fishermen already struggling in the face of European competition. >click to read< 07:57 United Kingdom
The Man at the Wheel: The story behind The Fisherman’s Memorial in Massachusetts
If you live in Gloucester, you may already be familiar with the story of the most iconic statue in town. If you’re a visitor, you may have noticed it, maybe wondered about it, or maybe not thought much about it at all. Regardless, the Fisherman’s Memorial statue is certainly the most recognizable landmark in town. Standing and looking out towards Gloucester Bay, this memorial in Massachusetts has a story, and we are going to tell you all about it. Photos, >click to read< 07:01
Alaska Department of Fish and Game forecasts fair to poor sockeye runs for Cook Inlet, Copper River
State biologists are projecting a mixed bag of returns this spring and summer for Southcentral’s popular sockeye salmon fisheries. Alaska Department of Fish and Game officials on Feb. 7 issued a forecast estimating that just less than 5 million sockeye will return to upper Cook Inlet river systems, allowing for a harvest of nearly 3 million sockeye from the region overall. It’s expected approximately 2.9 million fish from the total run will be headed to the Kenai, with another 941,000 pegged for the nearby Kasilof. >click to read< 19:19
Fishermen protest Texas Parks and Wildlife for closure of oyster reefs
Texas fishermen from across the gulf coast region staged a public protest in front of the Texas Parks and Wildlife office, 2805 N. Navarro St. Wednesday afternoon. About 150 protesters were speaking out against the closure of Texas oyster reefs by Texas Parks and Wildlife. The reefs have been closed in Galveston Bay, Matagorda Bay, San Antonio Bay, and Aransas Bay. Members of the “Save Texas Fishermen Coalition” say they were protesting because these reef closings have effectively ended most commercial oyster fishing in Texas. Photos, >click to read< 17:40
Contessi Launches Fresher Trawler for Arbumasa
According to Domingo Contessi, F/V Huafeng 827 is much similar to the recently launched fresher F/V Antonia D, a multipurpose double-decked trawler with steel hull and aluminum superstructure. ‘But there are a few differences. Antonia D has electric winches, while Huafeng 827 has a hydraulic winch system,’ he said. The new trawler has two Berycar GPH-6L trawl winches, two net drums from the same supplier, plus a mooring winch. He added that the fishroom capacity and the internal layout are also different in the new vessel. Video’s, photos, >click to read< 15:28
Is this your boat? B.C. man looks to solve island mystery
Brad Powell took to social media to try and solve the mystery of who the boat belonged to after he found it on his late father’s property. “We don’t know anything about it, somebody must of brought it onto the property,” he says. “Somebody must of brought it on without my dad’s knowledge, 
which is pretty unlikely, or with his knowledge and he just didn’t tell anyone.” The boat is made of wood even though it might appear like aluminum in photographs. “If you look at the picture, that’s the Washington state identifier on the front there,” he says. “At some point, it was a Washington. Crab boat seems to be the consensus.” Video, >click to read< 12:18
New England and Canada: Seafood watch list weighs ‘red-listing’ lobster. Lobstermen push back
An influential arbiter of the sustainability of seafood is considering whether to drop lobster caught off Maine and Canada from its roster of approved products. The Monterey Bay Aquarium’s Seafood Watch announced this week that it is reviewing whether to add eastern Atlantic lobster harvests and other trap-pot and gillnet fisheries to its Red List,” due to the risk they pose for the survival of the endangered North Atlantic right whale. Last year another seafood rating program, the Marine Stewardship Council, suspended and later reinstated its certification of part of Maine’s lobster fishery. Massachusetts lobstermen are pushing back on the description of their industry as unsustainable. >click to read< 10:39
Cork boat owners urged to use caution around site of sunken trawler
The sinking is the latest chapter in the story of a boat that has been linked to tragedy in the past. Fisher Aidan Burke from Drishane Road, Millstreet, Co Cork, was washed overboard in November 2000 when the Sceptre trawler was fishing out of Union Hall in very heavy seas near the Seven Heads area, between the Old Head of Kinsale and Dunworley Bay. The trawler is understood to have been berthed in the harbour for around five or six years, and had not fished in that time. Photos, >click to read< 08:55
Crab cam video reveals a ‘hectic’ underwater world
An octopus attacking a blue swimmer crab over bait, a squid changing colours as it tries to steal the lot; these are some of the scenes being captured off Adelaide’s beaches to create an unlikely social media hit. Kayak fisher Andy Burnell has been attaching a camera to bait that he places on the ocean floor,,, “What amazed me was the grid pattern the squid displays as it first comes in. The “hectic” nature of blue swimmer crabs too has been startling, in particular their aggressive nature as they attack the camera and jostle for bait, having been swept into a frenzy. “Once they smell the bait in the water, they just come flying in,” >click to read< 08:06
International Pacific Halibut commission raises most Alaska harvest limits for 2022
An uptick in halibut stocks along much of the Pacific coast means increases in total catch limits in every region of Alaska this year. The International Pacific Halibut Commission decided in its annual meeting last week to increase catch limits in every management region except for 2A, which covers the California, Oregon, and Washington coast, with an overall coastwide increase of nearly 6%. The increase comes after IPHC researchers informed the commission that halibut stocks were showing signs of rebounding from lows in the last five years, in part due to a large age class from 2012 becoming mature. The long-term trends of decline seemed to end in 2013, when the stocks began to climb again. >click to read< 14:37
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 72′ Steel RSW Lobster/Crabber, Cat 3406
To review specifications, information, with 56 photos, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here< 12:30
Scottish fishermen launch survey of North Sea fish stocks to tackle government’s ‘poor science’
Scottish fishermen have revealed plans to fund additional surveys of North Sea white fish stocks in a bid to tackle the Scottish Government’s ‘poor science’. The Shetland Fishermen’s Association and the Scottish White Fish Producers’ Association are organizing “rigorous, transparent studies of key fish stocks that are fit for purpose”. The groups, which account for more than 80% of the UK’s white fish catches, criticized the Scottish Government for following “poor science” in its recent decision to close the Clyde cod-box, which led to its plans to fund its own scientific research into the North Sea. >click to read< 11:37
Fatigue Led to Sinking of Fishing Vessel in Alaska
On July 24, 2021, the fishing vessel F/V Tenacious, which fished primarily for pink salmon, grounded at the entrance to Wells Passage while transiting to fishing grounds in Prince William Sound. The five crewmembers abandoned the vessel and were rescued. The Tenacious later sank. The Tenacious crew arrived in Whittier late on July 22 to resolve maintenance issues with their skiff ahead of the opening of the fishery on July 24. Three of the crew made a 4-hour round trip to Seward, Alaska to borrow another skiff. According to a deckhand, the whole crew was running off “not too much sleep.” About two hours after getting under way for the July 24 fishery, the Tenacious struck rocks. >click to read< 10:27
Yucatecan fisherman survives four days at sea clinging to a cooler
A cooler saved the life of Erick AEH, a fisherman from Celestún , who was shipwrecked on Monday, January 31, when the boat sank while returning from fishing. After two days of drifting in that fiberglass structure, a merchant ship en route to Florida rescued him on Wednesday. The fisherman was found about 50 or 60 miles from the coast, the currents and swells moved him away from the site of the shipwreck that occurred about 24 miles off the coast of Celestún. >click to read< 09:25
