Daily Archives: March 30, 2022
Whitby’s 103-year-old lifeboat Robert and Ellen Robson pulled through streets
Whitby’s RNLI crew and other volunteers gathered at Coates Marine to pull Whitby’s old rowing lifeboat, the Robert and Ellen Robson, back to its home at the lifeboat museum on Pier Road. The boat has been at Coates Marine undergoing restoration work but will now get a final lick of paint at the lifeboat museum – the RNLI hopes to reopen the museum this summer. Until 1957 RNLB Robert & Ellen Robson was still in service in Whitby with 10 members of crew providing the muscle power on the oars. Video, >click to read< 22:35
Ottawa announces closure of Atlantic mackerel, bait fisheries to restore stocks
Fishers on the East Coast are expressing their disappointment with Ottawa after DFO closed the Atlantic mackerel and commercial bait fisheries, citing concerns that dwindling stocks have entered a “critical zone.” The department said in a release Wednesday it was taking “urgent action” to help preserve the stock of southern Gulf spring herring and Atlantic mackerel with the closures in Atlantic Canada and Quebec. Fisheries Minister Joyce 
Murray said she recognizes many harvesters depend on the fisheries, and she promised to work with them and others in the industry to preserve the stocks. Fishers in the sector, however, want the decision reversed. Martin Mallet, “It’s going to have a major impact — an atomic bomb impact — on our whole East Coast fishery, from Newfoundland to Quebec to southwest Nova Scotia,” >click to read< 18:52
Mi’kmaw negotiator advocates for reduction in commercial catches to bolster treaty fishery
A top Mi’kmaw negotiator insisted commercial catches should be reduced anyway to ensure the treaty right is realized, while the president of a commercial fishermen’s association responded that enough has been done and the failure rests with Ottawa and First Nation leaders. “You heard from the chiefs, the buy-back program hasn’t been successful. So maybe at this point, Canada and DFO have to be more aggressive in taking back access 
for the Mi’kmaw people and Indigenous people,” Janice Maloney told the committee. Colin Sproul, president of the Unified Fisheries Conservation Alliances, challenged the demand. Sproul represents 1,900 commercial fishermen. “It’s clearly unfair and un-Canadian to repossess access to the fishery from coastal communities without any consultation or compensation,” Sproul said. >click to read< 17:31
SEA-NL calls for Derek Butler’s resignation from Association of Seafood Producers
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador, representing owner-operators in the inshore fleet, is calling for the resignation of the executive director of the association representing buyers/processors after publicly criticizing the province’s snow crab resource. “Derek Butler said on NTV News Tuesday that our snow crab is second-rate compared to product from the Maritimes, worth 30% less,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director. “For the spokesman for seafood companies in this province to say that publicly shows poor judgement and reflects poorly on what is the best snow crab in the world. He must no longer speak for industry.” >click to read< 13:36
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 85′ Shrimper/Scalloper, 3412 Cat, 2 JD Auxiliaries
To review specifications, information, and 45 photos’, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here< 11:55
Commercial Fisherman Captain Jason Ian Nevel of Ohio has passed away
Jason came into this life on November 19, 1977, in Hamilton, Ohio. As early as age 6 he was drawing pictures of fish and boats and said he wanted to be a fisherman when he grew up. He became a crewmember on a commercial fishing boat and over the years worked his way up and passed the test to obtain his Commercial Captain License, something he was very proud of. Like most commercial fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico, Captain Jason worked hard and played hard. In the past couple of years, he returned to Hamilton but would travel back to Florida to work on fishing boats. He was at home on the ocean, he said that is where he found peace and tranquility. >click to read< 11:09
‘CODA’ – A win for America’s oldest seaport
CODA’s big wins at the 94th Academy Awards Sunday night was not only a win for the deaf community, it was also a win for the nation’s oldest seaport in its portrayal of the fishing industry and its families. CODA did not turn to special effects to tell the story on the water. Instead, it turned Capt. Paul Vitale’s 50-foot fishing vessel F/V Angela Rose into a working movie set in August and September of 2019. Vitale said Monday morning his phone was “going nonstop and more” after CODA’s big wins. “I’m so psyched for them to win all three Oscars last night,” Vitale said. It was a surprise, but he credited the cast and crew for making it happen. “On the boat, they worked real hard.” photos, >click to read< 10:24
Fishers are key players
This week we celebrate the fisheries and the crucial role it plays in the Island economy. The value of the fisheries exceeds $590 million in this small province which boasts a population somewhere in the neighbourhood of 160,000 residents. The worth is evident in the fact harvesting and processing of fisheries and aquaculture products accounts for about 9,500 jobs. Among those involved in the industry are skilled lobster and crab fishers, mussel farmers, oyster harvesters and all who earn a living from the water. All Islanders benefit from a lucrative fishery. However, those engaged in it will be especially challenged this coming season with escalating fuel prices which influences the cost of bait, transport of product and other essentials. >click to read< 09:16
Copper River Seafoods not buying Cook Inlet salmon amid declining harvests
Another seafood processor is moving out of Kenai this salmon season. Copper River Seafoods is ending its run in the old Snug Harbor Seafood plant, leaving one major salmon processor in the area but promising the addition of a new company soon. Processors like Copper River buy catch from commercial fishermen and bring that catch to market. As commercial fishermen have dealt with declining salmon runs and management changes, processors from Kenai to Homer have left, too, leaving fishermen with fewer options. >click to read< 08:53
Largest Cod of the Year?
The crew of the trawler Bergey VE from Vestmannaeyjar islands had a reason to cheer this week, when they caught a huge cod, “It was a cod that weighed about 50 kg (110 lbs) and measured 1.8 meters (70 in),” states Captain Jón Valgeirsson. “It was old and respectable and managed to escape all nets and trawls year after year.” This could be the largest cod of the year. It was caught in the the Háfadýpi fishing ground. Last year’s largest cod weighed 51 kg. It was caught by the crew of the boat Sólrún EA near Kolbeinsey islet, north of Iceland. >click to read< 07:35
