Monthly Archives: May 2022
Who decides the price of fish at the wharf?
“They’re going to stop buying crab. They’re not going to buy crab if they’re losing money. The processors always have the upper hand,” Jason Sullivan, a fisherman from Bay Bulls, Newfoundland and Labrador, told The Independent back in mid-May, just before going crab fishing. As it turns out, those words foreshadowed a May 30 press release from the Association of Seafood Producers, which represents most processors in the province, that reads: “Snow crab producers compelled to respond to 2022 market challenges” and “full picture will become apparent in the coming days.” “It’s the exact opposite happening this year as to what happened to fishermen last year,” says Sullivan—who is also the president of SEA-NL, an association for licensed, independent owner-operator inshore fish harvesters in Newfoundland and Labrador. >click to read< 16:31
Alabama: Gulf Coast Shrimp Season Opens June 1st
June 1 will begin like any other day for Alabama’s shrimp, until the boats start chugging and the nets start dropping. On that day, all bets are off if you’re a shrimp. The Marine Resources Division of the Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources announced (last) Monday that all inside waters not permanently closed by law or regulation will be open for shrimp fishing beginning June 1. Shrimp swimming in Mobile Bay, Bon Secour Bay, Mississippi Sound, Perdido Bay, Arnica Bay, Wolf Bay and Little Lagoon will be up for grabs on that day through the end of the year. >click to read< 15:44
Scallop Public Comment Meeting / NCFA Meet and Greet, June 1 @ 5PM
All fishermen are invited to attend the New Bern meeting, June 1st @ 1700. NCFA will be hosting a Meet and Greet just after public comments at the following location, Cypress Hall Restaurant 219 Middle Street, New Bern, NC. >click to read< 14:19
Rare Sighting: Killer Whale Cruising Cape Cod Waters is 30′ Bull Named ‘Old Thom’
The killer whale recently spotted swimming in the waters off Cape Cod is a huge 30-foot bull known as Old Thom. Just under two weeks ago the killer whale was spotted swimming 40 miles east of Nantucket, Massachusetts. Fisherman Jerry Leeman managed to capture a video of the rare sighting. In the footage, an orca can be seen swimming alongside his fishing boat. Killer whales are commonly seen off the West Coast of the U.S, however, it is incredibly rare to see them in New England—these waters are usually great white shark territory. >click to read< 10:57
Snow crab producers compelled to respond to 2022 market challenges
The Association of Seafood Producers (ASP), representing the majority of Newfoundland and Labrador based snow crab producers, issued a media release today, saying the industry is compelled to respond to the 2022 market uncertainty. ASP says it has serious concerns that the snow crab market is not functioning in a normal manner, and that US and Japanese buyers have been reluctant to place orders for snow crab or have slowed their crab purchases week after week in the hopes of finding the bottom of the market. Newfoundland and Labrador have to date landed and produced over 60% of the crab, well ahead of previous years given this year’s quota increase. >click to read< 09:34
Lobster Season Comes to an end in LFA’s 33 & 34
Today is the last day in the season. It was a season of record prices according to the executive director of the Brazil Rock 33/34 Lobster Association, Dan Fleck. He says prices reached over $17 and discussed where they are at the close of the season “I would say $10. There are certain deals where people might be offered more in certain areas but we’re looking between $10 and $11 for a closing price in LFA 33 and 34.” Fleck is looking back on the season. While it was marked by rising fuel costs, he says it was also very safe. >click to read< 08:18
Fishermen seek greater understanding of wind farm impacts
Projects already in the pipeline could wreak havoc with key spawning and nursery grounds for important fish stocks, they warned today. According to Shetland Fishermen’s Association (SFA), there are major overlaps between proposed areas of offshore wind farm development and sensitive ecosystems for young fish. Several wind farm areas will impact the spawning and nursery grounds of Scotland’s most valuable pelagic fish stocks, such as mackerel, herring and blue whiting, the industry body added. SFA also pointed to research showing a negative impact on shellfish species from offshore turbines and associated cabling. >click to read< 19:11
Canadian yard delivers a versatile fisheries vessel
The Listuguj Mi’gmaq Government, an indigenous Canadian community on Quebec’s Gaspé Peninsula, has accepted delivery of a new 19.81 by 7.31-meter (65 x24-foot) combination crab trap and groundfish trawler. The vessel was designed by NAVANEX and built by Chantier Naval Forillon, both of Gaspé, Quebec, Canada. Named Ugjit Mijua’ji’jg in the Mi’gmaw language, the name means “For Our Children”, a reference to the optimism that the community has for its continuing role in commercial fishery. This is the third vessel that Chantier Naval Forillon has built for the Listuguj Mi’gmaq Government and the most sophisticated. It has several features that will equip it for efficiency in both pot fishery for snow crab and for trawling shrimp and bottom fish. Photos, >click to read< 15:04
Lobsters Develop Malformations in The Presence of Submarine Power Cables
A European study recently revealed an example proving that submarine power cables can have undesirable consequences on marine animal species. The work focuses on lobster, some specimens of which may indeed present malformations. With the help of other European researchers, a laboratory at the St Abbs marine station (United Kingdom) carried out a very telling experiment. The scientists exposed no less than 4,000 lobster eggs to a level of electromagnetic field similar to those usually present near undersea cables. At the same time, they observed the development of another group of unexposed eggs. According to the results, lobsters exposed to the waves are three times more likely to suffer from malformations. >click to read< 12:26
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for May 30, 2022
Finally! An issue both the CCA and NCFA agree on. Do you believe in miracles? If not, you should. On May 25, at the meeting of the North Carolina Marine Fisheries Commission, David Sneed, Executive Director of the CCA NC, made the following statement during the public comment period. “On Southern Flounder, the recent recreational overages were the result of derby fishing brought about by insufficient management action from Amendment 2. Harvest and overage estimates that are provided by MRIP were never intended to be used to manage a fishery through a quota,,, Sound familiar? If you’re one of our regular readers it should. . >click to read<. To read all the updates >click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here< 11:51
Captain Salvatore (Sam) Ciolino of Gloucester has passed away
Salvatore Ciolino (Sam) of Gloucester MA, passed away peacefully on May 27th at Beverly Hospital surrounded by his loving family. He was born in Gloucester MA, on November 10, 1936. Sam was the son of the late Girolamo Ciolino and Antoinette (Scola). Sam was a lifelong fisherman and the captain of The Baby Jerry. He loved to be with his family and enjoyed making Sunday dinner for us to all be together. As he grew older, he enjoyed watching sports in his favorite chair and lived for his grandchildren to walk through the door. Sam will be remembered for his contagious smile and all the love he gave to anyone in his presence. >click to read< 10:26
Mississippi: 93rd Annual Blessing of the Fleet welcomes the new shrimp season
Boats lined up alongside Deer Island celebrating the 93rd Annual Blessing of the Fleet. The annual blessing which promotes a successful and safe fishing season is a tradition in Biloxi. Michael Kovacevich remembers attending the ceremony as a young boy. “My family came from Croatia to Biloxi and like hundreds of others to work the seafood, so you know just about everybody in Biloxi can tie their past to seafood,” Kovacevich said. This year, the Shrimp King and Queen were on the blessing boat. King Joseph Powell said riding on the blessing boat brought him old memories of when he was a fisher. “It brings back old memories of the Mid 50′s when I was a shrimper and being on the boat. >click to read< 09:40
Boaties rescued off Fraser Island
The Bundaberg RACQ LifeFlight Rescue helicopter crew has assisted in a mission to help four trawler crew members, who set off an emergency beacon, after their boat was damaged off K’gari (Fraser Island) overnight. The rescue crew was tasked by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) to locate the 15 metre vessel, around 2.45am Monday morning, after its EPIRB (Emergency Positioning Indicating Radio) was activated. The four people on board reportedly deployed a life boat as a precaution, in case they needed to abandon their trawler, which had damage to its hull and propeller.>click to continue< 21:37
San Francisco D.A. wants a fisherman to pay nearly $1 million over illegal Dungeness crabbing in MPA
A commercial fisherman from Vallejo is accused of illegally catching more than 250 Dungeness crabs at the protected North Farallon Islands State Marine Reserve, San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin announced Friday. On Feb. 11, an unidentified fisherman alerted the California Department of Fish and Wildlife of commercial Dungeness crab traps in the North Farallon Islands State Marine Reserve area, according to a complaint filed by the San Francisco District Attorney’s Office. Officers from the CDFW then found what appeared to be a line, also called a “string,” of 92 commercial Dungeness crab trap buoys in the southern part of the reserve,,, >click to read< 17:21
Reallocation: coming to a dock near you?
Ever since quota transfers in “shared fisheries” have been made so easy to justify (see the Massachusetts justification for the recent reallocation of fluke, bluefish and black sea bass at https://tinyurl.com/yckkr6vm), such transfers each year are going to cost us hundreds of tons of product and tens of millions of dollars of business. And as long as one-third of the voting members of the eight regional fishery management councils and three commissions either work for or run the state agencies that are funded in very large part by Wallop-Breaux revenues (see my most recent piece on Wallop-Breaux funding at https://fisherynation.com/
Commercial Fishing Captain Malvin Kvilhaug of Fairhaven, Massachusetts, has passed away
Malvin Kvilhaug, 83, of Fairhaven passed away peacefully on May 26, 2022 after a courageous battle with pancreatic cancer. He was at home surrounded by his family. Malvin was born in Aakrehamn, Karmoy, Norway, and was the son of the late Martin and Hulda (Grodem) Kvilhaug. Malvin began his life in Fairhaven in 1961 and made a large impact on the tight-knit Norwegian community. Captain Kvilhaug was a successful scallop captain and fishing was a major part of his life. Malvin made his way in the fishing industry through hard work, determination, and a ‘never give up’ mentality. Malvin was a captain for many years and enjoyed time on his boats – FV Michigan, FV Contender, FV Concordia and the FV Sandra Jane all out of Fairhaven. In addition, he was one of the five co-founders of the Fishery Survival Fund. >click to read< 11:53
Sea Hunt! Sub proposed for war on lionfish
Two marine enthusiasts are taking lionfish hunting to a whole new level, and depth as they are working on outfitting a submarine to wage war on one of Florida’s most-wanted invasive species. Scott Gonnello and Scott Cassell have begun plans to outfit a one-person Kittredge K-250 submarine into an underwater lionfish hunting machine and plan to bring the sub to John Pennekamp Coral Reef State Park in Key Largo for World Oceans Day on Wednesday, June 8. The sub was first welded together in the 1970s but was rotting away in a backyard in Cassell’s home state of California until he obtained it 1991. Cassell has since logged more than 15,000 hours under sea in it, he said. >click to read< 10:33
Fisherman on a Mission to Save the Kaiki, Greece’s Iconic Fishing Boat
In 2007, the European Union announced a new policy to bring a balance between fishing resources and all the related activities surrounding it, including the destruction of Greece’s iconic ‘kaiki’ fishing boats, in an effort to address the depletion of fish in the Mediterranean. In reality, this means the physical destruction, or “cutting,” of fishing boats that are more than ten years old, with the offering of compensation for the loss of fishermen’s ancient livelihood and their wooden boats,,, About 13,000 kaikia have been deliberately destroyed since 1994 after the EU directive called for the demolition of the small wooden fishing boats which Greek fishermen have used for millennia. Video, photos, >click to read< 09:24
Factory trawler runs aground near Unalaska airport runway
The F/V Enterprise, a factory trawler, ran aground in Unalaska Saturday evening. The 124-foot fishing vessel ran up against the shore at the end of the runway at Tom Madsen Airport at approximately 8 p.m. Ports Director Peggy McLaughlin said the matter had been passed to the Coast Guard. Representatives from the coast guard could not be reached for comment on Saturday night. >click to read< 07:59
Avoiding ship strikes – Robotic buoys developed to keep Atlantic right whales safe
A Cape Cod science center and one of the world’s largest shipping businesses are collaborating on a project to use robotic buoys to protect a vanishing whale from lethal collisions with ships. A lab at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution developed the technology, which uses buoys and underwater gliders to record whale sounds in near real time. The robotic recorders give scientists, mariners and the public an idea of the location of rare North Atlantic right whales, said Mark Baumgartner, a marine ecologist with Woods Hole whose lab also operates the buoys. >click to read< 14:00
Lobster prices dropping
The price of lobster and seafood at large has shot up in recent years, and the price to lobster fishermen at the docks increased by about 60% last year. But lobster prices appear to be leveling off, and some retailers are selling the prized crustaceans for a couple dollars less than last year. Members of the industry said the price to fishermen is also falling at a time when they are struggling with high bait and fuel prices and costly gear conversations intended to try to protect rare whales. “And that’s why it’s hard, if bait was up and fuel was up and the price of lobsters was up, you’d be where you always are,” said Kristan Porter, president of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association. “But with those down, that makes it hard to justify going in.” >click to read< 12:08
Fisherman hits jackpot, becomes millionaire overnight
A fisherman in the Jevani area of Gwadar hit a jackpot and became a millionaire overnight after he caught a rare croaker fish weighing 48 kilogrammes and sold it for millions in an auction. A rare Sowa (locally known as Kiri) fish got entangled in the net of a Jevani fisherman, according to a local fisherman. It was afterwards reported to have sold at auction for a staggering Rs 13.5 million. Pharmaceutical companies use a unique form of substance present in fish that is considered more valuable than the meat in the creation of surgical products. >click to read< 11:13
Brixham Fish Market protesters accept offer of meeting
Campaigners from the Ocean Rebellion protest group have accepted an offer to talk to Brixham fish industry leaders about sustainability and the environment. Brixham Fish Market managing director Barry Young made the offer after a high-profile protest at the market gates in which Ocean Rebellion raised concerns about the effect of beam trawling on the seabed. Mr Young said the industry was rigorously policed for its environmental impact, and with a £43m annual turnover it supported hundreds of jobs in the local economy. He said he would welcome the chance to brief Ocean Rebellion and explain the industry’s position. >click to read< 08:49
Massachusetts weighs relief fund to the lobster industry
Lawmakers want to create a new fund to help commercial lobstermen whose livelihoods are being impacted by state and federal regulations aimed at protecting critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. An amendment added to the Senate version of the $49.7 billion state budget, approved Thursday, May 26, would set up a lobstering closure mitigation fund through the state’s unemployment system with at least $12 million in initial funding. The amendment was co-sponsored by Sens. Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, and Patrick O’Connor, R-Weymouth, who say the move will provide “much needed relief” for the lobster industry. “It is absolutely critical that we provide relief to the people in this industry which is so important to the commonwealth,” Tarr said. “As the second largest provider of lobster in the nation these workers are needed for another day, another year, and another generation.” >click to read< 08:03
‘It’s the big guys that want it’: New Bedford scallopers leery of leasing proposal
“A typical full-time [Limited Access] scallop vessel harvests its annual scallop allocation in approximately 70 days, leaving vessels inactive and tied to the dock more than 80 percent of the year,” the organization wrote in a July 2020 letter to the NEFMC. “The only growth option is to buy another permit, which means buying another vessel. “Although one vessel could easily harvest the allocation of two LA permits, the fleet has no flexibility to do so,” it continues. “In the absence of a leasing program, smaller, independent owner/operators are not able to grow their operations in reasonable increments.” But to Manuel Vieira, owner and captain of The Guidance, arguments revolving around flexibility were merely pretty words. “They say there will be flexibility because that’s what they think the [council] wants to hear,” Vieira said in Portuguese. “But it won’t pan out well for the little guy.”Video, >click to read< 15:39
Labrador Shrimp Company Partnership Brings 70 EPIRBS to Harvesters
Seventy commercial fishing enterprises in southern Labrador between L’Anse au Clair and Cartwright will receive an EPIRB. This is made possible through a living memorial to two young harvesters who lost their lives while fishing on the F/V Island Lady on September 17, 2021. Marc Russell, aged 25 from Mary’s Harbour, and Joey Jenkins, aged 30 from Lodge Bay, failed to return home to their community and were never found. The Labrador 
Shrimp Company is spear-heading the project in collaboration with the Newfoundland and Labrador Fish Harvesting Safety Association (NL-FHSA), Fish Harvesters’ Resource Centre (FRC), Professional Fish Harvesters Certification Board (PFHCB), and the Fish Food and Allied Workers Union (FFAW-Unifor). >click to read the press release< 13:52
Fisheries minister defends rare decision to overturn board on new crab licences
The chair of Newfoundland and Labrador’s Fish Processing Licensing Board is speaking out after Fisheries Minister Derrick Bragg overruled the board and denied coveted crab licences for plants in two communities. Reg Anstey said the board’s recommendations on snow crab licences were made over more than a year of research and meetings with scientists in the fishery, adding the independent board’s mandate is to assess the entire industry without a political lens. The board had recommended that four processing plants receive snow crab licences — St. Mary’s Bay Fisheries, Dandy Dan’s in Argentia, Bay Roberts Seafoods and HSF Ocean Products in O’Donnells. However, Bragg only approved crab licences for two of the plants, in St. Mary’s and in Argentia. >click to read< 12:37
Broad right whale regulations decried by Massachusetts lobster industry
Lobster industry representatives and conservationists are pondering regulations aimed at protecting right whales, which continue to hamper Massachusetts fishermen causing months of lost income. Since 2015, lobstermen have had to work around area restrictions prohibiting fishing in gillnet fisheries during the time right whales are often present. So far, the Bay State has reduced its risk to right whales by 92% through a suite of measures including closures, weak rope, line diameter restrictions and trawling up, Casoni said. >click to read< 11:11
Details Needed about Cameras on Vessels Announcement – Cameras hailed, with caveat
In response to Minister David Parker’s announcement on 25 May about the national roll-out of cameras on commercial inshore fishing vessels, Seafood New Zealand (SNZ) Chief Executive Jeremy Helson says the most important questions still remain unanswered. “We now know a couple more details, and it is good to see progress, but we are still very much in the dark about the important things. >click to read<
Fishing cameras hailed, with caveat – While environmental protection organisations have welcomed the Government’s imminent introduction of cameras on commercial inshore fishing vessels, Port Chalmers fishermen are not convinced it is viable. Oceans and Fisheries Minister David Parker said up to 300 inshore fishing vessels would be fitted with the technology by the end of 2024, providing independent, accurate information about fishing activity and better evidence for decision-making. >click to read< 08:50
