Monthly Archives: May 2022
Who’s really in the trap? How new right whale regs are hurting Maine’s lobster industry
I was five years old, opening my family’s refrigerator door in search of a juice box, when a live lobster fell out and started thrashing around on the floor. Naturally, I immediately screamed and ran out of the kitchen at the sight of this crustacean monster. That was the first time I really put the pieces together of what my father did for a living. As a local Maine lobsterman, he would often bring home portions of his catch while I was growing up. I’m not sure if that would be the case now if he were still in the industry. Even in the short span of my lifetime, the Maine fishing industry has faced new challenges as the world changes around us. >click to read < By Hajna Nagy15:43
We’koqma’q gets federal approval for moderate livelihood fishery
We’koqma’q First Nation in Cape Breton reached an understanding with the Department of Fisheries and Oceans this week. Certain harvesters can now fish lobster and sell the harvest during the established 2022 commercial seasons in Lobster Fishing Areas 27 and 31A, which run until mid-July and the the end of June, respectively. “Our harvesters continued to voice how they wanted to be able to exercise their Treaty Rights safely and they are excited to be able to provide for their families and our community through exercising their inherent rights,” said We’koqma’q Chief Annie Bernard-Daisley in a release Friday. Both fishing areas are off the Cape Breton coast. There will be a limit of 210 traps per fishing area, according to a DFO release. > click to read < 14:18
Fishing permitted
Another commercial fishing season is here, and the race is on to get those potentially lucrative “marker” sets. Back in the good old days, a series of signs designating where fishing was prohibited were placed on posts across the Copper River Flats or typically nailed to trees near various streams and bays on Prince William Sound. At one time, the Protection Division of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game even had “stream guards” camped near prime areas to prevent encroachment. “Jumping the gun” to get the first set of an opener was always a tense moment, as was pushing the “line”. One almost longs for the good old days, and some of the colorful stories that resulted. > click to read < 10:29
Are sea lions and seals eating too much of B.C.’s salmon? The answer may lead to a cull
An increasing number of the protected seals and sea lions (larger than seals, sea lions can walk) may be upsetting the balance of the British Columbia marine ecosystem. Now some First Nations are proposing a cull. “Environmentalists trying to stop traditional seal and sea lion hunts … are trying to starve out the Indians,” says Tom Sewid of the Kwakwak’wakw First Nation on northeastern Vancouver Island. “I won’t put up with it.” And as seals and sea lions have prospered, salmon have struggled. “The demise of the salmon runs in British Columbia is equivalent if not greater than the extinction of the great buffalo herds across the Great Plains” in the 1800s, says Sewid. > click to read < 09:01
How California bureaucrats are using a typo to destroy a fisherman’s dream
Bureaucrats sometimes make mistakes. But when they refuse to acknowledge a mistake and double down on it to deprive someone of their livelihood and family business, a lawsuit can be the only way to hold them accountable. That’s what happened to Max Williams, and he’s fighting back. Max has dreamed of captaining his own fishing vessel since he was young. Fishing has been the Williams family’s way of life for decades. They have owned and operated vessels practicing sustainable fishing off the coast of California to feed their community and provide for their family. Like his grandfather and parents before him, Max wants to continue the family tradition and captain his own boat. California law requires Max to obtain a “gillnet” permit from the government before he can legally fish as a vessel operator. > click to read < 17:46
Straus speaks out against proposed changes to scallop permit leases
Plans to allow scallopers to lease out their fishing permits to others have been criticized by South Coast legislators, including Mattapoisett State. Rep. Bill Straus. In a letter to Gov. Charlie Baker dated May 6, the representatives wrote that they are “urging caution regarding the practice of fishing permit leasing”, the practice where scallop boats lease out their fishing days to other vessels rather then go out to sea themselves. The letter was also signed by Reps. Antonio Cabral, Chris Hendricks, Paul Schmid, and Chris Markey. Current regulations limit one permit per vessel. The state plan, from the New England Fishery Management Council, could allow fishermen to extend those leases and time at sea. > click to read < 13:15
Nova Scotia: Fisheries critic calls for fuel price relief for fishermen
The rise in fuel prices is having disastrous effects on fishermen according to Fisheries critic and South Shore – St. Margaret’s MP Rick Perkins. During Question Period this week, Perkins said that fishermen in his area who primarily use diesel as their fuel have seen prices increase by 140 per cent since the fall fishing seasons. “Fishermen are now only going out every other day, in Nova Scotia 70 cents of diesel prices goes to governments, it’s time to lower government fuel taxes,” Perkins said. > click to read < 11:06
Jerry McCune retires as board chairman of Cordova District Fishermen United
Jerry McCune has retired as chairman of the board of Cordova District Fishermen United after 32 years with the historic fishermen’s advocacy group, and members will vote on Tuesday, May 24, on future leadership of CDFU. “Jerry has given decades of leadership and service to the commercial fishing industry and helped shape the greatest CDFU successes for us in Area E,” said CDFU Acting President Ezekiel Brown. “With his mentorship and the recent wins we’re celebrating from this year’s Board of Fish meeting outcomes, our organization is reflecting and spring boarding on Jerry’s tenure to begin a new chapter.” > click to read < 10:36
Trawlermen fish firm crowned UK small business of the year
A Peterhead fish firm that switched from wholesale to e-commerce has landed the Federation of Small Businesses’ (FSB) Small Business of the Year 2022 award. Amity Fish Company, led by Jimmy Buchan, star of the BBC’s Trawlermen TV series, netted the overall prize at the event hosted by TV personalities Clare Balding and JJ Chalmers in Glasgow yesterday. During the pandemic, the business switched from exclusively supplying restaurants and the hospitality trade, to delivering seafood products directly to people in their homes. > click to read < 10:06
Massachusetts: Lawmakers want to pay lobstermen during right whale conservation closure
State senators next week will debate a plan by South Shore lawmakers to pay lobstermen during a months-long annual fishing closure advocates say cuts income of some fishermen by as much as half each year. State senators Patrick O’Connor and Bruce Tarr have filed a budget amendment that would allocate $12 million to pay lobstermen $1 per week per trap they are licensed for during time they are not allowed to fish. The state annually shuts down more than 9,000 square miles of water for at least three months in efforts to protect migrating right whales. > click to read < 08:28
Search underway for entangled North Atlantic right whale spotted in Gulf of St. Lawrence
The whale has been identified as a 14-year-old female, known as Sundog (EG 3823), according to a news release issued Friday. Marine mammal response partners are on standby. “If the whale is located, and weather and sea conditions allow, efforts may be made in the coming days to attempt disentanglement,” the release states. “We do not yet know the type of gear that the whale is entangled in or where the gear came from.” The whale was last seen on March 11, near Cape Cod, Mass. >click to read< 18:09
Fisherman shot dead in ‘pirate’ attack
A Fullerton Village, Icacos, fisherman was shot dead in an incident out at sea yesterday. He was identified as 40-year-old Neemar Seepersad. Police said they are yet to determine what led to the shooting. The Express was told that Seepersad, a father of two, was among a crew of three men on a vessel out at sea. Investigators were told that a vessel, believed to be Venezuelan, approached the local men around 4 p.m. and the occupants opened fire. Seepersad was shot in the chest. The other fishermen steered their vessel to Columbus Bay, where they called for help. Seepersad has been a fisherman for all his life, residents said, and sold fish and shrimp in the community. > click to read < >A video report< 16:40
SEA-NL calls for public inquiry into fishing vessel safety, search and rescue
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador is calling for a joint, federal/provincial commission of inquiry into fishing vessel safety, and search and rescue response in this province to investigate why incidents and deaths at sea are on the rise. “There is no greater indictment of serious, systemic problems with fishing vessel safety and search and rescue than the rise in mariner deaths,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director. “Fishing is already one of the most dangerous occupations in the world without lax government oversight increasing those risks.” > click to read < 13:30
New fishing partnership enters industry
Brodie Ramsay, Jack Garrick, and Skipper John Williamson are joint owners of the 23-metre vessel, built in 1993. The sale of the vessel, including licences and quota, marks another chapter in the ongoing process of younger crews taking over. Twenty-year-old Ramsay, from Ollaberry, who has already been at the fishing for the last five years, said the move felt like a “good opportunity to get into the industry”.> click to read < 12:19
Blessing of the Fleet returns to the Pass Christian Harbor Saturday
A celebration steeped in tradition and history returns to the Pass Christian Harbor this Saturday. The annual Blessing of the Fleet returns and organizers hope it brings awareness to the struggles faced by our Coast seafood industry. Chairman Kirk Kimball said, “It’s an honor to bring back something that we can put back on the pedestal that was once dusty and we want to refine it and put it back again.” Shrimpers will once again be blessed for a safe and bountiful season at the Pass Christian Harbor when the 44th annual event happens this weekend. > click to read < 10:25
Report on deaths of 4 fishermen in Placentia Bay leaves family still looking for answers
The wife of a fisherman who died when the Sarah Anne fishing boat sank nearly two years ago says her family is still without answers, following the release of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada’s investigation report Wednesday. Melissa Mayo-Norman said Wednesday was an emotional day for her and the other families, who are still mourning the May 2020 loss of the Sarah Anne’s four-man crew of Scott Norman, 35, Mayo-Norman’s husband, Eddie Joe Norman, 67, Jody Norman, 42, and Isaac Kettle, 33, all from St. Lawrence, on Newfoundland’s Burin Peninsula. “We were hoping for some closure, which we didn’t receive,” Mayo-Norman said. “Unfortunately we were given no answers as to what may have happened that day, only what recommendations they could give for the Newfoundland fishermen.” > click to read < 09:11
Fuel Crisis: Fuel costs ‘jeopardising’ UK fishing fleet
Soaring fuel costs have now risen to a “level that jeopardises the viability of parts of the fleet” and could affect supply from UK fishing boats over the coming months, the National Federation of Fishermen’s Organisations has warned.The viability of the fleet was currently being supported by high fish prices, the industry body said this week. However, the sector was still in an “inherently unstable and fragile balance”, which could soon result in vessels being taken out of the water. The four fishing federations representing England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland that make up the NFFO recently met with fisheries minister Victoria Prentis to warn about the fuel “crisis engulfing the fishing industry”, it said. > click to read < 08:46
Conch May Be Doomed—by the Massachusetts DMF Target of Females
The sun permanently setting on a near half century old fishery processor in the nation’s lead commercial fisheries revenue port is not a pretty sight to contemplate. But it is real. And contemplated by a significant processor particularly well run key component to the channeled conch fishery supporting dozens of boats in Southern New England waters. New fishing rules increased the minimum legal landing size by 1/8” chute gauge width size bi-annually since 2019, each time reducing the commercial landings by 120,000 pounds—and revenues lost in that time over $500,000. The next increase is slated for 2023; independent marine economists say “the once $6 million annual fishery will be dropped from the recent annual landings of 806,000 pounds to about 600,000 pounds. Twenty boats will no longer economically function. And the fish processor loading dock will become part time. Or close. Or move out of state where species conservation and scientific awareness, and the fishery economics, will be in far better balance.” > click to read < 17:19
All eyes on Bristol Bay after state predicts a record season, but fishery’s economics still in flux
The summer salmon season is due to ramp up in Alaska over the next few months, and the main focus of this year’s salmon fishery statewide will be on Bristol Bay sockeye. Of the 160.6 million salmon of all species that the Alaska Department of Fish and Game forecasts will be harvested in 2022, 74 million of those are sockeye and about three-quarters of those would come from Bristol Bay. Another 67.2 million are pink salmon, with the rest made up of smaller numbers of the other three species. If the forecast proves accurate, this will be the biggest year ever for the Bristol Bay fishery. > click to read < 14:15
Salvage of sunken commercial fishing boat in Port of Eden nears completion
The salvage of the Janet, the commercial fishing boat that sank at Eden in the early hours of April 20, is almost complete. It took attempts by two salvors to successfully bring the purse seiner back up to the surface this week, almost a month after it first became partially submerged. The local vessel was carrying 50 tonnes of salmon when it began taking on water at the middle wharf of Eden Port and despite efforts of Fire and Rescue NSW and the owner to try to prevent the partially submerged boat from sinking further, it was inundated with water and went to the bottom. > click to read < 12:44
Transport Canada – DFO issuing fishing licences in N.L. without checking boat registrations
An investigation into a fatal 2020 fishing accident in Newfoundland has prompted the Transportation Safety Board to call on the federal Fisheries Department to change the way it issues fishing licences. The board is asking the department to ensure all Canadian commercial fishing vessels are registered with Transport Canada before issuing fishing licences. Safety board chair Kathy Fox said Wednesday that an investigation into the sinking of a crab fishing boat that killed four men revealed that more than 4,000 fishing vessels in Newfoundland and Labrador were registered with the Fisheries Department but not with Transport Canada. > click to read < 12:01
Inland Fisheries: ‘It’s in the blood’ for Lake Erie commercial fishermen
It’s about 6:25 a.m. on Tuesday, March 29 on the pitch-black calm of Lake Erie. The Lady Anna II is pointed due south, about 10 miles due south of Kingsville and five miles northwest of the north shore of Pelee Island. In the wheelhouse, Captain Mike Mummery has slowed the Lady Anna II to a one-knot crawl. Craig Adamson and Josh Mummery are at the starboard midship “picking” station, removing 2,000 pounds of pickerel from the more 
than one-third of a mile of net hauled aboard just 35 minutes ago. James “Marty” Martin and Curtis Mummery stand by at the open sliding doors of the port stern hatch. “Marty” is facing the stern, just forward of the “roller”; a metal spool mounted vertically on a metal pole. At his feet are boxes loaded-up with 160-yard-long sections of empty, clean net. The end of one of those boxes of net is draped over the roller, towards the stern. > Click to read < 10:53
Fishermen from across North East and Yorkshire in boat protest over mass shellfish deaths
Fishermen have held a protest on Teesside over the ongoing deaths of crabs and lobsters which they say is decimating their industry. Government scientists say natural algae in the water is responsible, but protestors want proof that recent dredging in the North Sea has not also had an impact in creating what they are calling a “dead zone”. Thirty fishing boats from Whitby, Redcar and Hartlepool sailed to South Gare to meet protestors on land to demonstrate about the continuing crisis. >click to read< 08:59
Let’s save Maine’s lobster industry from death by regulation
If you’ve ever been to the state of Oregon – home of the “other” Portland – you only need to drive south of the big city to see the human impact of overzealous conservationism. This is the habitat of the Spotted Owl, whose inclusion to the endangered species list in 1990 shut down the timber industry there, eliminating 32,000 jobs in the process. Something eerily similar is about to happen to iconic Maine lobstermen in an effort to save the Right Whale. >click to read< 08:07
Far North iwi creating fishery pathways for rangatahi in South Island
The fisheries sector in Te Waipounamu (South Island) has a number of career opportunities for both rangatahi (young people) and those with more experience. Two Far North iwi have travelled to Te Waipounamu (South Island) to help establish employment pathways for rangatahi (youth) in the fisheries sector. An iwi delegation comprising Whangaroa and Te Aupōuri members was busy touring Nelson and Motueka last week, exploring opportunities for mahi (work) in both deep-sea fishing and shore-based factory processing. Sealord and Talley’s hosted the group, who were shown around each of the company’s different facilities, including Talley’s Motueka accommodation for shore-based northern workers and a deep-sea fishing school at Westport. Te Aupōuri commercial manager Penetaui Kleskovic said feedback from the sector was there was dire a shortage of workers for New Zealand’s deep-sea fishing fleets. >click to read< 16:22
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 50′ Fiberglass Dragger/Permits, Cat 3206
To review specifications, information, and 36 photos’, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here< 13:11
TSB Report: F/V Sarah Anne likely capsized suddenly, causing the deaths of all 4 men aboard.
Clifford Harvey, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada’s director of marine investigation, said the absence of life-saving equipment and distress signals support the conclusion that the vessel’s capsizing took the crew by surprise. The crew, skipper Eddie Joe Norman, 67; his son, Scott Norman, 35; his nephew, Jody Norman, 42, and Isaac Kettle, 33, left St. Lawrence, on Newfoundland’s Burin Peninsula, shortly after midnight on May 25, 2020, to fish for snow crab in Placentia Bay. The vessel was last seen 10:30 a.m. that day and was reported missing at 7:45 p.m. when it was overdue for its return. Harvey said the Sarah Anne was not equipped with a vessel monitoring system or an automatic identification system. >click to read< 11:40
Best Diesel Marine Engines
It’s difficult to even quantify the importance of a reliable marine diesel engine. Sport-fishing/commercial fishing boats around the world simply wouldn’t have the legs to do what they do without these expertly and carefully crafted diesel machines. Evolving technologies continue to produce highly efficient and advanced engines for marine applications, whether starting new or repowering. Here, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best in the business. >click to read< 10:33
Fish and chips may ‘double’ in price without fuel help
A major figure in New Zealand’s fishing industry warns more boats could be tied up and the price of fish and chips will double unless the sector gets the same fuel assistance given to others. Already Westfleet Seafoods’ 400 tonne trawler Tasman Viking has been tied up at Nelson’s port for a fortnight because of the spiraling cost of fuel. The company’s chief executive, Craig Boote, said that if the government did not play fair and apply fuel discounts to all New Zealand businesses the fishing industry could be on its knees in weeks. “Fuel is a huge component of our commercial operations and without a reduction the price of fish will unfortunately skyrocket,” he said. “The only other option is to tie boats up, which of course has a snowball effect, with onshore jobs in the factory, engineering and more, being negatively affected.” >click to read< 09:02
Commercial fishermen dealing with off the chart fuel prices
The fuel prices are also affecting prices out at sea. Many commercial fishermen use diesel, which is now running well over 6 dollars a gallon. Captain James Keding has been running Mary K, named after his mother, for 38 years. He says his mussel harvesting operation is taking a huge hit from fuel prices. “Back in 2019, I paid $1.50 a gallon, now I’m paying $6.50 a gallon,” said Keding. Lobstermen are also in a pinch. Captain Dave Hobson says the Right Whale restrictions were just lifted so everyone in his line of work is trying to run their traps out with the higher fuel costs. >click to read< 07:53 Video, Rising diesel prices having big impact on commercial fishermen, >click to watch<
