Monthly Archives: May 2022
Another big Maritime fishery quota cut looming
Another Maritime fishery is facing a big quota cut this year. The only question is how big. This time it is the large herring fishery in southwestern Nova Scotia and the Bay of Fundy. The stock is in the critical zone where serious harm is occurring, but the fishery employs hundreds of people in Nova Scotia and New Brunswick. What happens next will again test how far Canada’s fisheries minister is willing to go to rebuild a depleted stock. >click to read< 09:35
New England’s founding fish, may be returning to local waters
Atlantic cod, once a mainstay of the region’s economy, is being fished at historically low levels, but a research scientist whose past findings opened up a tightly regulated scallop fishery says cod may be staging a comeback. Before he heads out to sea, commercial fisherman Raymond Lees stops by Reidar’s Trawl Gear & Marine Supply in New Bedford to buy custom-designed fishing nets. The shape of the net, the width of its mouth and the size of its holes all help him target certain species of fish and, perhaps more importantly, avoid others. “I’ve spent so long running away from codfish that I’ve gotten better at running away from codfish,” Lees said during a recent run to Reidar’s. “I have specialized gear and I’m good at what I do.” “We went from a huge fishing business, as far as the groundfishing fleet’s concerned, of 300 boats down to 20 boats,” Bendiksen said. “It’s pretty much a 90 percent loss of what the fleet was.” >click to read< 08:10
Aloncar Launches Largest Trawler in 40 Years
After two decades of inactivity, the Aloncar shipyard at Necochea in Argentina, has been resuming projects over the past five years, since engineer Hugo Obregozo became one of its owners. On 20th April, this new phase of activity resulted the launching of BP Skipper, a 28-metre fresher trawler entirely built by Aloncar. BP Skipper is entirely funded by its owner, the fishing company Ocean Fish. Its design was inspired on Norwegian and 
Icelandic vessels, with a double deck and an inverted bow, he explained. ‘Both of these features are not common in Argentina. The double deck allows the catch selection, washing and handling to be carried out under shelter. The inverted bow is especially important in rough sea conditions, as it reduces resistance and vessel movement, and makes it handle more efficiently,’ he said. photos, >click to read< 21:20
Community meeting sees scathing opposition to offshore wind farm in Coos Bay and Brookings
Between one to two hundred concerned residents and stakeholders packed the Salmon Conference room of the Mill Casino last night in the small coastal town of North Bend expressing opposition to over one million acres of wind farms slated for the offshore areas of Coos Bay and Brookings. Concerns raised came mainly from commercial fishers that live and/or fish in the area and worry about impacts to the industry. Several residents that are not involved in the industry also expressed concerns about impacts to the environment and wildlife. Last week the agency announced the Brookings and Coos Bay call areas where it plans to open leases for 1,158,400 acres of wind turbines that would be put in at least 12 nautical miles offshore. >click to read< 17:12
Atlantic Herring: New England to get $11M in disaster relief funding
Disaster-level instability in the Atlantic herring industry has prompted the federal government to give $11 million to commercial fishermen and shore-side infrastructure in four states. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said Thursday that the herring industry in Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island will get the assistance. More than $7 million is slated for Maine. Raimondo said the assistance “will help affected fisheries and communities recover from disasters and make them more resilient to future challenges.” >click to read< 15:49
Last lobster season for ‘canners’ – More lobster is the goal
New Brunswick lobster fishermen along the Bay of Chaleur, Acadian Peninsula and Miramichi Bay are setting their traps for the 2022 season Tuesday and this is the last year they’ll be fishing for two different size and price classes. Members of the Maritime Fishermen’s Union in Lobster Fishing Area 23 voted 75 per cent in favour of phasing out the “canner” size, a spokesperson for the group confirmed. Indigenous organizations were also consulted about the change, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans said in a news release. >click to read< 12:30
Radar Revitalized
Solid-state drive (SSD) technology has made electronics faster, from smartphones to marine electronics. SSDs boot up almost instantly and have a minimal load period because they don’t have to “find” data like on a hard drive. Now, solid-state radar is finding its way onto boats where magnetron radar has long dominated. Solid-state radar offers a much clearer picture while using less power and emitting much less harmful radiation. It offers excellent resolution at both long and very short ranges. >click to read< 10:30
King crab hatcheries could be on Alaska’s horizon
The Alaska House of Representatives agreed last week to changes made to a mariculture enhancement bill that would allow shellfish to be grown in hatcheries, moving it one step closer to becoming law. House Bill 41 would allow certain nonprofits to pursue mariculture enhancement or restoration projects for species of shellfish like abalone, razor clams, sea cucumbers and king crab. It would be the first time in Alaska’s history that people could raise animals like crab in hatcheries and release them into the wild to support commercial fisheries. >click to read< 09:46
Fishing company loses bid to avoid paying $500k to dead men’s families
The Court of Appeal has thrown out a second bid by a fishing company to avoid paying half a million dollars in total to the families of three fishermen who drowned when their trawler sank. Terry Donald Booth, 55, of Nelson; Paul Russell Bennett, 35, of Motueka and Jared Reese Husband, 47, of Timaru died when the Jubilee, a 16 metre trawler, sank off the coast of Canterbury in the early hours of 18 October 2015. It is believed the crew were asleep in the wheelhouse when the trawler’s fish room began filling with water and there was no high water level alarm to alert them. >click to read< 08:14
1st Right whale of season spotted in Gulf of St. Lawrence, triggers fishing closure
A surveillance aircraft spotted the whale in the Gulf, north of the Magdalen Islands, on Tuesday, the federal government announced Wednesday afternoon. There is now a 15-day fishing closure in specific fishing grids in the southern Gulf, north of the islands, according to a news release issued by Fisheries and Oceans Canada and the Canadian Coast Guard. In March, the Canadian government announced its fishery and vessel management measures for the 2022 season to protect the endangered whales from entanglements and ship strikes as they migrate into Canadian waters. >click to read< 18:22
Aboard the Lake Erie fishing tug Lady Anna II (Part 2)
At the end of Part 1 it was 5:30 a.m. on Tuesday, March 29. The Lady Anna II was about five miles due south of Kingsville in 35 feet of 35-degree Fahrenheit Lake Erie water. Captain Mike Mummery had just slowed the Lady Anna II to a crawl. Curtis Mummery and James “Marty” Martin were standing-by in the port bow door, searching – in the white-lightning glare of Lady Anna II’s LED masthead light – for the flagged marker buoy that 
marked one end of a 640-yard-long (yes, that’s more than a one-third mile) “strap” of gill net. The first “pull” of the day was about to start. >click to read<
Aboard the Lake Erie fishing tug Lady Anna II (Part 1), >click to read<
Commercial fishing out of Wheatley Harbour is like ‘farming on the water’ >click to read< 15:08
Bay of Fundy Herring Industry Proposes Sustainability Plan
The Bay of Fundy Herring Industry, in collaboration with the Herring Science Council, today unveiled a plan to sustain and rebuild the herring stocks in the Bay of Fundy. The plan calls for a reduction of the TAC for the 2022 fishing season to 25,000 metric tons (“mt”) from 35,000 mt, representing a decrease of 30% from the previous year and 50% over the past five years. The plan also calls for increased management measures and scientific support by industry. >click to read< 13:38
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 78′ Steel Longliner – Price Reduced!
To review specifications, information, and 40 photos’, >click here<, A turnkey vessel that is in excellent condition. To see all the boats in this series >click here< 11:55
N.S. lobster fishermen feel pinch of rising diesel prices
Merrill MacInnis is a lobster fisher in Victoria County. He said the price of diesel is an ongoing conversation in the community, since most fishing boats in his harbour run on diesel. “It’s going to have a big impact on the profit margin, of course,” MacInnis said. “But you need to have it. MacInnis estimates fishers will be hit with a fuel bill about $4,000 to $5,000 higher compared to the same period last year. “It’ll be a big bill,” he said. >click to read< 10:21
Scotland: Fishermen stunned after catching monster 7ft halibut
Lewis Thompson, 30, and his crew pulled the huge fish onto their trawler boat from Scottish waters in the North Atlantic Ocean over the weekend. Weighing in at 120kgs, or 260 pounds, and longer than any crewman, the catch was one of the biggest ever brought in by the team. Lewis and his crew filmed the moment they lowered the huge catch onto the packaging area of the boat. The brilliant footage shows a stunned Lewis, standing proudly next to the fish. video, photos, >click to read< 09:26
Gear to Go Fishing Supply opens in New Bedford’s Kilburn Mill
Kilburn Mill has added an experienced fisherman to its roster of knowledgeable vendors with the opening of Gear to Go Fishing Supply on the first floor. “I know what works and what doesn’t,” said Peter Farland, co-owner of the new fishing gear shop. “I’m out there fishing and using the products myself.” Farland comes from a family of fisherman. His father, as well as eight of his uncles, all fish commercially. The New Bedford native remembers his first fishing trip with his dad when he was only 9 years old: a three-day scalloping excursion out of Gloucester. Farland’s fiancè, AnaMaria Baptista, 34, co-owns the store. “She’s like my manager slash everything,” he said sweetly. >click to read< 08:27
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for May 02, 2022
The “Rule of Law” is the political philosophy that all citizens are accountable for the same laws. This philosophy helped fuel the American revolution and was a key principle considered, by our founding fathers, when drafting the U.S Constitution. The Rule of Law ensures, that in a true democracy, the powerful, wealthy, or majority can’t use the law to oppress or control the minority. When it comes to regulating our coastal fisheries both the government and our state seem to struggle with this relatively simple concept. Simply put, it doesn’t matter whether you fish for food, profit, or pleasure, your impacts are similar and therefore you must be treated similarly under the law! Perhaps it’s time for another revolution! >click to read< to read all the updates >click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here< 18:43
Lobster industry groups mount uncertain First Circuit fight on fishery’s future
Arguing before a skeptical First Circuit, an attorney representing a group of Maine lobster fishermen said a federal rule designed to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale targets a portion of the ocean where there are no right whales. “We need to figure out where the whales are and target those areas,” said attorney Alfred Frawley IV at oral arguments Tuesday before the federal appeals court in Boston. But the First Circuit appeared to give Frawley a frosty reception, saying at one point that the record lacked evidence that the seasonal closure would lead to lost lobster boats and jobs across the coast of Maine. Judge Sandra Lynch asked Frawley if he had approached attorneys for the Marine Fisheries Service,,, Frawley began to make two points, but Lynch cut him off: “Will you answer my question rather than making a speech?” the Clinton appointee said. Frawley then said his clients were not allowed to sit on the take-reduction team. >click to read< 16:18
Trip limits must be addressed in Newfoundland and Labradors snow crab fishery
SEA-NL is demanding Premier Andrew Furey address trip limits in the snow crab fishery or his government may have blood on its hands before the end of the fishing season. “The inshore fleet has one of the most dangerous jobs without trip limits adding to the risk,” says Ryan Cleary, Executive Director of SEA-NL. “Trip limits put pressure on enterprise owners — who are also dealing with the threat of a price drop, and fishery closures in the case of molting or soft-shell crab — to fish in weather they would not ordinarily fish in,” he said. “If government stands idly by and lives are lost this crab fishing season the province will have to answer for them directly.” >click to read< 15:09
Trial begins for fisherman and fish buyer accused of illegal halibut landings
A trial is underway in Halifax for a Sambro fisherman, a fish buyer and two related companies accused of illegal halibut landings The case is centred on seven trips made by the fishing vessel F/V Ivy Lew between May 2019 and June 2020. Captain Casey Henneberry is accused of failing to follow licence conditions in several instances, including on three trips when halibut catches were unloaded without a dockside monitor present. Buyer Samir Zakhour is accused of being at the wharf to buy halibut during the last “illegal offload” in June 2020 and “was a party to the events of offloading without a monitor,” Conrod said. He is also charged with misleading a fishery officer the night of his arrest. ALS Fisheries, which owns the boat, and Law Fisheries are also charged in the case. >click to read< 13:20
Massachusetts state lobster closure extended
As has become an annual tradition, the state’s yearly fishing closure to protect right whales has been extended until mid-May, cutting short a season already slashed in the name of species protection. The state sent out a notice to lobstermen Friday that the closure for 9,000 square miles of water, tentatively set to end May 1, would be extended through May 15 due to the presence of whales off the coast and near the Cape. For now, Massachusetts lobstermen are restricted to fishing in federal waters, where the season started at midnight Sunday, May 1. >click to read< 11:12
2021: A Year of Historic Value for Maine Commercial Fishermen
On the strength of an historic year for lobster and a rebounding elver fishery, the value of Maine’s commercially harvested marine resources in 2021 reached an all time high at $890,668,873. According to recently released data from the Maine Department of Marine Resources, the overall value earned by harvesters in 2021 jumped by more than $365 million and exceeded the previous overall record of $733,691,455, set in 2016, by $150 million. >click to read< 09:30
Prince Edward Island: Lobster fishermen sail out to start the spring season
It’s setting day, the start of the season when fishermen drop their traps and begin the two months of intensive work of bringing ashore the east coast’s famous delicacy. The season is starting with lobster prices high. While prices are up, so are costs. Diesel is at record-high prices, and bait is harder to come by with a moratorium on herring and mackerel fisheries. photos, >click to read< 08:47
‘I’ve been here all the time’
Elusive mariner David Atkinson has told a court he wasn’t hiding during the months he was out of contact with the justice system. However, he still has not spoken to his lawyer about charges laid by Maritime NZ over a trawler that grounded on a beach near Christchurch in 2019. Atkinson appeared on driving matters before Judge Russell Cooper in the Hastings District Court today. Discussion soon turned to an arrest warrant issued in the Christchurch District Court last month after it heard that Atkinson had been off the radar since September last year. >click to read< 07:58
Pictou Landing to operate DFO approved moderate livelihood lobster fishery
The Pictou Landing First Nation is getting ready to operate a moderate livelihood lobster fishery in waters off Nova Scotia starting Tuesday with the approval of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. About 25 members of the community have registered to fish and sell their catch under the plan and are being issued traps and tags by the First Nation, according to Chief Andrea Paul. In a news release, the Assembly of Nova Scotia Mi’kmaw Chiefs said the Pictou Landing First Nation held formal consultations with DFO and came to an understanding without having to sign any agreements or changing its position on treaty rights. >click to read< 18:24
‘Boris, where’s your Russian sanctions?’ asks F/V Altaire’s First Mate
The first mate of local pelagic trawler F/V Altaire has written to prime minister Boris Johnson urging the UK Government to act over Russian factory ships fishing for blue whiting in UK waters around 100 miles to the west of Shetland. Colin Leask said there were 11 Russian vessels presently in the UK’s shared zone with the Faroe Islands fishing for a “ridiculously inflated” quota of 75,000 tonnes of blue whiting. The crewman’s appeal is the latest attempt by the industry to get the government to close a loophole that enables Russian vessels to fish inside UK waters at a time of “supposedly strict sanctions” against the country in response to the invasion of Ukraine. >click to read< 16:50
Maine is being set up to sell its coastline to Industrial Scale Aquaculture
On March 18th, a letter was sent to Gayle Zydlewski the Director of the Maine Sea Grant College Program, signed by several academics from the University of Maine, Bates College, scientists, business owners, students, members of the 2003 Aquaculture Task Force, and a former Department of Marine Resources Commissioner, calling into question whether the report, in part directed by the Maine Aquaculture Association, is simply a promotional tool for large scale industrial aquaculture. The report is more of a railroading than a roadmap, Protect Maine’s Fishing Heritage Executive Director Crystal Canney said, “The 10-year aquaculture roadmap is an economic development plan that isn’t about what’s best for Maine but what is best for large scale industrial aquaculture. >click to read< 14:45
Commercial Fisherman Clifford M. Sambrook, Jr., of Narragansett, R.I. has passed away
Clifford M. Sambrook, Jr., 66, of Narragansett, passed away Wednesday, April 27, 2022, at home surrounded by his family. Born in Derby, CT, he was the son of Harriet E. Sambrook and the late Clifford M. Sambrook, Sr. Besides his mother, he is survived by his partner Susan Chandler of Narragansett RI, and his two sons Kenneth Sambrook of Georgetown TX and Clifford and Elizabeth Sambrook of Boynton Beach FL. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Saturday, May 7th, 2022, at 10 AM in St. Mary Star of the Sea Church, 864 Point Judith Rd, Narragansett. Military Honors will follow. Burial will be private. In lieu of flowers, donations in Clifford’s memory may be made to The Point Judith Fisherman’s Memorial Foundation, Attention Kathryn Manning Butler (Treasurer PJFMF), PO BOX 3315, Narragansett RI. 02882. >click to read< 12:12
Choosing Winners and Losers in Alaska’s Crab Fishery
When the US government implemented the quota system in 2005, it awarded quota shares to fishers based on their catch histories. The shares, which provide exclusive harvest rights to a proportion of each year’s allowable catch, are transferrable, meaning owners can fish their share, lease it, or pool their share with others to save on the high costs of fishing. It’s a big difference from how the fishery was previously managed, when regulators focused more on controlling the total catch. That approach led to derby-style fishing, where vessels raced into Alaska’s remote and stormy seas during short winter openings. While the money could be good, the frantic fishing came at a high cost in lost lives and lost vessels. >click to read< 10:10
Bayou La Batre fishermen back on the water after sitting idle due to soaring fuel prices
A large turnout Sunday for the annual Blessing of the Fleet at the docks behind Saint Margaret’s Catholic Church in Bayou La Batre. It was a much-needed event for shrimpers to come together after having to stop work due to the pain at the pump. Several fishing crews gathered at the docks excited to be a part of the blessing today “We’ve cleaned her up and put a little makeup on the old gal so we put her in the fleet blessing,” said Joseph Rodriguez, shrimp boat owner. >click to read< 09:11
