Monthly Archives: June 2022
US citizens will suffer from a Hudson Canyon Marine Sanctuary
On June 8 th, the Biden Administration announced its newest attack on American small businessmen by declaring the Hudson Canyon region as a protected marine sanctuary. The Hudson canyon is the largest and deepest canyon on the US east coast, about the size of the Grand Canyon. It was created by the outflow of the Hudson River over the course of millions of years and because it is one of the most biologically diverse ecosystems on the east coast, it is also one of the best fishing grounds. In a non-sensible announcement of Biden’s plan, NOAA Administrator Richard Spinrad, joyously proclaimed that “A sanctuary near one of the most densely populated areas of the Northeast U.S. would connect diverse communities across the region to the ocean and the canyon in new and different ways”. How many different fisheries are going to be affected by a Hudson Canyon Closure? Every one of them. By Jim Lovgren >click to read the article< 17:39
Delcambre shrimp processor overcoming old and new problems to survive
Gulf Crown Seafood’s Jeff Floyd and his son Jon agree that every year in the seafood business is unique. Each year new problems arise and are added to the same old ones continuously sticking around. Last year new problems arising from Covid and Hurricane Ida were added to the old ones; H2B visiting worker visa, labor shortages, import prices and product availability. “We weren’t affected directly by Hurricane Ida,” said the senior of the Floyds. “But without production this plant doesn’t survive. They only way we get production is with the boats. I don’t know exactly how many we lost out of the fleet from the storm, but talking to those at the docks their were a lot a fisherman whose boats won’t be able to be salvaged.” Gulf Crown Seafood in Delcambre is one of approximately seven shrimp processors left Louisiana. >click to read< 12:58
SEA-NL demands province allow inshore fleet to truck snow crab out of province
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) demands the provincial government allow owner-operators to truck snow crab out of province given some local processors have stopped buying. “If processors will not buy snow crab then fishermen who can find mainland buyers must be able to truck out their crab or the entire industry will shut down,” says Jason Sullivan, President of SEA-NL and a Bay Bulls fisherman. “There are no jobs left to protect.” At least two processing companies, Notre Dame Seafoods and Quinlan’s, reportedly stopped buying crab on Friday. >click to continue< 11:21
New restrictions on ships to protect whales coming
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has been reviewing the speed regulations it uses to protect North Atlantic right whales, and according to spokesperson Allison Ferreira, the agency will publish new proposed rules within the coming weeks. A public comment process would follow. More than 50 of the whales were struck by ships between spring 1999 and spring 2018, NOAA records indicate. >click to read< 09:36
Colourful look back at Folkestone Trawler Race as organisers announce new date
Folkestone’s Historic Trawler Race is set to take place at the end of July with what promises to be a fun and entertaining weekend. The race is held in support of the local fishermen and to celebrate the magnitude of the towns rich fishing history. The ‘Trawler’ race is set to take place on Saturday, July 30, with a home-made raft race taking place on Sunday, July 31. The event is completely free and hopes to encourage more people to visit the quay and support their local fisherman by buying fresh fish locally. >click to read< Gallery: A look back at the historic Folkestone Trawler Race >click here< 08:12
New Brunswick Man, Business Fined for Illegally Buying/Selling Lobster
Charges against a New Brunswick man and business for illegally buying and selling lobster. Frederic Arseneau and East Coast Ocean Products were each fined $25,000 for the unauthorized purchase and sale of lobster, believed to have been caught under an Indigenous Food, Social and Ceremonial license. The investigation was led by Department of Fisheries and Oceans >click to read< 18:41
DFO: Atlantic Canada Grey Seal population is slowing
The grey seal population in Atlantic Canada continues to grow and is now estimated at 366,000, according to the 2021 stock assessment released Thursday by the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. But DFO says the population is growing at a much slower rate than in previous years and for the first time in 60 years it is believed pup production has decreased on Sable Island. Scientists used a new model to estimate the population in the latest report. It converted pup production numbers from aerial surveys to total population by combining reproductive and survival rates with the small number harvested by humans. Applying the new modelling to its 2016 estimate produced a sharply lower result. >click to read< 13:44
Power to Port Dock 5 has been restored. F/V Western Breeze still on the bottom
12:03pm: Report of someone falling into the Yaquina River at Port Dock 5 in downtown Newport. Fire-Rescue and the Coast Guard are racing to the scene. 12:09pm: Unconfirmed report that a fishing boat leaned over in one direction, tossing occupant(s) into the river. The boat now has no one aboard. Reports from the scene say the boat is the Western Breeze. Photos, >click to read< 12:50
Report: Removing Lower Snake River dams – Bill filed to save Snake River dams.
If four Lower Snake River dams were breached to support salmon recovery, the energy, irrigation, recreation and other benefits they provide to the Pacific Northwest could be replaced for $10.3 billion to $27.2 billion, according to a draft report released Thursday by U.S. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Washington Gov. Jay Inslee. The report does not take a position on whether the hydropower dams should be removed, but finds that breaching offers the best chance to recover salmon runs in the Columbia and Lower Snake rivers,,, >click to read<
Republican representatives, led by Rep. Dan Newhouse, R-Wash., introduced federal legislation on Thursday to protect the four lower Snake River dams from being breached. The bill was introduced just hours before a draft study commissioned by Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and fellow Gov. Jay Inslee, a Democrat, was released. The draft study concluded that it would be costly, perhaps requiring more than $27 billion, but the dams could be breached and their benefits replaced. It would be the action most likely to restore endangered salmon runs and benefit tribes, the draft study said. >click to read< 10:52
Why Sir Ernest Shackleton isn’t the role model you thought he was
Sir Ernest Shackleton’s expedition to the Antarctic in 1914 is justifiably a famous adventure story and it made him an iconic figure of the 20th century as well as a role model for leadership in business and society. A century after his death in 1922, he remains a titan. And yet, the Endurance expedition was a disaster. Over the past century, numerous books and articles have been written and business and university courses created which have espoused Shackleton as an exemplar of successful leadership techniques but the mythology belies some less heroic truths. There were two key errors of judgment by Shackleton which have been airbrushed from history. Photos, video, >click to read< 09:45
A very concerned fisherman writes, Questions remain unanswered
I recently sent a letter to our Scottish Government requesting answers to questions on the following issues. How much of our country’s fishing grounds are to be sold off and covered with anchors and chains to hold offshore wind farms in place, thus, excluding UK fishing communities’ access to valuable fishing grounds? How many thousands of miles of expensive (plastic covered) copper cables will be required to be laid on the seabed, to transfer the generated power to where it is required? Has the carbon cost of the production of the windmills, the copper cables and the steel for the anchors and chains that will be required, running in various directions from each windmill to hold them in place; been included in the environmental and financial calculations, plus the windmill’s replacement roughly every twenty years? >click to read the rest< by William Polson, 08:07
Newport Fishing Vessel sinking at Port Dock 5
At 12:02 PM on Thursday, June 9, 2022, Newport Fire Department was dispatched to a report of vessel sinking at Port Dock 5 on Newport’s Bay front. Upon arrival, units observed a commercial fishing vessel tied up near the fuel dock listing to its port side and sinking in water. After ensuring no lives were at risk, fire crews worked with officials from the Port of Newport and USCG Yaquina Bay to set containment and absorbing buoys around the vessel. The cause of the vessel sinking was under investigation. Representatives of the vessel owner are working with Port of Newport Officials to raise the vessel. >click to read< 19:36
9 Years Later: We Remember Richard Gaines and We Miss Him
The passing of Richard Gaines was catastrophic for many. From an industry perspective, none more so than the Gloucester Daily Times. We were gifted to have the right combination of a great writer that informed of the issues of the day, and an Editor that was supportive, and a crew that did such a wonderful job churning out article after article. To say Richard Gaines is missed is an understatement. I miss him more than ever. >Richard Gaines, click to read< 17:35
Richard Gaines, Staff Writer, Gloucester Daily Times – For years, we found his byline under the headline of every major fishery article that we read 
at the Gloucester Daily Times. It told us to read on for the truth and an unbiased perspective that a great journalist presents regarding our livelihoods. Richard’s articles provided the information to the public of the complexities that made up the convoluted issues surrounding the stories of the New England ground fishery — something that was just about impossible. Some of the articles would leave the public confused, but industry insiders knew exactly what he was bringing up. At times, these controversial to insider articles would erupt, causing some noses to get out of joint, generating lively, pointed, and sometimes fierce debate. Those were my favorites, and I know what Richard wrote was on the money, even though some would disagree, of course. By Jim Kendall, June 13, 2013 >click to read<
Huge deep-water area off N.S. declared a marine refuge – will be off limits to almost all fishing
An area off Nova Scotia’s coast nearly four times the size of Cape Breton was declared a marine refuge by Canada on Wednesday — World Oceans Day. Eastern Canyons Marine Refuge is a 44,000 square kilometre swath of ocean running from the edge of the continental shelf near Sable Island to Canada’s exclusive economic zone more than 300 kilometres offshore. All bottom-contact fisheries, including trawls, traps, and longlines, will be prohibited inside the marine refuge, with the exception of one fishing zone for smaller vessels that use longlines. It was criticized by some in Nova Scotia’s lucrative halibut fishery which will be blocked from most of the area. >click to read< 14:55
President Biden’s plan to save the oceans
FACT SHEET: Biden-Harris Administration Celebrates World Ocean Day with Actions to Conserve America’s Deepest Atlantic Canyon, Cut Plastic Pollution, and Create America’s First-Ever Ocean Climate Action Plan – >click to read< The following two bullet points are from the Whitehouse Press Release today. Commentary by Nils Stolpe, >click to read< 13:07
Crew from the Grand Manan Adventure ferry sped to the rescue of fishing crew on a life raft
The Joint Rescue Co-ordination Centre says it got a mayday call from the Ross Pride around noon on Wednesday. The fishing boat was taking on water and listing, said the centre’s Lt.-Cmdr. Brian Owens. “They indicated that they were going to be abandoning their vessel, getting into their life raft,” he said Thursday. Owens said the centre immediately deployed a helicopter and a Hercules aircraft out of Greenwood, N.S. The centre also asked the Canadian Coast Guard station at Westport, N.S., and the United States Coast Guard in Eastport, Maine, to head to the scene. Video, >click to read< 11:25
Battlefront: Salmon bycatch, electronic monitoring on the table at Sitka meeting of NPFMC
The bycatch of chinook and chum salmon is on the agenda, as the spring meeting of the North Pacific Management Council gets underway in Sitka this week (June 9-14). In addition to hearing how much salmon is being intercepted in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea by the trawl fisheries, the council will review a proposal to supplement the human observer program with electronic monitoring. >click to read< Note: Find links to the Council’s agenda and meeting livestream here.
ENC shrimper thinking of new ways to get his product to customers amid inflation
Inflation is making it harder for fisherman to turn a profit. Now, it’s fueling them to make decision on how they sell their catch. One local boat captain has found a way he could keep more money in local fishermen’s wallets. Frankie Eubanks is a shrimp boat captain and he said it used to cost him $1,500 to fill up his boat, now it’s twice that. To battle the rise in prices, he wants to take his product straight to customers. Video, >click to read< 09:14
Gasoline, diesel prices put squeeze on Hampton Roads commercial fishing
“It’s going to get to a point where the customers won’t want to buy because it’s so outrageously expensive,” said Kyle Robbins. “Everyday it costs me about $150 to $200 just in fuel to leave the dock,” Robbins said. Six days a week, Robbins ventures out on a crabbing boat to haul in hundreds of pounds of crabs from the Chesapeake Bay. But the rising cost of fuel for those boats has caused his crabbing habits to change. “In certain times, maybe we can travel another 10 to 15 miles to catch more crabs, but we’re not wanting to spend the fuel, so we’re traveling only two to three miles,” he said. “It’s a lose-lose situation.” Video, >click to read< 08:15
Fisherman who vowed to dump shrimp if no buyer found suffers vessel breakdown, threat stands
The La Scie fisherman who vowed to dump his first load of northern shrimp for the season if there was no buyer returned to port today without any catch after his fishing boat suffered mechanical problems at sea. But Terry Ryan says he expects the Atlantic Bluefin Too will be repaired as early as Friday, and he plans to follow through with his pledge. “Full-steam ahead,” says Ryan, who operates the enterprise with his son, Josh, the skipper and licence-holder. Terry Ryan threatened to dump their first load of shrimp at an estimated loss of $100,000 if there’s no buyer when the catch landed as a protest of the province’s panel system of fish pricing. >click to read< 15:14
Inland Fisheries: Meet the Last Commercial Fisherman of Washington Island
My dad asked me one day if I wanted to go fishing. I thought he meant sport fishing, so I headed for the fishing pole. He says, ‘No, not that kind, commercial fishing,’” Ken Koyen says of his start as a fourth-generation fisherman. “I said, ‘Commercial? Can I do it?’ He says, ‘Hold out your hands.’ So I held them out. He says, ‘They’re big enough!’ And that’s exactly how I got started.” That was when he was 17. Now, about to turn 70, Koyen is the last of his kind on Door County’s Washington Island. Most mornings, Koyen wakes up around 6 a.m. and makes his way to his fishing tug, the Sea Diver, docked in Jackson Harbor by 8 a.m. The 48-by-13-foot tug, built in 1950, is his daily companion. Though he fishes solo, he says he never feels alone because he senses the presence of his father with him. >click to read< 13:12
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 42′ Duffy Tuna Boat, 675HP Cummins Diesel
To review specifications, information, and 43 photos’, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here< 12:01
Right whale numbers may be stabilizing after some bad years, but their future remains uncertain
All in all, it’s been so far so good this year, No dead right whales have been spotted. Fifteen calves were born, the second-largest number since 2015. Michael Moore, a senior scientist at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, recorded a recent encounter with a right whale off Massachusetts. Regulators in Canada are responding to the whales arrival this year with large-scale closures of fishing areas to snow crab traps that depend on vertical rope. >click to read< 10:52
Copper River salmon fishery starts slow but sees potential to ramp up
The Copper River sockeye and king salmon fishery is the first each summer, kicking off around the third week of May. Because of that, the fishermen usually land a higher price per pound both for sockeye and kings. This year, the run for the Copper is predicted to be around or below average, and like elsewhere, the kings are scarcer than in past decades. This year is also seeing the sockeye run show up later than usual. Last weekend saw daily numbers increasing passing the Miles Lake sonar on the Copper River, reaching just shy of 39,000 sockeye Sunday, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. That’s the highest daily count yet and puts the total count at about 153,000, ahead of the count at the same time in the last two years. >click to read< 09:20
F/V Miss Key West bringing shrimp industry back to Key West harbor
It was once a significant part of Key West’s economy, but due to numerous economic forces, the last of the shrimping vessels in the harbor left around 30 years ago, according to Dan Smith. But as of a few weeks ago, Smith and James Phelps have brought the first commercial shrimp vessel back to the Key West Harbor since that time. It now sits in the same place where the Schooner Western Union, the flagship of Florida, once was next to Schooner Wharf bar. On Monday, the two owners stood on the docks next to the Miss Key West, along with their captain, Mark Thomson, and some relatives. Phelps and Smith came up with the idea to bring a shrimp vessel back to Key West, both their families were historically part of the fishing and shrimping industry in Key West. Photos, >click to read< 07:50
Video: U.S. Coast Guard medevacs crewmember from fishing vessel near Morgan City, La.
The Coast Guard medevaced a crewmember Monday from a commercial fishing vessel 21 miles offshore Morgan City, Louisiana. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans watchstanders received a notification at 7:46 p.m. from the commercial fishing vessel F/V GP Amelia of a crewmember suffering from abdominal pain. Watchstanders diverted a Coast Guard Air Station New Orleans MH-60 Jayhawk aircrew to assist. The helicopter crew arrived on scene, hoisted the crewmember, and transferred them to University Medical Center in New Orleans. The crewmember was last reported to be in stable condition. >click for video< 18:25
F/V Villa de Pitanxo: Spanish fishing tragedy survivors appear in court amid negligence claims
The survivors of Spain’s worst fishing tragedy in four decades appeared in court on Monday as part of an investigation into claims the boat’s captain was guilty of negligence. Twenty-one people died when the Villa de Pitanxo, a 50m vessel from the northwestern region of Galicia, sank around 450km off the coast of Newfoundland, in Canada, in February. Three of the 24-strong crew survived and were found floating in a life raft: the boat’s captain, Juan Padín, his nephew, Eduardo Rial, and Samuel Kwesi. Nine bodies were recovered. >click to read< 16:30
Breakable lines, remote control traps: Maine lobstermen grapple with an onslaught of new rules
Last week federal officials announced they aim to deploy high-tech fishing gear on as many as 100 lobster and crab boats in New England. It’s the latest move to bring Maine’s lobster fleet into a new era, as an onslaught of potentially transformative federal regulations intended to protect endangered North Atlantic right whales take effect. At a Damariscotta River wharf piled high with gleaming yellow lobster traps, boat captain Eben Wilson and his sternman, Daniel Barter, deftly pull strands of colored rope apart, then knot plastic links in between. “I think the next five years from the lobster industry perspective is going to be difficult,” says Patrick Keliher, Commissioner of Maine’s Department of Marine Resources. >click to read< 15:13
NC fishermen concerned about uncertain impacts of offshore wind farms
Recreational and commercial fishermen alike have a lot of questions about these projects. The main ones: how much access will fishermen have to wind farms, and how will the wind farms impact the fish? Unfortunately, information is limited because offshore wind is still new in the United States. There are currently two offshore wind farms in various planning stages off North Carolina’s coast. One is off Kitty Hawk along the Outer Banks; the other, called Wilmington East, is off Wilmington. Avangrid Renewables is developing the wind farm off Kitty Hawk. Construction there is expected to start in 2026. >click to read< 11:17
Lobster industry and lawmakers await court decision to determine legality of new restrictions
Maine and Massachusetts harvest more than 90% of the American lobsters sold in the U.S. and most lobstermen and New England lawmakers want to keep it that way. Over the past year, a dispute over new federal regulations on Maine’s lobster industry, intended to protect the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale,,, Mike Sargent became the captain of his own boat at 15. The 29-year-old is worried, however, that if regulations adopted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 2021 are ruled lawful by the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia, that more expensive and stricter regulations could follow. “There’s talks of ropeless fishing and so on, and those are astronomically expensive and quite frankly could bankrupt this industry at the stroke of a pen,” Sargent said. Massachusetts lobsterman Dave Casoni said that it would cost lobstermen between $500,000-$600,000 to make the switch to ropeless traps, and if passed Casoni believes it could bankrupt the industry. Video, >click to read< 09:16
