Daily Archives: July 26, 2022
F/V Miss Katie Briefly Threatened to Sink to the Bottom of the Woodley Island Marina
While Woodley Island harbor staff were out doing their regular “dock walk” this morning, a daily check-up to make sure everything is as it should be, according to Harbor District CEO Larry Oetker, their practiced eyes noticed something up on F Dock. Or something down, rather. The Miss Katie, a commercial fishing vessel, was sinking. An oil sheen could be seen on the water, so the staff rushed to retrieve and place portable booms to contain and soak up the pollutant. Then they got on the horn and started calling people,,, >click to continue reading< 18:42
Louie Rivers
Louie Rivers was among the finest men I’ve known, and times spent aboard the Miss Sandy are my best memories on the water. Our days began before the sun, walking dark Provincetown streets to the pier. This was the 1980s. Young men ending their adventures, as we were starting ours, made lewd comments about this odd pair, a young long-haired bearded guy alongside a squat older man with arms like thick oak limbs. Louie would just laugh. In all our years I never saw him get into an argument or fight, a rare thing among fishermen. Miss Sandy was tied up at MacMillan Wharf like a dog waiting to get off leash. >click to continue reading< 16:17
Fisherman hooks lifesaving Bariatric Surgery and sheds over 100 pounds
Michael Franklin, 45, of Palm Beach Gardens, had been struggling with his weight for more than half of his life. In his 20s, he stayed fit by surfing, but at 25 a shoulder injury put an end to riding the waves. That’s when Franklin began adding on an average of 10 pounds each year. As a commercial fisherman, Franklin is accustomed to working long hours under sometimes physically grueling conditions whether on land or at sea. But chronic back pain had become a constant drain on him physically and mentally. While at work he was also on his feet, so his ankles and knees were under a tremendous amount of pressure from the excess weight. >click to read< 13:23
Cook Inlet fishermen sue over set-net closures
Days after they were ordered to take their nets out of the water, Cook Inlet set-netters are suing the state over the fishery’s closure. In a case filed in state court last week, the Cook Inlet Fishermen’s Fund, representing Cook Inlet fishermen, said the state is mismanaging the east-side set-net fishery to the benefit of other user groups. It’s asking the state to immediately reopen the fishery this season to its 440 or so permit-holders, to pay fishermen back for what they lost and to revise the plan that closed it in the first place. Due to restrictions linked to the sport fishery, the east-side set-net fishery in Cook Inlet closes when king salmon abundance on the Kenai River is low. The set-netters were shut down early this year for the fourth year in a row. >click to read< 11:12
Harpswell Lobster Boat Races draw a crowd at new location, with race results
Spectators crowded onto the waterfront at Mitchell Field and boats in Middle Bay on July 24 to watch the Harpswell Lobster Boat Races. There were 25 races this year, with boats divided into classes based on factors that include size and horsepower. The races moved to Middle Bay this year from Potts Harbor. According to Ashley Lenz, a member of the committee that organizes the races, the new location allows more people to watch from land, with a better view. >click to read< 10:29
Fishermen’s memorial planned for Unalaska
Across the island plaques and statues commemorate the Aleutians’ World War II history, but there’s nothing to honor the legacy of fishermen lost at sea. Local sculpture artist Karel Machálek wants to change that. He’s currently at work on a life-sized fishermen’s memorial. The piece will include three fishermen cast in bronze, a longliner, crab, and cod fisherman. Karel made a model of the memorial and proposed the project to the City of Unalaska earlier this year. Marie says the proposal was approved, but the location has not yet been confirmed. The current plan is to erect the memorial in the Carl E. Moses Boat Harbor. >click to read< 09:11
We’re not going anywhere — FFAW
According to Mr. Butler, fish harvesters in Newfoundland and Labrador are living like kings and queens while the poor processing companies struggle to balance the books. It’s a tale that’s been spun by Butler and his cronies with the Association of Seafood Producers since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ah yes, Derek Butler, champion of corporate profits, knows much about the rich shrimp harvesters of the Northern Peninsula (who, by the way, have no access to crab). They haven’t been able to sell their shrimp for enough to make ends meet, while the same companies buy the exact same product for over 50 per cent more at their facilities in Quebec. >click to read< 07:44
