Daily Archives: August 28, 2022

Fishermen from urban areas and out of state hold big share of permits in world’s largest sockeye run.

In 1975, an Alaska state law, bitterly contested and extensively litigated, wrought a profound change in the Bristol Bay fishery. It capped the number of people who could fish there and vested them with permits that could be used each year or sold to the highest bidder. The state Legislature made the big change two years earlier in an era when many in the seafood industry were worried about oversized fleets chasing then-depressed stocks of salmon. This had far reaching consequences for local bay communities, where many permits once held by local residents have shifted through the decades to fishermen living in urban parts of Alaska or to Washington and other states. As of 2020, Alaskans hold 44% of the 1,862 drift gillnet fleet permits, and 64% of the 964 permits to fish from beaches with setnets. Photos, >click to read< 10:18

Efforts to remove sunken vessel near Victoria are difficult due to conditions

A small fishing vessel remains underwater two weeks after it sank off the coast of San Juan Island, Washington, and the U.S. Coast Guard says removal efforts are difficult due to strong water conditions. On Aug. 13, the Aleutian Isle sank near the U.S. Island — approximately 25.6 kilometers east of Victoria. Dumping an estimated 9,854  litres of diesel oil, sheen covered several kilometers of water and threatened marine life while sparking a joint response between U.S. and Canadian agencies. Video, >click to read< 09:06

Divers hope to wrap up work, raise sunken fishing vessel near San Juan Island soon – Two weeks after an oil spill began off the west side of San Juan Island, divers began work that will allow them to plug a sunken fishing vessel more than 200 feet below the surface. >click to read<

How the people of Hull saved a brutal murderer from the death penalty

On a fishing trip to the icy north Atlantic, an old feud between two crew members of a Hull trawler was simmering. Eventually James Carlill, 27, and William Harker, 38, clashed with tragic consequences. Six days later, the trawler arrived back at St Andrew’s Fish Dock, with Harker’s body on board. Carlill was charged with murder. But that was only the start of a remarkable story. The three-week fishing trip had been uneventful until terrible weather forced the trawler, the Queen Alexandra, to take refuge in an Icelandic fjord. The 12-man crew got bored as they sheltered from the storm and bought booze from the locals, including half a gallon of corn brandy and two bottles of whisky. >click to read< 07:55