Monthly Archives: August 2022
NOAA rejects Trump-era expansion of rock shrimp fishing on Oculina Bank
In a surprise and unusual move last week, NOAA Fisheries rejected the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s request to allow this type of commercial fishing in 22 square miles of the area, where it has been prohibited since 2014. The ruling will keep about 19 permitted rock shrimpers, mostly from the Port Canaveral area, from working in a region believed to be habitat for the delicacy. Rock shrimp, known for their unique flavor, sell in Brevard County seafood markets for $29 a pound. Conservationists celebrated the decision, but the matter isn’t settled yet. >click to read< 08:04
Annual fisheries meeting tackles lobster lawsuits, whale protections
Tuesday in Washington D.C., key players from Maine’s lobster fishery tackled what it considers its most pressing issues. The first issue was an update regarding Judge James Boasberg’s July ruling in the U.S. District Court case involving the Center for Biological Diversity versus Secretary Raimondo and the Maine Lobstermen’s Association. This case made the news in early July after Boasberg ruled regulators aren’t doing enough to protect the right whale. Just days after, he sided with environmental groups in another lawsuit to allow Area 1 to close again to fishermen this coming fall and winter. Another issue was a proposal to shrink the size limit for lobsters over the course of five years in order to replenish the declining population of young lobsters. Also, reduced boat speeds and the future of ropeless lobster traps. >click to read< 20:15
A one-two punch – Lobster prices reach pre-pandemic cost
It’s more unwelcoming news for lobstermen and women the price of soft shell lobster has dropped to pre-pandemic levels. Beal’s Lobster Pier dock manager Justin Snyder says its a one-two punch for lobstermen. “What’s really affecting them is the increase in costs in everything else, so the lobster prices have fallen back to normal, but everything else is just as expensive bait and fuel mostly,” said Snyder. Not only is inflation a primary reason, but Snyder said it also has to do with supply and demand. “We’re seeing a reduction in the demand compared to last year. We’re in the high supply part of the lobster season. If the demand is not there and there’s no more supply, the lobster prices are going to go down,” Video, >click to read< 17:14
Shrimp fishermen catch pristine 17th century wooden head
A crew of shrimp fishermen made an unusual catch earlier this week when they pulled up a 17th century wooden head which may have formed part of the adornments of a large ship. The fisherman caught the head, which is in pristine condition, in their nets when fishing off the coast of the Wadden island of Texel on Monday morning. Crew member Victor Ayal put the find on Twitter, sparking a lively discussion about its possible origin, from the work of Vikings to that of Northern European shipbuilders. photos, >click to read< 15:48
Strong sockeye salmon runs bode well for famed Fraser fishery
“The last bunch of years have just been nothing but doom and gloom when it comes to B.C. salmon,” said Granville-Island based fisher Steve Johansen, who just returned from “crazy” commercial fishing in Barkley Sound a week ago where sockeye returns were more than double Department of Fisheries and Oceans estimates. On the Skeena River, a key B.C. salmon river, returns have been 50 per cent higher than estimates. “I think everything else (that has) happened this summer before the Fraser runs is just making everybody’s anticipation and excitement just up a couple more notches,” Johansen said. >click to read< 12:50
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 46′ Wesmac Scallop/Tuna/Lobster, 750HP John Deere Diesel
To review specifications, information, and 12 photos’, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here< 11:45
PEI halibut season half over
According to Danny Arsenault, who co-chairs the PEI Ground Fish Advisory Board, catches in 4T5 and 4T7H (an area off the west coast previously closed) show promise this year. Ten boats fished the area during the July opening and got their quota. The partial opening of the area is allowed by DFO to see if there can be a viable halibut fishery in the area without influencing the cod stocks. Quota for halibut, an Atlantic flat fish that can grow up to 400 lbs, has been doled out a little differently for the past several years for PEI license holders, explained Mr Arsenault. >click to read< 11:02
Protect Our Coast NJ cites offshore wind farm’s ‘negative impacts’
Protect Our Coast NJ, a group dedicated to stopping the Ocean Wind 1 wind turbine project, has weighed in on the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement, pointing out the areas the 1,400-page document shows dangers to the region. Meanwhile, Ocean Wind said it is finalizing comments that it plans to publicly release on points the project developers believe should be addressed in the Final Environmental Impact Statement. A statement released Monday said it has already taken steps to minimize the project’s impact. The public comment period on the draft statement, or DEIS, closes Aug. 8. Most commenters either roundly supported the job creation they expect from Ocean Wind 1 and a series of other wind turbine projects off the coast, or they attacked the project for the harm they believe it will cause to marine mammals and the tourism, commercial fishing and recreational fishing industries. >click to read< 09:09
F/V Gabby G: Collision with cruise ship under investigation
There will be a U.S. Coast Guard investigation into a collision early Saturday morning involving a fishing vessel out of New Bedford and a cruise ship. The F/V Gabby G, which had been fishing for whiting, was returning to port when it struck the Norwegian Pearl, which had been bound for Bermuda, according to the Coast Guard. The collision occurred at 2:25 a.m. in rainy conditions about 35 miles southeast of Nantucket. Dan Farnham, manager of vessel owner Gabby G Fisheries Inc. out of Montauk, N.Y., said there was one minor injury aboard the fishing vessel. “He’s all fine, just a little scrape,” he said. >click to read< 07:26
Lobster Fishermen in Mexico’s Yucatán Organize to Protect Their Catch
For the last four months, fishermen in the community of Río Lagartos, Yucatán, have operated as a vigilante group to protect lobster populations on local fishing grounds, according to a report (photos) by newspaper Milenio. The group is made up of five fishing cooperatives, who stated that a sharp rise in illegal fishing had led to a rapid decline in lobster stocks. The fishermen reported that on July 1, the first day of the open season, which usually yields the largest lobster hauls, the catch was two-thirds lower than usual. Where each boat would normally catch 60 kilograms of lobster a day, they barely made it to 20 kilograms this year, Milenio reported. >click to read< 19:14
Russian fishing trawler “Mekhanik Maslak” catches fire in St Petersburg shipyard
The Russian fishing trawler “Mekhanik Maslak,” caught fire while reportedly under construction at the Admiralty Shipyards in St Petersburg. The fire covered more than 800 square metres of the hold. Footage of the incident was shared on Twitter, with one user posting, “The Mekhanik Maslak, a fishing trawler under construction, has caught fire at the Admiralty Shipyards in St Petersburg. The fire is being extinguished from both shore and water.” short videos, >click to read/watch< 16:34
Fire ignites on factory trawler under construction in Saint Petersburg, Russia – Russian media reports that a fire broke out on a large fishing vessel still under construction at a shipyard in the city of Saint Petersburg on Tuesday, August 2. >click to read<
Bluefin Blowout Back in Action With Big Fish and Even Bigger Fundraising for Alzheimer’s Association
Thousands of pounds of tuna were caught and hundreds of thousands of dollars were raised for the Alzheimer’s Association last week as the Bluefin Blowout tournament returned to Gloucester, the United State’s oldest fishing port, following a two-year hiatus forced by COVID. “We had great weather and really wonderful fishing conditions,” says Warren Waugh, managing partner of event sponsor and organizer Lyon-Waugh Auto Group. “We had good crowds, we had very competitive captains and crews, and the fish cooperated. The giant bluefin tuna were in abundance.” The winning fish weighed in at 688 pounds, earning Gloucester-based crew of the F/V Easy Scrapin’, a cash prize of $125,000,,, >click to read< 14:54
Don’t Cage Our Oceans: Fish farming may threaten rare Gulf whale
The site approved for the Velella Epsilon fish farm in federal waters west of Venice is one of just three potential aquaculture opportunity areas under consideration off Florida’s Gulf coast. There are six others — three in the central Gulf south of Louisiana and Mississippi and three east of Texas — as well as 10 in the Pacific Ocean off the California coast. It’s part of a collusive effort between fish farming companies and the federal government to divide up national waters for profit, James Mitchell, legislative director of Don’t Cage Our Oceans, said. >click to read< 13:49
Greenpeace Seizes (Steals) Longline Fishing Gear to Highlight Threat to Sharks
Greenpeace is warning of the effects of industrial longline fishing on shark populations after its activists confiscated fishing gear from two vessels in the North Atlantic, one of which was operating in a Marine Protected Area. The NGO announced that its activists aboard the Arctic Sunrise operating in the North Atlantic waters confiscated 30 kilometers of industrial fishing gear and 286 hooks from two European industrial longline fishing vessels, Segundo Ribeland Siempre Perla. The longliner vessels from Spain were fishing for sharks and swordfish. >click to read< 11:18
How the blue economy will shape the future of Canada’s oceans and coastal communities
The words “blue economy” will soon shape the future of Canada’s oceans, from the fiords and straits of British Columbia to the rugged coastlines of the Atlantic to the vast seascapes of the Arctic. But what is a blue economy? And what makes it different from business as usual? The term blue economy was first championed by small island developing countries, including Fiji, Bahamas and Palau, to bring more local benefits from ocean industries. Developing a blue economy means establishing ocean spaces and industries that are socially equitable, environmentally sustainable and economically profitable. Canada has been a key player in these efforts, including by supporting the first global conference on a blue economy, held in Nairobi in 2018 with over 18,000 participants. Now Canada is bringing the blue economy to its own waters. >click to read< 10:12
North Haven boy continues generations-long family tradition of lobstering
If his sandy blonde hair and freckles don’t give it away, eight-year-old Argyle MacDonald loves spending time on the ocean. Born and raised on the island of North Haven off the coast of Rockland, Argyle has the saltwater in his blood — and that blood runs generations deep. Since he was four years old, Argyle has been going out to sea with his Dad, Jason MacDonald, who has been lobstering for 40 years and counting. Jason was also born and raised on the island and started learning the craft around Argyle’s age. Now, Argyle is following his Dad’s footsteps. Video, >click to read< 08:26
New Bedford Man Shares Experience on Cruise Ship Struck By Fishing Vessel
The U.S. Coast Guard determined that the New Bedford-based F/V Gabby G, a 92-foot fishing boat, slammed into the midsection of the Norwegian Pearl cruise ship 41 nautical miles east of Nantucket early Saturday, as passengers were awakened by a loud boom. New Bedford lawyer Paul Santos and his wife were in a cabin above where the collision occurred. “It’s about 2:30 in the morning when I got up because nature called. I had just made it into the restroom, when this enormous ‘bang’ sound broke the nighttime quiet and the cruise ship started vibrating from the core, >click to read< 07:29
Syria’s last traditional boat-makers keep ancient craft afloat
Khaled Bahlawan hammers nails into a traditional wooden boat he built by hand, toiling under the scorching sun on Syria’s Mediterranean coast to preserve a disappearing ancient skill. “We are the last family that makes wooden ships and boats in Syria,” said the 39-year-old on the shores of Arwad Island, near the city of Tartus. “This is the legacy of our ancestors… We are fighting to preserve it every day”. Located about three kilometres (less than two miles) off the coast, Arwad is Syria’s only inhabited island and a haven of peace in a country torn by 11 years of war. Hundreds of workers, residents and visitors commute to and from there every day in wooden boats, mostly built by the Bahlawan family. >click to read< To see a complete photo gallery, >click here to view< 16:14
Norton Sound crab fishery bounces back with record year following fishing hiatus
The 2022 commercial crabbing season had the best harvest since 2017, according to the Alaska Department of Fish & Game. And when adjusted for inflation, ADF&G said this season’s ex-vessel value reached levels that haven’t been seen since the late 1970s and early ’80s, when the commercial fishery started in the Norton Sound. One contributing factor was the record price paid by Norton Sound Seafood Products, or NSSP, for red king crab this summer. NSSP paid $12 per pound for regional crabbers, and with a total harvest of 291,553 pounds, this summer season was considered the best crabbing the region has seen in years. >click to read< 14:27
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for 08/01/2022
If you’re a regular reader of the NCFA’s weekly newsletter, you’ve seen many articles lately pointing out the dis-information being distributed by the Coastal Conservation Association (CCA) of North Carolina. Unfortunately, they make it very easy to find a new subject to write about each week, so in fact, I bet almost anyone can do it. Even you! So, that said, let’s see if our readers have learned anything over the last couple of months. I challenge everyone who reads this to go to the CCA NC website, click on “Advocacy” and read the following position papers. >click to read<, To read all the updates >click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here< 12:56
Stonington, Connecticut celebrates 69th annual Blessing of the Fleet
A procession of commercial fishing vessels head out through Stonington Harbor as visitors look on from the Fisherman’s Memorial at the Stonington Town Docks on Sunday afternoon, July 31. The event is a yearly rite of passage and an integral part of the Annual St. Mary’s Church Blessing of the Fleet event, now in its 69th year. >click to view 19 photos< 10:09
Privatizing the sea: How private corps stole the sea from the commons
Since 1945, when the US unilaterally asserted ownership of the continental shelf and parts of the high seas around its shores, much of the ‘blue commons’ has been converted into private property. In 1982, UNCLOS (United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea) endorsed the biggest enclosure in history, granting countries exclusive economic zones (EEZs) that extended 200 nautical miles from their coastlines. This set in train procedures and institutional mechanisms that have expanded privatisation and financialisation to all parts of the marine economy. It also cemented neocolonialism, granting ex-imperial countries such as the US, France and the UK millions of square miles around lands far from their shores — their so-called ‘overseas territories’. >click to read< 09:18
Landing undersized lobsters costs fisherman thousands of pounds
A 77-year-old fisherman from Port Erin has been fined £10,000 for landing undersized lobsters. David Graham Quillin, who owns the vessel ‘Our Lads’, admitted having caught 17 lobsters which were under the legal limit in size. Overall, he had caught 189 lobsters but 17 were found to be under the 18mm legal size. The prosecutor added that the offence may have been down to Quillin’s eyesight and that his son was measuring the lobsters since the incident. The court heard that Quillin, who lives at Bradda, has no previous convictions. >click to read< 08:00
