Daily Archives: September 7, 2022
Fishing boat erupted into fiery blaze as Navy step in to rescue crew
Extraordinary footage shows the Colombian Navy rescuing 29 crew members from a burning Venezuelan-flagged fishing boat. The tuna vessel was being held in the Port of Buenaventura, in Colombia, when the fire broke out on Monday night (September 5), days after allegedly being caught illegally fishing in a protected area. It is suspected an electrical short circuit in the kitchen caused the blaze. The navy sent two rapid response teams to evacuate the crew of 14 Venezuelans, five Mexicans, five Colombians, two Ecuadorians, and one Costa Rican. Photos, video, >click to read< 17:24
Coast Guard medevacs crewmember from vessel near, Kodiak, Alaska
A Coast Guard aircrew medevaced a mariner Sunday near Kodiak, Alaska. A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew from Air Station Kodiak hoisted and transported the injured man from the 252-foot fishing vessel, F/V American Triumph, to awaiting Emergency Services Personnel at the air station. Coast Guard Sector Anchorage watchstanders received the initial request for the medevac from a crewmember aboard the vessel at 10:45 a.m., reporting that a crewmember was experiencing potential heart attack-like symptoms. >click to read< 14:00
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 65′ DMR Trawler/Scalloper/Lobster, Cat 3408
Main engine was rebuilt in 2021 and has only 50 hours since. Vessel is available without dragging gear for $235,000 USD. To review specifications, information, and photos’, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here< 11:44
Port of Anacortes’ T Dock sees more than $14 million in annual commercial activity
Port commissioners voted earlier this year to replace T Dock with a new, upgraded dock, about twice the size and with a cost estimate of more than $7 million. With supply chain issues and rising costs of both supplies and construction, that number will likely go up, Port Executive Director Dan Worra said. The dock doesn’t bring in much money for the Port of Anacortes itself, but helps its tenants create money in their businesses. It also creates and supports jobs in this region, which is important to the port, he said. About $14 million in commercial activity happens through the T Dock each year. About $10 million of that comes from commercial fishing revenue, and $4 million comes through commercial maritime revenue, according to the report. >click to read< 10:29
Council to call for ban on gillnetting by larger boats
Shetland Islands Council is to write to the Scottish Government to request a ban on the use of gillnetting by boats over 15 metres in the country’s waters. It comes after a report on the controversial issue was brought to a meeting of the council’s development committee on Tuesday. A protest organised by the Fishing Forward UK group was held in Lerwick last month, and further action is planned in October. The netting issue was brought to the council earlier this year in a motion by local Green councillor Alex Armitage, who has called gillnets “curtains of death”. >click to read< 09:53
Commercial Lobster Season off to a Good Start as Keys Fishermen Deal with Increased Materials and Gas Prices
The Upper Keys boats have been “killing it,” with lobsters spilling out of containers onto decks, crews have been coming back to the docks earlier in the day due to lack of storage on the boats. However, in the Middle and Lower Keys, less product is being found. But this year, no matter how many “bugs” are hauled in, the chatter among all the boats is that overhead is biting into profits and thank goodness, the Chinese are buying. “The harvest is OK. Not fantastic, but it’s good,” George Niles told Keys Weekly. He has been fishing out of Stock Island for 50 years. “But we’re getting two dollars less per pound than this time last year. Traps are $50 to $60 apiece, compared to $35 three years ago. And fuel is $2 more than when Biden was elected. And that’s pure profit.” >click to read< 08:43
Shrimper hit by thieves after Hurricane Ida stranded his boat
A Lafourche Parish shrimper said Tuesday he is left with nowhere to turn, as thieves have begun cannibalizing his fishing vessel that was washed aground more than a year ago by Hurricane Ida. Rodney Verdin’s boat the F/V La Belle Idee remains stranded in the marshes of Golden Meadow. “It’s selfish of people to take advantage of us when we’re already down,” Rodney’s wife Rita Verdin said. Rodney has been a commercial shrimper in Golden Meadow for most of his life. He grew up in a nearby camp, generations old, from which he later ran his business, until Ida wiped it off the map. “That’s my life, that’s my whole business,” he said. “I can’t really do anything else. I’m almost too old to go find another job. Trying to do what I can … we aren’t giving up hope.” >click to read< 07:09
