Daily Archives: December 29, 2022

‘It’s heartbreaking’: Mother mourns son lost at sea on Boxing Day

At 8 a.m. on Boxing Day, Carmella Newell received a terrible call. On the other end of the line, her son Christian’s girlfriend was crying. Christian had gone overboard early that morning while fishing for lobster off Cape Sable Island, N.S., she said. Other than that, the family didn’t know what had happened. It wasn’t until the next day that the reality of what had happened sank in. As soon as news of Christian’s disappearance became public, Newell said she began to receive messages of support, including from the other crew members who had been on board the fishing boat. “It was heartbreaking, they tried to save him and they couldn’t.” The crew was struck by tragedy again this week. The boat’s captain had a heart attack hours after the search was called off. He remains in hospital in Yarmouth.  >click to read< 18:14

Support continues for family, community after fisherman lost at sea in southwestern NS

Efforts are ongoing to support the family, the community and the fishing industry as people grieve the loss of a young lobster fisherman in southwestern Nova Scotia. Christian Atwood, 27, was lost at sea after going overboard during a Dec. 26 fishing trip. Losses like this hit fishing communities extremely hard – and such is the case once again in a region of the province where virtually everyone has some sort of connection to the fishing industry – be it directly, or indirectly – through family, friends, employment or otherwise. An organization that promotes the physical safety of those in the fishing industry is now also focusing on people’s mental well-being during this time of heartache and loss. Fish Safe NS has stepped up to help organize and coordinate counseling and grief sessions for the fishermen’s family and the community. >click to read< 16:33

Dungies beyond crabbers’ grasp

The delay in starting the crab season, now stretching into its first month,,, “People have no idea how much money Dungeness crab bring into Newport,” said Casey Cooper, a third-generation fisherman who was rigging the steel-hulled Leslie Lee with crab pots at Newport’s International Terminal. “From car dealers to grocery stores, everybody’s waiting for this huge annual infusion of cash.” Businessman Dean Fleck of England Marine supplies the crab fleet with rope, buoys, crab pots and other fishing gear. He said the delay is being felt up and down the waterfront, where hundreds of workers from deckhands to processors are idled. He claimed each dollar generated by crab fishing is “brand new” to the local economy, with the potential to rebound seven times. >click to read< 15:41

Personal Locator Beacons improve the chance of rescue at sea

A PLB is a personal electronic device that transmits a survivor’s location on or in the water to the Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided Tracking system during an emergency. It’s designed to be carried in a person’s life vest (or elsewhere on their body) and manually activated when the wearer is in distress. PLBs continuously update a survivor’s location. New Year’s Eve is a time of celebration and remembrance. Three years ago, on December 31, 2019, as the new year was being rung in across the lower 48 states, a tragedy was playing out in icy Alaskan waters. F/V Scandies Rose, with seven crew members aboard, capsized and sank before reaching safety. >click to read< Then, there is survivor John Aldridge, a crewmember of the 44-foot lobster vessel Anna Mary was last seen aboard the boat during his watch relief at 9 p.m., Tuesday, while the vessel was underway off Montauk, N.Y. How many times have you read of or heard of a fisherman going overboard, only to watch an unsuccessful chain of events involving fruitless search and rescue operations to see them become possible recovery operations, and predictably, abandoned after a period of time, dictated by estimates of rate of survival and sea conditions? Way too many.

Crab season to begin Saturday but price talks could delay start

Crabbers are still negotiating with fish processors over the price per pound of crab, and by the first week of January, they might have a deal, said Harrison Ibach, president of the Humboldt Fishermen’s Marketing Association. He added that he could not speculate on what the price would be, but that it would likely not be as high as last season’s $4.75 per pound. “It’s a very soft seafood market at the moment. I guess you could say it’s probably due to economic conditions, the cost of living is extremely high,” Ibach said. “There’s not been a lot of consumption of domestic seafood or seafood in general.” >click to read< 11:26

F/V L’Ecume II: Search for missing Jersey fisherman ‘will continue’

The search for a missing fisherman whose trawler sank off Jersey will continue, the government has said. Jersey-based L’Ecume II sank after colliding with a Condor freight ferry on 8 December. The bodies of the two crew members, Jervis Baligat and Larry Simyunn, have been recovered, but skipper Michael Michieli has not been found. Deputy Chief Minister Kirsten Morel said next steps in the search were being considered. “There’s a range of options including further exploration of L’Ecume with divers or it is possible we may also need to look at the potential for raising the vessel,” >click to read< 09:25

Rough Sea Conditions Hamper Efforts to Salvage Fishing Boat at Santa Cruz Island

Efforts to salvage a commercial fishing boat that ran aground on Santa Cruz Island earlier this month have been halted by stormy weather, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. The Speranza Marie, carrying 16,000 pounds of squid and some 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel, hit the shoreline near Chinese Harbor at about 2 a.m. on Dec. 15. Six crew members were on board, and all were rescued without injury by another fishing boat. Efforts have been underway since then to salvage the vessel, which is owned by Ocean Angel VI LLC. >click to read< 07:57