Tony Wood has one goal in mind: getting the absolute freshest sockeye salmon and other seafood to customers across the country. To accomplish that goal “Captain Tony,” as he is known, splits his time between his Carbondale home and the remote area of Bristol Bay, Alaska where he leads a small commercial fishing fleet. How he got to that place is a story unto itself. Wood studied aviation at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale. During his collegiate summers, Wood worked as a fishing guide and apprentice pilot in King Salmon, Alaska. After relocating to Alaska, he started his own air taxi and guide business in the region. He was introduced to commercial fishing when a friend asked him to help for a couple of weeks on his vessel. Wood offered to be paid in fish, which he brought back to the Midwest. >click to read< 08:16
Daily Archives: April 9, 2023
Authorities respond to fishing vessel fire in Tacoma; shelter-in-place order issued for nearby areas
The Tacoma Fire Department has issued a temporary shelter-in-place order for some areas after a fishing vessel caught fire early Saturday morning, according to a news release from the U.S. Coast Guard. The order applies to the Northeast Tacoma, Browns Point and Dash Point neighborhoods. Residents in these areas are advised to stay indoors and limit exposure to smoke. The Coast Guard has closed the Hylebos Waterway to all commercial and recreation vessel traffic at this time and has deployed the Coast Guard Cutter Osprey and Station Seattle to enforce the closure. 17 photos, >click to read< 20:39
Unified command responds to fishing vessel fire in Tacoma, Washington
The Tacoma Fire Department, the Coast Guard, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Washington Department of Ecology and other agencies are continuing their response to the fishing vessel, F/V Kodiak Enterprise, that caught fire early Saturday morning while moored at Trident Seafoods in the Hylebos Waterway in Tacoma. The fire has progressed throughout the ship and was last reported approximately 100 feet from the vessel’s freon tanks. The vessel is reported to have an estimated 55,000 gallons of diesel and 19,000 pounds of freon onboard. The heat from the fire can cause pressure to build in the freon tanks. >click to read more< 17:44
U.S. Coast Guard medevacs man from fishing vessel near Grand Isle, Louisiana
The Coast Guard medevaced a 60-year-old man from a fishing vessel Sunday near Grand Isle, Louisiana. Coast Guard Sector New Orleans watchstanders received a call on Channel 16 at 3:06 a.m. from the fishing vessel Elvidlong requesting a medevac for a crewmember aboard who sustained injuries to one of his hands. Sector New Orleans watchstanders coordinated the launch of a Coast Guard Station Grand Isle Response Boat – Medium boat crew to assist. The man was taken to University Medical Center where he was last reported to be in stable condition. >link< 16:27
A Crab’s Eye View of Brexit
Of all the vexing regulations that Brexit has thrust upon Paul Knight’s shellfish exporting business, the one he finds most absurd is this: Before he can deliver his crabs and lobsters to France and Spain, they must be certified by a veterinarian. Before Brexit that was relatively simple. But now, because of all the extra paperwork required, Alastair Mackie, the Dignity Jay’s skipper, must deliver his shellfish earlier. So he will finish fishing by 11.30 a.m., rather than 5 p.m., to get his catch on a ferry from the Isle of Mull to Oban on the Scottish mainland. Each week, the early finish cuts one day’s catch in half. When it took full effect, in January 2021, Brexit ended an era of easy trade with his markets in continental Europe. >click to read< 12:34
We accompanied a local fishmonger to the new Fulton Fish Market. Here’s what we found
It’s 3 a.m. and I’m standing in the bustling parking lot of the New Fulton Fish Market at Hunt’s Point in the Bronx, New York. I’m waiting for Steve Sclafani, the owner and principal fish buyer for Peter’s Fish Market, a fresh fish shop that has been in Midland Park for 49 years. Sclafani has agreed to let me accompany him on this late-night or early-morning shopping trip to the nation’s biggest fish market. As I wait in the dark, I’m having some thoughts (some of them second). My first thought was that I have finally made it to this amazing place, though maybe 18 years too late. The original Fulton Fish Market was at the tip of Manhattan down by the Brooklyn Bridge. Video, 19 photos, >click to read< 09:49
Bond Commission grant would provide aid for repairs at Stonington Town Dock
Members of the State Bond Commission have tentatively approved a $250,000 grant to aid with renovations of the North Pier at Stonington Town Dock. The commission voted unanimously to approve the request, which augments the $900,000 federal grant already provided to the town, will cover the entire remaining cost of the project and provides the community with money for needed rehabilitation work and upgrades at the Stonington Town Dock. “This is a huge win for Stonington because the money will support the continued operations of Connecticut’s Last Fishing Fleet. >click to read< 09:01
