Daily Archives: April 15, 2023
Shrimper Design Focuses on Low Fuel Consumption
Designers at Damen Maaskant have done some serious homework and developed new design intended to support operators in tropical shrimp fisheries in staying profitable. The Damen Shrimp Trawler 2607 is a brand-new design, developed as a simple basic standard vessel, to fish (sub)tropical shrimp, and to be a safe and robust vessel with straightforward maintenance and serviceability – and with the focus on low fuel consumption. Photos, >click to read< 19:51
DFO halts baby eel fishery in N.S., N.B for 45 days over escalating conflict
A news release from DFO on Saturday said after extensive monitoring it was determined that unreported removals made up a significant percentage of elver, or baby eel, landings. Fishery officers conducted extensive patrols from March 13 to April 10 to ensure compliance with regulations for the harvesting and sale of elvers, according to the release. The release states an increase in conflicts resulting in violence and threats risks the safety of harvesting and creates a threat to the management and control of the fishery. >click to read< 14:36
Record-low quota caught as Bering Sea Tanner crab season wraps up
The fishing season has ended for Bering Sea Tanner crab. Crabbers caught the record-low quota of two million pounds just before the end of March. Seventeen vessels went out for tanner across the fishery’s east and west districts, said Ethan Nichols, the assistant area management biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Unalaska. “Some boats caught their quota in the fall. Some caught it in the spring,” said Nichols. “Overall, the fishery performance was pretty good. ”Vessels were targeting and retaining crabs that were smaller than the industry-preferred size of five inches, but still perfectly legal to retain,” said Nichols. “And that was somewhat to make up for the lack of snow crab coming out of the Bering Sea.” >click to read< 11:29
‘Ropeless’ Fishing Gear Aims to Protect Whales, But Adds Complications, Costs
Using federal experimental fishing permits, three Port Judith-based lobstermen are struggling to use the new gear, borrowed from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), a branch of NOAA Fisheries. On a recent sunny April morning, Richard Lodge and his sea dogs Rudder and Dory were preparing to embark from his dock at Point Judith on his boat Select for a day of lobster fishing using the experimental gear. “Ropeless technology is excessive; I honestly don’t think it is necessary,” Lodge said. “This is a solution to a problem that isn’t there.” He and other Point Judith-based lobstermen said that in decades of time at sea, they don’t know of one instance in which whales were entangled in their lines. >click to read< 09:40
Fire aboard F/V Kodiak Enterprise in Tacoma put out after burning 6 days
A fire that burned aboard a ship in Tacoma for six days has been put out. The unified command, which is made up of several local and state agencies, announced Friday that the fire aboard the F/V Kodiak Enterprise, which is owned by Trident Seafoods, is no longer burning. The next step is removing the fuel that remains on board. Once the fuel is removed, the work will become a general salvage operation, according to the Washington state Department of Ecology. Video, >click to read< 09:01
Bay Area restaurants, crabbers prepare as whales force Dungeness crab season to close early
In an effort to protect humpback whales, the California Department of Fish & Wildlife announced commercial crab season in the region will come to a close on Saturday. “Being on the Wharf and in this restaurant all my life, we take a lot of pride in being able to go down to the boats, bring it back, serving the freshest fish possible,” said Paul Capurro, owner of Capurro’s Restaurant. “I think crab is one of the big things that makes Fisherman’s Wharf, Fisherman’s Wharf.” Local crabbers will see less revenue without spring fishing, said Holly Fruehling. “I for one was very excited to be spring fishing this year,” Fruehling said. Video, >click to read< 08:02
