Monthly Archives: May 2023
‘It’s so sad’: Acadian Peninsula mourns deaths of 2 lobster fishermen
New Brunswick’s Acadian Peninsula is in mourning after two local fishermen died Saturday on the first day of the lobster season in the area. The fishermen died after falling overboard in the waters off Miscou Island. Radio-Canada confirmed the names of the two men Sunday. They are 58-year-old Eugene Beaudin and his nephew, 23-year-old Normand Beaudin. Both men are from Miscou. Gilles Hebert, a former fisherman of 22 years, said the deaths will hit the community hard. “It’s so sad,” he said Sunday. “We’re all people who know each other. When we hear that someone drowned, we’re all touched by that.” >click to read< 19:43
Hope vs. rope: Can technology save the whales, and Maine’s lobster industry, too?
Along the coasts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, scientists, engineers, and fishermen are working feverishly to develop a new, high-tech way to harvest lobster – and the result could be the key to the survival of both the U.S. lobster fishery and the imperiled North Atlantic right whale. But farther north in Maine, the epicenter of the fishery, it’s unusually quiet. Only one Maine business is working on the technology, and only a handful of Maine lobstermen will test it. Many won’t even discuss it. The ropeless part is being worked out, but another critical component – an interoperable, open platform to track gear – is far from ready. The new equipment also is, at least for now, prohibitively expensive. One lobsterman said it would cost him nearly $500,000 upfront. >click to read< 16:20
‘A Crisis of epic proportions’: FFAW rejects latest deal amidst crab fishery stalemate
The Fish Food & Allied Workers Union has rejected the most recent deal with the Association of Seafood Producers. Crab harvesters have stayed off the water since the original offer of $2.20 per pound was set by the provincial price setting panel on April 6. Since that time, the FFAW and the ASP have been stuck in a stalemate, with harvesters refusing to go out for the low price. On Saturday evening, a news release from the union stated that the tie-on would continue, after members voted to oppose the current proposal. >click to read< 11:37
‘Losing my fishing boat is like losing a limb, or my identity’
Caitlín Uí Aodha doesn’t cry easily but tears aren’t far from her eyes when she talks about Dearbhla. While this is the name of her youngest daughter, it was also the name of her 25-metre trawler. “It hurts, it really hurts,” she says through stifled sobs when she talks about it. She is upset because late last year, she closed a door on a proud fishing tradition that has been in her family for more than 150 years. She did what she never thought she would do: she applied to decommission the boat. >click to read< 09:34
Shipwrecked ‘ghost boat’ looms on SLO County coast. Where did it come from?
Rumors circulate about how the so-called “ghost boat” came to rest off the coast of Estero Bluffs, with some claiming that its owner fell asleep at the helm while returning home from a fishing trip. According to a U.S. Coast Guard incident report, boat owner Jonathan Smith was fishing on July 28, 2017, when his boat drifted too close to the Estero Bay shore. Smith’s deckhand wasn’t feeling well and “went below deck to rest” — leaving Smith to fend for himself, the incident report said. At about 3:45 a.m., the boat’s propeller caught on a crab pot line, so Smith stopped the engine to try to untangle the line, the report said. photos, >click to read< 08:15
NO DEAL AT 2.20, TIE ON CONTINUES
Yesterday, ASP presented a new offer to the FFAW Bargaining Committee for snow crab, offering a minimum price of 2.20 for the entirety of the 2023 season with the ability for higher reconsiderations if markets improve. The proposal included trip limits as well as an overage fund. The Committee convened yesterday afternoon to review the proposal and consulted with their respective fleets over the last day. The majority of harvesters strongly oppose the proposal, per the fleet results below. “Leadership throughout the province have been clear today: the crab is staying the water until harvesters get a higher share of the price,” says FFAW-Unifor President Greg Pretty. “FFAW-Unifor will formally reject ASP’s proposal, and the Bargaining Committee is preparing to meet for further discussions.” >click to read the Press Release< 20:05
Two fishermen are dead after fall from fishing boat off coast of Lamèque, N.B.
Two men have died after falling from a fishing boat off the coast of Lamèque, N.B., on Saturday, police say. According to a release, members of the RCMP were called at about 8:30 a.m. on Saturday to assist Ambulance New Brunswick and the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre (JRCC) in locating the two men. “A 58-year-old man was located shortly thereafter and died at the scene as a result of his injuries.” RCMP said. “After a short search, a 33-year-old man was also located deceased.” The release from the Northeast District RCMP said a helicopter, two airplanes, three boats, and several local fishing boats assisted in the search and rescue efforts. >click to read<
Two men deceased following search and rescue efforts – RCMP Press release, >click to read<
The end of an era for Alaska fishing may already be here
The historic Long Island fishing town of Amagansett is about 100 miles from New York City — roughly the distance from Ninilchik to Anchorage. Remarkably, a remnant commercial fishery continued on eastern Long Island into the 1980s, despite mounting pressure from urban growth, pollution and rival sport fishermen. This summer, Kenai Peninsula beaches from Ninilchik to Kenai will be empty of setnets and buoys. Family-run commerial fishing businesses, a major economic force in the Cook Inlet region since territorial days, have been shut down and may not be coming back. Exceptional sockeye runs of the 1980s, when setnetters on east-side beaches recorded a few million-dollar seasons, helped set the stage for Cook Inlet’s modern fish wars. Sportfishermen saw too many prize king salmon in fish totes headed to processors. As more permit-holders migrated to the east-side beaches, new efforts were launched to avoid Kenai River kings. >click to read< 15:40
New Brunswick: 2 fishermen pulled from water after lobster boat capsizes with three onboard
A fisherman who had been reported missing has been located after a lobster boat capsized off the coast off Miscou Island on New Brunswick’s Acadian Peninsula. Lt.-Cmdr. Len Hickey, public affairs officer at the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre, said the missing fisherman had been located, but was “unresponsive.” Another fisherman fell overboard, but was recovered shortly after, also “unresponsive.” Hickey wouldn’t comment further on the condition of the two men. A third individual was also on board the boat, but never went overboard. >click to read< 13:02
No excuse for low lobster prices
The prices being paid to PEI lobster fishers a week into the 2023 season are underwhelming, with most getting $6.50 a pound for canners and $7 for markets. Last year fishermen were paid anywhere from $7 to $9 a pound, while in 2021 prices soared as high as $11. At Graham’s Pond, Travis Graham’s crew has been getting $6.50 for canners and $7.25 for markets. He said he doesn’t think much of those rates, but he’s optimistic things will get better. Edwin McKie, who fishes out of Fortune Harbour, said his crew has also been getting $6.50 to $7 on their tickets. But he expects things to get better. A friend in Maine told him prices there dropped from $10 to $7, and there isn’t a lot of lobster coming to shore there either. >click to read< 11:21
From Wheatley: Voyage to the bottom of the sea (Part 1)
I came to be speaking with Doug Johnston in the net repair room of Johnston Net and Twine, the shop, on County Road 3 on the east side of Wheatley, that Doug co-owns with his son, Rob. Doug has been in the Lake Erie commercial fishing industry for 67 of his 79 years. Of those, Doug was on Lake Erie for 34 years, and for about four years on Lake Huron, as a deckhand, and then captain and boat owner. To this day, he co-owns, with his son Rob, the Dorothy J – a 68-foot, 300-horsepower Lake Erie fish tug built in 1957 at Dunnville on the Grand River.Like most people who make their living in the commercial fishing industry, Doug has seen a lot of things: years when fish were plentiful, years when it seemed they had vanished; spectacular sunrises on smooth-as-glass water; and terrifying storms and fellow-fishermen lost and rescued. >click to read< 10:06
Regulators approve new lobster size limits in Maine to preserve young population
An Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission board has approved new measures that could change the minimum and maximum catch sizes for lobster in certain parts of Maine. The fisheries commission said it will gradually implement changes to measurement sizes by fractions of an inch in certain parts of the Gulf of Maine — but only if it observes a 35% decline in the young lobster population through trawl and trap survey data. Recent assessments have shown a 23% decline in juvenile lobsters, said Pat Keliher, commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources. >click to read< 09:01
Wind energy developer funneled cash to Dem senator pushing offshore wind
A multibillion-dollar energy developer has wired tens of thousands of dollars to Democratic Virginia Sen. Tim Kaine’s campaign in recent years while aggressively pushing a massive offshore wind project. The Richmond, Virginia-based Dominion Energy’s political action committee (PAC) has funneled $23,000 to Kaine for Virginia since 2011, with the latest, a $1,500 contribution, coming in February. In that same time span, Dominion Energy has given another $44,500 to Common Ground PAC, the leadership PAC affiliated with and chaired by Kaine. Since 2021, Dominion Energy executives led by CEO Robert Blue and Senior Vice President William Murray have donated $19,600 to Kaine’s campaign. At the same time, lobbyists who Dominion has contracted made payments totaling $3,000 to the campaign. >click to read< 08:03
L’Ecume II: specialist teams leave Jersey as recovery operation comes to an end
Harbourmaster Bill Sadler has been notified by the States police that there are no further tasks for the teams to complete at the wreck site, after parts of the vessel and the body of skipper Michael Michieli, were recovered as part of the operation’s key objectives. The maritime exclusion zone has now been removed along with the anchors and buoys deployed last month. Specialist teams and recovery vessels, including a 60-metre crane barge which arrived last month have now left the Island. The parts of the trawler recovered from the seabed have been moved to a secure location and the wreck is now in the possession of the States police. >click to read< 21:07
Tentative deal reached that could see snow crab harvesters back on the water
The Fish, Food & Allied Workers union has reached a tentative deal that could see snow crab harvesters back on the water in short order. The FFAW and the Association of Seafood Producers (ASP) have been stuck in a stalemate for weeks over the $2.20 per pound price set by the provincial price setting panel in early April. The industry is worth about $756 million. Many harvesters have said the $2.20 price wouldn’t make for a viable season after two years that saw prices over $7 per pound and the rising cost of fuel and other supplies. However, $2.20 per pound will still be the price for the catch but will remain in place for the entire season, not just for the three-week window offered by the ASP before it sought a price reconsideration from the price setting panel. Video, >click to read< 18:27
Shrimp is the fruit of the sea, and Mississippi has many ways to celebrate National Shrimp Day all month long
As Bubba from “Forrest Gump” said, there are many, many ways to cook shrimp, and restaurants on the Mississippi Gulf Coast are ready to offer dozens of them in celebration of National Shrimp Day. In anticipation of the day created to recognize America’s favorite seafood, National Shrimp Day on May 10, Coastal Mississippi has curated a variety of ways travelers can celebrate all month long. The region, which produces nearly three-fourths the nation’s domestic shrimp, has many unique experiences for seafood enthusiasts, from learning how to find your own fresh catch to exploring the history of the seafood industry. >click to read< 17:46
’Deadliest Catch’: Sig Hansen Admits Producers Make the Show More ‘Dramatic’: ‘That’s What Sells’
Discovery Channel’s hit reality TV series, Deadliest Catch, focuses heavily on Sig Hansen in season 19. Sig and his daughter, Mandy Hansen, are at the helm of the Northwestern, and they’ve given a lot of insight into what life is like catching crabs on the Bering Sea. Here’s what Sig Hansen admitted about the producers of Deadliest Catch focusing on the difficult weather conditions to make the show more “dramatic.” “They shoot thousands of hours of footage, and I can understand that they are trying to put a storyboard together and make it fit. Everything that they film is accurate, but you will see a lot of the more foul weather as opposed to the calm days. I suppose that’s what sells, but the bad weather is a reality.” Also, an interesting video of the F/V Foremost sinking, leading to the construction of F/V Northwestern. >click to read< 13:41
Omega Protein Fishing Partner Christens Two New Vessels, Reedville and Little River
Ocean Harvesters, Omega Protein’s fishing partner, kicked off the 2023 fishing season by christening two new vessels for the Atlantic menhaden fishery. The F/V Reedville and the F/V Little River are the two latest additions to the fleet of Ocean Harvesters, which fishes for menhaden in Virginia and operates a long-term supply contract with Omega Protein. The vessels were christened on Saturday April 22 in a ceremony at Omega Protein’s facility in Reedville, Virginia. Video, photos, >click to read< 12:44
Shrimp boats held hostage – SEA-NL demands province intervene in northern shrimp ‘hostage situation’
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) demands the provincial government immediately intervene in the case of two shrimp boats from Port au Choix that are being denied ice from local supplies because they plan to sell their catches in New Brunswick. “Make no mistake these shrimp boats are being held hostage at the wharf by the local buyer who refuses to let them go,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director. “The province must investigate immediately, and I’ll be writing a letter to that effect today to Premier Andrew Furey.” Fishermen Barry Plowman and Calvin Gould, owner-operators of the 65 footers Challenger 88 and Nightbreaker, have been geared up at the wharf in Port au Choix since Thursday ready to start fishing shrimp in the Gulf. >click to read< 11:15
10 billion snow crabs disappeared from the Bering Sea. Scientists and fishermen are working together to understand why
The snow crabs’ population in the Bering Sea off the western coast of Alaska has fluctuated for decades. An increase in young crabs back in 2018 gave way to optimism that fishing would be good for years to come, but the hope was short-lived. Gabriel Prout and his family own the fishing vessel Silver Spray in Kodiak, Alaska. He said it was obvious something was wrong the last few years. The Bering Sea fishing grounds are usually covered in sea ice in the winter. But there wasn’t much ice, and they fished further north than usual. Finding snow crabs was still difficult. “It was just very poor fishing,” said Prout. “We searched for miles and miles and miles and really didn’t see anything.” >click to read< 10:15
Surprise ‘farewell’ for award-winning lifeboat cox Mark – but he’s not going far
Award-winning Torbay RNLI’s coxswain Mark Criddle is retiring after 17 years at the helm – but he is staying on as a crew member. Sunday was Mark’s last day leading out an exercise in the Bay as the ‘coxswain’. Old friends, family and crew surprised him on his return to the station. They were joined by the lifeboats from Exmouth, Teignmouth, and Dartmouth, which had come across to escort Torbay’s Severn Class lifeboat home and to celebrate Mark’s formal retirement. The trawlers of Brixham also hooted as he helmed Brixham’s Severn Class all-weather lifeboat back to her moorings. It was a moving event for those watching, and a fitting tribute to Mark’s long and dedicated service. Photos, >lick to read< 09:35
N.J. GOP seeks wind projects halt to see if whales benefit
Four state senators hosted a online hearing about offshore wind energy generation and whale deaths, three weeks after the most recent East Coast whale death was reported and despite the assurances of most scientists and conservationists that there is no correlation. The two-hour hearing came a week after Democrats, who control the Legislature and the governorship, held a similar hearing and many of New Jersey’s major environmental groups said the greatest danger to whales is climate change, not offshore wind generation. “I’ve been labeled a climate change denier and a tin-foil hat wearer,” said Jim Hutchinson, managing editor of The Fisherman,,, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., who represents part of the Jersey Shore and who led last week’s Democratic-led forum, said pausing offshore wind projects wouldn’t prevent whale deaths. >click to read< 08:05
Snow crab harvesters prepared to stay on land as fisheries minister justifies secret ballot letter
Snow crab harvesters in Newfoundland say they’re still holding out on this year’s season in search of a better price, even after the province’s fisheries minister urged the Fish, Food & Allied Workers union to ask fishermen if they want to be on the water. “We’re at a standstill now. We can’t go fishing because right now the price, I mean it’s just too low at $2.20 a pound. It’s just not feasible to catch right now,” Jamie Stack, a snow crab fisherman in Petty Harbour. Stack and other harvesters spoke in response to a letter sent by Fisheries Minister Derrick Bragg to the FFAW on Wednesday, asking the union to hold a secret ballot vote to see if snow crab harvesters are ready to fish at $2.20 per pound as other provinces fish at similar prices. >click to read< 18:55
Body formally identified as L’Ecume II skipper
Police in Jersey have confirmed the body recovered from the wreck of a sunken fishing boat has been formally identified as Michael Michieli. Mr Michieli, 62, was the skipper of the L’Ecume II fishing trawler that sank after colliding with a freight ferry on 8 December. The bodies of the two other crew, Larry Simyunn and Jervis Baligat, were recovered later that month. The Michieli family has been informed, police said. They added: “Our deepest sympathies are with the Michieli family, and our thoughts remain with them at this difficult time.” >click to read< 15:34
Democrats’ Green Agenda Will Gut America’s Oldest Industry And Turn Coastal Towns Into The New Appalachia
Biden’s regulators are driving fishermen of all kinds off the water in droves, while offshore wind development his administration backs is threatening access to productive fishing grounds. Coastal towns keyed to commercial fishing—like Stonington, Maine or Grand Isle, Louisiana—are facing social and economic oblivion. Fishermen are not a powerful political constituency. They do not give lavishly to politicians or command a powerful lobby in Washington. Of late, fishermen in the north Atlantic formed a grassroots organization, the New England Fishermen Stewardship Association (NEFSA), to advocate for jobs, coastal communities, and sustainable management of our oceans. >click to read< 13:35
Banff and Buchan MP criticises Banffshire and Buchan Coast MSP for ‘disowning fishing industry’
Banff and Buchan MP David Duguid has criticised Karen Adam for “disowning the fishing industry” and putting “political games ahead of constituents” after she voted against reconsidering proposals on Highly Protected Marine Areas despite widespread concern from the sector. Mr Duguid said the SNP Banffshire and Buchan Coast MSP was “happy to see the fishing sector sink” as she opted against changing “catastrophic” plans for a partial squeeze in Scottish waters. Just three SNP MSPs, Kate Forbes, Fergus Ewing and Alasdair Allan, did not vote with the rest of their party while three others Annabelle Ewing, Christine Grahame and Ash Regan abstained. >click to read< 12:45
Commercial Fisherman Lloyd D. Whaley of Brookings, Oregon has passed away
Lloyd D. Whaley was born April 30th, 1943, and passed away peacefully on Saturday morning April 29th, 2023. He juggled working nights at the lumber mill while pursuing his eventual career during the daytime: commercial fishing. The long hours and lack of sleep eventually paid off when he was able to buy his first salmon trawler, the Marilyn A. Some years later, he sold the Marilyn A and bought a slightly larger trawler, the Kristy. Unfortunately, the risk of fishing caught up with him and the Kristy sank. Instead of becoming discouraged, he remained devoted to commercial fishing and built a boat that could handle harsher weather conditions and diversify into other fisheries such as crab, shrimp, and bottom trawl, the Cape Sebastian. From there he grew to a second vessel, a 90-foot gulf shrimper the BJ Thomas (later sold to his granddaughter Sarah and husband Justin). Finally, in 1987 in a partnership with his son, they built a combination trawler crabber in Alabama and named it the Miss Sarah after his granddaughter. Additionally, Lloyd gave 20 years of service to the Port of Brookings Harbor as a commissioner. >click to read< 11:54
N.L. fisheries minister urges union to hold secret ballot vote on snow crab harvest
Newfoundland and Labrador Fisheries Minister Derrick Bragg has urged the Fish, Food & Allied Workers union to hold a secret ballot vote asking snow crab harvesters if they are ready to fish at $2.20 per pound. Harvesters have stayed off the water three weeks into the province’s most lucrative fishery, as they protest what they consider a catastrophic price of $2.20 per pound. The topic came to a head earlier this week, when the Association of Seafood Producers called out intimidation and harassment levelled at fish harvesters who have expressed a willingness to fish for $2.20 a pound. >click to read< 10:51
Seattle judge’s ruling might cancel Alaska commercial king salmon season
A ruling from a U.S. judge in Seattle could effectively shut down commercial king salmon trolling in Southeast Alaska, a valuable industry that supports some 1,500 fishermen, after a conservation group challenged the harvest as a threat to endangered killer whales that eat the fish. Wild Fish Conservancy, the organization that brought the lawsuit, heralded the decision as the most significant government action in decades to provide more food for starving orcas. But fishing organizations condemned the ruling, saying it threatens the region with economic disaster and would do little or nothing to benefit orcas. The state of Alaska quickly announced an appeal. >click to read< 10:12
Massive study examines offshore wind’s impact on fishing, fisheries
A just released “first of its kind” report that federal regulators and the fishing industry spent three years working on is making the rounds, exploring the impacts of offshore wind on fisheries and commercial fishermen, and identifying the questions that remain unanswered. They just released their results in a nearly 400-page “Synthesis of Science” report — a collaborative effort between the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the lead regulator of offshore wind; NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center; and the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA), a membership-based coalition of the fishing industry. >click to read< 09:31
