Daily Archives: June 29, 2023
Natural Connections: The Lake Superior Fishery in Wisconsin Waters
The boat engine rumbled and machinery whirred as a gillnet rose from the depths of Lake Superior. Captain Ross Lind managed the throttle so that the 55-foot-long gillnet-tug-turned-research-vessel named Hack Noyes moved toward the net at the same speed the net lifter reeled it in. A group of interested adults on this Museum-sponsored field trip gathered around the equipment. We were mesmerized by the clicking of the metal teeth on the spinning drum as they gripped and then released the line, and by the lengths of delicate nylon net attached to the line. Capable hands guided the net down a long, stainless-steel worktable and into the storage tub. (Check 
out the Museum’s Reels on Instagram and Facebook if you want to see a video of this operation.) Gillnets look like a long tennis net, anchored by weights along the lake bottom and held vertical by floats. Small fish swim right through, but bigger fish get caught. Whether a DNR biologist or a commercial fisherman is setting the net, they can choose the fish they target by the size of the mesh and the depth of set. >click to read< 19:28
Recommendation made to MCA as man overboard investigation concludes
An investigation into the fatal man overboard incident on a Shetland trawler in 2021 has resulted in a recommendation being made to the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) to amend regulations around fishing boats having the means to recover an unconscious person from the water. No recommendations have been made to the owners of the Copious, 60 North Fishing (Shetland) Ltd, in light of the actions they have taken. Since the fatal accident the owners have brought in a replacement Copious, bought man overboard recovery equipment and upgraded lifejackets. Edison Lacaste, 45, died in the early hours of 18 February 2021 when he fell overboard from the Copious LK985 while the vessel was trawling 30 miles southeast of Sumburgh. >click to read< 17:19
Cold, storms, whales and seals ‘playing havoc’ with gulf lobster season, fisherman says
A New Brunswick fisherman is calling this year’s lobster season in the Gulf of St. Lawrence one of the worst he’s ever seen. Ernest Robichaud of Tabusintac said a reduction in the number of fishing days because of storms, North Atlantic right whale sightings and colder than normal weather means he’s out at least $100,000 this season. “Somebody’s going to have to wait for some money,” said Robichaud. “I can survive, but I’m thinking of the younger lads and [they’re] gonna have it pretty rough.” >click to read< 14:40
MassDEP Fines F/V Capt Carl, LLC for Discharge of Oiled Bilge Water to New Bedford Harbor
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has assessed a $10,465 penalty to Trawler Capt. Carl, LLC of New Bern, North Carolina, for discharging oiled bilge water to the surface water of New Bedford Harbor near 4 Washington Street in Fairhaven. MassDEP’s surface water discharge regulations prohibit unpermitted discharges which are not incidental to the normal operation of a vessel. On May 5, 2022, MassDEP responded to the report of an oil spill in New Bedford Harbor off Fairhaven. Because a responsible party was not forthcoming, the U.S. Coast Guard conducted a publicly funded cleanup. Later investigation of Trawler Capt. Carl’s commercial fishing vessel in the immediate vicinity of the spill revealed a pronounced “bathtub ring” of oil within the vessel bilge, indicating that the oiled bilge water had recently been pumped out. >click to read< 13:49
Reins Loosened Slightly On Chesapeake Bay Crab Harvest
“We’re being cautious, but I think we’re being responsible,” said Ed Tankard, a board member with the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, which voted June 27 to ease certain bushel limits. In Maryland, the state Department of Natural Resources announced on the same day a raft of industry-friendly changes to its crab controls, including modestly increasing the allowable harvest of female crabs and lifting limits on the harvest of males over Labor Day weekend. Those moves came a few weeks after the panel that regulates the Potomac River’s fishing industry agreed to roll back bushel limits on female crabs to 2021 levels. >click to read< 12:21
Save Our Shores Rally Beachgoers to Offshore Wind Fight
A day at the beach took on a different meaning Saturday as offshore wind opposition groups came together to educate the public about the impact of wind energy on Jersey Shore communities during a “Save Our Shores” event on the 68th Street beach in Long Beach Township. A short distance from where groups like Save LBI, Clean Ocean Action, Defend Brigantine, and Save the East Coast set up, Jon Shields and Emily Fiore, both of Surf City, put a familiar Save LBI sign in the sand and stood behind it. Shields said he comes from an engineering background, learned about wind turbines and what to do when they are built in school and that’s where his concerns stem. Lots of photos! >click to read< 11:09
Breaking news: Scottish Government backs down over HPMAs
Mairi McAllan, Scotland’s Net Zero Secretary, announced today that both the timetable – with implementation due to take place by 2026 – and scope, covering 10% of Scotland’s coastal waters, were no longer government policy. The Scottish Government had published a consultation document last December, setting out plans for Highly Protected Marine Areas (HPMAs) in which virtually no form of commercial activity – including all forms of fishing, aquaculture or offshore renewable energy installations – would be permitted. The proposals drew strong criticism from coastal communities, the fishing industry and the fish farming sector, and even from some Scottish National Party (SNP) members of the Scottish Parliament, including former Fisheries Minister Fergus Ewing. >click to read< 09:55
Crew on ill-fated trawler Njord which sank after capsizing ‘weren’t wearing lifejackets’
Seven fishermen on board the Njord, skippered by Danny Normandale from Scarborough, were rescued uninjured. However, an eighth crewmember “succumbed to the effects of immersion in cold water” and drowned, the summary issued by the Marine Accident Investigation Board said. A rescue operation was launched after the alarm was raised on March 6 2022. The interim report said the stern trawler, which was 150 miles north-east of Peterhead, Scotland, capsized on calm seas, while processing a large haul of fish. >click to read< 08:55
We’re Being Regulated Out of Business, New England Fishermen Say
“The New England fishermen are the most regulated fishermen in the world,” Jerry Leeman says. Leeman has been fishing in Maine his entire life. His father, grandfather, and great-grandfather were all fishermen. Federal regulations have now reduced the amount of haddock landings for commercial fishermen by more than 80%, Leeman said. The reduction in fish that fishermen are allowed to catch and “offshore wind development,” which is taking over “just under 10 million acres” of ocean, prompted Leeman, along with fisherman Dustin Delano, to create the New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association to advocate for the region’s fishermen. Video, listen to the podcast >click to read< 07:55
