Monthly Archives: July 2023
Search Continues Today for Missing Steuben Lobsterman
The Maine Marine Patrol will continue to search today for Tylar Michaud, 18 of Steuben, a commercial lobsterman who was reported missing Friday night at 5pm after failing to return from a day of hauling and setting his traps near Petit Manan Point. The search is focusing on the waters near Petit Manan Point where Michaud’s unoccupied boat was found Friday evening by a local fisherman. Today’s search will involve Marine Patrol boats and the Maine State Police/Marine Patrol Underwater Recovery Team. An aerial search will also be conducted by the Marine Patrol, Army National Guard, Air National Guard, and Maine Forest Service. >link< 09:52
Watching my brother-in-law build his lobster traps by hand taught me the value of old ways
As a kid, I remember lying across the seat of a white rowboat in the hot sun during my summer holidays. In 2006, what seemed like a lifetime later, I was having one of my first quick chats with my future brother-in-law, on the weekend that he and my sister Kathy were getting married. Michael Sullivan is a lobster fisherman. Wearing his preferred black ball cap and sporting a chevron mustache, he catches enough lobster and fish to make a living. He told me about his greatest heartache, that the lobster fishery is a disaster, with catches getting smaller and smaller. But two daughters and 11 years later, things had taken a surprising turn. Michael had been upping his catch, substantially, every year. He had gone back to the “old ways” — building his own wooden traps. Photos, >click to read< 09:01
Letter: Pleas for help from Louisiana shrimpers fall on deaf ears
The Louisiana shrimp industry is in crisis; putting our 15,000 jobs and $1.3 billion industry at risk. During the legislative session, hundreds of shrimpers, dock owners and processors marched on the State Capitol to call out unwanted competition from imported shrimp. Louisiana plays a significant role in the U.S. shrimp market, accounting for 25% of the nation’s demand. But imports from Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and Ecuador are flooding U.S. markets, resulting in distressed prices for our product. >click to read< 08:06
Search suspended for missing Maine lobsterman who just graduated from high school
Authorities have suspended the search for a missing 18-year-old Down East Maine lobsterman whose unoccupied boat was found adrift. The Coast Guard said in a tweet Sunday afternoon that the search for Tylar Michaud, of Steuben, which involved vessels and aircraft, was suspended after 40 hours “pending further developments.” Michaud was reported missing at 5 p.m. Friday when he did not return from a day of hauling and setting his traps near Petit Manan Point, the state Department of Marine Resources said in a statement. Petit Manan Point is about 15 miles (24 kilometers) east of Mount Desert Island. >click to read< 17:47
Linda Greenlaw Casts Claim That Deadliest Catch Is More Scripted Than You Think
In Sig Hansen’s estimation, “Deadliest Catch” is not reality television. The veteran skipper regards “Deadliest Catch” as more of a documentary — or perhaps more accurately, a docuseries. Still, “Deadliest Catch” is known to gin up drama. And according to the show’s newest cast member, Linda Greenlaw, “Deadliest Catch” is more scripted than you think. A well-known and highly regarded fisherman, Greenlaw is the sole female swordfishing captain on the East Coast, as well as a noted survivor of the “perfect storm” that plowed through the waters of the Northeast in 1991. Greenlaw is also no stranger to reality TV, having starred in Discovery’s “Swords: Life on the Line,” a series that focuses on the Northeast swordfishing industry. >click to read< 11:07
Cost of being first in offshore wind is growing for New Jersey
New Jersey wasn’t the first East Coast state to commit to developing its major untapped clean energy resource, offshore wind power generation. But Gov. Phil Murphy and state Democrats have used their control of state government to spend whatever it takes to make New Jersey and its ratepayers the earliest adopters of offshore wind in the United States. Even though Europe’s mature offshore wind industry was capable of producing electricity at a cost competitive to natural gas powered generating plants, the early U.S. wind farms were always going to be more expensive. A North American offshore wind industry needed to be developed first. Now the bills for early adoption of offshore wind are starting to come in, and they are substantial. >click to read< 10:03
Goodbye Destin
I remember an old café where old fishing boat captains used to hang out. I was a kid. I lived up the road from the joint, in a cinder-block house. I frequently walked to this greasy spoon to listen to the old men jaw. Destin was different back then. We didn’t have 4.5 million visitors. Highway 98 wasn’t America’s largest automotive parking lot. We were small. We were unknown. We had old men. They were vile old men. Unshaven. Unwashed. Unsanctified. Undomesticated. Unfriendly. Un-everything. They smoked Luckys and survived on bad habits. Their skin looked like chewed-up boot leather and their teeth had gone to be with Jesus long ago. They were commercial fishermen. The real deal. A dying breed. These men did not like where the world was going, so they were always ticked off. Their favorite thing to say, “Hell, I don’t know anymore… I. Just. Don’t. Know.” >click to read< 09:24
Coast Guard finds empty boat used by missing 18-year-old lobsterman
The U.S. Coast Guard has found the empty boat of a missing 18-year-old lobster fisherman. Tylar Michaud of Steuben went out on his lobster boat Friday morning, but he has not been heard from since, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. He was heading out Friday morning to work on a line of traps near Petit Manan in Pigeon Hill Bay, east of Mount Desert Island. His empty lobster boat, “Top Gun,” was found in Jonesport Saturday night. >click to read< 08:14
Coast Guard searching for missing Maine lobsterman
Dense fog wrapping the Downeast coast is complicating the Coast Guard’s search Saturday for a young Maine lobsterman who didn’t return Friday evening from a day of checking and baiting his traps off Petit Manan Island. Tylar Michaud, 18, of Steuben, was working alone Friday, Coast Guard officials said. His boat, named Top Gun, was found Friday night near Jonesport with no one aboard. “There is an ongoing search, and multiple agencies are involved,” Chief Petty Officer Alexander Polyak said Saturday. “There’s no plan to suspend the search.” >click to read< 19:43
Lawmakers push for tighter rules on imported shrimp
A federal lawmaker representing Galveston County has co-sponsored a bill that would increase U.S. Food and Drug Administration testing to ensure imported shrimp meet domestic health and safety standards and fund a federal agency to buy some of the U.S. catch under some circumstances. The bill is meant to weed out tainted shrimp and level the field for U.S. shrimpers and seafood markets that must meet higher quality standards and have been battered by large foreign companies, including shrimp farming operations, able to sell their products in the United States for about half the domestic price. Customers leaving the seafood market agreed. Customer Fredell Rosen said domestic shrimp is the only way to go. “I want my shrimp from here,” Rosen said. “I want my shrimp local. I’m willing to pay more because I know it’s regulated and safe.” >click to read< 16:01
‘We are at 50% of the quota we had’: boss of UK’s last long-range trawler rues ‘squandered’ Brexit hopes
Just hours after docking, the latest catch – about 300 tonnes of frozen fish fillets – has already been transported in Kirkella-branded boxes to the fish market at Grimsby, to be weighed, graded and sold. While this may sound like a vast amount of fish, the UK’s only remaining “distance trawler” has returned home only half-full from its latest expedition. “The catch wasn’t so good this time,” says the first mate, Dean Jackson, 53, who is finishing up checks of the vessel on the bridge before enjoying some time at home with his family after about six weeks at sea. “Fishing is erratic,” he says. “We had four days when it was really good. But the problem when you get really good fishing is you’re at the mercy of the factory and processing.” >click to read< 12:27
Photos: On the water with Bristol Bay’s protesting fishing crews
Commercial fishing crews joined together at the mouth of the Naknek River to peacefully protest the low price that processors are offering for this year’s sockeye salmon. They want processors to reconsider the 50 cents per-pound price, as well as more transparency in the fishery. The protest began at 6:00 AM on Thursday, July 20, and lasted through the day. >click to see the photos< 11:33
Imported shrimp threatening Louisiana’s seafood industry
In June, a fleet of fishermen stood at the capitol to plead lawmakers to save their industry from imports. “What we’re seeing is a flood of shrimp coming into the country in droves far beyond what we can consume as a country each year,” Chalin Delaune, the Vice President of Tommy’s Seafood, a processor of gulf caught seafood in Louisiana, said. It worked, and the state legislature approved a bill that would give tax breaks to commercial fisherman to help them compete with foreign prices. “The legislation is a start in the right direction,” Delaune said.” “It should’ve happened a long time ago and we believe there’s a lot of work to still be done.” Video, >click to read< 10:23
Long Beach council tells Hochul it is ‘fervently opposed’ to wind project
The City of Long Beach is “fervently opposed” to the Empire Wind 2 project that proposes a high-voltage power line through its streets and turbines visible from shore, city officials said in a letter to Gov. Kathy Hochul this week. The Monday letter, signed by all five city council members, including president John Bendo, outlined four primary reasons the city stands in “firm opposition” to the project, which Norway-based Equinor proposes to have in service before the end of the decade. Equinor, in a statement, said it was “disappointed” by the letter,,, A spokesman for Hochul’s office didn’t respond to a request for comment. John McNally, a spokesman for the city, said the council was “resolute” in its opposition to the project, and that the letter “speaks for itself.” >click to read< 09:29
‘Today’ fans mock Martha Stewart over ‘squeamish’ cooking segment: ‘How not to open a lobster’
The stage was set for a brief segment where Stewart’s cooking skills were supposed to impress. Instead, a spell of messiness took over as Martha demonstrated how to break the lobster. ‘Today’ host Hoda Kob, Al Roker, Sheinelle Jones, and Willie Geist joined Martha in her pursuit to prepare a lobster linguine. However, fans who were watching the segment were disgusted by the sight of Stewart pulling out the lobster’s entrails. Hoda and Willie were listening intently but looked confused with the instructions. But it was Al who spoke up and asked Martha, “What’s that stuff inside?” Fans of the show were not entirely happy with Stewart for messing up the lobster dish on ‘Today’. One fan wrote, “Is anyone watching the TODAY show segment of “How NOT to open a lobster” with Martha Stewart? What a shit show!” >click to read< 08:15
Bristol Bay fishermen protest low base price, lack of transparency
By 9 am, over one hundred boats are anchored in the Naknek River entrance, some after a night of fishing the Naknek-Kvichak. Ivan Basargin of the fishing vessel Top Notch is one of them. He’s here to join the demonstration against this year’s low price. Standing in the wheelhouse of a boat he built, he says this year’s low-price hits hard. “I’m going to pay my workers. I’m going to pay my bills. As far as living expenses, I haven’t decided yet. This 50 cents that I get, when I get home, it’s going to be a wash. I’m not going to have any money in the bank saved,” he said. Organizers of the protest are calling on processors to reconsider and improve the base price this season from 50 cents per pound, less than half of last year’s price. “If they know we can fish for 50 cents, we’re going to get paid 30 cents next year,” he said. “That will happen if we don’t do anything. Like today – this is a peaceful protest. We’re not trying to block people or anything. We’re just trying to show the world that we’re hurting, and we need some help.” Basargin says processors are claiming they are struggling financially too but he hasn’t seen evidence of this struggle. >click to read< 17:15
FFAW: Conflict Brews At-Sea as Drill Rig Takes Over Prime Crab Grounds
July 21, 2023 – Crab harvesters on the Avalon Peninsula are calling out the oil and gas industry as the Hercules drill rig, operated by ExxonMobil in the Jeanne d’Arc Basin, is in direct conflict with traditional prime fishing grounds. Despite vocal opposition from FFAW-Unifor throughout the consultation process with the regulatory body, the Canada-Newfoundland and Labrador Offshore Petroleum Board (C-NLOPB), the Board and Exxon proceeded with the drill operations during peak fishing time in an especially difficult year for harvesters. “Our members feel this brewing spatial conflict is representative of the continuous disregard for the fishing industry. Expansion of the oil and gas industry needs to be considered alongside the fishery, not in priority to it,” says FFAW-Unifor President Greg Pretty. >click to read the press release< 14:28
What you should know about The Shrimpocalypse, the wipeout of a time-honored US industry
On the inviting, teal-colored water in the shipping channels off the coast of southern Louisiana, Phillip “Rooster” Dyson pilots his bright red shrimp boat named Papa’s Shadow through a landscape he no longer recognizes. His practiced gaze sweeps over the water, but very little remains of the small fishing community of Cameron, where he has lived all his 40 years. The rickety wooden social clubs, bars, homes, and colorful shrimping boats are gone, most of it replaced by giant liquid natural gas terminals, and many more are planned for Louisiana’s fragile coast. “It costs $400 just to take the boat out,” he said in his strong Southern Creole accent, adding that July can often be a slow month for shrimp. One of his most recent catches in mid-July brought in a measly $200, to be shared between himself and the two men that work on his boat. Dyson has eight kids, while his employees also have families. Photo gallery, >click to read< 11:47
Cutting-edge hybrid boat built by a P.E.I. company goes to its new home in New Brunswick
The vessel and the green technology were developed by P.E.I. engineering company Aspin Kemp & Associates. The lobster boat is called Hybrid One. Company CEO Jason Kemp said making a hybrid system work in smaller fishing vessels has been a challenge. “Because on the bigger vessels, a million dollar or multi-million dollar system can be justified as a cost, where on a small fishing vessel, it’s not. So we had to take a couple of decades of learning, and apply that to this concept to get those costs down and shrink the physical size of it down to integrate it into the repulsion system,” he said. Panmure Island lobster fisher Dana Lavers has been testing out the vessel for Aspin Kemp for the past few months. Photos,>click to read< 10:49
First offshore wind leases off the Texas coast offered for bidding
The federal government on Thursday announced the first-ever chance for companies to lease areas in the Gulf of Mexico to build wind farms, including two parcels roughly 30 miles off the Texas coast near Galveston. Renewable energy developers will likely compete for the leases with firms that are better known for another kind of offshore construction: Oil and gas giants such as Shell and TotalEnergies qualified to join the bidding. Leaders of the traditionally fossil fuel-focused companies say their climate goals make investing in offshore wind critical. Both businesses are already involved in developing wind power in the Atlantic, including near New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts. >click to read< 10:02
Alaska salmon fishermen fume over low prices, but processors say they’re hurting too
Aboard the F/V Five Star, his boat, Danielson and his deckhand put away as many pounds of fish as they could. They had no breakdowns. But his seafood processor is paying him 70 cents per pound for his salmon, half of last year’s price which means that instead of his usual six-figure haul for a summer of hard work, he might only break even, or go home to his family in Washington with $10,000, if he’s lucky. He added: “We’re up against something that’s out of our control, and that’s the processors killing us here.” In the past few weeks, thousands of fishermen across the state have found themselves in a similar predicament,,, Photos, >click to read< 08:52
Bristol Bay fishermen protest processors’ low sockeye market price — 50 cents per pound
Some Bristol Bay fishermen are furious over the 50 cent per pound market price for sockeye salmon that Bristol Bay processors are hitting them with. Now the fishermen are protesting over a market price they received 40 years ago — a price some fisherman said could force the industry into a downward spiral, and that action needs to be taken. On Thursday morning more than 60 fishing vessels lined the Naknek River in solidarity. Protest spokesperson Cheyne Blough said the protest was announced on Facebook when the processors declared the base price earlier this week. Blough said the 50 cent per pound market price isn’t enough for fishermen to recover their costs, and could put some out of business. Video, >click to read< 07:45
Ross Greer’s boasts about environmental scheme left in tatters by brutal rebuke from fishermen group
Ross Greer’s boasts about the “astounding success” of an environmental project seen as a precursor to the hated highly-protected marine areas have been left in tatters following a brutal rebuke from a fishermen group. The Scottish Greens MSP paid lavish tribute to a No Take Z one at Lamlash Bay. Mr Greer praised the project at First Minister Questions in May but his comments have been called into question by the Shetland Fishermen’s Association. “Brown crab and juvenile lobster stock levels have fallen in Lamlash Bay, and the increased abundance of scallops has actually been smaller inside the protected zone than outside it. The anti-fishing lobby have long made much of the supposed benefits of Lamlash Bay, but conveniently fail to mention the whole truth – and instead only publicise the cherry-picked information that suits their political agenda.” >click to read< 20:24
The Worlds Most Advanced Fishery Training Vessel
A Norwegian high school has taken delivery of a 10-million-euro training vessel for those looking to become fishers. The most advanced of its kind Skulebas is designed and built by Hvide Sande Shipyard in Denmark, and is rigged for trawling, seining, gillnetting and longlining. It’s not just the capacity to switch between these fishing methods that puts Skulebas in a class of its own, but also the hybrid propulsion combining battery and diesel-electric propulsion. Skulebas is about to set off for Norway, where it will serve as a training vessel for the Måløy High School (years 10 – 12, after primary education), for young people planning to work as fishermen, navigators, engineers, and cooks. Video, photos, >click to read< 16:27
How to enjoy fresh Maine lobster this season: Tips and tricks from a 4th-generation lobster family
As people look to change what’s on their plates, it can be tough to know where to begin. From social media-inspired recipes to trendy menu offerings, there are many options. That’s why restaurant owners Katie and Thom Werner are recommending a staple that’s sustainable, fresh and versatile: Lobster. The Werners own the popular Island Lobster Co. restaurant in Peaks Island, Maine where Thom works as a commercial fisherman and supplies most of the lobster served. The Werner family is well versed in the iconic Maine Lobster fishery, coming from a long line of generational fishing families, with Thom having fished since he was 6 years old. They know lobster can be intimidating for home cooks, but as people familiar with the product, they emphasize lobster is easy to prep, delicious and supports communities up and down the coast. Try the BLT Lobster Roll! >click to read< 14:07
Western Alaska: Crab are looking healthy after downturn in 2019
The region is known for its abundant crab populations and supports several species. Ten species of crab are caught throughout fisheries in the state, seven of them having commercial importance. According to the Alaska Fish and Game (ADF&G) website, the Bering Sea, Aleutian Islands, and the Gulf of Alaska combined produce approximately 1/3 or more of total crab catches in the United States. The season for commercial crabbing is dependent on when they open, and how fast the guideline harvest limit (GHL) is caught. The harvest data from this season and the trawl survey are put into the model. >click to read< 12:57
Narragansett’s Charles J. Wolf, Featured on Discovery Channel Series Lobster Wars, has passed away
We sadly said goodbye to Narragansett surfcaster and owner of Surf Ninja Customs, Charles J Wolf (Lepre). Born February 13, 1979, in Warwick, RI. Charlie passed due to complications from a heart condition, on Thursday, June 29, 2023, at the age of 44. Charlie was surrounded by his family, at Hope Hospice Center in Providence, RI. As a senior at Narragansett High School, he joined the Pt Judith commercial fishing fleet. He worked on lobster boats, scallopers and everything else that fished our waters. That same year, he was offered the captain seat of the inshore Lobster Boat the Jeanie, owned and operated by Thomas Ditmar. Tom became a mentor to Charlie, teaching him the ins and outs of operating and maintaining a fishing vessel. During his career, he was featured on the Discovery Channel series Lobster Wars. At that time, he was a deckhand on The Dragon Lady, an offshore Lobster Boat out of Pt Judith. Charlie spent over 20 years in the commercial fishing industry earning a reputation as a skilled and worthy deckhand and shipmate, becoming a brother to many. >click to read< 10:43
Commercial fishers fear gillnet ban on Great Barrier Reef will destroy business, communities
“I’ve got an 18 month-old daughter and I don’t know how I’ll provide for her at the end of the year,” Mr Waldon said. The third-generation commercial fisherman runs a large gillnetting operation near Marlborough off the central Queensland coast and spends long hours at sea catching fish, such as barramundi and threadfin, to provide for his young family. But with a recently announced ban on gillnet fishing, he feared he would not be able to earn a living anymore. “We’ve got all our life savings tied up in fishing licences, quotas, boats and it’s all rendered completely useless … it’s scary,” Mr Waldon said. Video, >click to read< 09:52
The Cape’s Scallopers Ride Out a Perfect Storm
This summer, a perfect storm combining sky-high fuel costs, a scarcity of experienced crew members, low wholesale prices, sharp declines in what scallop fishermen are allowed to take, and costly quota, has been keeping Cape Cod’s small-boat scallopers off the water. “There are a quite a few changing over to do other kinds of fishing because they can’t afford to go scalloping right now,” said Max Nolan, a scalloper from Eastham who owns the F/V Outlaw. “I don’t know how anyone is making it,” said Chris Merl, a Wellfleet scalloper and captain of the F/V Isabel & Lilee. Atlantic scalloping, which stretches from the waters of Maine to North Carolina, is one of the most lucrative fisheries in the nation, with its yearly catch valued at upwards of $500 million. But this year (the fishing year begins in April and ends in March), regulators have dropped the total amount of scallops boats are allowed to harvest to its lowest level in over a decade, and the limit stands at just 41 percent of what it was in 2019. >click to read< 08:55
Bristol Bay fishermen up in arms against lower salmon prices, will protest
Commercial fishermen in the Bristol Bay region are voicing their displeasure against recent prices of sockeye salmon. According to fisherman Cheyne Blough, the price of sockeye salmon hovered around $1.20-$1.50 per pound, but as of recently, the price dropped to 50 cents. “We all expected less than last year. But we had no clue it was gonna be basically kind of bankruptcy prices,” Blough said. Since then, Blough along with several other commercial fishermen have set up a protest that will happen on Thursday, where fishermen will line up their boats in front of the Naknek River, in protest of the lowered prices. Video, >click to read< 07:50
