Monthly Archives: August 2023
Two Friends: A Tragedy In Gloucester
In the summer of 2001, my wife Jan and I lived in a house on the highest point of East Gloucester, known as Beacon Hill. It had once been a visual landmark for ships navigating the approach into Gloucester harbor. One July day as I turned onto East Main, I noticed something that had not been there before, a tall crane behind some buildings. There was the crane and the reason for its presence: a burned-out and rusted fishing trawler pulled up to the shore, its name “Two Friends” still visible on the bow. The boat was being stripped for salvage, and as pieces were severed from above its hull, the crane deposited them in the lot to be hauled away. I found the history of the vessel online, because it had been in the local news and in the courts. 18 Photos, >>click to read<< 18:44
Florida Gov. DeSantis To Seek Aid For Fishing Industry
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday said the state will seek federal help for the fishing industry in the Big Bend region, as cleanup efforts moved into a second day from the devastation caused by Hurricane Idalia. Meanwhile, the state reported its first confirmed death related to Idalia, while utility workers still had about 135,000 customer power outages to tackle from the Category 3 storm, many in sparsely populated areas of North Florida. The governor’s plan to seek help from the U.S. Department of Commerce for the fishing industry followed White House approval of a separate request for a major disaster declaration. >>click to read<< 17:22
Eagle, Eagle, what are you going to do?
Dick and Carl Arvidson had sister ships built in Seattle. Carl named his the “Eagle,” and when they were transiting through the locks out of Lake Washington, Dick was in the lead. Evidently there was confusion for Carl, as over a loudspeaker, he heard an urgent announcement: “Eagle! Eagle! What are you going to do?” Dick and Carl were good friends and had both begun fishing in the Cordova area at a young age. Dick loved to tell the story about the maiden voyage of their matching boats. It was always good for a laugh. The Eagle still sits in the Cordova boat harbor and is used in set net operations by the Kritchens on the other side of the Sound. Seeing it reminded me of another eagle story witnessed from Renner’s Dragonfly. >>click to read<< 15:09
‘Enforce the laws’: N.S. Liberals to feds, province on lobster dispute
As the conflict over Sipekne’katik’s moderate livelihood fishery once again heats up in St. Marys Bay, the provincial Liberal party has split from their federal counterparts. On Tuesday, Nova Scotia Liberal Leader Zach Churchill called for the provincial government to start revoking the licences of any buyers found to be purchasing lobster caught without a licence issued by Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO). And he called out the federal government for a lack of enforcement of the Fisheries Act. “We are talking about hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars of lobster being landed illegally. There has to be a disincentive. … DFO also has to enforce the laws of the land which prohibit large-scale poaching.” >>click to read<< 12:34
Submerged Rock Led to Fishing Vessel Grounding
A captain’s decision to navigate close to shore in an area with uncharted rocks led to the grounding and capsizing of a fishing vessel in Alaska last year, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said. The Challenger struck a submerged rock while fishing for salmon along the shore of Kodiak Island, Alaska on August 7, 2022. The vessel began taking on more water than the onboard pumps could handle. The captain and three crewmembers abandoned ship and were rescued by a nearby Good Samaritan fishing vessel, and the vessel capsized soon after. Another Good Samaritan vessel towed the fishing vessel to Larsen Bay. No injuries were reported. The Challenger was declared a total loss, with damages exceeding $600,000. >>click to read<< 10:51
Catch Shares: Commercial trawlers to transition to quota system for Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands cod harvests
Starting in January, the fleet will fish under a “rationalization” system where each catcher vessel will have a maximum catch limit, which will be assigned through quota. The new regulations will require vessels trawling for cod in the area to form cooperatives, and quota will be administered through each co-op. Previously, the entire fishery had a total allowable catch that had to be caught within a certain amount of time. NOAA said this is the first time a catch share program has been implemented in Alaska since 2012. >>click to read<< 09:31
Offshore wind projects may be cancelled in NJ, according to report
Already facing a series of lawsuits and opposition from state and local officials, Danish wind power developer Orsted is reporting huge financial losses. Those losses, company officials warned, could reach $2.3 billion in the U.S and may force the cancellation of projects of the New Jersey coast. In a conference call with investors, Orsted CEO Mads Nipper told them, “If the walk-away scenario is the economical, rational decision for us, then this remains a real scenario for us.” Orsted is considering “walking away” from or cancelling projects in New Jersey, New York, Rhode Island, Connecticut and Maryland. >>click to read<< 08:48
Forty years since Narooma lobster case that could have transformed Indigenous fishing rights in NSW
Norm Patten’s eyes light up when he talks about lobster season. “When you see that yellow wattle come out mate, you know the lobsters are travelling up the coast,” Mr Patten said. The eastern rock lobster can be found along the continental shelf off Australia’s south-eastern coast. Mr Patten’s mum was a Monaro-Gunai woman and he grew up in Victoria’s East Gippsland region and in Narooma on the NSW far south coast. He and his siblings were taught by their stepfather how to spot lobsters’ horns poking out of the seaweed at low tide. By the time Mr Patten was an adult, a commercial rock lobster industry was established on the far south coast and strict catch limits were introduced for recreational fishers. >>click to read<< 07:54
RCMP investigate assault, theft from First Nation lobster harvester near Digby
RCMP in Digby, N.S., are looking for suspects in an alleged theft and assault of a lobster harvester from the Sipekne’katik First Nation earlier this month in St. Mary’s Bay. The Mounties say four people stole a crate full of lobster worth $400 from a boat at the Weymouth North wharf near Digby on Aug. 2. When confronted by the owner, a Sipekne’katik woman, they dumped the lobster into the water and allegedly threw the empty crate at the owner hitting her on the arm. The victim was uninjured. The details released by the RCMP match those in an incident described by Sipekne’katik harvester Sheyanne Francis and captured in a video by Indigenous broadcaster APTN. >>click to read<< 22:03
Commercial Fisherman Carl Blackman, Jr., of New Bern, North Carolina has passed away
Carl O’Brian Blackman, Jr., 65, passed away August 26, 2023, surrounded by his family. Carl was known for his sense of humor, loyalty, kindness, and love for his family and friends. He was a jack of all trades, a highly skilled, self-taught mechanic, specializing in diesel marine motors, and a lifetime commercial fisherman. In addition to his love for crabbing, Carl was very passionate about his work. He worked at Bryan Wholesale, for the City of New Bern as the Heavy Equipment Manager, and at B&J Seafood for the past 20+ years as a mechanic and commercial fisherman. >>click to read<< 15:00
Frustration mounting over unauthorized lobster fishing in southwestern Nova Scotia
Frustration is mounting as some fishermen and politicians in Nova Scotia speak out about the scale of unauthorized lobster fishing in the southwestern part of the province. In an interview Tuesday, Colin Sproul, of the Unified Fisheries Conservation Alliance, called the current situation in St. Marys Bay, near Digby, N.S., “outrageous” and dismissed reports of enforcement by federal fishery officials as “patently untrue.” “There is an industrial level commercial fishery taking place in St. Marys Bay,” said Sproul, although he wouldn’t say for certain by whom. Sproul didn’t mince words, however, about what he said was a lack of enforcement by the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Video, >>click to read<< 14:34
Ørsted shares fall 25% after it reveals troubles in US business
Shares in the world’s largest offshore wind company tumbled by nearly a quarter on Wednesday, after it said it may have to write down the value of its US portfolio by nearly £2bn. Ørsted said it had been hit by a flurry of setbacks in its American business, triggering a rapid sell-off in its shares, listed in Copenhagen. In their haste to dump the stock, investors had cut the notional value of the business by nearly £7bn by the time the market closed on Wednesday. It pointed to significant problems in the supply chain that are likely to affect Ocean Wind 1, Sunrise Wind, and Revolution Wind, planned windfarms off the eastern seaboard of the US. >>click to read<< 13:32
Crab plant workers have punched their time in spades this season, and are being called heroes
Workers at seafood processing plants in Newfoundland have been working all summer long in an effort to make sure snow crab quotas for the shortened 2023 season are met, and they say they’re ready for a break. “This season has been one of the hardest seasons that we have worked here, because we had to do a lot of crab in a short period of time,” Louise Power, a floor supervisor at the Quinlan Brothers Ltd. plant in Bay de Verde, told CBC News Tuesday. She worked at the plant for 46 years, and has had four days off since May. “We all got through it, and made the season work,” she said. “Right now, [I’m] happy as a lark.” >>click to read<< 11:50
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 45′ X 16’3″ Novi Scalloper/Lobster, 450HP Cummins QSMII Diesel
To review specifications, information, and 35 photos’, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here< 11:09
Galloway fishing representatives hope voices will be heard after meeting cabinet minister
Galloway fishing representatives have expressed hopes their voices will be heeded following round-table talks with Mairi McAllan in Kirkcudbright. The cabinet secretary met industry delegates in the wake of her decision to withdraw controversial proposals for highly protected marine areas (HPMAs). She toured West Coast Sea Products’ scallop factory ahead of the Johnston Centre summit. Ms McAllan told the News: “I was pleased to meet with representatives of the local fishing industry, businesses, community groups and others in Dumfries and Galloway this week to discuss how we can work together on marine conservation. >>click t0 read<< 10:03
Banning Bottom Trawling Could Lead to Higher Carbon Footprints As Consumers Seek Alternatives
Banning demersal trawling would lead to higher CO2 emissions as consumers switch to more protein produced on land, according to a new scientific paper. Writing in the ICES Journal of Marine Science, researchers agree that demersal trawling can be highly destructive when not managed well, but when stocks are overfished, this is usually due to poor management. The scientists led by Prof Ray Hilborn at the University of Washington and involving researchers at Heriot-Watt and Bangor universities used relative benthic status to measure the impact of trawling on the seabed. The authors note that catching fish in the ocean “uses no pesticides or fertilizer, almost no fresh water, and no antibiotics”. >>click to read<< 09:20
DFO investigates fishing licences for outside control
Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador (SEA-NL) encourages inshore owner-operators who have lost control of their commercial licences or fishing enterprise to contact Fisheries and Oceans, which is actively investigating several cases. “If you are not in control of your boat or licences then contact DFO and have it looked into and made right,” says Ryan Cleary, SEA-NL’s Executive Director. “By law, licensed inshore harvesters must be independent — solely in control of their enterprises, licences, and catches — and if you are not then SEA-NL encourages you to take control.” >>click to read<< 08:45
Hurricane Idalia at Category 3 strength ahead of Florida landfall
Hurricane Idalia strengthened into a powerful Category 4 storm Wednesday morning, then weakened slightly to a Category 3, ahead of landfall in Florida’s Big Bend region. According to the 7 a.m. advisory from the National Hurricane Center, Idalia has maximum sustained winds of 125 miles per hour, and catastrophic storm surge and destructive winds are nearing the Big Bend. WPTV First Alert Weather meteorologist Jennifer Correa said landfall is expected around 8 a.m. Wednesday, and Idalia’s center should stay east of Tallahassee. After making landfall on Wednesday, Idalia will weaken to a Category 2 hurricane over southeastern Georgia, and then a tropical storm by late Wednesday. >>click to read<< 08:04
Survey: Support for wind energy drops in New Jersey
Support for offshore wind development in New Jersey has dropped dramatically in recent years as projects near construction, according to polling released Monday. Just over half of residents, around 54 percent, approve of offshore wind farm construction, according to the Monmouth University survey, a decrease from 76 percent in 2019 and 84 percent in 2011. At least 60 whales have died on the East Coast since preparations for the first project near Atlantic City began in December, but multiple studies from federal and state agencies have not found evidence linking the deaths with wind farms. The wind turbine projects have been celebrated by the state government and the Biden administration as ways to encourage green energy production in well-developed areas. >>click to read<< 15:45
A family tradition: The life of a Lowcountry shrimper
At 4:30 a.m., most people are still asleep, or maybe they’re just starting to roll out of bed. Not Rocky Magwood. Shrimpers like Captain Magwood and his crew are already a half-mile off the Charleston shoreline by that time, hard at work netting dozens of crustaceans to be used in some of the Lowcountry’s most iconic culinary dishes. On Tuesday, Captain Magwood set up in a spot his family has been shrimping for more than a century. It’s a trade he was forced to learn at a young age. When he was 12, his father passed away, leaving him to balance going to school and maintaining the family shrimping business. Trooper Bob will be documenting his experience on his social media pages throughout the day. Photos, >>click to read<< 14:58
Massachusetts Commercial Fisherman Pleads Guilty to Tax Evasion
A Massachusetts man pleaded guilty today to evading taxes on income he earned as a commercial fisherman. According to court documents and statements made in court, John Doe of New Bedford, Massachusetts, worked as a commercial fisherman operating primarily out of the Port of New Bedford. Despite receiving approximately $1.9 million in income between 2012 and 2021, Doe did not file tax returns with the IRS and did not pay taxes on the income he earned. To conceal his earnings from the IRS, Doe cashed his paychecks from fishing companies at check-cashing businesses and then used the cash to fund his personal lifestyle. He also used stolen identities to cash the checks. In total, Doe caused a tax loss to the IRS of approximately $520,415. >>click to read<< 13:57
South Australia rejects proposed Southern Ocean offshore wind energy zone over lobster industry concern
One state is bucking a push for more wind farms in Australia due to fears the gigantic renewable energy generators could damage vulnerable ocean wildlife and put hundreds of fishermen out of work. South Australia has officially notified the federal government it does not support a proposed Southern Ocean offshore wind farm zone stretching from Warrnambool in Victoria to Port MacDonnell in the state’s southeast Limestone Coast region. Primary Industries Minister Clare Scriven said the construction of massive turbines could damage the state’s $187.5m rock lobster industry, which generates more than 1000 full time jobs in the area. >>click to read<< 11:17
Petition: Stop Imported Seafood, Save Our Local Fishermen and Seafood Industry!
As a concerned citizen, I am deeply troubled by the detrimental impact of imported foreign seafood on our local fishermen and seafood industry. It is disheartening to witness the decline in our local seafood prices and the subsequent struggles faced by our hardworking fishermen. This petition aims to raise awareness about this issue and urge relevant authorities to take immediate action. Growing imports of foreign seafood have flooded our markets, causing a significant drop in demand for locally caught fish. This has resulted in devastating consequences for our local fishermen who rely on their catch as their primary source of income. In the 1980s, shrimpers were receiving close to $7 per pound at the dock; however, today they are barely earning $.80 per pound. >>click to read and sign the petition<< 10:41
Federal aid for Louisiana fisheries delivered after nearly four years
After a long wait, Louisiana’s fisheries finally will receive $58 million in federal aid to offset disaster impacts, U.S. Rep. Garret Graves announced. “There is no excuse for the bureaucracy to take four years for the disaster relief we secured to actually be made available, but these funds will be invaluable,” he said in the announcement. “We have promised the seafood industry we would not stop our fight to bring them relief while working to reform the broken fisheries disaster process. We will continue to work with our fishing community to cut through the red tape and make this program functional.” He also pointed out the state’s seafood industry endured the impacts of Hurricane Ida in 2021 and other disasters, in addition to the rise in inflation, high fuel prices, and supply chain problems, among other issues. >>click to read<< 09:54
Experts fear American fishing industry, boating at risk as Biden prioritizes climate, green energy
The Biden administration has prioritized green energy at the expense of endangered whales and the U.S. fishing industry with regulation that limits both commercial fishing and recreational boating, according to experts. As they are imposing more regulations, they are also promoting offshore wind, which is actually harming commercial and recreational boating and potentially killing whales, Brady and Lapp said. “They positioned us as being these evildoers and now, 20 years later, whales are dropping dead like pigeons in Manhattan,” Brady said. “Here commercial fishermen and coastal communities are at the front line of fighting to protect the ocean itself, and we have crickets from virtually every NGO.” Video, >>click to read<< 09:09
Remembering Tylar by Thomas Massey
Tylar Michaud, a promising young man and a lobsterman, went missing off his boat while he was out hauling his traps. Tragically, but beautifully, his celebration of life was held Aug. 20. Then, Monday, shortly after that, he was found and brought home by another lobsterman. I didn’t know Tylar. I don’t know that we ever met. What I know of him, I know from stories, posts and pictures about and of him. I know that he was the only other person, even at his young age to captain this other captain’s boat. He was trusted enough to take others’ children out to sea, and to return. He was headed to the Maine Maritime Academy. I know the entire community searched and grieved and worked together against hope to bring him home. From the first hours when his boat was found nearby, lobstermen immediately used their boats, the source of their livelihood, and got to work hoping to rescue him. And then sadly, only hoping to find Tylar. People walked the shores, planes piloted with community funded donations flew and searched, the Marine Patrol, Coast Guard and other services searched. >>click to read<< 08:05
Tensions rise again over unauthorized lobster fishing in Nova Scotia
Tensions are rising in southwest Nova Scotia over unauthorized lobster fishing this summer in St. Marys Bay near Digby, with commercial fishermen and local MPs likening the situation to 2020 — when violence erupted over unauthorized Indigenous harvesting. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO) said in social media posts it is monitoring lobster fishing in the area and has seized 321 lobster traps this summer. The commercial season there is closed. DFO did not respond when asked if anyone had been charged. Lobsters were released live back in the ocean, but the number of traps seized is a fraction of what is being harvested illegally, says Colin Sproul of Unified Fisheries Conservation Alliance, which represents some commercial fishermen. >>click to read<< 07:30
Coast Guard establishes Area Command Post ahead of Tropical Storm Idalia
The Seventh Coast Guard District has established an Area Command Post in advance of Tropical Storm Idalia, Monday, at Coast Guard Air Station Miami in Opa Locka, Florida. For information and interviews relating to the Coast Guard’s preparations and response to Tropical Storm Idalia, please contact the Joint Information Center at 954-546-4979 or by email >>here<< Updated Port Condition changes by the Captain of the Port will be available on the Homeport website and announced on official unit social media pages throughout the Seventh District. Check below for your local Coast Guard Sector page: >>click to read<< 19:00
P.E.I. fisherman fined for catching both undersized and female lobsters with eggs attached
An eastern P.E.I. fisherman has been fined more than $8,000 for having both undersized and female lobsters with eggs attached in his catch. Thang Quoc Tran, 66, pleaded guilty to the two charges under the federal Fisheries Act on Aug. 24 in provincial court in Georgetown. Federal Crown attorney Matthew Bradley told the court that on May 31, Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) officers were at the Launching Harbour (fishing area 26-A) conducting compliance inspections. Tran’s fishing vessel was inspected, and officers located 77 undersized lobsters and three female lobsters with eggs. One of the female lobsters was also undersized. >>click to read<< 14:58
Government of Canada invests over $65M in Marine Search and Rescue services as part of the Oceans Protection Plan
Today, the Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard, the Honourable Diane Lebouthillier announced $24.29 million in funding, with $3.37 million ongoing, to expand Indigenous search and rescue training and exercising on all coasts, and a $34.1 million investment in the Canadian Coast Guard Auxiliary, with $4.85 million ongoing, through the Oceans Protection Plan over the next nine years. This funding will increase community-based search and rescue capacity across the country and save critical time during incidents. It will support auxiliary units with training and exercising and purchasing new equipment. This funding will also help with search and rescue training for members of Indigenous coastal communities who play a key role in marine safety, have expertise in navigating local waters, and share ties to Canada’s oceans and waterways that span generations. >>click to read<< 13:53
