Daily Archives: August 1, 2023
Scottish Fishermen 3 Major Preferences
Lunar Fishing, a Scottish fishing company operating in the North Sea and the Atlantic, relies on custom-built boats from Danish Karstensens Shipyard and CP-propulsion equipment, propellers, and thrusters from Danish Hundested Propeller for their fishing operations. The harsh weather conditions and challenging seas demand robust and high-quality equipment to ensure the safety and efficiency of their fishing vessels. Lunar Fishing has four custom-built boats, with two of them equipped with CP Marine Gear, propellers, and thrusters from Hundested Propeller. According to fisherman Philip Stephen, the choice of equipment is essential due to the demanding conditions they face at sea. The vessels must withstand significant stress and tension, especially during adverse weather conditions. The fishermen need to have full confidence in their boats, and reliable equipment plays a crucial role in their operations. >click to read< 20:39
Coast Guard rescues man from commercial fishing vessel taking on water in Juneau, Alaska
The Coast Guard rescued a mariner Tuesday morning after his vessel began taking on water in the Gastineau Channel. A 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew from Coast Guard Station Juneau safely evacuated the survivor at 6:33 a.m. and transported him in stable condition to Harris Harbor. Watchstanders at the Coast Guard Sector Southeast Alaska command center received notification via channel 16 at 6:08 a.m. that the 40-foot commercial fishing vessel F/V Marco was taking on water with one person aboard. >click to read< 16:12
Bristol Bay Sees Strong Wild Sockeye Harvest to Follow Up Record-Breaking Year
The cumulative wild sockeye salmon harvest through the end of July in Bristol Bay, Alaska, currently sits at 38 million fish, surpassing the forecast of 37 million fish. As anticipated, this season’s strong returns make 2023 one of the top five harvest seasons of the past 20 years – quite a follow-up to last year’s all-time record-breaking harvest. Bristol Bay is known as “America’s Wild Sockeye Source,” and is home to the largest wild salmon run on the planet, producing half the world’s supply of wild sockeye. “The strong harvests out of Bristol Bay in recent years are a testament to the responsible fisheries management of Alaska and the Bristol Bay fishing industry including fishermen, biologists, local community and seafood processors, and speak to the health and thriving future of the wild sockeye in the region,” >click to read< 13:08
A discussion – Costs of using ropeless fishing gear could sink MA lobster fishery: new report
Experts often say the lobster fishery will have to move to innovative “ropeless” fishing gear to protect North Atlantic right whales from entanglement. There fewer than 340 of the critically endangered whales left. But a new report says Massachusetts lobstermen may be headed for troubled economic waters if they make the switch. But here’s what’s really crazy: the state found that even if lobstermen were just given the on-demand gear for free, using government and nonprofit subsidies, they would still go from making $15 million per year in revenue to just $2 million in revenue per year. And the biggest impacts would be on smaller, more independent operators. I talked to the report author about this, Noah Oppenhiem. He said for lobstermen that only fish only a couple traps per vertical line, they’d go from needing 6 and a half minutes to haul up some lobsters to 11 and a half minutes. >click to read< 11:56
Mass DMF’s On-Demand Fishing Gear Economic Modeling Report Released – >Click to read<
Falling prices, new regulations leave Connecticut’s whelk fisherman in a pinch
Squeezed by both falling prices and increased regulations, whelk fishermen in Long Island Sound say their industry is facing one of the hardest summers in recent memory. Driven largely by overseas demand, many fishermen turned their attention toward the once-ignored whelk as it became harder to make a living off of lobster and other declining fisheries. After watching the price of whelk soar last year, however, fishermen say the Asian market for the snails has largely dried up, sending prices crashing. Brian Matias, a boat captain who works out of Bridgeport, said he now gets half the price for whelk as he did over the winter, forcing fishermen like him to work longer hours at sea to increase their catch. >click to read< 10:53
Huge reward offered after masked man drills holes in fishing boat at Fife dock
Police are investigating reports a masked, hooded man scaled the perimeter fence and drilled holes in the hull of the vessel causing it to submerge, leaving owners, Tina and Ross Coventry, unable to run their shellfish delivery business which provides lobster and mackerel to a number a number of high-end restaurants across Fife and Edinburgh at the very height of the season. “It took less than four minutes to destroy our livelihoods,” said Ross. “We need to get the boat back on to dry land to see what the damage is and whether it is worth repairing. The hull can be fixed, but the engine has been in sea water for a whole week and the there is no hope of the electronics in it working. >click to read< 09:50
Scientists Level New Critiques of Fisheries and Oceans Canada’s Scientific Rigor
Twenty-five years ago, after the collapse of the Atlantic cod fishery, Jeffrey Hutchings, a preeminent fisheries scientist and professor at Dalhousie University in Nova Scotia, sounded the alarm that Canada’s federal fisheries department was allowing “nonscience influences” in critical decision-making. Writing at the time, he said, “There is a clear and immediate need for Canadians to examine very seriously the role of bureaucrats and politicians in the management of Canada’s natural resources.” Today, a new crop of researchers is once again imploring Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) to change its ways. At the core of their concerns is a number of systemic and structural ways in which DFO gathers, parses, and handles scientific information, and how that advice is passed on to decision-makers. >click to read< 09:20
Werft wins new build project for multifunctional fishing vessel
The Flemish trawler will be named Janneke after the daughter of the captain/owner Jelle Hakvoort and be 27.99 metres long with a beam of 8.25 metres. Hakvoort himself is delighted with the design. “It is ideal for beam rawling in the winter months, and twin rigging in the summer; either for plaice or crustaceans.” Hakvoort has spent his career to date fishing on Eurocutters, known as the smaller segment in Belgium, and is now switching to a larger segment: “I have complete faith in Werft and its experienced partners,” he adds. >click to read< 08:26
Fun from dawn to dusk at Winter Harbor Lobster Festival
What’s not to love about the annual Winter Harbor Lobster Races and Lobster Festival? The full day of events starts at 6 a.m. and doesn’t end until nightfall. This year marks the 59th year the seaside village hosts both summertime traditions. Last year, the lobster boat races drew 97 working and non-working boats across 29 races. They start at 10 a.m. in Henry’s Cove at the end of Harbor Road and will continue until all race classes are completed. To watch from land, try Frazer Point or Schoodic Point. The awards presentation follows near the dock, and the Black Sheep food truck will be close by for hungry race watchers and boat crews. But first, and keeping with festival traditions, the day starts early with a blueberry pancake breakfast at 6 a.m. at the Masonic Temple on School Street. Late risers need not worry as breakfast runs through 11 a.m. >click to read< 07:50
