Daily Archives: August 13, 2023
Scrapped trawlers’ memorial
A section of the stern of beam trawler Helena Elizabeth TX-29 now forms part of a memorial to the Dutch fishing vessels scrapped during 2023. The memorial is on the island of Texel, which has long been a centre of the Dutch beam trawl fishery, and Helena Elizabeth’s stern section bearing the trawler’s name has been placed in a location placed in a location with a view over the sea and with benches for visitors. Just one of the many beam trawlers leaving the Dutch fleet that has been plagued with challenges in recent years – ranging from the Landing Obligation to Brexit, and the loss of the pulse fishery to the runaway growth of windfarms and the consequent loss of fishing grounds,,, >click to read< 21:39
SMAST’s Kevin Stokesbury: On scallops, community collaboration, and a lifelong love of the ocean
Growing up on the Bay of Fundy in Nova Scotia, Kevin Stokesbury spent as much time as possible swimming, searching for sand shrimp, and soaking up the sun with his siblings. Now as dean of the School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) at UMass Dartmouth, he’s finding practical applications for his passion with the sea. Stokesbury has played an integral role in revitalizing the scallop industry in New Bedford, inventing a drop camera in 1999 that snapped photos of scallops living on the seafloor, giving scientists and fishermen much more precise estimates of scallop numbers than previously available. The location map and information accompanying the photographs have proved vital. Stokesbury’s invention has greatly boosted the local economy. Before the drop camera, scallop boats brought in an annual harvest valued around $89 million. In 2021, it was $670 million, according to a NOAA commercial landings report. Video, Photos, >click to read< 17:41
Offshore wind farms pose wildlife threat
What with all the hype and grand economic plans for wind farming off Maryland’s coast, not one word from the project-movers on consequent harm to the sea’s wildlife, most notably the whales and fish. We are with Ocean City’s mayor and city council in linking the dead whales washed up on the coast with offshore wind harvesting. OC also doesn’t like the prospects for the “viewshed” — turbines visible in the distance. And has anyone considered the possible shift in the path of sharks? Do Maryland vacationers really want the ocean along our shores featuring lots of shark fins? Listen to the audio, or >click to read< By Bruce and Leslea Knauff 15:48
PWS Seine fleet reacts to low prices
Halfway through the Prince William Sound seine season, captains and crew are reacting to a dramatic drop in pink and chum salmon prices. The price updates came in the form of official letters and informal text messages from various processors this week. Grounds price for pink salmon hovers at $.23/lb with chum salmon prices following at $.20/lb. Rumors of chum price dipping below $.20/lb were also reported by fishermen. The seine fleet has seen a season patterned by frequent closures this year. Jamel Lister is a seasonal deckhand who has returned to work in the fishery for his seventeenth year, this season aboard the F/V Gorbushka. Lister said although he does pay attention to salmon markets leading up to the season, a poor forecast or low price does not deter him from returning each summer. >click to read< 12:25
Marty Tupin: A colorful character remembered
Longtime Cortez and Bradenton Beach resident Marty Tupin passed away on Aug. 1, just a few weeks before his 63rd birthday. Over the years, Marty was a commercial fisherman, a fiberglass and metal fabricator, an artist, a furniture maker, and more. After a portion of his right leg was amputated, Marty spent his final couple years as the ever-vigilant parking attendant at the Drift In bar in Bradenton Beach, where he zipped around on his three-wheeled electric scooter supervising the sometimes challenging two-deep, tandem parking reserved for patrons only. The Drift In, 120 Bridge St., will host a celebration of life on Sunday, August 27, at 2 p.m. Attendees are invited to bring a dish to share and to share their memories of Marty. Life’s challenges – Marty’s sister, Judy (Tupin) Mossorofo, lives in Venice with her husband, Charles Mossorofo, and they shared their insights on Marty’s colorful and sometimes challenging life. Photos, >click to read< 10:31
Maui Wildfire Photos And Updates, Lahaina And Kula
The number of people killed in the Maui wildfires increased to 93 on Saturday, with two of them identified, according to an update from Maui County. The fact that only two people were identified underscores the difficulties facing search and recovery crews who must carefully pick through rubble as more than 2,000 buildings were destroyed or damaged. Maui officials urged people with missing family members to go to do a DNA test for authorities. The county has set up a family assistance center at the Kahului Community Center to coordinate efforts to find people who remain unaccounted for. “We need to find your loved ones,” Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said earlier Saturday during a news conference at which the death toll was raised to 89. “The remains we’re finding is through a fire that melted metal. We have to do rapid DNA to identify every one of these 89.” >click to read< 09:36
EDITORIAL: Commercial fishing avoids being gaffed one more time
In August of 2020, almost three years before the date of the circuit court decision, a citizen’s lawsuit was filed against local shrimp trawl operators who regularly trawl for shrimp in Pamlico Sound. The plaintiffs argued that shrimp trawlers are violating the Clean Water Act by engaging in two type of unpermitted activity, “throwing bycatch (untargeted fish) overboard and disturbing sediment with their trawl net.” Named as defendants were local trawl owners who fortunately, with the help of outside support, were able to withstand the cost and time to defend themselves and by extension, the commercial fishing industry, during the three-year path of the lawsuit. >click to read< 08:15
