Daily Archives: August 14, 2023
Commercial Fishing on the Great Lakes is a Family Affair
Although the number of fishermen who make a living on the waters of the Great Lakes is much diminished from a half century ago, the region’s commercial whitefish fishery continues to be viable and profitable. Henriksen Fisheries is one of about a dozen commercial entities in the Wisconsin waters of Lake Michigan, focused on trap netting whitefish in Green Bay and the waters surrounding the Door Peninsula. Charlie Henriksen started his family-owned fishing business in Door County in 1987. Originally from Illinois, the Henriksen family enjoyed vacations in Door County, and eventually bought a hotel on the peninsula and became year-round residents. Charlie was enticed into joining friends fishing on the water, and it eventually became his full-time vocation. In 1989 he purchased his first boat. Photos, >click to read< 18:55
CT innovator IDs illegal trawlers with AI and ears in the ocean
With millions of dollars from venture capital investors, a Connecticut startup that emerged from the submarine industry is using artificial intelligence to pioneer new underwater technology, from tracking illegal fishing to protecting whales during construction of offshore wind farms. Miles off the U.S. coast, Groton-based ThayerMahan is readying a nautical network of buoys and roaming sea drones to ID commercial fishing trawlers that may be operating illegally, whether in U.S. territorial waters or those of other nations where catch limits are abused routinely to put pressure on fish stocks. Closer to home in partnership with Hydrotechnik-Luebeck based in Germany, ThayerMahan is assisting offshore wind developers with a system to “bubble wrap” wind turbine monopiles with curtains of sound-absorbing bubbles,,, Photos, >click to read< 16:50
Save the whales? In Massachusetts, today’s greenies kill the whales
Once upon a time, the greenie left waxed poetic and went full scold to the rest of us about saving the whales. Today? They’re doing the opposite. Take a look at what’s going on off the coast of Massachusetts, where the rare right whales in its waters are dying left and right: More than a century ago, the discovery of oil in Pennsylvania and then its development into the fossil fuel industry was praised and credited for saving the right whale, and other whales, whose populations had been decimated by hunting derived from the need for whale oil. Now, with the shunning of the fossil fuel industry in favor of greenie wind farms, the right whale is once again facing the same kind of danger, not for whale oil — but for the greenie dream, which always turns out to be dead and brown. Video, >click to read< 11:53
Search suspended for missing fisherman off Nantucket coast
The search for a missing fisherman who went overboard about five miles south of Nantucket has been suspended after roughly two days, according to multiple news outlets. On Sunday night, Aug. 13, the Coast Guard suspended the search for the fisherman, who was reported missing from a squid boat called F/V Gaston’s Legacy. It is unclear if the missing fisherman was wearing a life jacket when he went overboard, the Nantucket Current said. F/V Gaston’s Legacy is an 88-foot fishing boat from New Bedford. >click to read< 11:24
Erik Anderson: Facts about lost fishing gear
For those who read Rep. Gregg Hill’s Op/Ed (8/8/23) on lost or abandoned lobster gear in NH state waters, it would be appropriate to correct his misguided accusations and fabricated calculations with more clarity and accuracy that the subject deserves. Without doubt, lobster traps and fishing gear are lost every year as a result of a variety of circumstances and the nature of the beast in the conditions and environment that the fishery operates. It is humbling when a gear loss occurs to a fisherman, and I can attest that each one of us goes through an exhaustive process to recover that gear with a high rate of success. Today’s lobsterman is extremely protective of his gear as cost of a single trap exceeds $100 or more, and affording any loss is not tolerable. Rep. Hill, as a layman, has distorted this subject to an order of magnitude that does not exist. Fishing practices in NH lend to good policy for minimizing any gear loss and through cooperation, understanding and regulations with NH Fish & Game, this state does an admirable job in its environmental and resource sensitivity. I say this with confidence and experience from 50 years in the fishery. >click to read the op-ed< 10:17
Small fishing boats in Scotland could be tracked under new plans
Small fishing vessels could be required to use tracking and monitoring systems under new proposals from the Scottish Government. A new consultation proposes that the devices be fitted to all commercial fishing vessels under 12 metres long. They are already required for vessels longer than this while fishing in waters around Europe. The Government also published the outcome of other fishing consultations, saying remote electronic monitoring – which is more sophisticated than vessel tracking – will become mandatory on large pelagic vessels and scallop dredgers. >click to read< 09:41
Northumberland Strait fall lobster fishery opens under favorable conditions
After several delays, the fall lobster season is officially underway in Lobster Fishing Area 25. This region includes fishermen from southern PEI, northwestern Nova Scotia, and southeastern New Brunswick. The season was supposed to start on Wednesday but was pushed forward due to bad weather. Charlie McGeoghegan, president of the Lobster Fishers of PEI Marketing Board, says the boats set out on Sunday morning to cast their nets. “Any time you can get a scheduled day where the weather is nice and everyone is safe, they are optimistic,” McGeoghegan said. >click to read< 08:53
Search For Missing Fisherman in Nantucket Waters
The search is continuing off the coast of Nantucket for a fisherman who has been reported missing. Officials say the original report came in Saturday night, according to the Coast Guard. The report says that the crew of a fishing boat, the F/V Gaston’s Legacy called for help in searching for the unidentified man. Link. This story will be updated as we get more information. 08:09
