Daily Archives: August 25, 2023
Bayou La Batre seeks help amid foreign seafood invasion
Bayou La Batre, “Alabama’s seafood capital”, is experiencing some major economic adversity causing Mayor Henry Barnes to issue a declaration of disaster. The issue is a flood of foreign seafood being dumped into the area which is effecting the local fishing community. State Rep. Chip Brown has requested Gov. Kay Ivey issue a disaster declaration, which would lead to an increase of resources to tackle the problem. “I am writing to request a disaster declaration for Bayou La Batre and South Mobile County, Alabama’s Seafood Capital,” Brown (R-Hollinger’s Island) wrote. “With the price of gas hitting record highs, and the value of shrimp now worth only $1 per pound, more and more shrimp boat owners are unable to do anything other than dock their vessels. >click to read< 17:43
Commercial fisherman slips on deck, injures back, wins settlement
The plaintiff, a commercial fisherman for more than 40 years, was 61 at the time of the incident. Five years prior to the accident, the plaintiff injured his back on land, underwent a spinal fusion, and returned to fishing about three months after his surgery. For the next five years after his spinal fusion, the plaintiff worked on a scallop vessel as a deck hand. The plaintiff was picking up the pile of scallops that had been dumped on the deck. After he filled his basket with scallops, he lifted the basket and turned to his left to carry it to the shucking house. The plaintiff testified that he felt something under his foot, made another one to two steps on the deck, and then slipped and fell backwards, landing on his right side on a rock on the deck. >click to read< 14:26
Updated: Crew member on Alaska factory trawler dies after possible ammonia exposure
A crew member on an American Seafoods factory trawler died at sea last week, likely from an ammonia leak on board. U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Second Class John Highwater said that they received a satellite call from the Northern Eagle at about 4 a.m. on Aug. 18. “One of their crew members was found unresponsive in one of their engineering spaces,” Highwater said. “They believe there was an ammonia leak somewhere in the vessel that caused the person to fall unconscious.” Jeremy Baum, the Alaska Wildlife Trooper stationed in Unalaska/Dutch Harbor, identified the crew member as First Engineer David Kumah from Ghana in West Africa. >click to read< 13:09
Alaska Gov. Dunleavy names ad consultant, talk show host Porcaro to commercial fisheries agency
Alaska Republican Gov. Mike Dunleavy has appointed a GOP advertising consultant and talk show host to a highly paid state government job: a position overseeing commercial fishing permits. Dunleavy this month appointed Mike Porcaro as one of two commissioners overseeing the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission, or CFEC — an obscure, Juneau-based agency with some 20 employees. The commission issues annual commercial fishing permits, grants and denies permit transfers in the event of illnesses and deaths and publishes fisheries reports and statistics. “All I’m doing is trying to answer a call of service, and I’m going to do the best job I can do,” Porcaro said in an interview Thursday. He added: “Judge me on my performance.”>click to read< 11:33
Ayrshire fishing industry: Consultation is launched
SNP MSP Siobhian Brown has welcomed plans from the Scottish Government that will attempt to boost the fishing industry in Ayr and Troon and has encouraged local stakeholders to engage with the consultation. The consultation on how to collaboratively improve inshore fisheries data, which was launched on August 14, includes proposals to introduce electronic tracking and monitoring technology for small fishing vessels, which will help to increase consumer confidence in Scottish seafood. It follows two recent consultations: one on Remote Electric Monitoring (REM) on board pelagic and scallop vessels, and the other on Scotland’s Future Catching Policy. These collaborative consultations, and the package of measures they will introduce, represent Scotland’s future as a world-class sustainable fishing nation. >click to read< 09:46
Port Royal begins rebuilding 30-year-old dock. Move shows renewed commitment to shrimping
O’Quinn Marine Construction, hired by the town for $130,000, is now tearing down the Battery Creek landmark, piling by piling and plank by plank. But the scuttling of dock isn’t the end but rather a new beginning for shrimping and fishing and seafood processing, which have deep roots in northern Beaufort County. “It’s a first of several steps to reestablish fishing and shrimping as a iconic industry in Port Royal,” Van Willis, the town’s manager, said of the dock removal. A new dock and processing facility for fisherman and shrimpers are now being planned to replace the old facilities that had been in place since 1989. Over the past two years, the State Legislature has allocated the town $2 million for the work. Video, >click to read< 08:57
Body found in ocean Monday confirmed to be missing lobsterman Tylar Michaud
The mother of a Down East lobsterman who disappeared a month ago while fishing confirmed Thursday night that a body found in the ocean Monday morning was that of her son. Valerie Kennedy notified a Press Herald reporter that authorities have confirmed the body belongs to her son, 18-year-old Tylar Michaud, of Steuben. Kennedy declined to comment further. A Jonesport lobsterman discovered the body floating in the Atlantic Ocean near Addison on Monday morning, exactly a month after Michaud was last seen in the area. The body was taken to the Maine Medical Examiner’s Office in Augusta to be identified. >click to read< 07:54
