Monthly Archives: September 2023
Alaskan fishers fear another bleak season as crab populations dwindle in warming waters
Gabriel Prout worked four seasons on his father’s crab boat, the Silver Spray, before joining his two brothers in 2020 to buy a half-interest plus access rights for a snow crab fishery that’s typically the largest and richest in the Bering Sea. Then in 2021, disaster: an annual survey found crabs crashing to an all-time low. Kevin Abena, who runs a fishing business with his father, also relies on tendering to stay afloat in the wake of the crab fishery closure. His vessel Big Blue, which his father built in the late 1970s, stopped fishing for most crab in Bristol Bay in 2010, but they still own access rights and take a percentage from other boats that fish their quota. Abena also fishes for halibut and black cod.>>click to read<< 12:31
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 47’X 18′ NOVI LOBSTER GILLNETTER TUNA
To review specifications, information, and 18 photos’, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here< – 10:50
‘I can’t imagine being anywhere else’: The call of the ocean came naturally for six-year-old Petty Harbour fisherman
In the heart of the vast ocean, just off the shores of Petty Harbour, where the sun danced on the water’s surface, and the salty breeze kissed the cheeks of those who dared to venture, there came a moment that would forever be etched in the memory of six-year-old fisherman Austen Chafe. As the boat gently glided on the waves, an unexpected visitor emerged from the depths — a majestic tuna, gleaming with power and grace. In a split second, the world changed, as the tuna leaped and bestowed upon Austen a gift of seawater, laughter and an enduring love for the sea. “When that tuna splashed on me,” Austen said, his eyes sparkling with the memory, “I felt like the luckiest kid in the world. It’s moments like these that make me love the ocean even more. There’s something magical about being out here, and I can’t imagine being anywhere else.” Born into a family of fishermen, the call of the ocean was as natural as the rhythm of the tides for young Austen. Photos, >>click to read<< 09:34
Harbourmaster wants to sell sunken trawler for £1
A French fishing trawler which sank in a Devon harbour more than seven years ago could be sold for £1. The Saint Christophe 1 sank at Dartmouth in 2016 after Dart Harbour staff encountered “language difficulties” when speaking to the vessel’s five-man crew. A report found both parties were unable to understand one another when discussing the danger of the boat grounding on the falling tide. The vessel was refloated and towed to Brixham Harbour where it has been moored ever since. The trawler is now the responsibility of Torbay Council as the harbour authority, the Local Democracy Reporting Service, external said. Harbourmaster Rob Parson>>click to said the authority was trying to “get rid” of it. >>click to read<< 08:30
Lobstermen help rescue fisherman who fell from cliffs in York
A boat crew pulling lobster traps off the coast of York on Monday rescued a fisherman who had fallen from a cliff and was clinging to a buoy. The man, who has not been publicly identified, was fishing from Bald Head Cliff with another person around 8 a.m. when he slipped and fell into the water. As rescue crews raced to the scene, his companion called for help and told dispatchers that the man was trying to swim to a nearby lobster buoy. The fire department contacted a nearby lobster boat using marine radio channels and the boat was able to get to the man before rescue crews. The crew aboard the boat pulled the man aboard and brought him to an Ogunquit rescue boat. The quick response by the crew on the lobster boat – identified by officials as Mystery, based out of Perkins Cove – saved the man from becoming hypothermic or drowning, according to the fire department.>>click to read<< 18:02
Retired Commercial Fisherman Mark Lee Roberts of Tillamook, Oregon, has passed away
After a long battle with cancer, we lost our beloved husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather and friend, Mark Lee Roberts. Mark was born in Portland, Oregon in 1952 to Harley and Irene Roberts. Mark grew up in SW Portland and attended St. Clare’s Catholic School and graduated from Central Catholic H.S. in 1970. He started commercial dory fishing with his father out of Pacific City in the Old Soak and Ragtag. He owned several dories including Shark Bait, Fish Assassin and Accomplice before acquiring a larger boat, the Pacific Mistress, which he commercial fished out of Depoe Bay. Mark was also part of the ODFW Marine Reserves Community Team, the Depoe Bay Near Shore Action Team, OSU Wave Energy participant, Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission member, and a longtime member of the Pacific City Dorymen’s Association. >>click to read<< 14:49
Proposals could increase wind energy costs 27% to 66%, NYSERDA report says
A report by the state agency leading New York’s transition into a carbon-free energy grid says requests by wind farm developers to sharply increase what they can charge for the power could potentially be 27% to 66% higher than originally proposed. Wind farm companies requesting the increases previously filed documents with the state that excluded from public release most of the now-released financial information. “The economic impact is far too great,” Michelle Leo, a member of Protect Our Coast Long Island, an opposition group in Long Beach, said in an email in response to the release. “Off-shore wind is clearly too expensive because of the return to the investors …” Equinor is lying to the ratepayers that have crappy political representation. >>click to read<< 12:59
American Eagle takes Esperanto Cup again
The Adventurer and Calabash were among the schooners that joined the American Eagle in the winner’s circle for the 39th annual Gloucester Schooner Festival races over Labor Day Weekend. The American Eagle captured the marquee Mayor’s Race, winning the Esperanto Cup for large schooners, in an elapsed time of 1 hour, 10 minutes and 49 seconds. >>click to read<< 11:53
Life on the Arctic Coast: Coxswain Kim Roger Stays Calm When Put to the Test
It is afternoon in the idyllic fishing village Sørvågen in the Lofoten Islands. Below the houses, in the bay, several small fishing vessels and a fish processing plant can be found. It is quiet outside, with the exception of a few seagulls crying. A larger fishing vessel also lies along the quay, the purse seine boat Kim Roger. High North News is allowed onboard and greet the coxswain and fisherman Kim Roger Benonisen (38). The eye is drawn to the amount of equipment located on the stern and the bow of the 50-foot-long boat; various types of ropes, winches, hydraulic hoses, a crane, and a net hauler. Kim Roger says he has been fishing his entire life. His first winter season was in 2003 – exactly 20 years ago. Photos, >>click to read<< 10:36
‘A Gulf and National Issue’: Southeast Texas shrimpers struggling to survive due to influx of imported shrimp
With an an influx of imported shrimp taking over the market, it’s becoming tougher for Southeast Texas shrimpers to survive. Since July 16, the Texas waters opened back up for fishing, but Eric Kyle Kimball’s boat “The Seahorse” has yet to leave the dock at the Sabine Pass Port Authority. Kimball is a third generation fisherman who’s been around the industry for 55 years. This career help provides for him and his family, with brown shrimp being the main source of income. Shrimp imported from across the globe are driving prices down from $3.75 per pound in the 80’s to 95 cents per pound, currently. After paying for fuel and deck hands, area fisherman can’t break even. Video, >>click to read<< 09:49
DFO calls for calm in St. Mary’s Bay as enforcement continues
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans calling for safety and patience in St. Mary’s Bay. Tensions have been rising once again due to out of season lobster fishing taking place. In a statement, DFO says they’re committed to a renewed relationship with Indigenous peoples, so they can exercise their Treaty rights to fish. They say many are exercising that right through the Food, Social and Ceremonial fishery, authorized by DFO. But they say it has to comply with the Fisheries Act, and they are seizing gear and laying charges for those who don’t follow the rules. DFO has been getting flack from local commercial fishers and opposition leaders, demanding that they do more to enforce the rules. >>click to read<< 08:43
Belfast’s lobster Passy Pete predicts early winter
Residents of Belfast were on the waterfront this Labor Day to get a very important answer from a very special lobster. Passy Pete gave his predictions on whether or not we will have six more weeks of summer or an early winter. “Every Labor Day at 10 a.m. we pull a lobster from the Passagassawakeag river named Pete, he comes back every year and we celebrate his prediction,” said Executive Director of the Belfast Chamber of Commerce, Dorothy Harvey. You may have heard of the famous predicting ground hog Punxsutawney Phil, but have you heard of Passy Pete? Video, >>click to read<< 08:03
Cortez fishing village inundated by Hurricane Idalia
As residents and business owners cleaned up on Thursday morning following the storm surge from Hurricane Idalia that flooded local roads, the recurring consensus was: “We got lucky.” “There was no boat damage (to the fleet of fishing boats). We lost a few boards on the dock,” A.P. Bell Fish Co. owner Karen Bell said. “We were very lucky.” Cortez is one of Florida’s last commercial fishing villages. It hugs the north shore of Sarasota Bay. On Wednesday morning, its roads were underwater, but by that evening, the waters had receded and roads were passable. In advance of the storm, A.P. Bell workers had secured the fleet of fishing boats with extra dock lines. 11 photos, >>click to read<< 17:27
Lobster row rocks offshore wind as state tells turbines to stay away
The government of South Australia is unimpressed by a federal decision to include the state’s waters among a list of six areas chosen for pioneering offshore wind tenders, citing risks to its valuable fisheries industry and sparking a row with trade unions which support the renewable source. A period of consultation for the Southern Ocean Wind Zone was opened by Australia’s energy minister Chris Bowen in July, as part of a federal government plan to have six areas fully defined and declared by mid-2024. As part of this process, the South Australian government has come out in opposition, and said the proposed zone should simply stop at the border with Victoria, pointing out that the proposed wind farms will be connected to that state’s grid. >>click to read<< 13:42
Japan boosts fishing sector aid after Fukushima water release
The announcement came as more than 100 fishermen and locals living near Fukushima Prefecture were to file a lawsuit this week seeking to stop the discharge. The ¥20.7 billion ($141 million) in additional funding announced by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida comes on top of an existing ¥80 billion aimed at minimizing reputational damage to the industry and keeping businesses afloat. The beefed-up aid now totaling ¥100.7 billion is a reflection of the government’s “determination to protect” a sector already scarred by the 2011 nuclear catastrophe in Fukushima, Kishida said. >>click to read<< 11:24
Know-nothing journalism
Credibility dies in a field of little mistakes. This is why it is painful to read what passes for news today: “Pink salmon get their nickname from their propensity to bite on anything pink.” Or so reported Gregory Scruggs of The Seattle Times after visiting West Seattle’s Lincoln Park on Aug. 22 for a story on Life/Outdoors in the Emerald City. Yes, and red salmon got their nickname for their propensity to bite on anything red and silvers on silver. And don’t forget those dog salmon. Note to the unwary: Leave Fido at home if you decide to pursue the latter. They have a propensity to bite on dogs. This is the reason there are so many three-legged dogs in villages along the Yukon River. All of this would be funny if, of course, it was funny. >>click to read<< 10:18
Healey solicits ‘largest’ offshore wind bid
Massachusetts is putting out bids for another round of offshore wind projects – the largest procurement to date – to comply a mandate requiring it to tap into more clean energy sources, but the move comes at a risky time. Gov. Maura Healey announced on Thursday that the state plans to solicit up to 3,600 megawatts of additional offshore wind power, the equivalent to 25% of the state’s annual electricity generation. “With our top academic institutions, robust workforce training programs, innovative companies, and support from every level of government – Massachusetts is all-in on offshore wind,” she said. But the latest procurement comes amid increasing turbulence in the nation’s nascent offshore wind industry. >>click to read<< 09:02
Parade of Schooners ‘a real gift’ to Gloucester
Thousands lined Stacy Boulevard from Stage Fort Park to the Fort neighborhood Sunday morning under blue skies with light wind to watch the Parade of Schooners on the final day of Maritime Gloucester’s 39th annual Gloucester Schooner Festival. The event celebrates schooners small, medium and large, including a few historic Gloucester sailing vessels that used to fish for cod on the Grand Banks. Sunday’s schooner event also took place against the backdrop of this being Gloucester’s 400th anniversary as the nation’s oldest seaport. Five schooners sailing in the parade, Thomas E. Lannon, Lewis H. Story, Fame, Isabella and Ardelle were designed and built by 11th generation shipbuilder Harold Burnham in Essex. Photos, >>click to read<< 07:45
Retired Commercial Fisherman Joseph B. Novello of Portsmouth, N.H. has passed away
Joseph B. Novello, 82, husband of Beverly (Tryder) Novello of Portsmouth, NH passed away peacefully on Tuesday, August 29, 2023. Joe was born in Gloucester on April 14, 1941, son of the late Roseline and Captain Nicholas Novello. He attended Gloucester schools and started fishing at an early age. Joe served briefly in the army during the Vietnam War then returned to Gloucester to continue his love of fishing. He fished on many family boats throughout his career and enjoyed sharing the numerous stories of his voyages with his family and friends. After retiring from fishing, he stayed within the industry by working as a seafood clerk for Stop & Shop. Joe enjoyed sharing his favorite recipes with his many customers. His happiest times were those spent with family and friends, telling stories and cracking jokes every chance he got. He also treasured his time at Keoka Beach with his wife Beverly, extended family and beloved dog Buddy. >>click to read<< 18:55
The ghost ships clogging up WA’s marinas and waterways
The Department of Transport has spent more than $1.1 million in the past four years removing and disposing of 43 vessels abandoned at marinas and on WA waterways. These cases normally take several years to resolve, but the latest vessel in Mark Briant’s sights was also the longest case the department has dealt with in its history. The 70-tonne, 17.8-metre fishing trawler Atlantic Ocean has been a familiar sight in the Fremantle Fishing Boat Harbour for more than 20 years, but the department declared it abandoned in 2018. Its hull is covered in rust and, at 62 years old, the Atlantic Ocean’s best days are well and truly behind it. >>click to read<< 16:10
RCMP respond to Saturday boat fire at in Digby County, N.S.
The Digby RCMP officers and fire fighters responded to a report of a fishing boat that caught fire at the Sandy Cove wharf in Digby, N.S., Saturday. In a news release Sunday, police say the fire did spread from a 36-foot fishing boat to a second boat also docked at the wharf. Once the fire was extinguished, police conducted an investigation into the cause. After reviewing evidence, which included statements and video surveillance, RCMP determined a failure of electrical components on board the boat was to blame. Police say the fire was not deemed suspicious, and the investigation has been concluded. >link< 12:14
From the Gulf of Maine to a tin can: A glimpse into high-end tuna production on NH’s coast
“I left today at, like, 12 midnight,” he said, his face hidden behind mirrored sunglasses and a beard. “And then it’s about an hour and a half ride out, and it was beautiful last night because that big fat moon is waning.” Keper Connell is a one-man operation aboard his boat, The Figment. When conditions allow, he cruises into the Gulf of Maine in search of bluefin tuna, a torpedo-shaped fish that can reach more than 1,000 pounds. Rather than sell his bluefin to a wholesaler, where cuts may end up in a fishmonger’s display case, or as toro on a sushi menu, Connell is doing something that nobody else in the U.S. is apparently doing. His fish is put on ice and sent to Oregon, where it will be packed into tin cans with a high end olive oil and some salt. (There are no canneries on the East Coast where an independent fisherman can bring his catch, he says.) Photos, >>click to read<< 11:07
His passion is lobstering, his worry is the future
Christopher Robert Tobey Jr. was born on July 22, 1991, in Portland, into a family of fishermen. He spent a lot of time on the docks and water. He watched his father and grandfather talk with other fishermen and learned the lingo. He also learned a lot by going to other docks because everyone does things differently. “As a little kid, I always knew who everyone was and what their boat was,” he said. Tobey’s father always told him fishing wasn’t easy, but it was there if he wanted it. “I started lobster fishing because my father was a lobster fisherman, and when I was a kid that’s all I wanted to do,” he said. However, fishing is dangerous. And on May 11, 2008, Tobey’s life changed forever. “It was Mother’s Day, a Sunday, and we went out to go fishing to fill some orders for a couple of my dad’s friends,” Tobey said. “I remember it was me, my father and another fisherman, Robbie Blackburn. He was working for my dad. We went out and it was a great day and the weather started to turn.” >>click to read<< 09:53
Tributes to Cromer fisherman and council leader John Lee
He was an eighth-generation fisherman known for his down-to-earth style and speaking his mind. Helping others, socialising and having a laugh were all part of his daily routine, and he was dedicated to his family. Tributes have been paid to John Lee, from Cromer, who has died following a short illness, aged 60. His widow, Donna Lee, said his death had come as a shock. “It has left a big hole in our lives and our hearts – we weren’t expecting it this quickly,” she said. “He called a spade a spade, he was straight-talking and honest. He was a family man, very sociable, and very committed to Cromer, the community and to youth football.” Photos, >>click to read<< 09:07
Fisherman David Dunsford reflects on 50 years at sea amid luck, loss and laughter
Saltwater runs through David Dunsford’s veins. “Our story is a pretty special story really; my mother’s family came out from Sicily by ship, landed in Albany and made their way to south-eastern South Australia,” he says. “My grandfather, Frank Corigliano, was one of 14 children; the product of an Italian father and an Irish mother – so a huge fishing family, and I was lucky they stayed here in Beachport.” David says his ancestors were pioneers of the southern rock lobster industry, which today contributes more than 30 per cent – or $158.5 million — to South Australia’s seafood gross state product and employs about 1,300 people through direct and flow-on business. David recalls the moment the die on his own fishing destiny was cast. “I remember being at school one day, about 15, and my father said to me, ‘David, it might be best if you come home’. Photos, >>lick to read<< 07:53
Harpswell fishing advocate battles winds of change
Harpswell resident Jerry Leeman III sits in an office chair at a dining room table with his father, Jerry Leeman Jr., on a nearby couch watching TV. In front of Leeman III is a laptop and a stack of studies and reports on a range of issues that could threaten the New England fishing industry. Leeman, like his father, used to be a commercial fisherman. Now he spends his days reading reports and constructing arguments against what he sees as challenges to the industry, while advocating for his fellow New England fishermen and their interests. Having recently harpooned the whale conservationists in court, the New England fishing industry’s current biggest threat, in Leeman’s view, is the advent of floating offshore wind power and its planned deployment along the New England coast. >>click to read<< 12:17
Shrimp Alliance request fisheries disaster declaration
There’s no other way to put it if you ask Aaron Wallace. Despite a decent catch by the eight shrimp boats that supply Anchored Shrimp Co. in Brunswick, the prices fishermen are getting for their hauls aren’t what they should be. “It’s been one of our toughest years,” Wallace said. He and his father, John Wallace, own Anchored Shrimp and operate the Gale Force, one of the boats that serve the company’s retail and wholesale business. The Southern Shrimp Alliance, for which John Wallace serves as a member of the board of directors, is calling the flood of imported shrimp a crisis. The alliance asked the governors of Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Texas in a letter on Aug. 25 to collectively request a fisheries disaster determination by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce for the U.S. shrimp fishery. >>click to read<< 11:06
Statement from Fisheries and Oceans Canada regarding lobster fishing in St. Marys Bay, Nova Scotia
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) is committed to a renewed relationship with Indigenous peoples based on recognizing rights, respect, collaboration, and partnership. As part of that commitment, we are working with First Nations harvesters so that they can exercise their Supreme Court-affirmed Treaty right to fish through various DFO-authorized fisheries. These fisheries include food, social and ceremonial (FSC), and communal commercial fisheries, including interim understandings reached to fish in pursuit of a moderate livelihood. >>click to read<< 10:14
Idalia demolished some Florida fishing communities. But locals say they’ll rebuild
For five generations, Austin Ellison’s family has toiled in the shrimping and fishing business here in this picturesque shoreline community nestled in what’s known as Florida’s Nature Coast along the state’s northern Gulf Coast. But when Hurricane Idalia barreled into the coast as a Category 3 storm on Wednesday with 125 mph winds, his family business, Ed’s Bait House, was pounded to the ground. Ellison points to his shrimping boat, named Miss Laura, floating in a nearby canal. The storm smashed out its windows, but the vessel survived otherwise. To Ellison, rebuilding means not just the cost of construction, but the additional expense of meeting modern storm-proofing requirements — a daunting task for someone who makes less than $30,000 a year as a seasonal fisherman. Photos, >>click to read<< 09:37
Lobsterman Shane Matthew Sykes of Warren, Maine, has passed away
Shane Matthew Sykes, 33, of Warren, died after a brief illness on Aug. 9, 2023 at Pen Bay Medical Center. He was born in Bangor on June 16, 1990 to Gerald (Roy) and Cynthia (Hagar) Sykes. He was a lifetime resident of the Midcoast. Wherever he lived, he always called Bristol his home. Shane graduated from Lincoln Academy in 2008 and then became a full-time clamdigger. He was a hardworking man and later became a lobsterman. He looked forward to each day spent on the ocean, and often photographed the horizon in the early dawn hours. He also worked at Masters Machine Shop and was a cook at a few local restaurants. He always said he made an awesome steak, and he did. >>click to read<< 08:33
