Daily Archives: October 4, 2023
Fisherman Convicted in Plot to Sell $900,000 of Illegal Fluke and Bass
A Montauk, N.Y., fisherman accused of vastly exceeding legal limits on how much fluke he could bring ashore was convicted on all charges in a federal court in Central Islip on Wednesday. Chris Winkler, 63, captain of a 45-foot trawler called the F/V New Age, was accused of falsifying records in order to sell illegal fluke, also known as summer flounder, and black sea bass to partners from Gosman’s Dock, a mini-empire of restaurants and shops in Montauk, and dealers in the New Fulton Fish Market in the Bronx. Prosecutors said the over-quota fish was worth nearly $900,000 on the wholesale market. Two cousins from the Gosman family were initially charged — but they flipped and testified against Mr. Winkler, with one claiming he had helped the F/V New Age evade detection by the Coast Guard. Mr. Winkler could face many years in prison on five charges of conspiracy, obstruction and mail fraud, though he is unlikely to receive a lengthy sentence under federal sentencing practices. He was stoic as the verdict was read in court on Wednesday. His lawyer Richard W. Levitt vowed to appeal, and said the case was based on outdated legal limits on fluke fishing. “There is nothing at all rational about this system, but Mr. Winkler and other Long Island fishermen are easy scapegoats for this regulatory insanity,” he said. >>click to read<< 15:28
Arklow Fisherman Appeals to Politicians to Submit His Experience to EU Fishing Vessel Safety Review
The owner of former beam trawler Mary Kate has said his experience should inform the EU’s review of fishing vessel safety. Arklow fisherman CJ Gaffney has written to national and local politicians and MEPs to ask that they present his case to the EU review. Gaffney discovered serious stability issues with the Dutch trawler after he bought it in 2007 and was left with debts of 1 million euro. He tried to take legal action in both the Netherlands and Germany, took out a loan to cover fixing the vessel and then had to surrender it to the bank in 2012. He sought EU funds in compensation, but the EU said it was up to the national state. The vessel was broken up in New Ross, Co Wexford, earlier this year under the Government’s decommissioning scheme. >>click to read<< 13:09
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 73′ Steel Shrimper, 3406 Cat Diesel
To review specifications, information, and 9 photos’, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here< 10″31
A teenager in Boothbay Harbor had a dream. After 27 years, he achieved it.
Nearly three decades ago Jerry Farnham was working as a sternman on his father’s lobster boat in Boothbay Harbor. Eyeing the people on the deck of a gorgeous yacht not far away, he began to wonder: “What if they just want to be like normal people? You know, maybe they want to come and watch lobster boat races. Maybe they want to go lobstering.” The thought stuck with Farnham, who was only 16 years old, and with it came another notion. He wanted to take that idea and turn it into a novel, one set in Boothbay Harbor and filled with characters like the people he’d grown up with. It was easier said than done. One day in June of this year, he sat down at a table in Sherman’s and signed copies of his novel “Red at Night.” Video, >>click to read<< 09:22
‘We are the endangered species’: Hampton fisherman David Goethel shares story in new book
For 40 years, David Goethel rode his 44-foot fish trawler the Ellen Diane from Hampton-Seabrook Harbor to Jeffreys Ledge off the coast of New Hampshire. His new book “Endangered Species,” published by Peter Randall of Portsmouth, shares his life story as well as a warning that today’s federal regulations are putting small boats out of business. “We are the endangered species,” Goethel said. Goethel, 69, retired last year to focus on treatment for cancer that is now in remission. A voice for the New Hampshire fishing community, Goethel said he was encouraged by his son to write his story so future generations can learn how small-boat trawlers were brought to the brink of extinction. “So that when that happens, they’ll at least have some accurate portrayals of lives,” Goethel said. “But also how they ended up in that position.” Photos, >>click to read<< 07:46
