Daily Archives: November 17, 2023
Fish house keeps fresh fish on the table
Every day, the Ocracoke Seafood Company sends about 4,500 pounds of locally caught fish off to places beyond. Sometimes Shane Mason gets up at 3 a.m. to drive the refrigerated truck on a four-plus-hour run to drop off the previous day’s catch to Jeffrey’s in Hatteras. Monday, Wednesday and Friday are big market days, he said while icing down fish brought in by one of several local commercial fishermen, packing them into boxes and loading them onto pallets. From Jeffrey’s, the Ocracoke catch goes all over, especially to New York and overseas. Locally, restaurants and individuals can partake in that bounty by purchasing fish and shellfish in the retail area of Ocracoke’s “fish house,” as it is known. This operation is helping to keep the island’s few commercial fishermen working and there’s been a renewed interest by the fishermen and the community to revitalize the business, said Stevie Wilson, vice-president of the board of directors. Photos, >>click to read<< 19:04
Commercial fishing boat Susan Rose grounded at Point Pleasant Beach – Photos
A commercial fishing boat that beached here early Friday morning drew a crowd of curious onlookers on what was a sun-splashed fall day. The boat is a 98-foot commercial trawler that a witness says was approaching the Manasquan Inlet but instead it came ashore at the north end of Point Pleasant Beach. The boat is named Susan Rose and hails from Port Judith, Rhode Island, according to MarineTraffic.com, which monitors boat traffic, and commercial fishermen from the Point Pleasant Fishermen’s Cooperative Dock. Capt. Jim Lovgren, who sits on the Co-op’s executive board, said the boat is part of The Town Dock fleet in Narragansett and is here in New Jersey fishing for sea bass and fluke, and has been delivering its catch to the co-op dock. The Town Dock was not able to be reached for comment. 8 photos, >>click to read<< 14:34
Dec 15 deadline nears for lobster boat tracking devices in federal waters
Maine lobstermen who fish in federal waters have only a few weeks left until the Dec. 15 deadline to install and activate recently distributed tracking devices on their boats to comply with a regulation of the Atlantic State Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). The Particle One devices were sent by Maine’s Department of Marine Resources (DMR) with an accompanying letter of explanation. As required by the ASMFC regulation approved last year, each minute the boat is moving, the tracker will collect both the time and its position. The device will also monitor a boat when it is tied up every six hours until it moves again. Local lobstermen are concerned monitoring their locations infringes on their privacy, while ASMFC believes it will be useful information to have. Some lobstermen have returned the trackers to DMR. >>click to read<< 13:02
N.S. lobster facility temporarily halts processing, blames lower catches
The Montreal-based owners of Riverside Lobster International at Meteghan, N.S., say the plant will not process lobster this fall and winter, citing lower catches in Maine and the Maritime provinces. “It’s an unfortunate situation, but right now that’s about all that we know. We’re not running this fall and there’s been no decision yet in terms of what’s going to happen for the spring,” “We’re seeing lower landings and not necessarily just in this area. We’re seeing it from Maine to New Brunswick to Nova Scotia. It’s affecting processing facilities and not just not just Riverside.” >>click to read<< 11:25
Fish and Game Commission Suspends and Terminates Fishing Privileges for Two Southern California Commercial Lobster Fishermen
During its Oct. 12 meeting, the California Fish and Game Commission adopted recommendations from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) to revoke the commercial fishing licenses of two Southern California commercial fishermen, Michael Volaski and Arthur Esparza. CDFW recommended a five-year suspension of Volaski’s lobster operator permit and commercial fishing license. Volaski is a commercial lobster fisherman from Oxnard. The revocation stems from a three-day hearing in front of an administrative law judge who listened to testimony from Volaski and CDFW regarding Volaski’s history of violations in the lobster fishery. >>click to read<< 09:53
77-foot fishing boat runs aground on Jersey Shore beach
Firefighters and emergency workers rescued three people from a 77-foot fishing boat that ran aground in Point Pleasant Beach early Friday, officials said. A fourth person was already out of the fishing vessel Susan Rose when firefighters and EMS arrived on the beach about three blocks south of the Manasquan Inlet, Point Pleasant Beach Fire Chief Ira Waldman said. The Coast Guard received a report about the beached boat shortly before 5 a.m. and sent a boat to assist, a spokesman said. >>click to read<< 09:09
When a Coast Guard helicopter crashed in Southeast Alaska, first on the scene were the helicopter crashed it came to rescue
The first people at the scene of Monday night’s crash of an Air Station Sitka helicopter were the crew of the distressed fishing vessel it was sent to assist. The two brothers aboard the Lydia Marie played a critical role in the rescue of the downed air crew. Logan Padgett is the captain of the Lydia Marie, a 44-foot wooden troller based in Wrangell. The Lydia Marie began taking on water around 8 p.m. Monday in the rough seas of Frederick Sound. Padgett sent out a mayday and steered for the protected northern shore of Read Island in Farragut Bay. >>click to read<< 08:05
Ordinary Heroes: Fishermen Turn Rescuers in Treacherous Seas – In the midst of a treacherous night at sea, the crew of the fishing vessel Lydia Marie found themselves unexpectedly shifting roles from the ones in need of rescue to becoming the rescuers. Captain Logan Padgett and his younger brother, ordinary fishermen, were thrust into action to aid the downed air crew of an Air Station Sitka helicopter. >>click to read<< 11:24
Politicians Come Out Against Gulf of Maine Offshore Wind Proposal
U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King, Reps. Jared Golden and Chellie Pingree, and Maine Gov. Janet Mills have sent a letter to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), urging them to completely exclude Lobster Management Area 1 (LMA 1) from the Wind Energy Area (WEA) for potential wind power development in the Gulf of Maine. The lawmakers and governor assert that “clean energy can offer economic and environmental benefits for Maine that must be pursued prudently and responsibly with a commitment to minimizing to the greatest extent possible the impact on fishermen, recreation and other crucial ocean uses that are critical to Maine.” >>click o read<< 07:14
