Monthly Archives: November 2023
P.E.I. Fishermen’s Association calls for more timely, better monitoring in wake of federal report
Executive director Ian MacPherson said a recent report from the federal environment commissioner underlined the importance of doing more, and better science, especially as the crucial herring and mackerel fisheries remain closed to Island fishers. “Herring and mackerel are the big ones here on Prince Edward Island, important fisheries to us, and we’d like to get them reopened — and we realize these are science-based decisions, but you need accurate and timely information,” MacPherson said. >>click to read<< 06:38
Opinion: The tragic mismanagement of bycatch in Alaska
The commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish & Game’s recent opinion piece on bycatch would make for good comedy if the topic wasn’t so serious. Doug Vincent-Lang extolled the North Pacific Fishery Management Council’s handling of bycatch in trawl fisheries off the coast of Alaska. As examples, he mentioned existing bycatch caps for chinook salmon and halibut bycatch measures that are not yet in effect. Other than that, here are the council “actions” he espouses. The council, of which he is a key member, has “initiated an analysis” concerning caps on chum bycatch, is “considering further fishing restrictions” related to crab in the Bering Sea and is “evaluating whether further protections are needed” for Tanner crab in the Gulf. He also notes that the council “support(s) further research” into the causes of the declines in these seminal Alaska fisheries stocks. >>click to read<< 12:29
Nantucket’s Rich Are Losing the Battle to Keep Wind Power Out of Their Backyards
A newly erected wind turbine off the coast of the pristine sandy beaches of Nantucket rises about 850 feet from the ocean surface, higher than any building in Boston, spinning blades about 350 feet long. It’s a marvel of human ingenuity, a shot at a carbon-free future — and the scourge of wealthy denizens of Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard. A raft of lawsuits from residents and fishing industry groups have complained about everything from obstructed views to marine life hazards and disruptions to whales. But the energy company Avangrid completed the first of 62 giant wind turbines last month, promising enough juice to power more than 400,000 homes and business in Massachusetts. >>click to read<< 10:51
The Fish Shop brings Oregon fish to Corvallis
Prior to the store’s opening, Harrison’s brand, Oregon’s Choice was solely online, selling primarily albacore tuna and Chinook salmon, all caught and canned in Oregon. Harrison purchased Oregon’s Choice from her parents in 2020, and in doing so happened upon the perfect market. “The two best businesses to be in 2020 were toilet paper and canned food,” Harrison said, alluding to the COVID-19 pandemic. The business started in 1977 with Harrison’s father, Herb Goblirsch selling his catch on the docks of Newport. >>click to read<< 08:37
Dunmore East RNLI leads multi-agency rescue of 3 fisherman
The Dunmore East RNLI volunteer lifeboat crew successfully coordinated a multi-agency rescue operation yesterday morning (25 November) for a fishing vessel in distress. The 12m vessel, with 3 persons on board, got into difficulty less than 0.5 nautical miles west of Dunmore East Harbour. It was reported to be taking on a significant amount of water when the RNLI crew was tasked by the Irish Coast Guard at 07.33am. RNLI volunteers responded to a pager alert and the all-weather lifeboat, William and Agnes Wray was launched and quickly located the vessel.>>click to read<< 07:10
Maine lobstermen catch ancient 7-foot anchor while hauling traps
A pair of midcoast lobstermen were almost done hauling traps Tuesday when they pulled some ancient history out of the depths: A large anchor covered in a thick layer of rust and sea coral had snagged on one of their traps. “It was kind of exciting,” recalled Logan Aiken, who serves as sternman on Sweet Victory, the lobster boat owned and captained by his brother Peter. This was not the first time the brothers who fish out of Cushing. had caught an old anchor: They pulled up another one a few years ago, but it fell back into the sea before they could wrangle it in. This time around, they avoided that mistake by quickly slipping a line around the iron beast and yanking it into the boat. >>click to read<< 19:18
Seal hunt advocate takes issue with EU president’s claim that Indigenous exemptions are working
The European Union’s ban on seal products did not feature heavily — if at all — during discussions between Canadian and European leaders on Friday in St. John’s, but one comment made during a news conference has drawn the ire of a group that advocates for seal harvesters. European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen told reporters she believes the exemption for Indigenous sealers is going well. Doug Chiasson, executive director of the Fur Institute of Canada, was taken aback by her comments. The biggest issue, according to Chiasson, is that the 2009 ban destroyed the existing market for seal products in Europe. When the Indigenous exemption was introduced in 2015, he said, there was no longer a market for the products. >>click to read<< 13:52
Editorial: South Carolina’s shrimpers are struggling; here’s 1 way to help
Those living in the Charleston area likely are well-familiar with the fact that our local shrimping industry has long been bruised by competition from imported shrimp, but the problem seems to have become more urgent than ever. Fortunately, there are steps we all can take to help out. As S.C. Shrimpers Association vice president Bryan Jones wrote in his recent letter to the editor, our state’s shrimping fleet has reached a critical juncture, threatening the livelihoods of thousands of families and a cherished way of life along our coast. That’s why our state’s association is joining with similar groups in other coastal states to press their case on both the state and federal levels, seeking an economic disaster declaration that would lead to short-term relief, such as low-interest loans and tax breaks. >>click to read<< 11:28
Newport, Block Island preservation groups sue to stop offshore wind farms
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, two separate appeals against the approvals were also filed by the Southeast Lighthouse Foundation, based on Block Island. Both organizations are being represented by Washington D.C.-based law firm Cultural Heritage Partners PLLC. The four filings assert a case of regulatory capture that led the U.S. Department of Interior and Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to “shirking its responsibility to the public and allowing corporate energy developers to set the terms for permitting,” and asks the court to issue a construction injunction and find the developers violated federal laws and regulations governing energy development, including the National Environmental Policy Act and National Historic Preservation Act. >>click to read<< 09:52
Canned seafood moves beyond tuna sandwiches in pandemic trend that stuck
Sardines swirling in preserved lemons. Mackerel basking in curry sauce. Chargrilled squid bathing in ink. All are culinary delicacies long popular in Europe that are now making their mark on U.S. menus. The country’s canned seafood industry is moving well beyond tuna sandwiches, a pandemic-era trend that began with Americans in lockdown demanding more of their cupboard staples. Tinned fish, as it’s called in Europe, is now a regular offering on menus at wine bars from San Francisco to Houston to New York, where patrons scoop the contents straight out of the can. There are even tinned fish clubs that mimic wine clubs by sending members monthly shipments of various seafood packed in various combinations of spices, oils and sauces. >>click to read<< 09:01
5 family members and a commercial fisherman neighbor are ID’d as dead or missing in Alaska landslide
Authorities on Friday identified those missing or killed in a southeast Alaska landslide this week as five family members and their neighbor, a commercial fisherman who made a longshot bid for the state’s lone seat in the U.S. House last year. Timothy Heller, 44, and Beth Heller, 36 — plus their children Mara, 16; Derek, 12; and Kara, 11 — were at home Monday night when the landslide struck near the island community of Wrangell. Search crews found the bodies of the parents and the oldest child late Monday or early Tuesday; the younger children remain missing, as does neighbor Otto Florschutz, 65, the Alaska Department of Public Safety said in an emailed statement. >>click to read<< 07:32
Loss of beloved fisherman still felt two years on
Tyrone Sock often thinks of his father when he looks at his son. Grief is a strange combination of what has happened and what won’t. Craig (Jumbo) Sock, who died after his fishing vessel went down off the coast of Nova Scotia in 2021, had two grandchildren he’ll never get to see grow up, Tyrone said. Jumbo’s loss can be felt throughout the entire Elsipogtog First Nation community, where he was a councillor and minor hockey league coach. “He was loved by everyone he crossed paths with,” said Tyrone, who spent a decade fishing with his father. “He was loved by every teammate, every player, every parent. You know what? Even the opposing teams loved him. That’s how much joy he brought to a room.” photos, >>click to read<< 15:28
Inshore Fishermen Tell Minister They ‘Urgently Need Help’
The National Inshore Fishermen’s Association has made a request to the Minister for the Marine for “immediate financial support” in order to survive the winter. Processors have reduced the price paid for shellfish, NIFA said, in a letter delivered to the Minister’s office in Donegal. Many fishermen will not be able to maintain themselves during the winter months, according to NIFA, “which leaves an uncertainty to the once lucrative Christmas season when fishermen would normally receive the highest prices of the year.” >>click t<o read<< 12:53
One of RI’s top environmentalists is suing to block offshore wind project
Trudy Coxe, the former head of Save the Bay and once the top environmental official in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, dropped a bombshell on Wednesday afternoon. In her role as the head of the Newport Preservation Society (NPS), Coxe announced that her organization has filed a massive federal lawsuit to block the construction the offshore wind project off the coast of Rhode Island. NPS manages the public-facing mansions in Newport, such as The Breakers and Rosecliff, to name a few. The Preservation Society filed the suit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.>>click to read<< 11:55
Coastal Georgia shrimpers fear loss of industry as foreign seafood crowds market
“Just when you think it can’t get any worse, it gets worse,” said Pat Mathews, the owner of the Lazaretto Packing Co. on Tybee Island, as he walked away from a truck idling in the loading zone. Early on a Monday morning in October in the height of shrimp season the driver had come to pick up a load of freshly caught shrimp from the James W. Salyers, a shrimp boat captained by David Attia. The driver delivered disappointing news, informing Pat that this would be the last load he would be able to pick up for the foreseeable future. The Mathews family has been in the seafood business for over a century. Where they once owned several seafood markets, their business now centers on the dock they own at Tybee, one of the few hubs of the industry that has been an iconic business on Georgia’s 100-mile coast. >>click to read<< 10:53
Last southwestern N.S. lobster season one for the record books: But not in a good way
From delayed season starts to low shore prices, foul weather and an out-of-control wildfire as a grand finale, the 2022-23 season in Lobster Fishing Areas (LFAs) 33 and 34 has been dubbed the worst season in more than 20 years. The LFA 34 fishery opened on Dec 5, 2022, after a one-week delay to the season start due to weather. The LFA 33 fishery opened on Nov. 29, 2022, after a one-day delay. Both seasons are always scheduled to start on the last Monday of November. The season opened with a $7 shore price, compared to the record-setting opening shore price of $10 to $11 a pound in 2021. The shore price peaked at $13.50 during the slowest part of the season in mid-winter, closing at $8.30 at season’s end on May 31. Photos, >>click to read<< 08:47
Fraserburgh RNLI Crews’ 12-Hour Rescue Mission to Stranded Fishing Vessel
In a daring 12-hour operation, the dedicated crew of Fraserburgh RNLI, under the command of Duty Coxswain Victor Sutherland, successfully rescued a distressed fishing vessel stranded 40 miles off the coast. The 19-metre fishing vessel, carrying a crew of seven, found itself in dire straits when another passing fishing vessel attempted to lend a helping hand. However, the tumultuous sea conditions rendered evacuation unsafe, prompting the Coxswain to make the pivotal decision to attach a tow line. The Fraserburgh RNLI lifeboat, named “Willie and May Gall,” swiftly launched at 12:28pm, racing against time to reach the distressed vessel. >>click to read<< 07:24
Safety paramount for lobster season opening in southwestern N.S.
Opening day protocol for the two lobster fishing districts dictates that any winds above 26 knots will delay the scheduled season start of the lobster fishery. Last season, LFA 33 opened after a one-day delay, while dumping day in the LFA 34 opening was delayed by a week. “The decision on whether to advance or delay the opening date considers weather forecasts provided by Environment Canada and advice from the LFA advisory committees,” says Sankey. Opening day protocol for the two lobster fishing districts dictates that any winds above 26 knots will delay the scheduled season start of the lobster fishery. Last season, LFA 33 opened after a one-day delay, while dumping day in the LFA 34 opening was delayed by a week. Photo’s, >>click to read<< 12:27
Sealing industry protests lack of talks on EU ban at summit in N.L.
Implemented by the EU in 2009, the trade ban on seal products, based on ethical concerns, deprived thousands of seal hunters in Eastern Canada of their most important market. The sealing industry, whose biggest footprint is in Nunavut and Newfoundland and Labrador, has never recovered. Gil Thériault, the head of the association representing Quebec’s seal hunters, said planning two days of bilateral meetings in Newfoundland and Labrador, “the very place Ottawa abandoned,” and not bringing up the seal products ban “sends a message of complete disregard for people in coastal communities.” According to groups representing seal hunters and processors, the EU embargo is the result of an extremely effective lobbying campaign from animal-rights groups, who depicted the hunt as an inhumane slaughter. Sealers say that’s false and that the hunt is sustainable and conducted without cruelty. >>click to read<< 10:53
Nova Scotia government retreats on plan to fast-track wind farms in coastal bays
“We’re pausing any consideration of waters within provincial jurisdiction until the framework for jointly managed offshore areas is in place,” Natural Resources and Renewables Minister Tory Rushton said in a statement issued Wednesday. The decision to focus first on jointly managed waters — in essence a go-slower approach — capped several months of lobbying by fisheries groups concerned that wind farms inside bays would displace already crowded fishing grounds. “I would say that the fishing industry is very, very pleased that the province has listened to the many, many voices both within our industry and other industries,” said Ginny Boudreau, executive director of the Guysborough County Inshore Fishermen’s Association. >>click to read<< 09:57
New tech designed with Cornish fishermen to transform bycatch monitoring
An innovative new tool being developed with fishermen in Cornwall aims to radically transform how by-catch is documented on board fishing vessels and, ultimately, prevent it happening. In a UK-first, Insight360 combines voice recognition and video information to deliver real-time insight and create a 360-degree view of what’s happening at sea during a by-catch event, that continuously improves over time. Refined with fishermen, the technology removes the need to manually review and add notes to footage, offering instead a way for skippers and crews to train a monitoring system to automatically recognise and record bycatch events as they happen. >>click to read<< 08:19
‘People helping people’
Some folks in Alaska are going to be very thankful on Thanksgiving. The Lydia Marie, a 44-foot wooden troller, with its captain, Logan Padgett, and his brother aboard, began taking on water on Nov. 13 while in rough waters in Frederick Sound, KCAW.org reported. Padgett sent out a mayday to U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Sitka and headed for calmer waters off Read Island in Farragut Bay. The flooding got under control, but the helicopter was already on the way. “Well, it was dark,” Padgett said. “So we were just looking at the helicopter lights, and there wasn’t really much to see. But we could hear the rotors one second, and then (a) loud crash the next. Then silence.” >>click to read<< 06:53
A Sinking Trawler Is Saved
When Capt. Chuck Morici’s boat was sinking 15 miles from Montauk Point on Nov. 15, he did what people do in 2023: He made a short video. Orange haze from a smoke flare he had thrown in the water swirled around the boat. He pointed the camera below deck to show water, rising rapidly. “There she goes. I just want to cry. We’re going down.” Minutes later, after the Coast Guard had arrived, he made a second video. “You might not like the Coast Guard when they measure your fish, but you sure like them when they show up and save your ass,” he said before panning to a Coast Guardsman descending below deck. “I was fishing next to Capt. Dave Aripotch in heavy currents. I told him I was having trouble and asked him to come pick up my crew. I put them in survival suits immediately. Dave backed up, stern to stern, and he took care of my guys.” >>click to read<< 15:21
F/V Tyhawk: Report says deck modification led to fatal capsizing of First Nation fishing vessel
Canada’s transportation safety agency says modifications to the deck of the Mi’kmaq fishing boat Tyhawk led to the fatal capsizing in 2021. The Transportation Safety Board says in a report released today that Transport Canada needs to better define the rules on stability assessments of fishing boats after vessels undergo “major” modifications. The recommendation is one of three the board released in relation to the capsizing off western Cape Breton on April 3, 2021, which occurred on the first day of crab season. The report says the boat, based in Elsipogtog First Nation, accumulated water as it was struck by waves and that traps shifted on its deck, causing the vessel to roll over. >>click to read<< More, Search Results for F/V Tryhawk >Click here< 12:58
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 83′ Offshore Lobster Boat, Permit, Traps, and Buoys.
To review specifications, information, and 35 photos’, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series, >click here< 11:11
First National Fishing Remembrance Day announced
Today on World Fisheries Day, maritime welfare charities have joined forces to support a new annual National Fishing Remembrance Day for those who have lost their lives while fishing at sea. The first National Fishing Remembrance Day will take place on Sunday 12 May 2024. Fishing to catch, and bring to land, our much-needed seafood is still one of the most dangerous jobs in the UK with recent tragedies at sea occurring in north east Scotland in September and off the south coast of England in October 2023. UK Fisheries Minister Mark Spencer said: “Our fishermen not only help to feed the nation, but are at the heart of communities around our coastline. National Fishing Remembrance Day will give loved ones, coastal communities and the wider public a chance to commemorate the lives lost at sea and pay tribute to their valuable service. >>click to read<< 10:03
3 dead and 3 missing after landslide rips through remote Alaska fishing community
The slide, estimated to be 450 feet (137 meters) wide, occurred at about 9 p.m. Monday during a significant rain and windstorm near Wrangell, an island community of 2,000 people some 155 miles (250 kilometers) south of the state capital of Juneau. Rescue crews found the body of a girl in an initial search and late Tuesday the bodies of two adults were found by a drone operator. Searchers used a cadaver-sniffing dog and heat-sensing drones to search for two children and one adult unaccounted for after the disaster, while the Coast Guard and other vessels looked along a waterfront littered with rocks, trees and mud. >>click to read<< 08:53
Fishing industry’s fight against offshore wind farms reaches far and wide
Off the coast of Montauk, New York is some of the most fertile fishing grounds in all of North America. It is an area that has been sustainably fished for over 400 years, feeding countless Americans along the way. It also happens to be an area where energy companies, some foreign-owned, are trying to install offshore wind farms. Political agendas and lobbyist pull strings have put that sustainable fishing at risk. As a result, the Vineyard Wind project has embroiled generational fishermen into a lawsuit, and a battle for their own profession. Roy Maynard of the Texas Public Policy Foundation says there has not even been proper checks and balances. >>click to read<< 07:26
MCFA’s Fishermen Feeding Mainers Program has served more than one million meals to families in Maine
In just three years since its inception, Fishermen Feeding Mainers has served more than one million meals to families in communities throughout Maine. The program was launched by the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association (MCFA), a local nonprofit focused on rebuilding the fisheries of the Gulf of Maine and sustaining Maine’s fishing communities for future generations. Since October 2020, the program has supplied fresh local seafood direct from Maine fishermen to more than 250 food banks and over 30 school districts, providing countless Mainers with a healthy, high-quality and free source of protein. More than $2.2 million has been infused back into the Maine economy through the program to date. The program was launched during the COVID-19 pandemic to help sustain fishermen and families in Maine. When the food system and restaurants closed, many of Maine’s fishermen, who had already seen declining value in their fleets, were not able to sell the fish they caught, leaving them unable to support their families. >>click to read<< 18:24
Nova Scotia lobster pound owner wins appeal of ‘grossly disproportionate’ 2-year suspension
The Nova Scotia Supreme Court has overturned a two-year ban from the lobster business imposed on a pound owner caught with lobster harvested under an Indigenous licence that does not permit selling the catch. Justice Pierre Muise said the penalty imposed on Tyler Nickerson, owner of Fisher Direct in Shag Harbour, N.S., was overkill. “The grossly disproportionate severity of the sanction imposed in the case at hand, and the lack of any discernible reasonable justification for it, make it such that the minister’s decision was arbitrary,” Muise said in a decision released Tuesday. >>click to read<< 15:08
