Daily Archives: March 8, 2024
Construction Worker/Commercial Fisherman David Earl Finifrock Jr. of Washington State, has passed away
Earl Finifrock Jr., born May 1,1966 in Ogden, Utah to father, David Finifrock Sr., currently of Tracyton, Washington and mother Cynthia Finifrock currently of Gig Harbor, Washington, passed away from a massive heart attack on Friday, February 16, 2024, at a construction site he was working on in Key Center, Washington. David was also a successful commercial fisherman, spending most summers for the past several years on his 50′ trawler, the “Sea Queen”, in the waters near Wrangell, Alaska, fishing for salmon. Most people who knew David would describe him as a good and honest friend, nephew, and cousin, a great craftsman, a wonderful son to his parents, and generally “one of the best guys you would ever want to know”. more, >>click to read<< 20:39
On Sunday The Fleet Will Be Blessed
St. Raphael’s will hold its regular Sunday Service at 10 AM at the Erickson and Jensen Shrimp docks (1100 Shrimpboat Lane off Main Street). The Blessing Service will take place at 11 AM. This is a short service of prayers, songs, and readings followed by the Blessing of the Fleet where Reverend Rowe will walk along the docks and personally bless each boat. After the Blessing, St. Raphael’s will be serving its famous peel and eat shrimp. Thank you to Ellie Bunting from the Estero Island Historical Society for sharing these 2 classic photos. more, >>click to read<< 17:35
Fisherman drowned after being dragged overboard by ‘chain weight’
The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service (COPFS) concluded their fatal accident inquiry into the death of John Wilson who died almost three years ago. The inquiry found that the 64-year-old, who lived in St Abbs, was pulled overboard after his foot became entangled in a chain weight on August 28, 2021. Mr. Wilson was on board his boat the Harriet J near Meikle Poo Craig when the incident happened. Following the inquiry, the Sheriff recommended that crew members of single person operated fishing vessels should wear Personal Locator Beacons and Personal Floatation Devices at all times whilst at sea. Photos, more, >>click to read<< 14:38
Young Donegal Fisherwoman Pleads for Future of Family Business
One of Donegal’s youngest fishers has criticized the Marine Minister for not doing enough to protect the inshore industry. Arranmore islander Muireann Kavanagh, aged 14, fishes pollack with lines alongside her father and uncles. The young fisherwoman was so stunned by a zero-catch scenario recommended to rebuild pollack stock that she wrote a personal letter to Minister Charlie McConalogue. She writes: “I fish and help maintain a boat my grandfather built by himself and his friends on Arranmore Island. This boat has provided a living for my uncles, my grandfather and my grand uncle. Over the last number of years this boat has been denied her heritage. There is no way that this boat or any of the remaining boats on the Island have destroyed the fish stocks.” photos, more, >>click to read<< 11:44
Climate change risk low to moderate for billion-dollar Nova Scotia lobster fishery, study says
According to a new climate change vulnerability assessment of the billion-dollar Nova Scotia lobster fishery, warming temperatures over the next three decades pose a low to moderate risk for lobsters. “The cumulative outcome suggests that the provincial lobster fishery is largely not at high risk,” says the Centre for Applied Marine Research (CMAR). The provincial government agency undertook the assessment as part of adaptation planning for a key industry. Seafood is Nova Scotia’s largest export with lobster accounting for nearly two thirds of landed value. Seafood landings were valued at $1.65 billion in 2021 more, >>click to read<< 10:38
Leading Alaska legislators propose task force to help rescue a seafood industry ‘in a tailspin’
Russian fish flooding global markets and other economic forces beyond the state’s border have created dire conditions for Alaska’s seafood industry. Now key legislators are seeking to establish a task force to come up with some responses to the low prices, lost market share, lost jobs and lost income being suffered by fishers, fishing companies and fishing-related communities. The measure, Senate Concurrent Resolution 10, was introduced on March 1 and is sponsored by the Senate Finance Committee. “Alaska’s seafood industry is in a tailspin from facing unprecedented challenges,” said the measure’s sponsor statement issued by the committee’s co-chairs: Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka; Sen. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel; and Sen. Donny Olson, D-Golovin. The measure is also being promoted by Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak. more, >>click to read<< 09:55
Saint Helena seafood company recalls landing a role in ‘Forrest Gump,’ still has receipts
In the fall of 1993, a film crew in search of shrimp pulled up to a seafood market on the island’s northeastern edge. They would need about 4,000 pounds, they told Gay Seafood Co. co-owner Charles Gay. Paramount Pictures would pay the bill. “We can do that,” Gay said. The production team bought just over 6,000 pounds in total for the making of “Forrest Gump.” Thirty years later, the film is cemented as an American classic, and Gay still has the receipts that prove Gay Fish Co.’s role in its production. more, >>click to read<< 08:41
‘We cannot fish in a wind farm’: Local fishermen file lawsuit over offshore wind project
Many people in Morro Bay have mixed feelings about a planned offshore wind project. Now, a lawsuit has been filed. The Morro Bay Commercial Fishermen’s Organization and the Port San Luis Commercial Fisherman’s Association claim some rules and regulations related to the project have not been followed. The Morro Bay Commercial Fishermen’s Organization was incorporated in 1972 and has around 100 members. “We’ve been here for a while and we’ve got an incredibly good reputation in all of those years, and we are very proud of it,” said Jeremiah O’Brien, Morro Bay Commercial Fishermen’s Organization Vice President. more, >>click to read<< 06:52
