Daily Archives: May 2, 2024
The Bodega Bay Fisherman’s Festival has honored local fishing community for 50 years
The Bodega Bay Fisherman’s Festival, happening May 4-5, will continue a 50-year tradition of honoring local fishers and the history of the county’s coastal fishing village. Bodega Bay’s annual festival, part community fundraiser, part celebration of the start of salmon fishing season, began in 1973 as a revival of a 1950s-era fete called “Discovery Day.” According to the Rancho Bodega Historical Society, the people of Bodega Bay started the Discovery Day Festival in 1958 to raise money for the town’s new volunteer firehouse. The event, originally held in October, honored the memory of Lt. Juan Francisco de la Bodega y Quadra, the Spanish naval officer and explorer of the Pacific Northwest who the town of Bodega Bay is named for. At the first Discovery Day celebration, a boat parade around the inner harbor was led by Eddie, Steve and William Smith, members of the local Miwok Smith family who began Bodega Bay’s commercial fishing industry in the 1920s. 54 photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 18:39
Letter to the Editor | Linda Pitcher’s ‘The Fleet’ created a lasting impact on Gig Harbor Fishermen
When Linda Pitcher arrived in Gig Harbor a few years ago, she brought with her a PhD in anthropology from Berkley. She stumbled upon our small community and its rich history of fishing, eventually becoming a volunteer at the History Museum. That’s where I first met her, sharing anecdotes about my family’s deep-rooted connection to commercial fishing. My grandfathers were among the early crew members at the turn of the 20th century. Then my Dad’s father made his mark, purchasing his first boat, the San Marco, and later partnering in the Mermaid II. Linda spent several years meticulously piecing together information on all the commercial fishing boats that operated out of Gig Harbor. It was a daunting task, and she enlisted the help of Lita Dawn Stanton (Ancich).by Ken Malich, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:47
Scallop Research Set-Aside Program to Support 14 New Projects; Several 2024 Announcements Include Multi-Year Awards
The Atlantic Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program will support 14 new projects that were selected from the 2024 RSA solicitation. Several awards will support multi-year research, including a four-year regional survey effort. The set-aside harvest is expected to generate $22 million in revenue. Of that total, $5 million will fund the targeted research and $17 million will compensate industry partners who harvest the set-aside scallops. To determine the award amounts, the price of sea scallops was projected to average $14 per pound of meats. Charts, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:38
What Canada can learn from Maine’s approach to the lucrative baby eel fishery
Authorities in Maine say they have figured out how to regulate a fishery that is so out of control in Canada, the federal government has shut it down this year — the third shutdown in five years — putting 1,100 people out of work. Baby eels, also known as elvers or glass eels, are generally fished in rivers and streams in Maine, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and a handful of Caribbean islands. They’re shipped live to Asia, where they’re grown to maturity and eaten — the dish is so popular it led to overfishing in Japan and Europe, leaving seafood wholesalers looking to Canada. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:07
Man Of Fortune: Beloved Fisherman to Receive Memorial Statue at Shem Creek
When dawn breaks on Shem Creek, there will soon be a glimmer on the water like never before. Atop the boardwalk that connects both sides of the creek will stand a bronze, life-size statue of a man who is now remembered as a Lowcountry legend. His name is Captain Wayne Magwood and soon his legacy will forever be enshrined as a testament to the role he played in preserving the area’s rich maritime history. Magwood’s life, career and family lineage have revolved around Shem Creek for the past century. In 1930, his father’s cousin, Captain William Magwood, was the first fisherman to bring ocean shrimp into Mount Pleasant and laid the foundation for the commercial industry to be built at Shem Creek. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:55
A Renewed Focus on Fresh Fish
Dock to Dish, a restaurant-supported fishery cooperative founded in Montauk in 2012, has new owners and a renewed focus on getting fresh-from-the-boat seafood directly into the kitchens of restaurants across the East End and the New York area. And the fact that most of the owners are also fishermen doesn’t hurt. The six fishing families who own Inlet Seafood in Montauk took over Dock to Dish in November along with K.C. Boyle, who is overseeing day-to-day operations. “The idea is just like the previous iteration of Dock to Dish: Work to source the best ingredients on earth,” Mr. Boyle said Friday while making deliveries in New York City. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:53
State backs lobstermen in urging regulators to reevaluate changes to minimum size
The rules, which are set to go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025, will increase the minimum size from 3 1/4 inches to 3 5/16 inches, on the gauges that lobstermen use to measure lobsters and determine whether they are allowed to harvest them. A second increase would take effect two years later, bringing the minimum to 3 3/8 inches. The rules also affect the vents in traps that allow undersized lobsters to escape. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission says it is making the changes to preserve the long-term future of the lobster population in the Gulf of Maine, which federal data show has sharply dropped. Lobstermen also question the accuracy of the federal data – saying that it was corrected over a small and abnormal time frame that doesn’t indicate the reality of population trends. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:23
