Daily Archives: June 27, 2024
Seagull makes nest, lays eggs on Point Judith fisherman’s boat
Since 2003, Paddy McGlade has been the captain of F/V Enterprise, his 70-foot-long stern dragger that he navigates while fishing in the ocean. “We catch Whiting, squid, fluke, everyday,” said McGlade. “We probably get up at 1 o’clock in the morning, leave at 2, and we’re back in at 1.” While they have lots of stories from out at sea, a new one has emerged. About two weeks ago McGlade noticed a nest on top of his boat near the cabin. “Paddy said, ‘There’s a seagull nest on the roof!’” said Shawn Overend, a crewmate. “We have been watching it ever since.” “The female usually flies off when we go fishing in the morning, and then when we come back at 12 during the day, she’ll land right on top of the boat and sit on the nest,” said McGlade. “Then when she is back another seagull, I think it’s the male usually flies over to the boat and hangs around like protection.” Photos, Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 19:39
Former Lobsterman Thrives With Own Biz, G & C Marine Services
G & C Marine Services Inc., a full-service marine construction company located in Norwalk, Conn., is run by company founder Gary Wetmore and his son, Charlie, who have been in the business for approximately 20 years. In addition to the marine construction side of the business, which includes pile driving, masonry, maintenance and repair, dock building/carpentry and marine salvage, the company also owns a few small commercial fishing vessels targeting a few small commercial fishing vessels such as black sea bass. “Our marine service company has been very successful and that’s quite fortunate for me because it supports my fishing habit,” Gary said with a smile. Years ago, Gary was a lobsterman, however as water temperatures increased, the lobster population migrated north, leaving Gary looking for alternatives to support himself. He took a job working for a marine contractor in the Norwalk area. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:18
Lifting Up the Patron Saint of Netmakers, Shipbuilders, and Fishermen
The 28th Provincetown Portuguese Festival begins Friday, June 28 with live music and dancing in Portuguese Square on Ryder Street. During the three-day-long celebration, Capt. Kenny Silva will lead a fishing derby on MacMillan Pier, fishermen will tell stories on Ryder Street where there will also be a crafts fair and poetry, and the Knights of Columbus will hold a soup tasting under a tent at the Bas Relief Park behind Provincetown Town Hall. But for at least some people, none of this will compare to the event happening for the 77th time, the Blessing of the Fleet at MacMillan Pier. “Everyone confuses the festival for the blessing,” says Provincetown fisherman Alex Brown. “The festival leads into the blessing, but the blessing is a separate event — it’s always the last Sunday of the month.” Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:14
Fishing on an ocean ‘antiquity’
The Seamen’s Bethel is a historic landmark: It’s included on the National Register of Historic Places, a list managed by the National Park Service. Some sites on that list are federally protected because they were designated National Monuments by a U.S. president under the Antiquities Act. The Seamen’s Bethel is not considered a National Monument. But bizarrely, President Barack Obama did declare 3.2 million nearby acres of ocean to be a National Monument, preventing fishermen from fishing there. That’s just one of many indignities dealt by the government to fishermen like Jimmy Kearney as they work to make a hard living at sea. The Antiquities Act “has been transformed into a power without any discernable limit to set aside vast and amorphous expanses of terrain above and below the sea,” the Chief Justice concluded. Why does it matter? Because the government is making life harder for commercial fishermen who work an already-grueling job. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:57
Increase to northern cod allocation ‘slap in the face’ to harvesters, FFAW president says
“It’s absolutely ridiculous. It’s probably the worst decision I’ve ever seen out of Ottawa, and I’ve seen some beauts,” said Pretty, who leads the Fish, Food and Allied Workers union. Federal Fisheries Minister Diane Lebouthillier on Wednesday announced an increase to the amount of total allowable catch (TAC) for northern cod in a fishing zone labelled Zone 2J3KL, which stretches from the southeast corner of Newfoundland to the Labrador coastline. Pretty said his largest concern is the fishery being switched from a designation of a stewardship fishery, which helped protect the stock, to a commercial fishery. He argues it brings private operators and harvesters from other countries back to the table too soon and involves parties that caused the moratorium in the first place. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:06
Salvage crews complete recovery of Aleutian Storm, and find a surprise
The last of the wreckage of the Aleutian Storm has been hauled away from south Salmon Creek Beach after final salvage operations that yielded a surprise about the boat’s construction that helps explain some of the challenges when it ran aground. An unusual, 4-inch thick and 4-foot-wide slab of steel that ran 36 feet along the bottom of the commercial fishing vessel’s keel may be the reason it was immovable after it grounded in the surf Feb. 9 south of Bodega Dunes Campground, a representative of Parker Diving Service said. “It anchored that vessel into the sand so when they were either trying to turn it and pull back to sea in those first couple of days and have a tug tow it, it kept snapping the line,” Nunn said. “I know the owner tried desperately to get it back to sea.” Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:31
