Monthly Archives: December 2024
In once tranquil N.S. town, intimidation in the lobster industry now all too common
Standing by a bullet hole in his dining room wall, lobster buyer Geoffrey Jobert says such attacks have become an all-too-familiar reality in Nova Scotia’s largest fishery. The 30-year-old and his younger brother came to the area from Halifax to take over his father’s processing plant five years ago and now employ 100 people. He’s enjoyed making friends in the francophone town and paddling along a stunning beach near his home when he has a few spare hours. But last year, threats started after he agreed to buy the catch of a licensed, commercial harvester who was no longer willing to provide his catch to facilities allegedly purchasing illegally caught lobster. And Jobert soon learned he wasn’t the only person in the communities along the Acadian shore who experienced late-night attacks. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:35
Norway, EU and UK conclude 2025 fisheries deal
A tripartite agreement on quotas and management of joint North Sea stocks has been reached between Norway, the EU and the UK. ‘I am satisfied that we have a fisheries agreement with the EU and Britain. The agreement we have now entered into means that we agree on quotas for stocks we manage together in the North Sea and is important for all three parties. The agreement contributes to sustainable management,’ says Norway’s Minister of Fisheries and Oceans Marianne Sivertsen Næss. The parties also agree to continue closing the spawning grounds for cod in 2025. The closures will take place in the first quarter. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:07
“THE FISH THIEF: A Great Lakes Mystery”
“THE FISH THIEF,” narrated by Oscar-winning actor J.K. Simmons, delves into the extraordinary effort to uncover the cause of a devastating environmental crisis. Was it overfishing, pollutants, or something else? Scientists on both sides of the border worked tirelessly to solve the mystery. In a dramatic eleventh-hour breakthrough, they discovered the true culprit: the invasive sea lamprey. This notorious predator arrived in the Great Lakes in the early twentieth century, triggering an ecological crisis and nearly wiping out populations of lake trout, whitefish, and other cornerstone species. The impact reverberated across the region, ruining local industries, damaging small town economies and indigenous communities, and destroying the livelihoods of people on both sides of the U.S. and Canadian border. A dedicated group of international scientists, policymakers, and conservationists banded together in a race against time to address this ecological invasion. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:42
California’s Dungeness crab season delayed again until Dec. 31 at the earliest
Will New Year’s revelers get to ring in 2025 with fresh California Dungeness crab? It’s not looking likely. The California Department of Fish and Wildlife on Friday ordered another delay in the commercial Dungeness crab fishing season, the third so far this year. After an assessment this week, officials determined that the risk of migrating whales becoming entangled in crab fishing gear remains high for most of the coastal waters from the Mendocino County line south to the Mexican border, director Charlton H. Bonham announced. California Department of Fish and Wildlife officials have scheduled another assessment for the week of Dec. 15, which if enough whales have moved south, could give crabbers enough time to set traps for a Dec. 31 season opener. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:35
The largest offshore wind energy farm causes shock: The strange effect caused by one of its turbines
The Dogger Bank Wind Farm, planned to be the largest offshore wind farm worldwide, recently became the news headline, but not in the way expected. Notably, a recent major failure of turbines has caused people to pay attention to the project and ask questions. On August 22, a catastrophic blade failure was experienced on one of the turbines at the Dogger Bank A section, which is still under construction. GE Vernova, the manufacturer of the turbines, said that this failure was not due to installation or manufacturing defects but occurred during the commissioning process. The Dogger Bank incident is similar to a blade problem in the year at a turbine owned by GE Vernova in the United States. These recurrent problems indicate that manufacturers and engineers must enhance the installation procedure and working standards to achieve turbine durability. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:445
DFO poised to shake up fishery for tiny eels in ‘devastating’ blow to licence holders
The federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans is poised to impose a major shakeup on the lucrative but problem-plagued Maritime fishery for juvenile eels, stripping most commercial operations of nearly all their quota and handing it to individual fishermen and First Nations. In a letter Thursday, the department proposes that six licence holders, many of which pioneered the industry and slogged through years of low prices before the recent boom, will lose 80 to 90 per cent of the quota they fished before 2022. The remaining three will see cuts of about 60 per cent. “The minister and DFO has taken this fishery, which has provided great-paying jobs and community support for decades, and they’ve basically destroyed it,” said Stanley King, whose company Atlantic Elver Fishery Ltd. will lose 81 per cent of its quota. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 17:57
F/V Wind Walker – ‘Doesn’t even seem real’: Friend remembers lost Coos Bay fisherman
Five men are still missing and presumed dead after their fishing boat capsized off the Alaskan coast early Sunday morning. One of the fishermen, 22-year-old Jake Hannah, is from Coos Bay. His close friend and fellow fisherman Ben Martinez-Yates tells KOIN 6 he’s still in disbelief after hearing the news. “Usually, this time of year up there, the weather gets really, really nasty. The weather is just unpredictable, and boats ice up and stuff happens,” said Martinez-Yates. Hannah was aboard the 50-foot “Wind Walker” when it made an emergency radio call near Juneau very early Sunday. “When they went to turn around, they flipped over and the boat capsized,” said Martinez-Yates. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:43
Shrimp sham: Investigation finds over 80% of “Gulf shrimp” sold on Mississippi Coast is imported
After Mississippi Gulf Coast staple restaurant Mary Mahoney’s Old French House came under fire for fraudulent branding of seafood, a new third-party investigation has found that mislabeling imported seafood is more rule than the exception for the region’s celebrated food scene. SeaD Consulting, a firm that specializes in genetic testing to monitor mislabeling and substitution fraud in the seafood industry, conducted a comprehensive investigation into the potential misrepresentation of shrimp served across coastal Mississippi. “Consumers come to the coast expecting the finest, freshest Gulf seafood, but what they’re being served often falls far short of that,” COO of SeaD Consulting Erin Williams said in a press release. “This isn’t just about mislabeling; it’s about eroding consumer trust, undercutting local business, and threatening the livelihood of hardworking Gulf shrimpers.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:56‘Radio went dead as he was giving the mayday’: witness recalls hearing moments fishing boat sank
A tugboat crew member who was on a vessel near where the F/V Wind Walker capsized described the mayday call that came over the radio around 12:09 a.m. Sunday. “The radio went dead as he was giving the mayday,” Paradigm Marine first mate Glenn Jahnke said, describing the voice over the radio attempting to answer the Coast Guard’s questions, such as a description of the boat and the number of crew on board, suddenly go silent. “His mayday consisted of ‘mayday, mayday,’ then a pause and then another three maydays, Coast Guard responded. As I recall, ‘We’re on our side, taking in water and I have two people in the water,’” Jahnke added. Jahnke said after reporting the survival suit to the Coast Guard, he observed crews locating something else in the water. “They did find something that appeared to be an un-inflated raft kind of caught up in a jumble of flotsam,” Jahnke said. Video, links, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:42
Historic MS Coast boat is saved after captain’s death. His family has hopes for its future
The Linda K sat for days near the shore of Deer Island, the water seeping in. It’s captain, esteemed shrimper Richard Kopszywa, died tragically last week after he went to work on the boat in the harbor. The 75-year-old devoted his days to restoring the historic vessel, and he never shrimped alone anymore, his family said. They do not know what happened. But through their grief, the Kopszywa family is determined to save the boat. One day, they hope to donate it to Biloxi’s Maritime and Seafood Industry Museum, where Kopszywa is in the Hall of Fame. “That’s the logical place,” said his wife, Shelley. “It has to go there.” lots of links, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:48
Capsized fishing boat off Alaska coast included Oregon crew member
Before Jake Hannah, 22, left for his commercial fishing trip on Saturday night, he called his mother, who lives in his hometown of Coos Bay. “He said, ‘Hey mom, we’re getting ready to go out, I love you,’” That was our promise, “You always call me before you leave, and you always call me when you get home.” But the second call never came, she said. Instead, she learned her son’s boat, the F/V Wind Walker, had capsized in the stormy waters off the coast of Sitka, Alaska, with four other people on board. “I thought, ‘God please no, let these boys be safe,’” Carol Hannah said. “It wasn’t just Jake that I was worried about; it was the whole crew.” In his home state of Oregon, Jake Hannah continues to inspire people to remember who he was before he left for Alaska. “He was an all-around awesome guy; you couldn’t ask for a better friend,” Carol Hannah said. “He was the best son a mom could ever want.” Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:18
A Fundraiser in Support of F/V Wind Walker Capt. Travis Kapp’s family after tragedy
The Truth Behind the Menu: Study finds widespread mislabeled shrimp in Coast restaurants
Docked shrimp boats, and empty factories. It’s a sight many in the shrimp industry are dealing with because of the imports flooding the market. “It’s really hard to stay in business, and to stay afloat,” says Ocean Springs Seafood Market Inc. Vice President Bethany Fayard. And it doesn’t help that restaurants are still advertising imported shrimp as domestic. “It’s a dying industry. We have let imports basically hurt the fisherman in Mississippi,” says State Representative Brent Anderson. A seafood consulting group known as SeaD was asked by an unnamed organization to look into this issue. The results were not entirely shocking to Fayard and Anderson, who both push for stricter labeling laws in the state. “In Biloxi, we have a situation which we weren’t coming in to test for, but we discovered quite rapidly, and that is the mislabeling of the Royal Red Shrimp,” says SeaD CEO David Williams. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:52
F/V Wind Walker – ‘Everybody is heartbroken’: Families of 5 missing crewmembers from boat capsizing share their stories
The families of the five crew members missing after their boat capsized in Icy Strait are opening up on who their loved ones are as they anxiously await updates while holding out hope that the men may still be alive somewhere. The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search Monday after the fishing vessel Wind Walker capsized early Sunday near Point Couverden, the southern tip of a small island in Southeast Alaska. Always a lover of fishing and the ocean, Jacob’s mother Carol Hannah said he moved to Alaska from their home in Oregon roughly two years ago. She described her son as always being the life of the party who could light up a room with his larger-than-life personality. Only in Alaska for six months, 34-year-old Emilio “EJ” had only recently taken up a career in fishing, with this trip being his first time out on a boat, according to his aunt Stephanie Molt. She said the five men had been fishing for black cod before the vessel was reported to have capsized.Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:47
Gearing up: Crabbers get ready
Crab pots are beginning to fill area ports, a sign that the state’s most lucrative commercial fishery is preparing for the season ahead. “We already have 200 staged down at the dock,” said commercial fisherman Florian Mumford, who will fish 600 pots this season total from the F/V Vengeance. Mumford was busy alongside crew Erik Ervest, Mark Hippensteel and Devlin Moline prepping pots Friday, Nov. 15, inside a covered building at the Ilwaco Boatyard. The official start of the 2024 Washington commercial Dungeness crab season could come as early as Dec. 1, if the crab pass preseason test fishery results for meat recovery and shell hardness. The tests are conducted in four rounds by WDFW, beginning in October and continuing through November in Washington, Oregon and California. The WDFW uses contracted coastal commercial crab vessels to conduct the test fishing. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:39
Missing crew from Alaska fishing boat identified
The U.S. Coast Guard has released the names of the five fishermen who went missing off the southeast Alaska coast. This comes two days after the search for their bodies and the boat has been called off. Early Sunday morning, a few miles off the coast of Juneau, Alaska, the F/V Wind Walker crew came over the radio. Just twelve miles away on a tugboat, Glenn Jahnke was serving as a mate on watch overnight. He said he heard the fear and urgency in the crew’s voice. “He said they rolled on their side, were taking on water, two people were in the water. Then the Coast Guard asked a question and there was no response after that,” Jahnke said. That was the last time the five Sitka-based crew members were heard from. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:54
F/V Wind Walker: Utah man, 4 others missing after fishing boat capsizes off Alaska coast
A Utah man and four others are missing after their fishing boat capsized early Sunday morning off Couverden Point, Alaska, about 24 miles southwest of Juneau. According to a press release by the U.S. Coast Guard, the search for the missing fishermen was suspended Monday morning, one day after they received a Mayday call that the vessel was overturning. Among those aboard the commercial fishing vessel Wind Walker was Alex Zamantakis, 28, who grew up in Magna. A GoFundMe account set up by family members said funds will go Zamantakis’ girlfriend, and their six-month-old son, Alex. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:33
First Circuit likely to save the whales despite lobstermen’s complaints
An epic sea battle unfolded at the First Circuit Tuesday as Massachusetts fishermen tried to harpoon federal regulations that protect the North Atlantic right whale. But it appeared the judges were on the whales’ side and, as in “Moby Dick,” the fishermen may end up shipwrecked. At issue is a federal rule that limits lobster and Jonah crab fisheries’ use of buoy lines, which can entangle and kill whales. The fishermen’s lawyer, Daniel Cragg, told the judges that the rule resulted from Congress making a “drafting failure,” but the judges seemed incredulous. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:52
Ocean City continues with lawsuit following US Wind receiving final approval
US Wind, Inc. announced Tuesday that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has granted final approval for the company’s Construction and Operations Plan, completing the federal permitting process for its offshore wind project. However, the project has faced significant opposition from the Ocean City community and other local organizations. The Town of Ocean City, joined by groups such as the Worcester County Commissioners, Coastal Association of Realtors and the Commercial and Recreational Fishing Industry, say they will continue to move forward with a lawsuit against BOEM to challenge its approval of US Wind’s project. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:41
Families of 5 missing crew members worried after Coast Guard suspends search for capsized fishing boat
The U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search Monday after the fishing vessel F/V Wind Walker capsized early Sunday near Point Couverden, the southern tip of a small island in Southeast Alaska. Coast Guard officials confirmed Tuesday the names of the five crew members of the ship who are missing after the boat capsized: Travis Kapp, Jacob Hannah, Alex Ireland, Emilio Celaya-Talamanter, Michael Brown. Family members of Alex Ireland said Alex preferred to use the last name Zamantakis. His father Mike Zamantakis said they are struggling with the news that the search was suspended. “My hope is that last radio communication from the captain of the ship saying that the men were capsized but they were trying to get in the lifeboat,” Zamantakis said. “They haven’t found the lifeboat either, so that’s my glimmer, that’s my sliver of hope that Alex and his buds will be sitting under some logs or some leaves on a beach someplace trying to stay warm till they’re rescued.”Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:24
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 49′ Fiberglass Gillnetter/Lobster Boat w/ Permits, Cat 3406B
To review specifications, information, and 7 photos’, >click here<. To see all the boats in this series >click here< 06:10
NOAA Fisheries Announces Closure of Commercial Atlantic Mackerel Fishery
NOAA Fisheries has projected that 80 percent of the Atlantic mackerel domestic annual harvest (DAH) was harvested by November 29, 2024. Therefore, effective 0001 local time on December 6, 2024, limited access mackerel vessels may not take and retain, possess, or land more than 10,000 lb of mackerel per trip at any time, and may only land mackerel once per calendar day, through 24:00 hr local time on December 31, 2024. Additionally, open access mackerel vessels may not take and retain, possess, or land more than 2,500 lb. of mackerel per trip at any time, and may only land mackerel once per calendar day, through 24:00 hr local time on December 31, 2024. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:12
Crabby start to southwestern N.S. lobster season
Jonah crabs instead of lobster have been filling traps set by many southwestern Nova Scotia lobster fishermen fishing in lobster fishing area 34 the first week of the season. “Across the board, we’re hearing a massive biomass of female Jonah crab right now is loading up a lot of the traps, which is a pain for the crew,” says Heather Mulock, executive director of the Coldwater Lobster Association. “It’s always discouraging to see traps full of something you don’t want. One of the biggest concerns this year is the amount of crab.” Mulock said it’s not unusual for crews to have some crabs in their traps, but this year is different. “I’ve talked with enough fishermen, some who have been fishing 30 or 40 years, and they have never seen this much crab in their entire fishing career, so things are changing. Hopefully, this is another anomaly for LFA 34,” she said. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:31
Louisiana Shrimpers face crisis as cheap imports threaten $1.3 billion industry
Louisiana’s shrimp industry, an essential part of the state’s economy and cultural identity, is under serious threat. A flood of cheap imported shrimp is driving prices to record lows, leaving local shrimpers fighting to survive. Without swift action, this generations-old way of life could vanish, taking with it jobs, traditions, and a vital piece of Louisiana’s coastal economy. Family-owned shrimping businesses, often passed down through generations, are struggling to stay afloat. The combination of plummeting prices and rising costs is forcing many to consider leaving the industry altogether. The potential collapse of the shrimping industry would devastate coastal towns like Grand Isle, Delcambre, and Pointe à la Hache, where much of the local economy depends on shrimping.
more,>>CLICK TO READ<< 08:52
Offshore industry hails LED scallop fishing drive
The Offshore Wind Industry Council has welcomed plans to fund a new environmentally friendly method of catching scallops – using underwater LED lights. It is one of five projects announced by the Offshore Wind Evidence and Change Programme (OWEC) as part of its 2024 funding round, and the aim is to enable more diversified fishing around offshore wind farms. The 18-month project will explore ways to co-locate scallop fisheries and offshore wind farms together, using alternative fishing methods to the traditional practice of dredging along the seabed which disturbs marine habitats and species. These will now be rolled out at a regional level by fishing crews in Scarborough, Bridlington and Whitby who fish around and within offshore windfarms. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:20
‘Stricken’ Devon fishing industry faces ‘labyrinth’ of red tape
The government has been urged to overhaul visa regulations for overseas workers as a way of helping the ‘stricken’ Devon fishing industry. It’s claimed the trade, which is one of the county’s highest-profile industries, faces a ‘labyrinth’ of red tape. The port of Brixham currently lands fish of the highest value, but the area’s MP has told a top-level debate on the industry that fishing communities need help urgently. Liberal Democrat MP for South Devon, Caroline Voaden, told a meeting at Westminster Hall that promises made in the run-up to a ‘botched’ Brexit had been broken, and an avalanche of red tape had since engulfed the industry. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:20
Coast Guard suspends search for 5 missing fishermen in Southeast Alaska
The U.S. Coast Guard on Monday morning suspended the search for survivors from a Sitka-based commercial fishing boat that capsized early Sunday morning with five people aboard. The Coast Guard said the search for the 52-foot F/V Wind Walker continued for nearly 24 hours and covered more than 108 square nautical miles. The boat’s crew issued a mayday call at 12:07 a.m. Sunday “reporting they were overturning,” the Coast Guard said. Watchstanders in Juneau received no additional response, they said, but the boat’s emergency beacon signal was located near Point Couverden in Icy Strait, southwest of Juneau. On Sunday, the Coast Guard said searchers had located seven cold-water immersion suits and two strobe lights but no signs of any of the people aboard the vessel. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 17:02
N.S. lobster dealer granted bail in buyer intimidation case
A 65-year-old lobster dealer from southwest Nova Scotia charged with several counts of intimidation linked to the industry has been granted bail but is barred from dozens of fishing wharves and forbidden from going to almost every lobster wholesaler in the province. Eric David Thibault was arrested last week after RCMP alleged he and his son threatened a lobster buyer whose home near Meteghan, N.S., was shot up days earlier. Thibault also faces previous charges, including allegations he threatened a lobster fisherman who was seeking to change buyers, and three counts of witness intimidation from January involving two people at the harbour in Meteghan. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:43
Fisheries Officers Strike Over Safety Concerns
Fisheries Officers across NSW have begun industrial action over safety concerns after a number of violent incidents where they were shot at, threatened with knives and baseball bats and had cars driven at them. The Officers are demanding they’re issued with protective equipment like stab-proof vests and capsicum spray. Fisheries Officers are now avoiding certain areas and individuals at the very time fears have emerged that crooks, poachers and organised criminals like outlaw bikie gangs have taken over the state’s rivers, oceans and estuaries and are now plundering valuable species like abalone and rock lobster. Without direct Police assistance on operations the Officers are now refusing to complete inspections of commercial trawlers at nighttime. The Department of Primary Industries, which employs Fisheries Officers, attempted to force them back into dangerous night work earlier this week by applying to the NSW Industrial Relations Commission but the Commission refused to make such an order. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:38
Legendary fisherman and seafarer Bill Coleman from Whitstable dies aged 95
The last of Kent’s traditional oyster fishermen has died aged 95. Described as a “legend” by his fellow Whitstable seafarers, Bill Coleman is also credited with saving a rare sailing yawl, built in 1906, which became his working boat. Bill was born in the town in 1929 where, as a boy, he would hunt rabbits and wildfowl, often from a punt he rowed along the shore. It was while working as a shipwright at the Anderson, Rigden and Perkins shipyard, that he came across the yawl Gamecock in 1963 which was due to be broken up. He set about restoring the 43ft craft on a shoestring with any materials he could lay his hands on, including an old lorry tarpaulin, with which he taught himself sailmaking. Then, for four decades, he and his crew, including Andy Kennedy, Alan Grafham and Brian Hadler, went dredging for oysters. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:12
