Tag Archives: California
Coast Guard, partner agencies respond to sunken vessel near Santa Cruz, Calif.
The U.S. Coast Guard is responding to a sunken vessel following a boat fire approximately one-mile offshore Santa Cruz, California, Wednesday morning with California Department of Fish and Wildlife: Office of Spill Prevention and Response, Parker Diving Service Redwood Shore Diving Inc. Santa Cruz Port District, Vessel Owner At 7:40 a.m. Coast Guard Sector San Francisco watchstanders received a report of a 45-foot vessel on fire with two people aboard. Watchstanders issued an Urgent Marine Information Broadcast notice to mariners, deployed a Coast Guard Station Monterey boat crew, and coordinated with partner agencies in the area. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:26
Fishing Boat Catches Fire, Sinks Just Outside of Pleasure Point Lineup
When the dawn patrol crowd descended down the cliff at Santa Cruz’s Pleasure Point Wednesday morning, a 48-foot fishing boat was already anchored just outside its lineup. The boat’s captain, Richard McCann, had dropped anchor much earlier in the morning, and the plan was to resume fishing for squid after catching some sleep. At 7:30 am though, McCann’s engineer, Edward Arellano, was woken up by smoke filling the cabin. Reports out of Santa Cruz haven’t pinpointed the exact time the fire started on the fishing boat, but Arellano told local news outlets he believed the boat’s generator had malfunctioned and caused the insulation to catch fire. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:15
Anti-offshore wind groups demand Trump cancel California port grant
Anti-offshore wind activists are seeking return of a $427million federal grant for a deepwater port in northern California. The grant was awarded in early 2024 to repurpose Redwood Marine Terminal in Humboldt County as America’s first floating wind hub. A letter was sent to the US transportation secretary calling for cancellation of the grant. It was signed by the Responsible Energy Adaptation for California’s Transition (React) Alliance, part of the National Offshore Wind Opposition Alliance, and others. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:43
Federal judge to deny Trump administration’s motion to dismiss lawsuit over block on wind projects
A federal judge in Massachusetts said Wednesday he plans to deny a motion by the Trump administration to dismiss a lawsuit over its blocking of wind energy projects, siding with a coalition of state attorneys general. Led by New York Attorney General Letitia James, attorneys general from 17 states and Washington, D.C. are suing in federal court to challenge President Donald Trump’s Day One executive order halting leasing and permitting for wind energy projects. Judge William G. Young said during a hearing that he plans to allow the case to proceed against Interior Secretary Doug Burgum but will dismiss the action against Trump and cabinet secretaries other than Burgum named as defendants. Links, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:54
Opponents of wind energy farms off Morro Bay win another round
Opponents of wind energy farms off the coast of Morro Bay won another round when the House approved a version of Trump’s big, beautiful bill known as Inflation Reduction Act that includes a timeline for subsidies that make the projects less likely to happen. In addition to the wind farms, there are plans to industrialize Port San Luis and the Morro Bay Harbor. The support systems on land would include massive piers and could require new breakwaters and dredging. The House’s version of the Inflation Reduction Act repeals tax credits for projects that don’t start construction within 60 days of the bill’s passage. The proposed bill also requires companies to eliminate Chinese goods from their supply chain before the end of the year and then began operating by the end of 2028. more. >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:32
California Department of Fish and Wildlife Announces Closure of Commercial Dungeness Crab Fishery in North Management Area
June 14, 2025 – California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Director Charlton H. Bonham has assessed entanglement risk under the Risk Assessment Mitigation Program (RAMP) and announced a season closure in the commercial Dungeness crab fishery (opens in new tab) in Fishing Zones 1 and 2 (CA/OR border to the Sonoma/Mendocino County line, 38°46.125’ N latitude) to further reduce the risk of entanglement in crab fishing gear. The closure will go into effect at 6 p.m. on June 20, 2025, at which time the commercial take and possession of Dungeness crab from those waters is prohibited. Season closures have already been implemented for Fishing Zones 3-6. Links, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:23
Federal judge raises issues with states’ lawsuit against Trump offshore wind freeze
More than a dozen states, including Massachusetts, have an uphill battle if they are to succeed in their legal efforts to lift President Donald Trump’s memorandum against offshore wind development. Attorneys for the states of Massachusetts and New York appeared on Thursday before federal Judge William G. Young, prepared to argue that he should grant a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration’s effective freeze of offshore wind permitting. But the hearing didn’t happen, with the judge “collapsing” the injunction motion. Young said he needed more specificity from the states on the harm they’ve incurred and the alleged legal violations by federal agencies. The case will be heard again next week, but instead, with a hearing on a motion to dismiss it. (The judge is treating the Trump administration’s filing opposing a preliminary injunction as a motion to dismiss the case.) more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:05
A Farmer’s Market, But With Fishermen? The First Humboldt Dockside Market is Coming to Eureka This Weekend!
For the first time in who knows how long, this summer Humboldt fish-eaters will be able to stroll around in an open-air market, browsing and purchasing fresh, local seafood products from local fishermen. It’s everything you love about the Farmer’s Market, but with fish. and other seafood products. The Humboldt Dockside Market — a longtime brainchild of Ashley Vellis, of Ashley’s Seafood, who is teaming up with the North Coast Growers’ Association — makes its debut this Saturday, June 7, at Eureka’s Madaket Plaza, on the foot of C Street, at 9 a.m., and will run until 1 p.m. From there, it will continue every other week until late October or early November. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:49
Local Stakeholders Explore Next Steps for Offshore Wind Despite ‘Significant Uncertainties’ Posed by Trump Administration
Despite federal pushback and industry uncertainty, Humboldt County officials and international developers are moving forward with plans to bring floating offshore wind facilities to the North Coast. This week, the county’s Economic Development Division hosted a renewable energy conference,,, in Loleta to discuss the future of commercial-scale offshore wind development in California and how to navigate potential hurdles imposed by the Trump administration. “There are significant uncertainties created by the federal government in this moment. That’s why discussion is so important,” said Jana Ganion, senior offshore wind advisor for Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Office. “We deal with adversity; we ride through it, and we are stronger at the end of it. So when we talk about pathways and partnerships, we know that in this moment these things are recalculating.” Links, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:28
Commercial Fisherman Jeff Angelo has passed away
My Heart’s Desire, Jeff Angelo passed on April 11, 2025, in the arms of Pam, his devoted wife of 29 years. He was 60 years old. He will be missed by Pam’s brothers, Mike and Bob, and her mother Billie along with her husband, Gary, as well as Pam’s cousins and family. Jeff loved and cared deeply for his mother, Eleanor, his brothers Nick and Steve, as well as his cousins and family in the Bay Area. Jeff moved to Eureka in 1986 and lived in Humboldt County the rest of his life. Jeff was born under a wandering star and left home at 15. He worked his way through high school for a place to live, for food, clothes on his back and a car to get to work. At one point, his car only operated in reverse and that’s how he drove it, looking out the back window just so he could get to work and keep his job. At 17 Jeff joined the Army and it was off to Germany he went. eff’s brother Nick was crewing with Bill Burchell on “The Becky” and they needed a second for crab season, so Jeff hopped aboard. He knew he had found his calling. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 19:04
States sue Trump administration for blocking the development of wind energy
A coalition of state attorneys general filed a lawsuit Monday against President Donald Trump’s attempt to stop the development of wind energy. Attorneys general from 17 states and Washington, D.C., are challenging an executive order Trump signed during his first day in office, pausing approvals, permits and loans for all wind energy projects both onshore and offshore. They say Trump doesn’t have the authority to unilaterally shut down the permitting process, and he’s jeopardizing development of a power source critical to the states’ economic vitality, energy mix, public health and climate goals. White House spokesperson Taylor Rogers said Democratic attorneys general are “using lawfare to stop the president’s popular energy agenda,” instead of working with him to unleash American energy and lower prices for families. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 16:48
Bodega Bay isn’t what it used to be. How an ailing industry has transformed this fishing village
From the living room window of their waterfront home, Carol and Tony Anello have watched the rise and fall of Bodega Bay. Traffic on Westshore Road flows past in waves, fishing boats pull into the docks and throngs of visitors line up at Spud Point Crab Co., their restaurant next door. Launched more than 20 years ago and known for its chowder and Dungeness crab rolls, the restaurant has helped make the Anellos beacons of the community. It has also served as a life raft as they left the commercial fishing business. “I had a premonition that the fishing industry was going down,” said Tony Anello, who fished commercially for salmon, crab and herring for 54 years before selling his boat Anabelle last year. “There are guys dropping out of this industry like flies, and I’m one of them.” At Bodega Bay and other picturesque seaside villages along the California coast, the fishing economy is gradually sinking. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:19
Major Offshore Wind Developer has Stopped Activities in United States
One of the world’s top offshore wind developers, Germany’s RWE, has stopped work on its U.S. projects for now in light of recent moves against the industry by the Trump administration, its CEO said in a text published ahead of the firm’s annual meeting. The comments by Markus Krebber are a heavy blow to the nascent U.S. offshore wind market, which was a key pillar of former U.S. President Joe Biden’s energy policy but which his successor Donald Trump has vowed to stop. RWE holds three offshore wind leases in U.S. waters off the coasts of New York, Louisiana and California. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:27
Save California Salmon Responds to the Third Consecutive Year of California’s Commercial Fishing Being Shut Down
Yesterday the Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (PFMC) recommended a full shutdown of all commercial fishing in California and extremely limited recreational ocean salmon fishing opportunities, through the end of 2025. This marks the third year in a row of no commercial fishing allocation in California and the state’s first recreational salmon season since 2022. Tribal subsistence fishing allocations will also be limited. This decision was made due to extremely low returns of fall, winter and spring run Chinook salmon in the Sacramento and Klamath Rivers for the third year in a row. Kasil Willie, Staff Attorney at SCS, added, “For Tribes and fishing families, the loss of salmon fishing for another year is a total crisis, not just a closure. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:40
Northern California rock crab fishery reopens after nearly ten year closure for domoic acid outbreak
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has reopened the commercial rock crab fishery along the northern coast from the California/Oregon border to the Humboldt Bay entrance. This comes after a nearly decade-long closure on the fishery due to a domoic acid outbreak. The fishery was originally closed in 2015 as a precautionary measure during the largest recorded domoic acid outbreak on the west coast. Testing has now confirmed that domoic acid levels in rock crabs are below federal action levels, which allows for the reopening of the fishery. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:17
Southern California fishing boat captain ordered to pay more than $16,000 for polluting local waters
The Ventura County District Attorney’s Office announced Monday that a local fishing boat captain has been fined for illegally dumping toxic waste into the Pacific Ocean off the Southern California coast. William Porter McHenry, who owns and operates McHenry Fisheries, Inc., allowed waste known as “stick water” to be dumped in the ocean, according to a VCDA release. The vessel run by McHenry Fisheries, the 67-foot Sea Pearl, was observed by authorities heading out to sea while releasing stick water and then returning on Dec. 6, 2024. Stick water is created during the squid fishing process, Ventura County officials said, explaining that squid are caught with nets and placed in the boat’s fish hold, which is filled with saltwater. Photos, links, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 16:27
‘Hope dies hard’: Fishing industry reacts to CA salmon season closure
This week, the Pacific Fishery Management Council adopted recommendations for ocean salmon fishing along the West Coast; for an unprecedented third year in a row, the council has recommended closing commercial fishing off the California coast and allowing only limited commercial fishing in Oregon and Washington. Commercial fishermen and fishing organizations largely affirmed the need to suspend salmon fishing but noted that three years without a season has been devastating to fishermen and coastal communities that rely on salmon fishing. Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations Executive Director Lisa Damrosch lamented a lack of a safety net. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:41
Commercial salmon season is shut down — again. Will California’s iconic fish ever recover?
Facing the continued collapse of Chinook salmon, officials today shut down California’s commercial salmon fishing season for an unprecedented third year in a row. Under the decision by an interstate fisheries agency, recreational salmon fishing will be allowed in California for only brief windows of time this spring. This will be the first year that any sportfishing of Chinook has been allowed since 2022. Today’s decision by the Pacific Fishery Management Council means that no salmon caught off California can be sold to retail consumers and restaurants for at least another year. In Oregon and Washington, commercial salmon fishing will remain open, although limited. “From a salmon standpoint, it’s an environmental disaster. For the fishing industry, it’s a human tragedy, and it’s also an economic disaster,” said Scott Artis, executive director of the Golden State Salmon Association, an industry organization that has lobbied for river restoration and improved hatchery programs. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 16:54
Sonoma County crabbers face new limits as state restricts season for 7th year — but can keep working
For the seventh year in a row, California officials are limiting commercial Dungeness crab fishing along the coast — including off Sonoma County — to protect humpback whales from becoming entangled in fishing gear. Dick Ogg, a commercial fisherman who represents Bodega Bay in the Dungeness Crab Gear Working Group, said the decision was difficult but reflects a fair compromise between conservation and livelihoods. “It is an awkward situation, but every chance that we can get to help guys be able to continue to fish a little bit safely, we’re gonna take it,” he said. “We have made good logical decisions based on data.” Ogg said most crabbers are relieved to be able to keep working — even in a limited capacity. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:49
Boat tours and ash scatterings help beleaguered California salmon fleet stay afloat
“The bills keep going, whether I’ve got a fishery or not,” said Smith, who runs Riptide Sportfishing in Half Moon Bay, California. “There’s no season on when people die.” California’s sport and commercial fishermen have been walloped by two years of salmon closures and are bracing for a potential third, which they blame on a years-earlier drought and state and federal water management policies they say have made it tough for the species to thrive. The closures have taken a toll on people’s livelihoods in coastal communities where salmon, fishermen say, is a special fish. “We are people that are hardworking and it’s our jobs on the line,” said Sarah Bates, a commercial fishing captain in San Francisco. She said local markets have been devastated by the salmon closures and Bay Area restaurants aren’t snapping up halibut or other catch as they did salmon. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:36
Western Flyer from Steinbeck’s Sea of Cortez returns to Gulf of California after 85 years
A fishing vessel that was built during the Monterey Bay’s sardine boom and made famous by a Nobel Prize-winning author will return to the site of its former glory after 85 years. The Western Flyer, a state-of-the-art purse seiner when it was built in 1937, was chartered by John Steinbeck and his marine biologist friend, Ed “Doc” Ricketts, for a six-week expedition that would be immortalized in the “Sea of Cortez: A Leisurely Journal of Travel and Research.” Fully renovated to its original specifications and updated with cutting-edge technology, including a hybrid diesel-electric engine and science lab, the Western Flyer will return to the Gulf of California and retrace Steinbeck’s and Ricketts’ groundbreaking journey of discovery. 18 photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:45
Mass Layoffs at Companies Working on Humboldt Offshore Wind Projects; At Least Some Local People Laid Off
The future of Humboldt County’s offshore wind industry appears increasingly uncertain following mass layoffs at RWE and Vineyard Offshore, the multinational energy companies leading efforts to develop commercial-scale floating wind farms on the North Coast. The job cuts come in response to widespread market uncertainty following President Donald Trump’s efforts to ban offshore wind development in the United States. In a regulatory filing submitted last week, RWE Offshore Wind Services, LLC confirmed its plans to cut dozens of jobs in its U.S. offshore wind division. Lots of links. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:38
Low salmon numbers in California could prompt shutdown of fishing for a record third straight year
California’s salmon population has declined so severely over the last several years that regulators canceled the fishing season in 2023 and again in 2024. This year, state estimates show the number of Chinook salmon is still so low that fishing could again be prohibited — or if not, sharply limited — to help fish stocks recover. “A lot of the guys right now are basically doing land jobs because the fishery has just been devastated,” said George Jue, a commercial fisherman at Pillar Point Harbor in Half Moon Bay. Even as many fishing boats have sat idle in the harbor lately, Jue and a group of other fishermen have been busy hauling in traps filled with crabs. Once that season is over, Jue said, he expects little or no salmon fishing this year. “This harbor is going to be dead.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:50
There’s a Fish Market Splashing into Eureka
Something fishy is moving from the Woodley Island Marina’s docks across the bay to Eureka’s Madaket Plaza, where Humboldt County will have its first fisher’s market, starting in May or June. Ashley Vellis, owner of Ashley’s Seafood, has been brewing up the idea of a local fish market since late 2019 and is now partnering with the North Coast Grower’s Association to organize it, currently working on fundraising to make the new addition to Eureka’s waterfront a reality. Taking inspiration from dockside markets in Santa Barbara, San Diego and San Francisco, Vellis says that she wants to make it more accessible for people to purchase seafood directly from the source. The vision is that local fishers will have stalls to sell their latest and freshest catch. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:25
Grounded fishing boat removed from Salmon Creek beach after nearly a decade
In the nine years since the F/V Verna A II ran ashore south of Salmon Creek on the Sonoma Coast, the beached vessel has become part of the landscape, its decaying hull disappearing and reemerging out from the sand and surf. On Tuesday, however, three excavators fought 16-foot surf to finally drag what was left of the rusted fishing boat out of the sand once and for all. The effort, spearheaded by California State Parks, the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation and the Greater Farrallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries, was finally made possible with funding from the Biden-era Bipartisan Infrastructure Law through the NOAA Marine Debris Program. Video, Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:12
California Fish and Game Commission approve emergency regulations for coonstripe shrimp fishery, EFP to test longlining gear
The California Fish and Game Commission announced the adoption of emergency regulations for the commercial coonstripe shrimp fishery. In addition, the CFGC also announced the approval of an experimental fishing permit (EFP) to test longlining gear in the Dungeness crab fishery, among other action affecting California’s natural resources during their February 12 and 13 meetings in Sacramento. Officials say that the emergency regulations were adopted for the commercial coonstripe shrimp (Pandalus danae) fishery in order to reduce the risk of whale entanglement in the fishing gear. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:30
Western Flyer relics go to auction this week
The sharp bang of an auctioneer’s gavel, due to sound Thursday, Feb. 13, in Berkeley, California, could echo locally. A Wauna man seems a bit anxious. He’s nursing a years-long emotional tie to the formerly junk-piled maritime items for sale, not to mention a financial stake in the auction outcome. “I’m on pins and needles,” Michael Hemp told Gig Harbor Now last week. A Northern California man, the original salvager and owner of the items for the last 49 years, has a lesser emotional tie to the relics. But he maintains hopeful anticipation for a far bigger slice of a potential cash pie. Because the objects Fry, then a teenager, rescued from a scrap heap in Alaska are original parts of the “Western Flyer,” perhaps the most famous fishing boat in the world. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:41
California loves Dungeness crab. But concerns over whale safety have put the industry in peril
The Dungeness crab season had opened just a few weeks earlier, two months behind schedule, and was off to a slow start. “We’re working very hard to basically get nothing,” said Ogg. Early on a Thursday in late January, Ogg readied his 54-foot fiberglass boat, the Karen Jeanne, for a 16-hour day of hauling 200 crab pots. It was barely 4:30 a.m. at the Spud Point Marina, and Ogg’s crew, Bradlee Titus, 34, and Axel Bjorklund, 22, both multi-generational fishermen, prepared the deck by washing equipment, filling water buckets and packing jars with bait — a stinky, oily mashup of mackerel and squid. At the helm, Ogg tracked water currents and the weather forecast as he moved the boat out of Bodega Bay, past Point Reyes toward the Farallon Islands and San Francisco skyline. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:09
Western Flyer scheduled to make historic expedition 85 years after Steinbeck and Ricketts
The historic Western Flyer will return to the Gulf of California this spring, marking 85 years since the famous expedition with John Steinbeck, Ed Ricketts and their crew. Local scientists, educators and conservationists will team up to study the Gulf of California’s ecosystems, exchange knowledge and brainstorm new ideas to protect the marine world. The expedition starts at 3 p.m. March 16, departing from Old Fisherman’s Wharf. The send-off celebration will mark nearly 85 year to the day since the now-famous journey that inspired the book ‘Sea of Cortez. ’more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:04
CFACT Comments on the California Offshore Wind Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS)
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