Tag Archives: California
California officials vie to improve response after oil spill
California officials on Monday said better communication and detection technologies could improve the state’s response to an oil spill like last month’s crude pipeline leak off the Orange County coast. The hearing came six weeks after the leak in a pipeline owned by Houston-based Amplify Energy Corp. that ferried crude from offshore platforms to the Southern California coast. The cause of the spill is under investigation, but federal officials have said the pipeline was likely initially damaged by a ship’s anchor. >click to read< 15:25 Of note, more than 645 square miles (1,671 square kilometers) off the coast are still off limits to fishing pending testing.
Massive Central Coast marine sanctuary gets closer to federal protection. What’s next?
The Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary is one step closer to becoming a reality,,, The massive proposed marine sanctuary has been in NOAA’s nomination phase since 2015. It now officially moves to the designation phase. Central Coast Congressman Salud Carbajal D-Santa Barbara, “I am thrilled the Biden administration has taken this step,,, Not all are strong proponents of the proposed marine sanctuary. In a letter to NOAA in June 2020, the Alliance of Communities for Sustainable Fisheries,, “For fishermen having a NMS manage areas they fish will mean that they will always have to watch their backs, wondering what NMS management will do,” the letter said. >click to read< 17:14
Dungeness crab season opens with extra restrictions as industry sees economic consequences
From Lopez Point in Southern Monterey County to Point Conception in Santa Barbara County, Dungeness crab catching is allowed right now using crab traps, hoop nets and snares, potentially bringing in a boost to the Central Coast economy during the holidays. But due to whale activity, take using crab traps is temporarily restricted in Fishing Zones two and three from the Sonoma/Mendocino county line to Lopez Point. Mike Conroy is the executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Association. He said historically, the opening of Dungeness crab season would mean big business for fisheries across California. >click to read< 10:02
Berkeley Marina’s last full-time salmon fisherman is quitting the commercial fishing business after 25 years.
The Hudsons’ boat, the 40-foot Cash Flo II, is the only remaining full-time commercial salmon fishing operation berthed at the marina. Their business has no middlemen: Mike Hudson catches the fish himself and his wife sells them directly to consumers at Berkeley and El Cerrito farmers markets. Commercial fishermen in California are scrambling to stay in business and remain productive. High operating costs and low supplies make it harder and harder to rely on fishing as a viable source of income. Over the past two decades, more than half of the commercial salmon fishermen in California have left the industry, according to a review of 2020 salmon fisheries from the Pacific Fishery Management Council. And the Hudsons will soon join them. >click to read< 07:45
Saturday Fishermen’s Market: Commercial fisherman Joe Garrigan sells fresh caught seafood
At 7:30 a.m., the plastic tub is full, stacked with several dozen lobsters. By the end of the day, all will be gone, fresh spiny lobsters captured off the Santa Barbara coast, straight into people’s homes. It’s a spot where people can buy fresh fish caught by commercial fishermen. There’s no middle distributor.,, Joe and Melissa Garrigan have been selling lobster every Saturday morning for the past 11 years. >click to read< 10:52
Prohibition? Crab traps may be banned as Dungeness season approaches
Recreational Dungeness crab season opens Nov. 6 and, in response to new regulations by the Fish and Game Commission, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife may prohibit crab traps in an effort to prevent marine life entanglement. Charlton Bonham will review data from the department’s Risk Assessment and Mitigation Program to assess the environmental impacts of crab traps for both recreational and commercial crab fishing. The first hearing will be held on Nov. 1, which could impact gear policies for the season opening five days later. >click to read< 10:18
Dungeness Crab Season Could be Delayed Again this Year – The push for pop-up gear systems
This year, according to NMFS data, there have been 16 confirmed whale entanglements along the West Coast through Sept. 30. That includes 10 humpback whales, four gray whales, one fin whale and a minke whale; 11 other reports could not be verified. The vast majority of these reports came from waters along California. The California Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group, known informally as the Whale Working Group, was created in September 2015 and is made up of industry players, government officials and environmentalists looking for solutions. >click to read< 09:53
Would you quit your job for $110,000? This California swordfisherman said no
Fisherman Gary Burke eyed all that’s left of a fleet that once helped satisfy America’s insatiable appetite for swordfish: four old vessels with splotches of rust showing through peeling paint. Decades ago, there were more than 100 such ships in Santa Barbara alone, towing mile-long drift gill nets in choppy seas far beyond the breakwater. Today, there are perhaps a dozen in the entire United States, and they will probably soon be removed from service. “We’ve been whittled down by regulations and old age,” Burke grumbled as he climbed aboard the 50-foot vessel Tytan, which has been his private domain for 35 years. >click to read< 08:39
Orange County Fisherman Devastated By Oil Spill – Big questions loom for local fishing industries.
Orange County, California sea urchin and lobster fishermen were shut down from crude oil leak in Huntington Beach. This happened at the start of the season after gear was deployed and before any resources were harvested. The CDFW has shut down all local fisheries. This is devastating financially and fishermen have nowhere to turn. One local sea urchin divers wife started a Go-Fund-Me campaign to help ease the pain of uncertainty facing them. CDFW will have to go through a process of scientifically testing lobster and sea urchins to see if there are any contamination issues. Although the beaches have opened, the public safety concerns will take precedence over visible observations. Please help these folks get through these uncertain events by sharing or donating to their survival through this Go-Fund-Me campaign organized by Kimberley Crumley. >click here to read<, and please donate if you can. 16:25
California oil spill shuts down fishing industry
Commercial fishermen like Seth Dubois are locked inside Dana Point and Newport Beach Harbors where boats cannot enter or exit on what was supposed to be the first day of lobster season. Josh Hernandez started fishing a couple of years ago. His future is tied up in slip fees, insurance and so much more during this crucial time. “I got a thousand dollars worth of bait here,” Hernandez said. “I put ten thousand dollars into the boat. And I’ve got credit cards and a two-year-old at home.” The owner of the Linda Faye, Ivar Southern, is leaving his boat docked and going to Oregon for now. Video, >click to read< 14:21
Newport’s Dory Fleet hopes hopes to survive the massive oil spill
The Dory Fleet is an iconic beachfront business, starting in 1891 when a fisherman started marketing to the public on the beach. These days, four families sell fish as a co-op set right on the sand. As a fourth-generation Dory Fleet fisherman operating there since 1902, Scott Breneman and his family have endured challenging times, even surviving the Great Depression. It’s a business that, like the ocean, has an ebb and flow, facing challenges like ever-changing fishing regulations, shellfish bacteria that can restrict crab and lobster catch, sewage spills and more. “A bunch of stuff out of our control,” he said. “I would be out on the boat fishing right now,” he said. “I can’t get out of the harbor.” >click to read< 19:24
Commercial Fisherman Michael “Mikie” Devlin of California has passed away
Michael “Mikie” Devlin was born to Joan Warde and Harry Devlin on May 26, 1959 in San Diego, California. In 1972, Michael & his family moved from San Juan Capistrano, CA to Trinidad, CA. Michael discovered that the commercial fishing community offered an economic opportunity and a chance to be on the ocean as well as a camaraderie that lasted his entire adult life. Michael fished for Dungeness crab, Salmon, Albacore tuna, black cod and shrimp. He also had a 19-year career working with geologists performing salmon stream restoration. Michael later moved to the Ft. Bragg/Mendocino area to fish salmon & black cod for the remainder of his life. >click to read< 10:16
Calamitous West Coast commercial albacore tuna season nears end
With only weeks remaining in the commercial season, some fishermen have already declared it one of the worst in decades. It’s simply been a ‘bad’ tuna season, according to Western Fishboat Owners Association Executive Director Wayne Heikkila, who monitors the tuna fishing season coastwide from California to Washington as part of the nonprofit group representing 400 albacore fishermen on the West Coast.,, “Effort was down this season as most fish were farther offshore. There are still some larger vessels 200 miles out catching some,,, >click to read< 10:02
“Sea Otters To End West Coast Fishing” Huh! fishermen need to suck it up and “find another job?
For decades, Julie Packard has spearheaded a campaign to curtail fishing under the guise of “conservation.” As this campaign has evolved, it has become a tale of precaution. The campaign started as a need to save the sea otter. Did otters really need “saving?” That is entirely debatable, and was, extensively. The result was clearly non-scientific and summarized as a “choice” between fishing or sea otters. Friends Of The Sea Otter shill Steve Schmeck was quoted saying fishermen need to suck it up and “find another job.” The California urchin divers took issue and were represented by Pacific Legal Foundation in litigation. USFWS cited inability to manage the otter population. The result was USFWS having zero oversight and getting away with lying and breaking the law.,,, Fast forward to today: The Monterey Bay Aquarium & Julie Packard have infiltrated the government and the economic chain. The money, influence and placement of persons in nonprofits, universities and government positions has created an oligarchy and a serious ethics problem. This is a big read with links and information from California Sea Urchin Diver Jeff Crumley. > Click to read< 22:01
Sign The Petition: SAVE OUR OCEAN from the HUGE mistake of offshore windfarms in California!
California is preparing to make a grave mistake by allowing offshore windfarms to be built. The promise of green energy is the driving force behind this decision. The truth is, this is not green at all! The ocean is the last place we need to place windfarms. There are many more disadvantages than advantages to placing these floating wind turbines on the ocean. The environmental impact will be devastating to fish, birds, whales, other sea creatures, sport and commercial fisherman and families, and to the beautiful ocean itself. >Click to read<, Thank you for signing and help spread the word! By Michael Cohen
Port San Luis commissioner continues bullying, harassment
Shortly after the Port San Luis Harbor District agreed to pay a $150,000 settlement over allegations of bullying and harassment, Commissioner Bob Vessely doubled down again releasing a copy of a confidential document from closed session. Vessely emailed the document to Chris Pavone, head of the professional fisherman’s association with the comment, “Just for your amusement, feel free to share.” Vessely’s email was forwarded to more than 50 commercial fishermen. >click to read< 13:11
As Salmon and Squid Seasons Rebound, New Questions
Over the last few months, hundreds of boats have been fishing off of, or transiting along Santa Cruz County’s coastline. Industry analysts report plenty of bright spots in both the salmon and squid markets this season. But after some scientific studies were scuttled last year because of the coronavirus pandemic, and other research couldn’t be completed due to wildfires, fisheries management is still undergoing its own pandemic comeback, as climate change fears remain ever-present. “It’s definitely been a good season,” Scotts Valley resident Hans Haveman, the CEO of H&H Fresh Fish at the Santa Cruz Harbor says during a late-June interview. “Unfortunately, regulation from the state and feds have shut us down right when it’s goin’ good.” video, >click to read< 08:50
Pandemic, labor , product shortages, and supply chain issues disrupt Dungeness Crab market
Seafood distributors, sellers and processors point to a number of factors that converged to create a perfect storm: the coronavirus pandemic, labor shortages, product shortages, supply chain issues and market demands. All have contributed to drive prices up from the usual $25 or so per pound to as much as $52. This season was difficult for many in the industry. It opened late and yielded a mere 12 million pounds to date, compared to last year’s 20 million. On average, commercial crabbers land around 16 million pounds in Oregon, though the fishery can be cyclical, with boom and bust periods. >click to read< 19:13
Equinor to trial safe fishing with floating offshore wind farm at Hywind Scotland. No Dragging, though.
Hywind Scotland’s operator Equinor and Scottish government agency Marine Scotland will work together to better understand how fishers can safely operate around and within floating offshore wind farms. In a survey scheduled for 2022, Marine Scotland will test three kinds of fishing gear: creels, fish traps and jigging lines at Hywind Scotland.,, California dreaming – Elsewhere in floating offshore wind, BOEM has decided to determine industry interest in developing offshore wind at two sites in a 1,033km2 area off central California,,, >click to read< 22:05
Warming rivers in US West killing fish, imperiling industry
Salmon fisherman Mike Hudson sits on the bow of his boat at the Berkeley, Calif., Marina on Thursday, July 22, 2021. Baby salmon are dying by the thousands in one river and an entire run of endangered salmon could be wiped out in another. The plummeting catch has led to skyrocketing retail prices for salmon, hurting customers who say they can no longer afford the $35 per pound of fish, said Hudson, who has spent the last 25 years catching and selling salmon at farmers’ markets in Berkeley. “An extreme set of cascading climate events is pushing us into this crisis situation,” said Jordan Traverso, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Wildlife and Fish. 14 photos, >click to read< 10:03
Coast Guard search for missing fisherman off Seal and Sunset Beaches has been suspended
A 35-year-old crew member of the Sea Queen II, a 100 foot commercial fishing vessel, went missing Saturday. The U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies were searching for the man, described as Asian and wearing a red sweatshirt and black sweatpants, in the ocean waters off of Sunset and Seal Beaches. He was last seen at around 2 a.m. when the boat was anchored in the area being searched, according to the Coast Guard. Video, >click to read< – Coast Guard suspends search for crewman missing near Seal Beach – After searching more than 43 square miles off the coast of Sunset Beach and Seal Beach for more five hours, the U.S. Coast Guard suspended it’s search, >click to read< 11:50
James William Salter Jr., longtime Half Moon Bay commercial fisherman, has crossed the bar
Jim graduated from Los Altos High School in California where he met his childhood sweetheart, Jan. After many camping trips to Half Moon Bay, he and Jan decided to make the tranquil coast their home. His work ethic and desire to take care of his family led him to become a self-taught commercial fisherman for over 48 years. Together Jim and Jan ran Salter Crab Co., a business his children were also actively a part of, bringing live crab and troll-caught king salmon to farmers markets around the Bay Area for over 30 years. He introduced rock crab, a delicious, sweet but smaller crab with egg row, a highly sought-after delicacy to their numerous customers. “Eat rock crab, be strong, live long,” he would always say. Above all, Jim was an amazing husband and an extraordinary father and grandfather. >click to read< 20:50
California’s first offshore wind farm has Morro Bay fishermen worried
Wind turbines are coming. “These things are as big as skyscrapers,” says Chris Pavone, who’s among roughly 120 fishermen who trap, troll, and drop lines off Morro Bay and Avila Beach. He’s worried about what could become the first offshore wind farm on the West Coast. Approved by the Biden administration, the project would bring roughly 200 floating turbines into the open ocean off the Central Coast. >click to read< 09:42
California Fishermen mark a pleasant surprise after preparing for a grim summer. An abundance of fish.
Scott Edson, who fishes out of Half Moon Bay, said this season has been great for everyone, with an abundance of fish in the water not seen in years. “This year is something guys say they haven’t seen in 15 to 20 years. It’s been a pretty good season so far,” Edson said.,,, Don Marshall, who fishes out of Half Moon Bay, said the salmon season had been a lot better than expected, and he had seen more fish than in the last 10 to 15 years. He recently caught 180 salmon totaling around 2,000 pounds, a daily catch worth $13,000 at $6 a pound pricing. “I had the best day I have ever had,,, Nobody expected this many fish, and many fishermen were preparing for a grim summer and other options,” >click to read< 11:17
It may be a limited 2021 season, but Giovanni’s Fish Market in Morro Bay begins annual dock sale
“The community treats us super well so we just want to give back and do like an annual special,” De-Garimore said. “We just knew that we want to support the local fishermen too. Getting the local catch to the local people at a killer price, it’s a win-win for everybody and that’s why you see the giant lines.” The fish from this year’s sale are from all over the California Coast, primarily the area near Bodega Bay. De-Garimore and other market employees drove up to get the fish from there, returning Saturday night with almost 10,000 pounds of salmon. >Video, click to watch< 15:34
California: New regulations shut down Commercial Dungeness Crab season early
After a particularly hard start to the season, commercial Dungeness crab fisheries closed several weeks early on June 1. June 7 marked the start of the Lost and Abandoned Gear Program, which incentivizes retrieving and turning in leftover fishing gear. Both the closure and the gear removal program aim to protect migrating humpback whales and other marine life from getting tangled in fishing equipment. The Center for Biological Diversity sued the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) after a fishing season with 71 whale entanglements in 2016. New regulations imposed after the settlement allow officials to shut down the season when the risk of whale or leatherback sea turtle entanglements is high. >click to read< 17:37
Morro Bay’s offshore wind farm is the new bullet train to nowhere
News outlets breathlessly reported the great news that California and the feds will build a 399 square mile floating wind farm to generate electricity. The farm will be located 17 to 40 miles offshore west and north of Morro Bay, and will generate a whopping 3 Giga Watts (3 GWh) of power, enough to power a million homes. Politicians and advocates trumpet this progress,,, Unfortunately, this is just another big sack of steaming, stinking, rotting BS that politicians hope to sell to Californians. Meanwhile, plans proceed to decommission Diablo Canyon in 2024, a plant that produced an average of 44.3 GWh/day in 2019 – that’s 14.8 wind farms, at 400 square miles each, for the greenies among us. Internet searches claim Diablo Canyon provides 10% of California’s daily electricity needs, which further searches list at somewhere between 450 and 800 GWh/day. >click to read< By Barry Hanson 16:03
‘Ropeless’ Crab Gear Would Put Whales At Greater Risk
Advocates for proposed crab gear legislation in California, AB 534, often cite misleading information in support of policies that would destroy California’s iconic and sustainable trap fisheries, while doing nothing to protect whales. The main argument is that existing crab gear is responsible for most whale mortality off the California coast, and that “ropeless” or “pop-up” gear would reduce the risk to whales from fishing gear. But the reality is that commercial fishermen share the goal of minimizing interaction between marine mammals and fishing. >click to read< By Ben Platt 17:44
Balance The Pain Of Drought On Farmers And Fishermen Equitably
In the first week of May a young salmon boat captain struggled to keep his boat stable and fishing while getting bashed by an unruly spring wind storm near the San Mateo-Santa Cruz county line. Far offshore, where the continental shelf drops off and a huge volume of marine nutrients circulate from the ocean bottom to the surface, salmon gathered. So did borderline gale force winds on top of a 10-foot swell. It looked like the scene at the end of the movie, “The Perfect Storm.” You’re risking life and limb fishing in those conditions, and you wouldn’t in more normal times. But these aren’t normal times. >click to read< 11:08
Taking a Pause – Ropeless fishing gear bill gets put on hold
The legislative push for ropeless gear in the Dungeness crab fishing industry is taking a pause after the Assembly bill’s author was sworn in as California’s 34th attorney general. Authored by Assembly member Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) in collaboration with Social Compassion in Legislation and the Center for Biological Diversity, the bill argued that fishermen use antiquated trapping gear that harms marine life. California Coast Crab Association President Benjamin Platt said the Center for Biological Diversity “lobbied hard to find somebody else to carry that bill. Platt calls the pause on the Whale Entangle Prevention Act a “David and Goliath moment for California fishers.” >click to read< 07:46
