Tag Archives: commercial fisherman
Commercial Fisherman George Roy Hutchings Jr. of Kodiak, Alaska and Damariscotta, Maine
George Roy Hutchings Jr., 60, of Kodiak, Alaska and Damariscotta, passed away peacefully on Friday, July 3, 2020 at his home here in Maine with family at his side. He attended Nobleboro Central School and Christian Academy during his grammar school days. He attended Lincoln Academy, while working in South Bristol clamming, and later earned his GED. He left Maine in his teenage years to start his adventures in fishing in Point Pleasant, N.J., then on to more adventures scallop dragging in New Bedford, Mass. At the age of 20, George headed for an even greater and larger adventure in Homer, Alaska, where, after some tough times, he became a king crab and scalloping fisherman for many years. >click to read< 09:09
A NASA Diver/Commercial Fisherman is Among the Cast on CBS Reality Show
Tough As Nails. It takes 12 Americans from all walks of life whose common thread is that they work in tough, gritty jobs — ironworker, firefighter, welder, Marine Corps veteran, and more. They will compete both as individuals and on teams to win cash and prizes, with one of them ultimately being crowned the Tough As Nails champion. One of the competitors is Callie Cattell, a 28-year-old from Bend, Oregon, who spends her time working as a commercial fisherman in the frigid waters off the Alaskan coast. But in addition to that harrowing job, Cattell is also a diver for NASA. video>click to read< 10:34
Bob Guzzo Talks Quotas, Offshore Wind, Coronavirus, and Fishing out of Stonington, Connecticut
“We’re giving up traditional fishing grounds that we’ve had for hundreds of years, that have fed the country, that are now going to light a light bulb and it’s not going to be worthwhile,” Guzzo said of the proposed wind farms located in federal waters. The location of the wind farms also destroys longtime fisheries, said Guzzo. “They’re taking away places that we’ve fished for this country over hundreds of years and we’re losing that ground,” he said.,, Quotas and Coronavirus, “I got tired of throwing fish overboard, I could never stand it. I started too long ago and never had to do this. The way they make you fish today is a crime,” >click to read< 08:01
How Coronavirus Is Threatening Alaska’s Wild Salmon Fishing Season
A Brooklyn winemaker travels north to Bristol Bay each summer to net the red salmon that support his family. This year he’s faced with a tough ethical and economic choice. Mr. Nicolson, 45, spends much of the year working at Red Hook Winery in Brooklyn, where he is the managing winemaker, but his main income is drawn from Iliamna Fish Company. The business, which he and two cousins own, sells Alaska red salmon directly to thousands of shareholders, most of them in New York and Portland, Ore., as well as to a few high-end restaurants and stores, including the Park Slope Food Co-op in Brooklyn. >click to read< 19:25
Coast Guard medevacs Fisherman from vessel 322 miles northwest of St. Paul Island
Coast Guard aircrews medevaced a man from a fishing vessel 322 nautical miles northwest of St. Paul Island, Alaska, Wednesday. The 45-year-old man was safely hoisted at 12:12 p.m. and taken to St. Paul for a wing-to-wing transfer with a commercial medevac company for further transport to Anchorage. At 11:48 p.m., Tuesday, District 17 Command Center watchstanders received a medevac request for a fisherman reportedly experiencing gastrointestinal bleeding aboard the 170-foot fishing vessel Baranof. Watchstanders conferred with a duty flight surgeon and launched three Kodiak-based aircrews to respond. >click to read< The image is of the medevac of an injured 31-year-old fisherman aboard the fishing vessel Baranof, June 3, 2020 >Video, click to read< 18:15
Richard R. “Capt. Rich” Dulski
Richard R. “Capt. Rich” Dulski, 58, of Brielle passed away on Wednesday, June 10, 2020 at Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Neptune. Rich was born and raised on Staten Island, NY. Rich took his boating captain’s license at the age of 17 and passed on the first time which is rare. He has been a captain for over 40 years working for the Gambler, F/V High Stakes, F/V Austin and, most recently, the F/V Amanda C, out of the Fishermen’s Dock Cooperative, Pt. Pleasant Beach. Rich has fished everywhere from Cape May to Montauk, L.I. to the Grand Banks. He is survived by his devoted wife Mary, daughter Elizabeth Dulski, two sons Richard and Michael, his Mother, and many relatives, and friends. >click to read< 20:36
“Trainee Fisherman of the Year” – Scalloway fisherman and NAFC student scoops top award
Campbell Hunter, who is a crewman on the local whitefish boat Guiding Light (LK 84), received the award in a virtual ceremony last night (Monday). The Fishing News Awards shine a spotlight on the achievements, innovations, and successes of the commercial fishing industries of the UK and Ireland over the last year. Mr Hunter was brought up in Scalloway where his family was mainly involved in the fish buying and processing industry. He decided his future lay in fish catching and while still at school enrolled on the NAFC’s “Maritime Skills for Work” programme, successfully gaining five SQA units relating to maritime activities. On leaving school, Mr Hunter enrolled on the centre’s Seafish “Introduction to Commercial Fishing” programme, >click to read< 15:16
Commercial Fisherman Scott M. Boyce Sr., of Belford, New Jersey
Scott M. Boyce Sr., 61, a lifelong resident of Belford, passed away May 30 at home. Scott was born Oct. 26, 1958 in Red Bank, a son of the late Norma and George Boyce. Scott was a commercial fisherman with the Belford Seafood Co-op. He and his brother Brian owned and operated the fishing boat The Linda. Scott is survived by his devoted wife of 32 years, Ann Boyce, along with their son Scott Boyce Jr. Scott also leaves behind his brother and sister-in-law, Brian and Ronnie Boyce; nephews, Brian and Heron; and nieces, Lauren and Ivy. He was predeceased by his brother George Boyce. >click to read< 14:18
Inspiring Women: Virginia Oliver – The Lobster Lady!
Arguably the world’s oldest licensed lobster fisherman – 99 year old Virginia Oliver is one of a kind. This short film gives viewers a chance to meet this inspiring woman and ride along as she and her 74 year-old son Max haul their lobster traps in Spruce Head, Maine. Virginia’s positive approach to life as well as her infectious laugh will capture viewers heart’s and inspire them in their own lives. We ran this story, >This is very cool! Happy Birthday! Celebrate the Lobster Lady’s 100th birthday on TV< on May 23rd. The link has disapeared, but we found the Vimeo! >Click to watch<, and once again, Virginia, Happy Birthday!
I’m a Maine lobsterman. I leave a lot of my life up to chance. But I don’t know if I can handle this level of uncertainty.
Herman Coombs is a lobster fisherman in Orrs Island, Maine. He’s been fishing since elementary school, he says, and went full-time after high school. In all those years, he can think of two times when the price of lobster has been any lower—in 2001, in the weeks after 9/11, and during the Great Recession. With restaurants in Portland and Lewiston—Maine’s largest cities—still closed for dine-in seating, and the state’s crucial tourism industry sure to take a massive hit this summer, he’s worried. “Right now, we’re only hauling about once every two weeks. That’s because of the weather. We’re getting a lot of wind in the afternoons, which ends up being pretty gusty, and isn’t a lot of fun. And the prices.,, >click to read< 11:19
Fisherman’s Wharf: Restaurant threatens commercial fishing operation’s survival over a parking lot conflict
The parking area at Pier 47 could be used for al fresco dining as soon as next week but that space is where Giuseppe Pennisi, of Pioneer Seafoods, has been selling fresh-caught fish right off his boat for years. Now, the Port of San Francisco has ordered him to stop. “They said our business was causing problems for Scoma‘s but there’s no one even down here anymore except for people buying a few fish,” Pennisi said. Scoma’s owner Tom Creeden says they’ve submitted plans to Port of San Francisco officials to use the parking space for outdoor dining. Pioneer Seafoods will have to shut down its operations by June 15 after being given less than five days notice. It would also be a blow to Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco, which receives 3,000 pounds of fish from Pennisi every two weeks to feed the homeless. >video, click to read< 08:37
Have Faith: A fisherman’s journey of deep belief
Stanley Larsen’s fishing boat, Four Kids, pulled up to the dock in Menemsha a little after 10 am last Thursday, under a bright blue sky. Stanley steers it so it eases up next to its sister vessel, Richard & Arnold.,, Stanley was born and raised here, and has been a fisherman since childhood; he helped his dad lobstering from the time he was a kid. His father died when Stanley was in his early 20s, and then he carried on the family tradition, going out on long trips, steaming six, eight, even 10 hours at a time in his dad’s old boat: “I’d head down to Nantucket, out to New Bedford, south of the Island. I’d have fishing magazines that I’d probably read about 10 times, and I happened to be going through [his dad’s] drawer one day, and came upon the King James Bible. I just started reading it.” >click to read< 17:06
Glace Bay Fisherman celebrates 80 consecutive years of working on the water
In a year that has been anything but normal, Jim Munden continues to be a figure of both consistency and longevity on the Glace Bay wharf. The longtime fisherman, who will celebrate his 89th birthday this summer, still plays an active role in the former coal mining community’s other big industry. And this year marks the 80th consecutive year that Munden has taken to the coastal waters off Cape Breton to ply the trade he first experienced as a nine-year-old boy.,,, When asked about the beginnings of his lifelong career, Munden likes to mention that it all started in a foreign country. “I was born in Newfoundland back in 1931 when it was still part of England,” he recalls.,, they moved to Glace Bay when I was a boy.” That’s where he started fishing. And at his side the entire time has been Dot (Billard), his childhood sweetheart, wife of almost 70 years and mother of their six children. >click to read< 10:54
Good Karma! Catching two coloured lobsters, one blue and one calico, comes days after child saved from drowning
A fisherman for 42 years, Gary Robichaud was out fishing lobster with his three sons, Alex, Zachary and Sylvain, when they found a blue lobster in a trap. After celebrating that catch, taking pictures and posing with the bright blue lobster they were even more surprised when 15 minutes later another rare coloured crustacean was found trapped inside another trap. The market sized lobster was calico coloured, another rare catch for the fisherman. Asked if this had ever happened before, Robichaud said no. “It’s never happened to me,” he said of catching two rare coloured lobsters on the same day. But Robichaud said he will take it all as signs of the good luck he’s been experiencing including how things fell into place during the rescue of a 10-year-old boy May 29. >click to read< 20:00
Lars Petter Austnes: Longtime commercial fisherman was known for his big heart, Viking spirit, has passed away
Lars Petter Austnes of Edmonds, Washington passed away on April 29, 2020 at the age of 64. Lars was born October 2, 1955 in Ålesund, Norway, the third child of four to his parents Edvin and Henrikke Austnes. In 1985, he moved to Ballard in Seattle, Washington to work with other Norwegian fishermen in the growing Alaskan Pollock industry in the Bering Sea. Upon arrival, he began his long employment for Glacier Fish Company, owned by the heroic leader and friend, Erik Breivik. He started on the company’s Northern Glacier Catcher/Processor as a Bosun. Lars Lars married Kim Starwich of Ballard October 19, 1991. Lars and Kim have been residents of Edmonds since 1990 and have two daughters, Annika (25) and Kristin (24). He loved and cherished his wife, girls, and dogs dearly. >click to read< 21:20
‘Not doomsday’: Commercial fishers say crayfish season looks promising
“A glimmer of light” is how Otago-based commercial fisherman Chris Cooper describes the state of the rock lobster industry — one of the first sectors to be crippled by the Covid-19 outbreak. The Chinese market closed to all rock lobster — or crayfish — exports in late January. China took 95% to 98% of all commercial crayfish landed in New Zealand. “We basically got a Dear John letter on January 24 and told there was no market. Now the market was starting to slowly open up again and Mr Cooper was pleased to be back in business, saying prices were “looking solid”. “My gut feeling is its going to be OK,maybe like last season — not a boomer, not a doomsday either. I’ve got a feeling its going to be a solid one,” >click to read< 17:49
Coronavirus devastating commercial fishing industry
Lifelong commercial fisherman Mark Weaver had anticipated a bumper season for his family-run commercial fishery before the COVID-19 pandemic left the industry almost dead in the water. Now, he and the rest of Ontario’s commercial fishing industry are facing a bleak future that could leave them struggling just to survive. “I don’t know how we’re going to pay the bills,” Weaver said. While Lake Erie would normally be dotted with commercial fishing vessels at this time of year, their boats aren’t leaving the docks in Port Stanley, Wheatley and other Southwestern Ontario ports this spring since there’s nowhere to sell their catch. “It’s a total supply chain challenge and crisis that we’re in,” said Jane Graham, executive director of the Ontario Commercial Fisheries’ Association. April has been one of the “most productive fishing months of the year,” Graham said. And it looked like this April would have been just as productive, Weaver said. >click to read< 22:01
Stonington scallop boat crewman remembered for devotion to his daughter
When Charlie Lathrop was just 15, he quit school and began a 35-year career as a commercial fisherman, working out of ports from the Town Dock to Hawaii and Puerto Rico. Known for his devotion to his 13-year-old daughter, Catherine, his tattoos and his nickname “Charlie Tuna,” the 50-year-old Westerly resident died sometime Wednesday night when he fell overboard from the local scallop boat Invictus off the coast of New Jersey.,, Lt. Commander Dan Schrader, the public affairs officer for the Coast Guard’s Mid-Atlantic Region, said Saturday that on Wednesday at 10:43 p.m., the Coast Guard received a report from the boat that a person fell overboard about 60 miles southeast of Atlantic City, N.J. Southern New England Fishermen and Lobstermen’s Association President Mike Grimshaw referred comment Saturday to boat owner Joe Gilbert of Milford, who could not be reached. The 74-foot-long Invictus was not at the dock on Saturday,,, You may have to answer a survey to access at the article. >click to read< 07:49
Shon Myers, 43, commercial fisherman, lobsterman
He was a commercial fisherman and lobsterman who had a passion for being on the water. He was an artist, musician, writer and photographer. He had an appreciation for knitting. “He was 6-foot 6 and had a smile that would melt your heart,” said his mother, Gayle Myers of Cape Elizabeth. Myers was a skilled lobsterman and commercial fisherman who worked on boats in Maine and elsewhere. He fished in Gloucester and New Bedford, Massachusetts; Point Judith, Rhode Island; Charleston, South Carolina; and Cape Canaveral and Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. His mother said he found peace on the ocean. >click to read< 17:52
Coronavirus: Oregon fishing industry weathering the storm
For the people who fish, the distributors, and the restaurants, Gov. Brown’s stay-home order has been costly. “The hardest part about all of this is the uncertainty,” said commercial fisherman Mike Retherford. Normally, you’d find Retherford out on his boat the Winona J. But these days he’s spending a lot more time at his home in Newport sheltering in place. “If this goes on for too long you could see business down 40-50%,” he said. But what was looking really grim a couple weeks ago when crab prices dropped from about $7 a pound down to about $2 is now looking a bit better. The price of crab has rebounded as distributors find new ways to market. >click to read< 07:52
Coronavirus: Restaurant Closures Put Oregon Seafood Industry In Limbo
Commercial fisherman Clint Funderburg should be on the ocean right now, catching Dungeness crab on his fishing boat, the Widgeon. When crab prices tanked a few weeks ago, he shifted gears to his off-season side gig. So, he’s building a refrigeration system for one of the many fishing boats that are stuck at the dock right now. Mandatory restaurant closures during the coronavirus pandemic have sent shock waves through Oregon’s $700 million seafood industry. The overwhelming majority of the seafood that lands on Oregon’s docks gets eaten in restaurants, and no one knows when that market will return. In the meantime, fishermen are parking their boats as seafood prices plummet. >click to read< 18:04
Coronavirus: It’s not business as usual for fishing industry
For Alaska’s commercial fisheries industry in 2020, things will hardly be business as usual. Reports of the first case of novel coronavirus in the state prompted processors to get to work developing plant and vessel response plans in consultation with medical experts to assure the health and safety of employees, harvesters, communities they work in and the fish they will process by the ton. “Everyone is working on it on a regular basis,” said Norm Van Vactor, president and chief executive officer of the Bristol Bay Economic Development Corp. in Dillingham. “It is literally a plan in progress. We are moving forward with a positive attitude (but) nobody is in La La Land.” >click to read< 18:15
Coast Guard medevacs Commercial Fisherman 55 miles offshore of Lake Charles, Louisiana
The Coast Guard medevaced a mariner from an 86-foot fishing vessel approximately 55 miles offshore Lake Charles, Louisiana, Thursday morning. Coast Guard Sector Houston-Galveston watchstanders received a call from the captain of the fishing vessel Captain Taruong Phi who reported a crewmember was suffering from symptoms of a heart attack and in need of medical assistance. Watchstanders consulted the duty flight surgeon who recommended the medevac. photos, >click to read< 13:33
Commercial Fisherman lost in Lake Erie after going overboard
Divers from the OPP are searching Lake Erie for a man who is missing after going overboard from a commercial fishing vessel Monday morning. The incident happened about 13 kilometres west of Long Point around 10:15 a.m. The fisherman is being identified as Michael Smith, of Port Dover, Ontario from the fishing tug Donna F. “He was loved by all and had an amazing number of friends amongst the fishermen and Port Doverites alike,” photo, boatnerd.com >click to read< 19:11
Big Wave Surfing and Commercial Fishing with Matt Becker
The talented crew over at 805 Beer have been releasing these high-quality mini-docs for a while now — spotlighting different occupations, exploring fringe cultures, and generally celebrating life. This time they’ve given us a glimpse into the lifestyle of second-generation California surfer/fisherman Matt Becker, who makes his money off commercial fishing, and feeds his soul off surfing spots like Maverick’s. It’s not a safe or soft routine, but it’s the only way Matt would want to live. Video, >click to watch< 18:44
Coronavirus: “These are not normal times” Situation changing ‘by the hour’ as seafood industry reels
New Brunswick’s seafood industry is reeling as the coronavirus fallout spreads in traditional markets around the world. “Things are changing by the hour,” said Melanie Sonnenberg of the Grand Manan Fishermen’s Association.,, It is a concern shared by other companies. It is estimated well over a thousand international workers are employed in the industry during the processing season, which begins in May. The spring lobster season on the Bay of Fundy’s north shore also starts in May. And in Dipper Harbour, fisherman Greg Thompson is pretty sure of one thing: prices will be rock bottom. >click to read< 06:47
Arnold “Arnie” Gamage Jr, has passed away, was a founding member of the South Bristol Fisherman’s Co-op
Arnold “Arnie” Gamage Jr., 67, of South Bristol, passed away unexpectedly on the afternoon of March 4, 2020 in Rockport. Born in Damariscotta on Dec. 31, 1952, he was the son of Arnold Sr. and Gloria (Chipman) Gamage. Arnie grew up in South Bristol, attending local schools and graduating from Lincoln Academy. He began lobstering at the age of 10, following in his father’s footsteps, and creating a family tradition that continues to be carried on today. Arnie was also very involved in Maine’s lobstering industry, and was one of the founding members of the South Bristol Fisherman’s Co-op, serving on their board for many years. He was also a longstanding board member of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, more, >click to read< 14:20
Captain Titus: Canadian fisherman’s Twitter tweets a rare glimpse of a hard life in the North Atlantic
From the outset, the captain’s social media strategy has been to post photos and see what happens. What has happened, in the eight years since his first tweet, is a master Canadian mariner has offered a rare, real-time glimpse into what life is like, say, in the dead of winter on a boat in mountainous seas several hundred kilometres off the coast of Labrador. Or what it is like to be bumping through the ice between Baffin Island and Greenland aboard the Mersey Phoenix, a 70-metre vessel with 30 crew and a quarry, Pandalus borealis/ photos, >click to read< visit https://twitter.com/shrimpfisherman 08:05
Matt Becker, One of the Most Gifted Fisherman-Surfers You’ll Ever Meet
He’s young, gifted in riding big waves, and he’s in tune with the ways of the world. Mostly because he’s spent his early adult life as a fisherman, taking to the family business he learned from his father growing up in Santa Barbara. In fact, he’s probably one of the best professional surfers who also doubles as a professional fisherman in the world today. He might be the only one. “When I was young I was thinking I wasn’t going to be a fisherman, but I got older and met all these interesting people.” Video, and a great interview! >click to read< 19:59
Prayer service held for missing newly married fisherman William ‘Willie’ Whelan at Hook Lighthouse as search continues
A prayer service for a newly married missing fisherman was held at Hook Lighthouse as the search for him continues. William ‘Willie’ Whelan, 41, from Saltmills, Co Wexford, disappeared when his trawler, the Alize, a 11.7 metre steel-hulled vessel, sank off Hook Head eight days ago at around 10.45pm. A second fisherman, who died in hospital after being rescued, was Joe Sinnott, 65, from Kilmore Quay, was laid to rest last week. >click to read< 12:28
