Tag Archives: commercial fishing boats
Classic fishing boat: Bonnie Lass III RY 189
The Gerrard brothers were David and Andrew, who along with their father, also Andrew, had set up their boatbuilding business alongside the lifeboat station in Arbroath in the early 1950s. Their first build was the Bairn’s Pride AH 27, launched in 1955. They built at least 72 vessels up to 1990, after which they had to rely on repairs and overhauls to sustain the business. It went into receivership in 1994, largely due to the decline in the fishing fleet in the town, meaning that even maintenance work had dried up. Strathgarry SY 88 was painted green and was renowned for having a steep deck, with the distinctive Gerrard’s bow. The Caterpillar 250hp engine was forward at launch, though was moved aft later. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:12
Federal fishing monitoring program needs overhaul, GAO says
Only days after the Supreme Court dealt a blow to the federal government’s program placing human observers on commercial fishing boats, a federal watchdog said NOAA Fisheries should do a better job monitoring the industry. A report released Wednesday by the Government Accountability Office said NOAA Fisheries — also known as the National Marine Fisheries Service — has failed to execute its program as Congress intended under law. “NMFS’ efforts to track its performance in reducing and monitoring bycatch do not align with key elements of evidence-based policymaking related to performance management,” GAO said in the report, which was requested by Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.), the ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 19:19
Gloucester: During protest in harbor, fishermen say fish rules need more leeway
More than 50 people, including fishermen, their families and supporters, stood along Stacy Boulevard in the cold at dusk Wednesday to watch the 96-foot dragger F/V Miss Trish II steam into the Outer Harbor with its crew waving flares in a protest. A couple of smaller fishing vessels followed. The short and peaceful protest was called by Russo, after two trips this fall during which the Massachusetts Environmental Police allege a small percentage of the vessel’s catch was below minimum size, despite, he says, taking steps to follow the rules, including using at-sea monitors and installing cameras on the vessel for a second trip. Russo’s father and owner of the Miss Trish II, Capt. Enzo Russo, and some of the Miss Trish II crew stood along the boulevard in support. “And now the law says we’ve got 100% observers the whole time,” Enzo Russo said. 7 Photos, more, >>click to read<< 10:05
Port Townsend: Haven Boatworks expands their wake
The team of shipwrights at Haven work on all types of boats, from upkeep on commercial fishing boats to repairs on yachts and wooden sail boats. At any given time, they may have more than a dozen boats in the yard. They stay busy from mostly word-of-mouth referrals from delighted customers. Blaise Holly says that whether commercial or private, captains have a relationship with their vessels. For commercial owners a boat is their livelihood where they spend the bulk of their time. Every year or two most boats need some type of routine maintenance, like cleaning off buildup of seaweed and barnacles from the hull photos, >click to read< 15:01
Ottawa signs new deal to charter fishing boats for science surveys
The agreement with the Atlantic Groundfish Council, which represents the region’s largest seafood companies, allows DFO to charter industry vessels for two to six weeks a year for fisheries or ecosystem surveys in Atlantic Canada. “We’ve been distressed in the fishing industry for two or three years now because DFO research vessel surveys were not getting done,’ said Bruce Chapman, president of the Atlantic Groundfish Council. DFO scientists returned last week from the first mission under the new charter agreement. It was a two-week survey on Georges Bank aboard the Mersey Venture, a 58-metre factory freezer trawler owned by Nova Scotia seafood company Mersey Seafoods. The Mersey Venture gathered data used by both Canada and the United States to jointly manage trans-boundary haddock, cod and yellowtail flounder stocks on the shared fishing grounds. Photos, >click to read< 17:35
Fishing boats depart for Alaska – Local crabbers begin dropping pots for season opener
A number of the larger commercial fishing boats that call Newport’s Yaquina Bay their home headed out this week for the annual trek to Alaska’s Bering Sea. It can take eight to 10 days for them to make the journey up north, depending on the weather. Boats from Newport will be docking either at Dutch Harbor or Kodiak, where they will be based while fishing for pollack and cod, a fishery that generally lasts for several months. The Port of Newport’s International Terminal was hopping with activity this week as boat owners and their crews made final preparations. In addition to the Alaskan fleet getting ready to head north, local commercial crabbers were busy loading their gear in preparation for the opening of the season this Sunday, Jan. 15. >click to read< 08:40
Mystery of the disappearing mahi-mahi divides fishermen
At a recent meeting of federal regulators in the Florida Keys, local fishermen raised the alarm that one of the most popular fish they go after – the dolphinfish or mahi-mahi – is fast disappearing from local waters. But industry regulators and the commercial fishing boats, say the plight of the charter boats is more complicated than that. Commercial “long line” fishing is not permitted off the Florida coast and federal regulations allocate the vast majority of the 24.5 million pounds of mahi-mahi allowed annually to the charter boats and their recreational rod-and-reel customers. They blame the larger commercial fishing vessels ,,, Photos, >click to read< 17:19
Best Diesel Marine Engines
It’s difficult to even quantify the importance of a reliable marine diesel engine. Sport-fishing/commercial fishing boats around the world simply wouldn’t have the legs to do what they do without these expertly and carefully crafted diesel machines. Evolving technologies continue to produce highly efficient and advanced engines for marine applications, whether starting new or repowering. Here, we’ve compiled a list of some of the best in the business. >click to read< 10:33
California poised to impose wave of boat emissions rules in 2022
Like users of lawn mowers and gas leaf blowers, working boat captains, excursion operators and fishermen will be asked told to get on board with new engine emissions regulations starting as early as 2022. The California Air Resources Board released its proposed emissions regulations on commercial boats in September. After hosting hundreds of meetings and receiving an opposing petition signed by thousands of sport fishers in California, the air quality agency expects to finalize the first in a montage of stricter guidelines to upgrade the boats by next spring. >click to read< 13:21
Commercial Fishing Up Close – Pat Morss
There has been a lot of sport fishing in close to the Eastern Point rocks recently, and this morning a spotter plane and two commercial fishing boats out of Gloucester got our attention. The photo captions below may just be my imagination, but this is what it looked like. >click to view ten photos< 07:43
NZ First could put the brakes on the extension of cameras on more boats, depending on outcome of election
New Zealand First has long resisted cameras, but has now agreed with Labour to extend their use. But the party’s fishing spokesperson, Shane Jones, said he would be watching the process closely to make sure it did not handicap the economy. It was important to keep earnings by the primary sector strong, for the benefit of New Zealand as a whole, he said. “The installation of cameras on fishing boats needs to driven by a robust appraisal … and careful analysis of what is the business case (for them),” he said. “In this post Covid environment it is incredibly important that revenue is delivered with gusto. >click to read< 13:50
New Zealand Government to pay up to $60 million to install cameras on commercial fishing boats
Minister of Fisheries Stuart Nash has announced a large cash investment from the Government to roll out cameras on commercial fishing vessels. The cameras will be used to monitor any breach of fishing quotas by operators. Nash said the funding would make a real difference, but defended the delay in making it happen. “This isn’t simply a matter of just about getting a go-pro and a selfie stick and away you go, we’re talking about cameras that are operating in the harshest of environment, we’re talking about up to 700G of data that has to be transferred from the boat per month, from the boat to some sort of storage site, it has to be viewed. >click to read< 20:35
Long Island Coronavirus Hangover: Fishermen’s business remains in the doldrums even as restaurants reopen
While many local fishermen sell to local retailers, a steady local business even through the pandemic, the lion’s share of local fish go to companies that distribute to restaurants throughout the region and across the country. Three months of lockdowns over the coronavirus has backed up the market for the products, leaving warehouses for local frozen fish such as squid fully stocked, while drastically reducing demand for local clams and oysters..,, The summer is normally a prime time for fishing trawlers that harvest squid, said Greenport commercial fisherman Mark Phillips, but the market has been backed up by months of shutdowns and a closure of some export markets, including to China. Phillips said he was hopeful the start of restaurant reopening increases demand for squid, his primary fishery right now. >click to read< 07:47
Port of Port Townsend: Marine trades plan for reopening in Phase 2
When the governor first announced his “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” order, boat builders in Port Townsend put down their sanders, chisels and saws and headed home. But as the fishing season drew closer, and Alaskan towns began to institute two-week quarantines for incoming boats, crews scrambled to get their fishing vessels ready. On March 30, Gov. Jay Inslee said marine trades businesses could continue to work on commercial fishing vessels in addition to government and transportation vessels. “I don’t think there’s any debate that the marine trades have been essential workers throughout the closure,” said Eron Berg, director of the Port of Port Townsend. While the port scaled down haulouts, marine trades businesses scaled down to just working on commercial fishing vessels. ACI Boats, a boat construction company at the port’s boat yard, launched a newly built commercial fishing vessel that will head to Bristol Bay amid the pandemic. >click to read< 17:39
Michelle Malkin Investigates – Preview: Fishing Wars | Drowning in Regulations
Commercial fishing boats in New England are going under at an alarming rate and hard-working families are being demonized by a multi-million-dollar environmental industry whose only product to sell is fear. In this edition, Michelle Malkin travels to the northeast to meet with those in the fishing industry to learn more about how they are drowning in government regulations. click here to watch the preview 16:47
Feeding the data gluttons
I see the Ministry for Primary Industries is claiming it needs GPS tracking and cameras on commercial fishing boats to better monitor the fisheries and make better and more timely decisions. I say this is rubbish as we already give them tow by tow GPS coordinates and catch estimates in the trawl fishery and they do not use this information now. As for timely management decisions, well that’s a joke. Our elephant quota has been out of balance with catches for over 20 years. I spend more time avoiding fish than I do catching it. click here to read the letter 14:30
Small commercial fishing boats need life rafts this month
Fishermen in Southeast Alaska (and Nation Wide) are learning about new safety requirements for life rafts that take effect later this month. The changes are included in past Coast Guard re-authorization bills and will mean smaller fishing boats will have to have a life raft to go three miles offshore. Coast Guard commercial fishing vessel examiners were in Petersburg this month offering free dockside exams for boats getting ready to go out in a variety of fisheries this month and next. The examiners held a question and answer session to brief fishermen on new requirements and spent a good part of their time answering questions about the new life raft requirement for smaller fishing boats. Read the rest here 09:36
Eckel’s Diesel Service, Lower Township, NJ repair shop keeps commercial fisherman afloat
LOWER TOWNSHIP — Working as a mechanic is a study in crisis management. That is especially true when the engines being serviced are aboard commercial fishing boats. When these break down, time lost on the water can cost their crews and owners thousands of dollars per day. Bud Eckel, owner of Eckel’s Diesel Service in Lower Township, has become expert in making fast, efficient repairs to clamboats, scallop boats and sport-fishing boats. continued
Our View : Legislature should permit lobster by-catch
Portland’s wharves tell the story of Maine’s struggling groundfish industry. Where dozens of commercial fishing boats once tied up, you might find only one or two today. That is mostly a result of the collapse of groundfish stocks and their slow rebound under tight federal regulations. New England is asking for disaster relief funds for the fishery — and it’s a disaster not just for the fishermen, but also for the businesses that sold them food, gas and ice, repaired their engines and sold and processed their catch.
But that’s not the whole story. continued
