Tag Archives: Dungeness crab fishing season
A fishing boat captain and two deckhands died in a disastrous Oregon bar crossing. Could it have been prevented?
Joshua Porter got dressed for his job around 4 a.m. on Jan. 8, 2019, sat down at the end of the bed, buried his face in his hands and told his longtime partner he didn’t want to go. He was scared. A storm was brewing off the Oregon coast, where the Mary B II would be competing with dozens of other fishing boats in the first days of the Dungeness crab fishing season. In the handful of days he had worked on the Mary B II, Porter had become concerned. The 50-year-old captain, Stephen Biernacki, new to the Pacific Northwest’s waters, repeatedly refused advice from experienced sailors, had once ran his boat aground and seemed to be unfamiliar with the most elementary aspects of fishing for crab. “Well, why are you going?” Denise Barrett Ramirez, standing in the bedroom doorway of their Toledo home, asked him that morning. “Got bills to pay,” Porter replied. “I have to go.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 17:44
Morro Bay: Local fishermen, businesses impacted by delay of Dungeness crab fishing season
It’s a season that has already been cut by two-and-a-half months and for some fishermen, it’s becoming harder to keep their businesses afloat. “Could you go home and take a week off with no pay? Or two weeks, or three months like we’re forced to? Not very many people can,” said Lori French. French and her husband own a fishing boat in Morro Bay. Their main catch is Dungeness crab. >click to read< 07:51
