Tag Archives: Fort Bragg
Press Democrat Editorial: North Coast fishers need help
The bad news keeps piling up for the North Coast’s beleaguered fishing industry. Crab season was delayed yet again this winter, and now salmon season may be canceled entirely for the second consecutive year. Even a hopeful development — the ongoing removal of four obsolete hydroelectric dams on the Klamath River — turned sour when as many as 830,000 hatchery fish died within days after being released in the Klamath, apparently because of high water pressure inside a bypass tunnel at Iron Gate Dam. Commercial and sport fishing have supported families in Bodega Bay, Fort Bragg and other North Coast towns for generations. “The identity of Bodega Bay is fishing,” Dick Ogg, a local skipper and president of the Bodega Bay Fisherman’s Marketing Association, told the editorial board. “The town itself, that is what we are, fishermen.” more, >>click to read<< 07:01
Frustrated fishermen get good news: good rockfishing, salmon fishing to return in 2024
With an oversized head, bulbous eyes and narrow body, the quillback rockfish looks like a golden bullfrog armed with a quiver full of arrows on its back. Few sport fishermen want to keep, much less eat, the famously sharp and ouchy and skinny quillback, which are reeled by those seeking meatier rockfish. But it was the quillback, which is often tossed back into the sea, whose population plummet caused a shutdown that impacted the entire rockfish industry, both for commercial and for party boats operating out of Mendocino Coast’s Noyo Harbor. That mysterious plunge in quillback numbers cut off all near-shore rockfish fishing last year, causing an organized outcry by fishermen and a new plan for 2024. Photos, more, >>click to read<< 07:15
Editorial: State orders will harm salmon fisheries
During recent droughts, low river flows and warm water have proved to be a lethal combination for salmon and other fish in the Sacramento River and its tributaries. State waivers of water quality regulations in six of the past 10 years didn’t help beleaguered fisheries. January’s drenching rains dramatically improved river conditions across the state, raising hopes for winter run chinook salmon. But the storms also generated a cascade of complaints about water being “wasted.” In other words, storm runoff flowed through the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta and into the Pacific Ocean. Gov. Gavin Newsom responded by suspending environmental regulations so more water is available this summer for Central Valley agriculture, a decision affirmed last week by the state Water Resources Control Board. >click to read< 09:56
Del Norte County commercial fishermen will drop their pots Thursday
The first Dungeness crab of the season is expected to hit Citizens Dock on Saturday,,, Following a meeting Monday morning, fishermen in Oregon and California and wholesalers agreed on $2.75 per pound of Dungeness crab,,, Seafood processors, including Pacific Choice Seafood, Bornsteins Seafoods and Hallmark Fisheries had offered $2.50 per pound,,, The discussion Monday involved fishermen in Brookings, Crescent City, Trinidad, Eureka and Fort Bragg, Shepherd said. Fishermen agreed to set their pots starting at 8 a.m. Thursday for a 48-hour soak and bring their catch in on Saturday, he said. >click to read< 07:39
Rough Seas Delaying Crab Pot Deployment – A gale warning from the Eureka office of the National Weather Service, in effect now until 3 a.m. Wednesday from Point St. George to Cape Mendocino, states “strong winds will cause hazardous seas which could capsize or damage vessels and reduce visibility.” >click to read<
Fort Bragg fishing community mourning loss of missing fisherman presumed dead
The Fort Bragg fishing community grieved Monday that one of their own remained lost at sea after a fishing boat overturned Saturday in rough waters off the Sonoma Coast, sending the man still missing and three others into the ocean. The four fishermen were hired crew working on the Miss Hailee trawling Saturday afternoon for cod and other fish. >click to read< 07:12
Coast Guard rescues two fishermen near Mendocino, assists two additional fishing vessels near McKinleyville and Fort Bragg
The Coast Guard rescued two fishermen aboard a 38-foot commercial fishing vessel approximately three miles west of Mendocino, Wednesday evening, and assisted two additional commercial fishing vessels near McKinleyville and Fort Bragg, Thursday. The crew aboard the 38-foot fishing vessel Seabird, contacted Coast Guard Sector Humboldt Bay watchstanders via VHF-FM channel 16 around 11:15 p.m., Wednesday, reporting a high-bilge alarm and flooding aboard the vessel. The Coast Guard aided a second fishing vessel,, The Jumpin’ Jack’s crew contacted Coast Guard Sector Humboldt Bay, The Kono’s crew contacted Station Noyo River >click to read< 21:50
North Coast seasonal crab haul above average
North Coast crabbers are set to end this year’s crab season Saturday on a high note after bringing in an above average haul of more than 11 million pounds of Dungeness crab worth $34 million between November and June, according to preliminary state data. “This is sort of an upswing in landings for that area,” Department of Fish and Wildlife environmental scientist Christy Juhasz said Friday. “Overall, it’s a good season.” The 10-year average haul for the North Coast is about 8.7 million pounds, according to the Department of Fish and Wildlife. Juhasz said the final landing data will likely increase by a few hundred thousand over the coming weeks as more data is collected. click here to read the story 08:30
