Tag Archives: Port of Galilee
Fishing boat catches fire at Narragansett dock
Crews responded to a massive fire on a commercial fishing boat docked at the Port of Galilee Sunday night. Fire officials say they responded to the docks near State St. around 6 p.m. Saturday to find a fully involved boat fire with flames extending to the docks. “We had been working on it the last couple days, trying to get it ready for commercial fishing,” said Scott Babcock. “I don’t know if the boat is going to be fixable or not,” he continued. Babcock says the boat, the Louis Virginia, is named after his mom. He says his family has owned the boat for around 10 years. Video, photo, >click to read< 07:15
R.I. Truckers Back $46 Million Plan to Upgrade Commercial Fishing Port
The Rhode Island Trucking Association backs the governor’s request to invest $46 million to add decades to the life of a major East Coast commercial fishing hub in the Port of Galilee while improving freight movements. The port, operated by the state Department of Environmental Management (DEM), occupies 38 acres in the town of Narragansett. It has two port terminals, 240 commercial fishing boats and 40 docks and piers. Businesses that support the commercial fisheries there include seafood dealers, fish processors, fuel, ice supplies, fishing gear and truck transportation. >click to read< 13:02
Narragansett: More than 80 boats take to the sea for Blessing of the Fleet
Fishing trawlers, pleasure yachts, Coast Guard vessels and even the Block Island ferries all received a benediction as they passed through the Galilee breachway Saturday afternoon for the annual Blessing of the Fleet. “Lady Frances, may almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and all those who sail upon you,” the Rev. Francis Kayatta, pastor at St. Mary Star of the Sea in Narragansett, intoned while making the sign of the cross as the Lady Frances passed by.,, “Proud Mary, may almighty God bless you, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and all those who sail upon you,” he repeated. “And your little dog too,” he added to a passenger holding a small dog. The passengers yelled back, “Thank you, reverend.”>click to read< 14:32
Problems at the Port of Galilee being fixed. Finally.
The Port of Galilee in Narragansett, home to 200 fishing boats, is a working seaport in need of work itself. You can see large gaping holes of rusted out steel. Pilings are rotting. Decking on the docks has become so beaten down, weathered and dangerous. “Long overdue,” said lobsterman, Louis Fusco. “People falling, people getting hurt, getting electrocuted. The fishing port of Galilee produces a lot of income for the state, tax dollars, just jobs. I mean, the list goes on and on.” video, >click to read< 16:26
Reconstruction of North Bulkhead in Port of Galilee to continue into 2021
The state recently started a $5.2 million project to rehabilitate three commercial fishing piers in the Port of Galilee that are berths for the largest vessels, the offshore fleet.,, The vessels that tie up in this location produce the highest volume of landed seafood products. The work, which will involve demolition and replacement of the three piers, started in mid-October. The project in later phases will include reconstruction of the ice dock, called Dock X, which is the location for Seafreeze Ltd., which provides ice to the fishing vessels to keep the seafood fresh. >click to read< 12:24
R.I., feds spending $5.2 million to rebuild 3 sagging piers at Port of Galilee
The Port of Galilee is an economic engine for Rhode Island, bringing in $66 million in seafood last year and supporting 200 commercial fishermen and other businesses in the fishing industry. But Rhode Island’s largest fishing port has been looking the worse for wear for a long time now. Bulkheads are rotting, piers are sagging and asphalt is crumbling. In the latest effort to address the problems, the state is set to begin work on a $5.2-million project to rebuild three 40-year-old piers,, No matter how much is invested in dockside facilities to process and package seafood, if the piers aren’t up to par, it makes it difficult to offload the catch, said Meghan Lapp, general manager of Seafreeze Shoreside,,, “The docks are the lifeblood of the port,” she said. >click to read< 10:41
Point Judith fishermen optimistic as Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument restrictions ease
Removal of restrictions for an underwater national park sealed off from commercial fishing trawlers and lobstermen will now provide a bonanza of opportunities for fishing boats in Point Judith, said Fred Mattera, advocate for commercial fishing. According to Mattera, executive director of the Commercial Fisheries Center of Rhode Island, this once lucrative fishing spot will now again enable them to bring back large hauls to be sold to for restaurants, grocery stores and ingredients for other foods. Last Friday President Trump removed those restrictions and opened the area once more to fishing, but the decision has produced an outcry from various environmental groups warning of the potential destruction to unique marine life. >click to read< 14:49
Warming waters spark marine migration, fish wars
The warming waters associated with climate change are creating big ripple effects across fishing communities, including in this picturesque seaside town with a long fishing history. Take Joel Hovanesian, who last fall docked his 40-foot trawler at the Port of Galilee, calling it quits after a 42-year career of chasing fish.,,, Up and down the Atlantic coast, commercial fishermen are heading for the exits these days, irked by government rules and regulations that they say haven’t kept pace with the changes. Fishermen have long battled over fish allocations, but the fights have become more intense and complicated due to climate change. As more fish head north in search of cooler waters, fishermen complain that quotas have not kept pace with shifting stocks, making it harder for them to make a living and bring fish to market. >click to read<15:46
Gone squiddin’ in Galilee
Capt. Kevin Jones has been fishing out of the Port of Galilee, in southern Rhode Island, for a long time. “You know, I’m 63, and I started going when I was six years old,” he said. As a kid growing up near one of Rhode Island’s busiest ports, Jones helped out on other fishing boats as he worked his way up the ranks. Now, he’s captain of a 70-foot trawler. His primary catch, like most captains in Galilee, is squid. Longfin inshore squid, the species brought ashore at Galilee, is a point of pride in Rhode Island. The squid are processed and frozen at the port, and are shipped all across the country and the world for human consumption. >click to read<20:47
Five Wild Days Aboard a New England Squid Boat
Corey Harris wasn’t concerned about the storm. The captain of Rhonda Denise, a 77-foot commercial trawler, he’d been stuck in port all week, as two nor’easters, in early March, slammed the New England coast back-to-back. Now a third brewed offshore. But Harris saw an opportunity. “We’ll thread the needle between the storms,” he told me over the phone. We’d catch as much squid as possible, then haul ass back to port before the next system hit. Bring seasickness medicine, he added. “It’ll be rough—but worth it.”>click to read<15:51
Rhode Island: Squid Fishing is a Boon to the Local Economy
Its high squid fishing season. Recreational anglers crowd the Calamari (Goat Island) Causeway at night, carrying floating water lights and special jigs to scoop them up in buckets. The commercial fleet is pumping squid into the Port of Galilee by the boatload. From the seabed to the boat to a saltwater flume that shoots them into the maw of a dockside processing facility, they are sorted, graded and flash frozen at minus 40 degrees Fahrenheit.,, The Rhode Island fleet has been so adept at maximizing this particular catch that Galilee is now the number one port for longfin squid landings on the East Coast. In 2015, for example, Rhode Island landed sixteen million pounds. New York, its nearest competitor, landed about 4.3 million pounds. click here to read the story 14:34
Rhode Island: Investing in seafood industry pays off
Monday’s shoreline Port of Galilee ribbon-cutting ceremony was a perfect example of how investing in infrastructure can make the cash register ring for Rhode Islanders. “This dock was in rough shape. You couldn’t drive heavy vehicles on it. But thanks to the team here today, our capacity will be enhanced by 30 percent. This is big for our company,” said Ryan Clark, vice president of Town Dock, a fishing and fish processing company. Read the article here 15:24
Port of Galilee rehab called boost to R.I. economy
Governor Raimondo was joined by the congressional delegation at a ceremony on Monday at the Port of Galilee to mark the completion of a $2.9-million project to revamp infrastructure at Rhode Island’s largest fishing port. The project included rehabilitating 3,200 square feet of Pier HH, the port’s primary working pier for large vessels, and reconstructing a 925-foot stretch of bulkhead from Salty Brine State Beach to State Pier 3 that’s used by waterside business and ferry and charter services. The improvements were funded by a $2.9-million federal grant. Read the article here 07:31
