Who is Keith Colburn? All About ‘Deadliest Catch’ Reality Star
American businessman, fisherman, and reality TV personality Keith Colburn is most recognized for his work on the Discovery Channel series Deadliest Catch. Colburn’s exciting life at sea has brought him success and notoriety as the owner and captain of the FV Wizard. His rise from a commercial crab fisherman to a television celebrity is a credit to his perseverance and hard work. Keith Colburn began his career as a commercial fisherman, eventually becoming the captain and owner of FV Wizard. His ascent to fame started when he appeared on Deadliest Catch, which exposed viewers to the hazardous and taxing world of Alaskan crab fishing. Keith has established himself as a prominent figure in reality television. He has contributed as a consultant on numerous Deadliest Catch TV specials and series over the years. more, >>CLICK TO RED<< 11:46
Commercial fishing is dying in Southwest Florida. Can it be saved?
Out on the waters of Pine Island Sound, Shane Dooley is home. “Dad built me a boat when I was 12 years old,” he said. “Been out here fishing with my buddies. Been all over.”Dooley is from a true fishing family — three generations worth. First, his grandfather became a commercial fisherman, and then his father, Mike Dooley, who has been catching mullet for some 50 to 60 years now — long before everything changed. The decline started in 1994, the Dooleys said, when Florida banned gill nets after a statewide vote. Many commercial fishermen, still sour over it today, said those campaigning to ban the nets misled voters about the impact the equipment had on marine life. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:53
Eight crew members rescued from sinking boat after crash during fish transfer
Eight people had to be rescued from a fishing boat after it crashed into its sister vessel and began to sink south east of Fair Isle. An investigation found that the skipper of Peterhead-based trawler Guiding Star had left the wheelhouse unattended during a routine fish transfer between it and the Guiding Light in October 2022. The Marine Accident Investigation Branch (MAIB) report said the skipper had been “excited to view the quality catch” after several days of intensive fishing and wasn’t there to prevent the boat from colliding with Guiding Light during a heavy swell. Water began to enter the boat’s hull immediately following the crash, rising above the cabin floor and erupting through the emergency escape hatch before continuing to flood the main deck. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:16
Show Me the Benefits: 10 Years in, What Have Marine Protected Areas Accomplished?
More fish, more sustainable fisheries, and an ecosystem better protected from threats was the promise of the Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) and the 124 MPAs now in place in California. Ten years on, what have they accomplished? The recently completed 10-year review by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, as well as numerous scientific papers, suggest that our hopes were misplaced. The review concludes “statewide and regional trends across habitats showed no difference in biodiversity inside compared to outside MPAs.” As to the very real threats to California’s coastal ecosystems, climate change and recent marine heat waves, the review is decidedly not sanguine “analysis across habitats in the central coast revealed that MPAs did not provide strong resilience against the marine heatwave.” Ouch! Finally, there is not even evidence that there are any more fish in California state waters now, except for some of the areas that are closed to fishing. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:00
Anderson: Offshore wind risks outweigh exaggerated rewards
A recently published article referencing the upcoming sale/lease of 827,000 acres of area in the Gulf of Maine to developers for offshore wind turbines should not be passed over lightly. This sale/lease event will take place on Oct. 29, 2024, in a process where developers will bid on eight sites within the 827,000 acres. The article further reported on state Sen. David Watters’ involvement and advocacy for this development as a panacea for our energy needs. Truth be told, this is not as accurate as it appears as offshore wind poses more of an environmental threat than remedy when one investigates the details. The fishing industry coastwide has expressed their legitimate concerns on a variety of issues, and more and more of the general public is now expressing their skepticism, as they should. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:33
Iconic Brunswick shrimp boat sinks during Helene
The Dora F, the second oldest shrimp fishing vessel operating on the East Coast, broke free from its dock in Brunswick’s East River and sank as Helene unleashed her strongest winds on the Golden Isles early Friday morning. The vessel, captained by Johnny Ray Bennett, was tied to the Lady Raven and the City Market docks off of Bay Street during the storm, Bruce Collins of City Market said. The Lady Raven took on water and began to sink, putting pressure on and eventually snapping the line that lashed the Dora F to the dock, he said. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:52
Tuna selling at a higher price for some local fishermen
This year’s tuna season has been described as successful by some eastern PEI fishers. Allen Fay fishes out of North Lake. “There are lots of fish around,” he said. “They’re fetching a much better price than earlier years.” Fisherman Lucas Lesperance has had a similar season. “They’re definitely up in prices. It’s the same old story; supply and demand,” said Mr Lesperance. Fishing out of Naufrage, he has caught five tuna so far, the biggest of which being 490 lbs. “This year we were a little further offshore (to start), they were hanging around deeper waters but have moved closer with the bait,” he said. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:35
2 Delaware watermen sue to delay US Wind turbine project off Ocean City coast
The Caesar Rodney Institute filed the lawsuit against the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control on the watermen’s behalf, focusing on a technicality that U.S. Wind did not complete an application that would allow the company to bring transmission lines ashore to Delaware and build a power substation next to the Indian River Powerplant. The lawsuit asks the Sussex County Superior Court to declare that the agency can’t grant a permit because the application is incomplete. The application for a beach construction permit requires a report from the Division of Watershed Stewardship, as well as zoning approvals, which have not been done. “Law and the regulations they adopted require that approval for the zoning required as part of the project be done before the permits are granted, and, in fact, it’s a mandatory component of the application itself,” attorney Jane Brady said. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:33
Nova Scotia: GCIFA wants fewer sites considered for offshore wind
Concerned about the effects of massive turbine installations and operations on or near commercial fishing grounds, the Guysborough County Inshore Fisherman’s Association (GCIFA) wants two of the six sites being considered for offshore wind (OSW) farms in Nova Scotia removed from the list of potential future development areas (PFDAs). We request [that these PFDAs] be deleted from further consideration. “The Canso-based organization – representing roughly 150 small-boat harvesters on the Eastern Shore – also raises issues over use of the Middle Bank PFDA and the combined size of the areas under consideration and suggests that all OSW farms be located around Sable Island, where there are “very low [existing] commercial landings,” and they can do the least harm to harvesters. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:59
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 45′ x 19′ Dixon Lobster/ Scalloper W/ Permit, 750HP John Deere 6135
To review specifications, information, and 11 photos’, >click here<. To see all the boats in this series, >click here< 06:23
Hurricane Helene death toll climbs to 134 as search for missing in North Carolina continues
The death toll from Hurricane Helene continues to climb as rescue efforts persist across the Southeast. Hard-hit regions, including parts of western North Carolina, are receiving aid from various states as emergency crews work to reach isolated communities devastated by catastrophic flooding. The death toll attributed to Helene’s impacts has been steadily climbing, with at least 134 people now confirmed dead in six states – Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee. President Joe Biden announced he will travel to the region on Wednesday and is expected to visit Asheville, North Carolina, to get a firsthand look at the devastation. Biden is also expected to visit Florida and Georgia. Photos, Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:47
ILA UNION ON STRIKE IN 36 US PORTS – Teamsters Warn Biden To ‘Stay the F*ck Out of This Fight’
“We are official out on strike, our contract ended at midnight,” Bernie ODonnell, international Vice President for ILA New England told reporters. “We plan on being here 24/7 until we get a good contract. We are looking for a fair contract and we are fighting automation.” In a last-minute effort today to avert the strike, port employers represented by the United States Maritime Alliance (USMX) announced that both sides have exchanged wage-related offers. However, reporting quickly indicated that the International Longshoremen’s Association (ILA) union had already rejected the offer. The current contract, which covers approximately 45,000 port workers across 36 ports on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts expired at midnight this morning. Photos, Video, links, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:25
Canada’s largest fishing vessel delivered
Baffin Fisheries has taken delivery of new 80-metre trawler F/V Inuksuk II, the largest fishing vessel under the Canadian flag, which is scheduled to soon start operating on shrimp and Greenland halibut (turbot) for its Inuit owners. Inuksuk II has been built to a Skipsteknisk ST-119 design with an 80-metre overall length, a beam of 18 metres and a 2700 cubic metre fishroom capacity for 1320 tonnes of Greenland halibut or 930 tonnes of shrimp. Accommodation on board is for a crew of up to 34. The new trawler has been built at Tersan in Turkey. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:58
NAFO Annual Meeting 2024: Key Decisions on Cod and Redfish Stocks
A joint proposal from the EU and Canada led to the reopening of the fishery for Northern cod in Divisions 2J, 3K, and 3L, with a revised sharing arrangement. This update was necessary, as the previous provisions had been in place since 1991. The EU’s share was increased to reflect its current composition, ensuring a fairer allocation of fishing rights. Additionally, fishing opportunities for 3M cod were increased, with existing technical measures maintained to protect the stock. NAFO’s decision rewards the fishing sector’s conservation efforts by increasing opportunities while maintaining caution to safeguard stock sustainability. A joint proposal from the EU and Canada led to the reopening of the fishery for Northern cod in Divisions 2J, 3K, and 3L, with a revised sharing arrangement. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:03
Testing finds mostly foreign shrimp at Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival
Genetic testing of seafood served at the recent Louisiana Shrimp and Petroleum Festival in Morgan City found four out of five vendors evaluated were serving foreign shrimp passed off as local. The testing was performed at the five-day festival over the Labor Day weekend by Sea D Consulting, a food safety tech company that recently developed a rapid seafood species identification test. Company owner Dave Williams of Houston said local shrimpers in Louisiana invited him to Morgan City to try out his technology at the festival, first held in 1936 and where attendees would expect to find local catch. Williams said he purchased plates of boiled shrimp from five of the roughly 12 seafood vendors at the event, asking each where the shrimp was caught. All five vendors assured him their shrimp came from Louisiana waters, he said. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:46
NCFA Weekly Update for – September 30, 2024: URGENT! Assistance for Storm Victims in Western North Carolina
Some issues in need of special attention this week. Our Family and Friends in Western NC – The devastation of Hurricane Helene is unreal and unimaginable. There are many small communities further up the mountain from Asheville that are not getting much news coverage. Speaking with locals in the areas of Yancey, Mitchell, and Avery Counties in particular, they are still very much in the search and rescue stage of recovery. Many people are still unaccounted for and most shelters, schools, and churches do not have any form of communication to let people know they need help or to let loved ones know they are ok. Due to the nature of the area, landslides and canyons created by the flooding has destroyed many roads and made many areas only accessible by helicopter. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 18:47
Navigating Alaska’s stormy seas
Norwegian fishermen settled in Petersburg in the 1800s, drawn to its ideal location for pursuing salmon, crab and halibut. Today, hundreds of vessels dock there, selling their catch to the town’s two major processors. These processors head and gut the fish before canning or freezing them for the journey to dinner tables across the world. One of these plants, built over a century ago, is the town’s largest private employer. Few know the industry better than Glorianne Wollen, a fisherman’s daughter who operates a large crab boat and serves as harbourmaster. From her small office, she has witnessed significant change over the years. “In the good old days, the town was alive with discussion,” Wollen recalls. “Everybody had a stake, everybody knew what was going on, and things happened in real-time.” That energy faded as boats grew larger and more efficient, requiring fewer crew members and leading to a more detached industry. Last year, however, the industry faced a crisis that even seasoned veterans struggled to recall. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 16;20
Video shows inside look at the Portland Fish Exchange, all-display auction for Maine seafood
The Portland Fish Exchange became America’s first all-display fresh seafood auction when it first opened in 1986. The exchange provides multiple services to the Gulf of Maine seafood industry, including live groundfish auctions, product unloading and refrigerated warehousing. Commercial fishing vessels are offloaded in the morning and workers at the exchange separate the catch by species of fish and market grade. Auctions are held every Monday through Thursday, and the products purchased head to restaurants, markets and processing plants within hours of vessel landings. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:42
New west Louisville children’s museum AHOY to include historic shrimp boat
Sitting nearly six miles downriver from downtown Jeffersonville, Indiana, in a spot where barges normally occupy the Ohio River, a historic shrimp boat waited to start its final voyage. Suspended by a crane high above the water in which it sat unused for decades, the 70,000-pound shrimp boat was creaking. Katy Delahanty looked on from the bank of Utica Pike in Jeffersonville and watched crane operators, workers on tugboats, and others come together to lift the 75-year-old boat out of the Ohio River so it could be moved to its new home. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:19
Maine Unions Lead on the Green Energy Transition
Maine’s fifteen years long OSW policy debates have been hobbled by entrenched opposition from Maine’s lobstermen. It would also be impossible to convince politicians to pass an OSW law that was oblivious to the interests of Maine’s lobstermen. Governor Mills and her team reached out to Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA), but they did not break through the impasse. The MLA continues to oppose OSW by arguing about potential impacts “on the marine environment, commercial fishermen and our fishing heritage.” MLA’s opposition has grown stronger in the past few years under the influence of New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA), which is orchestrating conservative anti-OSW campaigns across the East Coast. To break this logjam, the MLCC worked with the country’s only lobstering union, Lobster 207. Though a small fraction of Maine lobster fishers are unionized, the lobstering union has a crucial role in advocating for improved working conditions within the lobstering industry. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:50
1 In 30 Million: Rare Yellow Lobster Caught Off Nantucket
Jim Sjolund, captain of the Nantucket lobster boat Julie Alice, was hauling traps about 25 miles east of the island on Friday when his sternman Adam Spencer noticed something peculiar come out of the water. “At first, I didn’t think anything of it,” Sjolund said of the strange color inside one of the traps, believing it might be a fish. “But my sternman got excited, and I came over and said ‘holy sh**’!” Inside the trap was an incredibly rare yellow lobster. Sjolund knew right away it was unusual. But it wasn’t until he got back to Nantucket and did some research that Sjolund realized he had essentially hit the lobster lottery. The chances of catching a yellow lobster are 1 in 30 million, according to the University of Maine’s Lobster Institute. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<<06:44
Southeast US devastated by remnants of Hurricane Helene
The remnants of Hurricane Helene have caused devastation across the Southeastern United States, leaving dozens dead, many stranded, and millions without power. Helene, the strongest hurricane recorded to hit Florida’s Big Bend region, has since weakened to a post-tropical cyclone but is still bringing catastrophic flooding, powerful winds, and unthinkable damage up the east coast from Florida to Virginia. As of Sunday, at least 60 people were reported dead. Landslides and flooding as a result of the tropical storm have left entire towns, families, even hospitals cut off and stranded needing rescue. Many across five states were left unprepared for the life-changing destruction as Helene intensified quickly during the week. Hurricane researchers estimated that unusually warm ocean temperatures combined with swift changes in wind heights may be the reason for the intense development. Video, Links, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:04
Lawsuit claims Oregon-based Pacific Seafood fired employee for reporting scheme to cheat shrimp boats out of millions
A former Pacific Seafood employee has filed a $2.25 million lawsuit against his former employer, one of the nation’s biggest seafood companies, claiming it fired him after he discovered one of the brands had been falsifying the weights of catches it bought from shrimp boats and wrongly pocketed an extra $10 million to $20 million. The Portland-area company disputes the allegations in Justin Ottman’s lawsuit, filed last week in Multnomah County Circuit Court. Ottman’s suit, however, describes him as a whistleblower — claiming he’d documented the alleged years-long fraud in a 170-page report he presented to top executives. But his suit says when he continued to push the company to make it right, the company demoted him from his position as interim chief financial officer, forced him to work remotely and gave his desk to an intern before ultimately firing him by telling him his position had been “eliminated” in December 2023. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:23
Fisherman converts boat to become first in UK powered by battery
Sitting in the water, there is little to tell the Lorna Jane apart from other fishing boats. But this vessel is believed to be one of a kind. Below deck, where the engine once was, there is a battery equivalent in size to a small electric car. Above, there is a double-sided solar panel, catching the sun’s rays and reflections from the sea. Unlike its diesel counterparts, this fishing boat runs entirely on electric. Its owner Hans Unkles has been a boatbuilder and fisherman for around 40 years. He spent two-and-a-half years converting the boat in a shed near the village of Tayvallich. “It’s definitely the only one in the UK, and I’ve done a whole lot of social media, which reaches around the world, and I’ve not heard of another all-electric fishing boat.” Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:19
“I am glad this auction has been canceled”: City of Brookings responds to BOEM wind energy plan delay
In response to the auction being postponed Brookings mayor Isaac Hodges said, “I’m happy that even a pause shows that there’ll hopefully be a little bit more input from the community to allow for a little bit more of our voices to be heard. There definitely was a lot of trust lost with the way that this was pushed forward.” His colleague on the Brookings City Council gave a statement, calling this a positive move for the city. “I am glad this auction has been canceled. There was very little local support for the offshore wind energy project – it was not cost effective, the impacts on recreational and commercial fishing were ignored by the federal government, along with the adverse impact on marine mammals, birds, shellfish and other wildlife. It is absurd the state and federal government ignored concerns about the impact on our way of life on the southern Oregon Coast. We would have been forced to see offshore wind mills day and night and would have had to deal with the environmental impacts of giant windmills washing up on our shoreline after major winter storms. The city of Brookings has opposed this project from the beginning. I am glad this has fallen apart now, instead of after major environmental and economic damage was done to our region.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:48
NSW fisheries officers demand stab-proof vests and capsicum spray in order to do their job safely
Fisheries officers are calling for the right to use capsicum spray and wear stab-proof vests after run-ins with illegal poachers and criminal gangs. They are also refusing to carry out night inspections of trawlers without police assistance. Supervising fisheries officer Joe Wright knows too well the dangers of confronting a fisherman suspected of an illegal catch. Mr Wright is one of dozens of fisheries officers in New South Wales who have been threatened with assault while on the job, protecting oceans, rivers and estuaries. These officers are now demanding stab-proof vests and capsicum spray, amid fears workers are at risk of being hurt or even killed. The union representing the officers says they are unsafe and “operationally ineffective” when coming face-to-face with poachers and organised criminals. Photos, more, >>CLICK TI READ<< 17:18
N.S. judge upholds fisheries minister’s right to impose licence moratorium
A Supreme Court of Nova Scotia judge has rejected an attempt by a Meteghan lobster processor to have the courts overturn a decision made or upheld by three fisheries ministers in Nova Scotia Lobster Hub Inc. first applied for a fish buyers and processors licence in February 2021. The company wants to process snow crab in addition to lobster at its processing plant. The Department of Fisheries and Aquaculture rejected the application, citing a moratorium placed on those licences unless they were tied to an aquaculture operation or secondary processing. The freeze has been in place since 2018 while the department reviews its licensing policy. The company appealed but Liberal fisheries minister Keith Colwell rejected it about a month before the PCs took power in 2021. The company tried to lobby Premier Tim Houston about a year later, expressing concern about Colwell’s reasoning. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:35
Commercial fishing industry member Wallace L. “Buck” Huff of Seattle, Washington has passed away
Wallace L. “Buck” Huff was born June 24, 1938, in Seattle Washington, to Wallace T. and Myrtabelle Huff. On March 24, 1967 Buck was united in marriage to Dolores A. Beste, and became the Dad to her 4 children and welcomed his youngest son a year later. The family lived briefly in Federal Way until moving to Westport WA in the early 70’s, where he worked most his life connected to the commercial fishing industry. He ran a boat lift at the Westport docks for Bar View Resort, owned and ran the Channel Cat and Ocean Knight, primarily fishing salmon, later he operated the Washington Crab Producers meal plant, until he retired in the mid-90’s. He moved to Moses Lake Washington in 2005 to be near his youngest son and his family and took a job at the Senior Center Thrift Store. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:14
Days on the water, nights at Town Office: Harpswell lobsterman advocates for working waterfront on 7 committees
Matt Gilley stood in front of a shelf in his Cundy’s Harbor home. It holds a collection of marine oddities from the bottom of lobster traps, such as unique lobster claws, a seahorse, and a full-sized clam that grew inside a Coke bottle. “The fun part of it is, you don’t know what’s going to come up,” he said. Gilley himself is a rarity in Harpswell. In a town with 216 miles of coastline and “working waterfront” on many local signs, he is one of a small group of commercial lobstermen involved in town government, spending his mornings on the water and his evenings advocating for those who work on it. “I want to see lobstering continue, and the only way for that to continue is for there to be another generation,” he said. “If I can do anything to conserve what little we have left so other people can do it, I’m going to do it.” Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:10
Harsh verdict on post-Brexit ‘sea of opportunity’
UK Fisheries operates the Hull freezer trawler Kirkella, having taken trawlers Norma Mary and Farnella out of service due to the lack of fishing opportunities, laying off the majority of their crews. ‘Not only has this had a devastating impact on them and their families, it has also dealt a severe blow to the social and economic fabric of the Humberside region,’ a UK Fisheries representative commented, referring to what the company refers to as ‘the abject failure of the fisheries policy of the previous administration.’ more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:09
