Fishermen challenge fishing ban, Antiquities Act abuse
Fishermen in New York and Vermont have filed a lawsuit against President Biden and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) challenging a ban on commercial fishing in the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, as well as the unlawful creation of the monument itself. “President Obama abused his authority when he created this monument in 2016, President Biden abused his authority when he reinstated it in 2021, and now NOAA has abused its authority with this fishing ban,” said Frank Garrison, an attorney at Pacific Legal Foundation. “We’ve now seen three Supreme Court Justices express interest in taking a case on presidential abuse of the Antiquities Act. This case is another example of the presidential abuse that has the Justices’ attention.” more, >>click to read<< 14:36
Mount Pleasant invests in improved safety, functionality of shrimp boat docks
Much needed upgrades are coming to an important part of Mount Pleasant’s legacy. Town leaders are allocating money to renovate its shrimp boat docks in preparation for a busy shrimping season. “The more boats, the better the dock needs to be,” Rocky Magwood, President of SC Shrimpers Association said. The process of bringing shrimp from the deck to the table is a vision that’s coming to life as the Town of Mount Pleasant’s budget for shrimp boat docks will allocate funding for an updated look and safety upgrades. Magwood says that the docks are wearing out and it’s necessary for a refresh. Video, more, >>click to read<< 13:01
FFAW blasts price-setting panel after it sides with ASP on crab-pricing formula
With the time-sensitive snow crab season set to begin in a few days, fish harvesters in Newfoundland and Labrador are once again talking about tying up their boats due to the price of crab. The province’s price-setting panel sided with the Association of Seafood Producers on Monday evening, setting a price floor of $2.60 per pound with the ability go up as market factors change. The panel rejected a formula proposed by the Food, Fish & Allied Workers union, which was closely tied to the formula suggested by an independent report at the end of last season. “There was a better way to do this,” said FFAW president Greg Pretty. “The work was already done by Glen Blackwood in his report. The Blackwood formula provided a way for harvesters to be paid a fair market share, but that was tossed aside for a formula that is not tied to information harvesters can trust.” more, >>click to read<< 11:26
Alaska fishermen and processing plants are in limbo as a state-backed seafood company teeters
The fishing fleet in the Southwest Alaska town of King Cove would have been harvesting Pacific cod this winter. But they couldn’t: Skippers had nowhere to sell their catch. The enormous plant that usually buys and processes their fish never opened for the winter season. The company that runs the plant, Peter Pan Seafoods, is facing six-figure legal claims from fishermen who say they haven’t been paid for catches they delivered months ago. King Cove’s city administrator says the company is behind on its utility payments. And now, residents fear the plant may stay closed through the summer salmon season, which would leave the village with just half of the revenue that normally funds its yearly budget. “We should be fishing right now,” said Ken Mack, a longtime King Cove fisherman. more, >>click to read<< 09:36
East End fishermen uneasy over wind farm South Fork Wind
Late last year, Gov. Kathy Hochul called South Fork Wind, which is projected to eliminate hundreds of millions of tons of carbon emissions annually, a “major milestone” in the state’s “nation-leading effort to generate reliable, renewable clean energy. “But at least one East End community remains staunchly opposed to wind farms: commercial fishermen — who say that the massive, 50-story turbines could irreparably damage the local marine ecosystem and displace them from areas they’ve fished for decades or even generations. more, >>click to read<< 08:12
Fisherman missing in water off Hawke’s Bay coast, colleagues join search
The colleagues of a fishing vessel crew member missing off the coast of Hawke’s Bay were on the water aiding search efforts more than 17 hours in. The man was reported overboard from a boat around 11km offshore of Waimārama, around 8pm on Easter Monday. Maritime NZ’s Rescue Coordination Centre was running the search, which included rescue helicopter services from Auckland, Gisborne and Hastings, Coastguard Hawke’s Bay and other vessels in the area. Coastguard Hawke’s Bay president Henry van Tuel said the vessel from which the man had gone missing was the Pacific Challenger. more, >>click to read<< 06:48
Panel Selects ASP Formula, Pulling Fair Market Share from Harvester Reach
Minutes ago, the Standing Fish Price Setting Panel announced their decision for the 2024 snow crab season, siding with the Association of Seafood Producers formula. FFAW’s offer was based on the Blackwood report and would have seen harvesters capture a fair market value based on historic shares. ASP’s formula is not based on historic data, nor was justification found within their submission document. Moreover, there is no mechanism for harvesters to benefit as the market increases. ASP caps harvester share at 37% once the market reaches $8.02CAD, contrary to historic pricing shares that increases the harvester share as market prices increase. more, including 2024 Crab Fishery Decision, >>click to read<< 19:50
Union and Province Come to Agreement on ‘Free Enterprise’
Today, the Provincial Government has released a letter detailing the provincial changes taking place to increase provincial processing capacity and give harvesters more opportunities to sell their catch. The agreement, which stemmed from protests held last month in St. John’s and around the province, responds to harvesters’ demands for free enterprise. “We are pleased with the amount of collaboration and consultation that has taken place to produce the letter from Minister Loveless today. The Minister took the concerns of harvesters seriously and has made tangible changes that will have positive impacts for fish harvesters all over the province,” says FFAW-Unifor President Greg Pretty. “Importantly, I want our plant worker members to know you are not forgotten about, and these changes are expected to have minimal-to-no impact on existing jobs,” Pretty says. more, >>click to read<< 16:19
Shrimp Season to Open in a Portion of State Outside Waters on April 4
The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries announced that the portion of state outside waters between Calliou Boca and Mound Point on Marsh Island shall reopen to shrimping at 6:00 p.m. on April 4, 2024. Recent biological sampling conducted by the department has indicated that small white shrimp, which have over-wintered in these waters from January through the present, have reached marketable sizes, and the closure is no longer necessary. more, including a map of the area opening. >>click to read<< 14:32
Oregon seafood industry calls on Gov. Tina Kotek to halt offshore wind energy development
A coalition of independent fishing boat operators, seafood companies and industry groups is calling on Gov. Tina Kotek to ask the federal government to stop a planned auction for floating wind energy projects off the Oregon Coast. In a letter to Kotek on Tuesday, the more than 100 signatories said she should stop the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management from moving forward with its plan to auction offshore wind site leases until the state has finalized its own roadmap for offshore wind development. “We’re saying no auction until the roadmap is complete,” said Heather Mann, executive director of the Newport-based Midwater Trawlers Cooperative, which signed the letter. more, >>click to read<< 12:43
Toxic Dust Threatens California Salmon Population, Lawmaker Seeks Solution
For the first time in more than three decades of fishing for salmon near Bodega Bay, Dick Ogg will motor his white and navy boat, Karen Jeanne, north this summer past his typical fisheries in hopes of finding the multicolored species along the Oregon coast. There aren’t enough salmon left off the California coast for Ogg to sell on Bodega Bay’s historic docks. “We, as fishermen, have nowhere to turn,” he said. Fishery managers are signaling they may cancel California’s commercial salmon season for the second year in a row, which means the 71-year-old has two options: temporarily traveling to Oregon to catch salmon or barely making ends meet luring in rockfish and sablefish. Ogg, often in a gray hoodie and wiry sunglasses, wishes there was a solution for boosting California’s salmon schools. He describes the species as “having one of the greatest spirits” an ocean-fairing creature can have. Photos, more, >>click to read<< 11:34
New Beamer Hits The Water
A year on from the launch of Interfish beam trawler Admiral Gordon at Parkol Marine Engineering’s facility in Middlesbrough, the yard has launched sister vessel Admiral Blake PH-440 for the same customer. The yard’s newbuild no 60, Admiral Blake was wheeled out of the fabrication shed and craned into the Tees. Sister vessel Admiral Gordon was delivered last year and was the first beam trawler over 20 metres in length to be delivered by a UK yard for more than thirty years. Photos, more, >>click to read<< 10:23
Gulf’s next wind auction puts focus on Louisiana after Texas shuns renewables
After the Gulf of Mexico’s first-ever offshore wind lease auction drew zero bids for sites in the waters off Texas last year, federal regulators plan to tilt the second auction toward Louisiana. Two weeks ago, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management proposed two new lease areas, totaling about 200,000 acres, in federal waters south of the Texas-Louisiana line, an area that may strike a balance between the stronger winds near Texas and the more welcoming politics of Louisiana. “Texas leaders said some inflammatory things about offshore wind right before the last lease sale,” said Jenny Netherton, a program manager for the Southeastern Wind Coalition. “That strongly suggested to some investors that Texas wasn’t the best bet.” more, >>click to read<< 08:18
Maine isn’t prepared for a huge threat to its fishing industry
More than two months after her commercial fishing pier on Mount Desert Island took a serious beating in back-to-back storms, Sheryl Harper has only just begun planning a way forward. High winds and storm surge swamped the pier twice in January, sending waves crashing into it, ripping doors away and heaving it up and down until the tides subsided. The pounding left the deck unusable, weakening the connection between its planks and the posts underneath, and prying the shoreside edge roughly 18 inches higher than the driveway leading up to it. The latter damage has made it impossible to get a work vehicle onto the pier to help clear out the debris. photos, video, more, >>click to read<< 06:54
Charges Dropped Against Wind Farm Protesters in Ocean City
Charges against six wind farm opponents arrested in a rally last September in Ocean City were dropped this week and their records were expunged. About 60 protesters attended the rally with the goal of stopping workers from drilling holes in the street in an early step in Orsted’s proposed Ocean Wind 1 project. When police asked protesters to relocate about 10 feet from the site, many did. Six others didn’t. After they laid down in the street, they were arrested and charged with two disorderly persons offenses, failure to disperse and obstruction of highways or public pathways. Photos, more, >>click to read<< 15:52
Offshore wind threatens centuries of fishing
Many people today think that offshore wind power will be able to give us abundant (long-lived?) clean energy. The water in the Gulf of Maine is very deep, any turbines sited there will be on floating platforms anchored to the seabed with giant chains. It is important to remember that the Gulf of Maine is the life blood of all our coastal fishing communities. I participated in an interesting project some years ago when the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association was formed. We worked with Island Institute to document how each fishing community extended far out to sea. Each community has traditional grounds that have been worked for centuries by fishermen from those communities. Fishing sustains coastal New England. If offshore wind industrialization is allowed in these fishing grounds the communities connected to these areas will suffer. by Glen Libby, more, >>click to read<< 10:52
Exhibition celebrates town’s lifeboat heritage
A new exhibition celebrates the “very intrinsic part” a lifeboat station has played in the history of a town in the west of the island. The display at the Leece Museum in Peel features images of key figures over the years, the lifeboats that have served the station, and stories of rescues carried out. Tony Quirk of Peel Heritage Trust said the town, which was “known for its fishing industry over the years” was “never short of fishermen and sailors willing to go to sea and rescue the stricken boats”. The exhibition has been designed to coincide with the 200th anniversary of the RNLI. Photos, more, >>click to read<< 09:40
Salmon populations are struggling, bringing economic woes for California’s fishing fleet
The season typically runs from May to October, but California Chinook salmon populations have declined so severely in recent years that fishery authorities are considering whether to adopt severe restrictions this season or impose a ban on fishing altogether for the second consecutive year. For those whose livelihoods revolve around catching salmon, the shutdown has brought hard times and widespread frustration. “It’s devastating. It’s absolutely devastating,” said commercial fisherman Chris Pedersen. “They’re literally killing the salmon fleet.” Pedersen, who is 64 and has been fishing for salmon since he was a boy, turned to other work over the past year to make ends meet. He has fiberglassed boats, delivered meals and built sheds at a horse ranch. “You’ve got to do whatever you can to live,” he said. Photos, video, more, >>click to read<< 07:48
Fishermen sail in from the Gulf to sell fresh seafood off the boat at this Louisiana market
Between March and December, a line of people wait, ice chests in hand, on the first Saturday morning of the month in the tiny hamlet of Delcambre. They’re waiting for the fishermen to coast in from the Gulf after catching crabs, fish or shrimp. Some fishermen shimmy into a boat slip, then dock and sell their catch fresh off the boat at the Delcambre Seafood and Farmers Market, held under the Bayou Carlin Cove Boat Landing and Pavilion at 605 S. Railroad St., Delcambre. Launched in 2013, the market hosts up to 60 vendors who sell everything from fresh produce, baked goods, jams and canned food to handmade crafts, jewelry and personalized T-shirts. Additionally, musicians provide live music for customers to enjoy. Lots of photos! more, >>click to read<< 20:12
No signs of herring stocks rebounding 2 years into moratorium, DFO says
Two years into a moratorium on the East Coast’s spring herring fishery, biologists say the stock isn’t improving. Fisheries and Oceans Canada put a moratorium on fishing for herring in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, and on the mackerel fishery in Atlantic Canada and Quebec, on March 30, 2022. At the time, the department said urgent action had to be taken to give the stocks a chance to recover and to ensure the long-term sustainability and prosperity of East Coast fisheries. DFO biologist Laurie Maynard said that over the last two years of evaluation, the herring stock has plateaued at around 30,000 tonnes, but isn’t showing signs of growth. more, >>click to read<< 14:58
Man found dead inside fishing boat that hit rocks near Point Reyes
A Half Moon Bay man was found dead after his fishing boat crashed into rocks Thursday afternoon near Point Reyes, officials said. The Coast Guard sent a rescue swimmer to the wrecked boat, The Westerly. The swimmer could see someone inside but could not get into the cabin. The Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office sent rescue helicopter Henry 1 to the boat near Chimney Rock, and a paramedic and tactical flight officer descended by rope onto the boat as waves battered it and it was listing on its side. The damaged boat then began to sink. The helicopter rescue crew broke into the boat’s cabin where they found the man dead. He was later identified as Matthew Paul, 49. The crew extracted Paul’s body and it was airlifted to the Marin County Coroner’s Office, which continues to investigate his cause of death. Video, more, <<click to read<< 11:42
Alaska Legislature boosts allowable payments from fund that covers fishers’ crew medical costs
Maximum payouts from a fund that covers medical costs of injured seafood harvesters would be boosted under a bill that won final passage in the Alaska Legislature on Thursday. The measure, Senate Bill 93, would boost allowable payouts from the Fishermen’s Fund to $15,000 per injury or disablement from the current $10,000 maximum. The fund is financed directly by commercial fishers through their license and permit fees. The change in maximum payouts under the fund would incur no new cost to the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development, according to the fiscal notes submitted for lawmakers’ review. more, >>click to read<< 10:13
Fishermen displaced by offshore wind farm apply for compensation
Vineyard Wind, the offshore wind developer, is constructing a 62-turbine wind farm in the federal waters south of New Bedford, the nation’s most lucrative fishing port. Uncertainty around whether it’s safe to fish inside offshore wind farms have soured many fishermen to the industry, even as wind developers offer new sources of income to fishermen willing to take on surveying, navigation and safety work. At the meeting at the port authority, a recently retired fisherman consulting for Vineyard Wind acknowledged this tension upfront. “I know how a lot of people feel about offshore wind,” said Fred Mattera. “Believe me, if I could click my heels and it’ll all go away, I’d be clicking my heels like you can’t imagine.” “But it’s not,” Mattera said. more, >>click to read<< 08:29
Blessing of the fleet asks for good weather, safety, and courage for Chilkat Valley fishermen
On a bluebird Sunday, a few dozen people gathered at the Small Boat Harbor for the Blessing of the Fleet. There was some confusion among people who attended about when exactly the tradition started in Haines – but many said the weather was the nicest it has been in years on the day of the ceremony. The annual gathering is sponsored by the Haines Ministerial Association and brings a multi-denominational crowd. “One of my favorite things about it,” said Haines Presbyterian Church Pastor Dana Perreard, “[is] you get folks who aren’t regular churchgoers because they want to honor their family members and remember them.” photos, more, >>click to read<< 07:09
1 person found dead on crashed fishing boat at Point Reyes
A person was found dead in a crashed fishing boat found by the Sonoma County Sheriff’s Office Helicopter Unit (Henry-1) on Thursday. At around 4:30 p.m., Henry-1 responded to calls of a boat that crashed into the rocky shoreline near Chimney Rock in Point Reyes. A rescue swimmer from the U.S. Coast Guard was deployed and located a person in the boat. However, the swimmer was unable to access the cabin without breaching equipment, the sheriff’s office said. Video, more, >>click to read<< 19:29
Hey-Hey-Hey-Lucky! Bas-Caraquet crab fisherman claims $64M record-breaking lottery jackpot
Merel Chiasson’s winning ticket was sitting on his bedroom dresser for nearly a year. A few weeks before it was set to expire, he learned he’d won a record-breaking $64-million jackpot. The fisherman from Bas-Caraquet, on the Acadian Peninsula, accepted the prize at the Atlantic Lottery office in Moncton on Thursday. It’s the largest lottery win ever claimed in Atlantic Canada. The winning Lotto 649 ticket was purchased in April 2023 and was set to expire next month, leading to speculation and rumours over what had happened. Some suggested it was purchased by a group of people who worked at Walmart, while another said someone had lost the ticket while hunting in the woods. more, >>click to read<< 13:22
The One Weird Trick Trump Could Use to Get Away with January 6th
Far from shore after a week at sea, a Florida fisherman named John Yates was buste
d by wildlife officials for catching grouper that were too small. But before returning to the dock a day later, Yates chucked the contraband fish overboard rather than hand them over to authorities. So, the federal government charged Yates with destroying evidence under a law passed in response to the energy giant Enron and its shady financial practices. Called the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the law was intended to crack down on financial fraud and evidence destruction. Yates argued that the law governed document shredding and fish aren’t documents. Eight years later, the Supreme Court sided with the fisherman in a precedent-setting 2015 decision that limited prosecutions. Today, that dump of grouper could wind up getting Donald Trump off the hook for January 6th. more, >>click to read<< 10:47
What You Didn’t Know About the Andrea Gail and ‘Perfect Storm’ Location
In the fall of 1991, a catastrophic storm swept the northeastern coast of the U.S., wreaking havoc along the coast of Massachusetts. The Andrea Gail set out from Gloucester on what was meant to be a month-long fishing trip off the coast of Newfoundland, covering a total of 900 miles. What they didn’t know was that the storm heading up the coast would take the lives of 13 people and cause millions of dollars in damage from Florida all the way up to Nova Scotia. Winds from the storm reached strengths of 120 miles per hour, and when no communication was heard from the 72-foot Andrea Gail, which was right in the center of the storm, the search was called off in a matter of ten days. To this day, the trawler, and its crew, have never been recovered. Here’s what you never knew about the Andrea Gail’s last communication, speculation about what exactly happened, and the haunting clues that have surfaced since. more, >>click to read<< 09:49
Expert To Examine Case of Arklow Vessel Which Developed Serious Stability Issues
The European Ombudsman may be asked to examine the case of the Mary Kate, the fishing vessel which developed serious stability issues after it was bought by an Arklow family. An Oireachtas committee has also agreed to appoint an expert to examine information surrounding the case. Representatives of the departments of transport and agriculture, food and marine may then be invited before the committee after the expert report is completed. The Joint Committee on Public Petitions and the Ombudsmen has proposed to take these actions after an initial hearing on the case in late February. Arklow fisherman CJ Gaffney was invited to outline his experience, where he was left with debts of 1 million euro. more, >>click to read<< 08:48
Nantucket’s Commercial Scalloping Harvest Tops 8,000 Bushels
Nantucket’s commercial scalloping season comes to an end today, and the harvest by island fishermen will top 8,000 bushels for the first time since the 2019-20 season. Scallopers, along with officials from the Nantucket Shellfish Association and the town’s Natural Resources Department, all said they were pleased to see the final number above 8,000 bushels, a small but not insignificant increase over last season’s total of 7,329 bushels. Bruce Cowan was among the few scallopers still fishing on Thursday, and he returned to Old South Wharf with his five-bushel limit and a smile on his face just before noon. Even with heavy rain and wind gusts expected to top 40 mph today, he said he was still thinking about getting out there for the final day of the season. Photos, more, >>click to read<< 07:45
