Feds offer emergency loans to idled salmon industry
Last spring, the commercial chinook salmon season was completely cancelled. Now federal officials are offering emergency subsidized loans for an industry in crisis. The loans must be repaid over a 30-year term, though no payments are required over the first year. George Kostyrko, a spokesman for the federal Small Business Administration, or SBA, said the aid is meant to help a now struggling sector. “The closure has had an economic impact on the commercial and recreational fishing and those associated with the broader salmon fishing industry here on the west coast,” Kostyrko said. more, >>lick to read<< 06:50
A group of commercial fishermen have ended up before the Supreme Court
An unforgiving southeast wind cut across Cape May, New Jersey, on a recent Tuesday morning; the 50-mile-per-hour gusts were so strong they created white caps on a section of the bay here that is typically calm. There would be no fishing for Bill Bright and his crew. “We don’t have crop insurance. If the fish don’t show up, there’s no bailout,” the 64-year-old said, standing on the deck of the Eva Marie, an 88-foot-long fishing vessel used to catch herring. As a lifelong fisherman, Bright is used to slow days. But a recent shift in tidal fortunes here has nothing to do with fish and everything to do with the federal government. “What’s at stake for us is our future,” Bright said. For years, fishermen like Bill Bright and his colleague Wayne Reichle have been required to take federal observers on their boats when they set out into the North Atlantic in search of herring. Video , >>click to read<< 19:06
MOU to Advance Wind Energy Cannot Be at Expense of Fishing Industry
December 6, 2023 – FFAW-Unifor is dismayed at today’s news from the provincial and federal governments announcing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) aimed at expediting the development of wind energy in Newfoundland and Labrador. The Union is calling for a clear commitment from the Provincial Government that priority will be given during the regulatory process to consult with affected industries, in particular the fishing industry, and asks for clarifications on other issues. “Previously, the jurisdiction of offshore and nearshore energy developments has been unclear, so today’s announcement does provide a clearer path for regulation. However, the Union is concerned that the MOU fails to clarify the government’s commitment to engage with primary ocean users and not rush through regulatory processes,” says FFAW-Unifor President Greg Pretty. more, >>click to read<< 16:30
Will SAFMC open oculina coral reef to shrimp trawling? Environmentalists oppose plan
Will an area of ocean bottom offshore of Florida’s Atlantic coast soon be reopened to shrimp fishers? That’s what’s expected to be decided Thursday during a meeting of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s Habitat Protection and Ecosystem Based Management Committee. They will vote on a motion to open a 22-square-mile area of sea floor about 20 miles offshore of St. Lucie, Indian River and Brevard counties. The area is believed to be an area where rock shrimp, and several other varieties of shrimp, can be harvested for sale in Florida seafood markets and restaurants. Commercial fishers say the area, closed to shrimp trawling since 2014, is ripe for productive fishing. Conservationists disagree, saying the area needs to remain closed to protect the slow-growing deepwater oculina coral from fishing practices that could harm the coral. more, >>click to read<< 14:25
In Massachusetts, the Never-Ending Fight over Herring Marches On
On a September day in 1805, Thomas Gifford lugged a cannon onto the village green in Falmouth, Massachusetts. The 27-year-old stuffed the barrel with herring and lit the fuse. Gifford planned to spew bloody bits of fish onto the green in an act of political protest. Instead, the cannon shattered, with mangled chunks of herring and shrapnel shredding Gifford’s body. It took him days to die. Gifford’s death was the culmination of a years-long conflict. The crux of Falmouth’s so-called Herring Wars never really went away. Even after Gifford accidentally dispatched himself, the owners of commercial endeavors, from fishers to cranberry farmers, have continued to clash with herring supporters across New England. This long and tumultuous history got a new chapter in March 2022 when a federal judge overturned a decision by the New England Fishery Management Council. The agency had briefly banned midwater trawlers,,, more, >>click to read<< 13:01
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 92′ Rodriguez Scalloper/Shrimper
To review specifications, information, 35 photos’, and a video, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series, >click here< 10:50
Bay Port Fishing Company: A 128-year legacy in Huron County
For the last 128 years, the Bay Port Fishing Company has been on the mountaintop, withstood troubling times, and still provided fresh fish year-round to the residents of Huron County and beyond. The Bay Port Fishing Company was established in 1895 off the dock of Bay Port between Lake Huron and Saginaw Bay, by W.J. Orr and W.H. Wallace. During the early years, fisherman used sailboats to make runs, placing and tending their nets. During the winter months, they chopped holes through the ice to continue fishing and preserving the catches in salt and packed them up in kegs. Photos, more, >>click to read<< 10:12
Miss Trish II plans harbor protest of onerous fishing rules
Capt. Lenny Russo of the 96-foot dragger F/V Miss Trish II said he plans to protest peacefully in Gloucester Harbor on Wednesday afternoon over what he describes as onerous fishing regulations. He is inviting other fishermen to join him. His Gloucester attorney, Stephen Ouellette, said the captain “believes he’s being treated unfairly” by “overzealous law enforcement.” Russo said he plans to head the Miss Trish II to Stacy Boulevard about 4 p.m. Wednesday, wave the American and the “Don’t Tread on Me” flags and protest what he said are unfair regulations. more, >>click to read<< 08:41
Tākaka fisherman who illegally removed monitoring device fined $20k, loses boat
A fisherman who removed essential position monitoring equipment from his boat and then tried to hide it in a bag beneath the sea has been convicted in a case that is the first of its kind in the country. Tony Peter Phillipson has also had his boat forfeited after breaching rules designed to help monitor and protect New Zealand fisheries. Judge Tony Zohrab said in the Nelson District Court today that little of what Phillipson had done made any sense, but his explanation at the time “smelled like fish left in the hold for a couple of weeks” and was in the realm of “gross dishonesty”. more, >>click to read<< 07:15
Dec. 16 set for commercial Dungeness crab season opening
Oregon’s commercial Dungeness crab fishery opens Dec. 16 from Cape Foulweather, just south of Depoe Bay, to the California border, according to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW). Pre-season testing shows that crabs remain too low in meat yield to open commercial fishing from Cape Foulweather to the Washington border. The next round of crab meat yield and biotoxin testing will help determine if this area can open Dec. 31 or is further delayed. Oregon, California and Washington coordinate Dungeness crab quality testing and the commercial season opening dates. A history of Oregon’s commercial crab landings is available online. more, >>click to read<< 06:37
B.C. salmon farms linked to explosive spike in wild fish deaths
Dead juvenile herring with their eyes blown out after getting caught in a hydrolicer
B.C. salmon farms killed more than 800,000 wild fish in 2022, 16 times more than the last decade’s yearly average, federal data shows. The unprecedented spike in aquaculture bycatch accounts for more dead fish in one year than the combined death toll over the previous 10 years. In one graphic example, video captured at a Cermaq facility in Clayoquot Sound shows herring floundering at the surface after getting sucked into a powerful machine meant to remove sea lice from farmed salmon. Stan Proboszcz, a senior scientist at Watershed Watch Salmon Society, said he has never seen anything like it. “All these herring that went through the hydrolicer had their eyes blown out,” Proboszcz said. “It’s horrific.” more, photos, >>click to read<< 18:07
Clearwater Seafoods announces fish crew certification for its fleet
Clearwater Seafoods announces that seven vessels within its Canadian fleet have been certified using the Fish Standard for Crew, an independent, third-party certification program for labor practices on fishing vessels. The certification was awarded after extensive policy and procedure review was conducted, as well as on-site vessel inspections, and face-to-face interviews with crew members by the independent auditors. FISH certification seeks to improve the conditions for vessel crew and to serve as a credible tool that organizations in today’s seafood industry can use to validate their commitments to their employees. Clearwater’s FISH certified fleet of seven vessels is comprised of clam, lobster, and scallop harvesters, operating in the Canadian North Atlantic. >>click to read<< 14:54
Men of sea
The man and the sea… a hard life, a very hard (and dangerous) work. And sometimes a day of work gives only a couple of tens of euros. These images show the end of the night of fishing in the sea, when the fishermen are in the harbour, and they are preparing the fish for the markets or are cleaning their boats after the work. There is not much time for rest; it’s already late, it’s nine o’clock in the morning. And the fisherman has to clean the boat, to repair the nets and to sleep at least a few hours before another night of work in the sea. >>click to view<< 10 great images! 13:02
Drop in catches when the area 34 lobster fishery opens
The lobster fishing season in Area 34 started a week later than planned due to bad weather. Although the sea has calmed down, the catches are not there according to fishermen from Pubnico and Methegan. Fishing is down, it’s not as good as other years, notes Graham Deon, captain of the boat Samanta Dawn, who has been fishing for 43 years. We expect 25 to 50% fewer catches, all districts are down. Aldric d’Entremont is captain of the lobster boat Miss Marley. Same observation from Aldric D’Entremont who also got into lobster fishing more than 40 years ago. more, >>click to read<< 11:28
China Does Not Follow Int’l Law, Hurting American Fishermen
On Monday morning, Captain Richard Isaksen, president of the Belford Seafood Co-op, met with North Middletown’s congressman to call for stricter scrutiny on seafood products imported from China. Did you know? The United States imports more than $2 billion of seafood products from China every year. But China’s cheap labor practices and illegal fishing methods are hurting American fishing companies, said Isaksen. Congressman Frank Pallone agrees: “The flagrant disregard from the People’s Republic of China for international and domestic laws allows China to export seafood that is often sold at low prices to establish a market advantage — and drive out American seafood producers,” he said. more, >>click to read<< 09:45
UPDATE: Coast Guard suspends search for F/V Miss Winnie fisherman
The Coast Guard suspended its search at roughly 5:30 p.m. Monday for a missing commercial fisherman roughly 138 miles southwest of Port Fourchon, Louisiana. Crews searched more than 46 hours and over 2000 square miles. Assets involved in the search were: U.S. Coast Guard Aviation Training Center HC-144 Ocean Sentry, U.S. Coast Guard Air Station Corpus Christi HC-144 Ocean Sentry, U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Jacob Poroom Good samaritan commercial fishing vessel F/V Kenneth ColeThe Coast Guard suspended active search efforts after the probable search area was saturated with multiple assets and resources. The incident is currently under investigation. -USCG- >>click to read<< 08:45
Heroic Peterhead fisherman saved five crewmen from sinking trawler after North Sea collision
Kris Leel, an engineer for Peterhead-based fishing boat Guiding Light, was awarded the Lady Swaythling Trophy from the Shipwrecked Fishermen and Mariners’ Royal Benevolent Society at a ceremony in London in October. With both vessels fishing in “challenging” conditions, which included rough seas and near gale-force winds, both ships collided when they were retrieving their gear after hauling in their catch. It happened after Guiding Light’s bow rose in the swell and struck the Guiding Star, which resulted in the latter’s stern being sliced open and it started to go down. Mr Leel started the forward crane and prepared numerous throwing lines to help. Photos, more, >>click to read<< 08:01
Cornish fishing industry’s fears for the future over ‘zero catch’ limit
Fishing industry leaders in Cornwall say government plans to effectively ban them from catching certain species would be ‘devastating’.The quota for pollack for the next 12 months could be set at zero – presenting a major challenge for fishers in our coastal communities. Chris Ranford, chief executive of the Cornish Fish Producers Association, said: “We have a really unique situation this year, the pollack stock in the South West has been advised as a zero catch for next year. Video, >>click to read<< 06:25
Looking back august 13, 2015 Fullabullard, By Jim Lovgren
Recently John Bullard was quoted as saying that fishermen are lying, and there is no proof that windmill factories are killing marine mammals. This reminded me of an article published in Fisherynation concerning Mr. Fullabullard from 2015. The article showed the cover of the New York Daily News reading, Fullabulard to fishermen, Drop Dead. Now eight years later Mr. Fullabullard is saying to the Whales, Drop Dead. Nothing has changed with Mr Fullabullard, he is, and always will be a lying politician/ bureaucrat, only too happy to say whatever the people paying him need him to say, since he has the credentials from his years spent destroying the fishing industry. Good job, John, I mean Alfred. Click to read The Harvey Haddock Report – Fullabullard to Fishermen, DROP DEAD! 18:04
What makes Dungeness Crab Unique
Named after the town of Dungeness, Washington where people first began fishing for these crustaceans in the 1800s, Dungeness crab meat is prized by chefs and seafood connoisseurs alike for its subtle sweetness, and flaky, delicate texture. It’s easy to get lost in the moment when you’re biting into a chunk of delectable Dungeness crab meat. Still, it’s worth pausing to express gratitude toward the crab fishermen (and women) who caught that meal for you. This article covers a lot about these crabs, and you’ll know about a wide variety of crab from Dungeness to King Crab. Dungeness vs. Snow Crab, vs. Stone Crab, Photos, and more, >>click to read<< 16:50
NOAA Fisheries Approves Adjustments to Fishing Year 2023 Specifications for the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan
Each year, NOAA Fisheries determines how much unused quota sectors may carry over from the previous fishing year based on final catch data. Today, we are announcing, through a final rule, the amount of allocation each sector may carry over from the 2022 to 2023 fishing year, which ends April 30, 2024. For details, including tables presenting the carryover allocations, see the rule as filed in the Federal Register. Questions? Fishermen: Liz Sullivan, Regional Office, (978) 282-8493. Media: Contact GARFO Public Affairs 15:09
Tarzan, the last sponge-fishing sailboat, on its way to a long restoration
The Tarzan, an old traditional Mediterranean rig and the last to have fished sponges under sail, is heading for Narbonne to be restored to her original condition. The Association des Amis du Tarzan tells us more about its history and the upcoming restoration program. The Tarzan adventure began in 1950 in Sfax, Tunisia, at the Manno shipyard. This motorized schooner, built for the Marinello brothers of Sicilian origin, had an oak hull and an auric rig. Measuring 33 meters long overall, with only 21 meters of hull and a further 12 meters for the spars, 5.20 meters wide and between 38 and 40 tons displacement, she was initially designed for sponge-fishing under sail Lots of links, and photos, more. >>click to read<< 12:05
Minute silences to be held to mark anniversaries of Haut du Mont explosion and trawler tragedy
Minute silences will be held this week to mark the one-year anniversaries of two tragedies which claimed the lives of 13 people. The government has announced that public workers will fall silent at noon on Friday to remember fisherman Michael Michieli and his two crew – Jervis Baligat and Larry Simyunn – who were killed when their trawler was in collision with the Commodore Goodwill freight ship. Another silence will be observed at noon on Sunday to mark the first anniversary of the explosion at Haut du Mont on Pier Road. Nine residents – 72-year-old Peter Bowler, Raymie Brown (71), Romeu and Louise De Almeida (67 and 64 years), Derek and Sylvia Ellis (61 and 73 years), Ken and Jane Ralph (72 and 71 years) and 63-year-old Billy Marsden – were killed in the blast. Photos, more, >>click to read<< 11:03
‘Catalytic.’ How a bipartisan bill could save working waterfronts from Cape Cod to Alaska
Andrew Spalt climbs the side of the new hydraulic dredge ramp he is installing aboard his boat Miss Emma.
The Working Waterfront Protection Act (S-3180) would establish a grant program that would support working waterfronts in coastal states, including the Great Lakes. The act would provide $20 million annually through fiscal 2028. Commercial fishing cooperatives, working waterfront owners and operators, nonprofit organizations and municipal and state governments would be eligible to apply. Fishing Communities Coalition Coordinator Noah Oppenheim said support is crucial because of pressures facing working waterfront owners and fishing communities nationwide. The coalition represents more than 1,000 independent small boat fishermen and business owners from Maine to Alaska, according to its website. 8 photos, more, >>click to read<< 09:38
Australia: Anti-offshore wind farm fishing group is chaired by a former Liberal MP
A fishing industry group that has become one of the most vocal critics of offshore wind farm plans is chaired by a former Liberal politician who claims that the turbines threaten Australia’s national security by providing places for foreign submarines to hide. Offshore wind farms proposed for near the Illawarra region andOffshore wind farms Port Stephens have become a hot-button issue with the emergence of anti-wind farm organising. One of the major existing groups that have come out in opposition to the plans is the Australian Fishing Trade Association (AFTA), Fishing groups have opposed the offshore wind farm plans out of fear that the projects would hurt both commercial and recreational fishers. But AFTA was not one of the groups that made submissions during the consultation process between February and April this year. more, >>click to read<< 08:29
Commentary: Offshore wind foes push false info about whale deaths
As the former former of New Bedford, regional administrator of NOAA Fisheries, and as president of the Board of the New Bedford Ocean Cluster, I know that commercial fishing and offshore wind can co-exist and thrive. But this requires honest communication about the real conflicts between wind and fishing that need science-based thinking, baseline and ongoing research, respectful listening, and collaborative problem solving. This is made so much more difficult when there is an ongoing disinformation campaign that distorts the facts, presents false information, and operates with motives that can’t be trusted and that are geared towards stopping projects rather than solving problems. more, >>click to read<< 07:14
Commercial crab fishery closed for 2023-2024 season
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has closed the commercial red and blue king crab fishery for the 2023-2024 season, the sixth year in a row, citing stock survey numbers that remain well below the regulatory threshold. The survey estimated 119,000 pounds of legal male red king crab are available for harvest, significantly below the 200,000 pounds required to open the commercial fishery, said Adam Messmer, lead king/tanner crab biologist for ADFG. While that’s an improvement from last year, where the survey estimated 95,000 pounds, improvement does not mean they are a harvestable size, Messmer said. “If they would open up the crab season for 10-15 days it would help bail us out of a terrible season,” said Norval Nelson, owner and operator of Star of the Sea, which was in Aurora Harbor. He made his comments before he learned of the news. more, >>click to read<< 18:24
Protest song wins traditional music award
A song written in protest at a Scottish Government fishing policy has won original work of the year at the Scots Trad Music Awards. Skipinnish wrote The Clearances Again following the launch of plans by the Scottish Government to limit human activity in at least 10% of Scottish waters with the creation of highly protected marine areas (HPMAs). Following a consultation on the issue, which garnered widespread opposition, including among SNP MSPs, the plan was eventually dropped. Written from the perspective of Outer Hebrides-based fisherman Donald Francis MacNeil – a friend of Skipinnish co-founder Angus MacPhail, the song compared the proposed policy to the Highland clearances, which saw the forced eviction of Scots across the Highlands and Islands. more, >>click to read<< 15:21
Port in Tottori striving to save commercial coastal fishing
Nakano Port Fishing Village Market in Sakaiminato
One of Japan’s prominent fishing ports and a frequent stop for foreign luxury cruise liners, the city of Sakaiminato on the Sea of Japan coast bolsters the local economy in a remote western region of the country. Also thriving as a trading base after Japan opened up the country in the mid-19th century thanks to its relative proximity to the Korean Peninsula, the Tottori Prefecture city with a population of 33,000 is dubbed a “fishing town” for being a good natural port endowed by rich fishing banks in adjacent waters. This has historically provided the solid foundation for the prosperity of the offshore fishing operation based in Sakaiminato, where efforts are now being made to keep aloft its coastal fishing — the other main style of commercial fishing that has helped feed the city. more, >>click to read<< 13:23
NOAA Fisheries releases more information about ‘high level’ of killer whales caught this year by Alaska trawl fleet
Six killer whales caught in trawl net gear this year in waters off Alaska died as a result of their entanglement, while a seventh whale was seriously injured by this gear, according to a NOAA Fisheries statement released Friday. The trawl fishing industry’s 2023 take of killer whales, first made by public NOAA Fisheries in September, is significantly higher than in recent years past, according to a review of NOAA Fisheries death tolls through 2021. Bering Sea killer whales are not listed under the Endangered Species Act but are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. John Gauvin, fisheries science director for the Alaska Seafood Cooperative, “We want to conduct our fisheries without harming orcas and we’re taking steps to avoid future mortalities,” more, >>click to read<< 10:19
