Lobster dealers hope for a fall surge
This year, boat prices are high, but the catch is down, dealers say. Supply is meeting demand, but the demand is lower than last year. While at least one local seafood retailer had a great summer, wholesale dealers’ reports are unenthusiastic. Both lobstermen and dealers are keeping fingers crossed for a big fall surge in catch. With the state’s commercial fishery granted a six-year reprieve in December from new federal regulations that many industry voices said would decimate the fishery, the 2023 season has focused on traditional concerns, such as supply, demand, prices and bait. “The price is up but the catch is down, and we’ve had horrible weather,” said Susan Soper, general manager of Winter Harbor Lobster Co-op. “Our retail sales were almost 60 percent down.”>>click to read<< 13:03
Struggling salmon fishermen getting federal help, but it may be too late
Earlier this month, two years after a request by Oregon’s governor, the U.S. Department of Commerce declared a Chinook fishery disaster for 2018, 2019 and 2020, years when local salmon populations plummeted. Fishing regulators blame the drop on poor habitat conditions and climate change near the California-Oregon border, where thousands of Chinook migrate from the ocean up rivers and streams to spawn. The disaster declaration releases financial assistance for fishermen and possibly for other businesses, along with funding to help restore the fishery and protect future Chinook runs, members of Oregon’s congressional delegation said in a statement. “The powers that be move pretty slowly when it comes to this stuff,” said Ray Monroe, a Pacific City dory fisherman. >>click to read<< 12:00
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update: October 23, 2023: The ASMFC
Last week I had a reader who was interested in understanding more about what the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is and how they fit in with North Carolina fisheries management. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) held their 81st Annual Meeting in Beaufort, NC last week. Although no hot button issues were on the agenda last week, a lot of other necessary fisheries management issues were discussed and voted on. In fact, many of the rules and regulations on how North Carolina manages our inshore species comes directly from ASMFC decisions. The ASMFC began in 1942 when the Atlantic Coast States realized that their shared migratory fish stocks would be more sustainable and better managed as coast-wide stocks rather than being managed solely at the state level. This is expressed in the ASMFC vision statement, “Sustainable and Cooperative Management of Atlantic Coastal Fisheries”. >>click to read<<,10: 50
North Atlantic right whale population has steadied, scientists say
The population of critically endangered North Atlantic right whales appears to have levelled off after a decade of steep decline, according to updated data released this morning by Canadian and American scientists. Every fall, the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium releases its best population estimate of the world’s most threatened large whale. Scientists in the consortium said Monday that the 2021 estimate of 340 North Atlantic right whales in existence has been recalculated to 365 primarily because of the number of calves born that year. The estimate for 2022 is 356. >>click to read<< 09:52
Door County fish companies pledge for more sustainability
Three Door County fishing companies are working to make sure no fish they catch goes to waste. Henriksen Fisheries, Baileys Harbor Fish Company, and J & M Fisheries have all signed the “100% Great Lakes Fish Pledge.” The pledge is part of an initiative created by the Conference of Great Lakes St. Lawrence Governors & Premiers. It aims to productively use 100% of each fish caught on the Great Lakes by 2025. According to the initiative, in most cases, less than half of a fish is actually used. Henriksen says they already use their fish for more than just filets. Photos. >>click to read<< 08:48
Staff at Irish Aquarium Baffled as Rare Albino Lobster Turns Blue!
The rare albino lobster has been living at the community-run Achill Experience Aquarium in Co Mayo since he was discovered off the nearby coast six years ago and has become a huge attraction for tourists. He is affectionately called Charlie after the fisherman Charlie O’Malley who caught him off the Achill coast in 2017. It is estimated that only one in 100 million lobsters are white or albino. “Every time he moults (changes shell) in order to grow, which is every 12 to 14 months, we see the blue colour which is gradually getting stronger. >>click to read<< 07:34<<
Gillespie calls for Labor to abandon Offshore Wind Farm
Federal Nationals Member for Lyne Dr David Gillespie has addressed Parliament, speaking out against the Offshore Wind farm proposed off the coast of his electorate. In July the federal government declared a wind farm zone covering more than 1800 square kilometres from Swansea in the south to Port Stephens in the north Dr Gillespie recently attended and addressed an anti-wind farm rally in Port Stephens attended by nearly 2,000 people. “These trillion dollar-plus energy plans by Labor, Greens and Teal Independents is something we simply cannot afford,” Dr Gillespie told Parliament “I can assure all of the people who have expressed their concerns about this project that I am absolutely opposed to this development which will have a significant negative impact on our region and the people of Australia. Feasibility studies and the eventual project will detrimentally impact whale and dolphin acoustics, migration and pod behaviour, and marine bird life will suffer like it does from land-based wind farms. Dr Gillespie said there would be enormous financial cost on the $1bn local commercial fishing industry, commercial freighters, blue water and the tourism economy. >>click to read<< 20:52
Family speaks out as the U.S. coast guard continues search for three missing fishermen
Family and friends are still searching for the three local men who went missing off the Georgia coast while fishing. The U.S. Coast Guard has been searching for two days now, but the search continues. The three men embarked on their journey last Saturday, with the expectation of returning home last Thursday afternoon. However, it’s been three days, and family members have not heard a word from them. They are now hoping for a miracle. However, there is a silver lining – a raft on the boat equipped with a new form of technology. “As soon as that raft touches water, it’ll ping the Coast Guard immediately with their location, and that hasn’t happened yet. So, which means that raft has not hit the water,” Stevie said. video, >> click to read<< 09:50
Could bluefin tuna become Scotland’s new ‘silver darlings’?
For years, Atlantic bluefin tuna were a rare sight in Scottish waters, with their numbers depleted as their prime source of food – herring and mackerel – landed instead on the nation’s dining tables. So, when skipper Angus Campbell’s fishing boat Aqua SY 210 pulled up alongside the quay at Stornoway a few weeks ago, the whopping bluefin tuna his crew had landed – 10ft long and weighing 164kg – strung up for curious locals to see, there was more than a little interest. “It was definitely very exciting,” says Mr Campbell, who has been fishing the waters off the Isle of Harris since he was just 15 years old. It was Scotland’s first commercially caught Atlantic bluefin tuna for decades. >>click to read<< 09:48
Brigantine Joins With Long Beach Twp. to Oppose Wind Farm Project
Voting 6-1, Brigantine City Council approved a resolution at its Oct. 18 meeting to enter into a shared services agreement with Long Beach Township to engage in litigation against the development of the proposed Atlantic Shores offshore wind project. Brigantine is joined by the Boroughs of Barnegat Light, Harvey Cedars, Surf City, Ship Bottom and Beach Haven, with Long Beach Township serving as the lead agent for the shared services agreement. “First and foremost, this is a nonpartisan issue, with people on both sides of the aisle, from all over the state, voicing their concerns about the negative impacts these offshore wind projects will have on the environment and our local economy,” Brigantine Mayor Vince Sera said in a news release. >>click to read<< 07:40
UPDATE: Coast Guard search continues for search continues 80 miles off Brunswick, Georgia
The Coast Guard continues to search for an overdue 31-foot fishing vessel and its three crew members, Saturday, 80 miles offshore Brunswick, Georgia. Missing are Dalton Conway, Caleb Wilkinson and Tyler Barlow. On Friday, Coast Guard Sector Charleston watchstanders received a report from the owner of the fishing vessel Carol Ann stating he hired a crew of three people that failed to return on Wednesday as scheduled. The owner stated the crew extends fishing trips to maximize their catch but was growing concerned due to their last communication with the crew being six days ago. >>Click to read<< 21:04
Landmark Legal Battle: Fishermen Challenge Regulatory Overreach Impacting Livelihoods
In a pivotal move, the Supreme Court has accepted a second challenge to the long-standing legal doctrine known as “Chevron deference.” This doctrine, born from a 1984 ruling, grants federal agencies substantial authority in formulating rules and regulations. The case, Relentless Inc. v U.S. Department of Commerce, represents a crucial juncture for Rhode Island fishermen who, along with those in the Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo case, are fervently contesting a federal rule that mandates them to bear the financial burden of federal observers on their boats. >>click to read<< 12:23
Public input sought on federal management of Cook Inlet salmon fishing
NOAA is asking for residents’ opinion on a major fishing issue. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is looking for public comments on Amendment 16 which would allow the federal government to manage commercial and recreational salmon fishing in the Cook Inlet Exclusive Economic Zone. The proposed rule would put the federal government, not the state, in charge of salmon fishing there. Alaska would continue to manage all fishing in state waters. >>click to read<< 11:31
Seafood Day 2023 to celebrate Bay State’s fishing industry
In a building on Beacon Hill where a carved wooden effigy of an Atlantic cod known as the “Sacred Cod” hangs in the House of Representatives’ chamber, an event at the Statehouse on Wednesday, Oct. 25, plans to celebrate the importance of the seafood industry to the Bay State and coastal communities such as Gloucester, America’s oldest seaport. Seafood Day 2023 at the Statehouse is designed to highlight the fact that for generations, the seafood industry has contributed to Massachusetts’ food security while employing tens of thousands of workers and promoting tourism in coastal towns, organizers say. That’s why several organizations are teaming up to celebrate the sea’s bounty and the fishermen who catch it with an event from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Hall of Flags of the Statehouse in Boston. >>click to read<< 10:07
Texas: Bay Shrimpers
Just about every day of the week you can find Vito Sandoval and Ricardo Rodriguez plying the waters of the Brownsville ship channel dragging their net to provide local bait stands with live shrimp. With the sun just clearing the horizon, they are on the water and getting ready to haul in their first drag of the day. They are an efficient team and while Rodriguez expertly separates the shrimp from “bycatch,” Sandoval returns to the Captain’s chair, where he is right at home as bay shrimping is a family tradition. “My dad did it for many, many years. He is the one that got me going around 12 years old that’s when I started coming with him on the weekends and the summertime, and I loved it,” said Vito Sandoval. Video, photos, >>click to read<< 09:06
Irish pair detained in Norway
A pelagic pair team from Ireland fishing in Norwegian waters have been detained by the Coastguard on suspicion of operating in a closed area. F/V Ronan Ross and F/V Sarah David are currently alongside in Tromsø, after having been escorted in by Coastguard vessel Svalbard. Indications are that there may have been a breakdown in communications between national authorities,,, >>click to read<< 08:06
Coast Guard searching for overdue fishing vessel 80 miles off Brunswick, Georgia
The Coast Guard is searching for an overdue 31-foot fishing vessel, Friday, 80 miles offshore Brunswick, Georgia. Coast Guard Sector Charleston watchstanders received a report from the owner of the fishing vessel Carol Anne stating he hired a crew of three people that failed to return on Wednesday as scheduled. The owner stated the crew extends fishing trips to maximize their catch but was growing concerned due to their last communication with the crew being six days ago. >>click to read<< 20:05
Offshore Wind Is A Dangerous Pipe Dream Costing Taxpayers Billions
How many times have we heard that wind power, coupled with the sun’s energy, is going to save us from our fossil-fuel-burning ways? Maybe one day it will. But at no time soon will it happen. And by soon, we mean in most of our lifetimes. How can we say this? Look around at what’s happening with wind energy [emphasis, “California’s Central Coast residents work to stop — or at least slow down — offshore wind.”,,, “Orsted Threatens To Abandon U.S. Offshore Wind Projects.” Biden administration guarantees more support.,, “Electricity from wind isn’t cheap and it never will be.” The list above is no more than a start. There are many more stories we could have cited, and there are many more to come. Wind energy is unreliable, and its costs are not competitive at scale. Lots of links! >>click to read<< 18:22
Lifeboat crew return after 18-hour call
Stephen Manson described the seas as “brutal” after the lifeboat was called out to aid the Danish trawler Westbank and her three-man crew. The 17m fishing vessel had broken down, and the RNLI crew launched into difficult conditions in the North Sea, heading into the south-easterly gale which has brought chaos across Scotland. “It was brutal, there were big seas, a lot of rolling and things going walkabout on the boat,” Mr Manson said. “We handled it well and it all ran fairly smoothly, but weather was very much a challenge, especially getting there.” >>click to read<< 10:58
The Night the New Bedford Scalloper F/V Atlanta Sank
Nearly 150 fishermen who sailed from New Bedford have lost their lives at sea since 1912. The website Lost Fishermen From the Port of New Bedford pays tribute to each of them with a brief synopsis of what happened to them. There are many reasons why a seemingly sturdy vessel might set out to sea but not return. Weather is often a factor. Sometimes, mechanical failure or human error will cause a ship to sink. Other times, we never know why. The 72-foot New Bedford-based scalloper Atlanta capsized and sank on Saturday, December 13, 2003, while fishing some 27 miles south of Chatham. Three of Atlanta’s crew of seven were lost that night 20 years ago. >>click to read<< 09:52
Maine Lobstermen Win Giant Carveout From Offshore Wind Development Area
The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is rolling out designated offshore wind leasing areas off the lower 48 states at a rapid clip, racing to meet the Biden administration’s target of 30 gigawatts of capacity by 2030. For the latest – a 3.5 million acre parcel in the Gulf of Maine – it has decided to dodge a looming fight with fishing and environmental interests. The newly-released Draft Wind Energy Area for the Gulf of Maine has enough room for up to 40 gigawatts of offshore wind capacity, with a focus on floating wind installations in deeper water. The size is notable, but the most conspicuous part is the part that was left out: Lobster Management Area 1, a strip along the coast that is essential to the powerful Maine lobster industry. >>click to read<< 09:08
Alaska pollock trawlers are feeling pressure over salmon bycatch, so this reporter went to see for himself
Bering Sea factory trawlers scoop up tens of thousands of pollock at a time, and pressure is intensifying to avoid catching salmon as populations of chum and chinook have plummeted in recent years, causing closures for subsistence harvesting. The trawlers are not entirely to blame, warming oceans due to human-caused climate change are almost certainly a factor, but they have drawn the ire of salmon advocates from Western Alaska to Washington D.C. This is a 341-foot vessel that I went out on, the Northern Hawk, with a crew of 129 people. And most of them work below the deck in a fish factory that, basically when the fishing is reasonable, operates 24 hours a day. Then there are these incredible fillet machines that will fillet 180 fish a minute, and the job of the human is basically to just feed the machine 24 hours a day. And it’s kind of mind-numbing work. Your hands move constantly to make sure the fish are positioned correctly. >>click to read<< 07:40
McIntosh County commissioners pass resolution to support local shrimpers
The McIntosh County Board of Commissioners passed a resolution to seek protection for the shrimping industry at a special called meeting on Thursday. The resolution states that an increase of imported shrimp in the United States have “continued to decimate the local shrimping industry’s ability to market and sell wild caught domestic shrimp.” The resolution passed unanimously during Thursday’s meeting. Local leaders hope the more cities and counties that jump on board with similar resolutions, the closer they’ll get to grabbing the attention of Congress and the federal government. >>click to read<< 16:48
A Petersburg tender holds open mics on board, with its fish hold as the sound stage
There’s a nearly 100-year-old wooden boat in Petersburg that’s become a staple of the tight-knit local music scene. Musicians in town have a few performance spaces to choose from, a lot of them in bars. But the crew of the Roedda brings a unique option with them when they come to town — transforming the boat’s fish hold into an improvised sound stage. It was a brisk Thursday night in September in Petersburg’s South Harbor. The chill was already starting to set in, and the people were starting to pour out of town. Alex Deacon is the captain of the Roedda. But tonight, she’s also the master of ceremonies for an open mic on board — the last of the season. >>click to read<< 15:10
Fishing communities ‘suffering from impact of growing seal colonies’, says MP
Sally-Ann Hart said “sound systems to deter seals are not appropriate” and that fishermen off the coast of her constituency Hastings and Rye were “suffering”. Environment minister Mark Spencer said the Government was working alongside the Marine Management Organisation to assess “non-lethal deterrent options” to keep seals away from fishing catches. Ms Hart said: “Off the coast of beautiful Hastings and Rye, fishermen are suffering from the impact of a growing seal colony affecting their fishing. “Due to the nature of the fishing, small boats leave their nets in the water, sound systems to deter seals are not appropriate. What steps is the minister taking to ensure that seals do not result in our fishing communities being decimated, let alone the fish?”>>click to read<< 13:14
Brunvoll with Full Package for Sunbeam’s New Trawler
Sunbeam Fishing Limited’s newest trawler has a broad range of Brunvoll products incorporated into its design. In addition to the main propulsion and tunnel thruster, Sunbeam Fishery has opted for the retractable azimuth combi thruster and the BruCon control system. The vessel is designed by Salt Ship Design and will be built at Myklebust Shipyard. In a nod to their enduring trust in Brunvoll, Scottish Sunbeam Fishing Limited has once again opted for the expertise and reliable solutions that Brunvoll offers. The Sunbeam trawler will be equipped with a wide array of Brunvoll’s high-performance products, bringing advanced technology to the heart of the vessel. >>click to read<< 10:54
Commercial Fisherman/Innovator Joseph J. Avila, Jr., 86, of Dartmouth, Mass. has passed away
Joseph J. Avila, Jr., 86, of Dartmouth, passed away Wednesday, October 11, 2023, at CareOne of New Bedford. He was the devoted husband of Dorothy (Costa) Avila with whom he shared 62 years of marriage. Born in Dartmouth and a lifelong resident, he was a son of the late Joseph J. Avila, Sr., and Mary (Motta) Avila. He proudly served in the United States Coast Guard. Mr. Avila was a pilot and commercial fisherman and served as president and CEO of Potpourri Marine Enterprises. He was an innovator, always had cutting-edge technology on his boat, and was one of the first people to use an airplane to spot swordfish back in the sixties. >>click to read<< 09:33
Some Morro Bay Residents Are Dead Set Against CA’s Offshore Wind Farms
Joey Racano used to have a dining room table. Now the sunlit nook off the family kitchen more often than not serves as a conference room. The table is covered with maps, thick binders bulging with tech reports, towers of meeting minutes, abandoned coffee mugs — the accumulation of years of community vigilance. On this day, his home is a lively place where a handful of locals are discussing one of California’s most complex and audacious initiatives — loading the Pacific Ocean with sprawling wind farms that float 20 miles from shore. “This is just another attempt to industrialize the coast,” said Rachel Wilson, who lives in Cayucos, a tiny, old-fashioned beach town, and regularly attends public meetings about the wind projects. “I can just see Port Hueneme with cranes and lights and a huge wharf in my charming little coastal community. No way.” >>click to read<< 08:37
Local Legends in Fishing Boots: Founding Viking Village Dock
Utility green, calf-high dockside boots – “Daddy’s boots,” as Barnegat Light Historical Society President Karen Larson knows the sight – were the launch step into gripping stories of two local legendary captains and families who started the now-flourishing Viking Village commercial dock enterprise on a shoestring and a need to keep a town’s industry alive. The tribute program at the Barnegat Light Museum on Sept. 14 centered on the dock’s development by her late father, Barnegat Light Historical Society President Karen Larson the late Louis Puskas Jr. and their wives, Marion Larson, who died this year, and Frances Puskas. Viking Village Inc. Commercial Seafood Producers at the 18th Street bayside grew from Independent Dock, built in the 1920s by first-generation Norwegian fishermen plying their trade. It’s now an industry leader responsibly producing prime sea scallops and fish dinners for restaurant tables in New York, Chicago and internationally. The museum talk covered history but more so pulled up seats to memories told around the table, by no-fear fishermen themselves. Photos, >>click ti read<< 20:57
As the once-lucrative Bering Sea crab harvest resumes, Alaska’s fishers face challenges
In the short term, Alaska crab fishers and the communities that depend on them will get a slight reprieve from the disastrous conditions they have endured for the past two years, with harvests for iconic red king crab to open on Sunday. In the long term, the future for Bering Sea crab and the people who depend on it is clouded by environmental and economic upheaval. The decision by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to open harvests of Bristol Bay red king crab after an unprecedented two-year shutdown was a close call, a state biologist told industry members during a meeting on Thursday. >>click to read<< 16:08
