Retired Commercial Fisherman Reginald Carl Knowles of Winter Harbor, Maine, has passed away
Reginald Carl Knowles entered eternity and found the peace he had longed for on Sept. 28, 2024. His last week was spent surrounded by family and goodbyes after having a stroke. He was born in Machiasport, Maine, as the firstborn son of Carl and Grace Knowles on “6/22/42” — the one thing he always remembered despite the vascular dementia. During his grade school years, Carl Bryant had given Regie a handful of traps that he hauled from a punt. He had been bitten by the lobster fishing bug in those early years! So, after returning from Germany and a short stint driving a truck for McQuinn’s, he set out be a successful lobsterman. He also went scalloping, shrimping and fish dragging, but lobstering was always his passion. It was a trade he took pride in teaching his sons. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:14
Milton remains an ‘extremely dangerous’ hurricane after weakening to Cat 4, forecasters warn
Hurricane Milton weakened slightly to a powerful Category 4 storm Tuesday morning while spiraling through the southern Gulf of Mexico and closer to Florida, according to the National Hurricane Center in Miami. Milton rapidly intensified from a tropical storm to a Category 5 hurricane on Monday, peaking with rare, sustained winds of 180 mph and becoming the strongest storm to ever form this late in the Atlantic season. Now, the hurricane is moving east-northeast at 12 mph with maximum sustained winds of 145 mph, NHC said in its latest update. However, forecasters warned that Milton’s change in strength doesn’t make it any less dangerous, adding that the storm will likely grow in size as it approaches Florida’s west coast and makes landfall Wednesday. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:46
Invasive blob-like creatures are clogging Maine fishing gear – “They’re a pain in the ass.”
The small invertebrates, several species of which are invasive, are attaching themselves in large numbers to lobster traps and aquaculture equipment, at times creating a major hassle for harvesters as they try to tend to their gear. “The month of September, they come on like gangbusters,” Hilton Turner, a lobsterman and chair of Stonington’s harbor committee, said about the tunicates, which are better known as sea squirts. “Every year gets a little worse,” he said. Lobstermen use different techniques to try to remove the squirts. Some set the traps in boiling hot water tanks on their boats, some try immersing them in salt-saturated water, and still others blast them with a power washer, which can be time-consuming, Turner said. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:25
Swinney gives commitment to ensure that fishing and offshore wind can co-exist
First minister John Swinney has given a commitment to ensuring the fishing industry and the offshore marine energy sector can exist together. It followed a stark warning by Elspeth Macdonald, the chief executive of the Scottish Fishermen’s Federation, that floating wind farms and the fishing sector are “simply not able to co-exist”. Speaking at last week’s SFF dinner, Macdonald call on the government to actively protect the fishing industry from the encroaching offshore wind industry. One example quoted by the industry is the proposed 500MW Stoura wind farm, 40 miles to east of Shetland, which could be built on top of prime fishing grounds for both the whitefish and the pelagic sector. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:47
Blessing of the Fleet pays tribute to commercial fishing families
It was a picture-perfect day Sunday as the sun glistened on the rippling waters of Beaufort Inlet for the 27th annual Blessing of the Fleet ceremony, held at Radio Island between Morehead City and Beaufort. Twenty-five commercial fishing vessels slowly made their way by Radio Island as wreaths were thrown into the water. Each wreath represented a commercial fisherman or family member who had died. The solemn procession was a segment of the NC Seafood Festival that honors area commercial fishing families and those who have died while harvesting food from the sea. As well as about 200 people lining the shore to watch the procession, private boaters filled the waterway to pay tribute. 15 Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:46
Louisiana lawmaker grills Shrimp & Petroleum Festival for selling imported shrimp
A state lawmaker has issued a scathing rebuke of what she characterized as an embarrassing and “misleading” response from the Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival after the Illuminator reported that multiple vendors sold imported shrimp at this year’s event. State Rep. Jessica Domangue, R-Houma, wrote an open letter to festival organizers that she posted Thursday on Facebook. “Growing up in St. Mary Parish in a family of generations of commercial shrimpers, I was appalled to learn of the widespread selling of imported shrimp at the Louisiana Shrimp & Petroleum Festival,” Domangue wrote. “I found the festival’s official response in an October 1 press release to be an embarrassment.” The testing was performed at the five-day festival over the Labor Day weekend by Sea D Consulting, a food safety technology company that recently developed a rapid seafood species identification test in collaboration with Florida State University microbiologist Prashant Singh. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:32
Hurricane Milton strengthens into Category 4 as Florida prepares for evacuations, storm surge
Milton rapidly strengthened into a Category 4 hurricane Monday on a path toward Florida population centers including Tampa and Orlando, threatening a dangerous storm surge in Tampa Bay and setting the stage for potential mass evacuations less than two weeks after a catastrophic Hurricane Helene swamped the coastline. The storm is expected to stay at about its current strength for the next couple of days, the National Hurricane Center in Miami said. Helene was also a Category 4 at landfall in northern Florida. Milton had maximum sustained winds of 150 mph (240 kph) over the southern Gulf of Mexico, the hurricane center said. Its center could make landfall Wednesday in the Tampa Bay area, and it could remain a hurricane as it moves across central Florida toward the Atlantic Ocean. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:27
Save the Dates for the 2025 U.S. – Canada Lobster Town Meeting!
The Lobster Institute’s 20th annual U.S. – Canada Lobster Town Meeting will be held January 29-30 at the Atlantic Oceanside Hotel in Bar Harbor, ME. Registration is open exclusively to commercial fishermen until October 20, after which registration will open to the public. A complete program will be shared next month, but preliminary agenda items include: Industry Sector Updates, Ecosystem change – What is going on in the ocean? Comparing assessment and management approaches in Canada and the US and how they relate to the US gauge increase. Market impacts of the gauge increase: short and long-term. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:32
Where is the Federal Government? Couple reunited after volunteer rescue pilot threatened with arrest in North Carolina
“I don’t think we ever ran out of hope. We had each other, and that was the main thing,” Mike Coffey said when asked if they started to believe help wouldn’t come by the third day after multiple helicopters had flown over without stopping. Not long after the sun rose Sunday morning, they heard the sweet sound of chopper blades ripping through the air. But it wasn’t a government worker coming to their aid, it was Jordan Seidhom, the owner of a scrap steel recycling business in Pageland, South Carolina. He’s also a pilot, former head of the Chesterfield County drug unit, reserve law enforcement officer, and volunteer firefighter — among other jobs. He decided the day after the storm to use his own helicopter on his own dime to answer the cries for help he read on social media within hours of the storm passing. Then on Sunday, the Seidhoms spotted Susan Coffey frantically waving for help. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:14
Lobster Legend William V. (Billy) Wyss, of South Kingstown, RI has passed away
William V. (Billy) Wyss, 69, of South Kingstown RI passed away on Sunday, September 29, 2024 with his family lovingly by his side. As with everything in his life, he put his all into his fight for life during which time he did his very best to hold onto his infectious sense of humor and will be remembered for his amazing example of courage and hope. William, who spent his life providing and caring for the ones he loved will be remembered for his love of lobstering of which he was a legend spanning some 60 years and his ability to plan and create anything he put his mind to, including the majority of his 10 lobster boats and numerous construction projects which will stand as a testament to his many talents. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 17:14
Offshore wind farm in N.J. draws concerns over cable path
Atlantic Shores is a joint partnership between Shell New Energies US LLC and EDF-RE Offshore Development LLC. “Responsibly developed offshore wind is a critical component in a clean energy future, which will fight climate change, create union jobs and improve the air quality in overburdened communities,” said Ed Potosnak, executive director of the New Jersey League of Conservation Voters. Offshore wind foes, who are particularly vocal and well-organized in New Jersey, vowed to try to keep the project from ever being built. “We understand this development would be devastating for the marine and coastal habitats, and it would destroy the Jersey Shore as we know it,” said Robin Shaffer, president of Protect Our Coast NJ. The bureau said the power cables for the project will “potentially” come ashore in Atlantic City and Sea Girt. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:49
In surprising move, Bering Sea snow crab fishery to reopen after 2 year closure
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced Friday afternoon that Bering Sea fishermen will be allowed to harvest a total of about 4.7 million pounds of opilio, also known as snow crab, for the first time in two years. According to Fish and Game, estimates of total mature male biomass are above the threshold required to open the fishery. The announcement comes as a surprise to many fishermen, after roughly 10 billion snow crabs disappeared from the Bering Sea over a span of four years, and Fish and Game closed the fishery in 2022. Recently, scientists have learned that the disappearance was likely due to ecological shifts, and there’s been little hope within the industry that stocks would recover anytime soon. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:49
Tropical Storm Milton Path, Tracker As Potential Hurricane Nears Florida
The latest forecast from the National Hurricane Center, released at 4 a.m. Central Time on Sunday, said that Milton will quickly intensify as it moves eastward and northeastward, making landfall in Florida as a Tropical Cyclone on Wednesday. As of Sunday morning, the center of the tropical storm has maximum wind speeds of 50 mph and is moving east at 5 mph. By Monday, winds are forecast to increase to between 74 and 110 miles per hour, and by Tuesday, have winds in excess of 110 miles per hour. The forecast path will cross Florida east to west, centering on Tampa Bay, with the edge of the storm crossing southeastern Alabama, southern Georgia, southeastern South Carolina, and Alabama, southern Georgia, southeastern South Carolina more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:32
Beaufort’s cherished blue crab is ‘mean as hell.’ But crabbers love catching them
“They’re a delicacy,” says Everett, a St. Helena Island-based commercial crab fisherman, “but they’re mean as hell.” South Carolina’s coastlines are dominated by vast salt marshes with dense stands of smooth cordgrass and oyster reefs drenched twice daily by tides up to 8 feet. It is a perfect habitat for delicious blue crab, that hide in the grass feeding on oysters, clams and snails — anything they can get their vicious claws on. Sometimes, the cantankerous crustaceans burrow into the mud with only their beady “eye stalks” visible lying in wait for a passing meal. But if they’re not careful, the crabs, an important link in the food chain, will become a meal themselves for birds and fish — or caught by crabbers like Everett. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:17
Now or never
Fishermen in Newfoundland and Labrador may have acquired a reputation of getting riled up and rowdy when things aren’t going their way: crashing news conferences, for instance, or blocking the doors to Confederation Building in St. John’s. Carl Hedderson and the handful of harvesters left on the northern tip of Newfoundland say they are not those kinds of fishermen. “Nobody hears us because I guess we’re not complaining enough,” says Hedderson. Since 2022, Carl Hedderson has been quietly but diligently advocating to the federal government to issue new lobster permits so he and the other fishermen in the area can both assess and access the lobster stock and save a way of life that Hedderson says will die with his generation. “That’s the only thing that’s going to save us,” said Hedderson. photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:01
New phone mast life-changing for Skye fisherman
Skye fisherman Iain MacAskill catches up on his emailing and other digital admin tasks during his long journeys out at sea. The Rural 4G Connectivity report says: “Fishing is a vitally important industry for Scotland’s rural and coastal communities. It feeds into the wider economy and provides employment opportunities for local people. Iain knows this all too well. “As a lifelong commercial fisherman on the Isle of Skye, Iain has lived experience of the struggle to stay connected when out working. Thanks to EE’s 4G upgrades, he – alongside his brother who is also his business partner – can run and grow his business from his smartphone, with fast and reliable mobile connectivity. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 17:42
HUMBOLDT HISTORY: The Salmon Canneries of the Lower Eel River and the Death of a Fishery
Eel River salmon have been the Humboldt Bay Region’s premier fish from time immemorial. Salmon was a major staple of the aboriginal Wiyot Indians’ diet, and when the earliest white settlements were established along the river commercial salmon fishing began almost immediately. The first extensive commercial salmon fishery on the Eel River was established in 1853 by Jesse Dungan, a successful former gold miner who had bought a 300-acre ranch in the lower Eel River valley. Other commercial salmon fishermen soon followed, often forming partnerships. Pioneer firms fishing the estuary in 1859 included Dungan & Denman, John Mosely, Martin & Plummer, Gilman & Skinner, William Ellery & Bro., Thomas Worth, Parcells & Nicholson, and Dickerman & Miller. They operated from the mouth of the river upstream to the head of tidewater — near the present Fernbridge. Photos, much more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:12
Second Minke Whale Found Dead Off Jersey Coast Days Since Offshore Wind Survey Ship Returned
A small minke whale was found dead early Friday morning near Trenton Avenue in Lavallette, according to the Marine Mammal Stranding Center (MMSC). The whale, measuring between 10 and 12 feet, was reported to the MMSC around 6:30 a.m. The organization confirmed that this whale is different from the one sighted in the Lower Bay/Raritan Bay area on Thursday. Yesterday, a dead minke whale was found off the shoreline in Raritan Bay. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, the research vessel Time and Tide has been conducting survey operations in a corridor off Manasquan Inlet since September 29. That testing will continue through November 16. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:25
‘Maine Labor Climate Council’ Pushing Offshore Wind is Front Group for Dark Money Progressive Activist Org
The Maine Labor Climate Council, a purported coalition of labor unions pushing for offshore wind development in the Gulf of Maine, is actually a front organization of the Maine People’s Alliance, a progressive activist and lobbying organization, records show. According to a filing with the Maine Bureau of Corporations, Elections and Commissions, the nonprofit Maine People’s Alliance has registered to operate under the “assumed” name of the Maine Labor Climate Council. The Maine People’s Alliance network has received millions of dollars in funding from the progressive dark-money network run by the Washington, D.C.-based company Arabella Advisors. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:49
Rebuild or What? Florida Towns Hit Three Times by Hurricanes Face Tough Choice
It was just a month ago that Brooke Hiers left the state-issued emergency trailer where her family had lived since Hurricane Idalia slammed into her Gulf Coast fishing village of Horseshoe Beach in August 2023. For the third time in 13 months, this windswept stretch of Florida’s Big Bend took a direct hit from a hurricane — a one-two-three punch to a 50-mile (80-kilometer) sliver of the state’s more than 8,400 miles (13,500 kilometers) of coastline, first by Idalia, then Category 1 Hurricane Debby in August 2024 and now Helene. Hiers, who sits on Horseshoe Beach’s town council, said words like “unbelievable” are beginning to lose their meaning. “I’ve tried to use them all. Catastrophic. Devastating. Heartbreaking … none of that explains what happened here,” Hiers said. more, >>CLICK TI READ<< 07:03
Bottom Trawl Survey of the Maine Research Array Wind Energy Area Postponed to Allow for Testing of Survey Method
This notice is to inform you that the bottom trawl survey of the Maine Research Array Wind Energy (MeRA) Area previously scheduled to begin on October 15, 2024, has been postponed until a date to be determined in early 2025. DMR will use this additional time to continue to test and refine our survey methodology. Between October 15 and November 27, DMR will spend 2-5 days testing the trawl vessel’s gear configuration and performance. This will include a one-day test cruise to the MeRA area and an additional one to four days of test tows as needed to assess and optimize the survey’s gear performance. Any additional testing will occur in federal waters outside of the proposed MeRA sampling area. Links, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 16:16
Local man helping auction relics from Western Flyer, a boat famously connected to Steinbeck
How much would you pay to own one-of-a-kind pieces of fishing, environmental, scientific and literary history? Could you be an “angel?” Those are questions inspired by a Wauna man’s quest. Michael Hemp, a vibrant, engaging and consistently curious 81-year-old whose business card lists him as “Historian, Heritage Marketing & Communications Consultant, Researcher, 
Archivist, Lecturer, Novelist,” seeks a buyer for a brass steering wheel, a hefty engine shift lever and two gimballed compasses. The items are original pieces from a 76-foot-long purse seiner fishing boat built in Tacoma 87 years ago. It is similar in design and purpose to hundreds launched there, in Gig Harbor, and in other Northwest boatyards during the 20th century. One big distinction: All four artifacts once were crucial and original parts of arguably the world’s most famous purse seiner, a title earned because a couple of friends chartered it in Monterey, California, in 1940 for a six-week cruise of research and exploration in Mexico. Video, Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:39
UK Government Launches Remote Electronic Monitoring on Fishing Vessels
The UK Government has begun rolling out Remote Electronic Monitoring (REM) systems on fishing vessels, marking a significant step towards modernising the monitoring of fishing activities and promoting sustainability. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), in collaboration with key partners, is implementing this technology to collect real-time data on fishing activities and catches, supporting both the industry and environmental conservation efforts. The REM system, comprising sensors and cameras, will provide data on the location and timing of fishing operations and what species are being caught. Defra’s Fisheries Act (2020) and the Joint Fisheries Statement form the legal basis for this initiative, aimed at ensuring a sustainable future for UK fisheries. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:47
Gov. Mills to lead trip to Norway and Denmark to talk offshore wind
Gov. Janet Mills and a group of state officials will travel to Norway and Denmark next week to learn more about offshore wind development in those two countries. During the six-day trip, Mills and her delegation plan to visit floating offshore wind turbines in the North Sea and meet with Norwegian and Danish government officials as well as energy industry representatives. The group plans to speak with Denmark’s top minister for climate initiatives and representatives for the operator of that country’s electricity grid. Mills has said the Gulf of Maine’s abundant wind resources offer a “historic opportunity” to generate more electricity from renewable sources while creating good-paying jobs. But her efforts to jumpstart an offshore wind industry face stiff opposition from some groups, most notably Maine’s powerful lobster industry. Fishermen contend that the floating platforms could bar them from important lobstering grounds. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:26
Floating wind farms threaten to destroy Scotland’s fishing sector
The Scottish Fishermen’s Federation (SFF) said despite efforts to find a solution to the problem, mobile fishing, and floating offshore wind farms “are simply not able to co-exist”. Speaking at the SFF’s annual dinner in Edinburgh – which was attended by First Minister John Swinney – Elspeth Macdonald said the renewable projects are an existential threat to jobs in the sector. She warned the Scottish Government about “sleep-walking” into supporting an industry that she claimed could “destroy our world-class food production”. She told the audience at the Scotsman Hotel: “Our businesses will be completely excluded from areas that have been fished for generations, and the consequences of that – on businesses, on people, on the environment – are simply not known. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:01
Federal fisheries officers refusing duties because of violence on the water in N.S.
Federal fisheries officers in Nova Scotia say they’re refusing some enforcement duties because of threats to their safety, as they await Ottawa’s response to their complaints. The union representing the officers says its members have been shot at, that people have tried to steal their firearms, and that officers — and their families — have been threatened for trying to stop illegal fishing. Commercial fishers, meanwhile, are calling for increased enforcement, saying that illegal and unregulated fishing is becoming more frequent across the province. “We want real, tangible enforcement activity placed upon the illegal, black market lobster activity that’s ongoing throughout the Maritimes,” said Dan Fleck, executive director of the Brazil Rock 33/34 Lobster Association, in a recent telephone interview. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:52
Rare whale died of chronic entanglement in Maine fishing gear
The North Atlantic right whale was found dead off Martha’s Vineyard in January. The whales are declining in population and are at the center of efforts to more tightly regulate shipping and commercial fishing off the East Coast. “The fact is we know that entanglement in Maine gear is extremely rare. This is the first reported entanglement of a right whale in Maine lobster gear in 20 years and the first death attributed to the fishery,” the Maine Lobstermen’s Association said in a statement. “Maine lobstermen have made significant changes to how they fish over the last 25 years to avoid entanglement.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:55
More than $30 million & 300 jobs lost during 2019 spillway opening, MSU study finds
The 2019 opening of the Bonnet Carré Spillway cost the Mississippi Coast hundreds of jobs and millions of dollars, a scenario likely to repeat itself and endanger a seafood industry that has been vital to the economy and culture, a study from Mississippi State University concludes. The seafood industry also has declined because of competition from imports, the study noted. Interviews showed many fishermen, including those who specialize in shrimp and oysters, are selling their boats and leaving an industry that supported their families for generations. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:14
$100K worth of lobster seized from southwest N.S. facility, 1 Arrested
Federal fisheries officers have seized more than 5,900 kilograms of lobster as well as documents and electronic records during the search of a facility in Shelburne County, N.S. One person has been arrested and is being investigated for potential charges under the Fisheries Act in connection with maintaining a lobster pound without the required licence, according to the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Social media posts from the federal department said officers obtained a search warrant for the operation that happened on Wednesday. DFO said in its posts that “fishery officers have been taking enforcement measures ranging from compliance awareness to making arrests and seizing unauthorized catch, equipment and vessels.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:28
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
