Canada opens personal-use mackerel bait fishery, extends commercial moratorium
Canada is opening a personal-use bait fishery for mackerel this spring while extending the moratorium on commercial mackerel fishing in Atlantic Canada and Quebec in 2024. Fish caught under a bait licence are intended for personal-use and cannot be sold, traded or bartered. The Department of Fisheries and Oceans said in a news release Thursday the bait fishery will help licence holders supply their other fisheries, such lobster, with bait without jeopardizing the ongoing rebuilding of the stock. The 470-tonne bait quota will be released in two parts to allow fishermen in different parts of the region equitable access. Mackerel arrive in different parts of the region at different times — first off southern Nova Scotia and later in Newfoundland and Labrador. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:42
NL Harvesters Say Thanks For Nothing, Bait Fishery Slap in the Face to License Holders
This morning, the federal government announced a bait fishery for Atlantic mackerel in Atlantic Canada and Quebec. A bait fishery for mackerel will do nothing for harvesters in Newfoundland and Labrador, and harvesters are demanding a modest directed commercial quota for the province. “Newfoundland and Labrador has a history of a fully monitored directed fishery that provided top quality product in a traditionally fall fishery. FFAW-Unifor’s proposal for a directed fishery with temporal coverage would bridge the existing information gaps,” says FFAW-Unifor Secretary-Treasurer Jason Spingle. “Moreover, today’s release is not clear what portion Newfoundland and Labrador harvesters would receive and when,” Spingle says. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:36
Southeastern P.E.I. lobster fishers prep for spring setting day
Lobster fishers along P.E.I.’s southeastern coast voted to go back to their traditional spring start date this year, but they’re going to have to start early again. In 2023, for the first time, there were two opening days for P.E.I.’s spring lobster season. Setting day for boats on the Island’s South Shore came four days earlier than the traditional opening of April 30. Lobster Fishing Area 26A includes 365 boats from harbours along the southeastern coast of P.E.I., from Victoria up to Souris. The spring season for LFA 26A was supposed to open on Friday but has now been postponed until Saturday due to weather conditions. The change in dates in 2023 was proposed by the South Shore fishers for a couple of reasons, including avoiding the time of year when lobsters are in their reproductive stage. Photos, video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:49
Graves, Wicker Urge NOAA to Catch Better Data for Fisheries Management
U.S. Congressman Garret Graves and U.S. Senator Roger Wicker – along with U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (Texas), U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Chair Bruce Westerman and 20 other bipartisan Members of Congress – urged the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Assistant Administrator Janet Coit to modernize the data used by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and bring better science to the table for fisheries management. “Historically, the federal government’s fisheries data management has been a failure. Their system overestimates what has been caught, which gives us less opportunity to fish. There are real solutions on the table to reverse this trend .“We know that there’s better and more precise fisheries management data being collected by the states than what the federal government can provide, and we want NMFS to use the best data and science,” said Congressman Graves. “Our children and grandchildren deserve sound science and sustainable fisheries management. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:23
Fishing Vessel Lady Mary Remembered 15 Years After Sinking
On March 18, 2009, the F/V Lady Mary, a 71-foot scallop boat, left Cape May Harbor for the scalloping grounds in an area known as the Elephant’s Trunk, roughly 60 miles from Cape May. The crew had nearly completed its catch when, between 5:19 and 5:39 a.m. on March 24, the boat sank. Six of the seven crew members were lost. Over the next four years, the Coast Guard and the National Transportation Safety Board completed investigations into the sinking, concluding there were multiple factors responsible. The Coast Guard filed its report on Aug. 23, 2013, saying the Lady Mary did not capsize, nor did it sink due to a fire or explosion. Despite the reported nearby presence of a container vessel named the Cap Beatrice, the Coast Guard concluded there was no evidence that any other vessel was at fault for the chain of events that eventually led to the sinking. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:35
Mount Pleasant’s annual ‘Blessing of the Fleet’ honors local shrimp and fishing industry
An annual event that pays tribute to the Lowcountry’s shrimping and fishing industry returns this weekend to Mount Pleasant Memorial Waterfront Park. Blessing of the Fleet and Seafood Festival serves as a kickoff to coastal shrimping season, which typically begins in early June. It also serves as a reminder to eat and buy locally caught shrimp to support Charleston’s seafood industry. It happens Sunday, April 28 from 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Attendees can enjoy a boat parade, live music, craft show and plenty of free activities with the Ravenel Bridge and Charleston Harbor as a backdrop, organizers say. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:34
Five people from Maine arrested in Nova Scotia for illegally fishing baby eels
The federal Fisheries Department, (DFO), says five people from Maine were arrested in southwestern Nova Scotia last weekend for illegally fishing for baby eels. In a news release, the department says the arrests occurred April 20 and in the early hours of April 21 in the Meteghan area of Digby County. The release didn’t say whether they would face charges, but it notes that fisheries officers seized nearly 3.5 kilograms of baby eels — also known as elvers — a vehicle, three dip nets and one fyke net. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 16:14
Biden administration plans to tee up offshore wind across the nation’s coastlines
The Biden administration is planning to boost offshore wind energy production, announcing up to a dozen opportunities for industry to bid on chances to build wind turbines in U.S. oceans over the next five years. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is slated to announce the lease sales at a conference in New Orleans. The 12 potential opportunities Haaland is announcing include sales in the central Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Maine, Gulf of Mexico, the New York Bight and off the coast of Oregon, California, Hawaii and a yet-to-be-determined U.S. territory. These sales were described as potential sales that could occur rather than ones definitely slated to happen, and if former President Trump wins election, he may want to cancel them. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:56
Predators take big bite out of declining Atlantic mackerel population
Predators ate at least twice as many Atlantic mackerel as commercial fishery landings in the decade leading up to Canada’s region-wide moratorium, according to new research by Canadian and American scientists. The study also found seals are a major predator, lending credence to what many fishermen have long claimed. The modelling study was published this month by the federal Fisheries Department and the Canadian Science Advisory Secretariat. The top predators were gannets, grey seals, dogfish and bluefin tuna. In the most conservative estimate, predators removed between 21,000 and 29,000 tonnes annually between 2012 and 2021 — at least two times greater than Canadian commercial landings reported as 11,000 tonnes per year. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:26
‘Codfather’ boat sunk, sleeps with the fishes in artificial reef off the Jersey Shore
The Axel Carlson Reef off the Jersey Shore has a new structure that was once part of the fleet of the infamous “Codfather” Carlos Rafael, a commercial fisherman who went to jail for mislabeling fish in 2016. When he went to jail, his entire fleet of boats worth millions of dollars was seized by the IRS and sold off. One of those boats was the Carrabassett, a 90-foot steel dragger. It was purchased by a New England commercial outfit that ran the boat aground, cracking the hull open. The boat then caught fire at drydock and was going to go on the scrap metal market when New Jersey’s artificial reef program coordinator Peter Clarke was able to secure it in order to add it to the Axel Carlson Reef, a man-made reef that sits 2.1 miles off the coast of Point Pleasant Beach. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:34
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 68′ Steel Shrimper/Scallop Dragger, Cat 3406
To review specifications, information, and 5 photos’, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series, >click here< 08:41
Rumours of soaring crab prices cause N.L.’s newest processor to hit pause
Lloyd Nash was all ready to start accepting the first loads of crab at his new processing plant when the market was thrown into a tizzy over the weekend. The owner of Uncharted Seafood in St. John’s obtained a crab licence this season, after fish harvesters successfully lobbied the provincial government to issue new licences. He was even prepared to offer a little more than the $3 per pound that was agreed upon by the associations for producers and harvesters after a protracted battle over pricing. But then, rumours ripped through the industry that some of the larger processors were preparing to offer as much as $4.50 per pound. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:42
Once Sourced Out-of-State, Shrimp From New York Is Becoming a Status Ingredient
When wild shrimp is US-harvested, it’s pulled in-season from the waters off Louisiana, Texas, Florida, and the Carolinas. Increasingly, though, a select number of New York restaurants are embracing local shrimp, highlighting fisheries in and around Montauk. Long Island’s royal red shrimp is caught off Montauk at nearly 3,000 feet. “Their color is a gorgeous, gorgeous dark red; a color I’ve never seen in my life,” says lifelong fisherman, K.C. Boyle. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:42
Uncle, nephew who died at sea in Lark Harbour tragedy remembered
Two generations of a family were lost after a boat capsized on Newfoundland’s west coast this weekend, leaving a community in mourning. On Sunday morning, after a vessel carrying six people capsized, the Canadian Coast Guard ship Cape Edensaw was dispatched from Lark Harbour to the west coast. The coast guard launched a fast rescue craft into the water, recovering two bodies. They were Trevor Childs and his nephew Nicholas Skinner, says Fish, Food & Allied Workers secretary-treasurer Jason Spingle. News of the deaths travelled across Newfoundland and Labrador on Sunday and drew condolences from government officials and members of the fishing industry. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 17:30
Bankruptcy filing by former CEO latest twist in Lobster 207 legal saga
Former Lobster 207 CEO Warren Pettegrow filed for bankruptcy in the Southern District of Florida, one day before he was court-ordered to forfeit money, properties, business interests and guns to Lobster 207 toward a $1 million judgment awarded after arbitration in June 2020. U.S. District Judge Lance E. Walker had ordered the forfeiture after nearly five years of court proceedings in federal court in Bangor. The judgment arose from a civil lawsuit Lobster 207 filed in December 2019 alleging Pettegrow, as CEO of Lobster 207, embezzled nearly $2 million over roughly two years in a price-fixing arrangement. The Maine Lobstering Union Local 207, part of the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers, opened the Lobster 207 co-op in 2017 and hired Pettegrow as CEO, an arrangement that was part of the sale to Lobster 207 of the wholesale side of Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:41
Cornwall planning: Statue honouring hundreds of Cornish fishermen is a step nearer
A planning application has been submitted to place an 8ft bronze statue in St Ives to honour the hundreds of fishing folk who have lived and worked in the town. The Mariners’ Memorial, designed by renowned local sculptor Tom Leaper, will overlook St Ives Bay if approved. In 1844 a total of 400 pilchard fishing boats operated from the port of St Ives employing 735 fishermen, with a further 100 engaged in other types of fishing. In order to accommodate this huge fishing fleet, a series of earlier improvements to the harbour were made including the construction of Smeaton’s Pier in 1770. It is now hoped the memorial will be placed on the terrace known as The Castle at the end of Smeaton’s Pier, becoming a landmark destination in the town. more, >>CLITCH TO READ<< 14:18
‘It doesn’t feel real,’ says Lark Harbour deputy mayor following death of 2 fishermen
The Newfoundland community of Lark Harbour has been rocked by the deaths of two fishermen, who died after a boat capsized Sunday. The Canadian Coast Guard ship Cape Edensaw was dispatched from Lark Harbour on Sunday to the rugged shoreline of Newfoundland’s west coast and launched a fast rescue craft into the water. The crew soon recovered the two bodies and spotted four survivors on the shoreline. Lark Harbour Deputy Mayor Ria MacDonald said much of the town found out near lunchtime on Sunday. “‘Reeling’ is the only word to really use. Nobody expects to lose anyone, let alone on the first day of the season.… And the way it went down, from what I understand, is devastating,” MacDonald said Monday. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:45
Wind Energy off Morro Bay Faces Fisher Lawsuit and Marine Sanctuary Issues
Three new wind farms in the waters north of Santa Barbara County have run into a few obstacles in their attempts to bring offshore wind to the Central Coast. On top of discussions with government agencies and the Northern Chumash tribe, the three developers face a lawsuit from two San Luis Obispo fisheries claiming that “best practices” are not being used in the process of approving and building off the coast of Morro Bay. The lawsuit was filed by the Morro Bay Commercial Fishermen’s Organization (MBCFO) and the Port San Luis Commercial Fishermen’s Association, who claim that the equipment used to survey underwater land for offshore wind development could be harmful, and possibly deadly, to sea animals in the area. They added that this would infringe on the fishermen’s right to fish and be detrimental to the commercial fishing industry in all of California. Photos, charts, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:50
This injured N.L. fisherman paid a heavy price protesting for free enterprise
It takes some effort and plenty of discomfort and anxiousness for Richard Martin to lift himself off his couch, settle in behind his walker, and make his way around his house. It was just after 8 a.m. on Wednesday, March 20, and Martin was one of hundreds of frustrated seafood harvesters — many of whom had travelled long distances — who were blockading Confederation Building in St. John’s, preventing public service workers and politicians from accessing the sprawling complex. With Port de Grave fisherman John Efford Jr. leading the charge, they were there fighting for what they were calling “free enterprise,” or the right to have more say over how they catch, land and sell their seafood. Video, Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:10
Owner, captains of crab fishing vessels charged with illegally transporting crab from Alaska
A federal grand jury in Alaska returned an indictment charging the owner and captains of two crab catcher vessels with illegally transporting crab from Alaska, in violation of the Lacey Act. According to court documents, Corey Potter is the owner of the two crab catching vessels, and Corey Potter and Kyle Potter are the captains of the vessels. In February and March 2024, the vessels harvested over 7,000 pounds of Tanner and golden king crab in Southeast Alaska. Corey Potter allegedly directed Kyle Potter and Justin Welch to take the crab to Seattle, Washington, where they intended to sell it at a higher price than they would have in Alaska. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:14
Reason why RNLI declined to give stricken trawler a tow to port except as last resort
A disabled scallop trawler was forced to jettison its fishing gear as it drifted towards shipping lanes off Anglesey. An all-weather lifeboat (ALB) from Moelfre put to sea for eight hours after answering an emergency call for from the trawler. The 14-metre vessel found itself at the mercy of the currents after suffering a mechanical failure around 12 miles north of Puffin Island. Concerned about posing a risk to ships, its crew issued a Pan Pan call – a request for urgent help while not being in immediate danger. The RNLI crew discovered the vessel’s derricks (lifting gear) were stuck down and its scallop dredges were hanging some five meters beneath the surface. These are heavy-duty metal framed nets that are pulled over the seabed to harvest scallops. Photos, more, >>CLICK TP READ<< 19:18
Warming Waters Heat Summer’s Feast Well Before It Gets to the Kitchen
An ever-warming planet is playing havoc with the intricately interconnected web of marine life. Just as climate has long stressed human populations and driven migration, marine populations are stressed and in search of survivable climates too. In New England, scientists and lobstermen alike are studying and living the impacts. Tim Alley has been lobstering in Maine’s coastal waters for 40 years. “There’s been a trend in recent years related to temperatures,” he says. Alley is steeped in the traditions of his home state’s biggest industry and recently dusted off a short film from 1972 in which he starred at age 12, “Alone in My Lobster Boat,” filmed in South Bristol and New Harbor, Maine. Like most lobstermen, he would call himself an environmentalist: they live on the water, they live from the water, they thrive on the water. But they reject the notion that a species – the right whale – is failing because of them. Over 40 years, he says, he has seen exactly one right whale. Photos, Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:50
How the death of a mega-turbine rattled US offshore wind
When GE Vernova confirmed that it was canceling one of the largest wind turbines ever designed, it signaled a pause in an arms race that for years had led manufacturers to go higher, longer and wider when building towers, blades and other components. Now, that decision is reverberating across U.S. efforts to build wind projects in the Atlantic. New York canceled power contracts for three offshore wind projects last week, citing GE Vernova’s decision to abandon its largest turbine model, a massive 18-megawatt machine. The timing could hardly be worse. Offshore wind is the keystone of New York’s plan to generate 70 percent of its power with renewable energy by the end of the decade.“Using the lower-capacity turbines means that each developer would need to buy 12 to 13 additional turbines to build a project of the same capacity,” Jain said. “That also means more foundations, cables, days hiring expensive installation vessels and so on, significantly raising total project cost assumptions.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:24
France and its fishermen speak out against the United Kingdom and its marine protected areas
Taking the objectives set by the Kunming-Montreal Agreement at face value, the United Kingdom has strengthened the protection of its marine protected areas. An ecological decision that French fishermen and the Government took for them. France and its fishermen speak out against the United Kingdom and its marine protected areas or “trolling” fishing activities would be prohibited. If this new diplomatic conflict between France and the United Kingdom is far from being the first in the history of these two countries, its cause, the protection of biodiversity, differs from previous ones. On March 22, after a public consultation initiated in 2022, an order (1) published on February 1 by the British government’s Maritime Management Agency (MMO) strengthened the protection of thirteen pre-existing marine protected areas (MPAs). more, links, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:27
Two people dead, four others make it to shore after vessel capsizes in Newfoundland
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans says two people were found dead and four others survived after a boat capsized off the west coast of Newfoundland. The department says the Canadian Coast Guard received a report of people in the water near the fishing town of Lark Harbour at around 11 a.m. Sunday after a seven-metre fishing vessel called Miss Jenny capsized with six people aboard. The coast guard issued a mayday relay to vessels in the area and its team, equipped with a fast rescue craft, along with a Cormorant helicopter based in Gander, N.L., were dispatched to help the people. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:41
UPDATED: Four people airlifted to hospital after vessel capsized off Newfoundland’s west coast
Four people were airlifted from a beach on the west coast of Newfoundland on Sunday morning and brought to hospital after a vessel was found capsized. RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Jolene Garland said the incident was near the community of Lark Harbour. In a post on the Town of Lark Harbour Facebook page, it was announced the town hall would be opened Sunday evening “as a gathering spot for our residents to support each other in this time of grief.” There was also a post telling residents to avoid Park & Youden Road. Captain Trevor Ackland, a spokesperson for the Joint Task Force Atlantic in support of the Joint Rescue and Coordination Centre in Halifax, said the centre responded to a call from the Maritime Rescue Sub-Centre in St. John’s for assistance after reports of people in the water. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 16:46
A vessel capsized off Newfoundland’s west coast
A rescue operation is underway Sunday near Port aux Port, between Molly Ann Cove and Rope Cove (Submitted by Sam Anderson) A vessel on the west coast of Newfoundland was found capsized on Sunday morning near Port aux Port. Fish harvester Sam Anderson was fishing in the area around Molly Ann Cove and Rope Cove around 11 o’clock Sunday morning when he spotted a cabin on fire on shore. There, he saw a couple of men on the beach, he said, with a capsized vessel nearby. “We followed the procedure, you know, contacted the Coast Guard radio and we tried to get him. We couldn’t get at him because the waters were too shallow and nothing we could do,” Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:29
BP Oil Spill: Where does the coast stand 14 years later?
Saturday marks 14 years since the Mississippi Gulf Coast was changed forever. On April 20, 2010, the Gulf of Mexico saw the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion. The catastrophe killed 11 workers, sent over 4 million barrels of oil into the Gulf of Mexico and washed onto the shores of the Gulf Coast. The spill continued for the next four weeks and two days, causing lasting environmental and economic impacts. “A lot of the grasslands and the marsh and all had a lot of devastation there because the oil get in and it would kill the grasses and also kill what was in the grasses,” explained Mississippi Department of Marine Resources Executive Director Joe Spraggins. Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:17
In the Shadow of the Volcano
It hasn’t been an easy few months for the inhabitants of Grindavík, the fishing port on the south coast of Iceland that first found itself in the shadow of a volcanic eruption at the end of last year. Today Grindavík is not considered inhabitable, and the town’s inhabitants have been dispersed mainly to neighbouring communities, the majority of them thrown into Iceland’s difficult rental market as they have scrambled to find places to live. There has been a level of uncertainty as to whether or not it might be possible to return home at some point. Fishing gear company Veiðarfæraþjónustan was fortunate enough to be provided with a temporary refuge at Hampiðjan’s net loft in Reykjavík, before finding a new home in Hafnarfjörður. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:47
From tiny river eggs to ocean prey, filmmaker aims to capture life of salmon
As a child fly fishing on New Brunswick’s renowned Miramichi River, Nick Hawkins used to daydream about being able to peer under the tea-coloured water and see where the salmon were. Hawkins is one of nine winners of 2024 grants from the Trebek Initiative, named for the late quiz show host Alex Trebek. He’s getting $97,674 from two organizations that Trebek supported, the Royal Canadian Geographical Society and National Geographic Society, to film the migration of Atlantic salmon — “from their home rivers in Canada to their feeding grounds in the icy fjords of Greenland” — and to document “the passionate efforts of those trying to reverse the species’ precipitous decline.” Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:17
