National Fisherman articles from June 2003

National Fisherman archives from June 2003

A troubling sense of closure. (Editor's Log).
June 1, 2003... The Channel Islands Marine Reserve in California is now open for business, which means closed to fishermen. The reserve is actually a 175-squaremile network of no-take zones intended to protect abalone, rockfish and other creatures, as well...

At sea.(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: A FIXTURE in the Maine fishing community since his youth, Ken Young Jr. (right) followed in his father's footsteps, as his son has followed in his. The Youngs welcomed editor Jerry Fraser aboard this winter,...

Fishing back when.
June 1, 2003... 50 YEARS AGO this month The first herring of the season are taken at Winter Harbor by Ted Johnson, Milton Torrey Jr., and Wilbur Parritt. Stinson Canning Co. takes 14 hogshead (about 17,000 pounds) of sardines; the rest of the set is...

No raving about this rant.
June 1, 2003... OCEAN BANKRUPTCY By Stephen Sloan The Lyons Press Hardcover, 277 pp., $24.95 I caught my first fish with a hook, not a net. When I fished for a living, I joked that I preferred the bulk rate of trawling to the one-at-a-time of catching...

Examining the West Coast `fishery crisis'. (Forum).
June 1, 2003... The collapse of West Coast fisheries, areas closed to fishing and the call for more closures. Is it true? Do we actually have a crisis? Must your favorite seafood restaurant soon feature fish-flavored tofu fillets? Recreational and...

A weak link in the lazarette. (Consequences).
June 1, 2003... On a January morning several winters ago, a dragger departed Portland, Maine, with a crew of three for what was to have been a three- to four-day ground-fish trip in the Gulf of Maine. On the third morning, the vessel encountered rough,...

Fla. shrimper outraged at prices and imports. (Mail Buoy).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... As a commercial fisherman, you would think that the current market in the state of Florida would be booming at this time of year. In fact it is... but with imported seafood products, some of which are rejected by almost every other country in...

Dredging project jeopardizes Providence River, R.I. fishing. (Mail Buoy).
June 1, 2003... The Environmental Impact Statement is incomplete. Rhode Island does not know the maximum daily discharge of chemicals, metals, and other contaminations that are presently going into the Providence River. The Total Maximum Daily Load of...

Bandage made from shrimp could save mariners' lives. (Mail Buoy).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Everyone in commercial fishing has seen or had punctures, crushed or cut flesh. Running machinery, sharp edges, fins, knives on a heaving deck make bleeding an everyday occurrence. Uncontrolled loss of blood is a death sentence for many...

Managerial concerns. (A Letter From Bill Hogarth).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... This column follows my early April meeting with state fishery managers in San Diego, Calif. This was the second such meeting, scheduled every other year, to improve our dialog and interaction. Three issues highlighted this meeting: State...

Cap'n Sane says ...(National Grange)(Column)
June 1, 2003... Weirman n'their sons didn't have much in the way of entertainment back in the real fish days. Unless it was throwin' stones at seagulls tryin' t'clean out a bait barrel. For some reason that I never understood, the Old Man joined the...

Oregon bill would ease seafood price negotiation: tense Dungeness crab openings spark proposal to give fishermen, processors guidelines. (Pacific).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... The Dungeness crab season's tense opening, during which processors and fishermen were at a standoff over prices, spurred the Oregon Department of Agriculture to propose a solution. The bill before the Oregon Legislature, sponsored by Sen....

NMFS, scientists explore rockfish restocking plan: aim to speed groundfish species recovery. (Pacific).(National Marine Fisheries Service)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Recent emphasis on the plight of several Pacific rockfish species led to a program in March that some researchers hope will replenish the faltering stocks. Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute of San Diego and NMFS teamed up to explore the...

Klamath salmon receive more water--for now: judge's decision provides temporary fix. (Pacific).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... While biologists expect abundant salmon returns on most of the West Coast, the Klamath River dispute over water flows remains a question mark. Continuing drought conditions in the Klamath Basin set the stage for another confrontation...

Fishermen lose round 1 in Channel Islands fight: request to delay marine reserves rejected. (Pacific).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... California fishermen suffered a setback in March in their efforts to prevent establishment of marine reserves around the Channel Islands. But they say the issue is far from being settled. Ventura County Superior Court Judge Steven Hintz...

Lower stone crab catch makes Florida fleet nervous: dismal landings are the latest in a series of events afflicting state's commercial fisheries. (Gulf * South Atlantic).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Florida stone crab landings are way down for the 2002-03 season. And if fishermen in south Florida are more nervous than they normally would be in the typical off year, it's understandable. First there was the terrible 2001-02 spiny lobster...

NMFS raises vent size for turtle excluders: La. shrimp official disputes measure. (Gulf * South Atlantic).(National Marine Fisheries Service)(Louisiana)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Motivated by higher than normal sea turtle mortality, NMFS is modifying regulations to require a larger exit hole in turtle excluder devices. The new regulations went into effect in April for the Atlantic, and start in August for the gulf....

N.C. shrimpers weigh disposition of U.S. aid: some call for funding a marketing effort. (Gulf * South Atlantic).(North Carolina)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... More than 70 shrimpers attended a meeting in New Bern, N.C., on March 16 to learn more about how and when they will get to divide up $4.5 million in emergency federal aid allocated to the state. It was one of three sessions held in...

Home port where we live.(Bowers Beach, Delaware)
June 1, 2003... BOWERS BEACH, DEL. THE TOWN Population: There are approximately 180 to 220 year, round residents. The population swells to during the summer. Fleet size: Five or six boats TOP FIVE LANDINGS IN 2002 By volume Blue...

Jade dumplings: Tomi Marsh, Southeast Alaska. (Galley Watch at-sea cuisine).(salmon recipe)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... There's no scrimping on good eats when Tomi Marsh sets off for a summer of fishing in Southeast Alaska. With a few packages of oriental noodles, a few common boat staples and an endless supply of fresh salmon, Marsh, 40, has the galley of her...

Mid-Atlantic fishermen wary of natural gas pipeline: homeowners side with baymen; energy companies say drilling will minimize impacts. (Northeast).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... A proposal to route energy across the sea floor and estuaries of the Northeast is generating political heat. "At first I wasn't against it. We need energy out there. But you don't know who to believe," says Mike Torrelli, owner of Thimble...

Horseshoe crab harvest likely to be cut again: fishermen question ties to shorebird health. (Northeast).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Delaware Bay's spring horseshoe crab harvest will likely behalf that of last year, and a shadow of the 1990s fishery when fishermen's need for conch and eel bait ran head-on into the ecotourism industry. Negotiations between Delaware and...

Politician on right foot with Md.'s watermen: new governor earns praise on promises. (Northeast).(Maryland's Governor Robert Ehrlich)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... New Maryland Gov. Robert Ehrlich is keeping his campaign vow to rely on science instead of politics in fisheries management and review the previous administration's stringent blue crab regulations. He's also cleaned house at Maryland's...

Study: fishing business propelling Alaska economy: industry generates more than 25,000 full-time harvesting, processing jobs, report finds. (North Pacific).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Alaska's commercial fisheries are still the main drivers of its economy, according to a recent study, submitted to the state Legislature. Northern Economics Inc., the Anchorage firm retained to complete the "Economic Impact of the Seafood...

Council, industry seek plan in Gulf of Alaska: quota shares, co-op mechanisms explored. (North Pacific).(North Pacific Fishery Management Council)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... The North Pacific Fishery Management Council, its support panels and members of Alaska's groundfish industry put plans into motion in hopes of reducing overcapitalization and increasing safety and sound resource management in the Gulf of...

Lady Josephine: golden crab boat. (Boat of the Month).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... The 57-foot Lady Josephine has been working the deep Atlantic side of the Florida Keys in South Florida's deep-water golden crab fishery for about five months, says Robert Palina, general manager of the Lobster Connection, which owns the boat....

NMFS rejects bycatch position from advocacy group: agency cites successes, efforts; Oceana, seeking hard-and-fast limits, mulls its next step. (National).(National Marine Fisheries Service)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... NMFS stood up to the environmental group Oceana in March, rejecting a petition from the organization to establish bycatch counts and caps on all U.S. commercial and recreational fisheries. Under the NMFS plan, the agency would work with...

Coast Guard disputes allegations by G.A.O.: says new duties don't diminish old ones. (National).(Government Accounting Office)
June 1, 2003... U.S. Coast Guard officials say suggestions that their agency's new homeland security responsibilities put fishermen at risk and the marine environment wanting for protection are overstated. And as they ease into their new role, they say,...

Eric Hooper: Ventura, Calif. (Snapshot who we are).(Ventura County Fishermen's Association director)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Eric Hooper, 42, a fisherman since he was 16, has called Ventura home for 18 years. He fishes for halibut, white sea bass, albacore and swordfish, but being on the front line of California's marine reserve battle cuts into his fishing time. ...

Demand for fish meal, omega-3 oil improving, industrial fleet's fortunes. (Northeast Menhaden).
June 1, 2003... Some commercial fishermen have reason to be ambivalent about the growing popularity of farm-raised fish. But U.S. menhaden harvester have good reason to welcome aquaculture's growth. Because if there's one thing fish farmers can't do...

2003 fish forecast speaks volumes about market problems facing fleet. (North Pacific Salmon).
June 1, 2003... With Alaska's salmon forecast looming at 150 million fish for the 2003 season, fishermen, processors and marketers have been gearing up for a harvest that betters last year's 131 million fish. Which means the inevitable task of selling what...

Swordfish: war, mercury concerns don't affect demand; it's the economy, stupid. (Pacific).
June 1, 2003... Despite faltering consumer confidence levels as the war in Iraq raged on in March and April, seafood aficionados were reluctant to give up swordfish. Signs posted in grocery stores warning consumers about potential mercury hazards also had...

Tuna: frozen imports and rising fuel costs outpace domestic catch price gains. (Gulf/South Atlantic).
June 1, 2003... The growing impact of the cold-smoked process and high fuel costs are two major factors affecting the market for yellow fin tuna--the primary commercial tuna in the gulf and South Atlantic region--as the 2003 summer season begins. ...

Testing everyone's patience: despite NMFS promises to streamline the process, experimental fishery permit applications are still handled at a snail's pace. (Fishery Research).(National Marine Fisheries Service)
June 1, 2003... In the late 1980s, when Ron Smolowitz worked as assistant regional director at NMFS' Gloucester office, he received a panicked call from a researcher standing in the wheelhouse of a fishing boat. The researcher was out at sea, ready to test a...

Sold on the auction: the Honolulu fish house owned by United Fishing Agency has been the venue of choice for Hawaii longliners and buyers for over 50 years. (Fish For Sale).
June 1, 2003... There are plenty of ways to sell fish in Hawaii. But almost all Hawaii longline fishermen choose to sell their catch in one building: the auction house owned by United Fishing Agency. Hawaii's fish auction operates six days a week in a well...

Catching in the cold: Ken Young Jr. and his son Mark take on subzero temperatures and a breezy forecast in pursuit of Maine shrimp. (At Sea).
June 1, 2003... They talk about quiet cold, but 15 below zero doesn't whisper. It crunches. It's just before 4 a.m. when I meet Ken Young Jr. and his son Mark at the York Harbor (Maine) Marina. The forecast calls for 25 knots of wind. Ken, who is still...

Slough dance: a Fraser River backwater in British Columbia offered Finnish immigrants salmon and a timeless way of life. (Home Towns).(Finn Slough)
June 1, 2003... A wooden footbridge spans Finn Slough, a quiet backwater near the mouth of the Fraser River, on south coast of British Columbia. A boardwalk leads past houses built on stilts. "Are you lookin' for somebody?" a beachcomber asks, standing up...

Core principles: from mat woven roving to resin infusion, Maine's fiberglass boat shops have always pursued the latest advantage for fishermen. (Boats & Gear) .(Cover Story)
June 1, 2003... In Maine, fiberglass was first used to build a boat in the 1950s when John Cousens, the owner of Webbers Cove boatyard in Southwest Harbor, started building 33-foot utility boats for the U.S. Navy. In the early 1960s, he modified those utility...

The `force' is with him: the 46-foot Gail Force gives Tom Peterson an easy-to-maintain, shallow-draft aluminum crabber with lots of carrying capacity. (Aluminum Boatbuilding).
June 1, 2003... Two years of planning and building paid off for all involved when the 46-foot Gail Force was launched in time for the 2002-03 Dungeness crab season. Washington fisherman Tom Petersen had the aluminum crab boat he wanted, and Rozema Boat Works...

Clearing the air: creating a dust-free work environment can increase efficiency without taking your breath away. (Shop Talk).
June 1, 2003... It is sometimes easy to forget how toxic wood dust can be. After all, wood is versatile and pleasant to work with; it finishes beautifully and it smells so much nicer than polyester. To top it off, select the right wood and it is naturally...

A bottom paint primer: how to pick an antifoulant. (Hull Protection).
June 1, 2003... It's amazing how a simple substance consisting of just three basic components can generate so many different products and cause so much confusion. At the heart of the confusion is antifouling paint, which is composed of a binder, a...

Fire-damaged boat is rebuilt; yard rebounds after burning. (North).(Atlantic Boat Co. fire)
June 1, 2003... When the fiberglass lobster boat Michael & Christopher, out of New Haven, Conn., was trucked up to Wesmac in Surry, Maine, Steve Wessel, the boat-shop's owner, admits he wondered what he was getting into. A fire that started at the...

Hard-luck vessel restored; seiner converted for research. (West).(seiner Sleep Robber sinks and is restored)
June 1, 2003... It seemed a humiliating end for the Sleep Robber, a well-known Canadian seiner and halibut boat that hit the beach near Prince Rupert, British Columbia, in 2001, sunk and then rolled over. To make a bad thing worse, when she was salvaged, the...

Waterman has lucky ticket; brothers work on sisterships. (South).(boatbuilding and fishing industries in Maryland)
June 1, 2003... For the first time since the Maryland Watermen's Association began a partnership with Chesapeake Boats of Crisfield, Md., a Chesapeake Bay waterman won the boat drawing at this year's East Coast Commercial Fishermen's & Aqua-culture Trade...

Bulletin board.(fishing and boating related activities)(Calendar)
June 1, 2003... MAY 20-22 New England Fishery Management Council Meeting Courtyard by Marriott, Portsmouth, N.H. Contact: Patricia M. Fiorelli, NEFMC 50 Water St., Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950 (978) 465-0492; pfiorelli@Dnefmc.org MAY 24-26...

A superior replacement: Furuno's new 1623 LCD boasts features not usually seen on an entry-level radar. (Product Roundup).
June 1, 2003... Normally when a company comes out with a replacement product, there's not a lot of difference between the new and the old, especially when you are talking about entry level radars. But that's not the case with Furuno's new 1623 LCD radar with a...

On the move. (Inside the Industry).(appointments at Furuno USA)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... FURUNO U.S.A., headquartered in Camas, Wash., recently promoted four executives. DEAN KURUTZ, former national sales manager, will be the marine electronics manufacturer's new marketing manager. MATT WOOD has been promoted to sales manager after...

Pennel Industries. (Inside the Industry).(Pennel et Flipo S.A. opens Montreal facility)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... PENNEL INDUSTRIES, a French manufacturer of coated marine fabric used in inflatable boats, life jackets and other industrial applications, has opened a North American facility in Montreal. The region's sales manager will be HENRI D'AULAN, who...

Applicants sought. (Company News).(Commercial Fishing Industry Vessel Safety Advisory Committee)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... The U.S. Coast Guard is seeking applications for three-year appointments to the Commercial Fishing Industry Vessel Safety Advisory Committee, which provides advice to the Coast Guard on commercial fishing safety-related issues. Applications...

Supply agreement. (Company News).(Westerbeke Corp. and Newage Transmissions Ltd.)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... The first shipment of PRM 120 marine gearboxes to the diesel engine manufacturer Westerbeke Corp. in Taunton, Mass., has been dispatched by Newage Transmissions, designer and manufacturer of mechanical drive-line equipment in Coventry, England,...

Birthday celebrated. (Company News).(industrial refrigeration supplier WESCOLD )(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Seattle-based industrial refrigeration supplier WESCOLD is celebrating 90 years in the industry. Ted Stone opened the shop in the Smith Tower in downtown Seattle in 1913. In 1976, the company purchased Western Engineers in Portland, Ore.,...

Smaller fist, bigger punch: Magellan's new handheld GPS packs plenty of power.
June 1, 2003... Handheld electronics have always been an attractive buy because of their small size. But that small size has also limited their number of functions. Handheld GPS units were especially restricted in the amount of memory that could be contained...

At a glance.(fishing and boating industry products)
June 1, 2003... NAVIONICS has released GOLD NAVIGATIONAL CHARTS, which the company says provide color-rich presentation with the familiar appearance of a paper chart. Light sectors for leading lights and lighthouses are shown in full color, as are the...

Wind shift. (Pursue Strings).(new US laws on tax advantaged savings)
June 1, 2003... On Jan. 31st, the Treasury Department announced 'that President Bush's budget includes broad-based changes in the way we save. Although this needs to be approved by Congress, the new budget, if passed, would create three new types of savings...

B.C. wild salmon threatened by fish farming corporations. (Mail Buoy).(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2003... If all the wild salmon disappeared from the Pacific Northwest Coast tomorrow, you would surely hear champagne corks popping all the way back to Oslo, Norway, as these corporate fish farm companies have everything to gain by the demise of our...

Naval architect joins debate over vessel stability wager. (Mail Buoy).(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2003... Fishing vessel stability is a very complex and often mysterious dynamic process that has created many dangerous myths and misconceptions about what creates a stable vessel or how the "feel" of the vessel will tell the crew if they are safe or...

Consumer says West Coast crabbers should think bigger. (Mail Buoy).(Letter to the Editor)
June 1, 2003... This letter is in response to your "The Blame Game" article on dismal Dungeness crab prices in your April 2003 issue (p. 38). I would like to bring the consumer's viewpoint to bear on the topic. We eat as much crab as we can afford...

Fishermen fear pesticide will also affect shellfish: say agent used to control sea lice in British Columbia salmon farms could kill prawns. (Canada).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Prawn fishermen are concerned about a plan to use pesticide to rid the Broughton Archipelago of sea lice to protect pink salmon stocks. SLICE is the commercial name for emamectin benzoate, a compound that's especially effective at killing...

Crab permit conversion will aid small-boat fleet: DFO makes temporary licenses permanent. (Canada).(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... Inshore small-boat fishermen received some good news when Fisheries and Oceans Minister Robert Thibault declared in February that Newfoundland temporary crab permits will be converted into regular licenses. "This is a long-awaited...

Last set.(photo caption)(Brief Article)
June 1, 2003... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Caption: WORKING WATERMEN: Jimmy Dowling (left) handles the hydraulic patent tong while captain Larry Simns and his son, Larry Jr., cull Chesapeake Bay oysters in this 1991 photo. The elder Simns is president of the...