Saving Seafood

MASSACHUSETTS: F/V Misty Blue Missing Crewmembers Found

WASHINGTON – December 18, 2017 – The bodies of two missing fishermen from the F/V MISTY BLUE have been recovered by Massachusetts State Police divers. Jonathan Saraiva, 32, and Michael Roberts, 49, were on board the vessel when it rolled over and sank on Dec. 4.

“Our divers recovered two bodies from the sunken vessel Misty Blue today. The first recovery was at 10:30 a.m., the second at 4:20 p.m. We offer our deepest condolences to their families. I have no further information to relay,” said Massachusetts State Police spokesman Dave Procopio.

Atlantic Capes Fisheries issued the following statement this evening:

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. – Atlantic Capes Fisheries, Inc. (“ACF”) is thankful and saddened to receive the news that divers have recovered the bodies of the missing crewmen of the F/V MISTY BLUE. All of the ACF team members extend their deepest condolences to the families of Michael Roberts and Jonathan Saraiva.

“This is a sorrow-filled day for everyone, not only at Atlantic Capes but also in the greater New England fishing community,” said Danny Cohen, President of ACF. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Roberts and Saraiva families during this difficult time.”

“Michael was a five year veteran of Atlantic Capes, and Jonathan had just joined our team. We were all devastated to lose an old friend and new colleague. We join with their families and the rest of the harbor in mourning their loss,” said Chad Brayton, the Vessel Manager. “The divers deserve our deepest respect.  That was a difficult dive, in strong currents on Nantucket shoals, which has to be accomplished in very limited time.”

“We recognize the great risks and technical difficulty involved in this recovery effort, so on behalf of Atlantic Capes, we wish to thank the Coast Guard, the Massachusetts State Police, the dive teams, and everyone whose brave efforts made it possible for Michael and Jonathan to be returned to their grieving families,” said Sam Martin, Vice President of Operations. “We hope the recovery brings some comfort to their friends and loved ones at this difficult time.”

 

MASSACHUSETTS: State police divers search for Misty Blue fishermen

December 18, 2017 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — State police divers are searching the waters off Nantucket for two missing fishermen who were aboard the vessel Misty Blue when it sank Dec. 4, a spokesman said.

Lt. Tom Ryan, a Massachusetts State Police spokesman, confirmed today that divers are searching for the two missing fishermen. He did not have any other details.

Monday’s dive followed the postponement of at least five previous State Police dives because of weather conditions.

After hearing reports by the Coast Guard on the police scanner about the search on Monday morning, a Coast Guard spokeswoman referred The Standard-Times to State Police for information.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

James G. Stavridis & Johan Bergenas: The fishing wars are coming

September 14, 2017 — Lawmakers are finally catching up to something that the Navy and Coast Guard have known for a long time: The escalating conflict over fishing could lead to a “global fish war.”

This week, as part of the pending National Defense Authorization Act, Congress asked the Navy to help fight illegal fishing. This is an important step. Greater military and diplomatic efforts must follow. Indeed, history is full of natural-resource wars, including over sugar, spices, textiles, minerals, opium and oil. Looking at current dynamics, fish scarcity could be the next catalyst.

The decline in nearly half of global fish stocks in recent decades is a growing and existential threat to roughly 1 billion people around the world who rely on seafood as their primary source of protein. No other country is more concerned about the increasingly empty oceans than China, whose people eat twice as much fish as the global average. Beijing is also the world’s largest exporter of fish, with 14 million fishers in a sector producing billions of dollars a year.

In order to keep its people fed and employed, the Chinese government provides hundreds of millions of dollars a year in subsidies to its distant-water fishing fleet. And in the South China Sea, it is common for its ships to receive Chinese Coast Guard escorts when illegally entering other countries’ fishing waters. As such, the Chinese government is directly enabling and militarizing the worldwide robbing of ocean resources.

Read the full opinion piece at the Washington Post

5 rescued off Cape Charles after fishing boat sinks

September 12, 2017 — A Coast Guard helicopter rescued five people off Cape Charles in Northampton County after their fishing vessel took on water in severe weather Monday and sank.

The Coast Guard said in a news release two of the crew members of the fishing vessel, Langley Douglas, were in a life raft while three others were holding on to a piece of wreckage after the boat sank about 60 miles east of Cape Charles on Monday, Sept. 11.

It said a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew already in the area was diverted to the scene after watchstanders in the 5th District Command Center in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, received an emergency position-indicating radio beacon (EPIRB) alert from Langley Douglas.

Read and watch the full story at the Salisbury Daily Times

Search suspended for missing NC boater after fisherman dies, Coast Guard says

September 12, 2017 — WILMINGTON, N.C. — Coast Guard Sector North Carolina suspended its search Sunday for a fisherman reported overdue with two others near Bogue Inlet Friday.

The fishing trip off the North Carolina coast ended with one man recovered, another who died and the third who is still missing.

This is the second case in two weeks in North Carolina of boaters vanishing along the coast while fishing. In late August, two men who left Oak Island to go fishing were reported missing and their empty boat was later found along the South Carolina coast.

Read the full story at CBS North Carolina

New Voluntary Pilot Program to Pre-Measure/Tag Codends Now Underway; Designed to Assist Industry Compliance

September 11, 2017 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council is pleased to announce the launch of a new Codend Compliance Assistance Program (CAP) that’s designed to help fishermen document the purchase of legalsize codends and contribute to the collection of data on codend shrinkage rates. The program is in the pilot phase and participation is voluntary. It was developed by the Council’s Enforcement Committee, which includes representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard and NOAA Office of Law Enforcement.

As fishermen well know, new nets tend to shrink or “harden” once exposed to routine fishing.

“It’s just the nature of the material we use to build twine,” said Terry Alexander, a commercial fisherman and New England Council member who chairs the Enforcement Committee.

The Enforcement Committee began working on the CAP roughly two years ago under the premise that fishermen who volunteered to have codends pre-measured and tagged would be recognized as program participants. Then, in the event that codend mesh inspected during subsequent Coast Guard boardings measured-out smaller than on the original purchase date, the fisherman’s involvement in the CAP would be noted and possibly result in a “fix it” opportunity or reduced penalty.

“This is not a free ticket to tow illegal mesh,” emphasized Alexander. “But if you’re participating in the program and the Coast Guard boards your boat, it sends a signal that you’re a responsible harvester and are trying to fish legally.”

Read the full release here

Coast Guard finds boat of missing Gaston County cousins and no one was on board

September 1, 2017 — The U.S. Coast Guard located a fishing boat that had been lost since Sunday, and no one was on board.

Two Gaston County men took the boat out last weekend. The wife of one of the men called for help after they did not return by dark, as expected.

The vessel was found 15 miles east of Murrells Inlet, according to a tweet sent out by the Coast Guard. As a result of the discovery, search patterns are being expanded near Murrells Inlet, the coast guard said.

Read the full story at the Charlotte Observer

Desperate family of Gaston men lost at sea enlists flotilla of boaters to help search

August 31, 2017 — Family and friends of two Gaston County cousins lost off the North Carolina coast are putting together their own a private navy of fishing and charter boats to help in the search.

The effort has so far collected 30 privately owned boats to join the U.S. Coast Guard in searching for Steve Chaney and David Hambrick. The two have been missing since Sunday. Chaney is from the Belmont area and Hambrick lives in Stanley.

A GoFundMe campaign has been set up to pay for fuel needed by the volunteer searchers, said Dana Keener, Hambrick’s sister in law. The campaign had raised nearly $12,000 toward its $20,000 goal by Thursday morning.

Keener says they’re looking for as many boaters as possible to join the private search, which began Wednesday.

Read the full story at the Charlotte Observer

2 missing along NC coast after not returning from fishing trip

August 29, 2017 — OAK ISLAND, N.C. — Coast Guard crews are searching for two missing North Carolina men as a tropical system has spawned warnings along the coast.

Steve Chaney and David Hambrick, both of Oak Island, were expected back from fishing on Sunday near Oak Island, the Coast Guard said in a news release.

The men left around 11:30 a.m. Sunday from the South Harbor Boat Ramp in Oak Island in a 22-foot fishing boat.

Read and watch the full story at CBS North Carolina

MAINE: Woman’s Body Recovered Off Shore of Biddeford Pool

August 28, 2017 — The following was released by the Maine Department of Marine Resources:

The Maine State Police/Marine Patrol Dive Team has recovered the body of a woman who was on-board a recreational fishing boat today approximately 10 miles off Biddeford Pool.

The woman was among four people fishing when their 21 foot boat was capsized by a wave at approximately 10:30 a.m. Three of the people were rescued by a good samaritan who heard a hand gun fired by one of the occupants of the boat as a distress call.

A search was begun in the vicinity of the boat as soon as it was determined that one of the party was missing.

Involved in the search were the Maine Marine Patrol, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Scarborough Fire Department, the Biddeford Pool Police Department, and the Saco Fire Department. Several private citizens also took part in the search.

No one on the boat was wearing a life jacket, according to the Maine Marine Patrol.

The woman’s body was recovered at approximately 2:30 p.m.

Names of the deceased and survivors are being withheld until notification of next of kin.