Saving Seafood

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.

MASSACHUSETTS: State Rep. Straus request reveals NOAA has yet to penalize Rafael

August 25, 2017 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Through a public records request, Rep. William Straus said he discovered that NOAA hasn’t disciplined Carlos Rafael since the indictment has been released.

That included an incident on Aug. 5, 2016, which occurred after the indictment, where public records also show that the Coast Guard cited the Lady Patricia, a Rafael vessel listed in the indictment, for “fishing without proper VMS designation.”

NOAA defines its Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) as a system supporting law enforcement initiatives and preventing violations of laws and regulations. It is used as evidence in the prosecution of environmental laws and regulations including regional fishing quotas, the Endangered Species Act, and the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Rafael pleaded guilty in March to falsely labeling fish quotas, tax evasion and smuggling money.

NOAA said it doesn’t comment on ongoing cases, but it said it isn’t uncommon for the organization to issues penalties after criminal proceedings.

Straus, D-Mattapoisett, had requested from NOAA all charging documents involving Rafael.

“There was a pattern of behavior which concerned me about its impact on what we want to have in terms of managing the fishery,” Straus said.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Another right whale found dead

August 18, 2017 — There doesn’t seem to be an end to the bad news on right whales this summer. With a dozen found dead this year, most of them in a flurry of deaths since June, the Coast Guard reported right whale death number 13 Monday, 145 miles east of Cape Cod.

On Thursday, the whale was identified by matching the pattern of hardened patches of gray skin with photos found in a database at the New England Aquarium. The right whale Couplet was a frequent visitor to the Cape, arriving here first as a yearling in 1992, and seen in Cape Cod Bay mostly in April to feed on abundant plankton blooms for 15 of the 26 years of her life. The last time she was sighted here was in 2015, and she brought her last of her five calves to Cape Cod in 2014.

“We study this unique animal and it is hard not to get attached to it,” said Amy James, aerial survey coordinator for the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown. “You get used to seeing the same ones come back year after year.”

The loss of females is especially tragic, James said.

The Northwest Atlantic right whales are among the most endangered whale populations on earth with around 500 individuals and less than 100 breeding females.

“All of her future calves, the ones she could have gone on to create, that opportunity has been lost,” James said.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

Fishing vessel sinks in New Bedford Harbor

August 17, 2017 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — The fishing vessel Challenge sank early Wednesday on city’s waterfront, officials said.

The fuel spill spread about 1.5 miles into Fairhaven, the United States Coast Guard reported in a press release.

Fire Chief Michael Gomes said the Fire Department found the 65-foot fishing vessel had sunk by its stern and was leaking diesel fuel and lube oil into the harbor when they arrived. The Fire Department was notified about 4:30 a.m.

The captain from the tugboat Realist called Coast Guard Sector Southeastern watchstanders around 3:50 a.m., reporting the Challenge sunk at the pier and was actively discharging fuel, a press release from the Coast Guard stated.

Coast Guard crews are overseeing the fuel spill cleanup.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Fishermen’s Trust hosts third annual Meet the Fleet in Menemsha

August 10, 2017 — Crowds streamed along Menemsha’s docks last Thursday for the Martha’s Vineyard Fishermen’s Preservation Trust’s third annual Meet the Fleet, both a celebration of the Island’s fishing community and a fundraising event for the trust that supports it. “I think it was the best one yet,” trust director Shelly Edmundson said.

The three-hour event grossed approximately $20,000 from a silent auction, sponsorships, clothing sales, donations, rawbar sales, and tips given by the band Good Night Louise, which entertained visitors off the deck of Martha Elizabeth, a fishing boat owned by trust founder Wes Brighton.

The event included crab races, and shucking and net-mending competitions. The Coast Guard, environmental police, and numerous commercial fishing vessels — most of which the public could board — were on hand, along with the refurbished 20th century wooden draggers Roann and Little Lady. According to Ms. Edmundson, the Roann made the six-hour journey from its home at Mystic Seaport in Connecticut, while the Little Lady still actively plies Vineyard waters.

Aaron Williams, who won the net-mending competition, brought his trawler Tradition to Menemsha, where it docked less than 100 feet from the Roann, his father’s former vessel—one Mr. Williams crewed on as a kid.

Read the full story at the Martha’s Vineyard Times