Saving Seafood

MASSACHUSETTS: 40 rescued when charter fishing vessel catches fire in Gloucester Harbor

July 7, 2021 — Forty people had to be rescued from a charter fishing boat that caught fire in Gloucester Harbor on Wednesday morning, but there were no reported injuries, the Coast Guard said.

The Coast Guard as well as local harbormasters responded to the fire aboard the Yankee Patriot II, the Coast Guard posted on its official Twitter feed.

The vessel returned to its home berth under its own power using its port engine due to a fire in the starboard engine, the Coast Guard said.

No other information, including the cause of the fire, was immediately available.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at Boston.com

Fisherman fell overboard 37 miles from NC shore — and his boat drove off without him

July 6, 2021 — A fisherman who fell overboard trolling off the North Carolina coast was saved Monday after his boat drove off without him, officials said.

The captainless vessel nearly plowed into his rescuers — a father and son fishing near Wrightsville Beach, said Captain Ryan Saporito of Sea Tow. The fisherman, meanwhile, was treading water 37 miles from shore for almost an hour before they found him.

“He got extremely lucky here these guys were fishing where they were,” Saporito said.

The man, who was not identified, was fishing by himself on a 23-foot Parker boat when he fell off, Saporito told McClatchy News. He was trolling at the time, meaning the boat was moving forward and dragging lures behind it.

Saporito said the man slipped on the boat’s deck, tripped and fell overboard. He wasn’t wearing his engine cut-off switch (ECOS) lanyard, also known as a “kill switch,” which would have prevented the boat from driving off without him.

Read the full story at The News & Observer

Authorities identify man who died after fishing boat sinks in Nushagak

July 6, 2021 — A commercial fisherman has died after a vessel sank in the south end of Nushagak Bay on Thursday morning with three people on board.

Authorities on Friday identified the deceased as Lance Eric Norby, 45, of Arlington, Texas. He captained the F/V Pneuma. Norby’s next of kin has been notified.

Alaska State Troopers report receiving a call around 5 a.m. Thursday morning that a commercial vessel was taking on water. Two wildlife troopers responded immediately. Before they got there, they heard reports that the three people on board were in the water.

Authorities credit Good Samaritans on the scene with helping in the rescue. Among those was skipper Caleb Mikkelsen, who said his crew was getting ready for an opener when he got a call from a friend that there was a vessel in distress on the VHF radio.

“We could hear that there were two boats and a skiff trying to help this vessel that was sinking out on those Snake River flats there,” he said.

The people at the scene said they still needed help. So Mikkelsen piloted his boat, the F/V Fortress, about seven miles to help.

Read the full story at KDLG

Investigation into Scandies Rose sinking points to faulty stability instructions

July 2, 2021 — The National Transportation Safety Board’s investigation into the Scandies Rose sinking has found no fault with the captain or crew but pointed to inaccurate vessel stability instructions that could have led to dangerous ice accumulation.

Included in the NTSB report, which was released on Tuesday, were a series of findings voted on and accepted by the board. Among them was the finding that there were no issues with the conduct of captain or crew or problems with the vessel itself. The hearing looked closely at a series of welds made on the Scandies Rose, but the NTSB found they did not contribute to the sinking, either.

The NTSB also found that the ice accumulation on the F/V Scandies Rose likely would have been between 6 and 15 inches on the wind-facing side. This would have raised the boat’s center of gravity and lowered its stability, contributing to the capsizing.

Read the full story at KTOO

Northwest tuna vessel owners fined for ‘paper captain’ violations

June 2, 2021 — Federal teams working in the Pacific Northwest uncovered eight cases of U.S.-flag commercial vessels illegally employing foreign nationals during the summer tuna season out of Washington state, Coast Guard officials said.

Working with Customs and Board Protection and NMFS law enforcement officers, the Coast Guard says since 2019 it documented so-called “paper captain” violations – documentation claiming a U.S. crew member as the captain, when in fact the vessel was under command of a foreign national.

“Paper captain is a term applied to an individual listed on documents as a U.S.-flagged vessel’s captain but in actuality serves as a deckhand or in a similar lower‐level capacity. It is the law that a documented vessel be under the command of a U.S. citizen,” according to a Coast Guard statement.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

US senators ask for reconsideration of mask mandates on commercial fishing vessels

May 28, 2021 — Following federal changes to masking guidelines for fully vaccinated citizens, issued on 13 May, Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) and Maggie Hassan (D-New Hampshire) submitted a letter to the U.S. Coast Guard and the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) requesting a revisit and possible revision of federal masking mandates for commercial fishing vessels.

“We encourage the CDC – in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard – to revisit mask-wearing requirements specific to workers in the commercial fishing industry,” the 25 May letter states.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Senators Hassan, Murkowski Call on CDC and Coast Guard to Change Mask Requirements for Commercial Fishing Industry

May 27, 2021 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK):

In a letter to the CDC and Coast Guard, the Senators discuss the latest CDC mask guidance and write, “Many fishing vessel operators were therefore understandably dismayed to learn that the most recent CDC guidance does not loosen restrictions for fishing vessels that are staffed by fully vaccinated persons and are not passenger-carrying vessels as defined under 42 CFR 70.1.”

The Senators go on to discuss the concerns that they have heard from fishermen: “It is worth noting that wearing a mask on a fishing vessel may increase safety risks for operators and crew. Fishing vessels frequently use loud motors or machinery that can make it difficult for crew members to hear one another, so they may rely on lip-reading to improve communication and work together safely. Masks are also frequently wet from sea spray, which can make it more difficult to breathe. This is a condition that the CDC has generally recognized is problematic. Despite these facts, fishermen have continued to abide by the order and guidance to address the public health threat posed by COVID-19. We urge the CDC and the Coast Guard to work swiftly together to reconsider their guidance as it applies to commercial fishing vessels in order to promote the safe operation of fishing vessels and safety of the crew.”

Senators Hassan and Murkowski sent the letter after hearing from New Hampshire fishermen at the Yankee Fishermen’s Cooperative and members of the Alaska fishing industry about the dangers of wearing a mask while they work. Senators Hassan and Murkowski raised these concerns directly with CDC Director Rochelle Walensky during a recent hearing, and their letter further pushes for immediate action.

The full letter can be read here and below. 

Dear Director Walensky and Admiral Schultz:

On May 13, 2021, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) issued updated COVID-19 guidance related mask wearing stating that fully vaccinated people can resume many pre-pandemic activities without wearing a mask or physically distancing.1 This guidance is welcomed news, and a clear confirmation that the COVID-19 vaccines authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) are safe and effective at preventing COVID-19, especially cases that lead to severe illness and death. We are deeply grateful for the work conducted by CDC, the National Institutes of Health, and the larger scientific and public health communities that enabled us to reach this critical milestone.

Under the new guidance, CDC notes that all travelers will still be required to wear a mask on all planes, buses, trains, and other forms of public transportation, and in transportation hubs such as airports and train and bus stations. We recognize the importance of continued mask-wearing for travelers throughout the country, and strongly urge all Americans to abide by the latest COVID-19 safety recommendations, as well as other federal, state, local, tribal, or territorial laws, rules, and regulations related to mask-wearing and social distancing, including those in local businesses and workplaces.

However, we encourage the CDC – in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard (Coast Guard) – to revisit mask-wearing requirements specific to workers in the commercial fishing industry. In response to the CDC guidance published on May 13, 2021, the commercial fishing community has expressed confusion about the implementation of the new guidance on fishing vessels that are operating with all fully vaccinated staff. In response, we sought clarification from the Coast Guard about whether fully vaccinated commercial fishing crew are still required to wear masks. On May 14, 2021, Coast Guard personnel confirmed that the agency would need to wait for changes to the CDC Mask Order and associated CDC guidance for conveyances and transportation hubs before it could revise its Marine Safety Information Bulletin and address requirements for fishing vessels.

The CDC Mask Order issued on January 29, 2021 requires that persons operating or traveling on conveyances must wear masks “for the duration of travel.”3 On February 1, 2021, the Coast Guard issued a Marine Safety Information Bulletin in response to the CDC order.4 The Bulletin notes that the Executive Order applied to all “‘public maritime vessels, including ferries’ to mitigate the risk of spreading COVID-19,” and further requires that “all persons travelling on all commercial vessels to wear a mask.”

Many fishing vessel operators were therefore understandably dismayed to learn that the most recent CDC guidance does not loosen restrictions for fishing vessels that are staffed by fully vaccinated persons and are not passenger-carrying vessels as defined under 42 CFR 70.1. It is worth noting that wearing a mask on a fishing vessel may increase safety risks for operators and crew. Fishing vessels frequently use loud motors or machinery that can make it difficult for crew members to hear one another, so they may rely on lip-reading to improve communication and work together safely. Masks are also frequently wet from sea spray, which can make it more difficult to breathe. This is a condition that the CDC has generally recognized is problematic. Despite these facts, fishermen have continued to abide by the order and guidance to address the public health threat posed by COVID-19.

We urge the CDC and the Coast Guard to work swiftly together to reconsider their guidance as it applies to commercial fishing vessels in order to promote the safe operation of fishing vessels and safety of the crew.

U.S. Coast Guard Needs Money And White House Attention To Tackle Depredatory Chinese Fishing

May 25, 2021 — President Joe Biden sketched out the business case for a larger U.S. Coast Guard last week, addressing new graduates at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy in New London, Connecticut. But that busy future may not get the cash it needs to become reality.

The mismatch between rhetoric and resources—always a challenge with the “can-do” Coast Guard—is particularly stark in the battle to constrain depredatory deep-sea fishing. Motivational speeches are nice to hear, but as Joe Biden’s Pentagon embraces a high-tech vision for America’s national security, the unprecedented emergence of illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing as a major national security issue risks being overlooked, sunk under a hail of hypersonics, artificial intelligence and robots that big defense contractors with big pockets really, really want the U.S. to pursue.

For some of President Biden’s newly appointed Pentagon leaders, disinterest in illegal fishing may well be a case of “not invented here.” And that’s a shame. One of the bigger surprises of the Trump administration is that illegal fishing managed to go “viral” during one of the most environmentally unfriendly administrations in American history. The policy focus was developed behind the scenes, ignored as high-level Trump administration officials focused on almost everything else but the sea. The issue was quietly advanced via a low-key confederation of oft-ignored professionals in the State Department, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the U.S. Coast Guard, elements of the Department of Defense as well as certain intelligence agencies.

Read the full story at Forbes

Fishermen Rescued in Gloucester After Being Swept off Rocks

May 24, 2021 — Two fishermen were rescued from the water in Gloucester after a wave swept them off the rocks, according to officials.

Several people were fishing at Rafe’s Chasm Saturday when two men were knocked off by a wave. Two other people with them dove in the water to help, and managed to bring one of the victims safely back to shore.

The second man, however, was pushed further into the ocean, prompting a response from authorities.

Read the full story at NBC Boston