Efficient Engines / Oystering At-Sea / Bright Ideas February / 2021
Incorporating
I N F O R M E D F I S H E R M E N • P R O F I TA B L E F I S H E R I E S • S U S TA I N A B L E F I S H
Pit stop Bristol Bay advocates celebrate Pebble Mine’s permit denial and push for permanent protections
NATIONALFISHERMAN.COM
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In this issue
24
Paul Molyneaux
National Fisherman / February 2021 / Vol. 101, No. 10
Fishing with legends
20
Cover Story \ What’s next for Bristol Bay? The world’s greatest salmon fishery gets another reprieve. But it’s time now for the federal government to make that permanent, say advocates.
Features / Boats & Gear
On Deck
18
05
CARES Act As 2020 ended, states finally moved forward dispensing the last of $300 million in covid-19 aid.
34
38
Investing with partners in electronic monitoring and reporting.
Around the Yards Holland’s Boat Shop stays busy; California carpenter shares skills; maritime museum graduates its first shipwright apprentice.
Product Roundup Alamarin-Jet’s new powerhouse; Vetus is back in electric boats; the newest LED floodlights.
A Letter from NMFS
06
Northern Lights How Alaska’s seafood industry worked through the pandemic.
30
New power solutions Marine lineups and EPA concessions on emissions give fishermen options.
02
Editor’s Log
04
Fishing Back When
05
Mail Buoy
08
Around the Coasts
16
Market Reports
29
Permit News
48
Last Set / Newport, Ore.
Reader Services 40
Classifieds
47
Advertiser Index
National Fisherman (ISSN 0027-9250), February 2021, Vol. 101, No. 10, is published monthly by Diversified Business Communications, 121 Free St., Portland, ME 04112-7438. Subscription prices: 1 year - U.S. $22.95; 2 years U.S. $43; 3 years U.S. $62. These rates apply for U.S. subscriptions only. Add $10 for Canada addresses. Outside U.S./Canada add $25 (airmail delivery). All orders must be in U.S. funds drawn on a U.S. bank. All other countries, including Canada and Mexico, please add $10 postage per year. For subscription information only, call: 1 (800) 959-5073. Periodicals postage paid at Portland, Maine, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes only to Subscription Service Department, P.O. Box 15116, North Hollywood, CA 91615. Canada Post International Publications Mail product (Canadian Distribution) Sales Agreement No. 40028984, National Fisherman. Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to Circulation Dept. or DPGM, 4960-2 Walker Rd., Windsor, ON N9A 6J3. READERS: All editorial correspondence should be mailed to: National Fisherman, Portland, ME 04112-7438.
Cummins
EPA
On the water with the skipjack Minnie V.’s veteran Chesapeake Bay oyster crew.
ON DECK
Editor’s Log
Pull of the sea Jessica Hathaway Editor in Chief jhathaway@divcom.com
f you are around fishing for long enough, you start to see patterns — some good, some not. When I started working at NF 15 years ago, I had a background in maritime publishing, but not fishing boats or fisheries. I had a lot to learn. Then-Editor Jerry Fraser put me to work on compiling the Fishing Back When page. I’d get lost in back issues for days. What I noticed right away was the patterns — primarily set by the seasons. But my favorite were the serendipitous patterns. Now that I’m back to writing Fishing Back When (page 4), these are still my favorites. I happened to open the February 1971 issue to a page highlighting the
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life of Chesapeake Bay’s oystermen and their skipjacks under sail with the publication of Robert de Gast’s “The Oystermen of the Chesapeake.” De Gast spent a year living and working with Maryland watermen, documenting their lives with 6,000 photos, the best of which made the book. This issue jumps forward 50 years with an At-Sea story from a Maryland oyster crew. And like it goes in fishing, some things have changed, many have stayed the same — including most of the characters in Boats & Gear Editor Paul Molyneaux’s story on page 24. Stoney Whitelock’s crew on the Minnie V. is made up mostly of Maryland watermen who have been
On the cover Bristol Bay gillnetter F/V Bunchie flies an antiPebble Mine flag this summer in the Wood River, shortly before the mine’s permit was denied. Justin Del Boulter photo
plying these waters going on 70 years, Whitelock included. They are still out there, their wooden deadrise boats still running under sail (and sometimes pushboat power), but the fishery has changed significantly to overcome the challenges of habitat degradation, parasites and disease. Paul’s feature profiles a workday at sea with these hardworking watermen, who have kept at it, despite decades of challenges, because they love it. As they say, fishing ain’t catching. If that’s what you’re in it for, you’re in the wrong job. Big landing days can be some of the best days. But you have to be in it for every day, good and bad, to call yourself a fisherman. And when you’ve logged as many hours as Stoney Whitelock and his crew, you get to call yourself whatever you like. The caption for one of de Gast’s photos of the working skipjack Robert L. Webster calls this fishery and the boats that ply its waters a “fading era.” Little did they know then that the perseverance of the Chesapeake baymen should not be so easily discounted.
In partnership with Pacific Marine Expo The largest commercial marine trade show on the West Coast, serving commercial mariners from Alaska to California. www.pacificmarineexpo.com
PUBLISHER: Bob Callahan EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: Jeremiah Karpowicz EDITOR IN CHIEF: Jessica Hathaway ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Kirk Moore BOATS & GEAR EDITOR: Paul Molyneaux PRODUCTS EDITOR: Brian Hagenbuch ART DIRECTOR: Doug Stewart NORTH PACIFIC BUREAU CHIEF: Charlie Ess FIELD EDITORS: Larry Chowning, Michael Crowley CORRESPONDENTS: Samuel Hill, John DeSantis, Maureen Donald, Dayna Harpster, Sierra Golden, John Lee, Caroline Losneck, Nick Rahaim ADVERTISING COORDINATOR: Wendy Jalbert / wjalbert@divcom.com / Tel. (207) 842-5616 NATIONAL SALES MANAGER: Susan Chesney / schesney@divcom.com / Tel. (206) 463-4819 CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING: (800) 842-5603 classifieds@divcom.com SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION (818) 487-2013 or (800) 959-5073 GENERAL INFORMATION (207) 842-5608 Producer of Pacific Marine Expo and the International WorkBoat Show Theodore Wirth, President & CEO | Mary Larkin, President, Diversified Communications USA Diversified Communications | 121 Free St., Portland, ME 04112 (207) 842-5500 • Fax (207) 842-5503 • www.divcom.com
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ON DECK
Fishing Back When February By Jessica Hathaway
1971— “A fading era” the caption reads, “epitomized by the working skipjack Robert L. Webster on Chesapeake Bay, is captured on film in Robert de Gast’s ‘Oystermen of Chesapeake Bay.’”
1 9 7 1 A Maryland oysterman follows an icy channel to shore while two other tonging boats lie off in the distance in open water. The largest tuna seiner in the U.S. fleet, the 258-foot Apollo, presents an impressive and distinctive profile during trial runs in Washington’s Puget Sound. The runaway 46-foot Morro Bay, Calif.-based Daring is captured by the Coast Guard after spending the night at sea alone. Her captain and crew had jumped overboard when they saw the tanker Utah Standard bearing down on them and were later rescued from the water by the F/V Sandra Jo. 4 National Fisherman \ February 2021
1 9 9 1
2 0 1 1 The yellowfin sole joint-venture trawler Raven ices up in the Bering
Sea. “For New England groundfishermen, the landscape up ahead will look very different,” writes Editor Jim Fullilove. “As most Northeast draggers know, it’s only a matter of time before the fishery management council or [NMFS] imposes stringent limitations on the catch and perhaps on the size of the fleet itself.” East Coast scallopers from North Carolina to Massachusetts are at odds over proposals to replace the fishery’s meat-count management standard.
Nantucket scalloper Martie Mack puts bay scallops into a halfbushel wire basket, working toward his five-bushel daily limit. Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute Executive Director Ray Riutta announces the groundbreaking first steps for the agency’s foray into independent third-party fishery certification using FAO standards. NOAA’s Jane Lubchenco responds to pleas for mercy from New England’s groundfish sector by declaring catch shares “merely a tool” and “not the cause of the loss of unemployment in the fishing communities.”
www.nationalfisherman.com
Mail Buoy
WTO’s fisheries failure demands tariff reform he World Trade Organization announced Dec. 14 that it missed yet another deadline to agree on rules fighting overfishing.These talks began in 2002, and 18 years later have achieved nothing. The showstopper appears to be a letter sent by India to the WTO negotiating committee on March 6, 2020. India demanded proposed rules seeking to curb unreported and unregulated fishing shouldn’t apply to developing countries. Alarmingly, the proposed rule merely asked for WTO members to stop giving subsidies for unreported and unregulated fishing. The WTO’s own fact sheet on the negotiations cites UN data “that 34 percent of global stocks are overfished compared with 10 percent in 1974, meaning they are being exploited at a pace where the fish population cannot replenish itself.” The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization documents much of the global travesty known as Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fishing. The good news is that America can do
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a lot to fix this on our own. The United States now imports more than 90 percent of the seafood we consume, and we are the number-one importer worldwide. The vast majority of seafood imports can come from anywhere in the world tariff free because we have mostly zero percent tariffs. Being the number one consumer of imported seafood gives us all the leverage to save the fish. We do this by declaring that international trade in fisheries is doing far more harm than good, and it’s well past time the United States raised our default tariffs on seafood to prohibitive levels. We can limit imports to countries we have free trade agreements with or among the 119 countries that partner in our various trade preference programs. For a century, U.S. seafood processing companies have held all the sway in Washington, wanting seafood landings as cheap as they can get them, leaving our fishermen to fend for themselves in global markets. WTO rules will allow certain
A Letter from NMFS
Partners invest in EM By Chris Oliver
he United States is recognized as a global leader in sustainable fisheries thanks to our fishermen, scientists, conservationists and many other partners, who work collaboratively to continuously expand and improve our understanding of the marine environment. In the past year, I have written a lot about our continued support for expanding electronic monitoring and reporting technology in U.S. fisheries. Today, more than ever, we need to continue to embrace technological advances that help us sustain our marine resources while protecting the nation’s
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principally affected countries to raise their tariffs in response. That’s fine. Our most export-sensitive fishery is lobster. But China already shut down their U.S. lobster imports in 2018, so nothing new there. While China’s retaliatory tariffs caused some short-term pain in soybeans and lobsters, it hasn’t done much else except net the U.S. Treasury a $70 billion windfall. The solution to help our fishermen and farmers isn’t chasing export markets; it’s ensuring sustainable harvests and pricing here at home. Many countries have excellent models of supply management along these lines. Our seafood trade will be better managed bilaterally. As the world’s number-one consumer, we have a responsibility to the planet to get this right. Charles Benoit Trade counsel Coalition for a Prosperous America
What’s on your mind? Send letters to jhathaway@ divcom.com. Submissions may be edited for length, clarity and style.
fishermen. Thanks to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, NOAA Fisheries was able to make another critical investment in the next generation of science and partnerships that will expand and improve data collection in both commercial and recreational fisheries. Through the Foundation’s Electronic Monitoring and Reporting Grant program, $4.1 million was awarded to support 16 projects in 14 states and Puerto Rico. This year’s grants in the New England groundfish fishery and Alaska pollock fishery will continue to expand implementation of electronic monitoring and reporting tools to improve data for fishermen and managers.
Chris Oliver is the director of the National Marine Fisheries Service. Oliver oversees the federal agency responsible for recreational and commercial fisheries.
February 2021 \ National Fisherman 5
ON DECK
Northern Lights
common. Some processors hire workers from around Alaska, but most of their employees are from out of state or are foreign workers under the H-2 visa program. For every Alaskan working in the plants, processing companies import three from outside the state.
VIEWS FROM ALASKA
Processing in a pandemic By Karinne Wiebold [Originally published by the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development: https://labor.alaska.gov/trends/home.htm or https://labor.alaska.gov/trends/nov20.pdf.]
ishing seasons are never the same. Variables make yearly swings the norm, and unpredictability means processing plants must be wellstaffed and ready for any eventual harvest. But even for an industry used to volatility, 2020 has been a year like no other. Seafood processors saw the costs of doing business skyrocket early this year as the covid-19 pandemic created widespread health and safety concerns.The disruption came just as the industry was preparing to hire for the summer salmon season.
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Thousands of workers come to Alaska each year to process the catch, and most arrive in the spring and summer. The summer salmon harvest is the state’s highest-value and most labor-intensive. The first surge comes in June as processing employment doubles from about 6,000 jobs in recent years to 12,000 or 13,000. The job numbers peak in July between 20,000 and 21,000. Because processing takes place as close to the harvest as possible, remote worksites with no local workforce are
Demand for the product changed Alaska’s wild crab, halibut, and salmon have always been a hot commodity for restaurants. Just as high-end restaurants get the superior cuts of beef, they buy the best of the world’s seafood that’s bound for the U.S. market. Restaurants closed nationwide in the spring, and when they reopened for takeout or limited service, seafood was seldom on the menu. Demand for frozen fillets at grocery stores increased as people at home cooked more often, but global demand for seafood fell overall. Until people are eating out
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regularly, demand for the product will remain reduced and more seafood will end up in grocery stores than usual. Safety concerns, mitigation costs As covid-19 spread globally in February and March, small, coastal Alaska communities increasingly feared the arrival of thousands of commercial fishermen and seafood processors. For some communities, covid-19 raised the specter of past pandemics, such as the 1918 flu. That virus entered isolated villages on the coattails of outsiders and killed more people per capita in Alaska than anywhere in the world besides Samoa. Early this year, the city of Dillingham and the Curyung tribe unsuccessfully petitioned Gov. Mike Dunleavy to close the commercial salmon fishery. In March, the governor declared fish harvesting and processing “essential services.” The state issued health mandates in
late April and May for out-of-state fish harvesters and processors. These included mandatory two-week quarantines, often at hotels in hubs such as Anchorage and Juneau, and testing at around $175 per test, at processors’ expense. As a result, the industry sank thousands of dollars into each employee before work even began. Travel costs also increased. The pandemic sidelined flights both to Alaska and to the remote worksites, and the flight shortage was exacerbated by the April exit of Ravn Air Group, a major service provider to western Alaska. Airline travel remained restricted in May as thousands of seafood processing workers were due to start work. Some companies chartered flights to transport workers and keep them isolated. Outbreaks and other obstacles According to a study by Intrafish Media, processors spent an estimated $50
million on additional cleaning, staff, masks, gloves, hand sanitizer, thermometers, quarantines, facility changes, and occasionally on-site health care, but the industry still hit rough patches. Processing conditions are ideal for spreading a virus once it gets in. Seafood processors work close to each other for long hours in cold, wet environments. They also live together in group quarters, often in remote places with limited access to emergency medical services. A few processing plants had to close for cleaning and quarantine of exposed staff after outbreaks: In June, Whittier Seafood isolated and moved 11 workers to Anchorage to quarantine after they tested positive. An OBI plant in Seward handled an outbreak in July of nearly 100 cases. A single positive case prompted the company to test all 262 employees, which turned up Continued on page 33
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February 2021 \ National Fisherman 7
AROUND THE COASTS
AROUND THE COASTS
Kirk Moore
NEWS FOR THE NATION’S FISHERMEN
Tommy Burke of Sloop Point Oyster Farms carries bags of his 2-year-old oysters for replanting on a restoration site near Tuckerton, N.J.
Atlantic “The whole year has been bad. Summer is our high season, and that was bad. And the way things are going, it looks like the winter will be worse." — Tommy Burke, Sloop Point Oyster Farms
Five million unsold oysters sought for reef restoration Nature Conservancy, oyster growers work to put surplus shellfish to good use
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n a year of brutal downturns in demand, struggling oyster growers have one faint bright spot: A $2 million national initiative to buy 5 million surplus oysters for use in habitat restoration projects. In Massachusetts, the Nature Conservancy is working with the state Division of Marine Fisheries and the Massachusetts Aquaculture Association to help several oyster farmers over the coming months, by buying their 8 National Fisherman \ February 2021
unsold oysters and replanting them for ecological benefit, the conservancy said. The group estimates more than 10 million oysters in Massachusetts won’t be sold to restaurants this year because of the covid-19 pandemic. In New Jersey, some 240,000 of those shellfish were barged to a reef in Little Egg Harbor Dec. 3 for planting on the Tuckerton Reef site. Growers converged the day before at the Parsons
Mariculture dock in Tuckerton, meeting with owner Dale Parsons and Bill Shadel, coastal project manager for the Nature Conservancy. In October the group announced it was starting the Supporting Oyster Aquaculture and Restoration initiative, a two-year program to extend $2 million in payments to oyster farmers, support more than 100 shellfish companies and preserve over 200 industry jobs in northern New England, the Mid-Atlantic and Washington state. Oysters purchased in partnership with the Pew Charitable Trusts will be replanted to rebuild 27 acres of native shellfish reefs on 20 restoration sites around the coasts. The program is “benefiting the ecosystem and giving us a boost,” said Tommy Burke, who operates his Sloop Point Oyster Farms in upper Barnegat Bay. A generation of young entrepreneurs developed shellfish leases and brought commercial oyster harvests back to the bay a half-century after the old wild fishery failed in the 1950s. But the revival is closely tied to the regional restaurant trade and covid-19 restrictions hit hard. “The whole year has been bad. Summer is our high season, and that was bad,” said Burke. “And the way things are going, it looks like the winter will be worse.” Burke delivered his share of 23,700 2-year old oysters, arrayed in green mesh sacks on Parson’s barge as Shadel tallied and recorded the numbers. “The shellfish farming community has been struggling tremendously, and many folks are worrying about making it through the year,” said Bob Rheault, executive director of the East Coast Shellfish Growers Association. “This program will allow growers to clear some overgrown product off their leases, put some needed money in their pockets, and provide environmental benefits to our coastal waters.” — Kirk Moore www.nationalfisherman.com
AROUND THE COASTS
More ship speed limits to protect right whales
Boat of the Month
New demand for vertical lines ban
Cap’n Lake
To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
Lottsburg, Va. / Oysters he 56-foot aluminum Cap’n Lake was built a decade ago to work in Chesapeake Bay’s aquaculture oyster fishery. Today, it is just like new and still
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Larry Chowning
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he National Marine Fisheries Service extended a “slow zone” voluntary vessel speed restriction zones in the New York Bight, with escalating pressures to do more for protecting the extremely endangered northern right whales. The speed zone notification, calling for vessels over 65 feet to maintain 10 knots or less through December, was already in effect when an acoustic buoy monitored by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute again detected right whales in the New York Bight, NMFS said in a Dec. 9 notice to mariners A recent reassessment of the right whale population estimated the animals’ number at 366, with 94 females of breeding age, down substantially from 400 individuals — at that number, already one of the most endangered species on Earth. The agency has proposed new gear and area restrictions in New England lobster fishery areas, and environmental groups are pushing for action.They filed a new petition Dec. 2 calling for NMFS emergency rules that would prohibit use of static vertical lines for trap and gillnet fishing in certain areas. The groups won an earlier lawsuit on their complaint that NMFS management of the U.S. Northeast lobster fishery violated provisions of the Endangered Species Act. The federal judge in that case has set a May 31, 2021, deadline for NMFS to come up with new steps to protect right whales from gear entanglements. Massachusetts state regulators are considering a measure that would close state waters to lobstering from February through May to protect whales. Biologists were tracking success of the right whale calving season off the Southeast U.S. coast. Two newborns were sighted in early December. — Kirk Moore
going strong. Lake
“Lakey”
Cowart
Jr.
of Cowart Seafood Corp. in Lottsburg, Va., had Atlantic Metal
wanted her to do,” says Cowart. “She
Products of Topping, Va., build the
has worked great for us, and she has
Cap’n Lake in 2010. (See NF August
proven to be well worth our investment.”
2011,
“Barge
harvests
ahead:
Chesapeake
Cap’n
Lake
The boat is being used to plant shell
oysters
with
and seed oysters on Cowart’s oyster
dredge and cages”)
grounds in the York and Rappahannock
The construction of Cap’n Lake was
rivers, and tributaries on Potomac River
a statement of the successful revival
and to harvest seed oysters on the
of Virginia’s oyster fishery. Through
James River.
the 1950s to 1990s, the oyster fishery
A main change to the boat came in
was horribly depressed as a result of
2015 when Cowart had a new aluminum
diseases (MSX and dermo) and predator
support system built and installed
destruction by the cownose ray that
under the 700-bushel-capacity hopper.
decimated the industry. Success in
After five years, the pressure-treated
the development of disease-resistant
wood braces supporting the hopper
oysters and better growing methods,
had worn out, says Cowart.
like cage and spat-on-shell growing,
Unusual to the Chesapeake Bay
and providing protection from rays
region, Cap’n Lake is designed with
contributed greatly to the comeback of
a jet-drive propulsion system. When
the fishery.
planting oysters in close to shore,
The building of Cap’n Lake was a sign of confidence by Cowart that bay
Cowart can determine by sound when the vessel is in too-shallow water.
oysters had come back enough for him
“The jet drive sucks stuff off the
to justify building a boat that would
bottom,” says Cowart. “And when I
financially support itself now and into
hear shells rattling around that intake,
the future.
I know to put her in neutral and let her
“She has done exactly what we
slowly drift forward."— Larry Chowning
Boat Specifications HOME PORT: Lottsburg, Va. OWNER: Cowart Seafood Corp. DESIGNER: Kaufman Design, Severna Park, Md. BUILDER: Atlantic Metal Products, Topping, Va. YEAR BUILT: 2010 FISHERIES: Oysters HULL CONSTRUCTION: Aluminum LENGTH: 56' 2" BEAM: 16' 7" DRAFT: 30" CREW CAPACITY: Four PAYLOAD CAPACITY: 700 bushels of oysters POWERTRAIN: John Deere, 525 hp/12.5 liter at 2,100 rpm, hooked up to a 610 HT Traktor Jet from North American Marine Jet SHAFT: Stainless steel 2" SPEED: 18 knots empty, 9 knots loaded FUEL CONSUMPTION: 24 gallons per hour at 2,000 rpm FUEL CAPACITY: 90 gallons ELECTRONICS: Garmin GMR 424 XHD2 radar and Garmin 8616 XSV display, includes GPS, depth finder and installed 2020 by Marine Installations, Reedville, Va.
February 2021 \ National Fisherman 9
AROUND THE COASTS
Nation / World “Because these stakeholders expect there to be increasing demand from European and Asian markets for vessels that can install larger turbines, they expressed concern that the number of such vessels available to the U.S. market may be limited.” — Government Accountability Office
Vessel shortage will constrain U.S. offshore wind
Dominion Energy
GAO report says worldwide demand could slow industry through 2020s
The Luxembourg-flagged installation vessel Vole au Vent erected turbines for the Coast Virginia Offshore Wind project in June 2020.
A
n analysis from the federal Government Accountability Office says a decision by federal regulators on the Vineyard Wind
10 National Fisherman \ February 2021
southern New England offshore wind energy project could trigger industry decisions to start building a new fleet of U.S.-flagged wind turbine installation
and servicing vessels. But there will be an inevitable lag time between those new keels being laid and ships coming out of U.S. yards — at a time when offshore wind growth worldwide will drive up demand for existing vessels, the report says. The GAO paper reinforces what industry observers have predicted: There will be a period of high global demand for installation vessels, with only around 50 ships now available or under construction for building turbines. At around $500 million each, the fi rst Jones Act-compliant, U.S.built WTIVs will probably take three years to come out of shipyards, industry analysts have said. Stakeholders told GAO analysts they are concerned about competition for installation vessels from foreign markets. The likeliest solution in the short term will be using U.S.-flag, Jones Act-compliant “feeder vessels” — combinations of barges, lift boats and other existing offshore service vessels — to ferry components from U.S. ports to foreign-flag WTIVs on the work sites. “Because these stakeholders expect there to be increasing demand from European and Asian markets for vessels
www.nationalfisherman.com
AROUND THE COASTS
that can install larger turbines, they expressed concern that the number of such vessels available to the U.S. market may be limited,” the report notes. Delays by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management “in approving the fi rst large-scale offshore wind project, Vineyard Wind, has led to uncertainty regarding the timeline for approvals of future offshore wind projects,” the GAO reported. “However, industry stakeholders, including vessel owners, one project developer, and one industry supplier, added that if and when BOEM does approve Vineyard Wind, this approval may give vessel owners the confidence in the future growth of the offshore wind industry they need to undertake such an investment.” But a new delay erupted when Vineyard Wind developers asked for more time to change their plan from using MHI Vestas 9.5-megawatt turbines to the GE Haliade-X, with peak output of 12 to 13 MW, the fi rst in a new generation of much bigger and more powerful generators. BOEM then warned Dec. 11 it would require the developers to restart the permitting as a whole new application. Looking ahead to the incoming Biden administration, the company said, “this project has been through an extremely rigorous process, and we believe the agency can promptly restart the process.” — Kirk Moore
management organizations though October 2020, the summary by the foundation — a cooperative program involving scientists, the tuna industry and World Wildlife Fund — breaks down 10 percent of the world catch coming from overfished stocks and 3 percent from stocks “at an intermediate level of abundance.” The report summary states “87 percent of the total catch comes from healthy stocks in terms of abundance. This is due to the fact that skipjack stocks contribute more than one half of the global catch of tunas, and they are all in a healthy situation. “In contrast, one bluefi n stock, one yellowfi n stock and one bigeye stock are overfished; resulting that 10 percent of the total catch comes from overfished stocks. With regard to exploitation, 86 percent of the total catches comes from stocks that are not experiencing
overfishing.” Along with Pacific bluefi n, the report points to other overfishing problems for Atlantic bigeye, and in the Indian Ocean, where yellowfi n, bigeye and albacore are all judged to be overfished. The group is keeping an eye, too, on the Eastern Pacific, where it downgraded the abundance of bigeye from a “green” to “yellow” cautionary rating since the last foundation report in March 2020. But the fishing mortality rating for Eastern Pacific bigeye has improved, the group says. “Both the fishing mortality rate ratio and abundance rating for Eastern Pacific Ocean yellowfi n have improved from orange to green,” the report notes. “This was primarily due to changes in the stock assessment methodology used.” — Kirk Moore
Report: most world tuna stocks are healthy But Indian Ocean stocks overfished
A commercial catch of tuna is coming bout 87 percent of the worldwide
from stocks seen at healthy levels of abundance, although some regional stocks including Pacific bluefi n are overfished, the International Seafood Sustainability Foundation says in a new status report. Based on fi ndings by regional fishery To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
February 2021 \ National Fisherman 11
AROUND THE COASTS
Alaska / Pacific “Here we started with a mix of 2,000 chemicals and were able to get all the way down to this one highly toxic chemical, something that kills large fish quickly and we think is probably found on every single busy road in the world.” — Edward Kolodziej, associate professor, University of Washington
Chemical from car tires killing coho in Washington
Mark Stone/University of Washington
Scientists found particles from roadway runoff carry toxin lethal to large adult fish
Researchers at the University of Washington and Washington State University discovered a chemical that kills coho salmon in urban streams before the fish can spawn.
I
n a study published in the journal Science, University of Washington researchers said they found 6PPDquinone, an antioxidant used to slow degradation in car tires, is lethal to coho salmon. The mortality baffled researchers for years until testing finally turned up chemicals related to tire particles in the streams where fish were dying. Edward Kolodziej, a co-senior author of the study, said scientists were then faced with the daunting task of pinpointing the deadly chemical out of hundreds identified in road runoff,
12 National Fisherman \ February 2021
according to the university’s news service. “Most people think that we know what chemicals are toxic and all we have to do is control the amount of those chemicals to make sure water quality is fine. But, in fact, animals are exposed to this giant chemical soup, and we don’t know what many of the chemicals in it even are,” said Kolodziej, an associate professor at the University of Washington. Even after researchers found that runoff from car tires was the cause of mortality, they were still far from
identifying the offending chemical. “Here we started with a mix of 2,000 chemicals and were able to get all the way down to this one highly toxic chemical, something that kills large fish quickly and we think is probably found on every single busy road in the world,” Kolodziej said. They finally did find the chemical they thought was killing the fish, but then could not match it up to any existing chemical they knew about, research scientist Zhenyu Tian told the New York Times. “It’s almost like you have a fingerprint,” Tian said. “But you really don’t know who this is, because in your database, this fingerprint doesn’t exist.” Tian eventually matched it to 6PPD after finding the chemical in an EPA report on human exposure to tire crumb rubber on synthetic turf fields. Finally able to isolate 6PPD-quinone, the University of Washington team found it was in fact deadly to salmon. In a Dec. 4 statement, the U.S. Tire Manufacturers Association said it has invested tens of millions of dollars to assess the impact of tire materials on the environment. However, USTMA said 6PPD-quinone is a new chemical, and that organization hopes to work with university researchers to learn more about its environmental impacts. — Brian Hagenbuch
Two crews positive for covid-19 in Unalaska 33 isolated after late-season trips
C tested positive for covid-19 af-
rew members from two trawlers
ter arriving in Unalaska in early December, near the end of a fishing year when virus protection efforts were largely successful for the fleet. Nine of 28 crew on the O’Hara Corp.’s F/V Enterprise tested positive Dec. 5 and were moved to isolation, Unalaska city officials said. “Our primary concern is the health www.nationalfisherman.com
AROUND THE COASTS
Snapshot Who we are Ellie Kinley / Bellingham, Wash.
H
er father was a fisherman
When it is salmon season and the
who never gave up, so was
family is back home, however, Kinley’s
her husband. And Ellie Kinley
worries are put on hold as she works
does not plan on giving up either.
shoulder-to-shoulder with Luke, Kyle
Kinley is a Lummi tribal member who
and other relatives.
lives outside Bellingham, Wash. Her O’Hara Corp.
“I’m the boat owner but I still just have my regular deckhand job,
family’s seiner, the F/V Salish
so I can keep an eye on my
Sea, is one of some 560
kids. I run the drum and
boats in the nation’s largest Crew members from the trawler Enterprise were the second group in two days to test positive for covid-19 in Unalaska, Alaska.
of our crew and preventing impacts to the community of Unalaska. The nine individuals that tested positive have been isolated onshore in Unalaska and planning is in process to move them closer to full service medical services,” according to a statement from O’Hara. “The remaining crew with negative test results are being monitored in quarantine.” That report followed news that the United States Seafoods trawler Legacy had 24 of the 25 people on the vessel test positive for covid-19 after coming into port Dec. 3. By Dec. 9, city officials said O’Hara crew members would be moved to Anchorage to complete isolation and quarantine, and the needs of Legacy’s crew were being seen to, with plans for the Seattle-based vessel to depart later in the week. U.S. Seafoods Chief Operating Officer Dave Wood told Alaska’s KTOO the outbreak was a blow to the company after nearly making it through the season without having any previous covid-19 cases. “This is quite a disappointment to have weathered storms of covid all year, and to literally have this trip us up on our last day of the last port call of the season — it takes the wind out of your sails,” Wood said. To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
cook, which is what
native
I’ve done since I
fleet. her
started fishing for
and
my dad at 23,”
h u s b a n d
said Kinley, now
have
57.
Both father
passed,
and
Kinley
Kinley
that good or bad,
now seines for salmon
fishing
along
over
her
“You’re whole again. It’s
27, and Kyle, 23. Poor runs
makes
feel complete.
with her kids, Luke, salmon
added
the
much better to catch fish, but just
last
few years have limited the Kinleys’
being out on the boat helps you get
harvest. Last season, they were not
through the rest of your life,” Kinley
allowed to fish for chum salmon, and
said.
this season the sockeye fishery was
That completeness, she said, is likely the result of fishing around the
shut down. “This year we had all the time in the
traditional villages and grounds that
world to fish chums because there
her ancestors fished for thousands of
weren’t any fish,” Kinley said. “We
years before her.
tried for 17 days and got nowhere Both
her
kids
When she is not fishing or worrying, Kinley is an advocate for the local
near our quota.” also
crab
in
Bellingham Bay, and the lean years
fishing industry and sits on four boards for fishing-related organizations.
in the Pacific Northwest have driven
For Kinley, the work she does off
Luke to California, where he bought a
the water to protect the resource for
Dungeness permit in Half Moon Bay.
future generations is as important as
This has freed Kinley up to engage in a
hauling gear.
pastime of fishing mothers: worrying.
“You get to a point as a fisherman
“It just happens that today Luke is
that you realize you have to do
out there crabbing in a 45-mile-per
your part to protect, or there won’t
hour wind, so I’ve been up since 6
be fish out there for your great-
a.m. worrying about my child,” Kinley
grandchildren,” Kinley said.
said.
With winter fishing starting again in January and covid-19 cases surging, companies are joining forces with
— Brian Hagenbuch
Alaska state health officials to improve measures to fight the virus. — Brian Hagenbuch and Kirk Moore February 2021 \ National Fisherman 13
AROUND THE COASTS
Gulf / South Atlantic “We’ve worked over the past decade to develop these data sources. We want to make sure we avoid conflict when possible.” — James Morris, National Oceans Service
NMFS advances plans for offshore farming areas
NNMFS officials are seeking public
ow in the early stages of planning,
comments on the potential for “aquaculture opportunity areas” off southern California and the Gulf of Mexico. It’s a step in what will be a threeyear process to identify those areas and develop “programmatic” environmental impact statements, agency workers said in an online virtual public information session Dec. 3. The California and gulf areas outlined so far by NMFS for study will not entirely become set aside for aquaculture, stressed
Kristy Beard, a NMFS fishery policy analyst. “Aquaculture opportunity areas are about spatial analysis and environmental analysis,” said Beard. The process aims to maximize compatibility of aquaculture with other uses, including wild fisheries, navigation, commercial activities and military missions, she and other speakers explained. That’s one reason it makes sense to start with the Gulf of Mexico and California, said Beard. There is a lot of spatial analysis and environmental data
Bay Shore, N.Y. The crew from L&L Wholesale Bait located in Bay Shore, N.Y., on their annual blackfishing trip, abroad F/V Double D out of Montauk: Garett Gesswine, Harrison Miller, Jon Stevens, Abbey Ferrigno, Michael Ferrigno Jr., Gavin Rogers, Niko Fountis, Michael Ferrigno Sr.
This is your life. Submit your Crew Shot nationalfisherman.com/submit-crew-shots
14 National Fisherman \ February 2021
NMFS
Three-year process beginning for federal waters off California and Gulf of Mexico
NMFS planners say the Gulf of Mexico makes sense as an aquaculture opportunity zone because of its existing seafood infrastructure, such as oyster culture.
that can be mined and help run the aquaculture planning process. “We’ve worked over the past decade to develop these data sources,” said James Morris, a scientist with the National Oceans Service. “We want to make sure we avoid conflict when possible.” The resulting “geodatabase” can have as many as 200 data. Layers, and focus down to 10-acre cells in the map grids, said Morris. Off California, NMFS is looking at potential areas from Santa Barbara to San Diego; in the Gulf of Mexico, the study will examine a swath from Florida to Texas. NMFS officials say future aquaculture operations in those areas will be required to meet the usual suite of government review and permitting requirements. Bill Dewey, director of public affairs for Taylor Shellfish Farms in Seattle, said he appreciates the effort NMFS is undertaking, and hoped it could facilitate permitting for new projects. Taylor opened some operations in British Columbia “because of permitting challenges here in the United States,” he — Kirk Moore added.
Florida man rescued after clinging to bow Sighted 86 miles offshore after two days
Apulpit of his submerged powerboat Florida boater clung to the bow
www.nationalfisherman.com
for two days before he was rescued by a cargo vessel 86 miles east of Port Canaveral, Fla., according to the Coast Guard. Stuart Bee, 63, headed out from Cape Marina in Port Canaveral Nov. 27 and never returned, prompting a marina employee to contact watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Jacksonville at 11:40 a.m. the next day because Bee typically did not stay out overnight on his 34-foot Sea Ray powerboat, Coast Guard officials said. A C-130 Hercules aircrew took off from Coast Guard Air Station Clearwater to search, joined by a Customs and Border Patrol aircraft, and the Coast Guard began broadcasting advisories to mariners to keep a lookout for the vessel. Around 10 a.m. Sunday the crew of the Angeles, a 738-foot Liberian-flagged containership en route from Honduras to Wilmington, Del., spotted Bee waving
LaCruiser Relativo via Coast Guard
AROUND THE COASTS
Stuart Bee clung to his submerged boat for two days before being rescued 86 miles east of Port Canaveral, Fla.
as he hung onto the anchor pulpit of his boat, almost totally submerged sterndown after it had suddenly taken on water.The cargo vessel maneuvered over
and successfully got Bee aboard by 11 a.m. on Nov. 29. The Angeles crew told Coast Guard officials Bee was safe and had no medical concerns. He remained onboard the Angeles for the rest of its voyage and arrived with the ship’s crew of 23. Its 16 Filipino mariners included second officer LaCruiser Relativo, also the ship’s medical officer, who evaluated and befriended Bee. “The success of his rescue is a team effort. And we came just in time,” Relativo told the Inquirer.net of Philadelphia. “I used to say, it was meant to be.” “The chances of finding Bee alive were slim,” said Lt. Shawn Antonelli, a command duty officer at the Coast Guard District Seven headquarters in Miami. “But he was able to stay with his boat, which helped save his life.” — Kirk Moore
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February 2021 \ National Fisherman 15
MARKET REPORTS
NORTHEAST
Seaweed
G U L F / S O . AT L A N T I C
Blue crabs
Maine production continues to climb; doubled harvest projected by 2025
Catches down, but prices surprisingly good, Carolina fishermen report
eaweed continues to be a promising industry in coastal communities along the U.S. East and West coasts. Globally, the industry is valued at $12 billion, but commercial growth could be boosted by improved processing infrastructure and expanded markets. While 95 percent of edible seaweed products in the United States are imported, there is a wild and growing cultivated harvest in the Northeast. A March 2020 study published by the Island Institute, titled “Edible Seaweed Market Analysis,” looked at growth potential in Maine’s edible seaweed markets over the next 15 years. The report found that production in Maine will grow about 12 to 15 percent annually over the next decade and is expected to more than double seaweed production by 2025. Sugar kelp and alaria aquaculture are low-barrier and relatively affordable. They provide value-added opportunities for commercial fishermen and local economies, particularly where wild fisheries have declined. Maine Department of Marine Resources data on farm-raised seaweed indicates that harvesters landed 53,564 wet pounds valued at $37,897 in 2018. 2019 totals were 280,612 wet pounds valued at $176,132. Atlantic Sea Farms, a large commercial seaweed farm in Maine with 24 partner farmers, grew 30,000 pounds of seaweed in 2018. This year, the company planted enough for 800,000 pounds. The crop Atlantic Sea Farms cultivates ends up in products including fresh and frozen seaweed in pureed cubes and ready-to-eat and fermented products. While 2020 data for seaweed aquaculture in Maine has not yet been released, Atlantic Sea Farms CEO Brianna Warner says 2020 saw more growth “and we expect that to continue to grow exponentially for many years to come. And it will soon be a large portion of the seaweed harvest value in Maine.” “Based on the number of farms that are seeding this year, we expect moderate growth. Like all seafood, covid-19 did have an initial impact on the market for seaweed products,” says Sebastian Belle, executive director of the Maine Aquaculture Association. “After that initial impact, markets appear to have recovered somewhat. This is in part due to the product forms that seaweed often takes, which are shelf-stable and lend themselves to retail sales.” — Caroline Losneck
orth Carolina’s blue crab season was a bit different this year with lower catches and higher prices. But in the end, it turned out to be a good year for the fishery. “It was definitely a good year,” says Jeff Styron of Garland Fulcher Seafood in Oriental, N.C. “The stock was down, but the prices were higher.” “The retail market did very well, likely because folks stayed home more,” says Styron. “That said, the restaurants really took a hit this year. Really a mixed bag.” Daniel Zapf, a fisheries biologist with the state Division of Marine Fisheries, agrees. “My sense is that most crabbers would consider this season to be pretty good. It seemed like landings might not have been high. But according to dealers, we’ve heard from, prices have been good recently,” says Zapf. The statistics confirm the drop in catches. The 2020 Commercial Landings Bulletin (January-June) indicates a decrease in blue crab landings, from 7.28 million pounds landed in 2019 to 5.48 million pounds for the same period this year. Similar decreases were recorded for peelers – down from 401,108 pounds to 259,881 pounds. According to Styron, 2020 prices averaged $3.50 for jimmy crabs, with a low of $2.75 and a high of $4. This was consistent with 2019 prices, although Styron, notes the catches were down. At the retail level, the mid-December posted prices at B&J Seafood Market in New Bern, N.C., were $24.95 a dozen for large males, $17.95 a dozen for medium males and females and $6 a pound for jumbos. Merritt, N.C., crabber Cathy McDaniels says “it really was a strange year.” “But in the end it was a decent season, just a bit unnerving, given the ups and downs. Things were looking good. And then in July, the jimmies just seemed to disappear — that was scary,” McDaniels says. “In the end it worked out fine,” she adds. “But my concern going forward are the new regulations. It’s difficult making a living on the water. And with each season, there’s a new set of rules,” she said. — Maureen Donald
S
16 National Fisherman \ February 2021
N
www.nationalfisherman.com
MARKET REPORTS
PA C I F I C
ALASKA
Shrimp
Clams & Scallops
Oregon and Washington fleets log a good season and see promising signs for 2021
Scallop fleet manages quarantines, but covid keeps clam harvesters out of state
regon shrimpers put in another great year for 2020, and indicators portend a decent season in store for 2021. Although the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife hadn’t tallied fi nal numbers for the season in December, data with PacFIN reported a harvest of 43.14 million pounds for Oregon with an average ex-vessel price of 52 cents per pound for fleet revenues of $22.59 million. “We’re still counting our chips from this year,” says Scott Groth, the pink shrimp/south coast shellfi sh project leader with Fish and Wildlife, in Charleston. “But it looks pretty good overall.” The Washington fleet, meanwhile, landed 14.29 million pounds at similar ex-vessel prices for revenues of $7.15 million. PacFIN showed no harvest data for California as of Dec. 1. Looking back, the Oregon trawlers closed out their 2019 season with a harvest of 26.9 million pounds, about 9 million pounds less than they caught in 2018. The good news is that the 74 cents per pound they received put average ex-vessel prices at the third highest in the history of the fishery. Fleet revenues came in at $19.9 million. Of interest to management biologists and the industry are the catch-per-unit-of-effort rates. In 2019, those ranked third lowest since 2004, meaning trawlers had to strain more water to catch the shrimp they caught. The CPUE during the 2020 season improved, according to the numbers Groth had seen. “CPUE remained high until the end of the 2020 season, which must be a good indication for population holdover,” he says. As for the 2021 season, which will begin on April 1 and run through Oct. 31, trawlers can hope for a season on par with last year’s. “We did see some zero-age shrimp and defi nitely had a good age 1 class this year,” says Groth. “Those will be age 1 and 2 respectively next year, and they were both stronger than average. “Our environmental indicators are good; so I’d expect a decent season next year, hopefully anywhere near as good as 2020, without the covid and the politics.” — Charlie Ess
laska scallopers fished on a guideline harvest level of 277,500 pounds of shucked meat for the 202021 season. That’s up from the GHL of 271,300 pounds from the year before. Harvests, however, have been declining, and the 2019-20 landings of 224,765 pounds were the lowest since the 1993-94 season. Scallops mature into the fishery at 4 years old, and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game conducts population surveys in rotating areas each year, according to Andrew Olson, an area management biologist, in Yakutat. Of the management areas lying in the waters offshore of Yakutat, Kodiak, the Alaska Peninsula, Dutch Harbor and Bristol Bay, the area near Yakutat has maintained the highest GHL in recent years. The GHL for Yakutat in the 2020-21 season had been set at 145,000 pounds, shucked. Like many other fisheries, covid caused some ripples in this year’s season, primarily with lining up observers for the two vessels that fish the scallops in a cooperative harvest agreement. As per federal regulations, the scallopers operate under 100 percent observer coverage. This year that meant quarantining the observers before they boarded. After that, the season went off without a hitch. “They’ve already started into their harvest,” said Olson in early December. “They’ve already caught the GHL for Yakutat Area; so that’s closed down, and they’re fishing other areas right now.” As for Alaska’s crop of razor clams, 2020 will go down as a year they remained in the sand. “The covid situation this last year made them not harvest anything,” says Brian Marston, area management biologist, in Soldotna. “They couldn’t logistically get their people up (from California to Alaska) here, all the people who actually catch the clams. They didn’t even dig last year at all.” Through the years, the average crew of clam diggers has numbered in the low 20s. They arrive at the western shores of Cook Inlet, near Polly Creek in time to hit the minus tides in April and dig the large clams in 10-day cycles. The clams are tendered via airplanes, landing on the hard sand beach and ferried to processing facilities on the east side of Cook Inlet, which has a well-developed road system for transportation to end markets. –– Charlie Ess
O
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A
February 2021 \ National Fisherman 17
FEATURE
FISHERIES FUNDS
State-managed plans for CARES Act aid leave some discretion to local management, as well as long delays Kirk Moore and Jessica Hathaway
s 2020 drew to a close, one-third of the $300 million in aid set aside for the fishing industry through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act remained for delivery as states labored to complete distributions. Lagging farthest behind were Alaska and Washington state, the nation’s top volume seafood producers, and at $50 million each the largest designated shares of the aid package. The states finally released their final draft spending plans on Dec. 7 and Dec. 8, for approval by NMFS. In Alaska there was protracted public debate over how to allocate equitably the aid among the state’s vibrant and varied fisheries. There was wide disagreement over who should qualify — including Alaska residents and its large fishing workforce with homes in other states, and how to split the money between commercial fishing, processing and the recreational charter and guide sectors. One chafing point was state officials’ intent to give the charter sector a bigger share than the 5.5 percent recommended by NMFS. “We agree that there is not enough funding to make each business whole,” the United Fishermen of Alaska wrote in an Oct. 22 letter urging the state Department of Fish and Game to extend public comments on the then-draft plans. “We also note that Alaska’s commercial fishery sector accounts for 60 percent of all U.S. fisheries harvest annually, which is why Alaska (and Washington’s) shares were the largest of any states. As
A
18 National Fisherman \ February 2021
Lobstermen haul traps off the coast of Maine. The state will use CARES funds to launch a state seafood brand. Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative
the largest private employers in the state, we ask that you provide substantive economic impact information that justifies the reallocation or that you revise the spend plan to fairly allocate the funds across all sectors.” In the final draft plan, Alaska officials proposed that “nonresident commercial harvesters that meet all eligibility requirements and do not apply for assistance in another state or territory may apply to the state of Alaska,” while operators of at-sea processing vessels must apply in their home port states. Home port refers to the address associated with the appropriate Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission vessel permit. Nonresident charter guides and businesses that do not possess a business license from the state of Alaska must apply to their state of residence. Washington state released its final plan the next day, after weeks of virtual meetings with fishermen, shellfish growers and processors to learn about the effects of covid-19 on those sectors. They met also with the state’s 24 treaty tribes to hear how the pandemic affected subsistence, cultural and ceremonial fisheries. “The pandemic had early and dramatic impacts to shellfish and commercial fishing businesses. These activities play an outsized role in our state, especially in our tribal and natural resources dependent economies,” Gov. Jay Inslee said in announcing the www.nationalfisherman.com
FEATURE
FISHERIES FUNDS
plan. “I am pleased that we will soon have more assistance available to help these hurting businesses recover.” Under Washington’s plan, fishing industry members will be eligible to apply if they experienced a gross revenue loss from January through July 2020 greater than 35 percent of their 2015-19 average. Washington-based fishermen who work in Alaska are eligible to take that option for applying in their home state. The Pacific States Fisheries Commission is handling applications for Washington fishermen, as the commission did for Oregon. Those had to be postmarked by Sept. 8, but it’s been taking the commission longer than expected to resolve applications that had errors or omissions. Still the commission anticipated that Oregon checks would be mailed before the end of December. Oregon’s plan called on applicants to report lost income as a result of covid-19, with those losses to be totaled and individual awards to be equally scaled based on the reimbursement funding available. California developed a system of 11 levels for determining compensation that also considers fees fishermen pay to the state. The system was complicated but also resulted in California fishermen getting some of the first checks in November, said Mike Conroy, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations. “PCFFA very much appreciates the efforts of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife in working hard to ensure California’s impacted fishery participants were the first to receive CARES Act funds,” the group said in a statement. “We also applaud their outreach to industry in developing a spend plan that, while not perfect, was fair.” Gulf of Mexico fisheries highly dependent on the national restaurant and regional tourist industries were struck hard by the pandemic, which early on crashed shrimp and oyster sales in Louisiana. The deadline for applying for shares of the state’s $14.6 million in CARES aid was extended to Nov. 23 as fishermen scrambled to recover from a devastating To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
“Groundfish was greatly impacted by loss of markets and restaurant closures, but the fishery was already in a reduced landings due to significant regulations.” — Jackie Odell, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NORTHEAST SEAFOOD COALITION
hurricane season on top of it all. Mississippi is getting just over $1.5 million for aid, for fishermen meeting the NMFS threshold of economic revenue losses greater than 35 percent compared to their prior five-year average. “We recently completed our state’s application process that had an application deadline of Dec. 8. Our organization provided application assistance to approximately 60 individuals and businesses,” said Ryan Bradley, director of Mississippi Commercial Fisheries United. “As of Dec. 15, the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources reported receiving 164 commercial, 34 charter, and 13 dealer applications for CARES Act assistance from eligible applicants. A total of 18 commercial, seven charter, and five dealer applications were received but deemed to be ineligible,” said Bradley. The first checks are expected to go out in early 2021, “and may be followed by a supplemental disbursement under certain circumstances,” he said. As in Oregon, the cumulative losses reported by fishermen, compared to the amount of funding available, will determine the final numbers for scaled payouts. However, so far “little information has been relayed to applicants on just how much of the funds they will receive,” said Bradley. Massachusetts received almost $28 million in funding, and checks were mailed out to all applicants by Nov. 10. But the groundfish sector was already disadvantaged in the application process by its longer-term problems before the pandemic, noted Jackie Odell, executive director of the Northeast Seafood Coalition
based in Gloucester, Mass. “Groundfish was greatly impacted by loss of markets and restaurant closures, but the fishery was already in a reduced landings due to significant regulations,” said Odell. “So, the 35 percent loss over the five-year average — during that short window — was a bar that many of our members fell slightly under so did not qualify for assistance.” Other aid efforts, including the Paycheck Protection Program, were “a boost during a very difficult time,” she said. Maine’s allocation of $20.1 million was sending checks out to as many as 2,700 fishermen, aquaculture producers, seafood dealers and processors, and charter boat operators for delivery by Jan. 1. Maine’s Department of Marine Resources is also using $1 million of the CARES Act funds to launch a Maine Seafood brand to promote all of the state’s commercial species to a growing domestic market. “It’s a domestic campaign,” said Jeff Nichols, director of communications for the department. “Initially we’re focused on the Northeast. That’s based on information we got from dealers and research we’ve done to identify where Maine seafood is being distributed and is available.” The department is hoping this project will help expand markets across the state’s industry, including stakeholders who were not eligible for relief but who were still affected by market shutdowns. “We’re working with dealers at this point, so we understand their distribution and how they make seafood available to consumers,” said Nichols. “We’re going to be doing some storytelling about the industry for consumers going forward.” Over the course of the summer, representatives in the department reached out to a wide swath of industry stakeholders in the state, “from dealers to association representatives to people who have a level of expertise in Maine seafood marketing and distribution,” Nichols said. Kirk Moore is the associate editor and Jessica Hathaway is the editor in chief for National Fisherman. February 2021 \ National Fisherman 19
COVER STORY
FISHERY FOCUS
COVER STORY
FISHERY FOCUS
Pebble at bay Army Corps denies permit for Alaska’s proposed Pebble Mine, but what’s next?
Skipper Rocky Koons runs the hydros on the F/V Katanya in a special harvest area of Wood River in Alaska’s Bristol Bay.
s Pebble Mine dead now? Or is it undead? What is the final stake in the heart of the project? Mine opponents greeted the late November news that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers had refused the mine permit with celebration, but that celebration was qualified for longtime activists. Some have lived with the specter of the open-pit copper, gold and molybdenum mine since the first deposits were discovered 30 years ago. Locals have been sparring with the current developer, Canada’s Northern Dynasty, since the company bought the minerals rights from the state of Alaska in 2001. They remember the good times, like in 2014, when a smiling President Barack Obama visited Bristol Bay and got milt on his shoe. Back then, the project seemed all but dead in the water, but
I
20 National Fisherman \ February 2021
Justin Del Boulter
By Brian Hagenbuch
the mine predictably floated to the surface again during the unpredictable Trump administration. A years-long roller coaster became even more dizzying last summer. Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy met briefly with President Donald Trump on Air Force 1 in June 2019. That same day Trump’s EPA set about stripping the Clean Water Act protections Obama had put in place. For the coalition of native groups, commercial and sport fishermen, and other activists fighting the project, the mine began to feel inevitable, casting a pall over a string of some of the largest, most lucrative runs in the history of the world’s biggest sockeye salmon fishery. But then some unexpected dominoes began to fall. As the Corps’ Environmental Impact Statement was being roundly eviscerated as rushed, lacking in solid science, and not representative of the project, www.nationalfisherman.com
BOATS & GEAR
AT-SEA
“The actual win is permanent protection for Bristol Bay, and we’re not there yet.” — Lindsey Bloom, SALMONSTATE
Bristol Bay watershed in Alaska. EPA
Decision a huge step forward, but she is among those who have been around long enough to know it is not time to relax yet. “The actual win is permanent protection for Bristol Bay, and we’re not there yet. The project that was proposed got denied, but that does nothing to change the fact that the mineralization is there and the world wants more copper and
Mike Friccero
influential conservatives like Donald Trump Jr., Tucker Carlson, and Nick Ayers began speaking out against the mine. Then, in September of this year, came the release of the Pebble Tapes. In them, secret recordings revealed Tom Collier — then-CEO of Pebble Limited Partnership, Northern Dynasty’s U.S. subsidiary set up to develop the mine — and Northern Dynasty President and CEO Ronald Thiessen bragging about their connections to state and federal officials, and admitting their EIS assessed a far smaller mine the one they were planning on developing, among other improprieties. “The Pebble Tapes really did change everything.They validated what we’ve always known about the corruption in the process, and that was a real game changer,” said Lindsey Bloom, a Bristol Bay fisherman and campaign strategist for SalmonState. Bloom called the corps’ Record of
The crews of the Miss Gina and Isanotski in Egegik celebrate the birthday of longtime fisheries advocate and drift gillnet captain Mike Friccero during the 2020 summer salmon season. To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
gold,” Bloom said. Mine opponents like Bloom explain there are two paths forward for permanent protections. The EPA can implement a 404(c) veto, a move the Obama administration was in the process of doing before it ran out of time, and one that would put severe restrictions on development in the area. “No other approach can create the immediate safety net for those who depend on Bristol Bay. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and the Environmental Protection Agency have concluded that Pebble Mine will damage Bristol Bay forever.The EPA must start its veto process immediately,” read a letter signed by the Bristol Bay Native Association, Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation, and United Tribes of Bristol Bay. The second possibility for long-term protections is federal legislation. Mine opponents are calling on Congress to establish the Jay and Bella Hammond Bristol Bay National Fisheries Area, which would provide “permanent federal protections for Bristol Bay’s headwaters, banning any toxic mine waste from largescale mining projects that would harm Bristol Bay’s sensitive and irreplaceable rivers, lakes and wetlands,” the letter said. February 2021 \ National Fisherman 21
COVER STORY
FISHERY FOCUS
Commercial Fishermen for Bristol Bay Director Katherine Carscallen said these moves would be the “final nail in Pebble’s coffin.” Until they are made, however, Pebble remains, and even a moribund mine proposal is a threat. Northern Dynasty was able to hold up the Obama administration’s 404(c) veto with litigation, and Bloom can envision a similar situation playing out during President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s term.
“Most importantly, the people of the Bristol Bay region have overwhelmingly said they don’t want this project here. Over 80 percent of the in-region population is opposed to this project.” — Lindsay Layland,
“Pebble litigates against the permit denial, and Biden and Congress can’t do anything on Bristol Bay. Pebble ties it up in courts, waits until there’s another pro-development Republican administration, and then reapplies,” Bloom said. “We are not done until we get a law.” In August of this year, as Bristol Bay fishermen wrapped up another huge harvest of nearly 36 million sockeye, Biden held firm to the Obama administration’s 2014 decision. “The Obama-Biden administration reached that conclusion when we ran a rigorous, science-based process in 2014, and it is still true today,” Biden said in a statement. Lindsey Layland, deputy director of the United Tribes of Bristol Bay, said the precedent, and Biden’s statement, bode well for long-term protections. “We already know what the Obama administration did the first time. There’s also the fact that before the election, 22 National Fisherman \ February 2021
United Tribes of Bristol Bay
UNITED TRIBES OF BRISTOL BAY
Bristoly Bay subsistence salmon drying on a rack.
Biden stated his opposition to this toxic project, so we’re hopeful Biden and his administration will take the course that now both the Obama and Trump administrations have taken,” Layland said. But Bloom pointed out that mining projects are built for the long term, and while the Pebble Tapes prompted Collier’s resignation, Thiessen is still at the head of Northern Dynasty. During a Dec. 1 video presentation for New York-based investment bank H.C.Wainwright & Co., Thiessen called the day the Corps’ decision came down “Black Wednesday,” as it fell the day before Thanksgiving. Northern Dynasty’s stock price cratered 50 percent on Nov. 25 from $0.80 to $0.40, then embarked on a subsequent slow slide.
Nevertheless, Thiessen continued beating a drum for the mine. He spoke of the benefits of Pebble Mine for local communities and the state, stating it would provide 800 direct jobs and 2,000 indirect jobs, while injecting some $400 million dollars annually into state coffers. Among other claims, Thiessen said the mine would help correct rural flight from the area and bolster the education system. Meanwhile, on the ground in Alaska, local resistance to the mine has been fierce, with a strong majority opposing the project. “We’ve had millions of people weigh in on this. And most importantly, the people of the Bristol Bay region have overwhelmingly said they don’t want www.nationalfisherman.com
COVER STORY
FISHERY FOCUS
“The Obama-Biden administration reached that conclusion when we ran a rigorous, sciencebased process in 2014, and it is still true today.” Hayden Linscheid
— President-elect Joseph R. Biden Jr.
Picking a set in Egegik during the 2020 Bristol Bay season on the F/V Frances.
this project here. Over 80 percent of the in-region population is opposed to this project,” Layland said. Statewide, a majority of Alaskans are opposed to the mine, while support for Pebble has never reached 40 percent.
In his December presentation,Thiessen confirmed Northern Dynasty would appeal the permit denial, opening what opponents hope is not a protracted period of litigation. Thiessen implored investors to “hang in there.”
“We’re working hard for everyone’s interests. We will be back in all of this,” Thiessen said. And until they get permanent protections for Bristol Bay, Thiessen can bet Pebble’s opponents will be working hard, as well. Brian Hagenbuch is National Fisherman’s Products editor and a freelance writer based in Seattle.
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February 2021 \ National Fisherman 23
BOATS & GEAR
AT-SEA
BOATS & GEAR
AT-SEA
CHANCE ENCOUNTER A day’s haul on a historic Chesapeake Bay oyster skipjack with Stoney Whitelock Story and photos by Paul Molyneaux
t’s 2:30 in the morning at the remote airport parking lot in South Philly. “Is this your truck?” the valet asks. I’m looking at a 2020 GMC 2500 Denali, loaded. “Yeah,” I tell the guy. “Man, what do you do?” “I’m a writer.” He shakes his head in disbelief. Fifteen minutes later I’m on the road to Chance, Md., but still no word from Stoney Whitelock, owner of the Minnie V., a 45-foot skipjack used in the Maryland oyster fishery. It’s the Tuesday before Thanksgiving (2019), and the only shot we have at a trip, so I’m hoping it works out. It’s still dark in Chance as the engines of the little oyster fleet come to life and boats start to slide out of the Scott’s Cove Marina. The Minnie V. lies at the end of the wharf, easily spotted by her 60-foot mast, her sails furled. By luck,Whitelock and his crew are there, preparing for a day of dredging oysters in Tangier Sound. “We’ve got legends aboard,” says 72-year-old Whitelock,
I
24 National Fisherman \ February 2021
as he introduces the crew, including 73-year-old Tom Daniels and 77-year-old Dick Webster. “I’ll be 78 tomorrow,” says Webster, who holds the license and captains the boat. “And we got these young guys,” says Whitelock, introducing James Corbin, Shawn Fridley and Jay Abbot, all in their 30s and 40s. The Minnie V. has no engine, only sails — Maryland’s skipjacks have traditionally fished under sail. But since the late 1960s they have been allowed to use pushboats. Under current rules, the skipjacks can fish on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. They can use power on any two of those days, and sail the other two.Today is a power day, and Whitelock climbs over the stern into the pushboat to start the 4-cylinder Cummins. “She’s about 20 years old,” Whitelock says of the Cummins. “But she ain’t got many hours on her.” The Minnie V., on the other hand, has a lot of hours on her. “She was built in 1906,” says Whitelock. “I bought her four years ago from the city of Baltimore. They were just using her www.nationalfisherman.com
BOATS & GEAR
AT-SEA
The Minnie V., decks piled high with a day’s harvest of oysters lays alongside the wharf in Chance, Md., ready to unload.
for tourists and taking good care of her.” As the sun rises, the boat emerges into the bay and Webster at the helm heads for Tangier Sound, where a dozen other boats are already at work. “It’s the only place we got left,” says Whitelock. “But they’re going to open that up next week,” he says, pointing north. “There’s two rocks up there.” According to Whitelock, one of the rocks ought to be good for the skipjacks, but the other is in water so shallow it will only be good for the tongers — boats that drop hydraulic tongs from booms into the oyster beds and come up with a half bushel of shell and oysters at a time. The skipjacks tow two 4-foot dredges, one on each side. Webster gives the signal to kick them over, and the crew lifts them over rollers on the rails and let them sink as they let out cable on “the winders,” as they call the winches. After a five-minute tow, Webster revs up the Chevy gas engine amidships that drives the hydraulics for the winders. The crew, Abbot on one side, Daniels on the other, haul the dredges. They bang in over the rollers, spilling mud, shell and oysters on deck. Daniels and Whitelock grab rings on the corners of the bag that hangs from the dredge frame, and dump the bulk of the catch. They both wear To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
“She was built in 1906. I bought her four years ago from the city of Baltimore. They were just using her for tourists and taking good care of her.” — Stoney Whitelock, F/V MINNIE V.
knee pads, and after resetting the dredge, kneel down at the edge of the pile. Daniels tosses oysters forward as Whitelock
tosses them aft, each man starting his pile for the day. Sheets of plywood lashed to the rails will keep the oysters from spilling overboard as the piles grow. But after this first try only an unpromising handful of oysters sit on deck. “That was a bad dip,” says Daniels. “And all small.” The next dip comes aboard and looks a little better. Daniels and Whitelock make short work of it, and shove what’s left of the mud and shell overboard as the young guys on the starboard side keep culling. “We got to keep up, or them young guys’ll fire us,” says Whitelock. In between dips, Fridley grabs a cigarette. “What?” says Webster, at the helm. “I ain’t doing my job. You’re not supposed to have time for a cigarette.” Like the other septuagenarians aboard, Webster started fishing young, in the days when the boats could only use sail, although they had engines to run the winders. “My father had me aboard when I was 6 or 7, I guess.” Webster had his own boat, the Caleb Jones, but he let her go 20 years ago. “Things were so bad. I used to have to go to the jail to get a crew,” he says, shaking his head. “Things are better now.” The crew of six stays busy, five men hauling the dredges every 5 to 10 minutes and culling oysters, and Webster at the helm calling commands to the men
Sunrise on Tangier Sound as Stoney Whitelock and Tom Daniels, two living legends, prepare for the first tow of the day. February 2021 \ National Fisherman 25
BOATS & GEAR
AT-SEA
forward. He tells them when to haul, and how much wire to let out. He has a lot to say to the young guys. “I’m doing all I can do to make them a day’s pay,” he says. “The old guys are the best I got.Tom culls more than anybody, every day.” The day wears on, and the piles of oysters grow. According to Webster, the boat takes 30 percent, and the crew shares 70 percent. The daily limit for skipjacks is 100 bushels of oysters at $45 to $50 a bushel. “The way it’s looking, we should get 80 bushel,” says Webster, noting that the crew will make close to $400 each. Close to noon, Webster calls to keep the dredges aboard, and Whitelock goes below and makes ham and cheese sandwiches for everyone. Four other skipjacks ply the sound, threading among the tongers, including the Katherine, a beautiful boat built in 1901, run by Whitelock’s son, David.
Ma
No caption needed! Stoney Whitelock loves the waterman’s life.
Jay Abbot tosses the bag of the dredge over the side after landing a pile of oysters
“Over there’s the Fanny L. Daugherty,” says Whitelock. “She was built in 1906. That other boat’s from Hoopers Island. I don’t know much about her.” The most distant skipjack has no mast, but is still identifiable by its long graceful lines and
sharp clipper bow. Whitelock’s great-grandfather had a skipjack on the bay in the later 1800s, the Gay Elva. And every generation of Whitelocks since then has been baymen. Whitelock has owned a number of
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AT-SEA
James Corbin, Shawn Fridley and Abbot pick through a pile after what they call a good dip.
Riding out the storm
license on the boat, of which they can have
Stoney Whitelock and other oyster
two. The opening of well-stocked oyster
harvesters in the bay have seen some
rocks does not compensate for the price
big changes since the 2019 season. “The price is down quite a lot. I guess it has something to do with covid,” says Whitelock. “Last year we were getting $50
drop. “We just get ’em faster,” says Whitelock. Whitelock seldom fishes under sail these days.
a bushel. This year we’re getting $30.” On
“The market won’t support it,” he says.
the bright side, Whitelock notes that Mary-
“They’re buying only one or two days a
land has opened up two new oyster rocks
week. We’re not able to go that much, so
that have been closed for a few years.
we’re not making as much as we were.”
“The thing is, every skipjack and tonger
But Whitelock is committed to the fish-
is out on those rocks,” he says. “It looks
ery. He is working on two skipjack rebuilds.
like a city out there.”
“We’re about 80 percent done the Anna
The skipjacks are limited to 100 bushel
McGarvey,” he says. “And we just started
a day, and the tongers get 12 bushel per
another one, the City of Crisfield.” — P.M.
Last year, the dock price in the bay was about $50 a bushel. Since covid-19, buyers only show up a couple of times a week, and the price has dropped to $30 a bushel. 28 National Fisherman \ February 2021
skipjacks, and recently rebuilt the Anna McGarvey. “She was built in 1981,” he says. I think she’s the last one built.” Whitelock was planning to take tourists out on the Anna McGarvey, but is reconsidering. “I’ll probably go oystering with her,” he says. The crew finish their sandwiches and are soon back on their knees among the piles of shell and oysters. They start coming bigger and better. “You can tell they’re better by the color,” says Webster. “These are darker.” Whitelock comes aft and marks the spot on the little Garmin plotter. “For later,” he says. Webster zeroes in on the good stuff, as the crew shovel the piles higher. He hollers at the young guys and tells stories. “In 1947 my father had a new boat built up on Hoopers Island, and I went with him to bring it down. The water was full of snakes. Everywhere you looked was snakes. I was 6 years old,” he says. That’s the story, a vignette of a rare moment when the bay was full of snakes, and it’s apparent that between these six men, especially the older ones, there must be thousands of remembered moments of boats and the bay. “You watch,” says Webster. “We’re going to fish till 2 o’clock, but at 1:30 the young guys will say they want to go home.” And around 1:30, Abbot looks back at Webster and points toward the harbor. “Two o’clock!”Webster hollers. “Three more dips.” At 2:30, the Minnie V. pulls alongside the wharf where the buyer has his truck parked and a conveyer belt set up under a hoist. Bushel by bushel, the crew shovels oysters off the deck and swings them to the buyer, who dumps them onto the conveyer that carries them into the truck. Almost 80 bushel, and a little while later, Whitelock has paid everyone. Fridley asks for a ride home in the Denali, Abbot too. Paul Molyneaux is the Boats & Gear editor for National Fisherman and author of “The Doryman’s Reflection.” www.nationalfisherman.com
FEBRUARY
PERMIT NEWS
Dock Street Brokers
(206) 789-5101 (800) 683-0297 www.dockstreetbrokers.com For all the latest permit & IFQ listings please call or visit our website.
IFQ NEWS *Price differences reflect the range from small blocks of D or C class on the lower end to unblocked B class unless ortherwise indicated.*
HALIBUT There have been steady but modest sales of halibut quota up to year-end 2020. Transactions have remained concentrated in area 3B, with some sales activity in area 3A. In areas 2C, 4A, 4B and 4CDE, sales activity remains minimal. Market activity will increase upon release of the next year’s TAC as harvesters determine their 2021 fishing plans. The latest is as follows:
AREA
ESTIMATED VALUE
2C $41.00/# - $57.00/# - Activity remains minimal, reduced asking prices. 3A $35.00/# - $44.00/# - Asking prices remain stable, steady interest. 3B $20.00/# - $25.00/# - Steady sales, demand for blocked and unblocked. 4A $10.00/# - $15.00/# - Blocked quota available, make offers. 4B $10.00/# - $18.00/# - Blocked and unblocked remain available. 4C - No activity.
$10.00/# - $18.00/#
4D $10.00/# - $18.00/# - Blocked and unblocked available.
SABLEFISH There has been very little activity related to sablefish quota toward year-end 2020. At the time of this writing, the NFFMC is meeting to determine sablefish harvest guidelines for 2021. The AI/BS regulatory areas are expected to receive significant TAC increases, with a 25% increase expected in the GOA. We anticipate increased sales volume once the 2021 TAC has been set. The latest is as follows:
AREA
ESTIMATED VALUE
SE $12.00/# - $16.00/# - Asking prices exceed Buyer’s price expectations.. WY - Very little activity.
$12.00/# - $16.00/#
CG $9.00/# - $13.00/# - Some sales activity at reduced asking prices. WG - No recent sales.
$6.00/# - $10.00/#
AI $1.50/# - $7.00*/# (A class) - Slight increase in activity. BS $1.50/# - $8.00*/# (A class) - Steady demand for unblocked and A shares..
To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
ALASKA PERMITS
ESTIMATED VALUES
Power Troll
$23k
Area M Drift
$185k
Area M Seine
$165k
Area M Setnet
$55k
Bristol Bay Drift
$165k
Bristol Bay Setnet
$60k
Cook Inlet Drift
$23k
Kodiak Seine
$36k
PWS Drift
$125k
PWS Seine
$140k
SE Dungeness (75 - 300 pot)
Variable - Sellers wanted
Southeast Drift
$67k
Southeast Herring Seine
$100k
Southeast Salmon Seine
$165k
SE Chatham Black Cod
$405k
WEST COAST PERMITS
ESTIMATED VALUES
California Crab Variable - Call for info The season delay allowed for some last minute transfers. Most activity continues to be for 175 - 250 pot oermits. Reduced prices attracting buyers. Call for more information. The latest is as follows: - 175 pot: $30k - $50k range - 250 pot: $45k - $60k less than 40’. $50k - $100k for 40’ - 60’ + - 300 - 350 pot: $70k - $150k, low availability - 400 - 450 pot: $100k - $280k, value dependent upon length - 500 pot: $250k - $400k+, highest value in 58’ and above CA Deeper Nearshore CA Halibut Trawl California Squid
$35k $70k - $100k Variable - call for info
CA Squid Light/Brail
Variable - call for info
Oregon Pink Shrimp
$50k - $74k - Sellers wanted
Oregon Crab Variable - call for info Steady demand for 500 pot permits over 50’ - 200 pot: $45k - $60k - 300 pot: $100k - $200k - 500 pot: $200k - $300k for <50’ & $6k - $7k per foot for >50’ Puget Sound Crab Puget Sound Drift Puget Sound Seine
$155k $10k $85k
Washington Crab Variable - call for info - 300 pot: $90k - $160k depending on length - 500 pot: $300k - $400k depeneding on length Washington Pink Shrimp Washington Troll
$40k - Leases available $20k
Longline - Unendorsed $90k - $120k - Cash buyers looking, sellers wanted. Leases available. Longline - Sablefish Endorsed Variable - Recent sales of Tier 2 & 3 permits available, more available. A-Trawl
Variable - Call for info
See all our listings at www.dockstreetbrokers.com
February 2021 \ National Fisherman 29
BOATS & GEAR
MARINE POWER
OXE DIESEL The OXE is the world’s first high-performance diesel outboard. It combines the reliability and endurance of marine inboards with the flexibility and agility of outboard engines. It is the only outboard that complies with EPA Tier-III, IMO Tier II and RCD emissions and environmental standards. It is designed and built for commercial user according to commercial user demands.
It offers an effective and safe solution for: governmental, oil & gas, rescue and large commercial applications, and also for small craft fishermen, survey, tourism, yacht tender, taxi and pilot operations. All applications were range, load carrying performance and running costs are significant factors.
TOUR DE FORCE OXE Marine, the manufacturer behind the engine, started this project with the mission to design the first high output diesel outboard, the keywords were durability, endurance and performance. These words are now embedded within The OXE Diesel.
The patented technology has enabled OXE to design a robust drive unit that will effectively transfer high torque diesel power from the engine to the propeller. Combined with a modular layout, easily accessible service points, interchangeable gear ratios and proven diesel technology, ensures for a product fit for commercial use.
The power head, a proven robust diesel engine developed by the GM group, is marinized and tested by the engineers at OXE Marine AB. The compact design of the lower housing enables high efficiency and high-speed capability.
FEATURES
• • • • • • • • • •
Diesel engine Low Speed Control Fuel economy CAN based helm control system Dual helm capability Joystick capability Robust modular design Low drag propulsion housing Directly replaceable with other outboards Quick shift capable
Expanded marine engine lineups and concessions on tier The OXE Diesel is designedplaying with NATO ”single-fuel” requirements give fishermen a wide field directive for power options By Paul Molyneaux
in mind. It is currently available in 125, 150, 175 and 200 hp versions, a 300 hp version is to be released in 2020.
espite the general economic slowdown resulting from the covid-19 pandemic, there is a lot going on in the world of marine engines across the board, from a new Oxe diesel outboard to a rollback of Tier IV regulations for some vessels. According to Chris Ponnwitz, marketing specialist at Mack Boring & Parts Co., the Somerset, N.J.-based company will be distributing and supporting the new Oxe 300-hp diesel outboard this year. “We have seen a lot of interest in the commercial fisheries market, and this new 300-hp model from Oxe Marine will further expand their line-up, which starts at 125 hp. We are excited to see new market penetration for vessels and fishermen that are looking for a higher output torque and hp power plant.” According to Oxe the 300-hp diesel outboard now available in the United States is a bi-turbo configuration that provides 443 foot-pounds of torque at the crankshaft at 1,750 rpm, and 369 foot-pounds at 1,000 rpm, providing a high degree of bollard pulling power and rapid acceleration. Mack Boring has put many 13- and 16-liter Scania engines in lobster boats throughout New England. “That’s probably our most saturated market,” says Ponnwitz. “We have had a lot of success in the lobstering market with the newer 800 XPI engine, and we 30 National Fisherman \ February 2021
Oxe Marine
D
The Oxe 150- and 200-hp diesel outboards are joined by the new Tier III-approved Oxe 300 diesel outboard, now available in the United States.
are looking forward to Scania breaking into the recreational market with their new 900 -and 1,150-hp models.” In between the Oxe and the Scania, Ponnwitz expressed excitement about two new Yanmar engines Mack Boring is now distributing. “Yanmar just announced the 6LF and the 6LT engine series,” he says. “With up to 550 hp out of the 6LF up to 640 hp out of the 6LT series, we are now seeing an opportunity to expand our already die-hard Yanmar customer base and open up more of the market to the reliability and support from Yanmar.” According to Ponnwitz, these new Yanmar common rail, in-line 6s might be a good fit for lobster boats and other
small-boat fisheries. Farther down the East Coast, Motor-Services Hugo Stamp, in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., offers Baudouin Reman remanufactured engines, which are becoming quite popular. “There’s a lot of old iron out there,” says Torsten Schmitt, sales specialist at MSHS. According to Schmitt, Baudouin is taking back old engines and rebuilding them. “They’re affordably priced,” says Schmitt. “With a two-year warranty, it makes them very attractive for fishing boats customers who are thinking economically, don’t want to spend the money for brand new engines, but are tired of the older fuel-hungry engines.” MSHS offers the Baudouin Reman www.nationalfisherman.com
BOATS & GEAR
Yanmar’s new 6LF and 6LT engines offer 485- to 640-hp options for smaller vessels.
15.9-liter engine with ratings from 600 hp @ 1,800 rpm to 815 hp @ 2,100 rpm. On Aug. 26, 2020, the Environmental Protection Agency changed the Tier IV rules requiring aftertreatment systems to reduce emissions on engines over 815 hp. Many fishermen building vessels wanted more than 815 hp but could not fit aftertreatment systems, so the EPA relented. According to Schmitt, MSHS
To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
is also selling the Fiat Powertrain C16-1000. “Since the EPA changed the rules, we are now able to offer the FPT C16-1000 (15.9l inline 6) with 1,000 mhp commercially. Fishermen want the horsepower, and now we can give it to them. These engines are in high demand.” Schmitt points out that FPT is working on the calibration so the engines will be commercial EPA compliant at 1,000 mhp. “You can also retool pre-rule change engines,” says Schmitt. “You still have to apply to the EPA for an exemption, but we can do in-the-field modifications.” Besides lobster boats, Bristol Bay salmon gillnetters — limited to 32 feet — also want to pack a lot of horsepower into a small space. “We’re doing something fun with one of our Alaska guys,” says Schmitt.
FPT
Yanmar
MARINE POWER
The FPT C-16 can now be tuned to 1,000 hp for maximum power with a small footprint.
“We’re putting a killer salmon FPT wrap on his boat.You know like they do with race cars? Since we weren’t doing as many shows we asked our manufacturers if we could use that money for something else for promotion. It looks great.” While MSHS is rebuilding Baudouins for draggers, longtime Maine draggerman Marshall Alexander recently repowered his 54-foot dragger, the De Dee Mae II, with a Cummins X15.
February 2021 \ National Fisherman 31
BOATS & GEAR
MARINE POWER
“We’re doing something fun with one of our Alaska guys. We’re putting a killer salmon FPT wrap on his boat. You know like they do with race cars?” — Torsten Schmitt,
FPT
MOTOR-SERVICES HUGO STAMP
Regulatory changes have enabled small boats, such as 32-foot Bristol Bay gillnetters, to install engines with more than 800-hp without going to Tier IV.
32 National Fisherman \ February 2021
aftertreatment of the exhaust. We reduce NOX by injecting urea into the SCR (selective catalytic reduction).Vessels that have the space are moving to Tier IV because the fuel savings offset the cost of the urea.” Mundth notes that vessels that use Tier IV engines with aftertreatment have to allocate tank space for the urea, usually around 10 percent of the volume of the fuel tank. “But they have more space because they’re burning less fuel,” he says. On the West Coast, Rich Murdy, marine sales manager at Pacific Power is excited about the Volvo Penta D16, a 16-liter, inline 6-cylinder engine. “It’s
Cummins
“450 horsepower,” says Alexander. “They had to cut it down from 500 because you can only go up 20 percent, see. But I’ve got a 4-foot nozzle on her, and a 4.5:1 Twin Disc 514 Omega gear on there, and we pitched the wheel all we could. She was 48-inch square, and we upped the pitch to 52. She tows a 100foot net with 50 fathoms of ground gear, no problem.” Alexander is more than pleased with the fuel efficiency. “Dock to dock we averaged 7 gallons an hour,” he says. “The only problem we had was the temperature. It got up to 160 degrees in the engine room, and it’s only supposed to be 100. We set up a blower, and that solved that problem.” The EPA rule change has helped many fishermen get the horsepower they want in the space they have. According to Jim Mundth at Caterpillar, vessels that have the space may be better off using an aftertreatment system. “You see, when we went from Tier II to Tier III, we reduced emissions by retarding the timing and injection so the fuel burned cooler. The thing is, the NOX goes up with better combustion.” Mundth says the shift to Tier III actually reduced fuel efficiency. “By 5 to 8 percent! With the switch to Tier IV, we’re getting that back,” Mundth says. “Tier IV requires
Maine draggerman Marshall Alexander is seeing big fuel savings since he installed a Cummins X15 in his vessel De Dee Mae II.
going to be a big deal,” says Murdy. “Volvo Penta is doing a facelift on the D16. It was 750 hp, and they’ve bumped that up to 800. The 750 was maximum but now it’s rated as continuous.” Murdy sees a potential market among limit seiners and larger crab boats. He points out that Volvo Penta’s D16 also has potential as a 550-kW genset. “Another engine fishermen love is the D8,” says Murdy. “Ed Oczkewicz up at Maritime Fabrication, La Conner (Wash.), put two in a Bristol Bay boat they just built. That’s a 550-hp full keelcooled engine. And they’re light, 1,900 pounds.” Pacific Power is also a Detroit Diesel distributor, but they do not sell any. “None,” says Murdy. “But we rebuild them all the time — 671s, 692s, 1271s — I don’t know how many in a year, but I’d say it’s in the double digits every month.” Many fishermen choose John Deere engines for their value, and the company’s 13.5-liter 6135SFM85 powers many vessels in the United States and commercial fishing fleets around the world. Beyond meeting performance needs, John Deere is offering hardware solutions to meet market demands with its 13.6L engine, which includes a noDPF solution for Final Tier IV variableand constant-speed markets. In addition, John Deere is unveiling its new 18L engine in 2022. Building on the 13.6L engine design, the 18.0L engine offers maximum power over 650 kW (870 hp). It was also designed with flexibility, serviceability and durability in mind. “We wish they’d done this 10 years www.nationalfisherman.com
BOATS & GEAR
Volvo-Penta has ramped up the horsepower in its D16 marine engines, which will be available in 2022.
ago,” says Glenn Dobbs, territory manager at Western Power Products in Long Beach, Calif. “We’ve been wanting a thousand-horsepower engine from John Deere for a long time.” But fishermen may have to wait. “The 13.6 is coming out in 2021,
On Deck Northern Lights Continued from page 7
96 positives. Late July brought an outbreak on the floating processor American Triumph, which is part of the American Seafoods fleet. The crew reported symptoms and were tested when the vessel arrived in Dutch Harbor. Out of the 119 workers, 85 tested positive. The company moved the vessel to Seward, then transported the workers to Anchorage for isolation and treatment. Others faced outbreaks after their resident workers contracted the virus in the surrounding community. While nonresident processors were forbidden to mingle with locals, local workers faced no such restrictions. Alaska Glacier Seafoods in Juneau attributed its July outbreak among 40 workers to transmission from the community. Other problems arose before workers even reached Alaska. In June, North Pacific Seafoods hired 150 workers from California and Mexico to work in Naknek through August. Several tested positive To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
and the 18-liter in 2022.You’re going to see those engines in tractors first, then power generation, and last on the list is marine sales, because of the numbers,” he says. According to the manufacturer’s website, the 18-liter is equipped with John Deere engine controls, a high-pressure common-rail fuel system and series turbochargers. It also uses cooled EGR (exhaust gas recirculation.) The modelbased controls enable advanced prognostics capabilities and improved transient response. A rear gear train reduces noise as well as torsional and crank stress. The top 20 service and repairs for larger John Deere engines were also taken into consideration when designing the engine to ensure ease of serviceability. With engines and EPA emissions requirements coming into alignment, marine diesel engine manufacturers are
before leaving California, so the entire group was quarantined at a Los Angeles hotel for two weeks with no pay and heavy restrictions. The company is being sued for wages and false imprisonment. While there’s no cost estimate for these additional interruptions, they created another layer of pandemic-related expenses for the seafood processing industry to absorb. Residents drove the caseloads The number of covid-19 cases among nonresident seafood processors were tracked with the monthly job numbers, increasing from less than 15 earlier in the year to about 115 in June, then nearly tripling to 325 cases in July. As the salmon season wound down, so did their case numbers. August was the second-busiest month, but nonresident processor cases fell to around 60. There have been fewer than 20 cases since. Even though thousands of nonresident processors worked in Alaska this spring and summer, they ultimately brought fewer cases into the state than communities feared.
John Deere Power Systems
Volvo Penta
MARINE POWER
John Deere’s long-awaited 18-liter is also breaking the 800-hp barrier for Tier III engines, and will be available in 2022.
more able to give fishermen the power they need while conforming to regulations. Paul Molyneaux is the Boats & Gear editor for National Fisherman and author of “The Doryman’s Reflection.”
Although public reports show some companies cut corners, such as shortening quarantine periods, the measures the state and companies took mostly worked.When the virus popped up, plants identified and isolated positive cases quickly, which kept the virus from spreading into the surrounding towns. Alaskans drove the caseloads. Resident covid-19 cases dwarfed nonresident cases all year and accelerated as fall began. In September and October, with the summer workers mostly gone, residents pushed daily cases far higher than they’d been at any point during the summer. In terms of new cases per month, resident cases grew from about 2,100 in August to 2,700 in September, and the first three weeks of October recorded 3,700. Karinne Wiebold is a senior economist with the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development in Juneau, where her work is regularly featured in the Alaska Economic Trends magazine.
February 2021 \ National Fisherman 33
BOATS & GEAR
AROUND THE YARDS
NORTHEAST
Rebuild of well-known race boat is put on hold; boatyard says 50 feet is a good cutoff point
Jon Johansen
By Michael Crowley
Holland’s Boat Shop is building this 32-foot tuna boat with a 650-hp Cat for a Maine fisherman.
olland’s Boat Shop in Belfast, Maine, has a fairly long list of boats to build — 13 to be exact. The list includes several skiffs, two 20-footers and four in the 30-foot range. But “there’s not a lobster boat in the bunch,” says the boatshop’s Glenn Holland. It’s all pleasure boats, except for one that’s in the corner of the shop. The lines of the bright blue and white hull stand out, from the easy flowing sheerline that rises slightly at the stern, to the gently curving bow with a sharp entrance, to the rounded bilges that flatten out back aft. It’s a 32-foot tuna boat for a Cutler, Maine, fisherman that will be outfitted with a 650-hp Cat, which should top her out in the mid-30-mph range. It has all fiberglass framing and Coosa Board decking. “The only place there’s plywood is down below in the bunks,” says Holland. She’ll probably have a standard wheelhouse. Holland’s Boat Shop is installing the Cat, matched up to a ZF gear with 1.5:1 reduction. But the boat’s owner will fi nish building the boat. Another boat that’s on Holland’s mind a lot isn’t in to be worked on,
though it was scheduled to be in the shop this winter. The Red Baron is a Holland 32 that was a crowd-pleasing force to be reckoned with in Maine’s lobster boat racing circuit in the 1980s and 1990s. Holland says he was planning on getting the Red Baron ready for racing. But “every time I figure I’m going to put the damn boat back together, life gets in the way.” That “life” is the covid-19 pandemic, and now “there’s no way that will happen.”
34 National Fisherman \ February 2021
Jon Johansen
H
The Father’s Son is a 44 Calvin that is almost ready to be launched at Oceanville Boatworks in Stonington, Maine.
The last time the Red Baron raced was the summer of 2000. The engine that was in her back then, a big block Ford with a blower that put out about 1,000 hp and got the Red Baron up to 57.8 mph, still sits on the shop floor. If the Red Baron does return to racing, she will be a lot lighter. Holland has stripped her down to the bare hull, even taking the stringers and girders out. “I’ll put everything back together just as light as I dare. Next time she ought to be well over 60 mph.” At Oceanville Boatworks in Stonington, Maine, the Father’s Son, a 44 Calvin, was due to be launched the fi rst of December for Brandon Bunker, a Southwest Harbor lobsterman. This is a step up in size for Bunker, who “is in a smaller one now,” said the boatyard’s Dale Haley. The Father’s Son has a split wheelhouse and an 800-hp Scania bolted to the engine beds. For setting traps there’s an open transom with a manual tailgate. Belowdeck are three lobster tanks and a rope locker for the pot hauler. A 54-foot Mussel Ridge from Hutchinson Composites that was cut down to 50 feet (49' 11" on the waterline) will be fi nished off as a lobster boat for a Waldoboro fisherman, after the Father’s Son is launched and Billings Diesel, also in Stonington, installs a 16-cylinder Volvo. The deck will be extended 3 to 4 feet past the transom. A 50-footer makes a lot more sense, says Haley, because over 50 feet “is a lot more money. It requires a naval architect, and the Coast Guard has to get involved.” The last lobster boat to be launched prior to the Father’s Son was the Shelby Jayda, a Wayne Beal 50 that went to Jake Thompson on Vinalhaven Island at the end of 2019. It’s all composite construction with fiberglass I-beams and deck beams, Coosa Board panels and Divinycell foam. “Everything we’ve done is all composite,” says Haley. “You ain’t got to worry about it. The value of the boat stays up because there’s no wood Continued on page 37 www.nationalfisherman.com
BOATS & GEAR
AROUND THE YARDS
WEST
Boat owners learn how to make needed repairs; first comes sponsoning, then a new wheelhouse
avid Peterson is a boat carpenter in Eureka, Calif., specializing in repairing wooden fishing boats, like the 54-foot Blue Pacific out of Fort Bragg, Calif., that arrived in Eureka in August. It’s a boat Peterson is familiar with. When the Blue Pacific was built in 1963, Peterson remembers, as an offer of good luck, putting a Franklin all-silver halfdollar under the Blue Pacific’s mast. This time around, it was all about setting up the Blue Pacific for dragging. She had been a crabber and troller, but the boat’s new owner wanted her rigged for dragging. That required tearing out and replacing eight rotten ceiling planks in the fish hold, as well as rotten deck beams and decking. Five new Douglas fir 5" x 8" deck beams were covered with 1 5/8-inch laminated Hydrotek plywood decking that was then fiberglassed over. In addition, the trolling pit was torn out, and that area decked over to the stern. A Freeman Marine hatch went in where the trolling pit had been for access to the steering gear. Once the decking was down, Peterson
Zerlang & Zerlang Marine Services
D
The Blue Pacific was hauled at Zerlang & Zerlang Marine Services, where David Peterson worked on her deck and fish hold.
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put stanchions beneath where the winches were going to strengthen the deck. Then he and the boat’s owner installed the winches and leveled them up.The net reel was set up and deck stanchions put in place for the doors. The Blue Pacific left Eureka on Nov. 2 to drag for bottomfish. Next up is the Genie II, a 32-foot crab boat out of Trinidad, Calif., which had probably come up against a dock, causing fiberglass on the deck to crack. That allowed water to get into the deck and part of the hull, resulting in some rot. The rotten areas have to be cut out and replaced. Periodically Peterson does something he describes as a lot of fun. It’s guiding a fisherman in the repairing of his own boat. “A lot of the time, they don’t have the bucks and are trying to get the job done,” he says. “I’ll teach them and oversee it. A lot of times it works out pretty good because I don’t have the time to do it (myself).” In November he was engaged in just such a project on a 42-foot double-ender that was built in the 1940s; all the ribs in the fish hold have to be sistered and some in the stern. Peterson was showing the boat’s owner “how to make templates for the ribs, how to get the ribs cut out and into the boat. I have him do everything,” he says. Down the coast in Crescent City, Fashion Blacksmith has sponsoned a number of fishing boats over the years, and now some are coming back for a bigger, wider wheelhouse. They have “the same issues, leaky windows and the house is rotting,” says Fashion Blacksmith’s Ted Long. Some are changing from the conventional wheelhouse that you can walk around “to a whaleback or raised fo’c’sle style, where you no longer walk around the house.” The Mary Lu, a 57' x 25' Dungeness
Fashion Blacksmith photos
By Michael Crowley
The 57-foot crabber Mary Lu after being sponsoned three years ago at Fashion Blacksmith (bottom). She is getting a new wheelhouse (top) at the end of crab season.
crabber and shrimper out of Crescent City that Fashion Blacksmith sponsoned three years ago, is sticking with the conventional wheelhouse. In November, a replacement wheelhouse with a stainless steel front was being built on Fashion Blacksmith’s shop floor for the Mary Lu. Long describes it as a Texas-style house where the helm station is raised about 3 feet higher than the back of the house, allowing a clear view of the deck from the back window. The house will be installed when the Mary Lu returns from crabbing. The Gladnik, a combination crabber and tuna boat, was built by Long’s father, Dale Long, and uncle, Roger Long, in 1971.Then four years ago Fashion Blacksmith lengthened and sponsoned her from 60' x 16' to 68' x 25' 6" and added a bulbous bow. Now she’s due in at the end Continued on page 37 February 2021 \ National Fisherman 35
BOATS & GEAR
AROUND THE YARDS
SOUTH
Virginia watermen maintain their own small fleet; watershed event for Chesapeake museum boatshop
This Georgia-built Carolina Skiff 238 DLV is being used in Virginia’s public hand dredge fishery on the Rappahannock River by watermen Chris Belvin and Michael Shackelford.
wo 45-foot Chesapeake Bay wooden deadrise workboats, a Canadian Provincial 45-foot fiberglass boat and three Georgia built Carolina Skiffs constitute a small commercial fishing fleet. Partners Chris Belvin of Tappahannock, Va., and Michael Shackelford of Gloucester County, Va., own, work and maintain this small fleet of boats. “We’ve got a lot of boats between us, and we need a lot of boats,” says Belvin who, along with his partner, works from several commercial fishing licenses in Virginia’s portion of Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic Ocean. “We do the routine maintenance ourselves on our boats and do it all at Hudgins Horn Harbor Marina in Port Haywood,Va.,” says Belvin. “Owner Wayne Hudgins was a commercial waterman and caters to us. He understands our needs, because he was one of us.” This year, Belvin and Shackelford say they were lucky, as maintenance on their boats was confined to routine work. “We did all the maintenance work ourselves, but some years we need help and Wayne has the workforce there to help us.” The fishermen work out of three Carolina Skiffs. In November, they were working in Virginia’s public hand dredge
oyster fishery out of Urbanna Creek on the Rappahannock River.The watermen were dredging oysters from a 238 DLV, 24-foot Carolina Skiff and catching the 8-bushel-per-day limit in a few hours. Built in Waycross, Ga., by Carolina Skiff, their skiff is rigged with an aluminum mast/boom, a 22-inch-wide oyster dredge and powered by a 115-hp outboard engine. The watermen have two other 21foot Carolina Skiffs. One is used in the oyster hand tong fishery out of Aberdeen Creek on York River and the other as a net hauling boat in the bay’s gillnet and haul seine finfish fisheries. When maintaining skiffs, “we trailer a boat to the boatyard, coat it down with
T
36 National Fisherman \ February 2021
A new cabin top has been installed on the 1909 loggedhull deck boat Old Point at the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum boatyard at St. Michaels, Md.
George Sass
Larry Chowning
By Larry Chowning
bleach, power wash it, paint the bottom, and we are ready to go,” says Belvin. “There’s not much maintenance to the skiffs.” They work the Provincial 45-footer out of Virginia Beach,Va., in the Atlantic Ocean gillnet and conch-pot fisheries. Belvin owns a 45-foot wooden deadrise built in 1979 by retired Mathews County boatbuilder Edward Diggs, and Shackelford inherited a 1948, 45-foot wooden deadrise from his uncle. The wooden deadrise boats are worked primarily in Virginia’s oyster aquaculture fishery and in the haul seine fishery. Belvin and Shackelford plant and grow oysters on state leased grounds in North and Ware rivers and in Milford Haven. They also contract with other lease holders to work their oyster grounds. “From time to time, we have struggled to find a railway that will fit us in when we have a need whether it is an emergency or just routine maintenance,” says Belvin. “Wayne (Hudgins) has given us some relief in knowing that when we have a problem, we’ve got a railway that will work with us and get us back to fishing as soon as possible.” Moving over to Maryland, the Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum’s boatshop in St. Michaels, Md., has several boats on the rails. However, the yard is featured this month in NF because of a watershed event. The museum has its first graduate from its shipwright apprentice certified program. The graduate, Zachary Haroth,
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BOATS & GEAR
AROUND THE YARDS
a native of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., joined the museum’s boatshop after a year of study at the Northwest School of Wooden Boat Building in Port Townsend, Wash. The museum’s four-year apprentice program is registered by the U.S. Department of Labor and Maryland Department of Labor, Licensing & Regulation. The program covers 8,000 hours of real work experience, as well as leadership and management skill development and certification in various areas of boat maintenance and construction. Through the program, apprentices gain a working knowledge that includes skills like joinery techniques, ship repair, and construction. “The biggest benefit for me is broadening my horizons with some of the certifications that are offered… Those are pretty major for me to put on a resume,” said Haroth, who finished the program with certification in both welding and
marine electrical systems. “This innovative shipbuilding program, originally approved by the Maryland Apprenticeship and Training Program in July 2018, is the first and only program in the state helping to preserve Maryland’s maritime heritage,” said Maryland Labor Secretary Tiffany P. Robinson. Post-graduation, Haroth isn’t going far — he’s since been hired by the museum as a full-time shipwright to work on construction of the Maryland Dove, a reproduction of the vessel that brought the first European settlers to Maryland in 1634. In addition to Dove, the museum’s yard is working on restoration of a 1912 river tug named Delaware; a cabin-top replacement to the 1909 crab dredge boat Old Point; and doing the annual maintenance work on the Calvert Marine Museum’s Wm. B. Tennison, a bugeye converted to power.
Around the Yards: Northeast Continued from page 34
in it. The boats don’t soak up water and stay about the same weight.” Two Stonington lobster boats were in for repairs in the spring of 2020. The Sleepless Nights, a 36 Calvin, received a complete Awlgrip coating and had the engine box rebuilt after Billings Diesel pulled the John Deere diesel and installed a new 675-hp Scania. The second Stonington lobster boat was the Sea Fox, which got a new winterback, and the cabin top and trunkhouse top were ground down and reglassed. “They were so bad, peeling and cracked,” says Haley. Then everything got a coating of Awlgrip. “Anybody in here, we talk them into Awlgripping. Gelcoat, you can’t even clean after two years. This stuff usually stays pretty clean for a few years.” Around the Yards: West Continued from page 35
of crab season for a new whaleback pilothouse and repowering. “The original house is typical,” says Long. “It has wastage in it and is getting weaker.” Another motivator for replacing the wheelhouse is the need to repower the Gladnik. But leaving the original wheelhouse in place and trying to pull the 275-hp GM out the “back bulkhead or sides of the boat is difficult because it has been sponsoned,” noted Long. Thus the wheelhouse will come off, the Jimmy will be hauled up through the open space and a new 450-hp John Deere will take its place. (The boat’s owner was able to take advantage of California’s Carl Moyer Program, which provides funding to replace an older engine with a new emission certified diesel.) The new whaleback wheelhouse with a pilothouse on top of it will provide more space below deck in the bow area and better visibility. To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
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BOATS & GEAR
PRODUCT ROUNDUP
A smaller big jet Alamarin-Jet adds to its Omega line By Brian Hagenbuch
lamarin-Jet has added a second, smaller jet to its new Omega line. After releasing the Omega 42 in 2019, the Finnish maker recently added the Omega 37, which offers the same features that have proved successful in its larger counterpart. The jets feature Alamarin’s proprietary Dual Angle Shaft, which “revolutionizes ease of installation and design,” according to Alamarin. The Frame Integrated Bearing Structure saves money by reducing maintenance, while the Modular Intake Geometry allows for the jet to be easily customized to fit any vessel. The Omega 37 is best suited for smaller boats, with an ideal range from 50 to 65 feet, although it can be used with a far wider range of boats, including
A
32-foot gillnetters. This smaller jet takes a maximum engine input of around 1,200 horsepower, and a twin jet configuration can provide around 32 tons of vessel displacement in a planing speed application. The jet has a top end speed range of around 55 knots. “Smaller, lighter, and more powerful than our competitors, this expansion of the revolutionary Omega series showcases Alamarin-Jet’s commitment to user-focused, highly efficient and innovative design,” the company said in a press release. The Omega 42 was the first Alamarin-Jet product to make it to the United States. Yakov Basagrin, owner of Jackson Marine in Homer, Alaska, paired the Omega 42 with a single Fiat Powertrain Technologies engine in a
Alamarin-Jet looks to expand U.S. market with Omega 37.
Bristol Bay gillnetter and was astounded at the results. “Many people called me crazy, many said it would not work. I decided on a single FPT C16-1000 and the AlamarinJet Omega 42 as the power pack. We reached incredible performance exceeding 36 knots. I have never seen a single engine vessel perform that well; granted, that jet pump is huge,” Basagrin said. The Omega 37 is made of aluminum and stainless steel and weighs 1,600 pounds. ALAMARIN-JET www.alamarinjet.com
Vetus re-enters electric market A pioneer of electric boating is back By Brian Hagenbuch
etus is back in the electric boating market with two new propulsion systems, the E-Pod and the E-Line, both of which can be used for refit as well as newbuilds. The 7.5-kilowatt, 48-volt E-Pod package is made to fit on the stern of boats up to 25 feet. An enclosed propeller designed by Marin (Maritime Research Institute Netherlands) reduces cavitation while providing the most efficient thrust. The silent motor mounts without a shaft or other drive components, which means no rotating or vibrating, and requires minimum room inside the boat. The 48-volt E-Line package makes an ideal replacement for inboard diesel engines, dropping easily into small diesel footprints. It is water-cooled, with a
V
38 National Fisherman \ February 2021
battery bank that can be charged with a 24-volt battery charger. “Perfect for the growing electric propulsion market and the inland waterways sector, the system meets all current and future emission requirements. We are offering this electric propulsion that we can package with a lot of our other technologies. For example, we can combine it with a 48V bow thruster and offer steering,” said Thijs Boegheim, Vetus’ Sales Director EMEA and global marketing director of the E-Line package. Both systems have Vetus’ unique active motor braking system, which provides direct and complete control without a delay. For even more increased handling, the systems can be augmented with the Vetus Bow Pro, electric thrusters
Vetus launches two small-boat electric systems.
that can be mounted on both the stern and the bow of the boat. The range of both systems varies according to speed. A 2,600-pound, 20-foot vessel, for example, can go 48 nm at 2 knots, but will make just 10 nm at 4 knots with 1.32 kilowatt hours of battery capacity. The new lines represent Vetus’ re-entry into a market that it pioneered two decades ago, according to Boegheim. VETUS
www.vetus.com
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BOATS & GEAR
PRODUCTS AT A GLANCE
The SEA HAWK-XL DUAL-COLOR LED FLOODLIGHT from HELLA MARINE uses LED technology to switch between two colors, with lamps that provide a wide swath of light from one small housing. The 750-lumen lamps come in combos of white and warm white, white and red, or white and blue, and they cover a 76-degree spread when mounted at 6 1/2 feet. The lights come with Grimalid lenses, rugged stainless mounts and are prewired with 8-inch marine cable. They have an IP67 waterproof rating and a five-year warranty. HELLA MARINE
www.hellamarine.com
The ACQUALINK NAVSENSOR from VERATRON is a suite of NMEA-powered antennas and sensors that track and report a wide range of navigational and weather data. A GPS receiver in the suite provides skippers with precision position, speed and vector data, as well as UTC time. Sensors also give pitch and roll data, and a fluxgate compass delivers heading information to keep autopilots on track. The Wind Sensor provides highly accurate wind information, and a built-in barometer indicates weather changes.
GRUNDÉNS continues to expand its successful DECK-BOSS boot line with another 6-inch entry, the DEVIATION BOOT. “Like mud tires for your feet” is how Grundéns describes them, because of the thick knobs on the soles for mucking on the flats. The soles are also razor-siped for grip on deck. Their neoprene lining means a little seepage over the top of the boot is no big deal. Like the other Deck-Boss boots, these are solidly built, with thick, comfy outsoles reminiscent of athletic shoes.
As part of the campaign to eliminate cotton from fishing decks across the nation, we present the SMARTWOOL MERINO 250 BASE LAYER HOODIE, made for both men and women. This 100 percent Merino wool shirt is an active layer that will breathe while regulating body temperature. The thin wool stays warm when wet and dries on the fly. A close-fit hood sits comfortably underneath your raingear, flatlock seams minimize chafing, and a partial zipper offers quick temperature regulation.
GRUNDÉNS
SMARTWOOL
www.grundéns.com
www.smartwool.com
New from LUNASEA LIGHTING is a very wearable, user-friendly water safety device designed specifically with kids and pets in mind. This multifunction distress light and signaling device provides a reassuring blue light when all is OK. And in the event the wearer goes into the water, an intense white strobe light flashes while a loud alarm sounds. Unlike like many MOB systems, this Lunasea device is self-sufficient, not relying on cell connections or expensive external systems. It also waterproof, rechargeable, and small, making it a practical option.
DURABRITE has appeased customer demands for a light even smaller than its Mini, turning out the new NANO, which pumps 7,000 lumens out of an ultrathin, lightweight unit. Winner of a Reddot Design Award this year, this sleek light is just 1.9 inches thick and weighs 2.1 pounds. There is a dimming function as well as spot and floodlight capacity. Plus Durabrite moved away from standard hard wiring to a waterproof plug, so the light can be quickly and easily unplugged to avoid theft and unnecessary exposure to weather.
VERATRON
LUNASEA LIGHTING
DURABRITE
www.veratron.com
www.lunasealighting.com
www.durabritelights.com
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February 2021 \ National Fisherman 39
CLASSIFIEDS
BOATS FOR SALE 55’ GILLNETTER Cat 3406 with a twin Disc 514 4.5 to 1 ratio. Recently rebuilt motor and transmission. Not many hours since rebuild.
Price: $85,000 Contact: Brian 781-724-4960
43’ CHESAPEAKE BAY - 1973 Build (1973) wood- Port Haywood, VA. “Margaret-Mary” documented. “Fishery”. Draft 5” – Net tons 13-17 GRTPower – Detroit, V8-71 235 HP, F.W.C., 2 ½ to Trans: 2” 5/5 shaft – 4 blade brass, enclosed head. Tow-Bar 6’ 5.5. open stern aluminum Tower Hydraulic – steer Diesel fuel tanks-100 gal-each (200.) Windlass/Bow 12 knots – 8 GAL/ HR. Strong. Multi-use – Year 1991-2015, on hard restoration, fish plates. New “oak” keel – end – cutlass- skeg keel shoe. Rudder assembly rebuilt. R/E tow boat. Fishing Parties. Cruise. Mooring details. Recreational. Search and rescue. Needs Navigational electronics, Buzzards Bay, MA. Price: Priced to sell! Reasonable offers accepted! Contact: Earl 508-994-3575
70’ STEEL TRAWLER FREEZER 1987 70x22x8. 62” Kort Nozzle, 61 1/2X62 prop, 3408 Cat. with 6 to1 reduction gear, twin disc, 470 HP. 2 Isuzu 60 KW Gensets. 6000 gal fuel. 2500 gal water.Full Galley, 1 head, and 3 staterooms. Full Hydrolics. Loaded with Electronics! 2 radars,2 fish scopes, AIS, 2 GPS, 5 radios,AIS, 2 computers, hailer, camera system,Sat. TV,Phone,searchlight,SS anchor,spare parts and gear! Excellent condition. AND MUCH MORE! Please call for more details! Price: $425,000 Contact: Jimmy 252-671-9161
2005 NORTHERN BAY 650 Volvo D 12, ZF gear, Island berth galley down,Closed head, separate shower, two steering stations, Split Wheelhouse, stainless pot hauler, On demand hydraulic system, Interior is mahogany, 12 swivel rod holders, live well, 4 man life raft, EPIRB 3000 watt inverter
Price: $375,000 Negotiable! Contact: Call Shaun 617-694-7454
40 National Fisherman \ February 2021
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CLASSIFIEDS
To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
February 2021 \ National Fisherman 41
CLASSIFIEDS
1984 36’ TIFFANY YACHT ONE OFF CUSTOM BUILD 15’ beam, completely refurbished in 2007 from the keel up. New plumbing, wiring, engines, electronics. Re-fiberglassed hull, New teak coverboards and cockpit, Two air conditioners/heat pumps, Power assisted hynautic steering, Too many extras to list. Call for details. Price: Please call for price. Contact: Bob 804-450-4480
BOOKS
LAW
A Novel Based on the Eras of Commercial Fisherman on the West Coast
MARITIME INJURIES
"Opening Day" follows the life and times of Alex Skarsen through the eras of commercial fishing along the West Coast. When Alex got into the industry it was a different beast. Over the years it's changed, but the sea is still the place he goes for solace, affirmation, and a living. This novel captures the flavor of the fishing life and the deep changes in the values of the industry. • eBook - $2.99 (AZW, EPub, PDF) • Paperback - $17.95 • Paperback & eBook - $20.94
https://store.bookbaby.com/book/Opening-Day
HELP WANTED
LATTI & ANDERSON LLP
Over 50 years experience recovering multimillion dollar settlements and verdicts representing Fishermen, Merchant Seamen, Recreational Boaters, Passengers and their Families nationwide.
CALL 1-800-392-6072 to talk with Carolyn Latti or David Anderson
www.lattianderson.com
MATES/CHIEF ENGINEERS WANTED Tradition Mariner LLC is looking for qualified Mates and Chief Engineers to serve aboard their fleet of 1000 ton to 1400 ton capacity High Seas Tuna Vessels for extended voyages at sea. For more information, please visit our website:
www.traditionmariner.com **LOOKING FOR A USCG LICENSED CHIEF ENGINEER** For an uninspected fishing vessel, a Tuna Purse Seine operation with 4000HP and 1500 MT Cargo Capacity. Must hold a current USCG Engineer’s License, have a minimum 3 years experience with this type of operation. This Full Time position operating out of American Samoa and several other Western Pacific Ports and Requires experience and working knowledge of EMD and CAT engines, R717 Refrigeration / Freezing system, Hydraulic Systems, etc.Please submit Resume and license info to PPFisheries@gmail.com
42 National Fisherman \ February 2021
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CLASSIFIEDS
LAW
HELP WANTED
Ad At mir to al rn ty ey Over 35 years maritime law experience
Anthony M. Urie, PLLC AnthonyUrie@gmail.com
(206) 859-3400 (206) 542-4066 Shoreline, Washington
"Good Fishing Day" Anthony Urie 1981
Injury Cases: Bering Sea, North Pacific, Pacific Coast Licensed U.S. Coast Guard Captain for 40 years Anthony was raised in Alaska and has commercially fished for salmon since age of 10 and continues to fish salmon and crab Who's Who in Maritime Law 2005-Washington Law and Politics Anthony has represented commercial fishermen from San Francisco to Russia
Commercial Fisherman - Seaman’s Injuries Processor Injuries - Wage Claims - Vessel Sinkings - Insurance claims
CASE EXAMPLE:
24 Hr availability by phone for DUI - Se Habla Espanol
Seeking potential US Licensed Chief Engineers and Mates That have experience operating and maintaining large scale tuna purse seiners operating in the South Pacific. Carrying capacity of the vessel is 1600MT of Tuna and trip lengths vary from 30 to 60 days. Contract is on a trip by trip basis.
Please contact: schikami@westpacfish.com
Place a Help Wanted Ad! Call Wendy (207) 842-5616 wjalbert@divcom.com
Represented fishermen and processors affected by 2007 Casco Buscan oil spill in San Francisco, $10 Million Bond for fishermen
MARINE GEAR
Seeking Fishing Vessel Crew
Captains, Mates, Bosuns & Engineers Wanted for seasonal East Coast and possible Alaska trawl fisheries. Please send resume or message describing experience and qualifications to: info@globalseas.com
New England’s Most Complete Packaging Supplier
MARINE GEAR
www.skipsmarine.net COMPLETE FRONT POWER TAKE-OFF SYSTEMS Multiple Options for Every Engine Front SAE Bell Housings & Flywheels SAE Hydraulic Pump Mounts Live Power Take-Offs Multiple Clutch Options
East Coast Dealership Opportunities Available
800.777.0714
New Bedford, MA To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
◼
(508) 993-9446
To locate a dealer visit
www.merequipment.com February 2021 \ National Fisherman 43
CLASSIFIEDS
MARINE GEAR
N-Virodredge™ USA N-Viro scallop dredge… Anything else is a drag! • Cleaner catches • Less bottom impact (207) 726-4620 office (207) 214-3765 cell ◼
®
• Saves fuel • Protects junvenile stock 736 Leighton Pt. Rd., Pembroke, Me. 04666
●
www.n-virodredgeusa.com ◼ tim@gulfofme.com Protected under International patent application No. PCT/GB2009/002002
THE L ARGEST
COMMERCIAL FISHING SUPPLY IN USA.
432 Warren Ave Portland, ME 04103 Phone (207) 797-5188 Fax (207) 797-5953
Since 1982 we are a leading provider in quality commercial fishing supply in the United States. We warehouse a huge selection of ready to ship products
SHOP NOW AT WWW.LEEFISHERFISHING.COM For further questions, please call 800.356.5464 or email graymond@leefisherintl.com
COMMERCIAL GEAR Catalog Available
PARTS ● SALES ● SERVICE 90 Bay State Road Wakefield, MA 01880 Phone (781) 246-1810 Fax (781) 246-5321
You Tried The Rest Now Try The Best
Commercial Fishing Gloves Oysters, Clams, Lobster and Crab Regular and insulated Lining Sizes S-XL 12”-26” Long Washer Dryer Safe, Waterproof 100% Nitrile Synthetic Rubber Cut Resistant with Non-Slip Grip Cheaper By the Dozen, Dealers Wanted
708-478-6600 - www.ufgloves.com
Exsum Monofilament Siltlon & Marinmax Monofilament Dexter Russell Knives
1112 Main Street Sebastian, FL 32958 (772) 589-3087 Fax (772) 589-3106
www.snlcorp.com
Grundens ® Foul Weather Gear Mustad ® & Eagle Claw ® Hooks Chemilure Lightsticks
◼
Keel Coolers
Email: snlcorp@bellsouth.net
Inshore and Offshore Fishing Gear (800) 330-3087 AK, HI, PR, US VI (800)824-5635
Same Day Shipping!! 44 National Fisherman \ February 2021
Trouble free marine engine cooling since 1927!
THE WALTER MACHINE CO, INC Tel: 201-656-5654 • Fax: 201-656-0318 www.waltergear.com
www.nationalfisherman.com
CLASSIFIEDS
MARINE GEAR PARACHUTE SEA ANCHORS From PARA-TECH,the NUMBER 1 name in Sea Anchors Sea Anchor sizes for boats up to 150 tons Lay to in relative comfort and safety with your bow INTO the weather Save fuel, save thousands due to “broken trips”
PARA-TECH ENGINEERING CO.
1580 Chairbar Rd. • Silt, CO 81652 (800) 594-0011 • paratech@rof.net • www.seaanchor.com
FOR SALE 1997 Volvo TAMD72
MARINE GENERATORS Save Fuel Run Cooler Last Longer
430 HP 6,912 hrs Oil change every 100 hrs since 2003 Repowering no reverse gear Available @ Billings Diesel Stonington ME
$9,500
CALL Bo —617-834-3006
MARINE ENGINES & PARTS 9kW - 550kW Gensets
Manufactured by MER Equipment, Inc.
800.777.0714
To locate a dealer visit
www.merequipment.com
All Island Marine is an authorized dealer of all these brands. Everything you need for boating is located in our showroom. Stop by and see us.
Only rely on the
STRONGEST
Rope Eye
2,0 bre 00lbs + stre aking ng th
Made in USA
888.607.4790
www.mondopolymer.com
To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
(New) SpinClearView S-300 Commercial grade marine clear view 12V window. Used on yachts, fishing, police, military, commercial vessels. The SpinClearView S-300 keeps a glass disk free of rain, snow and sea water by a nearly silent and fast rotation of 1500 rpm. $1,795.00 view more on tinyurl.com/ycob7ruh Cell/Tx: 707-322-9720 or Contact: david@satinbiz.com
Ship Daily UPS/FedEx
480 Reina Rd, Oceanside, NY 11572 ⬧ 516-764-3300
www.allisland.com
DEPENDABLE 12 VOLT ELECTRIC TRAP HAULERS
ELECTRA-DYNE CO.
quick
POWERFUL
RUGGED QUIET and in stock
P.O. BOX 1344, PLYMOUTH, MA 02362 508-746-3270 Fax: 508-747-4017
W W W. E L E C T R A - D Y N E . C O M February 2021 \ National Fisherman 45
CLASSIFIEDS
MARINE GEAR
Manufacturers of Hydraulic Deck Equipment: Pot Launchers, Crab Blocks, Trawl Winches, Net Reels, Sorting Table, Anchor Winches Dockside Vessel Conversions and Repairs Machining, Hydraulics and Fabrications Suppliers of KYB Motors, Rotzler Winches, Pumps, Cylinders,
Hydrocontrol Valves, Hoses
Phone: 541-336-5593 - Fax: 541-336-5156 - 1-800-923-3625 508 Butler Bridge Road, Toledo, OR 97391
REDUCED!
Volvo Engine for Sale
CTAMD 63L—236 HP @2500 RPM- 1450 Bobtail Marries up to #3 bell house. 7000 plus hours.
$9500.00 (was $12,500) Divorcee—MUST GO!
CALL Doug —805-218-0626
Catch a Doormat this Season
MARINE GEAR BEST BRONZE PROPELLER Sick of pitted and pink props after one session? Ours hold the pitch longer and recondition more times than the brand name props you have been buying and reconditioning every year for the few years they last. Built to your specs not taken off theshelf and repitched or cutdown. (781) 837-5424 or email at twindiscgears@verizon.net
These lifelike, beautifully detailed coarse bristled mats will catch any-one’s eye on home/business doorstep, dock or cockpit. Ideal for fisherman, • Fluke (brown, black) small (30”) $19.95 Large (43”) $36.95 • Stripers (38” grey, black) $27.95
• Red snappers (43” red, black) $28.95
• Largemouth bass (43” green, black) $29.95 • Scallop (24” brown, black) $27.95
• Blue Claw Crab (blue, black) $36.95. Send check or MO to A. Mc-Donald, 629 Main St. Greenport, NY. 11944 - MC or Visa accepted - Add $5.95 S&H to all orders - $10.95 Gulf/West Coast, AK, HI Retailers welcome.
PLACE AN AD HERE! Call Wendy (207) 842-5616 wjalbert@divcom.com
46 National Fisherman \ February 2021
TWIN DISC MARINE TRANSMISSIONS, CATERPILLAR & CUMMINS ENGINES & PARTS. New and rebuilt, Biggest selection of used ENG & Gear parts in the world. Worldwide shipping. Best pricing. Call Steve at Marine Engine & Gear 781-837-5424 or email at twindiscgears@verizon.net
www.nationalfisherman.com
CLASSIFIEDS
NOTICE
Shooting seals and sea lions is against the law. Shooting a seal or sea lion may result in: • • • • •
Paying civil penalties > $29,000 Spending up to a year in jail Paying criminal fines Forfeiture of your vessel Harming your fishery’s good name
Report violations 1-800-853-1964
ADVERTISER INDEX
SERVICES Wanted To Buy. Offshore Live Lobsters. Top Dollar $$ Paid. Call Pier 7 (located on Gloucester waterfront)
John (617)268-7797
PERMITS Fresh Spot Prawns
Ocean run spot prawns caught in southeast Alaska.
PLACE YOUR ORDER TODAY FOR THIS FRESH DELICACY!!! 100 lb. minimum
907-401-0158
Bekina Boots ................................................................... 25 Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute ............................ CV3 Boatswain’s Locker Inc ..................................................... 3 Bostrom, H.O. Co Inc ...................................................... 11 Duramax Marine LLC ........................................................ 7 Fishtek Marine Ltd........................................................... 15 FPT Industrial ............................................................... CV2 Furuno USA .................................................................. CV4
Complete vessel documentation service to USCG regulations NMFS ◼ Permit Transfers
(207) 596-6575
342 Gurnet Road, Brunswick, ME 04011
coastaldocumentationii@gmail.com
Highmark Marine Fabrication ......................................... 10 Klassen Diesel Sales Ltd. .................................................. 6 La Conner Maritime Service ........................................... 26 Marine Hydraulic Engineering Co Inc ............................... 6 Marine Medical Systems ................................................. 37 National Fisherman ......................................................... 23 Pacific Power Group ....................................................... 27 PYI Inc .............................................................................. 26 R W Fernstrum & Company ............................................ 15 Walker Engineering Enterprises...................................... 31
To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
How to place a Classified ad? You can place a classified advertisement in National Fisherman by Email or Phone. www.nationalfisherman.com wjalbert@divcom.com
February 2021 \ National Fisherman 47
Last ON DECK
set
YAQUINA BAY, NEWPORT, ORE. On Dec. 10, the Dungeness fleet in Newportâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Yaquina Bay waited stacked and ready for drop day and the scheduled crab opener. Photo by Yale Fogarty @FinerImagePhotography
48 National Fisherman \ February 2021
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We Work Hard So The World Demands Alaska Seafood. Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute breaks through the barriers of distance. With marketing programs established across the U.S. and in over 40 countries worldwide, ASMIâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s international and domestic marketing efforts build demand across the globe. This is just one example of how Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute puts all hands on deck to tell the story of wild, sustainable Alaska seafood so you and your family can focus on fishing today and for generations to come.
alaskaseafood.org Stay updated via our fleet-focused page!
@ASMINewsAndUpdates
MAXIMIZE YOUR TIME AT SEA TARGET YOUR CATCH WITH FURUNO
When your living depends on your catch, every trip counts, so you need to make the most of your time at sea. Furuno's acoustic sensing technology finds fish faster by seeing farther and wider, as well as measuring fish size and school density in multiple locations simultaneously. Even in deep water, Furuno sensors maximize your time and effort. We make it simple, so youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll always know the situation at a glance, and be ready to hit that quota by targeting your catch.
SearchLight SONAR
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www.furunousa.com