Digital Logbooks / Bristol Bay Either Way / Life-Saving Science April / 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
Yearbook Resilience and Resolve Making it work in the time of covid
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In this issue
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MRT
National Fisherman / April 2021 / Vol. 101, No. 12
Tiny lifesavers
28
Cover Story YEARBOOK
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A grueling 12 months showed the fishing industry’s grit and determination, as fishermen and fleets regrouped — confronting collapsed prices, searching out new customers, and feeding the U.S. population during the pandemic emergency.
Back and forth in Bristol Bay Maritime Fabrication’s new through-picker is built on 25 years of fishing experience.
Features / Boats & Gear
On Deck 05
A Letter from NMFS
Deckhand
Tracking the pandemic’s impact on the industry — and the recovery.
38
Electronic Logbooks Digital logbooks help to ease the captain’s workload.
42
Around the Yards Stretching a lobster boat two ways; Chesapeake master builder passes; a new bottom for Northwest seiner.
46
Product Roundup Slinky pots save blackcod; new side power thrusters from Imtra; a global GMDSS service.
06
Northern Lights It’s time to recognize and empower women working in the global seafood industry.
02
Editor’s Log
04
Fishing Back When
05
Mail Buoy
08
Around the Coasts
27
Permit News
56
Last Set / Rockland, Maine
Reader Services 48
Classifieds
55
Advertiser Index
National Fisherman (ISSN 0027-9250), April 2021, Vol. 101, No. 12, 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.
Alex Oczkewicz
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ON DECK
Editor’s Log
Survive and thrive Jessica Hathaway Editor in Chief jhathaway@divcom.com
hat happens when the fog closes in? In the last year, we all found out together. Traditionally, April is our yearbook issue. And historically, we feature top stories from around the country — highlighting the biggest news story of the year from each region. It’s sometimes good news and sometimes not. But there’s always value in focusing on the biggest opportunities and hurdles facing fleets across the country in one collection. This year, as I’m sure anyone might imagine, the top story is the same. And while the pandemic is the tie that binds, the thrust of the year’s biggest story is what the fishing and seafood industries accomplished in
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order to survive, thrive and then give back to communities across the country. Our top story, starting on page 28, is not just about the loss of markets and the burdens of operating safely to minimize spread of an infectious disease onboard — all while amping up customer interactions through direct and dockside sales. It’s about the unparalleled leadership of this industry, exemplified by finding ways to channel our domestic harvest to people who not only wanted fish but to those who needed it. There’s an unspoken promise that fishermen willingly risk their lives to sustain us. And their families openly send their loved ones out to sea to fulfill that promise.
On the cover The Dungeness fleet in Newport’s Yaquina Bay waited stacked and ready for dump day and the scheduled crab opener. Yale Fogarty photo
This season has been particularly disastrous for the West Coast Dungeness crab fleet — not that it’s ever been easy. The weather is atrocious, the prices are all over the map, there is always an agency or organization coming down hard on the fleet for one or 10 regulatory actions. And there’s a reason crossing the bar is an ominous phrase synonymous with death. It should come as no surprise that the people who are best at finding their way out of a fog are the people who know how to navigate in the worst conditions. A year ago now, no one could quite tell where we were, where we needed to go, or how to get there. But fishermen, as always, found a way to stay in it. The world, still shrouded in a covid fog, is starting to see some breaks of light. I hope what more people will see when the clouds lift are the successes this industry has earned by emphasizing the value of our communities. Because even a fisherman who goes to sea alone would be lost without a port to call home.
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
2 National Fisherman \ April 2021
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Fishing Back When April By Jessica Hathaway
1971— The Bill Angus is the first of five 78-foot aluminum shrimp trawlers to launch from Florida’s Lantana Boatyard. Built with 32.5 tons of aluminum and designed to carry 600 boxes of shrimp, the newbuild is powered by a 365-hp Caterpillar diesel.
1 9 7 1 On the cover: New Bedford draggers remained at their frigid moorings for more than two weeks of a fishermen’s strike. Little had been resolved when the harbor was broken out and the vessels went fishing again.
1 9 9 1
2 0 1 1 On the cover: Plane spotting for herring in Alaska’s Kamishak Bay.
Sears Island in Maine’s Penobscot Bay is targeted as a proposed site for an oil refinery. The 200,000-barrel-a-day refinery would produce 73 million barrels a year, most of which would be barged south to East Coast cities.
Groundfishermen from Point Judith, R.I., to Portland, Maine, are reeling from news of a plan that will cut fishing effort in half. Stocks need rebuilding, but “so much so fast?” they ask. Dave Borden, chairman of the New England council’s groundfish committee, says NMFS directed them to “incorporate a five-year rebuilding schedule for cod” into Amendment 5 or it won’t be accepted.
NF’s analysis of commercial fishing vessels shows an increase of 5 percent from 1965 to 1970, for a total of 17,082, of which 15,405 are wooden boats.
It seems inevitable that Alaska halibut, blackcod and longline P-cod fishermen will follow the Mid-Atlantic surf clam fishery into privatized quota shares.
4 National Fisherman \ April 2021
On the cover: Engineer Joe Dias unloads redfish from the F/V Drake at the Whaling City Seafood Display Auction in New Bedford, Mass. The Coast Guard releases its final report on the March 23, 2008, Alaska Ranger sinking. The 189-foot trawler left Dutch Harbor with a crew of 47. The Coast Guard rescued 42 crew. Four were found dead in a life raft, and one was presumed dead. The report points to a failure in the struts supporting a Kort nozzle. California finalizes a 187-square-mile marine protected area network, of which 116 square miles are no-fishing zones around the Channel Islands.
www.nationalfisherman.com
ON DECK
Mail Buoy
The pitfalls of 30x30 [The following is excerpted from an open letter to Congress from U.S. marine scientists who have been involved in providing advice to federal or state governments on management of marine biodiversity. See the full list of signatures at NationalFisherman.com.] s scientists engaged in the provision of information to support federally managed fisheries, we are concerned that Title II of the proposed Ocean-Based Climate Solutions Act (H.R. 8632), which would require the establishment of marine protected areas that ban all commercial fishing activity in 30 percent of U.S. ocean waters by 2030, is not based on the best scientific information available and would not be the most effective way to protect marine biodiversity. Conservation of marine ecosystems in U.S. waters is challenged by a rapidly changing climate, but the proposed protected areas will not solve climate-related impacts on biodiversity. Instead, they will decrease flexibility of the fishery management system to adapt to climate change. The most significant impact of marine protected areas is a spatial shift in fishing, which is effectively a fisheries management action. Marine biodiversity is protected by the mandates of the
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Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and other legislation. The implementation of those requirements with respect to fisheries impacts is through the regional fishery management council system to protect target species, bycatch species, protected species, ecosystem components, essential fish habitat and other sensitive habitats. Although several U.S. fish stocks have been overfished, the fisheries are highly regulated to avoid overfishing and rebuild stocks with a precautionary approach. A large portion of U.S. waters are closed to fishing, either seasonally or year-round. A prevalent impact of climate change in the U.S. has been shifting spatial distributions, generally northerly and to deeper habitats. Many fisheries are flexible enough to adapt to such shifts, but the proposed extension of permanent marine protected areas would prohibit many adaptive responses to climate change.
A Letter from NMFS
Market effects By Paul Doremus
n keeping with our mission to secure and enhance the resilience of the U.S. seafood and fishing industries, the agency conducted an economic assessment to identify immediate impacts of the covid-19 pandemic on the U.S. seafood industry. Our report, NOAA Fisheries’ Updated Impact Assessment of the COVID-19 Crisis on the U.S. Commercial Seafood and Recreational For-Hire/Charter Industries January-July 2020, provides an initial snapshot of covid-19 effects on the U.S. seafood and fishing markets, including region-specific snapshots.
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To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
Based on our experiences and case studies, marine protected areas that are not based on the best scientific information available, such as the uninformed target of restricting commercial fishing in 30 percent of U.S. waters, will have unanticipated consequences, such as increased bycatch and habitat destruction by shifting the location of fishing effort. Title II of the act is predicated on a view that marine biodiversity in the U.S. EEZ is decreasing but provides no evidence that this is true. It is well established that targeted U.S. fish stocks are rebuilding and on average above-target levels. A high proportion of benthic habitat and benthic ecosystems are already protected throughout the U.S. EEZ, and the non-target species of conservation concern are governed by other legislation, including the Endangered Species Act. Title II provides no evidence that biodiversity will be increased by more MPAs and provides no metrics for how the impact of additional MPAs would be evaluated.
What’s on your mind? Send letters to jhathaway@ divcom.com. Submissions may be edited for length, clarity and style.
We found that U.S. fisheries reliant on exporting to China and other Asian markets were immediately impacted by covid-19 as demand collapsed in those key markets. Rolling closures of restaurants domestically and other social distancing measures beginning in March have impacted fresh, high-end markets. We will continue to collect economic impact data on a regular basis, publish that information as it becomes available, and use this information to assess the immediate and long-term needs to secure and enhance the resilience of the U.S. seafood and fisheries industries. We acknowledge that the future remains uncertain, but know that NOAA Fisheries is working to support you and the American seafood industry. Paul Doremus is the acting administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service.
April 2021 \ National Fisherman 5
ON DECK
Northern Lights VIEWS FROM ALASKA
Women of seafood By Julie Kuchepatov
ifty percent of people involved in global seafood production are women. But you may not know it because few women occupy leadership positions in the sector and seldom participate in critical discussions and decision-making about fisheries resources. Seafood and Gender Equality was founded in 2020 to address a critical need for gender equality in the seafood sector, build women’s empowerment, and encourage the industry to evolve into a more diverse, inclusive and equitable career choice. The U.S. Agency for International Development says gender equality means the behavior, aspirations, and needs of women and men are considered, valued and favored equally. Women play a significant role in U.S. fisheries and can be found fishing from Alaska to the Gulf of Maine, and they are particularly concentrated in pre- and post-harvest activities. While there is much to celebrate, the information on how many women make a career in this industry and how they
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participate is spotty, difficult to find, and not updated regularly. But we know that men continue to dominate. “Knowing how women participate directly in fishing and within fishing families and communities is critical to predicting and understanding responses to fishery changes — from individuals, to families, all the way up to communities,” said Marysia Szymkowiak, lead author of a recent NOAA study on women’s participation in global fisheries. Lack of gender-disaggregated data and information around women’s participation in this industry is a big issue. Without it, we cannot develop equitable solutions to address the many challenges that face the industry. In an announcement made in March 2020, the International Organization for Women in the Seafood Industry characterized women’s contributions to fisheries as Ignored, Invisible, and Unrecognized, a play on the abbreviation for Illegal, Unregulated, and Unreported fishing — IUU. The organization highlights that the critical contributions of women in the seafood sector are invisible and ignored, which, at best, leads to policies and practices that ignore the needs of women in the industry and, at worst, are harmful to women.The organization makes a call for all fisheries’ stakeholders at all levels to put as much effort and money toward fighting IIU as they have spent on IUU, and ensure that women are accounted for
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“While there is much to celebrate, the information on how many women make a career in this industry and how they participate is spotty, difficult to find, and not updated regularly.” and their knowledge and contributions to the sector are valued. In addition to the need to collect robust information to understand men’s and women’s roles in fisheries and the contributions women make to the sector, fishermen themselves often collect data about the fish they catch. Understanding where and how women participate in fisheries and supply chains and engaging them as data collectors could lead to increased information in understudied areas and strengthen future policy responses. There will be a sea change in the exposure and evaluation of women’s participation in and contributions to fisheries in the very near future. The Food and Agriculture Organization, along with Duke University and WorldFish, is currently conducting an extensive study, including 58 country and territory case studies, called “Illuminating Hidden Harvests.” The authors aim to understand the contribution of small-scale fisheries to sustainable development. The data and knowledge generated by the study, to be released in 2021, is expected to “contribute to more effective decision-making by policymakers and empower small-scale fishing actors and their communities and stakeholders to call for greater support and investment by their governments and partners.” The most exciting feature of this study is that experts from around the world were enlisted to help frame this research using gender as a cross-cutting theme. They will uncover, on a global scale, how women fish, where they fish, the gender breakdown of participants in small-scale fisheries and post-harvest activities, how women benefit from fisheries, and the To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
challenges and opportunities for genderinclusive fisheries governance. Seafood and Gender Equality is committed to contributing to the success of the seafood industry, and we support all efforts to understand and address the needs of all people in the industry. To bounce back better, we must carve out a space to encourage diverse and underrepresented voices to participate in the development of equitable solutions, based on the best
data we can gather. We must collectively and collaboratively move toward a future where enthusiastic and qualified leaders of all genders are valued, recognized and ready to lead the seafood industry into a bright future. Julie Kuchepatov is the founding director of SAGE. She works to improve sustainability and social responsibility in seafood production.
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AROUND THE COASTS
AROUND THE COASTS NEWS FOR THE NATION’S FISHERMEN
now, and we’re 12 hours in,” Tatom said. The Aleutian Falcon is one of two specialized processing vessels, according to Trident, and can carry a crew of 120. They typically “follow the herring seasons northward from Southeast Alaska to Bristol Bay in the springtime and early summer, returning southward to support various Alaska salmon seasons from late June through August.” — Jessica Hathaway and Brian Hagenbuch
California legislation calls for ropeless gear Tacoma Fire Department
Fishermen hopeful to block measure
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The processor vessel Aleutian Falcon burned for days at the dock in Tacoma, Wash., after the fire was contained.
Alaska / Pacific “Probably the bigger concern was the tons of ammonia in the stern. Our first couple hours were just trying to keep the fire away from that ammonia.” — Jeff Tatom, West Pierce Fire Department
Processing vessel a total loss in Tacoma dock fire Firefighters battled to save Trident’s Aleutian Falcon in port for maintenance
T processor Aleutian Falcon was a
rident Seafoods’ 233-foot floating
total loss after burning for days at the dock in the Port of Tacoma, Wash. The fi re broke out Feb. 17. “We are grateful to the Tacoma Fire Department for their swift response and watch on scene, and that no one was injured,” said Trident CEO Joe Bundrant. “We will conduct a full investigation of cause.” In addition to the danger of a fuel spill, responders had to deal with nearly 10,000 pounds of ammonia onboard, used for chilling and freezing fish. “Probably the bigger concern was the tons of ammonia in the stern. Our
8 National Fisherman \ April 2021
fi rst couple hours were just trying to keep the fi re away from that ammonia,” said Jeff Tatom, a captain and marine pilot at nearby West Pierce Fire Department, who was in charge of one of three fi reboats that hosed several thousand gallons of water a minute onto the blazing ship overnight. “The fi re was down low, probably engine room, so we couldn’t get to the seat of the fi re. We swept out some fi re, but it was really just a game of cooling the hull to keep it from cracking and letting the contents of the boat burn up,” he said. “That boat will never be rebuilt, as far as I’m concerned. It’s still burning
bill to require the use of ropeless pop-up gear in Dungeness crab and other trap fisheries by November 2025 was introduced into the California State Assembly Feb. 11. Dubbed the Whale Entanglement Prevention Act, fishermen say the passage of such a law would be a death knell for the iconic and recently embattled Dungeness crab fishery. But at this point, there isn’t much fear among the fleet, as the bill could be dead in the water. “I think we’re going to kill it,” said Ben Platt, a Crescent Citybased fisherman and president of the California Coast Crab Association. “It’s not going to make it out of committee.” Assemblymember Rob Bonta (D-Oakland) introduced the bill, AB-534, with two environmental organizations as cosponsors, Social Compassion in Legislation and the Center for Biological Diversity. The latter group fi led a federal suit against the state of California in October 2017, arguing an increase in whale entanglements in the Dungeness crab fishery violated the Endangered Species Act. Ropeless gear has long been seen as a solution to entanglement issues in pot fisheries by environmental groups and regulators, but fishermen have found the technology to be unreliable, www.nationalfisherman.com
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time-intensive and expensive, Platt said. Pop-up gear, which deploy buoy lines with an acoustic release trigger, cost $1,000 to $2,500 per pot, as opposed to around $200 a pot for traditional gear. Retooling to the new gear by 2025 could cost a single fisherman more than $1 million. Platt also argues the ropeless gear have been shown to fail up to 20 percent of the time, leaving expensive litter on the ocean floor. — Nick Rahaim
Marine investigation board convened on Scandies Rose sinking, five deaths Coast Guard and NTSB inquiry questions roster of witnesses
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he Coast Guard convened a two-week public hearing by a Marine Board of Investigation — its highest level of official inquiry — into the Dec. 31, 2019, sinking of the fishing vessel Scandies Rose with the loss of five of its seven crew members. Conducted over a livestream web broadcast from the Civic Arts Center in Edmonds, Wash., the proceedings opened Feb. 22 and were scheduled through March 5. The joint investigation by the Coast Guard and National Transportation Safety Board will produce written reports in the coming months. It is the second board of investigation within three years for an Alaska sinking, following the 2017 loss of the Destination, another boat that was likewise outbound for a Bering Sea crabbing trip. It sank suddenly on Feb. 11, 2017, with the loss of all six crew members. The 130-foot Scandies Rose was steaming out on New Year’s Eve when it went down. John Lawler and Dean Gribble Jr. were rescued by the Coast Guard. Lost at sea were the boat’s longtime captain, Gary Cobban Jr., 60; his son, David Cobban, 30; Seth Rosseau-Gano, 31; Arthur Ganacias, 50; and Brock Rainey, 47. In fall 2019 the survivors and the families of those lost reached an agreement with the Scandies Rose owners to settle for $9 million, rather than seek damages in a civil trial. — Jessica Hathaway and Kirk Moore
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The lost crew members of the Scandies Rose. Clockwise from top left: captain Gary Cobban Jr., David Cobban, Seth Rousseau-Gano, Arthur Ganacias, Brock Rainey. To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
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April 2021 \ National Fisherman 9
AROUND THE COASTS
Nation / World “So it has been about 20 years now for our fleet not being able to fly our crew in. This issue has been around for a while and we need to resolve it.” — Eric Kingma, Hawaii Longline Association
Pacific longline fleet seeks temporary crew visas
Hawaii Longline Association/Jerry Saludez
Hawaii Longline Association says it’s time for easing post-9/11 travel restrictions
Hawaii longline vessel crew reviewing crew rights and grievance procedures in Honolulu Harbor.
Amake it easier for foreign fishermen fter two decades, it’s far past time to
who work in the Hawaii longline fleet with temporary work visas, industry advocates say. The lockdown after the September 2001 terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., still reverberates in the U.S. Pacific pelagic fishery, with complicated entry rules and procedures for crew from Indonesia and the Philippines, who make up the bulk of the fleet’s workforce. “Prior to 9/11 our crewmen were allowed to fly into” Honolulu to board the fleet of some 140 longline vessels,
said Eric Kingma, executive director of the Hawaii Longline Association. “So it has been about 20 years now for our fleet not being able to fly our crew in,” he said. “This issue has been around for a while, and we need to resolve it.” Now is a good time to reconsider those longstanding travel restrictions on foreign fishermen, Kingma says. Hawaii is the nation’s foremost producer of fresh iced tuna. And its workforce is as critical as seasonal farm workers on the U.S. mainland, he said. “You need access to labor, to people willing to do a tough job,” he said. “These workers are integral to the food
production system in the U.S.” Foreign crew members began entering the fishery in the 1990s, enabled by regulatory changes a few years before. Typically employed for twoyear contracts, most workers come from Indonesia and the Philippines, attracted by opportunity to earn around five times what they can fishing at home, said Kingma. Workers could travel directly to and from Honolulu before 9/11. Since then, travel has been much more complicated. “We have to go pick them up in a foreign port,” usually in Canada or Mexico, to transit back to Hawaii for processing and permit approval by U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said Kingma. When in port, crews stay around the Pier 38 Fishing Village, under oversight of Customs and Border Protection. In 2016, allegations were raised of poor working conditions, confinement of crewmen and human trafficking. CBP and other authorities found no evidence to bear out those complaints, and the Hawaii Longline Association conducted its own assessment of conditions. That led to an industry task force and adoption of internal reforms. Operators developed and implemented a universal crew contract and handbook translated to workers’ languages, that included a guide to crew grievance and points of contact to call with complaints. “I think it’s a lack of understanding of the situation locally. The lack of work visas complicates it, and people don’t understand the on-the-water reality… It’s difficult for people to understand fishing.” — Kirk Moore
Coast Guard mandates full-time masking Rule applied across maritime sectors
T a CDC guideline intended to prohe U.S. Coast Guard has interpreted
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tect the public as well as transportation workers to include commercial fishing vessels. The language of the Marine www.nationalfisherman.com
AROUND THE COASTS
Boat of the Month Surrender
Naknek, Alaska / Bristol Bay salmon
Megan Corazza
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hen Mark Niver wanted to build his ultimate Bristol Bay fishing boat, he relied on
experiences on other vessels that he’d into the gillnet fishery in 1980.
Safety Bulletin issued on Feb. 1 requires the wearing of masks at all times in U.S. waters on all commercial vessels. “Conveyance operators must use best efforts to ensure that any person on the conveyance wears a mask when boarding, disembarking, and for the duration of travel.” In mid-February Coast Guard officials advised NF that fishing vessels are included under the rule “at this time.” The guideline was created to support President Biden’s executive order 13998, which was clearly written to enforce masks on public and commercial modes of transportation. However, commercial fishing boats are not like other commercial vessels and often straddle the line between private and public. News of the guideline raised high concern among fishermen. Many commercial fishing crews have gone out of their way to quarantine together or to work as a pod to reduce risk of infection or transmission of covid-19. Requiring masks when interacting with the public, crews of other vessels (including tenders), or in port is not the same as requiring them onboard at all times, along with the fact that wearing a mask in harsh weather conditions is impractical at best. While enforcing the rule would certainly be difficult, it clearly opens the door for being boarded and fined. Commercial fishermen who would like to offer feedback on this rule may submit comments and queries via email at wearamask@ uscg.mil. — Jessica Hathaway
when he had Kvichak Marine Industries
To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
Mark and Grant Niver
either owned or leased since diving Crew of the Silver Spray sorting silver salmon in Prince William Sound.
But he also reached into the future build the Surrender in 1996. “Back
then,
people
were
just
starting to put refrigeration in their
it turns out the 460-horse version netted
boats,” says Niver. But there was the
huge savings in fuel costs per season.
question of cost. At one point Niver
Niver estimates he burns 1,300 gallons of
decided to have the refrigeration
diesel fuel with his 6125.
system plumbed into the boat but
“There’s
only
4
knots
difference
without the compressor pump and
in speed,” says Niver. “But the fuel
other ingredients so he could retrofit it
consumption is almost double with the
in the future.
700-horse.”
Also in the equation was his choice
In the years since, the boat and its
of power. One option would have called
refinements
for the installation of a 700-hp Lugger,
exhaust a few years ago) have served him
while the smaller 6125, which put out
well.
460 hp came at a much lowered cost.
(he
retrofitted
with
wet
He says the wet exhaust subtracted
“I decided at the last minute to go
weight from the boat with the removal of
with the smaller engine and put in the
the dry stack, and the engine room stays
refrigeration system,” says Niver. As
20 degrees cooler. Also he notes an added efficiency to the refrigeration system since the stack no longer lives forward of the fish holds. That and absence of engine noise on the flying bridge make the seasons slip by with an added comfort and allow him to concentrate on his fishing. “I’ve been doing this so long I can do it with my eyes closed,” he says. — Charlie Ess
Boat Specifications HOME PORT: Naknek, Alaska OWNER: Mark Niver BUILDER: Kvichak Marine YEAR BUILT: 1996 FISHERIES: Bristol Bay salmon HULL CONSTRUCTION: Aluminum LENGTH: 32' BEAM: 13.6' DRAFT: 38" CREW CAPACITY: 4 TONNAGE: 28 gross/20 net FISH HOLD CAPACITY: 18,000 pounds in 8 refrigerated holds MAIN PROPULSION: Lugger 6125, 460 hp GEARBOX: Twin Disc 1.98:1 PROPELLER: 4 blade, 28" x 24" pitch, stainless steel SHAFT: Stainless steel 2-1/4" SPEED: 18 knots FUEL CONSUMPTION: 6 gph FUEL CAPACITY: 400 gallons FRESHWATER CAPACITY: 60 gallons ELECTRONICS: Motorola VHF, Garmin 1040xs plotter with radar, Coastal Navigation Depth Sounder, ComNav autopilot OTHER EQUIPMENT: Wet exhaust and IMS refrigeration
April 2021 \ National Fisherman 11
AROUND THE COASTS
Gulf / South Atlantic “You can’t just rely on your electronics here.” — Michael Boone, Darien, Ga., shrimp captain
Treacherous Georgia inlet claims another shrimper
Jay Fleming
The coast around Altahama River marked by extreme tides and shifting shoals
The shrimp trawler Jimmy and Charlie Jr. ran aground at the mouth of the Altamaha River in Georgia on Nov. 4, 2021.
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has been running shrimp boats since he was a teen. According to Boone, the depth can drop from three to 20 feet within a few yards. A Brunswick, Ga., seafood wholesaler said 15,000 pounds of frozen shrimp onboard the Jimmy and Charlie Jr. rotted within a few days after the wreck. To make matters worse, a 10-foot northeast swell pushed the vessel even further onto the shoal to a spot that is completely dry at low tide. The Coast Guard contracted Moran Environmental LLC to remove approximately 15,000 gallons of diesel fuel from the fuel tanks by helicopter on Nov. 18. The location of the wreck made salvage efforts incredibly difficult, and the Jimmy and Charlie Jr. sank further into the sand. As of late January 2021, the boat had sunk to a point where a high tide completely inundated the starboard gunwale. Despite efforts to get the 18 yearold boat off the shoal, the mouth of the Altamaha River was claiming its second shrimp trawler in five years. Hong and Men Shrimp Co. did not respond to a request for comment. — Jay Fleming
FWCC
AROUND THE COASTS
Right whale Infinity and calf were first sighted off Amelia Island, Fla.
grounded a few miles away had collided with the animal a day before it was found. NOAA officials reported the dead calf was believed to be the offspring of a 19-year-old female whale, catalogued as Infi nity (#3230) by scientists who track the endangered species, now believed to number less than 400 animals. Three days later the mother whale was spotted 50 miles north of St. Augustine with “two new cuts on her left
side suggestive of a vessel strike,” the agency reported. It was the second loss of the 2020-21 calving season, following the November discovery of another recently born right whale calf on a North Carolina beach. NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement is investigating both incidents. The incident has exacerbated some fishermen’s frustration with a push for new conservation measures for the Northeast lobster fishery to reduce risk of gear entanglements with whales without evidence of deadly interactions with U.S. gear. As for reducing ship strikes, a NOAA analysis released Jan. 21 asserts much more must be done to reduce that hazard. The report notes that speed restricted areas announced to protect migrating whales are more often disregarded near approaches to Southeast ports — close to the right whales’ annual calving grounds. — Kirk Moore
Boat strike kills second right whale calf this year NOAA examines Florida, N.C. incidents
A right whale calves born in recent
nother one of 14 North Atlantic
months was found dead Feb. 13 on a beach near St. Augustine, Fla., the apparent victim of a vessel strike, according to state and federal officials. The 22-foot, 4,000-pound animal had skull and rib fractures consistent with being hit by a vessel, a marine biologist told local news media after examining the carcass at Anastasia State Park. One possibility under investigation was whether a recreational boat that To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
Kenai, Alaska Tora Raitto did it all by herself after being shown how to pick a salmon out of the net at Cook Inlet’s Salamatof Beach by her cousin, Kasiana Anderson. She's one happy salmon picker!
This is your life. Submit your Crew Shot www.nationalfisherman.com/submit-your-crew-shots April 2021 \ National Fisherman 13
AROUND THE COASTS
Atlantic “There’s a lot more work to be done here. I don’t think people dislike fishermen. If you like to eat seafood, you might want to spend a little more time on this.” — Julie Evans, East Hampton, N.Y., Fisheries Advisory Committee
BOEM looks at changes to South Fork wind plan
BOEM
Environmental assessment considers vessel lane, critical ocean bottom habitat
BOEM is reviewing a draft environmental impact statement on plans by offshore wind developers Ørsted and Eversource to build up to 15 turbines for the South Fork Wind Farm.
A
draft environmental impact statement for the South Fork Wind Farm project off southern New England includes alternatives for a fishing vessel traffic lane and protecting ocean bottom habitat for fisheries. Both could potentially displace preferred locations for up to 15 wind turbines of 6- to 12-megawatt capacity planned by project partners Ørsted and Eversource. The federal Bureau of Offshore Energy Management is considering the companies’ construction and operations plan for the project 19 miles southeast of Block Island, R.I., and 35 miles east of Montauk, N.Y. The last of three virtual public hearings online Feb. 16 attracted project supporters from New York State labor, industry and environmental groups, and skeptics of its potential effects on the region’s fisheries, which the impact statement broadly summarizes as “negligible to moderate.” Supporters portray it as a 14 National Fisherman \ April 2021
boost to New York’s technology and construction industries and energy for eastern Long Island. “It’s not in their backyard, it’s off Rhode Island, not New York,” said Meghan Lapp, fisheries liaison for squid processor Seafreeze Ltd. in North Kingston, R.I. Squid fishing in the area planned for the South Fork project “will be impossible if it goes off as planned,” she said. BOEM needs to develop a cumulative impact study for South Fork, as it did for the much larger Vineyard Wind plan, said Lapp. The extent of the project’s proposed transmission cables with sections protected by rock emplacements would be another hazard for fishing, she said, as squid vessels “can’t fish on top of cable armoring because it will destroy their gear.” The BOEM draft environmental impact statement includes two alternative design frameworks. One, incorporating a vessel traffic lane
proposed in January 2020 by the fishing advocacy group Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, could eliminate one row of turbine sites on the south side of the lease. The second, dubbed the “Fisheries Habitat Impact Minimization alternative,” would have BOEM require the developers to change some turbine and cable locations, moving them away from bottom types that are important habitat for fish. The only easing of the plan’s impact to commercial fishing could be using the alternative for a vessel transit lane, said Bonnie Brady, executive director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association. The environmental impact document is “at the same time both rushed and outdated,” said Brady. It has no reference to a Department of Interior legal memorandum — issued in the waning weeks of the Trump administration — that stressed the government’s obligation to consider effects on fishermen, she said. Already occasional confl icts between fishermen and project survey vessels are an issue around Montauk. There is no clear process for fishermen to make claims for gear loss, and BOEM’s plan needs to consider both compensation and mitigation, said Julie Evans of the East Hampton Town Fisheries Advisory Committee. “There’s a lot more work to be done here,” said Evans. “I don’t think people dislike fishermen. If you like to eat seafood, you might want to spend a little more time on this.” — Kirk Moore
NMFS moves toward right whale protections Agency aims for lobster gear rules in May
U NMFS
nder a federal court directive, moved toward finalizing new Northeast lobster gear rules and area restrictions to meet a May 31 deadline. Online public hearings during the www.nationalfisherman.com
AROUND THE COASTS
last two weeks of February focused on New England areas from Massachusetts to Maine. The new steps aim to reduce the number of vertical lines in the lobster and Jonah crab fisheries by requiring fishermen to fit more of their traps between buoy lines. Fishermen will need to add new weak insertions or weak rope into buoy lines, so that whales have a better chance to break free in the event of an entanglement. Existing seasonal restricted areas would be closed to buoy lines at times when whales are migrating. The plan would allow some exemptions for using so-called ropeless or pop-up gear. NMFS hopes that will be an incentive for the industry, gear designers and partners like conservation groups to speed up research and development of reliable ropeless gear. A new system of state-specific marking colors would be introduced — purple for Maine, yellow for New Hampshire, red for Massachusetts and silver/gray for Rhode Island. The specified number and locations markings on lines would be increased. Longer range, a draft biological opinion by NMFS proposes to reduce risk in the lobster fishery by 98 percent over 10 years. But the Maine Lobstermen’s Association warns “there is no business model to sustain Maine’s diverse lobster fleet under a 98 percent risk reduction” — while the last confirmed, non-fatal cases of right whale entanglement in Maine lobster gear occurred in 2002 and 2004. The Maine industry voluntarily removed 27,000 miles of floating groundline in 2009 and 2,540 miles of vertical lines in 2014 to reduce entanglement risk, according to the association. While ropeless gear may be useful “where predictable aggregations of whales and fishing overlap,” many technical, safety and economic hurdles remain before it can be adopted. — Kirk Moore To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
Snapshot Who we are Thomas Werner / Portland, Maine errill’s
M
Wharf
in
Portland,
Maine, sits between Union
Lobster Co. in 2019, and the restaurant is now going into its third season.
Portland
“We didn’t plan on getting into
Fish Pier, home of the Portland Fish
the restaurant industry, but it was an
Exchange.
wharf
opportunity that came up,” he says. The
extends beyond a large building that is
previous owners did not want to sell the
Wharf
and
the
Unassuming,
the
property to a major developer who
home to the King’s Head Pub and
could turn the property into
Pierce Atwood, a law office.
condos. “Nobody wants
There are just a handful
that,”
of boats that tie up to
Werner
says,
the floats alongside
“and they (the previous
the
owners) were willing to
parking
lot some
work with us. So we
spaces reserved for
figured we would give
that
has
it a go.”
fishermen, but many
Like many restaurants
more spots reserved for
in 2020, the season was
lawyers.
challenging. Werner notes that
There are a few lobster traps, nets and buoys alongside the boats, but
sales were down. However, they were
aside from that, the wharf is less working
fortunate because their restaurant is
waterfront than some of the other
seasonal and relies on outdoor seating
wharves lining Commercial Street, and
regardless of a pandemic.
more illustrative of the city’s mixed-use
“We lost a few tables, but we were
ordinance, an effort to balance the needs
able to salvage the season,” Werner
of the fishermen and development.
says. “It wasn’t pretty, but we made it
A black 45-foot Novi boat, F/V
work.”
Patience, sits resplendently in line with
Like many other lobstermen, he has
the other boats. Named Patience for
and will continue to consider diversifying
the tolerance needed to captain a boat
into other fisheries. But no fishery is
that tops out at 8 knots, its name is also
without its down sides.
indicative of the kind and patient nature of the captain himself, Thomas Werner.
“I am worried about the same things as I am with lobster: more regulations.”
Werner has been fishing, like so many
Werner looks to the restaurant as an
others, since he was a kid. He bought
opportunity to grow. “If I can put the
the Patience when he was just 25 years
work in now, and then I can diversify
old, and 13 years later, while he might
into other fisheries later or it will lead to
like a new boat, he is holding fast and
something else.”
not planning to buy one anytime soon.
For
the
Werners,
including
kids
“I was considering a new boat, but
Tommy and Delaney, owning Island
with all the regulations and stuff coming
Lobster Co. is an opportunity for them to
up, I needed to wait and see what
all work together. Werner says this is one
direction everything was going in, and
of his favorite parts.
maybe invest money someplace else,”
“It’s
a
family
business
and
an
opportunity for the kids when they get
says Werner. So, instead, he and his wife Katie
older. The restaurant is not all about the
chose to invest in a restaurant on Peaks
financial aspect, it’s about family and
Island.
having the property on Peaks Island.”
The
Werners
started
the
Island
— Monique Coombs
April 2021 \ National Fisherman 15
BOATS & GEAR
BOATS & GEAR
SAFETY TECH
SAFETY TECH
WHERE YOU AT? Competition and tech advances make life-saving measures more accessible
ACR
By Paul Molyneaux
n 1985, running before hurricane-force winds and 20-foot seas, I stood my wheel watch on a 58-foot eastern rig somewhere out on Georges Bank. Our course cut across the waves as we strove to get around Nantucket. The mate came up out of the fo’c’sle, waited for his chance, and ran aft to relieve himself. In just that moment a big wave swamped us. Green water rolled in over the bow and swept the deck from stem to stern. I looked out the wheelhouse door, and the mate was gone. I was about to holler for the skipper when I saw, in the open porthole at the back of the wheelhouse, eight fi ngers and eight very white knuckles.
I
16 National Fisherman \ April 2021
A Florida fisherman wears ACR’s overboard location alert system tag linked to a mobile phone or base station on the boat.
It was a close call, but for many others falling overboard is a death sentence. It is the second most common way for commercial fishermen to die, after sinking. According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control, 30 percent of fishing fatalities are from a man-overboard event. According to the CDC, in 60 percent of MOB events there are no witnesses, no one to throw a life ring or turn the boat around. A number of companies around the world are addressing the problem with crew tags and personal location beacons. Among the leaders, ACR Artex of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., makes both a personal locator beacon and crew tag. www.nationalfisherman.com
BOATS & GEAR
“We sell the PLB and the crew tag as a bundle,” says Mikele D’Arcangelo, vice president of global marketing at ACR. “They’re actually two different systems.” ACR’s flagship PLBs are the ResQLink 400 and the ResQLink view. The company also sells the Ocean Signal 1. “The Ocean Signal is the world’s smallest PLB, but it is not buoyant,” says D’Arcangelo, noting that the ResQLinks are buoyant, and all are no-subscription. “Ours will fit into a life jacket pocket or life raft and send a signal to the COSPASSARSAT satellite system.” C O S PA S - S A R S AT is an international, humanitarian satellitebased search-andrescue system and service that can detect and locate transmissions from emergency beacons carried by ships, aircraft or people. It operates 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. D’Arcangelo points out that the PLBs, by law, have to have a two-step activation system to prevent false alarms. “They activate an international response,” he says. “If you’re in the water, you have to deploy the antenna and then push a button for three seconds. From that moment on, the device sends a signal every 52 seconds to the satellite. NOAA picks that up and diverts it to the Coast Guard, which has your beacon
ACR photos
SAFETY TECH
ACR’s ResQLink 400 and 425 come in a bundle with the overboard location alert system tag, giving fishermen a local alarm and a satellite rescue beacon.
minutes,” says D’Arcangelo. He adds that when registering a device, the user should take advantage of the box asking for additional information. “I recommend going in there and putting the details of your trip and any medical issues anyone onboard might have. So when a helicopter shows up, they have what they need.”
“Ours will fit into a life jacket pocket or life raft and send a signal to the COSPAS-SARSAT satellite system.” — Mikele D’Arcangelo, ACR ARTEX
registration. They find the closet boat to you, it could be a tanker, and that boat goes to your position. The signal transfer from start to finish takes two To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
While PLBs may be more appropriate for abandoning ship and even onboard emergencies, ACR also sells its OLAS (overboard location alert
system) crew tag, which sets off an alarm in a mobile phone or base station if the Bluetooth connection is broken. “If someone goes overboard, you want to get them back as soon as possible,” says D’Arcangelo. “With OLAS, you buy the tag and download the app for free. You get all the tags to come close to the phone, and it links with them by Bluetooth. If someone goes overboard, Bluetooth hates water, the link is broken. The alarm goes off, and the phone’s GPS marks the spot.” D’Arcangelo notes that the phone app can link to six tags, while the base station can link to as many as 15. “We built the base station because we saw the phone as the weak link in the system.” Other companies are making versions of the crew tag system. Weems & Plath makes the CrewWatcher, a April 2021 \ National Fisherman 17
BOATS & GEAR
SAFETY TECH
“The sMRT V100 can be integrated into our sMRT Compact life jacket, which was designed by fishermen for fishermen.”
MRT
— Josh Connelly, MRT
UK fisherman Mike Roach uses an MRT life vest equipped with an sMRT V100 PLB that will activate automatically if he goes overboard.
for range. They feature 121.5MHz, VHF DSC and AIS technologies. “The sMRT V100 can be integrated into our sMRT Compact life jacket, which was designed by fishermen for fishermen,” says Josh Connelly of MRT’s sales department. “The sMRT V100 activates automatically when submerged in water. This means in a situation where the lifejacket does not inflate, the PLB will still activate and
The sMRT V100 fits easily in an inflatable life vest that does not interfere with deck work.
The sMRT V100 can be activated manually or upon vest inflation or immersion.
MRT photos
similar but simpler system for one or two crew members. Mercury Marine makes a proximity-dependent engine kill switch called 1st Mate. The PLB market is more competitive, with companies like the UK-based MRT and Australia’s GME making similarly priced devices. MRT’s line of personal locator beacons, sMRT, have been designed to meet new international safety standards
18 National Fisherman \ April 2021
send distress signals.” The SMRT V100 can also be manually activated. And unlike some other PLBs, it works on a local VHF signal that, according to Connelly, can reach as far as 75 miles in calm seas and around 10 miles in very high seas. “We are also hoping to introduce a 406-MHz beacon, the sMRT Shield, that utilizes the MEOSAR satellite system and new introduction of Return Link Service, but the 406-MHz signal is not allowed to activate automatically. We believe the best chance for survival is a local signal. So the sMRT Shield includes both the 406 MHz and AIS for the best of both.” At present, the MRT devices do not have a big presence in the U.S. market. “We’re in talks with our distributors to get a service center there. Some of our PLBs have to be serviced annually, and it’s a lot of trouble to send them to the UK. We were ready to get out there last year, but with the pandemic we couldn’t.” says Connelly. The Australian company GME makes the MT410G personal locator beacon with integrated GPS receiver, a seven-year battery life, and seven-year warranty. Featuring a high-intensity flashing LED strobe light, a non-hazmat battery pack for simple and cost-effective transportation and a 50 search channel GPS receiver with top mounted quad helix antenna to improve location accuracy to better than 100 meters. Through the use of microprocessor technology, the MT410G is able to provide an affordable 406-MHz PLB solution. www.nationalfisherman.com
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BOATS & GEAR
Zoleo
SAFETY TECH
Zoleo’s satellite communicator has an emergency SOS feature — as do similar devices — that sends a signal to the Iridium satellite constellation. But it doesn’t float.
While PLBs offer a subscriptionfree emergency location service, most satellite phones — like the Garmin InReach, Globalstar Spot
and Zoleo satellite communicator — offer emergency features that include location. “With a Zoleo, you get your
position sent to emergency responders via satellite,” says Ron Wright, Zoleo rep. “But you can also send more information.” Wright points out that while the Zoleo satphone does not float, it is rated IP68 — water resistant at 1 meter for 30 minutes. While the satphones can be important for abandon-ship situations and emergencies, it would be unusual if they came in handy for an MOB situation. Few fishermen plan to go overboard. Like the mate on that swordfish boat years ago, most get surprised. But with the risk always present and a 60 percent chance no one will see you go, a personal locator beacon could increase the chance of a rescue. Paul Molyneaux is the Boats & Gear editor for National Fisherman and author of “The Doryman’s Reflection.”
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BOATS & GEAR
BOATBUILDING
BOATS & GEAR
BOATBUILDING
Alex Oczkewicz
HAVE IT BOTH WAYS
After more than 20 years, Maritime Fabrications launches a new and improved through-picker By Paul Molyneaux
d Oczkewicz built his first throughpicker gillnetter for the Bristol Bay salmon fishery in 1997. “Back then only a few of us were doing them,” he says. “Now they’re trendy.” Oczkewicz’s second through-picker, the Dan O, can operate as a bow picker or stern picker when hauling back a gillnet. The wheelhouse sits elevated on port and starboard supports called findleys. The drum is on rails so it can slide forward when stern picking. Oczkewicz started building boats in 1978. “I went to college, but I always wanted to just build stuff,” he says. “There was a big boatbuilding boom in the late ’70s and ’80s. So I started Maritime Fabrications. Just baby steps. I didn’t want a lot of debt. But eventually
E
22 National Fisherman \ April 2021
we bought the property and equipment of La Conner Machine and Drydock and became La Conner Maritime Services.” Wanting to deliver a superior product, Oczkewicz headed to Bristol Bay to see what fishermen wanted in a vessel. “I hopped on a boat in 1983, maybe ’82. It was an eye-opener,” he says. Oczkewicz kept going to Bristol Bay for the next 15 years, eventually taking his own boats and selling them. “I took six years off after 1997, took my family out fishing,” he says. “But when my son Isaac got old enough, I got back into it.” At age 39, Isaac Oczkewicz now runs Maritime Fabrications, the boatshop at La Conner. Oczkewicz notes that another of his four sons runs the www.nationalfisherman.com
BOATS & GEAR
BOATBUILDING
Isaac Oczkewicz
“Ed is a joy to work with. He knows what he wants and how to get there. Really all we did was modify a previous design of the first through-picker he did.” —Rick Etsell, NAVAL ARCHITECT
To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
Etsell used a program called Aerohydro to determine the hull lines and create developable surfaces, that he then put into 2-D CAD fi les. “Ed has a great in-house design team. I did the part defi nitions, and they nested them,” he says of the process for creating the cut fi les. “We made her two feet wider,” says Oczkewicz. “But you know, one day it
The Dan O’s compact pilothouse includes two Garmin plotters that allow Oczkewicz to watch his radar and plotter at the same time.
was sunset and flat calm, and I took her out to see what she could do. I had her at 42.4 knots.” To get the Don O up to that speed, Oczkewicz powered his new boat with two 550-hp Volvo D8s with ZF 286 gears driving two Hamilton HTX30
Isaac Oczkewicz
manufacturing arm of the business, and another started running his own gillnetter in Bristol Bay at age 19. At 72, Ed Oczkewicz was considering getting out of the business, but he couldn’t do it. “I sold my last boat, and somebody wanted to buy all my gear. I thought about it, but two weeks later I started building this one. Six and half months later, we got her up to Alaska.” Oczkewicz called the original naval architect, Rick Etsell, to help with the redesign. “He’s retired and didn’t want to do it, but I was persistent, and fi nally he said OK.” According to Etsell, Oczkewicz made it easy to say yes. “Ed is a joy to work with,” Etsell says. “He knows what he wants and how to get there. Really all we did was modify a previous design of the fi rst through-picker he did. We scaled it up, made it a little wider, and rearranged the weights — the batteries, the tanks. The extra width made it pretty easy to fit everything.”
The beefy Pac West 10-ton RSW system, nested in between the Dan O’s two Volvos, is intended to get the tanks down to temp quickly. April 2021 \ National Fisherman 23
BOATS & GEAR
Rick Etsell
BOATBUILDING
Isaac Oczkewicz
Oczkewicz brought naval architect Rick Etsell out of retirement to help design the new through-picker.
All deck equipment is manufactured in-house, including this four-shackle drum that can slide forward or aft on tracks in the deck. 24 National Fisherman \ April 2021
jets at a ratio of just a little more than 1:1. “The Hamiltons are a little more expensive,” says Oczkewicz. “But they’re the best, and have the most parts available.” Cruising, Oczkewicz can run at 35 knots at 2,300 rpm. PTOs on the ZF gears drive two hydraulic 4.8-cubic-inch pumps. “One for the RSW, and one for the deck equipment,” says Oczkewicz. “Usually the port runs the deck equipment and the starboard runs the RSW. But they are attached to a manifold so that if one of the engines flamed out, you could transfer the power, especially to the deck equipment. The important thing is to get the net back, right?” Pac West supplied the 10-ton RSW system for the Dan O. “It’s bigger than what I usually put in a boat. But the openings are getting shorter and more frequent. I wanted a quicker chill time to get that temperature down as soon as we start putting fish in, especially when you get a big day,” says Oczkewicz. A companionway in the starboard findley and a hatch near the transom provide access to the engines and RSW compressor. Forward of the engines, Oczkewicz put two 225-gallon fuel tanks with a hydraulic reservoir between them. “Some people put the fuel tanks in the middle and the fish holds next to them,” says Oczkewicz. “But I wanted to distribute the weight this way.” He recalls that his first throughpicker was trimmed differently and would not plane well. He put trim tabs on it and saw improved performance. So he put trim tabs on the Dan O. “We only use them to get the back up. Once she’s up, we don’t use them, or you start to drive the bow down,” he says. The fish hold is forward of the tanks. “It’s 500 cubic feet,” says Oczkewicz. “At about 45 pounds per cubic foot, what’s that give you? A little over 20,000 pounds. We use Nomar brailer www.nationalfisherman.com
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Produced by:
Produced by:
BOATS & GEAR
Isaac Oczkewicz
BOATBUILDING
Dan O Home Port: La Conner, Wash. Owner: Ed Oczkewicz Builder: Maritime Fabrications Hull material: Aluminum Year built: 2020 Fishery: Bristol Bay salmon Length: 32 feet Beam: 16 feet Draft: 26 inches, static Propulsion: Diesel Engine: 2 x 550-hp Volvo D8 Hydraulics: 2 x 4.8 cubic inch pumps, one running off each engine, one for deck gear, one for RSW
bags. They’re a good company, up in Homer, family owned.” The Dan O has crew quarters forward. “It’s got a generous fo’c’sle,” says Oczkewicz. “There’s four bunks, a settee, a full galley, refrigerator and propane stove.” A 2,000-watt inverter drawing on two 24-volt banks, consisting of 4 6-volt golf cart batteries each, supplies AC power for the galley. Up on deck all the machinery is Maritime Fabrications. It’s Oczkewicz’s specialty. “The through-picker design gives you the option to be a bow picker 26 National Fisherman \ April 2021
Power train ZF 286 with Hamilton HXT30 jets RSW: Pacific West, 10-ton Top speed: 42.4 knots Cruising: 35 knots Hold capacity: 22,500 pounds Fuel capacity: 450 gallons Crew accommodations: 4 in fo’c’sle, 1 in pilothouse Electronics: 2 Garmin plotters: a 10-inch and a 12-inch; Garmin radar, 2 Icom VHFs, Icom 2-meter VHF, Deck gear: Maritime Fabrications four-shackle drum; 38-inch/16-inch core Big Bay roller on the stern; 36-inch/14-inch core roller on the bow; anchor winch
or stern picker. The bow roller is 36 inches with a 14-inch core. The stern roller is the 38-inch with a 16-inch core. It’s what we market as the Big Bay, my son designed it.” To further facilitate the option of picking from the bow or stern, Oczkewicz’s four-shackle drum can rotate and is on rails that allow it to slide 16 feet forward when picking from the stern. According to Oczkewicz, the advantage of having a picking option comes when fish are in shallow water or other boats are close. “I sometimes set over the stern then pick over the bow,” he says, noting that
picking over the bow gives him more control and allows him to pick closer to shore. “The anchor winch is a new design,” says Oczkewicz. “I made it narrower and with a bigger diameter. That way you don’t have to risk getting your hand caught in it guiding the anchor rode on. Because it’s narrow, it just spools right on.” Up in the pilothouse, accessed through the port fi ndley, Oczkewicz has two Garmin plotters. “I have a 10-inch and a 12-inch screen. I like that a lot, because I like to use the [Garmin] radar and the plotter at the same time,” he says. Oczkewicz also has two Icom VHFs and an Icom 2-meter VHF.” According to Oczkewicz, two meters is the wavelength of the VHF, and fishermen in Bristol bay use the 2-meter VHF to give themselves more communications options. “The 2-meter runs at a frequency close to your standard VHF. The antenna looks the same but is actually half an inch shorter.” Besides the four bunks in the fo’c’sle, Oczkewicz also added a bunk in the pilothouse. But he notes, in the rush to get to Bristol Bay for the 2020 season, such as it was, a lot was left undone. After the season, he put the Dan O on a barge and sent her home to La Conner. “We’re fi nishing the trim in the fo’c’sle, fi nishing the pilothouse,” says Oczkewicz. “Lots of gingerbread, we call it.” Come spring 2021, Oczkewicz will take the Dan O north again for another season, and the distinctive boat will be an eye-catcher as well as salmon catcher on the bay. Whether he sells her and builds another remains to be seen. “We want to keep building boats,” he says. “So we’ll sell this one if we can. That’s the strategy. Who knows? I may keep fishing until I’m 80.” Paul Molyneaux is the Boats & Gear editor for National Fisherman and author of “The Doryman’s Reflection.” www.nationalfisherman.com
APRIL
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 At the time of this writing, the IPHC has announced 2021 catch limits and harvesters are preparing for the season. Market activity remains steady in areas 3A and 3B and prices have held firm despite the increase to the TAC. Supply remains low in 3B. Interest in other areas continues to be limited, but there have been recent transactions. We expect a high level of market activity through the early stages of the season, subject to grounds prices. The latest is as follows:
AREA
ESTIMATED VALUE
2C $40.00/# - $55.00/# - Limited activity at current asking prices. 3A $37.00/# - $44.00/# - Recent sales, prices remain steady. 3B $22.00/# - $28.00/# - Steady demand, low availability. 4A $10.00/# - $15.00/# - Low recent sales, reduced asking prices. 4B $10.00/# - $18.00/# - No activity despite low asking prices. 4C - No activity.
$10.00/# - $18.00/#
4D $10.00/# - $18.00/# - Blocked and unblocked available.
SABLEFISH Increased TACs have resulted in a variable quota market for sablefish. Most sales activity has been in CG, with very little preseason activity in other areas. Inquires realted to BS have remained steady, indicating a raised level of interest. Uncertainty regarding grounds prices continues to result in a modest amount of market activity. The latest is as follows:
AREA
ESTIMATED VALUE
SE $12.00/# - $16.00/# - Little activity, reduced asking prices. WY $12.00/# - $16.00/# - Very little activity, make offers. CG $9.00/# - $13.00/# - Some sales activity at reduced prices. WG - Slow, little unblocked available.
$6.00/# - $10.00/#
AI $1.50/# - $7.00*/# (A class) - Unblocked available, no recent sales. BS $1.50/# - $8.00*/# (A class) - Increased interest from buyers.
To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
ALASKA PERMITS
ESTIMATED VALUES
Power Troll
$25k
Area M Drift
$180k
Area M Seine
$140k
Area M Setnet
$55k
Bristol Bay Drift
$180k
Bristol Bay Setnet
$55k
Cook Inlet Drift
$22k
Kodiak Seine
$36k
PWS Drift
$125k
PWS Seine
$140k
SE Dungeness (75 - 300 pot)
Variable - Sellers wanted
Southeast Drift
$60k
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 2021 season is off to a slow start. It is difficult to predict what will happen with the permit market, but the outcome of this season will likely influence prices. 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
$155k
Puget Sound Drift
$10k
Puget Sound Seine
$85k
Washington Crab Variable - call for info Reduced interest at current asking prices. - 300 pot: $90k - $160k depending on length - 500 pot: $300k - $400k depending on length Washington Pink Shrimp Washington Troll
$40k - Leases available $20k
Longline - Unendorsed $90k - $120k - Leases available at reduced prices. Longline - Sablefish Endorsed Variable - Reduced prices resulting in sales, more available. A-Trawl
Variable - Call for info
See all our listings at www.dockstreetbrokers.com
April 2021 \ National Fisherman 27
YEARBOOK
TOP STORIES 2020
Ye a r b o o k
Port of Seattle
YEARBOOK
TOP STORIES 2020
Fishing fleets flex By Jessica Hathaway & Kirk Moore
ith revenues up 3 percent in January and February of 2020, the industry was looking ahead to another strong year in the global marketplace. In March, when restaurants across the country shuttered quickly under covid-19 outbreak restrictions, seafood supply chains ground to a halt in the early days of the pandemic. Fishermen who had been out harvesting to supply the once-solid market were stuck with their catch left unsold and their boats tied up. In early March, New Jersey fisherman Gus Lovgren was headed to port after a Virginia summer flounder trip when his wife called him, “saying they’re shutting the country down, basically,” he recalled. “We had been getting $1.75 to $2 (per pound). In the end we got, I think, 60 cents,” said Lovgren.“The market was flooded, and there was nothing we could do.” After being up in the first two months of the year, revenues declined 19 percent in March with the first wave of shutdowns affecting primary markets nationwide. NMFS reported in January 2021 that the U.S. fishing industry lost nearly a third of its revenue in the first part of 2020, including a 45 percent loss in the month of July. “Over those seven months we’re looking at a 29 percent decrease,” said Paul Doremus, acting administrator for NMFS.
W
28 National Fisherman \ April 2021
While the report only documents revenues through July, the agency’s goal is to continue monitoring economic impacts and fishermen’s response, drawing lessons and strategies for making fishing communities more resilient. The biggest blow early was restaurant and foodservice shutdowns, which normally account for 70 percent of purchases for the industry’s $200 billion annual revenue. Some fisheries that supply shelf-stable product lines, such as surf clams, felt less impact, but fresh markets dried up across the board. Among shellfish growers, 74 percent reported significant losses — even with limited respite when outdoor dining was allowed in summer months. “Harvesting, processing and distribution have been curtailed for many products and in some cases have ceased in response to restaurant and other closings throughout the country and globally,” the authors summarized. “However, those interviewed indicated that in contrast to the fresh fish market, consumers dramatically increased supermarket purchases in late March 2020 of shelf-stable and frozen product forms,” the agency reported. “Some industry participants are shifting from supplying restaurants to expanding sales to supermarkets and to online or direct-to-consumer sales. But the extent and www.nationalfisherman.com
YEARBOOK
TOP STORIES 2020
volume of the pivot from restaurants to supermarket and direct-to-consumer sales has yet to be estimated.” McKinley Research reported at the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute’s annual meeting that domestic consumer spending on food was down across the board with an increase of 10.4 percent at grocery stores, but a 29.1 percent drop in restaurants and hotels. The seafood sector had the biggest spike of spending at retail with a 28 percent boost. However, with increased costs and risks of operating during the pandemic, many fishing fleets felt the pinch of the crisis firsthand. In Alaska alone, processors spent an additional $50 million to $60 million in operating costs for the 2020 fishing season, according to McKinley Research. Leading with locals Despite significant market losses and unmeasurable uncertainty, fishermen dove into the busy spring and summer seasons, delivering fresh and local fish to exploding rosters of local buyers, as well as food banks, across the country. Early last year, in the San Francisco Bay area, Adam Sewall, 38, and Eleza Jaeger, 33, watched as the spread of covid-19 began to disrupt commerce and lives around the globe. In March, their nonessential charter business and the kids’ school got shut down, so they moved the whole operation onto their boat the Gatherer and made a go of it — commercial fishing and homeschooling with the whole family onboard the 28-footer. Jaeger and Sewall teamed up with a local community supported fishery — Sea Forager Seafood — to sell their catch, and they began documenting their lives as the School of Fish on social media. For similar reasons, the owners of Get Hooked in Santa Barbara, Calif., jumped into local home delivery. Chief Operations Manager Victoria Voss said the company had a major uptick in subscriptions and special order requests. “A lot of folks are subscribing and taking advantage of other delivery To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
Market Reports: The year in review
F
rom aggressively selling Maine lobster and Gulf of Mexico red snapper, to detouring Dungeness crab and direct marketing king salmon, U.S. fishermen
found some successes amid the covid-19-ravaged markets of 2020. The year started with hopeful signs, with revenue up 3 percent in January and February — before restaurant closings and doors to the China market slamming shut dropped revenue 19 percent in March, according to a NMFS analysis. Overall, January to July saw a 29 percent decline. But fishermen, who see their own agency as the answer to adversity, found new markets to expand their range. The shock of food supply disruptions during a public health crisis got more people preparing seafood at home as part of a healthy diet. Many fishermen, seafood advocates and marketers say this crisis should point a new way forward — to sell the benefits of a robust, resilient and healthy supply of U.S.-caught seafood. — Kirk Moore
NORTHEAST
timing of the onset of the pandemic, says
MARKET REPORT
LaCroix, was a small consolation in that
Lobster
before the season got underway, and to
it “allowed industry members to prepare
ne thing that helped Maine’s
learn from other food processing facili-
iconic industry is that many
ties.” Although the Trump trade war was
people went from eating lob-
finally settled in 2020, and China ended
ster at restaurants to boiling the water at
up purchasing over $95 million in lobsters
home, thanks to industrywide efforts.
from the U.S. in 2020, it was not a smooth
O
Thousands of workers are employed
ride.
in the wholesale supply chain, which a
Early on, uncertainty was palpable. “I
2018 Colby College report says pumps
don’t set gear typically until early May,”
about $1 billion into the Maine economy.
says Porter. “But I was later this year,
In 2019, lobster accounted for 73 percent
as were others, waiting to see what the
of all commercial landings in Maine by
market was going to be.” When fisher-
value. And all that lobster needs to find a
men finally started hauling, prices were
home — even in a pandemic.
depressed by 20-30 percent from 2019.
Kristan Porter, a lobsterman from
Ernie Burgess, a 77-year-old lobster-
Cutler and president of the Maine Lob-
man from Chebeague Island, also started
stermen’s Association, says one other
later, but eventually sold to a local co-op.
year in his memory compares to 2020: “In
“Many of my lobsters went to take-
2012 we had a market glut when the lob-
out seasonal seafood restaurants, some
sters struck early, and processors weren’t
to the local market, and to processors.”
ready for them. It resulted in a decreased
As tourists showed up in Maine, sales
price that took years to recover from.”
picked up at seafood shacks and restau-
Marianne LaCroix, executive direc-
rants. “At the end,” adds Burgess, “we
tor of the Maine Lobster Marketing Col-
started catching lobsters and were doing
laborative says two years compare: “The
fairly good.”
financial crash of 2008 and the events of
In spring, some harvesters also relied
9/11 were both disruptive… and both cre-
on direct-to-consumer sales (which were
ated additional challenges because they
in the $5-$6 per pound range) to cover
hit during Maine lobster’s high season.”
expenses and avoid overloading a frag-
While covid-19 devastated food ser-
ile supply chain. While ex-vessel prices
vice, travel and shipping globally, the
in the spring to early summer were down
April 2021 \ National Fisherman 29
YEARBOOK
TOP STORIES 2020
“My boat is paid for, my house is paid
MARKET REPORT
for. I don’t need a new pickup truck every
in most locations, they started to rebound.
compared to the younger guys just start-
By the end of the season, they were on par
ing out — they still have to buy boats and
with, or up, from last year.
traps,” says Burgess. “It’s so expensive to
“I was actually surprised we got through the season without major issues,” adds Porter. “I feared a decrease in price that could take years to recover (just like
year. [I] don’t have tremendous expenses,
get into. So, maybe it’s harder on younger people.”
Adam Sewall and Eleza Jaeger brought their kids onboard so they could keep fishing.
Seaweed
options to avoid going out in public,” said Voss, while others are stocking up with multiple orders. “People don’t want to be around each other right now, but they’ve got to eat,” said fishermen Craig Jacobs of O.C.Wild Seafood in Huntington Beach, Calif. Heading up the coast to Bellingham, Wash., the Alaska fishing crew of the F/V Nerka and two partner boats sell their collective catch under Nerka Sea Frozen Salmon. “We’re adapting on the fly and without a road map,” said Tele Aadsen, who runs the business with her husband, Joel Brady-Power. Nerka Sea Frozen Salmon was founded by Brady-Power’s father in 1998, when he would truck his silver salmon around to local restaurants to convince them to serve his catch. Those same businesses were still taking fish from Nerka Sea until mid-March. Closures forced them to shift quickly toward selling to individuals to keep income flowing. However, selling whole, headed and gutted fish to single consumers is a bit different than selling portioned fillets. “We’ve been lucky that folks have been so supportive. Whole fish can be intimidating or too much for consumers, but people are saying, ‘Oh no, it’s OK. We’ll take a fish and figure it out. We can look up a YouTube tutorial,’” said Aadsen. At the Fishermen’s Dock Cooperative in Point Pleasant Beach, N.J., the fishermen regrouped going into April. “We knew right off the kind of hit we were going to take,” said Lovgren. “We had a pop-up market that sold right off the boats, so that helped us a little.” To adjust for depressed demand and avoid
in 2012) which could have resulted in guys
Despite challenges, northeast seaweed
losing their businesses, both fishermen and
markets — which have shifted from wild
shoreside infrastructure.” Building diversity
to farmed in recent years — held steady
into the markets has become essential.
in 2020. Farmed seaweed harvested in
“In the past,” says Porter, “we were too
Maine grew from 54,000 pounds in 2018 to
dependent on a few places for our prod-
280,000 pounds in 2019, according to the
uct to go in the summer, like Canadian
Maine Department of Marine Resources. A
processors.”
recent Island Institute report indicates the
The marketing collaborative “pivoted to increasing demand among home cooks
total farmed seaweed harvested in Maine could reach 3.06 million pounds by 2035.
and making sure we provided the tools
But for those in Maine holding aqua-
and inspiration to make Maine lobster ap-
culture leases and limited-purpose aqua-
proachable,” says LaCroix. In 2020, the
culture leases that include provisions for
group embarked on new efforts, including
raising kelp species, 2020 was wild.
a social media and ad-driven promotional
“It was a trying year for sure,” says Bri
program with Big Y Foods, a Massachu-
Warner CEO of Atlantic Sea Farms in Saco,
setts-based grocer with 25 local stores.
Maine — which until April 2020, focused on
The campaign resulted in a 79 percent
foodservice and fast-casual. “Almost all of
increase in grocery store sales during the
those customers dropped out overnight,
month-long promotion, according to the
just as we were heading into harvest sea-
collaborative.
son. Our farmers had grown hundreds of
Lobster was better positioned to shift to grocery markets than other industries,
thousands of pounds of kelp that we were under obligation to buy — and we did.”
like oysters, where there is a larger learn-
Seaweed companies responded to
ing curve for home cooks, or species with
closures by looking for new national mar-
existing market volatility like scup. “Home
kets. Atlantic Sea Farms had already built
cooks quickly realized Maine lobster is
retail markets in New England with Whole
easy to source,” says LaCroix, “and that
Foods and Wegmans and in 2020, expand-
it is available in product forms like cooked
ed their retail products to local and national
meat and tails that make preparation a
chains.
breeze.”
“I am so, so proud of our partner farm-
While the next challenge is always
ers and team for the way their positive and
right around the corner, “it is important
optimistic outlook made it possible for
to know that the lobster industry did get
us to continue to thrive,” says Warner. In
through 2020,” says Porter. “There will be
2019, her company had a record-breaking
fishermen that were hurt more than others,
harvest of 440,000 pounds, and this year is
such as those who fish inside exclusively
aiming for 850,000 pounds.
and didn’t see the increase in price before
Collaborations were another positive.
their season was over.” And not everyone
Atlantic Sea Farms partnered with Bangs
in the industry carries equal risk in a tough
Island Oysters to purchase seaweed when
season.
shellfish sales plummeted.
30 National Fisherman \ April 2021
NF file photo
NORTHEAST
www.nationalfisherman.com
YEARBOOK
TOP STORIES 2020
flooding the New York market even more, “we all came to the conclusion to stagger our landings.” “We fished as hard as we could just to make ends meet.” Now, said Lovgren, “we’re getting by.” But the markets are still very fragile. “It was starting to come back three weeks ago,” he said in late February. “We’re seeing the worst prices we have right now.” The Yankee Fishermen’s Co-op in Seabrook, N.H., was bustling last spring and summer after shifting to local retail sales. “Probably 90 percent of our volume went to large wholesalers, went to Boston, New York, Montreal, Toronto,” said groundfish captain David Goethel, a longtime member of the co-op. “We’re lucky at the co-op in that we have a fish market, and the public has responded in an amazing way. And we’re selling just about everything we catch
NORTHEAST
can play a huge role in self-care, which is becoming a top priority for people as they
MARKET REPORT
continue to spend time at home in 2021
“Our partnerships are mostly with lobster fishermen,” adds Warner, “and we were
and are looking for ways to boost their overall health and wellness.”
so glad this year to have seen our partner
Hupper is encouraged by a Nielsen re-
farmers absorb some of the shock of the
port indicating retail seafood sales are up
volatility of the lobster industry through
35 percent since before the pandemic.
their kelp farming income. These industries
“We wouldn’t have learned this quite
are entirely complementary (different sea-
as effectively if we weren’t forced to make
sons, same basic equipment) and we are
pretty dramatic strategic changes in our
excited to show that kelp farming is a vi-
sales strategy,” says Warner.
able supplemental income source.”
Ma
“People and companies throughout
On the whole, 2020 revealed consum-
our food system have had to adapt in in-
ers are excited about eating fresh, domestic
credibly innovative ways — and not every-
seaweed. (Currently, around 90 percent of
one will still be standing when it is all over,”
seaweed in the United States is imported.)
Warner says. “But I hope that some of the
“The uses for seaweed go beyond
innovation that was found during these in-
food products,” says Afton Hupper, out-
credibly difficult times continues to expand
reach and development specialist at the
and lift all boats in the long term.”
Maine Aquaculture Association. “Seaweed
— Caroline Losneck
Maritime FabMar Gillnet Drums
Helping you make your hauls for 40 years!
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April 2021 \ National Fisherman 31 Untitled-9 1
10/15/20 10:52 AM
YEARBOOK
TOP STORIES 2020
GULF/SO. ATLANTIC MARKET REPORT Red Snapper
R
ed snapper are more than plentiful in the Gulf of Mexico, but prices are staying strong
as a result of high consumer demand and a let-up in the covid-19 restrictions that slowed sales to restaurants early in 2020. Fishermen are able to catch their quota with no difficulty, and boat prices are hovering in the $5 to $6 per pound range, with fishermen who are leasing quota netting about $2 per pound. In the South Atlantic, where red snapper
are
managed
separately,
populations are similarly abundant, according to some fish house operators. But the commercial fishery was only open from mid-July through early September, when NMFS determined fishermen had fulfilled their quota. Opening dates for 2021 have not been announced. South Atlantic fishermen are able to meet some consumer demand with vermilion snapper — a smaller but tasty species that garner between $2.75 and $4 per pound, depending on size.
Grouper After a slow start in early to mid2020, production of gag, red, yel-
right through the market because people have realized the value of a short supply chain. They see my boat unloading, and they see the fish come through the door a few minutes later, and they know it’s only been handled by two people.” For leaders in seafood direct marketing and community-supported fisheries, the breakdown of the U.S. seafood supply chain under the stress of the covid-19 restrictions is an example of a larger problem with our food system, not a one-time, emergency-fueled issue. “This time of hardship has been an important reminder that the people providing our food as well as local and regional supply chains are essential,” said Brett Tolley, a community organizer with the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance. “This covid-19 outbreak and the conversations about it really speak to the vulnerability of our food system,” said Joshua Stoll, a professor of Ecology and Environmental Sciences at the University of Maine and coordinator of the Local Catch Network, which supports community supported fisheries. “Almost overnight food systems came crashing down and have left fishermen, their families and coastal communities economically vulnerable. Every time an event like this occurs, we’re all in the same boat, since we have to work within a global seafood system that doesn’t really support local communities.”
Demand, he added, is up by roughly 40 percent. “One in six Americans are now food insecure, many of them for the first time. And if schools can’t reopen, local food banks will work to ensure that children are fed,” Harmon said. Right out of the gates in April 2020, the Hawaii Longline Association worked with others in Hawaii’s fishing industry to donate 2,000 pounds of fresh seafood to Hawaii Foodbank, and planning larger deliveries. The initial donation, coordinated with the with United Fishing Agency’s Honolulu auction, the Hawaii Seafood Council, Nico’s Pier 38, and Pacific Ocean Producers, “is the beginning of a new pilot program with the Hawaii Foodbank,” the association said. “Through the partnership, Hawaii Foodbank plans to purchase $50,000 worth of seafood landed by Hawaii longline vessels,” according to a statement from the association. “The purchase will ensure that Hawaii Foodbank will be able to meet the needs of Hawaii residents facing hardship as a result of covid-19. It will also support Hawaii’s longline fishermen.” Fish caught by longline association members, including ahi, marlin, and opah, will be distributed through Hawaii Foodbank’s network of partner agencies through distribution sites across Oahu. United Fishing Agency will break down
Seafood donations Feeding people well has been a consistent call to action in fishing communities, but the call was louder this year — including taking care of those who couldn’t afford to buy fish. SeaShare Executive Director Jim Harmon reported in August 2020 that volumes of donations had far exceeded prior years. “So far this year we’ve distributed over 5 million seafood servings to food banks in 18 states,” Harmon told SeafoodSource. “That is double the volume we typically distribute January through July. Protein is the hardest item for food banks to access, and the first to run out.”
Bristol Bay salmon heads to Chignik as part of a Northline Seafoods and Alaskans Own donation to coastal Alaska communities.
late in the year in the Gulf of Mexico, according to Karen Bell, operator of A.P. Bell Fish Co. in Cortez, Fla. Bell is paying about $4.50 per pound for reds to the 12 boats running out of her docks, as Florida restaurants welcome an influx of tourist diners. She hopes demand will increase as the U.S. rolls out more covid-19 vaccines, making people more comfortable to travel. Fishermen in the South Atlantic had a pretty good year for gags after the shallow-water grouper harvest season opened in May, according to Chris Conklin, operator of Seven Seas
32 National Fisherman \ April 2021
Northline Seafoods
lowedge and snowy grouper boomed
www.nationalfisherman.com
YEARBOOK
the fish into fillets and package into insulated boxes for distribution. “We’re pleased to partner with Hawaii Foodbank on this important initiative supplying high-quality fresh fish to community members in need,” said Eric Kingma, executive director of the Hawaii Longline Association. “The face of hunger is changing every day, and our nearly 140 vessels operating out of Honolulu Harbor are ready and able to make critical contributions to Hawaii’s fragile food supply.” The Hawaii longline fishery lands around 30 million pounds of fish per year, and generates more than $100 million in dockside value, placing Honolulu sixth in the nation in fisheries port value, according to NMFS statistics. In August, two community supported fisheries announced a plan to give back to Alaska communities in need. Alaskans Own and Northline Seafoods delivered
Dawn Ross
TOP STORIES 2020
Ryan Bradley, of Mississippi Commercial Fisheries United, helps deliver 36,000 meals of local shrimp to local food banks.
45,000 pounds of Bristol Bay sockeye salmon to Alaska Native villages experiencing record-low returns this year. Based in Sitka, Alaskans Own and Northline Seafoods evolved from a devotion to sustaining fishing communities.
GULF/SO. ATLANTIC MARKET REPORT
Seafood Market in Murrells Inlet, S.C. Conklin said fishermen caught more than 70 percent of their grouper quota before the
“Northline Seafoods purchases and processes our salmon in Bristol Bay, where we’re incredibly lucky to be experiencing record-high salmon returns,” said Ben Blakey, founder and president of Northline Seafoods. “Very few sockeye salmon returned to Chignik this summer, so when we got a call requesting some of our Bristol Bay sockeye, I said we could help. We are all happy to know our catch here in Bristol Bay will fill some freezers and smokehouses, and help ensure folks in Chignik can still practice their subsistence traditions.” The donations align with the dual focus of Alaska fishing families to sustain both coastal communities and the salmon fisheries they rely on. “Giving up our subsistence harvest and in turn allowing the fish to escape to the river system was the right thing to do, but left local people without the salmon they depend on,” said George
last year enacted new rules shortening the season by two weeks and increasing the minimum claw size, which Graves hopes will produce benefits in a year or two.
Blue Crabs
season closed Dec. 31 and would have caught the remain-
Lower catches and higher prices dominated 2020 in the two
der if restaurants had reopened sooner, following covid-19
major blue crab producer states of Louisiana and North Carolina.
restrictions.
According to the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fish-
Boat prices haven’t been as strong as past seasons, drop-
eries’ crustacean chief, Peyton Cagle, landings were down by
ping about $1 per pound from pre-pandemic years to about
about 1 million pounds from January to August compared to
$6.50 per pound. Competition from cheaper imports hasn’t
the same period in 2019. But boat prices “blew up” to about $5
helped either. But fishermen are looking forward to a better 2021
per pound for large males — well up from the usual seasonal
as the economy emerges from the pandemic and demand rises.
average of $2 to $3. In summer when prices typically drop, the
Stone Crabs Florida’s lucrative stone crab harvest, which opened in midOctober, is shaping up into what Marathon, Fla.-based Keys
region’s rolling battle with more than a half dozen tropical storms and hurricanes kept fishermen off the water, reducing production. But things rebounded in the fall, and stability returned to the fishery.
Fisheries operator Gary Graves calls an “average season” even
In North Carolina, fishermen counted 2020 as a good year,
though it faces new restrictions this year. He said harvesters are
even though January-to-June landings dropped to 5.48 million
on track to produce between 2 million and 2.3 million pounds by
pounds compared to 7.28 million pounds in 2019. Jeff Styron of
season’s end May 1, with “very strong” prices.
Garland Fulcher Seafood in Oriental, N.C., said average prices
Boat prices range from $29 per pound of jumbo claws to $23 for colossals and $18 for large, Graves said. Stone crab produc-
were $3.50 for jimmy crabs with fluctuations between $2.75 and $4 — consistent with 2019.
tion has been down in the Keys from the highs of the late 1990s
North Carolina crab fishermen face increased restrictions
— from overfishing and environmental factors like hurricanes
in 2021, including closed seasons, establishment of sanctuary
and red tide — while prices have headed for the stratosphere. To
areas, size limits on female crabs and other rules because fish-
stabilize the fishery, and on the advice of Keys fishermen, Florida
eries managers say the stock is overfished.
To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
— Sue Cocking
April 2021 \ National Fisherman 33
YEARBOOK
TOP STORIES 2020
PACIFIC
MARKET REPORT
markets. Though canned demand was off the charts as hoarding shelf-stable protein ensued, ex-vessel prices fell from around
W
ith the continued conundrum of
$4,000 per ton to $3,200 per ton. Again,
the covid virus, the industry faced
fishermen selling to markets like Tuna Har-
the challenges of retooling itself
bor Dockside received premium ex-vessel
to get products to the end consumers. To
prices for their products.
some distributors, that meant circumlocu-
As 2021 unfolded, questions loomed
tion of restaurants and redirecting product
as to whether holdover inventories will clear
into retail supermarket chains.
out, creating demand and robust prices for
For processors, that meant putting
this year’s harvest. In the meantime, an
product into freezers in the hopes of selling
increasing number of vessel owners have
later — and for others, like live crab buyers
applied for permits to satisfy protocols for
from China, it put a stop to moving fresh
selling fish directly from their vessels.
product overseas for much of the season. As summer arrived, restaurant owners with enough real estate built outdoor decks
To some, the pandemic opens the door to a new regime, a new infrastructure between fishermen and end markets.
and reconfigured table placements to ac-
“In the longer term, what does it look
commodate social distancing. The tempo-
like as a more resilient seafood system?”
rary openings offered an outlet for limited
says Sinicrope Talley. “There will always be
supplies of fresh petrale sole, salmon, crab
a need for imports and also exports, but we
and albacore.
can strengthen what we have.”
Though the petrale are usually caught and delivered in large volumes, processors fielded sporadic requests for loads of around 5,000 pounds throughout summer.
Dungeness Crab Price negotiations and meat-fill issues waylaid the start of the last Dungeness
One of the big winners on the West
crab season until Dec. 31, 2019. When co-
Coast was dockside fish markets, which
vid hit, the crab shacks closed and proces-
helped the fleets access new customers.
sors put millions of pounds into cold stor-
Fish Markets
age in hopes of moving product later. As of February 2021, many processors were still
Interviews with consumers at the Tuna
holding product that traditionally moves
Harbor Dockside Market in San Diego indi-
between Thanksgiving and Valentine’s Day.
cated that more than half of the customers
As for the fleet, Oregon crabbers put in
bought fish at the market for their first time.
another banner year with landings of 20.07
“They were saying things like, ‘We’re worried about food sources,’” says Theresa Sinicrope Talley, a coastal specialist with
million pounds worth $73.06 million.
Squid
California Sea Grant, in San Diego. “Now
Covid put the clamps on the liquida-
they’re being more adventurous, going out
tion of squid, another high-volume fishery
and getting the seafood themselves and
in which China consumes the majority
cooking at home.”
of product. Though covid hampered the
As it turns out Sinicrope Talley and her
movement of product in the transportation
colleagues ramped up production of infor-
and reprocessing sectors, ex-vessel prices
mation and training for fishermen embrac-
remained rock solid at $1,000 during the
ing self-marketing models already in 2018
season for the seiners.
in response to increasing foreign tariffs.
Albacore Tuna
Urchins For the dive fleet targeting red urchins
Albacore trollers wound up selling
the battle to remove purple urchins and re-
much of their blast-bled fish into canned
juvenate kelp beds continued. In 2020, the
34 National Fisherman \ April 2021
Anderson, president of Chignik Intertribal Coalition. The partnership, made possible by Catch Together, allows Alaskans Own to purchase and deliver Bristol Bay salmon to the Chignik Bay and nearby communities with the potential to expand to other Alaska communities in need. Alaskans Own runs a regular Seafood Donation Program that feeds food-insecure families in Sitka. On the Gulf Coast, a $50,000 Catch Together grant facilitated by the nonprofit Extra Table helped Mississippi Commercial Fisheries United purchase 20,000 pounds of local heads-on shrimp for donation into local food pantries. The fishing organization coordinated with processors to have the catch processed and peeled, resulting in 13,000 pounds delivered to families in need across the state in 2-pound frozen bags, comprising 36,000 meals. “It was a wonderful opportunity, and it was a great feeling,” said Ryan Bradley, executive director of Mississippi Commercial Fisheries United. “I got to tag along when Extra Table was distributing those shrimp. It’s not every day they get fresh seafood in these local food banks.” Mississippi food banks are reporting a 30 to 50 percent increase in need as a result of pandemic-related hardships. The dramatic shift in market demand has affected fishermen, as well. “With demand from restaurants all but gone, this year has been a challenge,” said Bradley. “This effort not only supports these local fishermen and their families during a difficult time, but also lets them support their fellow Mississippians with fresh, nutritious food.” Other initiatives In New Jersey, a grant paid local oystermen for oversized oysters they couldn’t land this year in part as an experiment in oyster production for future years. A project led by Rutgers University and New Jersey Sea Grant bought 76,000 oysters from growers for transplant on Delaware beds and Atlantic coast oyster restoration sites in Little www.nationalfisherman.com
YEARBOOK
TOP STORIES 2020
PACIFIC
MARKET REPORT
million pounds and an average ex-vessel
Salmon
price of 52 cents per pounds for fleet rev-
Though landings turned out abysmally
fleet harvested 4.94 million pounds, and the
enues of $22.58 million. But much of the
low for West Coast salmon trollers, prices
ex-vessel price climbed to $2.35 per pound
product remains unsold, with millions of
climbed to an average of $7.22 per pound,
from an average $1.98 in 2019.
pounds in freezers. Covid outbreaks in
about $2 higher than in 2019 as distributors
processing crews shut down some plants,
redirected product into retail chains.
Oregon shrimp trawlers put in another
Forty North Oyster Farms
great year in 2020 with a harvest of 43.14
Matt Gregg of Forty North Oyster Farms pilots a load of oysters to Barnegat Bay, N.J.
Egg Harbor and the Mullica River. A $70,000 grant to the Haskins lab from the NOAA Sea Grant Covid-19 Rapid Response Aquaculture Funding Opportunity funded the project, which wrapped in October. Most of the money went to growers at $0.65 per oyster. Moving those older oysters should increase the biomass and oyster larvae in the water — and could serve as a demonstration of how to bring more commercial oyster growers into ecosystem restoration programs. “These older oysters are at an ideal reproductive age,” said Lisa Calvo, a marine scientist and aquaculture program coordinator at Rutgers University — New Brunswick’s Haskin Shellfish Research Laboratory and New Jersey Sea Grant. The idea has been kicking around the aquaculture and coastal science community for some time, said Calvo, who hopes the transplanting “will serve as a model for future efforts and establish To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
while others worked with skeleton crews to
Prices were even better for some fisher-
freeze the shrimp whole instead of cooking
men selling king salmon directly to consum-
and shelling it first.
ers or into street markets.
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YEARBOOK
TOP STORIES 2020
ALASKA
MARKET REPORT
W
hen covid hit Alaska, some of the
“Covid came along, and the market just skyrocketed,” says Evridge.
Salmon
changes to the seafood industry
“Going into the season, even before
were immediate for those in the
covid, the canned salmon market was hot,”
throes of seasons that were underway. Cod
says Evridge.
and other winter-spring fisheries suffered
By March the world had revved into the
immediate blows to product flow, while
full swing of hoarding toilet paper, staple
others like the salmon industry had time
foods and other commodities.
to construct industry protocols before the
In the fishery, establishing protocols for
onslaught of fish returned to the nearshore
the upcoming season began at the commu-
waters.
nity level to prevent spreading of the virus
While the pandemic disrupted the har-
as seasonal, transient processing crews
vest and processing sectors of the fishing
began assembling in California and else-
industry, the ripples it sent to consumers
where along the West Coast. Community
can’t hurt seafood in the long run.
action plans varied, and many fishermen
“The milk dumping and the closing of
found themselves living aboard, offshore
slaughterhouses prompted the question:
from seaports and other areas of possible
‘Where does my food come from?’” says
close contact.
Garret Evridge, a fisheries economist with
In Bristol Bay, the onslaught of sock-
McKinley Research, formerly McDowell
eyes arrived whether communities and pro-
Group, in Anchorage.
cessing crews were ready or not. Though
As for the product forms, shelf-stable
major fish plants had strict protocols in
items like canned salmon and frozen fish
place, there were some glitches that trans-
sticks made from pollock found high de-
lated to catch limits to the fleet. An unfor-
mand. Meanwhile, markets for other spe-
tunate side effect of a lot of fish in a short
cies like herring, blackcod, red king crab
amount of time, a “compression of the har-
and groundfish fell subject to dynamics that
vest,” as managers call it, is that the ma-
usurped the pandemic. Fishermen who’d
jority of sockeyes went to market in frozen
done the groundwork in self-marketing ven-
H&G form, where in other years processors
tures before covid found high demand and
have set up additional value added opera-
substantially higher prices for their value-
tions in the plants.
added products.
a shellfish exchange that will serve as a broker, linking shellfish farmers and restoration practitioners.” The newly formed Seafood4Health Action Coalition of more than 46 organizations (full list available at eatseafoodamerica.com), convened by the Seafood Nutrition Partnership created a consumer outreach program called Eat Seafood, America! The program is aimed at helping Americans stay healthy, boosting the U.S. seafood economy, and supporting the industry’s 2 million domestic workers. The initiative launched in April 2020 and appears to have been successful in 36 National Fisherman \ April 2021
Canned salmon saw high demand, as
encouraging consumers to eat more seafood. Consumers surveyed in June and July were three times more likely to have increased their seafood consumption after seeing the campaign’s messaging. Relief aid The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Seafood Trade Relief Program offered a narrow bright spot with a Jan. 15, 2021, deadline for fishermen to apply for a portion of the $530 million package to help compensate for an estimated $250 million in losses in trade wars with China and the European Union. Complications in fishing businesses’
ability to a qualify for emergency loans under the Paycheck Protection Program passed under the CARES Act in March 2020 left many shut out of the first round of loans and waiting for distribution of the $300 million in aid set aside for the fishing industry under the relief bill and second round of loans, which opened in early 2021. After the Department of Commerce announced its allocations for distributing fisheries-specific CARES Act aid through the states, coming up with stateby-state plans lagged well into the fall. As the year drew to a close, a third of those funds remained for delivery as states labored to complete distributions. In Alaska there was protracted debate over how to allocate the aid among the state’s vibrant and varied fisheries. “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. The Northeast 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 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 was able to set aside $1 million of the CARES Act funds to launch a Maine Seafood brand to promote all of www.nationalfisherman.com
YEARBOOK
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,” said Nichols. “We’re going to be doing some storytelling about the industry for consumers going forward.” Storytelling has long been a touchstone for fishing communities to connect with customers.
ALASKA
MARKET REPORT
Maine Lobster Marketing Collaborative
TOP STORIES 2020
Maine lobstermen will get a second seafood promotion brand with CARES funds.
The industry’s ability to survive the catastrophic market collapse of 2020 speaks to the flexibility and ingenuity of our nation’s commercial fishing fleets. But unity in the face of adversity was
Pollock
what kept so many fishermen fishing throughout 2020 and into this year. “There is a powerful underlying bond that exists at all times in fishing communities,” said Dock to Dish Cofounder Sean Barrett. “That’s what has enabled this industry to survive hardship after hardship after hardship over many decades. At times like these, you can see it and feel it more than ever as everyone prepares for more hardship to come. It lets each other know that there may be many different boats, but we’re all part of the same fleet.” Jessica Hathaway is editor in chief and Kirk Moore is associate editor for National Fisherman. Samuel Hill, a freelance writer based in Portland, Ore., contributed to this report.
April, the geoducks were testing high for
With the widespread closure of res-
PSP. When restaurants reopened in sum-
did many frozen products. Base prices
taurants across the United States came
mer, Chinese buyers needed product, and
from major processor started at 70 cents
a surge in sales of shelf-stable or frozen
the fleet went fishing.
with incentives for refrigeration and bleed-
seafood entrees. Alaska single frozen pol-
Though a summer harvest was unprec-
ing that put ex-vessel averages above 90
lock fillets had already been enjoying wide-
edented in the history of the fishery, the
cents.
spread success in domestic markets and
PSP levels were low, and divers harvested
Though the fleet was hopeful of ret-
in Europe. But when protocols for home-
nearly the entire GHL of 700,000 pounds.
roactive price adjustments, depending on
schooling and working from home fell into
profits from the processors and their upline
place, the season of fish sticks ensued.
distributors, self-marketers like Grant Niv-
The beauty of the fish sticks, according to
Halibut longliners left 31 percent of the
er, saw a huge leap in demand by custom-
the marketing folks at Genuine Alaska Pol-
allocated 11.81 million-pound IFQ harvest
ers wanting to buy sockeye fillets from the
lock Producers, in Seattle, was that con-
swimming in the ocean for 2020, which
family company Surrender Salmon.
sumers could depend on a reliable source
was close to the same amount of uncaught
of protein that was easy to cook.
quota in 2019. Declining biomass and low-
Niver began operating the business
Halibut
in Minneapolis, Minn., in 2013, and sales
As it turned out, an appreciable sector
er allocations in poundage per IFQ holder
have doubled since then. Niver says orders
of the country was not familiar with cook-
had driven ex-vessel prices had driven up
for the salmon, which are packaged in in-
ing their own meals, but they could man-
ex-vessel prices in years past; however, it
dividual portions, account for 10 percent of
age to toss the fish sticks onto a pan, set
appears that with the overall shortage of
their Bristol Bay catch.
their ovens for 425 degrees and turn out a
halibut consumers have switched to sub-
great meal.
stitute species.
Geoduck
covid crimped the pipeline to restaurants,
“We get a lot of feedback about the convenience of our salmon,” says Niver. “And also the ease of having it delivered
The good news for halibut is that when
to their front door. We were able to bring
For Alaska’s geoduck divers the pan-
the retail market absorbed the volume, and
the world’s best salmon to people’s homes
demic’s patterns actually provided perfect
the expectations are that the 2021 season
during a time when they were trying to
timing in Chinese markets. When restau-
will begin with scant frozen holdover inven-
avoid trips to the grocery store.”
rants initially closed down in March and
tories.
To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
— Charlie Ess
April 2021 \ National Fisherman 37
BOATS & GEAR
ELECTRONIC REPORTING
LOGGED ON The venerable captain’s logbook is moving to digital By Paul Molyneaux
wo forces are driving the development of While Deckhand is being tested in the Bering Sea opilio digital logbooks: government regulations and crab fishery, Solberg is currently focused on developing the app fishermen’s empowerment. On Nov. 11, 2021, to meet the needs of fishermen forced to move to electronic NOAA begins requiring all federally permit- trip reports. According to Solberg, Deckhand is being designed ted vessels in the Greater Atlantic Region to allow fishermen in the Atlantic to feed data to NOAA. — North Carolina to the Hague Line — to file trip reports “The issue is the cost of developing the software,” he says. electronically. “The data gets in quicker,” says NOAA’s Allison “It’s nearly impossible to customize this for every fishery.” Ferreira. “It reduces the potential for error.” To resolve that issue, Solberg is rolling out a software cusAlong with NOAA, the Catomizing engine called Catch nadian Department of FisherFlow. ies and Oceans and the fisheries “Anyone with some promanagement agencies of many gramming skill can learn the other countries are also moving language, design their own protoward electronic trip reports, gram, and snap it onto our core,” — Lange Solberg, DECKHAND/REAL TIME DATA which normally include catch Solberg says. “We had a woman and bycatch statistics. But there is here, and we asked her to try it. often much more information in She learned it in a week.” a logbook that is of inestimable value to fishermen. Once on a Solberg believes fishermen will be able to do a lot more boat I crewed on, the captain’s logbooks were stolen. Someone with electronic logbooks. Real Time Data is based in Australwanted the map to our fishing grounds, and it was there in ia, where fishermen were faced with Marine Protected Areas those books. without acceptable documentation of their use of those areas. “It’s all about the beast, and the beast is data,” says Lange “When it came time to come to the table, they had no Solberg, a former skipper of a Bristol Bay salmon boat and now evidence,” says Solberg. “Ninety percent of collecting data is to the head of business development North America for Real support management decisions. Fishermen will be able to do Time Data, which developed Deckhand, a digital logbook. a lot more than file trip reports. They will be able to overlay
T
Deckhand photos
“It’s all about the beast, and the beast is data.”
Deckhand’s logbooks made their way to the Maine Fishermen’s Forum in 2020 — and onto a local lobster boat. 38 National Fisherman \ April 2021
A fisherman with a master’s in Marine Affairs, Lange Solberg knows what fishermen need and how to get it to them. www.nationalfisherman.com
BOATS & GEAR
Chad Lowenberg
ELECTRONIC REPORTING
Chad Lowenberg takes Deckhand’s electronic logbook for a trial run in the Bering Sea crab fishery.
To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
April 2021 \ National Fisherman 39
BOATS & GEAR
Harbor Light Software is one of several companies working to help Atlantic fishermen comply with mandatory electronic trip reporting.
maps on their data and interface with other electronics. Deckhand will redefine what a logbook is.” For now, Deckhand is available as an iPad app. It can be downloaded for free, but to upgrade will cost. “We’re still working on our price structure,” says Solberg. “But right now it’s $500 a year for the service to connect with NOAA.” Brett Alger, NOAA’s electronic technologies coordinator, predicts a boom in electronic reporting, and believes fishermen will take advantage of what digital data collection can offer them. “Right now we have over 10,000 federally permitted vessels in our waters. And of those, 3,000 are using some kind of electronic reporting voluntarily. I think in the next few years, that number will double.” Alger notes that with the Greater Atlantic Region requiring electronic vessel trip reports starting in November 2021, and other regions heading in that direction, electronic vessel trip reports, or eVTRs, will become the norm. “The Gulf of Mexico and the South Atlantic are going that way, and the Western Pacific is in a rule-making process for pelagic longliners,” says Alger. Software for vessels mandated or filing eVTRs voluntarily, will come from numerous developers, according to Alger. To date, NOAA has approved several vendors for the Greater Atlantic region — Safis eTrips Online,Teem Fish Monitoring, and Harbor Light Software. “I’d imagine there will be more 40 National Fisherman \ April 2021
looking to be certified as we lead up to November 2021,” says NOAA’s Ferreira. According to Alger, some government agencies are also developing software.“The Northeast Science Center has their own software, and some regional offices have their own software,” he says. “There are 42 data elements that NOAA requires. People can choose from various vendors, depending on what they offer,” Alger says. Harbor Light Software for example, offers a 24/7 help desk. Alger also notes that developers may add other elements used for marketing and traceability, for example, or to empower fishermen. “We don’t have direct involvement in that other than merging dealer reports with trip reports. Sometimes dealers and fishermen have to make an agreement on data sharing.” Besides VTRs and dealer reports, NOAA also collects data from observers, electronic monitoring, and vessel monitoring systems. Alger believes software developers will eventually create a single, integrated system. “Private companies can offer more bells and whistles,” he says. “They can include maps overlaid with catch rates and bathymetric data. Or tools for business development. Fishermen are already doing this, they have had to evolve rapidly in response to covid and market disruption. The Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association is collecting and sharing data among themselves to help manage quota
more efficiently.” Alger believes any system, paper or electronic, can lend itself to errors. “You can hit the wrong button on an eVTR,” he says. “But the software can catch those errors.” According to Alger, the switch from paper to digital is going to require a great deal of outreach and education. “In order for this to work, we are going to have to help people figure out how to log in, find their accounts and enter data,” he says. Among those who have developed software, the Nature Conservancy made waves when it purchased 13 groundfish permits in California. The nonprofit organization has transferred those rights to four California communities. But in the process of rebuilding stocks, the NGO developed its own data collection software, eCatch. “We first developed eCatch to identify bycatch hotspots and allow fishermen to share data,” says Kate Kauer, fisheries strategy lead at the Nature Conservancy. “But of the 10 choke species, only one is still at risk.” The eCatch logbook was designed specifically for the California Groundfish Collective. Having served its purpose, the NGO has no plans update it. But it was used to monetize data in one way. “We took the data to Seafood Watch
Nature Conservancy
Harbor Light Software
ELECTRONIC REPORTING
The eCatch software helps fishermen avoid bycatch by identifying hotspots. www.nationalfisherman.com
BOATS & GEAR
ELECTRONIC REPORTING
Vericatch
Hawkins. “They’re giving the story. People aren’t just buying the fish, they’re buying the whole thing.” While most direct marketing is small scale oriented, Hawkins notes that Pacific Seafoods also uses traceability data if they see a benefit. “If tracing adds value, they use it,” Hawkins adds. He believes the value of data and collective data is only beginning to be realized. “Traditionally, fishermen don’t want
to submit their records, they want to avoid it,” he says. But he notes that electronic data is more accurate and more trusted by scientists, and it can lead to better managed and more profitable fisheries. “This,” Hawkins says, “has value.” Paul Molyneaux is the Boats & Gear editor for National Fisherman and author of “The Doryman’s Reflection.”
Electronic logbooks like Vericatch can also help fishermen work more efficiently and market their catch.
and asked them to do a separate analysis of the collective’s fish,” says Kauer. “Seafood Watch gave the collective’s fish a green light. I love to see the value chain recognize that,” Kauer says, referring to the value of the data. In Canada, Vericatch is the most well-known of eLogbook developers. The company offers eLOG, an app for eVTR submissions to the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans. “Just report your catch once, and our system makes sure your data gets to the right people — securely. We pride ourselves on adhering to and exceeding industry standards for data protection and encryption,” says the company’s website. Vericatch’s mobile fisheries app allows fishermen to submit trip reports as well as analyze their own data and shared data. “The Holy Grail is for fishermen to see where they get their fish, so they don’t have to spend money on diesel searching,” says Vericatch CEO Julian Hawkins. “A digitized logbook is searchable, and you can ask it: Show me where I set, how I set my net, what time of day, and all those bits of information that can help them know where they’re most likely to catch fish.” Vericatch also makes a program called KnowYour.Fish, which allows fishermen to offer buyers full traceability. “Some fishermen want to set up a website, put QR codes on their fish and sell them for a better price,” says To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
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BOATS & GEAR
AROUND THE YARDS
NORTHEAST
Boatshop expands Mitchell Cove 35 hull; plenty of repair work at Friendship shop By Michael Crowley
t’s a big step up for a Cutler, Maine, lobsterman who will be going from a 20-footer to the 35 Mitchell Cove that’s being built at Feeney Boat Shop in Cutler, Maine, with a 705-hp Cat C12. The shop’s Patrick Feeney refers to the 35-footer as being fitted out like an “old-school lobster boat,” with no below-deck lobster storage and an open wheelhouse. Though instead of fiberglass and plywood construction, it is being built with all composite materials. The 35-footer is due to be launched this spring, but it should be completed before then. Since Feeney Boat Shop has the Mitchell Cove 20, 32, 35 and 37 molds, it’s not surprising the Cutler boatshop turns out a lot of Mitchell Cove designs. In addition to the 35-footer already mentioned, that includes a pair of 35 Mitchell Cove hulls and tops that will be fi nished off by the boats’ owners. One is for a nearby Milbridge fisherman and the other is going south to the Portland area. A bigger, more complicated project involves a new lobster boat that was started at the beginning of January. It requires laying up a 35 Mitchell Cove hull then cutting it up to widen and lengthen it. The fi nished dimensions will be 40 to 41 feet long with a beam stretched out from the standard 13 feet 3 inches to somewhere between 15 feet 6 inches and 16 feet. Those are rough measurements because, Feeney says, “I haven’t done this before to this extent. The hull will be cut into at least four pieces,” plus the keel, which will not be altered. Feeney Boat Shop also has a number of repair jobs, including redoing the outside of a 34 Libby that Feeney 42 National Fisherman \ April 2021
Feeney Boat Shop
I
Feeney Boat Shop is building this 35 Mitchell Cove with a 705-hp Cat for a Cutler, Maine, lobsterman.
Friendship Boats
estimates was built in 2002 or 2003. Dings and dents to the hull’s outside need to be fi lled, and then the hull will be sprayed with Awlgrip. A 36 H&H lobster boat was in for a new fuel tank. Since the deck is near the point that it needs to be replaced and the old fuel tank is coming out, a
new deck will also go down. Anybody wanting a 20' x 9'1" Mitchell Cove hull should get ahold of Feeney because the shop is laying up hulls and tops for two 20-footers. One is going to a lobsterman in southern Maine, and the other is a spec boat. Friendship Boats in Friendship, Maine, fi nished and launched a 28foot Mussel Ridge last July. That was the Heather’s Boys, built for Isaac Simmons, the 14-year-old grandson of Friendship Boats’ Randy Young. In January, Heather’s Boys was back to Friendship Boats “for some changeovers, after he fished on it for a little bit,” Young says. “He didn’t like its plastic fuel tank and wanted more fuel capacity.” So the 50-gallon plastic tank will be replaced with a 75-gallon custom tank. In January, a 35 Young Brothers was due in to be repowered with a 350hp Cat that will replace a Volvo. “He got all he can get out of [the Volvo],” says Young. He expects the prop will also have to be replaced. A 46 Wayne Beal that Friendship Boats fi nished off three years ago was also scheduled for alterations in February. That includes extending the wheelhouse aft, some gelcoating on the inside of the hull and reinforcing the platform prior to installing a mast and Continued on page 45
Friendship Boats launched the 28-foot Heather’s Boys last July. Now it’s back in the shop for a larger fuel tank.
www.nationalfisherman.com
BOATS & GEAR
AROUND THE YARDS
SOUTH
Fisher and Sisson cut several years ago and cured at the railway. “Fifty years ago, boatbuilders could get good lumber from a local sawmill, but they did not have very good fasteners,” says Fisher. “Today we can’t buy good boat lumber and that’s why we cut our own, but we have great fasteners. If the old wooden boats had had the fasteners we have today, they’d have lasted a lot longer.” The new horn timber is bolted to the keel with stainless steel bolts. Fisher inquired about his old friend and boatbuilder Willard Norris. “We worked together at VMRC. And when I had a problem here that I couldn’t fix, I’d call him and he’d talk me through it,” he says. Willard Hamilton Norris, 94, passed away on Jan. 7, the last active traditional wooden boatbuilder in Deltaville, Va., where more deadrise commercial wooden boats have been built over the years than anywhere else on Chesapeake Bay.
Wooden deadrise gets a new horn timber; Chesapeake legend Willard Norris dies at 94
Larry Chowning
By Larry Chowning
T
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The Deltaville-built Nassawadox is on the rails at A.C. Fisher Jr. Marine Railway in Wicomico Church, Va., to receive a new horn timber.
Amazingly, Fisher uses very little purchased milled lumber, as he goes out into the Northumberland County, Va., forest ever year to purchase and cut down five spruce pine and a couple white oak trees. He has it milled locally for boat lumber. Fisher says out of the five pine trees, he is lucky to get three that can be used for boat lumber because of the disease red heart. The two unusable trees are milled and sold for house lumber. Red heart or “red ring rot” is a disease that ruins the tree for boat lumber use. “We can’t tell which trees have it until we cut it down,” says Fisher. Red heart is a disease usually found in mature pine trees where the heart of the tree is infected by the fungus Phellinus pini. “The areas along the red colors in the heart of the tree are very susceptible to rot,” says Fisher. “The infected wood is fine to use as house lumber in places where water doesn’t touch it. I have it milled and sell it to house builders who come by.” The new horn timber in the Nassawadox is shaped from a 12" x 12" x 8' long spruce pine timber and came from a tree
Larry Chowning
he last time this column had an update on A.C. Fisher Jr. Marine Railway at Wicomico Church, Va., was in the June 2002 issue. It is refreshing to note that nothing much has changed at the yard, as the railway still hauls about 30 boats a year on the larger railway and maintains the Virginia Marine Resource Commission’s small-boat fleet on a smaller railway. The yard is as traditional as any yard in the South. In January, the 41-foot wooden deadrise workboat Nassawadox was up on the rails getting a new horn timber. In wooden boat construction the horn timber ties the keel and transom together, with the propeller shaft running through the horn timber and skeg. A horn timber shapes a concave bottom near the stern. When the boat is underway, a concave bottom helps to keep the stern down, just touching the water, and aids the boat in staying level in the water. A solid-piece horn timber is a tricky element to replace. Andy Sisson of Mila, Va., is installing the horn timber. The owner of the yard, Junior Fisher, says Sisson is a master boat carpenter. Whenever there is a major job to do on a wooden boat at his yard, Sisson is called in.
Willard Norris died Jan. 7 at age 94.
Norris was born in 1927 in Deltaville to a traditional boatbuilding family. In fact, he had boatbuilders on both sides of his family. His grandfather, Ed Deagle, built deadrise boats on the shoreline at his home on Jackson Creek where Willard was born. His uncle Pete Deagle, repaired log canoes next door. Willard learned the trade by helping his uncle Alfred Norris at his yard “across the road.” Continued on page 45 April 2021 \ National Fisherman 43
BOATS & GEAR
AROUND THE YARDS
WEST
Abrupt stop sends seiner in for planking work; seine skiff meets the builder’s expectations
Port Townsend Shipwrights Co-Op
By Michael Crowley
t the Port Townsend Shipwrights Co-op, planks were being removed from the 58-foot seiner Defiance the second week in January, all because of an abrupt encounter with a large rock that put “a good-size hole in the bottom of the boat and tore the keel cooler off,” says Brad Seamans, one of the co-op’s 12 owners and the one in charge of the Defiance project. Seamans admits he’s surprised the Defiance didn’t sink. “He got real lucky,” Seamans adds. The Defiance managed to limp into the Alaska port of Cordova to be hauled out and have a large plywood patch fastened over the impact area, received a new keel cooler and the fuel tank was patched. The Defiance finished the season and then was hauled at the Port Townsend Shipwrights Co-op in Port Townsend, Wash. Seamans estimates when the Defiance leaves, she’ll go out with at least 10 new frames and 20 planks. That doesn’t include some frames Port Townsend Shipwrights Co-op had sistered seven years ago, which splintered out to the inside of the boat upon hitting the rock. Those will have to be replaced, and a couple of
After an encounter with a large rock, the 58-foot Defiance was hauled at Port Townsend Shipwrights Co-op to have part of her bottom rebuilt.
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44 National Fisherman \ April 2021
Bay Weld Boats
ceiling planks might also be replaced. Prior to starting work on the Defiance, Port Townsend Shipwrights received a load of Port Orford cedar from Oregon, which will be used for the new planking. The planking will be fastened with galvanized #20 screws. A hole needs to be cut in the fish hold to get at the 10-foot-long fuel tank that was damaged. It will be replaced with two 5-foot tanks.
The Polaris, an 82-foot wooden halibut schooner built in 1913, will be hauled in February to be caulked along the starboard side. She’ll also have the shaft aligned and get bottom and topside painting. The 65-foot Evening Star, built in 1945, left in January after being set up to fish with pots. She had always been a traditional longliner. Last season, Seamans says a sonar interference machine was used to try and keep whales away from the fishing gear, and avoid having to go to pots. “But it was more an attractor than a deterrent for the whales,” he says. Thus the switch to pots. In June 2020, Bay Weld Boats completed a 23' x 11' 6" seine skiff that would be matched up with the seiner Mary Ann for a Kodiak, Alaska, fisherman. The seine skiff had the largest water jet installed in a Bay Weld Boatsbuilt seine skiff and was the heaviest seine skiff to come out of the Homer, Alaska, boatshop by about 30 percent. A lot was expected from the skiff. “It will be noteworthy,” said Bay Weld Boats’ Eric Engebretsen, even before the skiff was completed. After sea trials and a season of fishing, Engebretsen’s predictions seem to have been born out. Engebretsen figured a 6,000-pound bollard pull was possible, and he was very close when the maximum bollard pull turned out to be 5,950 pounds.
Bay Weld Boats delivered this 23' x 11' 6" seine skiff last June. She has a 35-mph top speed and 5,950-pound bollard pull. www.nationalfisherman.com
BOATS & GEAR
AROUND THE YARDS
Around the Yards: Northeast Continued from page 42
boom. “He’s doing a lot more with it — pogies, tuna and lobstering — so he uses the boat constantly. Three years old, time for basic TLC.” Young was also looking forward to possibly building some new boats in March.
To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
Around the Yards: South Continued from page 43
Deltaville Maritime Museum
“It was a significant jump from anything we had built before,” he says. A 35-mph maximum speed was hoped for, and that was delivered. The key to these performance figures was the Thrustmaster HI500 water jet with a 20-inch pump matched up with a 500-hp 8.3 L Cummins QSC through a ZF 305-3 marine gear. Previously Bay Weld Boats’ best bollard pull delivered by a water jet hooked up to a 500-hp diesel was 4,600 or 4,700 pounds. This “was a pretty significant jump in pulling power for no more horsepower,” noted Engebretsen. Bay Weld Boats has built skiffs that topped out at 35 mph, but those skiffs came in at about 9,000 pounds (dry weight), whereas the Mary Ann’s skiff is 10,200-pounds (dry weight). A lot of the additional weight comes from being two feet longer than most earlier skiffs and being built with a doubleplated bow and extra framing throughout. Then add to the boat’s weight a 500-gallon fuel capacity, compared to a normal skiff ’s 200 to 250 gallons. The benefit of the extra fuel is that fishing time is extended between refuels, while the beefed up scantlings and their extra weight produces a skiff that “performs better in rough weather,” says Engebretsen. “It’s kind of a closer match to what a seiner’s capabilities are. It’s not a weak link anymore.”
The late Willard Norris was the last active wooden-boat builder in Deltaville, Va., long a traditional center of the industry.
Norris later went on to work for his uncle Lee Deagle at Deagle and Son Marine Railway. Deagle’s was a melting pot of wooden boatbuilding knowledge. The yard employed former log canoe and deadrise boatbuilders, many working there between boat orders. On the side, Norris was building traditional wooden boats. One day, Norris got an offer to work for the Virginia Marine Resource Commission in charge of maintaining boats. After retiring from the commission, he continued to build boats and run fishing parties. Over his career, Norris built more than 100 deadrise boats and was still building deadrise and flat-bottom skiffs in his shop at the age of 91. Fisher had not heard that Norris had died. On hearing the news, he blurted out “Willard is dead! Damn!” He briefly spoke of his appreciation for Norris and told Sisson, “I’ve got to go inside. I got to go in and think about Willard.”
April 2021 \ National Fisherman 45
BOATS & GEAR
PRODUCT ROUNDUP
Spring a trap Slinky pots take over for Alaska’s blackcod hooks By Brian Hagenbuch
oft, collapsible pots — known as slinky pots — are swiftly taking over for hooks in Alaska’s blackcod fishery, offering an affordable, space-saving conversion that has all but eliminated crippling whale depredation. Slinky pots were developed by California fisherman and biologist Alexander Stubbs, who needed a trap solution for longlining blackcod but did not have room for traditional rigid pots on his 25-foot vessel. Stubbs found inspiration in the smaller collapsible traps he uses to collect samples in his work as a biologist. The sample traps “worked, but they just weren’t durable enough to be able to use them commercially, and obviously they weren’t big enough to catch blackcod,” Stubbs said. He set about scaling up the sample
S
traps until he found the right size and materials, settling on acoustic webbing that blocks whale sonar shrouded over galvanized spring steel frames. Slinky pots — which Stubbs markets under the name CodCoil — hit the water en masse last summer to rave reviews from fishermen. “We have thousands and thousands of these in use in Alaska now. People send me videos of sperm whales and orca whales diving on the gear, and they’re catching fish and making money,” Stubbs said. Not only do the pots fit on decks that cannot accommodate rigid pots, they also weigh just 10 to 16 pounds and
The CodCoil is an affordable small-boat pot revolution.
can be hauled without a new, pricey hydraulic system and haulers. Plus, the pots themselves are relatively cheap. Stubbs is now manufacturing a few different grades and sizes in Indonesia and China, with prices ranging from $75 to $150.
CODCOIL
www.longlinepots.com
Smooth navigation Dual bronze propellers provide the right thrust By Brian Hagenbuch
ew Bedford’s Imtra has rolled out distribution of a new line called Side-Power thrusters, available in four different tunnel sizes to fit a range of commercial applications for retrofits or new builds.The new thrusters have 12-, 16-, 20- or 24-inch tunnels, with all sizes packing 3,000 pounds of force thrust. Each unit has two heavy-duty bronze, five-blade propellers that counter-rotate, exerting thrust in two directions and offering more control than single propeller thrusters. They have an oil-fed gear lubrication system, and the oil can be changed for the two larger sizes, while the boat is in the water to avoid expensive haulouts. Gearlegs on the Side-Power thrusters have been designed to be as compact and
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46 National Fisherman \ April 2021
low profile as possible, maximizing water flow through the propellers and increasing the thrust output. “The Side-Power range of thrusters are reliable, powerful, and ideal for the kinds of demanding conditions commercial vessels encounter every day. We are confident this new range of products will be an important addition to your retrofit or newbuild,” said Alex Larson, Imtra’s vice president of commercial sales. The entire Side-Power line is available in AC-powered or hydraulic versions, with proportional or on/off controls. Models powered by AC come with proportional controllers as well as a range of programmed variable-frequency drives. The system is agile, with the possibility of multiple control stations via
New thrusters come in four sizes.
CANbus networking and several joystick control arrangements to fit the needs of particular vessels and fisheries. “The factory completely engineers the system, including pump and valve specification, hose diameter and pressure ratings, electrical system, and all pumps and valves are preset for pressures and flows,” the company said.
IMTRA
www.imtra.com
www.nationalfisherman.com
BOATS & GEAR
PRODUCTS AT A GLANCE
The LARS THRANE IRIDIUM LT3100S GMDSS TERMINAL makes the claim of providing the first truly global GMDSS service. With Iridium as the provider, GDMSS extends to “100 percent of the planet’s waterways, including the Arctic and Antarctic for the first time,” according to the makers. The package consists of a control unit, handset and antenna, and the system also provides competitive rates on SMS, voice, data vessel tracking, and other Iridium-enabled services.
IRIDIUM
www.iridium.com
HUBBELL MARINE offers three configurations of its space-saving USB CHARGER RECEPTACLES. These plates replace traditional electrical outlets and accommodate two- and threepronged plugs while adding USB inlets to charge devices simultaneously. They support 1.1/2.0/3.0 devices, including Apple products, and the USB ports are rated for 10,000 insertions and removals. It is available in Type A and Type C configurations. A commercial-grade version is available for exposed locations.
FLOW-RITE makes it easier to add water to hard-to-reach battery banks with its PRO-FILL ONBOARD BATTERY WATERING SYSTEM. A valve manifold connects to fill ports in batteries, and the manifold is plumbed to a tube connected to a freshwater supply. The system has a water barrier, flame arrestor, and prevents acid splash. Each battery requires the Pro-Fill manifold, but up to eight units can plumbed together and filled at once. The system is built to fit a range of 6-, 8-, and 12-volt batteries.
In an effort to reduce waste and take advantage of excess material, the people at the GRUNDÉNS factory in Poulsbo, Wash., started scooping up scrap pieces of their Balder Bibs to make a new TOTE BAG. The upcycled PVC/PU blend material is saved from the landfill and makes for a solid (and waterproof!) beach, grocery, or boatyard bag. Handles are made of sturdy webbing with the Grundéns logo, and there is a handy side pouch. Available only online.
FLOW-RITE
GRUNDÉNS
www.flow-rite.com
www.grundens.com
With electronics like sonar and GPS sponging up DC power on boats, efficient lighting is more important than ever. HELLA MARINE’S SURFACE STRIP LAMPS crank out 250 lumens of pervasive light while using less than three watts. The surface-mount lights are 11 inches long by an inch wide and come with a 45-degree bracket for increased mounting options. Options include 5,000K white or 2,700K warm white output, along with optional blue or red secondary bulbs.
The new AC-FLARE GUN is a simple, solid pistol that shoots 26.5-millimeter flares and smoke grenades. The body of the gun is made of a heavy-duty polymer to hold up to weather and be used in a wide range of temperatures. The gun’s stainless steel barrel guarantees at least 2,000 full-power flare shots. The 18.6-ounce gun comes with a rugged case. The AC-Flare Gun is manufactured in Bosnia and distributed in the United States by RTG Parts.
HUBBELL MARINE
HELLA MARINE
RTG PARTS
www.hubbell.com
www.hellamarine.com
www.rtgparts.com
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April 2021 \ National Fisherman 47
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
75’ RYSCO TRAWLER BUILT 1977 WITH FEDERAL + NJ PERMITS D343 cat, twin disc 514 6 to 1 clutch norpro 22.5 kw gen. presently fishing owner retiring, includes all gear, permits. Scup, sea bass, Summer flounder moratorium, loligo tier one, gen cat LA scallops with lbs, NEMulti species DAS, NJ Fluke, C bass.
Price: $550,000 Contact: Call Jim 732-840-9560
48 National Fisherman \ April 2021
www.nationalfisherman.com
CLASSIFIEDS
Dock Street Brokers (206) 789-5101 (800) 683-0297
CO18-018 48’x15’x8.5’ fiberglass combination vessel. Rawson hull, completed in 1999 by Little Hoquiam Boatworks. Twin John Deere 6076 mains rated at 250 hp each. Twin Disc 5061 gear with 2:1 ratio. Cruises at 10 knots. 25 kw Yanmar generator. 15 ton IMS RSW system. Deck crane. VHF, Furuno autopilot, GPS, Foruno radars (2), color video sounder, and Nobeltech navigation system. Asking $450,000. SE19-005 55’x16.7’x7’ wood seiner package with net and skiff, built by Berg in 1948. Detroit 8v71 main rated at 285 hp, w/ Twin Disc reduction gear. Northern Lights 13 kW auxiliary. 15 ton RSW system. Packs 60,000# in (2) holds. Includes powerblock, self pursing winch, and davits. 19’ aluminum skiff w/ 6v53 Jimmy and 3.5 strip SE seine included. Complete package ready to fish. Asking $165,000. TN20-001 53’x18’x9’ steel combination tuna troller / bait boat built by Trask in 1974. Cat 4306T rated at 350 hp. Twin Disc 514 gear w/ 4.5:1 ratio. Isuzu 4BG1N 40 kW and Isuzu 4BG1T 50 kW gensets. (2) Carrier 5F60 compressors, (2) 15 hp motors, titanium condensers and Carver 2L 2.5”x2.0” circ pumps. (6) insulated fish holds pack 78k lbs total. All holds can freeze to - 10 deg., and have RSW. Removable aluminum bait tanks. Boom winch, (5) spool tuna pullers, (2) lampara bait nets, hydraulic net puller, fish chute system, Wagner T ram, poles and fishing gear included. Electronics include sonar, (2) sat phones, computer, radar, isolated battery banks and more. Full galley and (6) berths. Asking $500,000. BB20-028 32’x11.5’ aluminum, flush deck, Bristol Bay gillnetter built by Shore in 1982. Cat 3126 rated at 420 hp w/ rebuilt Twin Disc 506 reduction gear. Kem Equipment drive, sliding reel w/ Maritime Fab. auto levelwind. Packs 10k lbs in (8) fish holds. Recent improvements include new injectors, fuel pump, batteries, turbo, and aftercool flush. Electronics include (3) VHF, (3) GPS, and radar. Fridge, (4) berths, and diesel stove. Includes (15) shackles, all deck gear, spares, tools and more. Permit available with vessel. Asking $110,000. BP21-001 32’x11.5’x2’ fiberglass jet bowpicker built by Buffalo/Peterzelka in 2010. Twin 6.0 liter 8-cyl mains w/ Hamilton HJ 213 jets and low hours. 30 kt cruise. Fish hold packs 7,500 lbs. Aluminum drum w/ KEM K-RD drive, levelwind, hydraulic power roller, and Pacer washdown pump. Excellent electronics. Includes King triple-axle trailer. Turnkey vessel in like-new condition. Asking $135,000. CR20-021 42’x13.9’x6’ fiberglass Delta/LeClercq tophouse seiner rigged for crab, built in 1974. John Deere 6067A main rated at 300 hp w/ Twin Disc 502 gear. 20 kW Northern Lights gen set. Packs 15,000 lbs crab. Deck equipment includes aluminum main boom w/ topping, vanging and slider, picking boom w/ PL4, crab davit w/ steering station and hydraulics. Complete electronics. Survey available. Asking $195,000, motivated seller.
www.dockstreetbrokers.com To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
HALIBUT IFQ 2C-C-B: 3A-B-U: 3A-B-U: 4A-C-B:
3,700 lbs...........asking 8,200 lbs...........asking 3,600 lbs...........asking 7,600 lbs...........asking
SABLEFISH IFQ $48.00 $46.00 $45.00 $13.00
AI-B-U: 14,000 lbs...........asking $3.00 BS-B-B: 6,100 lbs............asking $3.00 CG-C-U: 51,000 lbs...........asking $14.00 CG-C-U: 25,000 lbs...........asking $14.00 SE-B-B: 7,000 lbs.............asking $15.00 WG-B-B: 4,100 lbs.............asking $10.00 WG-B-B: 6,000 lbs.............asking $10.00 WG-B-B: 5,500 lbs.............asking $8.00 WY-C-U: 16,000 lbs...........asking $16.50
TE20-005 82’x22’x8’ steel tender built by Master Marine in 1978. Cummins KTA 855TA main engine rated at 360 hp, rebuilt 2016. Twin Disc 514C gear with 6:1 ratio. Makes 8 knots. New 110 kW Cummins 6BT and 110 kW John Deere 6068 gensets. 50 ton RSW system chills 170k# salmon. (3) staterooms and (5) berths. Knuckle crane and full tender setup. Full electronics package. Turn-key tender operation. Asking $545,000. CR20-024 85’x22’x12’ steel fishing vessel built in 1992 by Rodriguez. Refit at Giddings in 2016, including bulbous bow and new main. Cummins QSJ19 main engine rated at 660 hp. Twin Disc MGX-5222 gear with 5:1 ratio. 90 kW John Deere and 80 kW Cummins 6BT gen sets. Packs 50k# crab and 95# shrimp. Balst freeze system. Extensive deck equipment. Full electronics package. Includes OR and WA Shrimp permits, and WA 500 pot permit and gear. Asking $2,300,000. CO21-001 52’x18’x5’ fiberglass lobster-style light boat built by Millenium Boats in 2002. Twin Cummins M18 main engines rated at 270 hp each. 2.033:1 ratio marine gears. Cruises at 12 knots, makes 25 knots wide open. 50 kW John Deere 445 genset. Fully equipped with squid lights including (2) 12,000W (4) bulb lights and (16) 4-pack LED deck lights. Fully equipped electronically. Includes virgin CA squid light boat permit. Well-maintained vessel. Asking $700,000. BB21-001 32’x13.3’ aluminum, flush deck, RSW, Bristol Bay gillnetter built by Kvichak in 1989. Lugger 6125A rated at 440 hp w/ Twin Disc MG 5111A gear. Updated IMS 8.5 ton RSW system. Packs 14k lbs in (6) insulated fish holds. Fixed PBI drum, internal drive w/ Maritime Fab auto levelwind and Kinematic roller. (2) hydraulic pumps. Pwr steering. Redundant electronics. Diesel stove, shower, head, (4) berths. Includes (16) 50 ftm shackles, safety gear and spares. Permit available to buyer. Asking $305,000. BB21-004 32’x14.6’x38” aluminum, RSW, flush deck, Bristol Bay gillnetter built by Curry in 1989. Detroit 6V92 rated at 435 hp w/ ZF301 gear. IMS 7.5 ton RSW new in 2017. Packs 16k lbs in (7) insulated fish holds. Northern Lights 4kW genset. 8” Niad bow thruster w/ spare impeller, new in 2019. Ultra narrow drum w/ Rex Roth drive and Kinematics roller w/ free spool, new in 2019. 6 and 4.2 cube hydraulic pumps. Prop clean out, fish catcher and updated anchor. Electronics include (2) GPS/plotter, (2) VHF, (2) sounders, inverter and stereo system. Red Dot, diesel stove, propane cook top, (5) berths, microwave, head, shower and fridge. Asking $299,000.
April 2021 \ National Fisherman 49
CLASSIFIEDS
REDUCED! 31’ JC EAST COAST 1979 LOBSTER BOAT Split hull design, Wheelhouse raised about 16”, New B Series, Turbo Road 250h Cummins with 1500 hrs. Two bunks. 12” crab block and davit. Furuno radar model, a 1622 Furuno GPS navigator ICOM, ICOM 45 VHF, Garman GPS map 2006, ComNav auto pilot w/ exterior joystick, AM/FM CD player w/ interior & exterior speakers, Deck lights, new large electrical panel, 3 access points to engine room, two 8D batteries, Dripless shaft packing, Three blade bronze prop. VOLVO ENGINE- CTAMB 63L, 236 HP @2500 RPM, 1450 Bobtail, merries up to a #3 bell house, 7000 plus hours - $8,900 Price: $44,000 Engine: $8,900 Contact: Doug 805-218-0626
BOOKS
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CALL 1-800-392-6072 to talk with Carolyn Latti or David Anderson
BUSINESS FOR SALE
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Popular Seafood Restaurant for Sale!! Business Been Open for 25 Years! Retailer, Wholesale & Gift Shop Located on the Eastern Shore of Virginia of the Chesapeake. Tourist Route. 4200 square feet. Quality building, 6 acres.
Gross sales $1.6 M– Selling for $1.5 M FUN BUSINESS! - RETIRING
cobbisland@gmail.com 757-709-0480
HELP WANTED 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 50 National Fisherman \ April 2021
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HELP WANTED
MARINE GEAR
COMPETITIVE PRICES!!
Place an Ad! Call Wendy
Commercial Longline, Troll and Tuna fishing hooks
(207) 842-5616 wjalbert@divcom
**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
All of our hooks are stainless steel and SHARP right out of the box!
Hooks Tested & Approved by Alaskan fishermen! For a list of distributors or to become a distributor go to:
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MARINE GEAR
To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
April 2021 \ National Fisherman 51
CLASSIFIEDS
MARINE GEAR
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SHOP NOW AT WWW.LEEFISHERFISHING.COM For further questions, please call 800.356.5464 or email graymond@leefisherintl.com
Place an Ad! Call Wendy (207) 842-5616 wjalbert@divcom
52 National Fisherman \ April 2021
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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”
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1580 Chairbar Rd. • Silt, CO 81652 (800) 594-0011 • paratech@rof.net • www.seaanchor.com
FOR SALE 1997 Volvo TAMD72
SOLD
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
HOW TO PLACE A CLASSIFIED AD? ONLINE You can place your ad 24 hours a day, 7 days a week online at nationalfisherman.com Only rely on the
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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. $1495.00 OBO view more on tinyurl.com/ycob7ruh Cell/Tx: 707-322-9720 or Contact: david@satinbiz.com
DEPENDABLE 12 VOLT ELECTRIC TRAP HAULERS
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W W W. E L E C T R A - D Y N E . C O M April 2021 \ National Fisherman 53
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
Keel Coolers Trouble free marine engine cooling since 1927!
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
THE WALTER MACHINE CO, INC Tel: 201-656-5654 • Fax: 201-656-0318 www.waltergear.com
54 National Fisherman \ April 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
PERMITS
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NOTICE
PERMITS & SERVICES Wanted To Buy. Offshore Live Lobsters. Top Dollar $$ Paid. Call Pier 7 (located on Gloucester waterfront)
John (617)268-7797
Federal Black Seabass Permit for Sale
ADVERTISER INDEX
Rod + Reels/Pots Fits up to 35 ft boat 260 HP max Asking $35,000
Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute ............................ CV3
Call Tom 732-322-7471
Boatswain’s Locker Inc ..................................................... 3 Coast Guard Foundation ................................................. 12 Duramax Marine LLC ........................................................ 6 Farrin’s Boatshop ............................................................ 10
SEAFOOD / BUSINESS
Furuno USA .................................................................. CV4 Highmark Marine Fabrication ......................................... 45 Integrated Marine Systems Inc ......................................... 7 Kinematics Marine Equipment Inc.................................. 20 Klassen Diesel Sales Ltd. ................................................ 20 La Conner Maritime Service ........................................... 31 Marine Hydraulic Engineering Co Inc ............................. 12 Pacific Fishermen Shipyard & Electric ........................... 41 Pacific Marine Expo ........................................................ 21 Port Townsend Shipwrights Co-Op ................................ 31 PYI Inc ................................................................................ 9 R W Fernstrum & Company .............................................. 9 Stubbs Marine .............................................................. CV2 Wescold Systems, A Div of IMS ..................................... 35 XTRATUF.......................................................................... 19
Covid Proof Cash Cow!
New England Seafood Restaurant For Sale Located in Southwest Florida
In business 11 years (owner retiring) selling New England Seafood. Increased gross this Covid year and still growing . We built it ready for you take it to the next level… Huge opportunity for grow… Landlord on board for expansion lease in place. Large New England population in area . Asking $699,000
To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
(401) 465-0227
April 2021 \ National Fisherman 55
Last
set
ROCKLAND, MAINE Jeremy Willey takes his F/V Leviathan, a Mussel Ridge 46 with a 750-hp John Deere launched in April 2019, past the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse at dusk. Willey fishes out of Owls Head, Maine, primarily dropping pots for offshore lobster. But he but also fishes for pogies, halibut and tuna. Photo by Terry Boivin @boivinterry
56 National Fisherman \ April 2021
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We Work So The World Sees It Too. We’re bringing to the surface the story of Alaska’s fishing fleet to hook customers all over the globe. Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute’s robust public relations and social media marketing campaigns show the world every angle of Alaska Seafood from beautiful fillets to hardworking hands. 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 you’ll always know the situation at a glance, and be ready to hit that quota by targeting your catch.
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www.furunousa.com