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 Incorporating
June / 2020
Home stretch
Bering Sea trawler returns to Oregon for a stick-built sponson at Giddings Boatworks
NATIONALFISHERMAN.COM
!
NF READERS YOUR ACTION IS REQUIRED. SEE INSIDE COVER FOR DETAILS
Boatbuilding
Skiffs, dories, scows and more: Small boats are built to move
Covid-19 Update We’re taking the industry’s temperature at every turn TAG US! #NATIONALFISHERMAN
!
ATTENTION NF READERS
Your action is required National Fisherman is devoted to serving the commercial fishing community through both prosperous and challenging times, as it has been for more than 60 years. We know this is an unprecedented moment in history. However, our goal is the same: To help you stay connected even though we have to keep our distance. Many of our advertisers who rely on National Fisherman to connect with their customers are experiencing extreme hardship related to the covid-19 pandemic. Our team is working to find ways to expand our reach to connect ALL buyers and suppliers in these extraordinary times. In order to propel our reach, the July issue of National Fisherman will be produced as a digital magazine. You will get all the great content you rely on, delivered right to your inbox! This issue will be downloadable to any mobile device, so you can read National Fisherman at the dock, in the wheelhouse or back onshore. This change for the month of July will help industry stakeholders expand their connections throughout the industry. We are all in this together. And now more than ever, it is important to look out for each other and keep in touch. Please use the link below to provide us with your email address to receive our July digital issue!
www.nationalfisherman.com/digital-subscription/
Scan QR Code to Download
ON DECK
National Fisherman / June 2020 / Vol. 101, No. 2
18
Giddings Boatworks
In this issue
Sticking to it
06
24
Around the Coasts: Coronavirus hits the industry
Small-boat sensibility
As demand collapses, the fishing industry and supporters in Congress scramble to find new markets, disaster aid and first-ever unemployment benefits for fishermen.
Meet a few of the builders behind 90 percent of the global fishing fleet.
Features / Boats & Gear
On Deck 04
A Letter from NMFS
Jemison Marine
Five years of consistent landings and value show we’re doing it right.
30
05 Around the Yards A trio of Bristol Bay gillnetters; lobster boat rebuilt from bare hull; scallopers like this Alabama yard.
34
Product Roundup Novel purpose-built aquaculture vessel; North River’s latest jet boat; Volvo introduces marine diesel.
02
Editor’s Log
03
Fishing Back When
04
Mail Buoy
16
Market Reports
44
Last Set / Bidwell Creek, N.J.
Northern Lights Alaska prepares for the salmon season in the face of global uncertainty.
Reader Services 36
Classifieds
43
Advertiser Index
National Fisherman (ISSN 0027-9250), June 2020, Vol. 101, No. 2, 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.
Bosarge Boats
Doug Stewart
An old-school rebuilding of a 1978 Alaska trawler includes stick-built sponsons.
ON DECK
Editor’s Log
Plotting a course Jessica Hathaway Editor in Chief jhathaway@divcom.com
o much can change in a few weeks. In the midst of social distancing and a slowing economy, we’re also seeing an intense energy surge in our essential services, and the food supply chain is being overhauled in a way we’ve never seen before. It has me thinking about... toilet paper. Bear with me. When toilet paper became scarce, we called out the hoarders (and they know who they are). But weeks later it’s still scarce, despite the fact that stores have been rationing in order to, let’s say, flatten the curve. And yet, right now there are warehouses full of commercial-grade toilet paper. The manufacturers can’t just switch to making a whole new product for home use. If you like, you can buy a huge dispenser on Amazon and install it in your bathroom at home! But for the
S
most part, those massive rolls are shelved, waiting for public spaces to reopen. And the people who make our home supply are trying to keep up with the increased demand of a population that’s using the home throne more than ever. But you can’t just put perishables on a shelf and wait. Some commercial dairies have dumped vats of milk because they can’t move it through their usual supply chains. Meanwhile, butter is being rationed at grocery stores.When the restaurant market dried up, some seafood processors stopped buying at the dock. Meanwhile, consumers were hard pressed to find protein at local markets. For the most part, we have what we need. We just don’t have a food system nimble enough to pivot to fill those needs when they take a tectonic shift. This is why the seafood
On the cover The Bering Sea trawler Collier Brothers gets a meticulous — yet fast — sponson at Giddings Boatworks in Oregon. Giddings Boatworks photo
industry has been able to shine, despite some significant hurdles. By and large, fishermen are independent operators.You are nimble.You can decide to make your own deliveries or sell direct at the dock. I keep going back to a meme: When the whole world is freaking out because their markets crashed, and they don’t know if they are gonna make ends meet. Commercial fishermen be like: First time? You are the poster children for success in crisis. You’re the age-old gig workers. You’re the original contract employee. The rest of the world is just coming to recognize it’s not a glamorous lifestyle — it is a lure for those who crave independence. But the hustle never stops. Here we are on the precipice of sweeping change. We can fight for a system that rewards independence rather than consolidation and corporate power. We are working here to pivot, too. Our next issue will be digital only.Visit our website, sign up for our newsletter and check into our Facebook page. We are doing our best to reach you where you are, and we are committed to that for the long haul. The course may change, but we will stay true.
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: Elma Burnham, 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 \ June 2020
© 2020 Diversified Business Communications If you prefer not to receive such mailings, please send a copy of your mailing label to: National Fisherman’s Mailing Preference Service, 121 Free St., Portland, ME 04112. PRINTED IN U.S.A.
www.nationalfisherman.com
ON DECK
Fishing Back When June By Jessica Hathaway
1970 — The 95-foot Aleutian Star sails north from Tatco Shipbuilding in San Diego toward her new home in Seattle. The bulbous bow design on this launch is cutting edge for the Bering Sea crab fleet.
1 9 7 0
1 9 9 0
2 0 1 0
The 30-foot Friendship sloop Galatea built in California crosses the bow of the 32-foot brigantine Anna Maria in the 1969 Master Mariners’ Regatta in San Francisco Bay.
Things we were talking about in 1990: Fiberglass lobster boats, tragic accidents, fishing’s effect on marine mammals — some things just don’t change in the course of 30 years.
Charles Barber and Bennie Allday in the Williams Fabrication yard in Bayou La Batre, Ala., work on a scalloper destined for Fairhaven, Mass.
Myron Benner swings a caulking hammer on the underside of a 36-foot lobster boat taking shape in Friendship, Maine, where it’s been a busy winter for boatbuilding.
On March 22, the 162-foot factory trawler Aleutian Enterprise capsized and sank 20 miles southwest of Saint George Island in the Bering Sea in a matter of minutes. Nine of 31 crew were lost. The boat had been launched just seven years before.
The federal Bureau of Commercial Fisheries’ marketing arm creates demand for Atlantic pollock — prices rise from 4 to 29 cents a pound — but supply lags as closed haddock spawning grounds are also pollock producers.
Researchers seek answers to the decline of the Steller sea lion, acknowledging incidental catch is not the main cause, yet warning the North Pacific fleet it could face consequences if decline continues.
U.S. and Canadian albacore fisheries band together to pay for Marine Stewardship Council assessment and labeling, and are granted certification one year later. NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement Chief Dale Jones is ousted on April 8 after an internal investigation into an $8 million fund derived from penalties paid by fishermen. Jones reportedly had his staff destroy 140 files after the investigation began.
ON DECK
Mail Buoy
Quick-release funds [The following is a letter written by a bipartisan group of federal representatives to U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross] e write to urge you to quickly implement the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, which provides $300 million for fishery participants facing unprecedented and severe impacts due to the novel coronavirus. We ask that you work with NOAA, impacted stakeholders, and Native American Tribes to rapidly provide this assistance and to do so in a fair and transparent process that allocates sufficient funding to our impacted constituents and communities throughout the country. U.S. commercial and recreational fisheries generate over $200 billion in sales and 1.7 million jobs, but due to the ongoing public health crisis, fisheries dependent businesses and communities are facing extreme economic hardship from loss of markets. These impacts are felt throughout the industry — charter guides and recreational businesses; processors, retailers, and the entire seafood supply chain; and fishing captains, their crews,
W
and the communities they serve are all facing significant challenges. The U.S. is a global leader in sustainable fisheries management and has a rich fishing history and culture, but significant loss of economic activity threatens the future of fisheries and associated infrastructure throughout the country. The crisis has also significantly impacted Tribes who rely on fisheries for cultural, subsistence, and commercial harvest. Fisheries assistance is critical to mitigate the direct economic impacts these communities are facing and ensure they have adequate resources to continue providing basic services for their communities throughout this crisis. Furthermore, many tribal and non-tribal communities impacted by the ongoing crisis have also faced fishery disasters in recent years with long delays in disaster relief, so they are especially threatened by additional economic hardship. We urge you to work quickly to ensure
A letter from NMFS
The economic impact of fishing By Chris Oliver
he value of U.S. commercial fisheries landings remains strong and has a broad positive impact on the U.S. economy. NOAA Fisheries recently released Fisheries of the United States 2018, a yearbook of fisheries statistics for the nation, which provides data on commercial landings and value. It also includes data on the fish processing industry, aquaculture production, imports and exports, per capita seafood consumption, and recreational catch. The report shows U.S. fishermen landed 9.4 billion pounds of seafood valued at $5.6 billion
T
4 National Fisherman \ June 2020
that fishery participants and the communities they support see this financial assistance as soon as possible. We also ask that you ensure a transparent and fair process for distributing this relief and provide detailed guidance for requests, explicit timelines for review and distribution of funds, and clear standards for decision making and funding allocations. Rapid relief is critical now for the future of coastal communities, our constituents, and a thriving fishing industry. Thank you for your work during this time.
Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA) Rep. Ed Case (D-HI) Rep. Joe Cunningham (D-SC) Rep. Garret Graves (R-LA)
What’s on your mind? Send letters to jhathaway@ divcom.com. Submissions may be edited for length, clarity and style. For more information visit: www.nationalfisherman.com
in 2018. The high number of U.S. landings and value have remained consistent during the last five years, which points to the collective progress we are making in sustainably managing our nation’s resources. That progress is due to the work of our agency, the eight regional fishery management councils, the interstate commissions, and our stakeholders. By working to end overfishing and rebuild stocks, together we are strengthening the U.S. economy and improving the sustainability of our nation’s fisheries. I know the future holds unforeseen challenges, like the coronavirus pandemic that started in earnest in March 2020, but I believe we will continue to work cooperatively through these challenges to maintain the most sustainably managed fisheries in the world.
Chris Oliver is the director of the National Marine Fisheries Service. Oliver oversees the federal agency responsible for recreational and commercial fisheries.
www.nationalfisherman.com
ON DECK
Northern Lights VIEWS FROM ALASKA
Deemed essential
Cordova’s harbor becomes home to more than 700 vessels in salmon season.
s I write this, the Copper River salmon season is slated to begin in six short weeks. Government officials and commercial fishing stakeholders statewide are working tirelessly to ensure Alaska’s seafood industry can safely perform the essential job of harvesting seafood for worldwide consumption amidst a global pandemic. Federal, state and local community health mandates are guiding Alaska’s commercial fleet. We are taking covid-19 seriously, and our plans for the fishing season remain dynamic as we pivot daily in response to the latest information available. Copper River and Prince William Sound salmon gillnet fishermen are gearing up to harvest the first fresh salmon of the spring and summer seasons from Alaska. This season Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists forecast the return of 60,000 king salmon to the Copper River, about 20 percent more than the recent 10year average. The sockeye forecast is below average with 1.42 million sockeye projected. Under normal circumstances, simple
A
To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
rules of supply and demand would suggest higher than average pricing at the start of the season. However, early indications from fresh market species like Alaska halibut and sablefish have signaled questions about the price of this year’s catch in the absence of key foodservice markets. Even during periods of strong value, finite resources like premium wild Alaska seafood have historically been undervalued. Fishermen don’t set the price of their catch, the market does, and the current market situation is unlike any we have seen in our lifetime. On Good Friday, March 24, 1989, we awoke to the news of a catastrophic environmental disaster that would forever change the landscape of our hometown fishery. We weathered years of cleanup and decades of lawsuits. In the early 2000s, our industry felt the impact of industrial-scale farmed Atlantic salmon. A spike in farmed salmon production and the influx of that salmon into the U.S. marketplace dragged pricing for wild salmon to record lows.
Cheryl Ess
By Christa Hoover
Resilience is both innate and learned, and our fleet has developed resiliency that will see us through this public health crisis as well. It’s this resilience paired with optimism that keeps us fishing season after season. Fishermen are inherently optimistic. We fish just as hard when projections are low as we do when they are high. We have processors in our community that have operated for more than 100 years, amidst war and historic global pandemic. Together, we will continue to harvest, process, and market seafood from our region, so long as it is feasible to do so. As the effects of covid-19 ripple through food systems around the world, food security is more than ever before recognized as a global issue. Alaska’s fishermen play a key role in bringing nutritious food to America’s dinner tables. Every link in the global food supply chain will be tested, and the value of our commercial fishing industry and the seafood we harvest will be recognized as more important than ever. Americans are echoing what we already know: The seafood industry is essential to the vitality of our food systems, from shore to shore. We are galvanized by that reality, even amongst hardship. While much uncertainty surrounds upcoming fishing seasons and the largescale fisheries that feed the world, I’m thankful that our industry is seen as crucial in times of crisis. I’m inspired both by the incredible efforts being made by our industry to protect our fishing communities and by the growing movement to support commercial fishermen throughout the world. This season may look different, but our fleet plans to work together to safely go fishing to bring fresh Copper River and Prince William Sound salmon into the homes of our Alaskan friends and neighbors and fellow Americans alike. Christa Hoover is the executive director of the Copper River Prince William Sound Marketing Association with more than 25 years involvement in the Area E salmon fisheries.
June 2020 \ National Fisherman 5
AROUND THE COASTS
AROUND THE COASTS
Doug Stewart
NEWS FOR THE NATION’S FISHERMEN
Public health lockdowns have idled much of the U.S. fishing fleet.
Nation / World
“Without assistance, we face the real possibility of losing a significant portion of our fishing industry to economic challenges caused by covid-19, and forever changing the character of our working waterfronts.” — Sens. Edward Markey, Lisa Murkowski, Elizabeth Warren, Dan Sullivan
Coronavirus impact staggers U.S. and international fisheries Restaurant closures stall local demand, federal aid promises slow to materialize
T
he $2.2 trillion Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (or CARES) Act stimulus bill was signed into law on Friday, March 27. By mid-April, fi sheries leaders and fi shermen around the country were still seeking clarification and guidance on accessing the $300 million earmark designated for relief to fi sheries and aquaculture businesses, as well as the nearly $350 billion set aside for the Paycheck Protection Program and additional funds for the Small Business Administration to bolster economic disaster loans and grants. 6 National Fisherman \ June 2020
The language in the fi sheries portion of the bill stipulates that the funds are “authorized to provide assistance to Tribal, subsistence, commercial, and charter fi shery participants affected by the novel coronavirus.” An additional (and historic) federal supplement of $600 a week (for up to 16 weeks) in unemployment benefits also opened qualification for those funds to contract, gig and self-employed workers, including fishermen. However, representatives from coastal communities began tackling the language
in the Paycheck Protection Program to ensure that boat owners could use the low-interest and forgiveness-eligible loans to pay many of the nation’s fi shermen, keep them off of unemployment. Given that fi shermen are considered essential workers, the Paycheck Protection Program could be used to bolster fi shing businesses and keep fi shermen working, thereby securing consumer access to U.S. fi sheries. Unemployment benefits are predicated on being out of work. Some boat owners reported the strain of keeping their crews working for little to no pay while prices crashed in the traditional supply chain. With the initial $300 million aid package coming, NMFS launched an effort to collect detailed information on how the covid-19 pandemic and resulting economic lockdown is affecting the U.S. seafood industry. The project includes online outreach, asking fi shermen, aquaculture growers and other businesses through the supply chain www.nationalfisherman.com
to submit information by email to the task force at NMFS.COVID-19@noaa.gov. “We recently stood up a team of experts from across the agency to collect and analyze covid-19-related impacts on the U.S. commercial seafood industry, including wild harvest and aquaculture,” according to a statement by the agency. In its daily operations, NMFS temporarily suspended observer requirements in some fi sheries, after an outcry from fi shermen in the hard-hit Northeast where onshore businesses were ordered by state officials to minimize their contact with the public. Fleet operators Blue Harvest in New Bedford, Mass., said the coronavirus crisis could point a way forward and present an opportunity for realigning U.S. consumers with regionally sourced seafood. The company cited market research by the Nielsen Company into consumer preferences in light of the virus outbreak that is fi nding “shoppers are exhibiting signs that they may steer away from products that traveled long distances with multiple human touchpoints... consumers have generally displayed strong preferences for local dairy and fresh produce brands and products versus those coming from further afield.” — Jessica Hathaway and Kirk Moore
Community-supported fisheries shift models Pivot from restaurants to consumers
W
ith restaurants across the country shuttered as a result of covid-19 outbreak restrictions, the seafood supply chain in most regions ground to a halt. Lawmakers from Maine to Alaska pushed for federal disaster aid, but fishermen were stuck fending for themselves in the meantime. For fi shermen and businesses focused on direct marketing and selling their catch locally, this means quickly pivoting their businesses to adjust to consumer needs during the pandemic. Tele Aadsen of Nerka Sea Frozen Salmon in Bellingham, Wash., has been hustling nonstop to earn what she can since dining rooms were closed on March 15 and restaurants were limited to takeout
To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
Nerka Sea Frozen Salmon scrambled for new buyers after restaurant closures slashed its customer base by 90 percent.
and delivery options. Practically overnight, 90 percent of the company’s clients stopped buying. “We’re adapting on the fly and without a road map,” said 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 fi sh from Nerka Sea up until last week. Now Aadsen has been forced to quickly shift toward selling to individuals to keep income flowing. However, selling whole, headed and gutted fi sh to single consumers is a bit different than selling portioned fi llets. “We’ve been lucky that folks have been so supportive. Whole fi sh can be intimidating or too much for consumers, but people are saying ‘Oh no, it’s OK. We’ll take a fi sh and figure it out. We can look up a YouTube tutorial,’” said Aadsen. “People don’t want to be around each other right now, but they’ve got to eat,” said fi shermen Craig Jacobs of OC Wild Seafood in Huntington Beach, Calif. Home delivery keeps the seafood flowing and fi shermen on the water, but Jacobs admits personal delivery of spiny lobster in this time is a tough situation. “I’m worried about just being around other people,” said Jacobs.” I’m not that old — I’m 53 but still. On my last delivery run the other day, some people still want to come out and shake your hand. It’s great that I’m able to keep fi shing and support my family, but it’s tough to both be fi shing and
doing deliveries.” For leaders in seafood direct marketing and community-supported fi sheries, 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. Joshua Stoll, a professor of Ecology and Environmental Sciences at the University of Maine and coordinator of the Local Catch Network has been organizing conversations between struggling fi shing businesses online as Maine’s lobster industry struggles to adapt to the pandemic. “This covid-19 outbreak and the conversations about it really speaks to the vulnerability of our food system,” said Stoll, comparing the sudden halt in seafood sales to the immediate post-9/11 market. “Almost overnight food systems came crashing down and have left fi shermen, 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.” The Local Catch Network has been supporting online conversation between fi shermen who are sharing their plans to adjust their businesses while also sharing their successes and mistakes. The organization is aiming to formalize and record those conversations to help even more fi shermen. “I’m confident that we’ll figure this out,” said Stoll, “but it’s going to take time, and during that time people are going to — Samuel Hill suffer from it.” June 2020 \ National Fisherman 7
Nerka Sea Frozen Salmon
AROUND THE COASTS
AROUND THE COASTS
Alaska / Pacific
“I told the guys who are still fishing it’s time to stack out, we’re done. It’s stopped the crab business.” —Larry Collins, San Francisco Community Fishing Association
Virus brings end to California Dungeness crab season Strong May runs expected for king salmon, but markets and prices in doubt
W
ith restaurants shuttered and out-ofwork consumers spending less, the coronavirus’ impact on the West Coast fishing fleet has been painful. But one sector of the seafood economy has found a silver lining: community supported fisheries and direct-to-consumer markets. “It’s a pretty bad situation. I know there are all kinds of people in a bad situation — it’s not just fishermen,” says Larry Collins, president of the San Francisco Community Fishing Association. “Everybody is losing their ass.”
Nearly 80 percent of the domestic catch is sold to restaurants, says Noah Oppenheim, then-executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations. This drop in demand has caused ex-vessel prices to plummet. In March, fishermen typically received $6-7 per pound for Dungeness crab, this year they were getting around $2. “I told the guys who are still fishing it’s time to stack out, we’re done,” Collins says. “It’s stopped the crab business.” With uncertainty over how long West
Coast restaurants will remain closed — and concern over how many will be able to survive a prolonged closure until restrictions are eased — fishermen and buyers aren’t optimistic about the ex-vessel price of salmon in the coming months. The California king salmon season is set to open in early May with strong runs predicted, says Collins. But with the restaurant market traditionally buoying the price, it’s unlikely fishermen will receive the payout they’re accustomed to. Oppenheim sees the West Coast seafood business “retooling overnight” to direct-to-consumer markets, noting people still want seafood, but in a time of shelter-in-place the method of delivery must change. He’s also seeing some restaurants trying to stay in business through take-out and delivery. Alan Lovewell, owner of Monterey Baybased Real Good Fish a direct-to-consumer
Snapshot Who we are Rob Seitz / Astoria, Ore. / Shrimp, groundfish
R
ob Seitz got his start in seafood by way of a summer
“Fishing is an unstable way to make a living to begin with
job during his sophomore year of high school. Flying
— I realized I’d have to get into ownership to find any stabili-
out to an uninhabited island in Prince William Sound,
ty,” said Seitz. But he was unable to find an owner that would
he’d spend weeks at a time digging for razor clams. During the following summer vacation, he took a step up and started gillnetting with his grandfather — beginning his life as a fisherman. “I kept fishing throughout high school, and
let him buy into a boat. “Everyone wants you to run the boat like you own it, but no one wanted to share ownership.” The couple ended up purchasing the F/V South Bay Wild in 2013, launched their
then I went to college and was paying my
own processing facility to take control and
bills with fishing money,” said Seitz. “Then
started direct marketing their catch.
I realized I was having a much better time
The business kept growing, but the
working during the summers to pay for col-
Seitzes ended up moving back to Astoria,
lege than I did going to college. Fishing became what I wanted to do the most.” When the Exxon Valdez spill soiled Prince William Sound in 1992, Seitz and his brother moved south to Oregon with plans to hop on an albacore boat
Ore., in 2017, leaving the fishery after disagreements over management policies that made the project financially unsustainable. In 2018, the couple launched South Bay Wild Seafood Market & Restaurant in downtown Astoria. The
working somewhere warm in the South Pacific. But they ran out
market sources its seafood from Seitz’s trawler and from other
of money before the season rolled around and were forced to find
local boats and processors, while the restaurant specializes in
gigs crabbing.
fish and chips and fish tacos.
Then Seitz met his wife, Tiffani, and the pair eventually moved
“It’s a great thing to come back to after going fishing — it’s
to Morro Bay, Calif., to fish as part of the California Groundfish
an easy gig because all I do is field compliments,” said Seitz.
Collective. Unfortunately, the boat he was running ended up being
“Everyone loves talking about the freshness of the fish we
part of a buyback program sponsored by the Nature Conservancy.
have, sustainability of these fisheries and loving local seafood.”
Seitz was stuck looking for work along with most of the fleet. 8 National Fisherman \ June 2020
— Samuel Hill www.nationalfisherman.com
AROUND THE COASTS
Salmon shutdown: Alaska city requests fishery closure Bristol Bay tribes give voice to concerns
California DFW
C
Covid-19 closures shuttered the California Dungeness crab fishery.
community-supported fi shery business, has seen an uptick in consumer demand in locally caught seafood since restrictions to stem the spread of the coronavirus were implemented. At the same time, he says he has received many more calls from fi shermen
looking for new outlets to sell their fi sh. “Guys are having trouble. We’re working with more fi shermen than we have before, but there’s more fi sh than we have a market for,” Lovewell says. “We’re trying to grow that market for these guys.” — Nick Rahaim
ity officials in Dillingham, Alaska, requested that the state consider closing the Bristol Bay salmon fi shery to protect the region’s year-round residents from widespread infection of covid-19. In a letter dated April 6 to Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy from Dillingham Mayor Alice Ruby and First Chief Thomas Tilden of the Curyung Tribal Council urged the governor to consider closing the Bristol Bay commercial salmon fi shery this year. “The City of Dillingham and Curyung Tribal Council want to keep the residents of our community, our region and our state safe,” the letter reads. “We request that you take immediate action to control the impacts of the entry of the virus to our state, our region and our community by serious consideration to closing the upcoming
Maritime Fab Big Bay Roller Stern Roller Strength Like You’ve Never Seen Before!
Heavy-duty 3/8” formed aluminum side frames 16” dia. Core for increased net traction & reduced fish knock-outs
Integral ball valve for hubless freewheeling Low profile base hinges with easily accessible locks
La Conner, WA: (360) 466-3629
www.laconnermaritime.com To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
We take the heat, so you don’t have to. Cool. Because you need it. We deliver cool based on your reality. So no matter where you operate, hot days and heavy loads will never slow you down.
GRIDCOOLER® Keel Cooler
WEKA Boxcooler®
Tranter® Heat Exchangers
fernstrum.com | 1.906.863.5553 | sales@fernstrum.com ISO 9001:2015 © 2019 R.W. Fernstrum & Company. All rights reserved. FERNSTRUM® and GRIDCOOLER® are registered trademarks of R.W. Fernstrum & Company. All other trademarks cited are the property of their respective owners.
June 2020 \ National Fisherman 9
AROUND THE COASTS
Boat of the Month Carter Jon Coos Bay, Ore. / Pink shrimp, Dungeness crab
O
ne morning in April 2004, Nick Edwards was heading to Newport, Ore., in his 75-
foot vessel Jaguar, when a high-water alarm started going off. Two hours later, despite frantically running every pump on the boat, the stern was awash in 17 fathoms three miles offshore, and Edwards and Nick Edwards
his crew were rescued by the Coast Guard. About 12 hours after he’d left the dock that morning, Edwards was safe at home, on his computer and phone — shopping for a new boat. “I just lost my boat,” Edwards told another captain, a longtime mentor.
second act on the West Coast. “We extended the side of the house for crabbing, so I could see
“Treat it like a tool,” the older man
over the side,” said Edwards. About
told him. “You lost a hammer. Just buy
20,000 pounds of new steel went into
another one.”
the hull to ready it for handling Pacific
By June, Edwards was in Mayport, Fla., making a deal on the Linda
conditions. At
Giddings
Boatworks
in
Lucille, a 10-year-old shrimper built
Charleston, Ore., a gang of craftsmen
at Rodriguez Shipbuilding — a type
went through the boat, continuing the
highly prized by East Coast fishermen
conversion with a new crab hold, and
who were converting them for the
more scuppers to handle the seas.
growing sea scallop fishery.
Then, “on the ways, the main wouldn’t
Some scallopers even offered to buy out Edwards’ $10,000 deposit to
start,” said Edwards. The
mechanic
prescribed
a
get the boat. But Edwards saw what he
complete overhaul of the original Cat.
wanted in the future Carter Jon.
Soon Edwards learned he needed the
The next stop: Jemison Marine
same for the reduction gear.
& Engineering in Bayou La Batre,
“I made it all the way with a bad
Ala., where owner Tim Jemison and
motor,” he said. “Somebody let me
his crew help prepare the boat for its
make it here.”
— Kirk Moore
Boat Specifications HOMEPORT: Coos Bay, Ore. OWNER: Nick Edwards BUILDER: Rodriguez Shipbuilding, Bayou La Batre, Ala. YEAR BUILT: 1994 FISHERIES: Shrimp, Dungeness crab HULL CONSTRUCTION: Steel LENGTH: 73 feet 5 inches BEAM: 22 feet 1 inch DRAFT: 11 feet 5 inches TONNAGE: 112 gross tons CREW CAPACITY: 3 to 5 HOLD CAPACITY: Approximately up to 120,000 pounds shrimp, 80,000 pounds crab MAIN PROPULSION: QSK K19 electric start, 750 hp GEARBOX: Twin Disc MGX 5222 PROPELLER: Bird-Johnson nibral 63.25" x 62" in Kort nozzle GENERATORS: Two Cummins 6TDs, 166-hp ELECTRONICS: Furuno suite, including 183 radar, GP 31 and GP39 GPS receivers, SCV581 depth sounder; Horizon VLH-3000 loudhailer; Yasu FT2600M, Standard Horizon Eclipse, and two Icom 504 VHF radios; SkyMate vessel monitoring system; WindPlot 2 mapping system; wheelhouse watch alarm; security system with six remote CCTV cameras and hard drive recording.
10 National Fisherman \ June 2020
Bristol Bay commercial salmon fishery.” The Naknek Native Village Council, the South Naknek Village Council, and the King Salmon Tribe all joined the request by mid-April. The outbreak is being compared to the Spanish flu, which decimated the native population 100 years ago. “Historically, it has wiped out our people, and we just don’t want it to happen again,” Lorianne Rawson, the tribal administrator for South Naknek, told KTOO. “Their boats are in boatyards. Their boats don’t have a bathroom. They have no way to shower, they can’t do laundry, and they can’t go to the store to get their food. So how are they going to effectively quarantine on their boats? That’s not going to — Jessica Hathaway happen.”
Alaska’s halibut season hobbled by transport issues Covid-19 and Canada pose challenge
T
he Pacific halibut fishery opened on March 14 amid little fanfare and flattened markets. The first fish of the eight-month season typically attracts the highest prices and is rushed fresh to high-end buyers, especially during the Lenten season. But that’s not the case in this time of coronavirus chaos, when air traffic is stalled, and seafood of all kinds is getting backlogged in global freezers. Alaska’s share of the 2020 halibut catch is about 17 million pounds for nearly 2,000 fishermen who own shares of the popular flatfish. A week into the fishery, fewer than 50 landings were made, totaling just over 262,000 pounds, and as anticipated, prices to fishermen were in the pits. Earliest price reports at Homer were posted at $4.20 to $4.40 per pound, Kodiak prices were at $3.25 for 10-20 pounders, $3.50 for halibut weighing 20-40 pounds and $4 for 40-ups. Prices ranged from $3.75 to $4.00 at Yakutat and $3.50 “across the board” at Wrangell, according to Alaska Boats and Permits in Homer. The highest prices of $5.00, $4.75 and $4.50 were reported at Southeast ports that have regular air freight service, although they were expected to drop by $1-$2 per www.nationalfisherman.com
pound, according to a major buyer. The average statewide price for Alaska halibut in 2019 was $5.30 a pound and $5.35 in 2018. For this season’s start, some Alaska processors were buying small lots of halibut on consignment or fi lling existing orders; others were not buying at all. “We are tentatively going to be buying longline fi sh on the fi rst of May after the Columbia ferry gets back on line,” said a major buyer in Southeast who blamed not having traditional ferries that haul thousands of pounds of fi sh each week, and a lack of air freight options at smaller communities. “We’re down here where transportation is dictating where fi sh has to go,” he added. Most of Alaska’s halibut goes into the U.S. market, where in recent years it has faced stiff competition from up to 8 million pounds of fresh Atlantic halibut,
Bill Sullivan
AROUND THE COASTS
Farmed halibut from Norway seen recently in Bellingham, Wash.
primarily from eastern Canada. And although Russia has banned purchases of U.S. seafood since 2014, increasing amounts of halibut caught by Russian fi shing fleets are coming into domestic markets. Trade data show that 2 million pounds of Pacific and Atlantic halibut were imported to the United States over
the past year through January 2020, valued at nearly $6.7 million. A major Alaska buyer said: “One of our salespeople shot us a deal showing that right now you can buy frozen-at-sea, tail off, 3-to-5 and 5-to-8-pound Pacific halibut from Russia for $3.25 a pound.” — Laine Welch
DURAMAX MARINE TECHNOLOGY ®
Engineered To Work As Hard As You Do. DryMax® Maintenance Free Shaft Seal System
The Original Johnson® Cutless® Sleeve and Flange Bearings
DuraBlue® Composite Rudder Bushings, Thrust Washers & Wear Plates
Custom Engineered Heat Exchange Systems
Duramax Marine® is an ISO 9001:2015 Certified Company
Quality Products Made in America To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
www.DuramaxMarine.com June 2020 \ National Fisherman 11
AROUND THE COASTS
Atlantic
“The issue here is the restaurants. The average American doesn’t cook fish at home.” —Jim Lovgren, Fishermen’s Dock Cooperative
New York region’s emergency shut off Northeast seafood With restaurant sales gone, remaining markets fragile and prices subject to oversupply
tate governments ordering restaurants to close and people to stay in their homes initially brought business to a screeching halt at major Northeast seafood hubs like Boston and the New Fulton Fish Market in New York City’s sprawling Hunts Point food terminal. “It’s really serious here. Some buyers have not given us a price, and in some cases, they still have the fi sh,” said Jim Lovgren, a longtime trawler captain with the Fishermen’s Dock Cooperative in Point Pleasant Beach, N.J. “The issue here is the restaurants. The average American doesn’t cook fi sh at home,” said Lovgren. Restaurant and food service buyers account for the vast majority of demand in the fresh fi sh market — 68 percent according to NMFS — but state orders limiting restaurants to offering take-out service only immediately evaporated those sales, he said. The crisis hit amid a growing economy and a relatively mild winter with good
Fulfill
S
The dragger Arianna Maria packs out at the Fishermen’s Dock Cooperative in Point Pleasant Beach, N.J.
fi shing in the New York Bight. By Easter week — traditionally a strong market — weather and retail markets had improved somewhat, but prices could crash again anytime. “We’re using our quota up at $1.75 (per pound) when it should be $5,” said David Gauro, manager of the Belford Seafood Cooperative in New Jersey, where fluke is
a primary product to the New York City market. But with restaurant closings, “they took 8 million customers away from us,” said Gauro. “Last night the fluke price was $5.25, which is where it should be.” He says fi shermen should be planning and coordinating more to help sustain pricing, with trip limits of 2,000 pounds likely to flood what modest market there was. “I’ve been talking to the buyers,” said Gauro. “These boats are out now. When they all come back at once, the price will drop right down. “I have boats asking for a $2 guarantee. I asked New York, and they couldn’t guarantee.” “My retail store has been phenomenal. But I can’t sustain that though the shop with the volumes these guys can land,” said Gauro. The co-op was keeping its shoreside crew employed and paid, but the industry needs help from the government and NMFS to make it through this crisis, he said: “We’re not looking for a handout — Kirk Moore but a hand up.”
New online maps show East Coast fish shifting Analysis since 1970s confirms big moves
A
new series of interactive maps graphically portray long-term shifts in fish
Marine Medical Kits
MADE IN MAINE
Cost effective on-board medical supply kit and educational material to prepare the commercial fisherman for at-sea injuries. - REORDER FORM FOR QUICK ONLINE ORDERS - TRAINING AVAILABLE FOR THE MOST MARITIME INJURIES - ALL IN HD STORM LIKE CASES - EASY TO USE FOLLOW THE NUMBERS
TRAUMA - BLOOD LOSE - WOUND CARE FOOD POISONING - MOTION SICKNESS-EYE INJURIES - BURN INJURIES
1-800-272 3008
www.marinemedical.com 12 National Fisherman \ June 2020
7 Calvin Beal & 9 Young Brothers Models To Choose From
42’ Calvin Beal
207-667-7427
swboatworks@gmail.com www.swboatworks.com www.nationalfisherman.com
AROUND THE COASTS
populations off the East Coast, as changing ocean temperatures push species like black sea bass northward. Using the free public-access portal at portal.midatlanticocean.org users can animate or toggle through hundreds of maps representing fish distributions during the spring or fall seasons from the 1970s through 2019. The portal maintains 5,000 map layers that can superimpose data for commercial fishing hot spots and marine life habitats. Many of the maps confirm trends seen by fishermen and biologists of species moving to waters further north and further offshore since the 1970s. Black sea bass have become a well-known example; once straying into southern New England waters, black sea bass have become established in the Gulf of Maine. To access the maps, click on the Marine Life theme and then click on the dropdowns for Fish Species Through Time (for
Judge rules against lobster management in ESA case Says NMFS failed to comply with act
U
.S. District Judge James Boasberg filed a 20-page order Thursday, April 9, declaring management of the American lobster fishery violates the Endangered Species Act. The federal lawsuit was filed to challenge a biological opinion filed by NMFS in 2014 stating that the American lobster fishery “may adversely affect, but is not likely to jeopardize, the continued existence of North Atlantic right whales.” The judge ruled against NMFS, noting that the agency failed to include an “incidental take statement.” That failure, Boasberg declared, renders the biological opinion illegal under the Endangered Species Act.
A 2017 spike in Atlantic right whale deaths caused in part by the population’s migratory shift into Canada’s snow crab and lobster grounds put U.S. fleets back into the spotlight and left them susceptible to lawsuits despite years of efforts to work with environmental groups, federal agencies and scientists to ensure a fishery with minimal interactions. “Until now, the court has only heard from the environmental groups and the federal government. They have not yet heard the fishing industry’s perspective,” said Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association, which intervened in the case in 2018. “The MLA and its legal team are uniquely positioned and well prepared to educate the court on the Maine lobster fishery’s long-standing efforts to protect right whales and insist that decisions that affect our fishermen are based on the best available science.” — Jessica Hathaway
2020
13th
the data showing the 1970s-present) or Fish Species Future Projections. — Kirk Moore
& Awards The largest commercial fishing exhibition in the North
The Icelandic Fisheries Exhibition covers every aspect of the commercial fishing industry from locating, catching, processing and packaging, right through to the marketing and distribution of the end product 5 Connect with over 13,000 international commercial fishing and processing professionals 5 Network with key decision makers in one location, over three full days 5 Set up and attend ‘Match making’ meetings with your specified target group visitors 5 Showcase your products and services at Iceland’s leading exhibition 5 New for 2020: dedicated area for Processing/ Seafood/Value added/Fish Farming and By-products
For more information about exhibiting, visiting or sponsoring, contact the events team. Visit: Icefish.is Contact: +44 1329 825335 or email: info@icefish.is #2020Icefish
To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
Icefish Exhibit 84.2x123.825.indd 1
Organiser:
Official Logistics Company:
Official International Magazine:
Official Icelandic Publication:
WORLDFISHING & AQUACULTURE INFORMING THE GLOBAL FISHING INDUSTRY SINCE 1952
23/03/2020 09:58
June 2020 \ National Fisherman 13
AROUND THE COASTS
Gulf / South Atlantic
“No one knows if this will last two more days, two more months or all year.”
North Carolina surveys fisheries as pandemic hits Planned before coronavirus, data will help federal and state aid the industry
T
he effects of covid-19 in North Carolina are widespread and touching all aspects of the fishing industry, including seafood harvesters, wholesalers, retailers and processors — all currently operating their businesses at a fraction of their normal production or in many cases, closed for business. “It’s affecting everyone,” said Brent Fulcher, of Beaufort Inlet Seafood and B&J Seafood and Fish Market in New Bern, N.C. “No one knows if this will last two more days, two more months or all year.” As restaurants and retailers close across the country, markets for fresh seafood are quickly drying up. The severe cutbacks are particularly tough on small operators like Keith Bruno, owner of Endurance Seafood in Oriental, N.C. “It’s difficult, if not impossible, to sell anything right now. We won’t be putting any more pots overboard. And with Virginia and Maryland opening, I doubt any North Carolina crabs will be sold,” said Bruno. “Right now, I just don’t see any light at the end of
the proverbial tunnel.” In an ironic twist of fate, a study created prior to the upsurge in covid-19 cases aims to calculate the economic impacts of North Carolina’s commercial fishing industry. All active commercial fishermen — almost 2,500 individuals — received the survey by mail as part of the research. “We need to know the total economic value of the seafood industry to this state. It’s not just the seafood sales,” said Glenn Skinner, North Carolina Fisheries Association president. “It’s the money we spend on gas for our trucks and boat repair, the jobs created at seafood processing facilities and restaurants.” “Every aspect of our industry is being affected. Not surprised if all fish houses are either shut down or running at low capacity by next week,” Skinner added. The results of the survey will be used to influence representatives in Raleigh and Washington, D.C., to keep the fishermen in mind as they assess the impact of this
Brent Fulcher says it’s impossible to predict impacts for North Carolina.
pandemic. Jerry Warren of Diamond Shoals Seafood in Pamlico, N.C., is managing to sell “a few crabs and fish here and there,” but he says the whole operation is on a day-to-day basis. “Everyone is doing their best to stay open. But at this rate, it’s difficult to see that happening.” “Fishermen are an essential business — we feed people,” added Fulcher. “That’s not to say things aren’t tough right now, but we’re pushing through. We’re presently open and purchasing seafood. The state, he said, “is getting ready to open black sea bass and summer flounder — that’s a great move. Hoping it will restore confidence.” “It’s important for our industry to provide access for consumers to the resource,” Fulcher added. “We are working hard to do just that.” — Maureen Donald
OVER 70 YEARS SUPPLING THE FINEST STERN TUBE SEALS AND BEARINGS
FRICTION FREE BEARINGS WITH PTFE. PROVEN SUPERIOR TO RUBBER AND POLYMER
TANDEM EVK WATER LUBRICATED STERN TUBE SEAL
275 MADISON AVE FLOOR 14 NEW YORK, NY 10016 SALES@KEMELUSA.COM
14 National Fisherman \ June 2020
EVK WATER LUBRICATED JET PUMP SEAL
NORTHEAST TEL: 917-975-7754 NEWT@KEMELUSA.COM
EVKR WATER LUBRICATED RUDDER SEAL
Southern Shrimp Alliance
—Brent Fulcher, Beaufort Inlet Seafood
ST-83A WATER SOLUBLE NON-SHEENING EAL
WEST COAST TEL: 360-271-3791 ANDERSON@KEMELUSA.COM
OIL LUBRICATED SEALS FOR THRUSTERS AND STERN TUBES
GULF COAST TEL: 251-751-2019 BILLY@KEMELUSA.COM
www.nationalfisherman.com
AROUND THE COASTS
Coast Guard busts Mexican snapper poaching off Texas Thirteen fishermen caught longlining
T
hirteen Mexican fi shermen were detected poaching red snapper far north of the U.S. maritime boundary off south Texas Monday when the Coast Guard moved in to break up their longlining operations, Coast Guard officials said. Three lanchas — small, slim-hulled outboard boats of 20 to 30 feet that can run at 30 knots — were corralled about 50 miles inside the boundary and detained by crews on a Coast Guard cutter, small boat and helicopters. The haul brought in 12 miles of longline gear, other fi shing equipment illegal under U.S. law, and 2,020 pounds of poached red snapper. Mexico suffers from poor fi shery management and enforcement, and the better fi shing in waters off Texas is an irresistible lure for many fi shermen. The recovery of red snapper in U.S. Gulf of Mexico waters has brought the fi sh back to a relatively consistent market with good prices. — Kirk Moore
Prestige Oysters wins first MSC certification in fishery Sustainability label win for wild growers
O
ne of the largest producers of Gulf Coast oysters is the first wild oyster fishery in the Americas to obtain Marine Stewardship Council certification in recognition of its sustainable practices. Prestige Oysters, which harvests and processes oysters in Texas and Louisiana, also provides market for more than 100 boats from the Gulf Coast to Chesapeake Bay. “The MSC certification recognizes the work we’ve done to lead the industry in sustainable oyster harvesting,” said Prestige Oyster General Manager Raz Halili. “For the past two years we have measured ourselves against the organization’s rigorous standards and take immense pride in becoming the fi rst certified oyster fi shery — Kirk Moore in the Americas.” To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
Port Norris, N.J. Donald “Spike” Haught on the 30-foot Crab Chaser tending crab traps on the Delaware Bay out of Maurice River, N.J.
This is your life. Submit your Crew Shot nationalfisherman.com/submit-crew-shots
HYDRO-SLAVE SAME DAY SERVICE HAULERS AVAILABLE 8” TO 17” • ALUMINUM BACKPLATE • POLISHED STAINLESS BACKPLATE • ALL STAINLESS HARDWARE
DUAL RAM QUADRANT ASSEMBLY
POWER STEERING AVAILABLE IN 5 CLASSES • UP TO 120 FEET • STAINLESS QUADRANT ASSEMBLIES • STAINLESS HELMS ONE TON BOOM WINCH • AvAILABLE IN POWDER COATED STEEL OR STAINLESS STEEL • AvAILABLE WITH A HyDRAULIC BRAKE CALL FOR DETAILS
5.5 HP HONDA POWER UNIT • 11GPM @ 2000 PSI 2 Stage Pump • Light, Versatile and Portable • This unit will power 10” and 12” and 14” Haulers • Ideal for outboards and other small boats • Log Splitter
• 100% Stainless Steel construction • Rudder side thrust eliminated • no stress on boat timbers
OUR NEW GENERATION SUPER BLOCKS • 4” Low LIP and HI LIP • 5” Low LIP and HI LIP • 2000 lb. Capacity • Sealed tapered roller bearings • Aluminum Sheaves • Stainless Sheaves ELECTRIC CLUTCHES HIGH EFFICIENCY VANE PUMP
Call 1-800-747-7550 • Email: marinhyd@midcoast.com • Fax: 207-594-9721
MARINE HYDRAULIC ENGINEERING 17 Gordon Drive • Rockland, Maine www.midcoast.com/~marinhyd/
June 2020 \ National Fisherman 15
MARKET REPORTS
AT L A N T I C
G U L F / S O . AT L A N T I C
Squid
Yellowfin
Good fishing for longfin, but market ‘hit a brick wall’ with coronavirus
Demand and prices in Gulf of Mexico hold steady as home shoppers stock up
usiness has fallen off a cliff, for squid, and for every market that deals with restaurants,” says Chris Lee, of Sea Fresh USA, a supplier and processor in North Kingstown, R.I. “Every dockside processor is talking about coronavirus.” While the year-round Northeast longfin squid commercial harvest is used to fluctuation, the covid-19 pandemic is unparalleled. “There’s always lots of uncertainty with squid availability and international demand/supply price effects. My understanding is that coronavirus-related restaurant shutdowns have had extreme immediate negative effects on domestic demand, and negative effects for exports are expected as well,” says Jason Didden of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. In the past decade, says Lee, most of his squid was sold domestically. But now, he says, “we haven’t just lost the U.S. market. I have containers of squid on the water that were going to Europe. Customers are already trying to renegotiate because those markets in Europe are not open, all their restaurants are closed.” If there is an upside right now, Lee adds, it’s China, where some markets are looking as if they are starting to reopen. This year, prior to the pandemic, longfin had been doing well, says Lee. “It’s been a very good last 365 days of landings and prices. It’s been very rewarding for boats and processors. Fishing has been good all winter. Longfin has had good value and price.” Prior to the pandemic, landings were tracking close to last year, according to Didden. “Fleets caught 27.5 million pounds of longfin, valued at $42.9 million (ex-vessel). Average 2019 price was slightly above 2018. Last year, fleets landed 59.9 million pounds of illex, (a record), valued at $28.0 million (a record) ex-vessel. Average 2019 price was a bit higher than 2018, one of the highest.” Lee says prices have fallen by 60 percent so far, with more likely to come. “We hit a brick wall for the squid market,” adds Lee. “The fish are still there, but everyone is in a state of confusion. We don’t know where the market is, where the price should be, and if we’re going to be paid. Everyone is impacted.” When markets are rebuilt, says Lee, he hopes consumers keep enjoying fried calamari, but that markets will also highlight for consumers the multiple ways squid can be prepared. — Caroline Losneck
espite the coronavirus pandemic — or maybe because of it — the market for yellowfin tuna from the Gulf of Mexico is holding up just fine. David Maginnis, operator of Jensen Tuna in Houma, La., the major supplier of gulf yellowfin, says he’s seeing stronger demand for domestic product — especially the higher quality, sushi-grade fish known as No. 1. “I can’t get enough No. 1 to supply the demand,” Maginnis said, adding that boat prices for the top grade are between $6.50 and $7 per pound — “pretty much the norm for this time of year.” The coronavirus scare, he said, is driving some anxious consumers to strip grocery store shelves of available protein sources — “a little spike at the retailer.”
B
“
16 National Fisherman \ June 2020
D
“I can’t get enough No. 1 to supply the demand.” — David Maginnis, Jensen Tuna
“At the seafood counter, they have a little bit of salmon, catfish, but not much of anything else,” Maginnis said. But he noted that restaurants are taking a hit as most consumers are eating at home. He says competition from foreign suppliers comes mainly in the No. 2 category. While Maginnis said he pays his boats about $3.50 per pound, imported fish from Central and South America and Africa are selling as low as $1.75 per pound. Maginnis said rough weather has been the main reason for less tuna hitting his docks so far this spring. “We’ve been getting front after front after front,” he said. “It’s been hampering production.” Indeed, preliminary 2020 U.S. commercial landings data from NMFS show the yellowfin harvest is down from the same time last year: about 49 metric tons (108,000 pounds whole weight) compared with about 69 metric tons (152,000 pounds) in 2019. Because of fear and uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus, Maginnis said, “it’s a revolving issue every day, a fluid situation.” — Sue Cocking www.nationalfisherman.com
MARKET REPORTS
PA C I F I C
ALASKA
Swordfish
Salmon
Coronavirus, turtle protections crush market expectations early in season
With virus precautions, 2020 season will be like no other
issolving market conditions related to covid-19 are expected to stymie the economics of the West Coast swordfish longline fishery, if sea turtle bycatch limits don’t get to them first. In August 2019, the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council elected to impose an annual hard cap limit of 16 leatherback turtle interactions on the fleet. Interactions equate to any form of entanglement, and the council noted that the majority of animals are released unharmed. Though the council did not call for a hard cap limit on interactions with loggerhead turtles, based on evidence that the population appears to be rebuilding at an annual rate of about 2.4 percent, other stipulations apply. By then, the 2019 longline season had already come and gone. The Hawaiian shallow-water longline fi shery closed in late March after the fleet hit the 17th incident of accidental hooking of a turtle. As of March 18, this year the fleet had interactions with 13 loggerhead turtles of its 17-turtle cap, and had interactions with 2 of the 26 interactions they can have with leatherbacks. In 2018, the swordfi sh season lasted until May, and the fleet had interactions with 6 leatherbacks and 33 loggerheads. This year’s swordfi sh harvest stood at 157.6 metric tons in early April. Average ex-vessel prices of $2.72 had been running synonymous with the same period last year. Meanwhile, exvessel revenues of $944,908 for 2020 stand at less than half of million the fleet put in for the 2019 season, when the $2.53 la nd i ng s tallied up to 423.1 metric tons. Among other dynamics affecting product landed along the West Coast, regulations calling for armed guards aboard boats with crews of citizenship other than the United States have sent boats traditionally delivering to San Francisco off-loading their catches in Hawaii and elsewhere, according to Larry Collins, president of the San Francisco Community Fishing Association. Even then, he said, the virus and its peripheral effects on business have disrupted the flow of product from boats to brokers to end markets. “The entire supply chain is broke,” says Collins. “A lot of the — Charlie Ess Asian markets are closed; it’s really dried up.”
s more stringent measures to slow the spread of covid-19 rippled through state governments in early April, Alaska’s salmon industry braced itself for anything between total fishery closures and limited contact scenarios that would isolate fishermen on boats from processors and their crews, support industry specialists and others. While players in all facets of the industry say details in sophisticated plans have been changing daily, all of them admit this year’s crop of salmon are on their way. Unlike some fish species that can be left in the ocean and harvested after the virus has passed, this year’s return of spawning salmon will return and die by the end of summer. “These aren’t like crab or lobsters or other long-lived species that will mill around in the ocean until their eventual harvest after the virus passes,” says Harry Moore, a lifelong salmon fisherman from Naknek. Moore and others worry that some river systems might not handle an onslaught of spawning salmon that would otherwise be held in check with the harvest by the fleet. Elsewhere in the state, fishermen, processors, tenders and communities began drafting operational plans. The plans have been changing every day, as teams discover new considerations, says Tim Moore, a seiner and chairman of the board of directors for the Prince William Sound Aquaculture Corp. “We’re trying to come up with something the industry can work with that complies with the mandates of the state,” says Moore. “So that process has morphed into something that makes more sense.” At the same time, Moore adds that each day brings new uncertainties. Management of the fisheries by Alaska Department of Fish & Game will likely be hampered. Camps where biologists and fishery teams monitor salmon weirs would likely face shutdowns, as would aerial surveys. “How do you maintain social distance when you’re both crammed into a Super Cub?” says Moore. As for markets, the general consensus is that canned products and some frozen fillets should be able to find outlets. “Shelf-stable salmon is probably going to be OK,” says Moore. “But with restaurants closed, we can pretty much conclude that demand for high-end fresh products is going to be significantly reduced.” — Charlie Ess
D
To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
A
June 2020 \ National Fisherman 17
BOATS & GEAR: BOATBUILDING
BOATS & GEAR: BOATBUILDING
STICKING IT OUT
Giddings Boatworks photos
Dave Sotin is the master of stick building at Giddings Boatworks. He has been with the yard for 40 years and has trained many of the younger welders.
A West Coast yard with a skilled crew takes on a stick-built sponson project By Paul Molyneaux
ld school,” that’s what Wayne Garcia, general “ manager at Giddings Boatworks in Charleston, Ore., calls the yard’s latest sponson project — adding 10 feet of beam to the F/V Collier Brothers. Old school is appropriate for this boat, built long before the age of digital hull models, plasma cutters and computer design programs. “The Collier Brothers was built in 1978 in Bayou la Batre, Alabama,” says Garcia, whose Cajun roots are also on Gulf Coast. “The owners like to keep a low profile. But they have been coming to us for a long time. They told us they wanted it stick built, which is almost like building a boat from scratch, and asked us if we could get it done in time for them to head back to Alaska for pollock season. We didn’t want to promise something we couldn’t do, but we talked it over and we figured we could do it. We ended up getting her done in five months. We did it under the proposed budget, while
O
18 National Fisherman \ June 2020
surpassing the expectations of the vessel’s owner.” According to the family’s social media, the F/V Collier Brothers is owned by the Schones family, and captained primarily by Mike Schones, with other skippers filling in. As Garcia tells it, family members went to Alabama in 1978 and bought the Collier Brothers from Gulf Coast Marine Builders. The original boat was 84 feet in length with a 24foot beam and a 12-foot draft. Garcia says the boat has been in the same family ever since. And while the Schones family has added a bulbous bow, and a new aluminum wheelhouse manufactured by Yaquina Boat Equipment in Toledo, Ore., the sponson job now gives them a lot more room to maneuver. “The owner had always wanted to expand the 24-footwide breadth of the vessel so that his crew would have a more stable work platform,” says Garcia. The Collier Brothers is registered in Portland, Ore., but the
www.nationalfisherman.com
BOATS & GEAR: BOATBUILDING
The new Collier Brothers, fresh out of the yard, 10 feet wider and with more fuel capacity.
“The owner had always wanted to expand the 24-foot-wide breadth of the vessel so that his crew would have a more stable work platform.” — Wayne Garcia, GIDDINGS BOATWORKS
boat is usually based in Kodiak, Alaska, and works primarily in the North Pacific, Bering Sea and Aleutians. According to NOAA, the Collier Brothers has permits to trawl for Atka mackerel, Pacific cod, pollock and rock cod. The owners brought the boat down to Giddings in mid-September 2019, and the yard started cutting away on the old boat. “Then the naval architect, Bruce Culver, came down and helped us figure out what To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
we need to do,” says Garcia. “The owners wanted to add 12 feet to the beam, 6 feet on each side. They wanted it stick built, so we welded temporary angle on at deck level and then clamped battens on that so he could see the shape. It turned out 6 feet was too much. It didn’t look right to them. So we brought it in to around 5 feet and 3 or 4 inches. That looked good.” According to Garcia, the owner wanted an inverted chine, more freeboard on the sponson than the original hull so that the bottom plate angles down from the old chine to the new. “It almost looks like a trimaran when you look at it from the stern,” says Garcia. Once the Giddings crew got the shape they dropped the lengths of the sides down. “We use battens to get the shape,” says Garcia. “We put on the bulkhead extensions, and then we started measuring and cutting the bottom plate, sides and deck. With stick
built you do every piece by hand, nothing is precut, there’s no lofting, no laser scan.” With the bulkhead extensions on, the Giddings crew measures between them. “They can’t be more that 8 feet apart,” says Garcia, “or she’ll be over tonnage.” According to Garcia, if the boat goes over 200, tons she will have to meet more stringent regulations. “So we put in tonnage frames.They’re just 1/4-inch steel plate to divide the compartments. That keeps the volume tonnage down so that those regulations don’t kick in.” Besides the yard’s longstanding relationship with Culver —who drew up the original plans and consulted with Giddings throughout the project — Garcia credits an experienced crew with making the job go smoothly. “Not everyone can do stick built,” he says. “But David Sotin has been here for 40 years, and he’s trained a lot of the guys here. They know how to work this way.” June 2020 \ National Fisherman 19
BOATS & GEAR: BOATBUILDING
“They added two tanks aft and four up forward. It gives them 24,000 gallons total, up from around 13,000 gallons. And he can shift that around to adjust his trim.” — Wayne Garcia, GIDDINGS BOATWORKS
Originally built in Bayou La Batre, Ala., in 1978, the Collier Brothers is now based in Oregon but fishes primarily for groundfish in Alaskan waters.
But the work got tricky up by the bow. “Where the sponson comes in to meet the bow, there was no room to get a man inside there, so we weld on T-bar and then plug weld to that,” says Garcia. As he describes it, they cut many small oval holes in the plate, line the holes up on the T-bar framing and then weld the hold closed on the bar. “It makes it watertight,” says Garcia. On deck, the boat is sporting a pair of rebuilt Rapp winches and a new net
800-413-6351 commercialsales@northriverboats.com NorthRiverBoats.com
LEGENDARY BRISTOL BAY FISHING REQUIRES LEGENDARY BOATS 20 National Fisherman \ June 2020
www.nationalfisherman.com
BOATS & GEAR: BOATBUILDING
Stick building does not require more than a rudimentary design. The shape is determined by eye, using battens to show the new lines.
The owners had previously added a bulbous bow and new wheelhouse to the vessel. Sponsons will create a stable work platform.
The Collier Brothers deck equipment includes a pair of rebuilt Rapp MacGregor hydraulic winches.
reel, but most of the internal workings of the Collier Brothers have been left unchanged. Garcia has only a rough idea of the engine specs. “They have a 1,000-hp Cat, and a Twin Disc gear that I think is 6.3:1. The shaft I believe is 5 inches. The wheel I know we worked on it. I think we added 2 inches of pitch and extended the
blades 5 inches. It’s a five-blade stainless. Gensets, I know they have one Cat, and I know they had one rebuilt.” As far as wheelhouse electronics, again, that was not Garcia’s focus. “I know they have a lot of Furuno, and other stuff,” he says. But when it comes to the sponsons, he’s got the numbers. “They just about
doubled the fuel capacity,” Garcia says. “They added two tanks aft and four up forward. It gives them 24,000 gallons total, up from around 13,000 gallons. And he can shift that around to adjust his trim.” Besides new fuel tanks, Garcia notes that they also expanded the hydraulic reservoir from 150 gallons to nearly 300, and added
Durability, Dependability & Quality For Over 35 Years KINEMATICS Marine Equipment, Inc.
BRISTOL BAY ROLLERS
POWER BLOCK
CUSTOM GILLNET & LONGLINE DRUMS
TWISTER WHEEL DRIVE
TWISTER PLANETARY DRUM DRIVE
W I N C H E S
USTRY HING IND INE & FIS R A M E H ES FOR T Y WINCH SPECIALT
ANCHOR WINCH
For Our Complete Line of Deck Gear go to www.kinematicsmarine.com 5625 48th Dr. N.E. Unit B Marysville, WA 98270 Phone: (360) 659-5415 • Fax: (360) 653-5151
To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
BLOOM MANUFACTURING, INC. Custom Engineered Solutions Since 1910 Independence, IA 50644, USA | bloommfg.com P: 319-827-1139 | 800-394-1139 | F: 319-827-1140
June 2020 \ National Fisherman 21
BOATS & GEAR: BOATBUILDING
ballast tanks between the aft and forward fuel tanks. Giddings launched the newly sponsoned Collier Brothers on Feb. 19, 2020, sending her down the ways at high tide. Culver came down and performed the stability test on, and she left the yard on Feb. 25. With a new gray and red paint job, and white wheelhouse, the Collier Brothers sailed for Alaska. The boat’s Facebook page shows her leaving Newport loaded with two pickup trucks, crab pots and salmon gear to be delivered to fishermen up north. “He got there in time for pollock season,” says Garcia. “That was important. If we didn’t think we could do the job in time for him to get up there, we would have waited for another time. But we knew we could do it.” Paul Molyneaux is the Boats & Gear editor for National Fisherman and the author of “The Doryman’s Reflection.”
Ready for launch, the newly sponsoned Collier Brothers was built with inverted chines, where the new chines are lower than the original, creating improved stability.
PRODUCT ANNOUNCEMENT
StepliteX StormGrip: Your New Boot Legacy Working in professional fishing means working long hours on a boat in extreme conditions. Having only the best of gear to help you weather the toughest of conditions is therefore non-negotiable. Always on solid ground The StepliteX StormGrip took several years to develop utilizing input from those that actually wear the boots: the commercial fishermen themselves. The features such as one-piece boot to reduce seams, a winter tire based anti-slip sole with a specific proprietary rubber compound, and a block finish of the sole to avoid net trapping are all key features that were incorporated into the boot based on our years of development feedback. All of these features created the ULTIMATE commercial fishing boot! The StepliteX StormGrip is a boot made of Neotane material, a unique polyurethane formulation developed by Bekina Boots over the years. It is lighter than rubber, has better thermal protection and is resistant to chemicals. The design of the shaft was taken from an existing boot with proven properties of excellent fitting, lightness, softness and extreme comfort. The StepliteX StormGrip is available with or without safety toe and midsole. In 1962 shoemaker Denis Vanderbeke founded Bekina Boots in Kluisbergen, Belgium. For three generations now, this family owned company has developed and produced safety boots with passion and craftsmanship. Today Bekina Boots is the second largest polyurethane boot manufacturer in the world. PRODUCT CONTACT BEKINA INC PO BOX 6148 BEND, OR 97708 CONTACTUS@BEKINA-BOOTS.COM
+
Scan this code and learn where to buy our StepliteX StormGrip
FOR MORE INFORMATION: https://www.bekina-boots.us
NF20_Bekina_Brand Partners.indd 1
22 National Fisherman \ June 2020
4/2/20 3:41 PM www.nationalfisherman.com
Fishing Innovation
Nelson Street Facility 2200 Nelson Street Panama City, FL 32401 Allanton Facility 13300 Allanton Road Panama City, FL 32404 sberthold@easternshipbuilding.com 850-763-1900 ext 3216
www.easternshipbuilding.com
BOATS & GEAR: BOATBUILDING
SMALL BOATS
HAVE BIG PULL Builders tweak the design and construction of the small boats that dominate the world’s fishing fleets By Paul Molyneaux
round 90 percent of the world’s fi shermen use small boats to land 50 percent of the global catch. For some, like the dulse harvesters of Grand Manan, Canada, the Lunenburg dories they use display the lines of an ancient design. For others, like the seiners of Alaska, aluminum skiff s like those manufactured by Snow’s Boats are in the vanguard of design.
Dory Shop
A
Among oyster tongers in Mississippi Sound, south of Mobile, Ala., Bosarge skiff s have been popular for decades. Fishermen shifting to oyster farming have a new option from DLBA Naval Architects in Chesapeake, Va. While some small-boat fi shermen build their own boats or use stock boats like Lund aluminum skiff s or fiberglass Carolina skiff s, many small boats have evolved to serve particular fi sheries.
The Dory Shop in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia, is owned by tall-ship captain Daniel Moreland. He believes it is the last dory shop building boats for commercial fishermen.
24 National Fisherman \ June 2020
www.nationalfisherman.com
BOATS & GEAR: BOATBUILDING
To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
The dulse harvesters of Grand Manan, New Brunswick, use a modified banks dory with a squared off stern for mounting a long shaft outboard.
goes most of the way across the bottom, and the other does the same so they overlap. There’s nothing else as strong.” According to Moreland, the dulse harvesters came to him and asked for the modified transom. The normal tombstone transom angles back sharply, but the dulse pickers wanted him to square it off more so they could put their long-shaft outboards on and be able to lift them quickly when they hit the beach. “They look a little different,” Moreland says of the modified transoms. “But they work.”
The Oyster Skiff One morning, on a bicycle ride through the south just after Hurricane Katrina, I approached the bridge to Dauphin
Island, just south of Mobile, Ala. At a store, several parked trucks had trailers with wooden skiffs on them. The boats looked to be about 18 feet long with the bows and sides decked, and the long handles of oyster tongs poking out from inside. Riding over the bridge, I looked down and saw the boats dotting the sound. Oystermen stood on the sides letting their tongs drop into the shallows and lifting up claws full of mud and oysters. “They were probably off to your right as you went towards the Island,” says David Bosarge of Bosarge Boats in nearby Pascagoula, Miss. “Yes,” I tell him. “Probably in Bosarge skiffs.” “Some of them, probably,” he replied.
Bosarge Boats
The dory, for example, is a simple, easily built, flat-bottom boat with a sweeping sheer and a narrow tombstone transom. The dory is famous for its use on schooners sailing to the Grand Banks in the 19th century where fishermen in pairs would set off to handline and tub trawl for cod and halibut. It’s the boat in Winslow Homer’s famous painting “Fog Warning,” which depicts the danger the little boats faced of getting lost from the schooner hundreds of miles from land. “They were ubiquitous,” says Daniel Moreland, owner of the Dory Shop, in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia. “There were dory shops from New York City to Newfoundland,” says Moreland, who captains the 179-foot sail training ship, Picton Castle. “Demand has shrunk, but we still get calls. The dulse pickers use them on Grand Manan.” On Grand Manan, a little Canadian island off the coast of Maine, a handful of men and women harvest a seaweed called dulse. Most use dories that have special sterns to accommodate outboards, and are protected on the bottoms and chines with sheets of a plastic-like material. The dulse harvesters winch the dories over the breakwater at Dark Harbor and head south to the dulse rocks. With engines wide open they ride the waves onto the rocky beaches, raising their long-shaft outboards at the last minute. They pick dulse through the tide, shoving off again after a few hours, with their dories laden. “They couldn’t harvest the Dark Harbor dulse without those boats,” says Maine-based dulse buyer Shep Earhart. “They get on a big swell and just slam in onto those rocky beaches. No other boat could take that beating.” Moreland’s shop has a crew of two, builder Mike Gray and his assistant. “We use white pine, hackmatack and oak,” says Moreland. His dories are 1-1/4-inch white pine on the bottoms, 5/8 to 3/4 pine on the sides, with oak for the stem, the tombstone transom, and the caps and rails. “We use natural hackmatack knees,” says Moreland. “One comes down and
Dory Shop
The Dulse Dory
The rugged Bosarge skiffs, designed and refined by Floyd Bosarge in the 1960s and ’70s, have been popular among Alabama and Mississippi oyster tongers for decades.
June 2020 \ National Fisherman 25
According to Bosarge, the oystermen are back working that same area, and the oysters have come back. “They have a limit of six sacks, and some of them are getting that in two hours,” he says. Sacks are about 80 pounds, or 120 oysters, according to Bosarge, and the oystermen are getting around 80 cents a pound. Floyd Bosarge, David’s uncle, designed the skiff that bears his family name in the 1960s and ’70s. “I went to work for him after high school in 1975,” says Bosarge. “He made subtle changes to the fl are and the sheer over the years, but by the mid-70s he had the design, and he gave it to me. We build them anywhere from 18 to 20 feet. We can build them to 22 feet.” The Bosarge skiff s are 6 to 8 feet wide on the stern, and they have 16- to 18-inch-wide decks along the sides for the oystermen to stand on when they’re working. The skiff has a slight V-bottom
Bosarge Boats
BOATS & GEAR: BOATBUILDING
David Bosarge learned how to build oyster skiffs from his Uncle Floyd. As the oysters rebound in nearby Mississippi Sound, he has been getting inquiries for new boats.
forward that fl attens out going aft. “We use half-inch marine plywood on the sides, and 5/8 or 3/4 on the bottom, and 3/4 on the stern,” says Bosarge. “We fasten with 3/16 stainless steel ring nails and 5200” 3M marine adhesive. Bosarge
Boatyard Special: 50% off Fall-Winter at Port of Port Townsend
The Port of PT’s fall-winter yard storage discount of about 50% starts Oct. 1, 2020 until March 31, 2021. Reserve your haul-out date and yard space now. Do it yourself or bring in one of 400 marine trades pros.
MANUFACTURING QUALITY ALUMINUM & BRONZE HARDWARE TO THE BOAT BUILDING INDUSTRY SINCE 1965
✪ Discount period: Oct. 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021 ✪ Discount rate: 37 cents per foot ✪ Pre-pay minimum of 1 month
360-385-6211 portofpt.com
26 National Fisherman \ June 2020
notes that there is not a lot of framing in his skiff s. “There’s a bulkhead about four feet back from the stern and another about six feet in front of the transom,” he says. Besides the design, Bosarge has all of his uncle’s equipment too, including a
WWW.FRASERBRONZE.COM 5625-48th Dr. NE Unit D Marysville, WA 98270 Toll Free: 877-264-1064 Made in USA
www.nationalfisherman.com
Bosarge Boats
BOATS & GEAR: BOATBUILDING
Oystermen stand on the wide rail decking and drive their tongs down into the oyster beds. Most equip their boats with small outboards, 10- to 20-hp Johnsons and Evinrudes.
The DLBA shellfish barge starts with a 30' x 12' aluminum hull. “It’s got 3/8ths deck plating,” says Garvey. The vessel is designed for an Oxe 150-hp diesel outboard and a Kohler auxiliary for the hydraulics and electric systems. It has an enclosed wheelhouse aft and a 47,700-foot-pound, Amco-Veba crane forward — for lifting the mooring blocks when oyster farmers who are practicing raft-culture need to set up or shift their grow-out systems. “The demand is there, and we have a lot of interest,” says Garvey. “We’re looking for someone to step up and buy.” Garvey points out the DLBA will absorb the costs of finishing the design. “All the cut
24-inch Crescent planer from the 1920s and an antique Crescent bandsaw. He works in an outdoor shop and generally sells his skiffs unpainted. “I have painted some,” he says. “Usually I use Pettit Easypoxy. On my own boat, I used Duralux.”
That’s what publicist John Garvey calls the new vessel that Virginia-based, DLBA Naval Architects has designed for shellfish farmers. According to Garvey, shellfish aquaculture is growing 15 to 20 percent a year. “We designed this to provide a safe and stable work platform for oyster farmers,” he says.
DLBA Naval Architects
A Barge with a Pointy End
DLBA Naval Architects in Chesapeake, Va., designed this 30-foot aluminum aquaculture barge to be powered by an Oxe 150-hp diesel outboard.
KODIAK SHIPYARD For boats up to 660 tons and 42’ beam The ideal place to work on your boat: y y y y
Centrally located in the North Pacific. Heated washpad with washwater recycling. Do it yourself or turnkey services. Environmentally compliant.
SH
D
Kodiak is one of the largest fishing ports in the US with everything you need for a successful haul out.
IP AR Y
To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
Email dmagnuson@city.kodiak.ak.us or call 907-486-8080 Visit kodiakshipyard.com June 2020 \ National Fisherman 27
BOATS & GEAR: BOATBUILDING
fi les and scantlings,” he says. Garvey also notes that the Oxe diesels can run for up to 5,000 hours between servicing, with 20 to 30 percent fuel savings. He expects the actual boats to be equipped with basic electronics: radar, VHF, plotter and sounder.
Out in Ballard Locks in Seattle, Brett Snow has been building aluminum boats for 25 years. Snow’s company, Snow Boat Building, works on a variety of vessels, including setnet skiff s and seine skiff s. “We sent three up to Alaska in 2018,” says Snow. “They use them for salmon. The big boat sets the seine skiff out, and they circle the net around the fi sh.” Seine skiff s are small boats that are part of a bigger boat fi shery, sort of like dories on schooners, they hold one end of the seine net while the bigger boat circles around a school of salmon. “We just sent one to the East Coast,” says Snow. “A big one, 25 feet by 13 feet wide for Barry Matthews. He’s fi shing for herring.” Most of Snow’s seine skiff s are for 58foot seiners in Alaska, and are 18' x 10' and typically powered with a 225-hp 445 John Deere. “They’re simple boats,” says Snow. “No electronics really.” Just power. The
Brett Snow
Little Boat, Big Boat
Brett Snow has built a lot of boats for Alaska salmon seiners, but he is very proud of the beefy 425hp seine skiff that he sent to Maine herring seiner Barry Matthews.
“We just sent one to the East Coast. A big one, 25 feet by 13 feet wide, for Barry Matthews. He’s fishing for herring.” —Brett Snow, SNOW BOAT BUILDING
big one he sent east works with a 71-foot seiner, the Ocean Venture. “I really liked that one,” says Snow. “Bringing the tow point down was the primary goal in the new design.”
The power train includes a large fourblade 40-inch wheel with a fi xed nozzle designed and built by Snow, a 3.8:1 Twin Disc 5091 deep case gear, and 425-hp 6090 John Deere. Behind the wheel, a large deflector marine rudder can spin the boat in just a little more than one boat length. With 12,000 pounds of bollard pull, the 425 hp is almost never running at full speed. “The fuel savings are amazing,” says Snow. Paul Molyneaux is the Boats & Gear editor for National Fisherman and author of “The Doryman’s Refl ection.”
www.imtra.com
The Trusted Source for Quality Systems IMTRA Corporation, 30 Samuel Barnet Blvd., New Bedford, MA 02745
LED
THRUSTERS • LIGHTING • SEATING • TRIM CONTROL • WIPERS • CONTROLS
28 National Fisherman \ June 2020
508-995-7000
www.nationalfisherman.com
WHEN PERFORMANCE MATTERS WE DELIVER The commercial marine industry is constantly in motion, always changing. That’s why we formed FPT AfterMarket Solutions (AMS), a dedicated team of propulsion experts providing 24/7 aftermarket support and service tailored to your business. AMS is always there to help you meet your challenges head-on and succeed — and do it all seamlessly and with a human touch. Plus, AMS has access to the resources of our FPT dealer network and service points worldwide. Find out how AMS can help you keep your maritime business on the move. Call us today or learn more at fptindustrial.com
24 / 7 CARE & ASSISTANCE:
833-458-1378
C16 1000
815 HP (599 kW) @ 2300 RPM
AROUND THE YARDS
Wash. boatyard building three bay gillnetters; highway bridge sets limits for gillnetter design
Rozema Boatworks
By Michael Crowley
Two of the three raised pilothouse gillnetters being built at Rozema Boatworks. The design allows the gillnet reel to slide between stern and bow to set and haul back the net.
t Rozema Boatworks it’s been all about building Bristol Bay gillnetters through the winter and into the spring. The Mount Vernon, Wash., boatyard got orders for two gillnetters around Christmas. A third gillnetter, which had been partially completed at another boatshop, was brought in to be finished off . All three had to be completed by mid-May to be shipped to Alaska in time for the Bristol Bay salmon opening. These are raised pilothouse designs. That allows the gillnet reel to slide stern to bow beneath the pilothouse — setting off the stern and hauling back over the bow. It’s the first time Rozema Boatworks has built this design. “Each of (the three) have their own tweaks,” says Rozema Boatworks’ Dirk Rozema, “but each of them is basically the same design.” They have very low deadrise, as they are designed to operate in water as shallow as 12 inches. Power for all three will come from twin 600-hp Cummins 8.3 diesels matched up with Ultrajets. Rozema figures the gillnetters will pack 20,000 pounds.With 10,000 pounds aboard, they should be able to hit 25 knots and be “on step and go.That’s
A
30 National Fisherman \ June 2020
the intention,” he says. Running empty, he expects 36 knots. Salmon will come in over a power roller from Kinematics Marine Equipment and then be divided among eight fish holds refrigerated with Pacific West Refrigeration’s RSW system. The net reel is from Petrzelka Brothers. The pilothouse is mounted on towers near the stern, while all the accommodations are under the deck in the bow area and include four bunks, a small settee, and a galley. Only one gillnetter has a bunk in the pilothouse. All have the head in one of the two towers supporting the pilothouse. The other
tower is for storage. At Rozema Boatworks, it’s not all about completing three Bristol Bay gillnetters. There’s also a 56-foot aluminum passenger vessel with a ship date of July 20; so it’s no wonder that Rozema said back in March, “all the stuff we are doing has a pretty big push.” Since Bay Welding Services launched the 54-foot salmon tender St. Lawrence in June 2017, the Homer, Alaska, boatshop has gone through a bit of a dry spell as far as building commercial fishing boats — plenty of catamaran passenger boats but not fishing boats. That’s changing, starting with a seine skiff for a Kodiak fisherman that will be followed by a Bristol Bay gillnetter. The 21' x 11' 6" seine skiff “will be noteworthy. Will have the next level jet,” says Bay Welding’s Eric Engebretsen. He’s talking about the 20-inch HI500 waterjet from Thrustmaster.This is the first HI500 waterjet to go into a Bay Welding Services seine skiff . Previous jets were 18-inch Traktor Jets. Those skiffs generated “pretty impressive pull numbers,” with one skiff producing 4,500 pounds of bollard pull. Engebretsen estimates that the skiff currently being built with the larger 20-inch pump “will pull about 6,000 pounds. It’s a big jet for a skiff but jumps up to next level of pulling power.” Engebretsen puts the skiff ’s 11-foot 6-inch beam at the “upper limit” for seine skiffs, but it’s needed “to handle all that pulling power.” If she starts to go sideways, the extra beam will help to keep her stable. Normally the beam would be 9 to 10 feet. “Skiffs have a hard life,” notes Continued on page 33
When it’s finished, Bay Weld Boats’ 21-foot skiff will have a Thrustmaster 20-inch HI500 water jet for power.
www.nationalfisherman.com
Bay Weld Boats
WEST
AROUND THE YARDS
40-year-old Stanley gets a rebuild; first Libby 36 scheduled for construction
Eaton’s Boat Shop & Fiberglassing
By Michael Crowley
The Zytanna, a 40-year-old Stanley lobster boat, was rebuilt by Eaton’s Boat Shop & Fiberglassing for a Maine lobsterman in Deer Isle.
aton’s Boat Shop & Fiberglassing in Deer Isle, Maine, has rebuilt a 40-year-old Stanley 36 lobster boat that has been owned by a local fi sherman for six or seven years. She carries the name Zytanna, which is a nickname given to the current owner by an older island fi sherman, says the boatyard’s owner, Jeff Eaton. Zytanna was gutted to the bare hull from the winter-back forward. The Eaton’s crew built a new rope locker in the bow as well as storage for buoys and toggles. They removed the platform and installed a new fuel tank, along with new hydraulic tanks and lines. A 440-hp Yanmar that replaced the boat’s 370-hp Volvo went down on new fiberglass engine beds with rubber mounts. “She should be nice and smooth now,” says Eaton, referring to the 440-hp Yanmar, a 10-year-old engine with only 1,900 hours that came out of a yacht at Hinckley Yachts in Southwest Harbor, Maine. The shaft received a new coupling and the rudder a new rudder box. “We’ve gone all through the boat. Everything we put back is all Coosa material,” Eaton says.
E
To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
Eaton describes the condition of the hull when it came in his shop as “rough” since many boats of that era were fi nished off with a woven roving. “We did away with that, the roving texture, and fi nished with mat. Now we’ve got a pretty smooth fi nish.” Eaton’s Boat Shop is also building a 25 Northern Bay hull that it pulled from a Northern Bay mold Eaton purchased about six years ago. This will be a lobster boat for
a local fi sherman. The 25 Northern Bay has proven to be very popular. After the fi rst one was laid up, it went on the Eaton’s Boat Shop & Fiberglassing Facebook page and “took off like wildfi re. I have all kinds of orders on them. People looking for a Downeast-style lobster boat in the 25-foot range,” says Eaton. Once the 25-footer that’s currently being fi nished is completed, there are two for New York owners, two for Massachusetts owners, and “a guy from Georgia wants to come up and see it.” The East Side Boat Shop in Machiasport, Maine, had a 35 Young Brothers lobster boat out of Bucks Harbor in for repairs. “It was number nine or number 13 out of the mold,” says Frank Coffi n, the shop’s owner. That puts her about 30 years old. The outside of the hull wasn’t in bad shape and required only a little body work. But three decades of Maine weather pulled much of the color from the hull, so she’s getting a coating of Imron paint plus new floors and fuel tanks. After the 35 Young Brothers is pulled from the shop, a 38 Libby mold will take its place. (Coffi n has the 41, 34 and 38 Libby molds.) Out of the 38 mold will come the fi rst Libby 36. “A bunch of people want to see it,” says Coffi n. “The Libby design is excellent on fuel and sails good.” The 38 Libby has a 13-foot beam, but Coffi n will try to push the beam on the 36 out to 14 or 15 feet. Continued on page 33
East Side Boat Shop is building this 41 Libby with a 550-hp John Deere for a fisherman on Cape Cod.
June 2020 \ National Fisherman 31
Jon Johansen
NORTHEAST
AROUND THE YARDS
Alabama yard a stronghold for East Coast scallop boats; Chesapeake marina gives an assist on maintenance
Jemison Marine & Shipbuilding
By Larry Chowning
Jemison Marine & Shipbuilding recently delivered this 80' x 27' x 13' scallop vessel to T&S Fisheries in Cape May, N.J.
emison Marine & Shipbuilding of Bayou La Batre, Ala., recently delivered the scallop boat Patriarch, the fourth new fishing vessel built by Jemison for Tom McNulty Sr. of T&S Fisheries out of Cape May, N.J. The double-dredge permit F/V Patriarch is the latest of the four boats at 80' x 27' x 13' and holds 50,000 pounds of payload in its insulated ice hold. In comparison, McNulty’s boat Pride & Joy, also built by Jemison, holds 25,000 pounds. “You can fit twice as much in the Patriarch as in the Pride & Joy,” said McNulty. “We have just started working the new boat, and it is outstanding.” McNulty said he has had two different crews work the Patriarch on seven closed trips and 15 open bottom day trips. “The crews cannot say enough about how comfortable the boat is.” Patriarch was designed by naval architect Travis Carver of Sterling Marine in Gulf Breeze, Fla., with the aid of McNulty’s son Tom McNulty Jr. “Tom Jr. played a big part in the design of the boat,” says his dad. “He provided a great deal of input into the design of the deck and
J
32 National Fisherman \ June 2020
fish hold.” Main propulsion for the new vessel is a Caterpillar C32. The engine is working through a 6:1 Twin Disc reduction gear. A C9.3 Caterpillar engine was installed to run hydraulics and two John Deere Diesel 50-kW generators for electric. New World Electronics of Bayou La Batre provided and installed electronics. “This is the second boat they have done for us, and they do an outstanding job.” The scalloper has 3/8-inch steel plating on the bottom and the bulwarks’ after sections. There’s 5/16-inch steel plating in the rest of the hull and 1/4-inch plating in the forward bulwarks. This is the first of McNulty’s boats
to have a bulbous bow. “We wanted to try something different, and it proved itself out,” says McNulty. A bulbous bow modifies the way water flows around the hull, reducing drag, which increases speed, range, fuel efficiency and stability. “All indications are that the new style bow is working for us,” he says. McNulty keeps coming back to the great relationship he has with builder Tim Jemison. “Tim has built four boats for us, and Tom Jr. had him rebuild an older boat (named Redemption) with a new main engine and complete refit. “Tim builds an awesome boat, and I cannot say enough about what a quality person he is,” says McNulty. “When he tells you something, you know it to be a fact. Over the years, we have become good friends, and our business relationship is outstanding.” Jemison Marine & Shipbuilding currently has two new boats under construction. One is an 88' x 27' scallop boat for Warren Alexander of Atlantic Shellfish Inc. in Cape May. It was designed by Farrell & Norton Naval Architects of Newcastle, Maine. The other vessel under construction is an 88' x 27' scallop boat for Keith Laudeman of Cold Spring Fish and Supply Co., also in Cape May. It was designed by Sterling Marine of Gulf Breeze, Fla. Moving to Chesapeake Bay, Thomas Reed Eskridge of Deltaville,Va., and formerly of Tangier Island, Va., has his 30' x 10.5' glass over wood deadrise up on the hard at Chesapeake Cove Marina in Deltaville. Eskridge is doing his own work on the boat with some assistance from Bob and Bo Continued on page 33
Chesapeake Bay waterman Thomas Reed Eskridge had a new engine installed and other work done on this 30' x 10.5' deadrise at Chesapeake Cove Marina in Deltaville, Va.
www.nationalfisherman.com
Larry Chowning
SOUTH
AROUND THE YARDS
Around the Yards: West
Around the Yards: Northeast
Around the Yards: South
Continued from page 30
Continued from page 31
Continued from page 32
Engebretsen, “staring into the weather all the time and just hammering on the back of the seine boat.” So this skiff ’s bow area will be double plated and will have extra framing on the inside. “Fishermen,” he adds, “will still figure out how to break it, but it will take longer.” Bay Welding Services has built Puget Sound bowpickers and repowered Bristol Bay gillnetters, but the gillnetter to be built next winter for a Homer, Alaska, fisherman will be the first newbuild for Bristol Bay. Engebretsen says it will be a standard 32' x 15' house-forward, twin-jet gillnetter. Engebretsen is calling the design the Bridge Boat because of the manner in which it will be transported to Bristol Bay. There are two ways to get a gillnetter from Homer to Bristol Bay. You can go by water, or cross Cook Inlet to the Williamsport portage then trailer it up a long, winding mountain road that ends up at Iliamna Lake. There the gillnetter gets put in the water and driven to Bristol Bay. The problem is there’s a bridge on the mountain road with trestles above it that limits a boat’s width to 15 feet. That allows an inch of clearance on each side of the boat when crossing the bridge. Going the bridge route saves four to six days’ travel to Bristol Bay, as opposed to going by water.
A Libby 41 was being fi nished for a Cape Cod fi sherman, and another 41 was to be laid up the third week in March. Coffi n says the 41-footer “is a good all-around boat. Don’t have to put crazy power in it to go good, and it’s good on fuel.” This is a spec boat, and building the hull in March puts Coffi n a bit ahead of the demand curve. “Every fall I get so many phone calls wanting a kit, I’m just going to lay one up.” An East Side Boat Shop-built lobster boat that got a lot of attention this past year was a 34 Libby with a 430-hp 5.7-liter V-8 outboard. It was probably the fi rst Libby powered by an outboard. “If you want to fi sh inside, it’s a good setup,” says Coffi n. Problems arose, however, when the outboard-powered 34-footer was taken offshore to haul traps. Without diesel power to run the hydraulics, the pot hauler couldn’t haul traps that had been set over by other lobstermen in deep water. As a result, the boat was sold and is being turned into a picnic boat. That hasn’t slowed down the inquiries for the outboard powered 34-footer. Coffi n says he’s getting calls all the time on it, including from Florida. “Inside it worked great (with the outboard), outside not so much.”
Reiner, owners of Chesapeake Cove. The Reiners assisted Eskridge in installing a new John Deere 6068 engine and new fuel tank. The 30-footer was built by David Mason of Chesapeake Boats in Crisfield, Md., in 2002 and is one of two boats Eskridge owns and works. He also has a 42-foot wooden Willard Norris–built deadrise that he has moored in Newport News,Va. He purchased the Norris boat from his grandfather Allen Crockett, a well-known retired watermen on Tangier. Eskridge works in the bay’s blue crab and oyster fisheries and in the Atlantic Ocean conch fishery. The advantage of having two boats is that one can be moored near the mouth of Chesapeake Bay and accessible to ocean conch, while the other boat can be moored close to where crabbing is good. The smaller boat is a better size for Virginia’s winter public oyster dredge fishery. The Virginia Marine Resources Commission limits watermen to working a 22-inch-wide dredge and to eight bushels per day on public oyster rock. It is more cost effective to oyster in a 30-foot deadrise boat versus a 42-footer. “I can’t say enough about the Reiners,” says Eskridge. “They have given me good advice and given me a place to work on my boat. That means a whole lot to a waterman!”
H&H MARINE, INC.
FAST - FRIENDLY SERVICE - SAME DAY SHIPPING
Serving fishermen since 1994
Brian Robbins
BJ5000EX, ROLLERS, SQUID SYSTEMS, TRAP HAULERS, MACKEREL LINES
42' Stormi Gayle
email: gaskimarine@outlook.com phone: 902-701-8210 ∙ www.gaskimarine.com To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
Now accepting orders for hulls, kits and complete boats. We offer twelve models from 25' to 47' 932 U.S. Route 1, Steuben, Maine 04680 Phone: (207) 546-7477 Fax: (207) 546-2163
www.hhmarineinc.com June 2020 \ National Fisherman 33
BOATS & GEAR: PRODUCTS
Product Roundup
Built for the job Purpose-built aquaculture support vessel By Brian Hagenbuch LBA Naval Architects designed its new Aquaculture Support Vessel to replace farming vessels that are often makeshift and not built for the job. During the design process, John Garvey, DLBA’s business development manager, had an extensive back and forth with South Carolina oyster farmers until they felt they had hit on the ideal boat for the job. The result is the user-friendly ASV, a 30' x 12' aluminum alloy boat that meets U.S. Coast Guard stability requirements for doing heavy lifting on the farm. “When they plant these (oyster) beds, they set a line in the water, and they have a 2,500-pound cement block on each end of it to keep it stable in the water so it doesn’t
D
move around in tides and bad weather. They used to use these old rafts with A-frames in the middle of them to pull them up. It’s dangerous, and it takes them all day to move the blocks, very unproductive,” Garvey said. The key to the ASV’s stability is a ballast tank that keeps the vessel grounded even when the onboard knuckle boom is extended and lifting heavy blocks. The flush, clean deck is free of tripping hazards and made of thick deck plating (5083 aluminum alloy) to hold up to a battering. The strong, open deck also provides working space for an onboard tumbler. “Right now most people on the East Coast have tumblers inshore. All that running bags to shore and sorting and rotating
This boat is built for safety and improved mariculture production.
becomes work that can done on the water, which saves quite a bit on labor,” he said. According to Garvey, the faster pulling, combined with advantages like the tumbler, should allow for a reduction from three- to two-person crews. The oyster farmers he worked with go through about an engine a year with their gas outboards, so DLBA opted for the new Oxe 150-hp diesel outboards, which should have a far longer running life. DLBA NAVAL ARCHITECTS
www.dlba-inc.com
Jet boat with chill power Innovations abound on North River’s new Bristol Bay boat By Brian Hagenbuch regon-based North River Boats has been churning out a couple Bristol Bay gillnetters a winter for the last few years, and this off-season was no different. With the new F/V Haldrada, North River worked with the purchaser, 40-year bay fisherman Hal Cook, to roll out a number of innovations. Topping the list of novelties, according to North River’s director of sales, Mike Blocher, is a new Integrated Marine Systems refrigeration system tailored to Bristol Bay’s mix of shallow and deepwater fishing in both fresh and saltwater. “We have successfully installed the very first IMS keel-cooled and raw-water cooled chiller. Before, all these people building jet boats with IMS, when they went shallow
T O
34 National Fisherman \ June 2020
they basically had to turn their chillers off,” Blocher said. Now, Blocher explained, the RSW can run through the keel cooler, which allows skippers to continue to run their cooling system when they are fishing the shallows and are not able to draw through the bottom of the boat. “What it does is it opens up a lot of availability for them to continue chilling fish when they’re fishing and picking,” Blocher said. In addition, the RSW has a series of valves to bypass the keel cooler, giving the system the ability to cool with fresh or saltwater. “It’s kind of an innovative thing for Bristol Bay right now. No one else really has this. We can run it in the shallows or we can run it
The F/V Haldrada will hit the water this summer.
in deep water,” Blocher said. In another innovation, the eight fish holds also have electric valves at the water crossover points. “What that does is it gives skippers the ability to change zones up at the dash. You can pump out or balance out up at the dash without going down below. That means your guys can keep working while their captain is up there making adjustments,” he said. The deck gear has OEM electric controls in place of traditional hydraulics power. NORTH RIVER BOATS
www.northriverboats.com
www.nationalfisherman.com
AT A GLANCE
The SAFASHOR DOCK MODEL from SAFASHOR PRODUCTS INTERNATIONAL is a unique gangplank system to provide more security while boarding a boat. This marinegrade aluminum and stainless plank is permanently mounted to the dock and provides a solid, slip-resistant platform that is 38 inches wide and tested to hold up to 350 pounds. It can accommodate tidal fluctuations up to 4 inches, and the gangplank folds up when not in use. It includes a two-piece telescoping handle. A second handle can be added. SAFASHOR PRODUCTS INT’L
www.safashor.com
VOLVO PENTA recently launched its new D8 MARINE DIESEL line for commercial boats, a powerful, compact engine that peaks out at 550 hp. The weight to power ratio makes the D8 good for planing crafts that require quick acceleration. The in-line 6-cylinder has a 7.7-liter capacity, twin-entry turbo, and a heat exchanger that is cooled by seawater. The engine is designed to conform to EPA Tier 3 emissions standards, and is available for both shaft inboard and IPS installations.
Whether you’re building your boat or just out fishing, you need illumination. The new SEA HAWK-470 COMBI from HELLA MARINE is a high-powered, versatile and efficient LED light bar. The shape means it makes the most of space, and it can switch from spotlight to spread, offering 2,200 lumens of 5,000K white LED light at either setting. The light is 26.63 inches wide by 2.24 inches high and 2.64 inches deep, and has with a resistant Grilamid lens and polymer housing that draws heat away from electronics, which can be powered with 12- or 24-volt circuitry.
KOLSTRAND’S new STAINLESS STEEL DIAMOND DRIVE LEVELWIND guides gillnets onto the drum with precision. The square tube houses a diamond screw, which guides the carriage and rollers smoothly. Fitted into the level wind carriage is a new spare levelwind pawl, which eliminates the need for problematic chain and drive links that are infamous for wearing out on levelwinds. The entire apparatus is remarkably netfriendly, with all snag points meticulously eliminated. Send KOLSTRAND your drum dimensions for made-to-fit fabrication.
HELLA MARINE
KOLSTRAND
www.hellamarine.com
www.kolstrand.com
The VT SERIES BATTERY-POWERED TORQUE WRENCH from TORCUP is a heavy-duty wrench for industrial fasteners. It is free of hoses and cords that limit reach, and the lithium battery charges in just an hour, providing enough life to set hundreds of fastenings. A digital motor vectoring system allows the user to set torque at an accurate and repeatable strength. This burly tool is built to hold up to repeated use on long boatbuilding projects, with bearings that support loads, sealed O-rings, and gears with optimized tooth design.
Remove contaminants from engine and hydraulic oil with KLEENOIL BYPASS FILTER SYSTEMS, which routes a portion of total oil flow through dense cartridges that scrub around two to three quarts a minute. The filters remove 99.95 percent of all water, which decreases engine wear, giving your engine more hours of life. The system also eliminates contamination from particles, making engine oil last up to five times longer and hydraulic oil up to 10 times longer. Reducing engine wear keeps engines running at peak capacity.
VOLVO PENTA
TORCUP
KLEENOIL
www.volvopenta.com
www.torcup.com
www.kleenoilusa.com
To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
June 2020 \ National Fisherman 35
CLASSIFIEDS
CLASSIFIEDS
BOATS FOR SALE BOATS FOR SALE
1997 Island Hopper 58’ x 24’ Steel Limit Seiner 2018 Equipped with a Cummings C 350 Hpsets. Engine Twin 8.9 Cummins, 80/40/12KW Gen Removable aft Total hours: approx 3,000 cabin with additional living quarters for charter or family, Large Fishing Wellis 150,000lbs, shallow draft-48”, two fish hold capacity Tacklechillers, Center 7 ton flash freeze system. Sleeps 12 in 6 25ton Stern rooms, Thruster state 4 steering stations, 4 heads/showers, sauna, Much more... hydronic heating. Galvanized cranes, mast, and crows nest, 1000 lb Navy Anchor, vessel weight is 200,000 lbs., 16” Price: $70,000 bow thruster, trans vac pump. Apitong decking on stainless Contact: 631-587-8670 or Email dan@simssteel.com support members. Fully outfitted to seine, tender, or charter, current contracts on vessel.
46’ 42 Newton ft Fiberglass Freezer Troller Totally inside out. 700 HP luggers, “0” hours. AKKOnew CHAN, 42 ftand Fiberglass Freezer Troller Very clean, 8 KW new phasor generator. steering All new well-maintained. Brand new 3John Deerestations. 240 hp engine inhydraulics by 2 steering stations. All brand new electronstalled 2017, new gear, twin disc, new exhaust and tail shaft; ics and down. All new entire lotsupstairs of fishing gear included. Thiswiring vesselthrough is readythe to fish. boat. Too much extras to list. Price: $180,000 (CDN). Serious inquiries only. Contact: 250-559-4637 or 250-637-1997 Price: $425,000 OBO Contact: Call - Gary 305-393-1415
Price: $4,100,000 Contact: 907-717-4427
How to place a Classified ad? You can place a classified advertisement National SPORTFISH Fisherman by using one of 46 ftinWESMAC 2005 thewith following Cat C18 803 hp 1400 hrs.methods: Extended warranty to 3500 hrs Or March 2021, 18-20 knot cruise @80% load,750 gal. fuel. 9k generator, 3 stations, 4 plotters, 2 1 heat pumps,water maker, 600 lb. ice maker, 3 fighting chairs, Rupp outriggers. ONLINE You can place your ad 24 hours a day, 7 days a week online at www.nationalfisherman.com 2
By Phone or Email You may place your ad, correct or cancel by calling 800-842-5603 or email our classifieds sales rep wjalbert@divcom.com Price: $575,000 Contact: Call Bill @ 252-241-2651 or email at: a1a.bvs@gmail.com 36 National Fisherman \ June 2020 To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
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 - $12,500. POSSIBLE TRANSMISSION AVAIL- Twin Disc 506- $4300.00 Price: $68,000 Engine: $12,500 Contact: Doug 805-218-0626 www.nationalfisherman.com January 2020 \ National Fisherman 41
CLASSIFIEDS
BOATS FOR SALE
How to place a Classified ad? You can place a classified advertisement in National Fisherman by using one of the following methods: 1
42 ft Fiberglass Freezer Troller
ONLINE You can place your ad 24 hours a day, 7 days a week online at www.nationalfisherman.com 2
By Phone or Email
Reduced Price!! – AKKO CHAN, 42 ft Fiberglass Freezer Troller, Very clean, well-maintained. Brand new John Deere 240 hp engine installed 2017, new gear, twin disc, new exhaust and tail shaft; lots of fishing gear included. This vessel is ready to fish.
You may place your ad, correct or cancel by calling 800-842-5603 or email our classifieds sales rep wjalbert@divcom.com Price: $175,000 (CDN). Contact: Call 250 559 4637 or 250 637 1997
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES LOBSTER TANK ROOM & BUYING STATION Available in Portland, Maine. Lobster tank room & buying station. Concrete tank will float 125 crates. Can be double stacked in tank. Contact Ian Mayo at #(207)210-8335 or call General Marine Construction at (207) 772-5354. To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
June 2020 \ National Fisherman 37
CLASSIFIEDS
BUSINESS OPPORTUNITIES
LAW
BUSINESS FOR SALE BOAT BUILDING & FIBERGLASS FABRICATION Southeast coastal North Carolina. Complete operation. 15 thru 22ft. In active production owner retiring.
Call Pete at: 910-675-1877
HELP WANTED
MATES/CHIEF ENGINEERS WANTED Tradition Mariner LLC is looking for qualified Mates and Chief Engineers to serve aboard their fleet of 1000 ton to 1400 ton capacity High Seas Tuna Vessels for extended voyages at sea. For more information, please visit our website:
www.traditionmariner.com
South Pacific Tuna Corporation is currently seeking qualified and experienced individuals for the following positions aboard a Class Six purse seine fishing vessel: MASTER CHIEF ENGINEER CHIEF MATE For details, please refer to our webiste www.sopactuna.com or contact: Robert Virissimo bobbyv@sopactuna.com
**LOOKING FOR A USCG LICENSED CHIEF ENGINEER** For an uninspected fishing vessel, a Tuna Purse Seine operation with 4000HP and 1500 MT Cargo Capacity. Must hold a current USCG Engineer’s License, have a minimum 3 years experience with this type of operation. This Full Time position operating out of American Samoa and several other Western Pacific Ports and Requires experience and working knowledge of EMD and CAT engines, R717 Refrigeration / Freezing system, Hydraulic Systems, etc.Please submit Resume and license info to PPFisheries@gmail.com
MARITIME INJURIES LATTI & ANDERSON LLP
Over 50 years experience recovering multimillion dollar settlements and verdicts representing Fishermen, Merchant Seamen, Recreational Boaters, Passengers and their Families nationwide.
CALL 1-800-392-6072 to talk with Carolyn Latti or David Anderson
www.lattianderson.com MARINE GEAR
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 38 National Fisherman \ June 2020
N-Virodredge™ USA N-Viro scallop dredge… Anything else is a drag! • Cleaner catches • Less bottom impact (207) 726-4620 office (207) 214-3765 cell ◼
• Saves fuel • Protects junvenile stock 736 Leighton Pt. Rd., Pembroke, Me. 04666
www.n-virodredgeusa.com ◼ tim@gulfofme.com Protected under International patent application No. PCT/GB2009/002002
www.nationalfisherman.com
CLASSIFIEDS
MARINE GEAR
Keel Coolers
New England’s Most Complete Packaging Supplier www.skipsmarine.net
Trouble free marine engine cooling since 1927!
THE WALTER MACHINE CO, INC Tel: 201-656-5654 • Fax: 201-656-0318 www.waltergear.com
New Bedford, MA
COMPETITIVE PRICES!!
Commercial Longline, Troll and Tuna fishing hooks
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:
◼
(508) 993-9446
LIFESAVING MAN OVERBOARD EQUIPMENT START UP SEEKING PARTNERS. Ohio startup company with innovative patented technology seeking business partners, joint ventures, or other collaborative terms to commercialize lifesaving equipment for onboard marine and public safety agency water and ice rescue. Willing to relocate. Contact Phil Gerwig REDE Rescue Systems LLC pgerwig@rederescue. com or tel. 419-571-6591.
THE L ARGEST
COMMERCIAL FISHING SUPPLY IN USA.
www.qihooks.com
Since 1982 we are a leading provider in quality commercial fishing supply in the United States. We warehouse a huge selection of ready to ship products
SHOP NOW AT WWW.LEEFISHERFISHING.COM For further questions, please call 800.356.5464 or email graymond@leefisherintl.com
To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
June 2020 \ National Fisherman 39
CLASSIFIEDS
MARINE GEAR
Over 150 Floats to Choose From!
®
Regarded as the Best Floats in the Industry •
Consistent in size, weight, and buoyancy shipment after shipment. •
Variety of sizes, shapes, colors, and buoyancies. •
PVC, EVA, ABS, Styrofoam, and more.
●
1-800-332-6387 ext. 107 floats@fitecgroup.com www.fitecfloats.com
PARTS ● SALES ● SERVICE
432 Warren Ave Portland, ME 04103 Phone (207) 797-5188 Fax (207) 797-5953
90 Bay State Road Wakefield, MA 01880 Phone (781) 246-1811 Fax (781) 246-5321
COMMERCIAL GEAR Catalog Available
Exsum Monofilament Siltlon & Marinmax Monofilament Dexter Russell Knives
1112 Main Street Sebastian, FL 32958 (772) 589-3087 Fax (772) 589-3106
www.snlcorp.com
Grundens ® Foul Weather Gear Mustad ® & Eagle Claw ® Hooks Chemilure Lightsticks
◼
Email: snlcorp@bellsouth.net
Inshore and Offshore Fishing Gear (800) 330-3087 AK, HI, PR, US VI (800)824-5635
Same Day Shipping!! 40 National Fisherman \ June 2020
CONCH Processor for Sale
Two individual motors for cracking conch, 3-phase or 220, ready to go.
Asking $20,000 firm.
CALL WAYNE
252-725-3129 www.nationalfisherman.com
CLASSIFIEDS
MARINE GEAR PARACHUTE SEA ANCHORS From PARA-TECH,the NUMBER 1 name in Sea Anchors Sea Anchor sizes for boats up to 150 tons Lay to in relative comfort and safety with your bow INTO the weather Save fuel, save thousands due to “broken trips”
PARA-TECH ENGINEERING CO.
On Sale!
1580 Chairbar Rd. • Silt, CO 81652 (800) 594-0011 • paratech@rof.net • www.seaanchor.com
P-Sea WindPlot II
DEPENDABLE 12 VOLT ELECTRIC TRAP HAULERS
ELECTRA-DYNE CO.
This Windows program turns any IBM computer into a chart plotter that displays our library of bathy. charts, FREE NOAA BSB raster charts, Navionics and C-Map MAX vector charts with tide and currents. Interfaces with GPS, ARPA radar, AIS, temp. or depth. Track and record other vessels paths with the ARPA/RADARpc option. Features include: virtually unlimited waypoints, marks and tracks. NOAA Fishing Logbook. Boundary builder for setting fishing zones. Vessel and cursor positions can be set for either TD’s or Lat/Long. with TD grid overlay TD to Lat/Long conversions with optional ASF correction table for GPS/TD accuracy. See the sea bottom in 3D with the 3D option or rebuild the bottom in 3D with the P-SeaBed Builder option. Record bottom hardness, roughness, biomass and temperature down to one hundredth of a degree with the new P-Sea FishFinder option and the Koden 1000 watt dual-frequency sounder module. See for yourself all of the latest features and download the online demos via our website now or call for a mailed CD or dealer referral at 800-88-RADAR.
quick
POWERFUL
RUGGED QUIET and in stock
P.O. BOX 1344, PLYMOUTH, MA 02362 508-746-3270 Fax: 508-747-4017
W W W. E L E C T R A - D Y N E . C O M
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
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
NEW! P-Sea FishFinder with Hardness and Roughness
P-Sea Software Co.
P.O. Box 1390, Morro Bay, CA 93442 USA Ph. order dept: (800) 887-2327 • Ph. Info: (805) 772-4396 • Fax: (805) 772-5253 E-mail: info@p-sea.com • Internet: www.p-sea.com
Only rely on the
STRONGEST Rope Eye 2,0 bre 00lbs + stre aking ng th
Made in USA
888.607.4790
www.mondopolymer.com
To subscribe, call 1-800-959-5073
(New) SpinClearView S-300 Commercial grade marine clear view 12V window. Used on yachts, fishing, police, military, commercial vessels. The SpinClearView S-300 keeps a glass disk free of rain, snow and sea water by a nearly silent and fast rotation of 1500 rpm. $1,995.00 view more on www.ebay.com/ itm/172755728984 or Contact: david@satinbiz.com 707-322-9720
CATCH A DOORMAT THIS SEASON.These lifelike, beautifully detailed coarse bristled mats will catch anyone’s eye on home/business doorstep, dock or cockpit. Ideal fisherman, boaters gift. Fluke (brown, black) small (30”) $19.95, Large (43”) $36.95, Stripers (38” grey, black) $27.95, Red snappers (43” red, black) $28.95, Largemouth bass (43” green, black) $29.95, scallop (24” brown, black) $27.95. Send check or MO to A. McDonald, 629 Main St. Greenport, NY. 11944. MC or Visa accepted. Add $5.95 S&H to all orders. $10.95 Gulf/ West Coast, AK, HI. Retailers welcome. (631) 377-3040 June 2020 \ National Fisherman 41
CLASSIFIEDS
MARINE GEAR
NOTICE
Got Crabs?
NETTING
PUBLIC NOTICE
Spotted Prawns? Lobsters?
California's Shark Fin Ban (fish & Game Code section 2021) prohibits the sale, offer for sale, trade, or distribution of the detached elasmobranch fins. The ban applies to the fins and tails of sharks, skates, and rays.
Call for Volume Discount! The Trap can't rust, won't rot, resists marine growth, and is not subject to electrolysis.�
Fathoms Plus, Inc.
Phone: (619) 222-8385
◼
Email: FathomsPlus@cox.net
www.FathomsPlusTraps.com
North Coast Fisheries, LLC. Recommends that fish buyers avoid cut skate wings, or risk possible enforcement action.
PERMITS Fresh Spot Prawns
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
Ocean run spot prawns caught in southeast Alaska.
PLACE YOUR ORDER TODAY FOR THIS FRESH DELICACY!!!
Place a Marine Gear Ad! Call Wendy (207) 842-5616
100 lb. minimum
907-401-0158
wjalbert@divcom.com
SERVICES
Complete vessel documentation service to USCG regulations NMFS ◼ Permit Transfers
PERMITS PERMIT FOR SALE Longline permit, Tuna, incidental sword & shark 91' 166 ton. Call George 804-691-7021 $9,000.
(207) 596-6575
342 Gurnet Road, Brunswick, ME 04011
coastaldocumentationii@gmail.com
WANTED
WANTED: MA Tautog Permit Call Gregg at: 508-991-1299 BLACK SEA BASS PERMIT: New Jersey Black Sea Bass Permit for pots. For boats up to 44’ and 300 hp. Also federal posts and rod/reel. For more info please call or text Tom @ 732-322-7471 Area 1 Lobster Permit for Sale. $42,000 or best offer Call Dave at 207-557-6161 42 National Fisherman \ June 2020
Wanted To Buy. Offshore Live Lobsters. Top Dollar $$ Paid. Call Pier 7 (located on Gloucester waterfront)
John (617)268-7797
www.nationalfisherman.com
CLASSIFIEDS
SERVICES
ADVERTISER INDEX Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute .................................................... CV3 Bekina Boots ...........................................................................................22 Bloom Incorporated ................................................................................21 Duramax Marine LLC ..............................................................................11 Eastern Shipbuilding Group ....................................................................23 FPT Industrial ..........................................................................................29 Fraser Bronze Foundry Inc .....................................................................26 Furuno USA .......................................................................................... CV4 Gaski Marine ............................................................................................33 H & H Marine Inc......................................................................................33 Imtra Corp ................................................................................................28 KEMEL USA Inc .......................................................................................14 Kinematics Marine Equipment Inc..........................................................21 Kodiak Shipyard ......................................................................................27 La Conner Maritime Service .....................................................................9 Marine Hydraulic Engineering Co Inc .....................................................15 Marine Medical Systems .........................................................................12 Icelandic Fisheries Exhibition .................................................................13 North River Boats ....................................................................................20 Port of Port Townsend ............................................................................26 Port Townsend Shipwrights Co-Op ........................................................13 R W Fernstrum & Company ......................................................................9 SW Boatworks .........................................................................................12
!
ATTENTION NF READERS
Your action is required National Fisherman is devoted to serving the commercial fishing community through both prosperous and challenging times, as it has been for more than 60 years. We know this is an unprecedented moment in history. However, our goal is the same: To help you stay connected even though we have to keep our distance. Many of our advertisers who rely on National Fisherman to connect with their customers are experiencing extreme hardship related to the covid-19 pandemic. Our team is working to find ways to expand our reach to connect ALL buyers and suppliers in these extraordinary times. In order to propel our reach, the July issue of National Fisherman will be produced as a digital magazine. You will get all the great content you rely on, delivered right to your inbox! This issue will be downloadable to any mobile device, so you can read National Fisherman at the dock, in the wheelhouse or back onshore. This change for the month of July will help industry stakeholders expand their connections throughout the industry. We are all in this together. And now more than ever, it is important to look out for each other and keep in touch. Please use the link below to provide us with your email address to receive our July digital issue!
www.nationalfisherman.com/digital-subscription/
NF20_Digital Issue To subscribe, call Announcement_Ad_1/2H.indd 1-800-959-5073
1
4/16/20 2:08 PM June 2020 \ National Fisherman 43
Last
set
BIDWELL CREEK, N.J. One advantage of homeschooling is having more family time. Third-generation fisherman Kirk Gerbereux Jr. sets out on the F/V Pogy with his 12-year-old his son, Kirk III, on opening day for Delaware Bay blue crabs. Photo by Kirk Gerbereux
44 National Fisherman \ June 2020
www.nationalfisherman.com
You Make The Alaska Seafood Industry Strong. Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute provides sustainability certification, research and quality handling education to ensure Alaska continues to deliver the highest-quality seafood in the world. 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.
SearchLight SONAR
FCV1900/2100 TrueEcho CHIRP
CH500/CH600
Searchlight Sonar
WASSP Gen 3
3D Bottom Profiler
www.furunousa.com