National Fisherman — Fall 2023 by National Fisherman

Fall 2023 · No. 03 · Volume 104 Incorporating

INFORMED FISHERMEN • PROFITABLE FISHERIES • SUSTAINABLE FISH

A ‘Battleship’ for Bristol Bay...Page 22

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CONTENT

National Fisherman Magazine / Fall 2023 / Vol. 104, No. 03

SALMON UPDATE

BOATBUILDING

Bristol Bay prices that were half of what fishermen earned in 2022 sent shock waves through the fishery.

Builder Tom Aliotti and MSHS make a new salmon boat with a distinct personality.

Departments Data-driven, science-based management practices set Alaska’s fisheries apart.

NEW PRODUCTS

SEAFOOD SCIENCE

CLASSIFIEDS

The long and complicated relationship between sharks and comercial fishing.

ON THE HOME FRONT

An Alaska family business that fishes, processes and sells, literally in-house.

News

PORT PROFILE Gloucester, Mass., thrives after four centuries with enduring strength and vitality.

Boats & Gear AROUND THE COASTS NTSB calls for Coast Guard data recorders, warns about doubler plating.

32 2

RECIPES FOR THE BOAT

NORTHERN LIGHTS

Features

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FILLET KNIVES From the traditional Alaska uluaq to tuna swords, handheld steel still rules.

GEAR SHIFTS Naust Marine’s Automatic Trawl Winch system advances electric deck equipment.

AD INDEX

CREW SHOTS

ON THE COVER The Battleship undergoing sea trials near Bellingham, Wash. Brad A. Meier photo.

EDITOR’S LOG

HI,

The Fall 2023 edition of National Fisherman showcases a mix of success stories and challenges within the fishing industry. However, there’s also a dip in sockeye prices that has cast a shadow over Bristol Bay after the exceptional 2022 season. This decline is analyzed by Charlie Ess, the North Pacific bureau chief, in his Market Report on page 14.

KIRK MOORE ASSOCIATE EDITOR

On a brighter note, Sena Sea Seafoods stands out as an Alaskan triumph. This small family-run business has achieved a remarkable feat by catching, processing, and shipping its own products. The account of this fifth-generation fishing family is chronicled by writer Megan Waldrep on page 8. The enduring fishing hub of Gloucester, Massachusetts, continues to thrive and draw in industry talent. A July exploration around Cape Ann by New England contributor Caroline Losneck unveils the story, including the involvement of women in the new generation there. Boats & Gear editor Paul Molyneaux delves into both contemporary and traditional technologies within the modern

KMoore@Divcom.com

fishing sector. Page 32 showcases Naust Marine’s Automatic Trawl System, an innovative electric solution for managing deck equipment. In his fillet knives narrative on page 28, he highlights the iconic Dexter brand and introduces more unconventional styles like uluaq and tuna swords. The profile of the Battleship, the latest

creation from boat builder Tom Aliotti in collaboration with MHSH’s power experts, takes center stage on page 22. In coast-related news on page 10, the National Transportation Safety Board calls for data recorders on Coast Guard cutters and emphasizes the importance of basic AIS for all fishermen to enhance their visibility to other vessels.

PUBLISHER: Bob Callahan EDITORIAL DIRECTOR: Jeremiah Karpowicz ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Kirk Moore BOATS & GEAR EDITOR: Paul Molyneaux CONTENT SPECIALIST: Carli Stewart DIGITAL PROJECT MANAGER / ART DIRECTOR: Doug Stewart NORTH PACIFIC BUREAU CHIEF: Charlie Ess FIELD EDITORS: Larry Chowning, Michael Crowley, CORRESPONDENTS: John DeSantis, Maureen Donald, Brian Hagenbuch, Dayna Harpster, John Lee, Caroline Losneck, Nick Rahaim ADVERTISING COORDINATOR: Wendy Jalbert / wjalbert@divcom.com / Tel. (207) 842-5616 GROUP SALES DIRECTOR: Christine Salmon / csalmon@divcom.com / Tel. (207) 842-5530 CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING: (800) 842-5603 classifieds@divcom.com SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION: Phone: 847-504-8874 / Email: nationalfisherman@omeda.com National Fisherman (ISSN 0027-9250), is published quarterly by Diversified Communications. 121 Free St., Portland, ME 04112-7438. Subscription prices: 1 year – U.S. $12.95; 2 years U.S. $22.95. 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, PO Box 176 Lincolnshire, IL 60069. 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. Producer of Pacific Marine Expo and the International WorkBoat Show Theodore Wirth, President & CEO | Mary Larkin, President, Diversified Communications USA Diversified Communications | 121 Free St., Portland, ME 04112 (207) 842-5500 • Fax (207) 842-5503 • www.divcom.com

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NA T I O NA L F I S HE R M A N M A G A Z I NE · F A L L 20 23

NORTHERN LIGHTS

Data-driven fisheries management for future generations PHOTO

Russian-caught pollock is the major competitor to U.S. landed fish.Russian Pollock Catchers Assciation.

alike have many questions about the future. ADF&G’s focus on science-based fisheries management works to ensure the long-term survival of our fish stocks and realization of community and economic benefits thanks to healthy and robust fish populations in most of the state.

BY DOUGLAS VINCENT-LANG, COMMISSIONER, ALASKA DEPARTMENT OF FISH AND GAME

s commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, I am proud to work every day with people who make Alaska’s fisheries a global model of sustainability and fisheries management. It takes all of us – from the deckhands on commercial fishing boats, to my staff here at the Department, to Alaskan families reporting their subsistence numbers – to uphold the data-driven, science-based management practices that set Alaska’s fisheries apart.

We prioritize scientific research and data collection, ensuring that the Department has the information necessary to make smart management decisions. To this end, ADF&G deliberately invests in regular surveys, various assessments, and monitoring of fish stocks, allowing the department to set fishing quotas that balance the long-term health of fish populations with economic and cultural priorities benefitting all Alaskans. Recently we have been witnessing unprecedented change in our oceans. Managers, fishermen, and scientists

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This involves the enforcement of limitcd entry and fishing quotas to prevent overfishing while incentivizing conservation and stewardship among fishermen. Additionally, this sometimes means reduction of bag limits and other appropriate seasonal and area limits to fisheries are needed to protect spawning or otherwise vulnerable stocks. In short, sustainability is enshrined in our state constitution. For generations, consumers the world over have known that buying Alaska seafood means supporting healthy marine ecosystems and fisheries that support thriving coastal communities. However, other international fisheries management systems do not always share the State of Alaska’s commitment to sustainability.

To protect the integrity of the claim of sustainability across the global industry, it is up to organizations such as the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), an organization that evaluates and sets standards for sustainable fishing around the world, to act with integrity and uphold its own standard, even when doing so means missing out on profits. Unfortunately, the MSC has failed at this duty in recent years, as it has observed Russian actions in Ukraine, assessed the implications for its Russian client fisheries, and chosen a path of accommodation and appeasement. It is why I wrote them a letter detailing our concerns with their continued certification of Russian fisheries. In the letter I pointed out that the MSC has preserved their own revenue stream from Russian fisheries while providing indirect support for the Putin regime and his brutal war of

aggression all the while applying strict standards to Alaska’s fisheries with the hope that they will eventually establish equity. This creates an unlevel playing field, and more importantly, gravely misleads consumers and markets who believe that the seafood they are buying is certified to the highest environmental and ethical standards. In essence, their certification of Russian seafood denigrates the certification they give to Alaska fisheries. Nonetheless, the State of Alaska remains committed to the highest levels of sustainability and will continue to value science and process when making management decisions.

over corporate profits by applying consistent certification standards to all fisheries. Not a single Russian fishery is RFM certified, and it should remain that way, as long as those fisheries are tied to the Putin regime. Here in Alaska, our commitment to management and sustainable practices isn’t driven solely by market benefits or cold profits. Our motivation stems from respect for the resource, respect for harvesters and consumers, and respect for all Alaskan communities depending on the longevity and health of fish stocks today and well into the future.

The actions of the MSC continue to prove why Alaska’s homegrown, third-party Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM) certification program is a better value for the seafood industry. Unlike MSC, RFM prioritizes sustainable fisheries management

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DOUG VINCENT-LANG Doug Vincent-Lang is the Commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

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NA T I O NA L F I S HE R M A N M A G A Z I NE · F A L L 20 23

SEAFOOD SCIENCE

A Balancing Act between Sharks and Commercial Fishing BY DOUG STEWART

Shark-based products have gained traction in the global market, although not without controversy. Shark fin soup, once considered a delicacy in some cultures, has faced criticism due to unsustainable practices like shark finning (a practice that has been prohibited for years in U.S. waters, where fishermen are required to land sharks whole). The decreasing demand for shark fin products has led to the potential recovery of shark populations, highlighting the delicate balance between cultural preferences and conservation efforts.

s an avid marine enthusiast, my recent experiences during the week-long Shark Week on Discovery and my constant use of the Sharktivity App off the coast of Maine has left me in awe of the world of sharks again. These incredible creatures are not just awe-inspiring predators but also vital components of marine ecosystems, playing a pivotal role in maintaining the delicate balance of oceanic food chains. Sharks hold a unique position in the marine food web as apex predators. Their presence ensures the regulation of prey species and contributes to biodiversity preservation. By selectively preying on weaker or sick individuals, sharks promote the survival and reproduction of healthier fish populations, which ultimately leads to a thriving marine ecosystem. Additionally, they control mid-level predator populations, preventing them from overexploiting lower-level species. A significant aspect of their ecological role lies in their scavenging behavior, where they contribute to the cleanup of marine environments by removing dead or dying animals. This vital service not only prevents the spread of disease but also helps maintain the ecosystem’s overall health, making sharks indispensable in preserving the balance of marine life and supporting the seafood industry. However, despite their crucial ecological role, sharks’ interactions with commercial fishing have been controversial for decades. As fishermen seek to harvest commercially valuable species, conflicts arise due to sharks preying on these

has become increasingly popular, particularly in coastal regions with diverse shark populations. Tourists are willing to pay for guided boat trips and diving experiences to witness these creatures in their natural habitat, generating revenue for local communities and supporting conservation efforts.

PHOTO Commercial fishing and sharks are striking a balance between thriving marine ecosystems and sustainable fishing industries. Photo freepik

same targets. For instance, along the Atlantic coast, the conservation efforts that have led to an increase in large shark populations have raised concerns among fishermen about their impact on fish stocks such as tuna and swordfish. Various management strategies have been put in place to address the challenges posed by sharks to commercial fishing. Fishing gear modifications, such as using shark-repelling devices like magnets or electric fields, have been implemented to reduce shark bycatch while still targeting desired species. Additionally, shark exclusion devices (SEDs) have proven effective in allowing sharks to escape unharmed from fishing nets, promoting sustainable fishing practices. Despite the potential conflicts, sharks also present economic opportunities for fishing industries. The rise of ecotourism centered around shark-watching

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Sharks play an irreplaceable role in maintaining the health and balance of marine ecosystems along the coasts. While their presence may pose challenges for commercial fishing, it is crucial to recognize their ecological significance and the potential economic opportunities they offer. By adopting responsible fishing practices, implementing shark conservation strategies, and promoting sustainable tourism, we can ensure the preservation of these magnificent creatures while supporting the livelihoods of fishing communities. It is through a well-balanced approach that we can achieve a win-win situation where the marine ecosystem thrives, and both sharks and fishermen coexist.

DOUG STEWART Doug Stewart is Art Director at National Fisherman, blending artistry and storytelling to capture the essence of the commercial marine industry.

RECIPES FOR THE BOAT HALIBUT IN PARCHMENT BY LADONNA GUNDERSEN

ey there, fellow fishermen! Have you ever cooked fish in a parchment pack before?

To make Halibut in Parchment, start by preheating your oven to 400°F. Take a sheet of parchment paper and place a halibut fillet in the center. Add some sliced veggies on top of the fish, like zucchini or bell peppers. Then, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Fold the parchment paper over the fish and veggies, then crimp the edges tightly to create a seal. Pop the packets into the oven for about 15 minutes, until the fish is cooked through. One of the best things about Halibut in Parchment is that you can assemble the packets ahead of time and cook them whenever you’re ready. Plus, clean-up is a breeze because you can just throw away the parchment paper. So, the next time you’re out fishing, give Halibut in Parchment a try. It’s a delicious and easy way to prepare a healthy meal on your boat. And if you don’t have parchment paper on hand, you can use aluminum foil as a substitute. Just be sure to crimp the edges tightly to create a seal, so the steam can do its job!

Ingredients: HALIBUT IN PARCHMENT: SERVES 4

2 medium sized zucchini, thinly sliced 1/4 cup garlic, thinly sliced 1/4 cup fresh basil, thinly sliced, plus more for garnishing 24 cherry tomatoes, halved 4 tablespoons sherry cooking wine

4 tablespoons olive oil, divided sea salt and freshly ground black pepper 4 (6-ounce) halibut fillets, skinned & trimmed

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Cut four pieces of parchment (doubled over) which is large enough to encase your filet with an inch or so margin around it. I like cutting a heart shape for the packet, remember grade school Valentines? Divide zucchini among one-side of the heart in thin layers. Sprinkle garlic and sliced basil over, dividing equally. Scatter tomato halves around zucchini. Drizzle each packet with 1 tablespoon wine and 1/2 tablespoon oil. Place a fish fillet atop each portion. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle 1/2 tablespoon olive oil over each. Beginning at the wider part of the Valentine, began folding the paper over itself. As you move around the paper, you’ll end up at the pointed end of the heart, fold under. Place packets in a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheet. Bake until fish is just cooked through (a toothpick poked through the parchment will slide through fish easily) approximately 15 to 20 minutes. Carefully cut open packets (steam will escape). Garnish with basil leaves.

NA T I O NA L F I S HE R M A N M A G A Z I NE · F A L L 20 23

ON THE HOME FRONT

Fishing Families: The business of catching, processing and shipping seafood in Alaska as a family BY MEGAN WALDREP

member of our private community mentioned Sena Sea Seafoods, a vertically integrated family business that fishes wild-caught seafood out of Alaska while also processing and shipping products around the world – all in-house! (The only time I’ve come close to this experience is when my husband Chris brings back a “home pack” of fresh salmon he caught and canned after a season in Bristol Bay.) My favorite part of Sena Sea Seafoods is knowing the family behind it. A fifth-generation fishing family has found a way to make the “home pack” dream happen for anyone who loves fresh-caught salmon, white fish, shrimp, and crab. (A full list of products can be found here.) My second favorite part is knowing that Sena Wheeler – wife and namesake of the brand – offers valuable advice as a woman who has grown up entirely around the industry and lives and breathes it to this day. Sena even touches on how they manage their money during a slow season – a challenge most face in the commercial fishing industry. I’ll let Sena take over from here:

Coming from 5 generations of fishing wives, how did the women in your family handle the challenges of a fisherman’s wife? Things like managing the home, the fluctuating price of fish, and raising a family. What are your biggest takeaways?

My mom and grandma were both fishing wives. My grandma was Swedish, my Grandfather immigrated from Norway, and all of my Nordic family are very stoic. Just like me, my mom raised 3 kids, took care of the house, and ran her own business (a health food store). I can not remember my mom complaining about my dad being gone or the fishing lifestyle even one time. I draw strength from her, strength in the knowledge that it can be done, that it has been done. For me, it’s all about mindset. I make a conscious effort to take advantage of the positives that come with the fishing lifestyle – time off in the winter, dad not having a 9-5 job, taking the kids to Alaska, and immersing them in a tangible lifestyle. I don’t think of Rich as a fisherman; I think of us as a fishing family.

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PHOTO Sena Wheeler of Sena Sea Seafoods with husband Rich and children Hugh, Vansee and Eedee. Sena Sea Seafoods photo.

It’s amazing that your husband, Rich, learned your family’s traditional Norwegian fishing techniques on your dad’s boat, the F/V Alrita! Was Rich a fisherman before you became a couple? If not, was there an expectation that he would be because of your family’s history? Rich had never fished when we started dating. Fishing was not an expectation of him but presented more as an opportunity for him. When my Dad asked him if he’d like a chance on his longline boat (F/V Alrita), Rich jumped at it. It was the same thing for my Dad- he got a chance on my mom’s Dad’s boat (F/V Cape Flattery). Once it looked

like my Dad would work out, he was moved over to my great uncle’s boat because he didn’t have any sons to inherit the F/V Alrita. The family boats were 70-year-old wooden longliners that fished out of Seattle for halibut and black cod in Alaska and off the coast of Washington.

game by purchasing a processing facility in Cordova. Now we catch, cut, sell, and ship the fish. A lot of people told Rich he can’t be a fisherman and a fish buyer because they are always at odds with each other, but he has made it work really well. What are some challenges you’re currently facing?

MEGAN WALDREP

How has your role in the commercial ﬁshing industry changed from your ﬁrst season?

Time away is always a challenge.

In the early years when Rich first started fishing, we were participating just like everyone else, just like our family had for generations. He fished and sold his fish at the dock.

Like every fisherman, we are always trying to maximize his time away and have him home more. He now spends almost 6 months in Alaska, so we are working on more home visits, and we bring the whole family up to Alaska every summer for as long as possible.

Fifteen years later, when we created Sena Sea and started direct marketing our own fish, we had a lot more control over our catch and how it was sold. Five years after that, we changed the

sumer marketing, online sales, and shipping direct to customers, which is what we were already really good at. Most processing facilities sell whole H&G fish (headed and gutted) as fast as possible, but we were already focusing on premium individually vacuum sealed and frozen 6 oz portions.

What are some successes? We actually call ourselves a “Covid Success.” During covid, a lot of people tried to quickly pivot to direct-to-con-

Is a writer based in Ojai, California, and Wilmington, N.C. Her husband, Chris Dabney, is a second-generation California spiny lobsterman and Bristol Bay fisherman, which gives Megan plenty to dish about on her lifestyle blog for partners of commercial fishermen at meganwaldrep.com. Fallow her @megan.waldrep

Get ready for more shipping capacity. Transporting your seafood fresh from source to table is at the core of who we are. Discover how we can put over 90 years of perishable shipping expertise to work for you. We have the most extensive seafood operation of any passenger airline on the West Coast,* and our growing freighter fleet will soon include aircraft that handle up to 50,000 pounds. For more information or to book your shipment online, go to alaskacargo.com. Or call us at 1-800-225-2752. *Based on full-year schedule.

NA T I O NA L F I S HE R M A N M A G A Z I NE · F A L L 20 23

AROUND THE COAST Gulf & South Atlantic

Fatal collision after Coast Guard crew, fishermen failed to keep lookouts NTSB calls for data recorders on cutters

fatal collision last year between a Coast Guard cutter and small fishing boat off Puerto Rico resulted from the crews of both vessels failing to maintain a proper lookout. In its accident report the National Transportation Safety Board calls for voyage data recorders on Coast Guard cutters, along with radar reflectors and at least basic automatic identification system (AIS) transponders on fishing vessels. The Winslow Griesser, a 154-foot fast response cutter, and the Desakata, a 23-foot center console boat, collided four miles off Dorado, Puerto Rico, Aug. 8, 2022, resulting in the death of fisherman Carlos Rosario and injuries to his brother Samuel Rosario Beltrán, and the loss of the Desakata. None of the Griesser’s crew were injured in the collision. NTSB investigators found that the bridge crew on the Winslow Griesser was not aware they had hit anything, until a crewmember saw the small boat’s wreckage floating down the side of the cutter around 2:17 p.m. “Maintaining a proper lookout, by sight and sound, is a fundamental rule of the Convention on the International Regulations for Preventing Collision at Sea for vessels,” the NTSB said in introducing its findings. The agency also called on the Coast Guard to install voyage data recorders on its cutters, which would have aided investigators in reconstructing the accident sequence. The agency’s report notes that three ranking crew members – then-vessel commander Lt. Cmdr. Benjamin Williamsz, the officer of the deck, and quartermaster of the watch – declined investigators’ requests for interviews based on advice of their legal counsel.

PHOTO The 154’ cutter Winslow Griesser and 22’ center console Desakata collided four miles off Puerto. Coast Guard/NTSB photo.

help identify potential safety issues and result in safety improvements.” The agency also issued a safety alert encouraging owners of recreational boats and small commercial fishing vessels to install radar reflectors and use simplified automatic identification system (AIS) transponders to improve their boats’ detectability by other vessels. “The NTSB continues to investigate tragedies like this collision in which vessels are not maintaining proper lookout,” NTSB Chair Jennifer Homendy said in announcing release of the report. “Early detection of a vessel is critical to avoiding a collision. While technology does not remove the need to maintain a proper lookout, it can aid in early detection, which is why we are issuing a safety alert for small vessels to encourage installing a radar reflector and/or an automatic identification system transponder to improve their detectability.”

Williamsz was relieved in February 2023 by Rear Adm. Brendan C. McPherson, commander of the Seventh Coast Guard District based in Miami, “due to a loss of confidence in Williamsz’s ability to effectively command the cutter,” the Coast Guard said at the time.

In the minutes before the collision, neither the Coast Guard crew nor the fishermen on the Desakata saw the other vessel approaching. The fishermen were focused on their lines trolling for fish, according to the NTSB investigators who interviewed the survivor, while no one on the cutter’s bridge was designated as a lookout with no other duties. “Coast Guard practice is that all members of the bridge watch are responsible for shared lookout duties,” according to the NTSB. “Investigators determined no one was maintaining a lookout at the time of the collision.

In their report NTSB investigators say that “had the Winslow Griesser been equipped with a voyage data recorder, or its equivalent, investigators would have been provided with additional critical factual information about the collision, which could

“Contributing factors, investigators said, included the failure of the Winslow Griesser’s commanding officer and officer of the deck to take sufficient measures to increase situational awareness while the cutter was traveling at a high speed.”

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Mid-Atlantic

Virginia menhaden fishermen have new spill response boats Chesapeake captains aim to avoid beach washups

hesapeake Bay menhaden fishermen have a new response team and recovery vessel to handle fish spills when nets tear during purse seining operations, accidents that before have intensified political pressure from sport fishing groups that want to ban the fishery. Working in cooperation with the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC), Ocean Harvesters tested the vessel Hopeful Harvest and two smaller skimmer boats that can recover spilled fish from the surface before they can drift toward shorelines. The recovery vessel began operating in the bay during the 2023 fishing season that started May 8, the company says.

Ocean Harvesters operate the menhaden steamers that supply Omega Protein’s plant in Reedville, Va. In June, Ocean Harvesters tested the Hopeful Harvest and two smaller skimmer boats that can recover spilled fish from the surface before they can drift toward shorelines. Omega and Ocean Harvesters say net tears are rare but do happen occasionally during normal purse seine operations. During past incidents the companies have worked with state authorities to track fish spills and clean up dead fish that wash ashore. Those spill incidents have intensified pressure on the menhaden fishermen and VMRC from critics of the fishery. The companies’ new investment aims to get spills under control as soon as they happen. “This new vessel will improve our ability to respond to spills by allowing our fishermen to collect fish spills at sea, minimizing further the likelihood that spilled fish will make it to shore,” according to Ocean Harvesters. Operated in similar fashion to the menhaden steamers, the Hopeful Harvest will be deployed to the site of a fish spill.

NA T I O NA L F I S HE R M A N M A G A Z I NE · F A L L 20 23

AROUND THE COAST Northeast

Doubler-plated hull failure likely sank Gloucester dragger in 2022

he Gloucester, Mass., trawler Grace Marie likely sank when its doubler-plated hull failed under the engine room in July 2022, sending it to the bottom 80 miles offshore after its crew were rescued without injury. “Although doubler plating can be used as a temporary repair solution, it is not generally suitable as a permanent repair for a vessel’s hull,” according to a report from the National Transportation Safety Board. “Vessel owners should crop out wasted steel on the hull and replace it by inserting new plating, instead of covering it up with doubler plating.” The 65.3’x21’ Grace Marie had been fishing for two days, loading up 70,000 pounds of redfish, close to the fish hold’s 80,000-pound capacity. The captain and crew had turned to head for another area to fish on July 8, 2022, when the engine room began flooding around 10 p.m. The crew was unable to control flooding with the bilge pumps, finally abandoning ship to be rescued by another fishing vessel nearby. Donning immersion suits, the crew got ready and the Grace Marie’s life raft was launched, and tied it to the leeward side of the vessel, and were picked up by the fishing vessel Dawn T.

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PHOTO The Grace Marie underway before the sinking. Paul Spillane photo/NTSB.

Built in 1978 by Rhode Island Marine Services in Snug Harbor, R.I., the Grace Marie was owned by AGV Company, purchased the vessel in 1997. The boat passed a Coast Guard dockside safety examination in August 2020, according to the NTSB report, which notes maintenance history for the boat’s hull. “In 2018, a marine surveyor conducted a condition and valuation survey, which included a bottom survey of the vessel. The marine surveyor’s inspection report indicated that the vessel’s hull was constructed of a 1/4-inch welded steel plate with 3/8-inch steel doubler plates installed along each side of the keel,” the report says. “The vessel owner said that he had the doubler plates welded onto the vessel 8-10 years before the casualty because the material condition of the hull in that area was ‘a little spotty.’ While it is common for uninspected commercial fishing vessels to use doubler plating to repair hulls, “doubler plate repairs can lead to increased stress concentrated in the area of the repair,” the report says.

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The agency “determined the probable cause of the flooding and sinking of the Grace Marie was uncontrolled flooding of the engine room of the engine room from an undetermined source, likely a failure of the doubler-plated hull below the engine room.”

West Coast & Pacific

Oregon extends Dungeness crab rules to protect whales Trap numbers, depth requirements and seasonal limits will continue at least two years

“Whales should have safe passage in our waters and Oregonians should have access to whale-safe crab. But we’re not there yet.” Activists called for further trap and vertical line reductions and depth restrictions to start by April 15. As in California, the groups are seeking adoption of ropeless or on-command fishing gear with pop-up buoy systems to eliminate fixed vertical lines. Fishermen told the commission that further trap reductions were not necessary, considering the level of fishing activity and Oregon’s stable incidence of whale interactions.

PHOTO Live-hold filled with Dungeness crabs, vibrant and bustling aquatic creatures. Oregon DFW photo.

he Oregon Fish and Wildlife Commission voted Aug. 4 to extend for limits on Dungeness crab trap gear to protect migrating whales from entanglement. The rules on trap numbers, depth sets and seasonal limits, first set in 2020, had been coming up for expiration. Commissioners agreed to review the rules again in two years. Primarily aimed at reducing danger to humpback whales, Oregon trap limits start with the fishing season in December. Trap numbers are reduced 20 percent with a 240-foot depth limit from May 1 through the end of the season, which typically is the time of year when humpbacks are most common off Oregon. Fishermen worry about over-regulation of the Dungeness fishery, which in 2021-2022 landed a record-setting $91 million catch, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service. Meanwhile environmental groups argue the rule extension does not go far enough. “Fewer lines in the water in the early spring and summer would lead to less risk to threatened and endangered whales that are migrating to and feeding off our coast,” said Ben Enticknap, Pacific campaign manager for the group Oceana.

. The agency says an annual average of 35 entanglements were reported off the West Coast during eight years ending in 2021. “As long as we don’t have a huge increase in entanglements, we think that we shouldn’t go any further than what we’ve already done,” Dungeness captain Mike Pettis told the Associated Press. “Extending what we have might not be a tragedy, but enough’s enough.” “One humpback whale was confirmed entangled in Oregon Dungeness crab gear in 2021 and two were confirmed in 2022. These entanglements indicate the temporary measures have been ineffective,” wrote Francine Kershaw, a scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council, in a July 10 commentary as the commission prepared to vote.

NEWS BITES NAVAL TENSIONS RISE: CHINESE AND RUSSIAN VESSELS APPROACH ALEUTIANS In a recent development, heightened international focus turns towards the Aleutian Islands and the Bering Sea. Eleven military vessels from China and Russia have been spotted operating near the Aleutian Islands, prompting a quick and determined reaction from the U.S. Navy. Four U.S. Navy destroyers were swiftly dispatched, signaling a decisive move in the region.

WORLD’S LARGEST DAM REMOVAL PROJECT GETS APPROVAL In a historic move, U.S. regulators have given the green light to a groundbreaking plan to demolish four dams on the lower Klamath River in California, paving the way for the largest dam removal and river restoration project in the world.

n READ MORE ON OUR WEBSITE NATIONALFISHERMAN.COM

NA T I O NA L F I S HE R M A N M A G A Z I NE · F A L L 20 23

PHOTOS Despite disappointing prices far below the record-breaking 2022 season, Bristol Bay fishermen landed 38 million fish by the end of July, surpassing the forecast of 37 million fish. The returns still made 2023 one of the top five harvest seasons of the past 20 years. BBRSDA photos.

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MARKET REPORT

Alaska

SALMON

Nearly 50 percent price drop from 2022 shocks fleet BY CHARLIE ESS

As the fishing calendar in Alaska rolled over to August, the statewide harvest for all five species in all areas and all districts stood at 99.3 million fish. Overall, ex-vessel prices dropped to almost half of what brick-and-mortar processors had been willing to pay in 2022. Of those fish, the sockeye harvest came out ahead of pinks (40 million), with a preliminary harvest just short of 47 million, but late-season pink seine fisheries in Southeast, Kodiak, Prince William Sound and the Alaska Peninsula could surpass sockeye numbers as some runs peak in mid to late August. As expected, the chinook harvest came in weak

at 160,000 fish, while chums added up to 11.8 million. The coho harvest, meanwhile, stood at 466,000. The pre-season forecast had been calculated at 189 million fish. In terms of volume, pinks had been predicted to dominate the total catch at 122.2 million fish. Sockeyes, on the other hand, will come in close to their pre-season forecast of 48.2 million. When it comes to ex-vessel prices, the value of the 2023 salmon pack will hit a sharp downtick, following dockside offers of just 50 cents per pound for sockeyes in Bristol Bay. Landings there as of August 4 had hit more than 39 million fish. NA T I O NA L F I S HE R M A N M A G A Z I NE · F A L L 20 23

Market Report

PHOTOS About 50 salmon boats and crews anchored up at Naknek July 20 to protest low 50-cent price offers from sockeye processors. Jack Darrell photo/courtesy station KDLG.

Fishing began in early July on “open ticket,” meaning a price had not been settled with processors when the onslaught of sockeyes arrived. Fishermen set their nets in hopes that the initial price would be closer to the average base price of $1.15 per pound they received last year. With news of the 50 cents, some fishermen staged a protest in Naknek July 20, while others folded up their operations and left for home.

price drop was enough to keep some fishermen from wetting their nets.

“It was such a big shock,” says Danielle Larsgaard, a setnetter who fishes the Nushagak each summer. “Everyone kept asking, ‘When are they going to announce a price?’”

“Fish are showing up here. Nice-sized fish and lots of them,” says a drift fisherman, who asked to remain anonymous in a text message to National Fisherman. “But at $1.10, I can’t fish for that price, buck the wind and the tide. Five-foot seas, and a $3,000 net. Can’t do it.”

Larsgaard says that with the price announcement many deckhands quit, skippers put up their boats and market-based social media began blowing up with ads to sell permits and boats. “Fishermen began trickling out of the Bay immediately,” she says. “Last year was such a big catch and a big price,” she says. In Cook Inlet, fishermen landed 1.7 million sockeyes, and processor offers came in at $1.10 per pound, which was stronger than Bristol Bay, but a far cry from the average Cook Inlet price of $2.03 per pound in 2022. The severe

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Though this season’s Cook Inlet harvest more than doubles the 659,000 sockeyes the fleet landed last year, the ex-vessel prices didn’t add up for some, and they chose to sit out on openings where weather or other mishaps could put revenues in the red.

Alaska’s statewide average ex-vessel prices for 2022 have been posted at $1.89 per pound, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Meanwhile, Southeast trollers had landed 85,000 chinooks, 105,000 chums and 227,000 coho in their summer season. “Our king (chinook) allocation is low this year,” says Amy Daugherty, executive director of the Alaska Trollers Association, in Juneau. “So, the guys are catching cohos right

now.” Ex-vessel prices for the chinooks remained strong at $5.80 per pound, up from the average $5.54 paid in 2022 while prices paid for chums dropped to 50 cents per pound, less than half of last year’s $1.18 per pound. The fleet blames this year’s high-volume harvest of Bristol Bay sockeye for ratcheting down dockside offers for non-chinook species.

went well under ten cents a pound,” they wrote. Of a projected harvest of more than 61 million pinks, (hatchery and wild production combined) the Prince William Sound pink harvest stood just shy of 27 million in early August, but those numbers could double by the end of the season, which stretches through August. Last year’s statewide ex-vessel prices for pinks averaged 39 cents per pound.

Bad news kept coming with a Aug. 5 letter from Trident Seafoods to its fishermen, warning that “chum markets have collapsed” and the company would only pay $0.20 for all Alaska chum. The company planned to stop buying all salmon in all areas Sept. 2, except for Petersburg and Cordova South to maintain support for coho fisheries. Trident would not participate in Puget Sound or fall salmon fisheries.

Alaska pink annual forecast, and they have shown a willingness to offload inventory at very low prices in part to fund the war in Ukraine,” Trident CEO Joe Bundrant and senior vice president Jeff Welbourn wrote in the letter.

“Last week, Russia harvested pink volume equivalent to the entire

“We haven’t seen a collapse in value like this since the 1990s when pinks

Seine and drift and set gillnet fleets around Unimak Island and the North and South Alaska Peninsula (Area M) had landed 2.5 million sockeyes, 2.1 million pinks, 611,000 chums and 93,000 cohos. The Kodiak seine fleet had bested Area M in pink salmon landings, with a harvest of 2.9 million as of August 4.

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PORT PROFILE

FOUR CENTURIES AND SURVIVING Traditions and new thinking make Gloucester thrive STORY AND PHOTOS BY CAROLINE LOSNECK

n Gloucester, Mass., it is easy to get the impression that its recognition as one of America’s oldest seaports is something that residents and those who make a living here do not take for granted. It is also not hard to feel far away from Boston – even though only around 20 nautical miles (or 40 miles by car) separate the cities. Locals you meet in Gloucester are likely

to mention the annual St. Peter’s Fiesta, where crowds have gathered since 1927 to celebrate St. Peter, the patron saint of netmakers, shipbuilders, and fishermen. For some, the centerpiece of the city-wide party is The Greasy Pole contest, where men of all ages, from teenagers to elders, climb out along a greased-up telephone pole extending from the pier, 25 feet above the surface of the ocean to capture an Italian flag at the end – without slip-

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ping and dropping into the water below. and procession of boats. While the St. Peter’s tradition brings together the close-knit community, there are other local connections and networks running throughout the city of about 32,000 residents, including some multigenerational women. The women are all active within the fishing industry and their leadership,

advocacy, creativity and entrepreneurial spirit are central to Gloucester’s evolving fishing culture and community.

CAPE ANN FRESH CATCH: A CSA FOR FISH On a hot, sunny and excoriatingly humid day in late July, Melissa Marshall, 41, has her baseball hat pulled low, to keep the sun out of her eyes. She is standing near a loading area with a couple of her employees. The group is huddled around longtime lobsterman Gus “Gussie” Contrino. Or, more accurately, Gus, who is wearing white ankle height rubber boots, is regaling the assembled group with anecdotes from his decades of fishing around Gloucester. Today, Contrino is at Marshall’s business, Cape Ann Fresh Catch, to pick up salmon parts, which he uses to bait his lobster traps. He swings by weekly, often trading his stories for the salmon scraps. For Marshall, this connection to Contrino is part of a larger philosophy behind her company, which is to aim for no waste and sustainability. Cape Ann Fresh Catch might be easy to miss, if you don’t know your way around Gloucester. It is situated in a nondescript gray building – surrounded by quiet residential streets with homes, and a hair salon. Despite being tucked away, the activities orbiting Cape Ann Fresh Catch are a key part of the city’s local fishing industry. Cape Ann Fresh Catch was first started in 2009 by the non-profit Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association (GFWA). GFWA was created in 1969 to bolster the New England fishing industry and family owned businesses and to assist active and retired fishermen and their families. The spark for creating Cape Ann Fresh Catch was to build a market for customers to buy fresh, sustainably sourced seafood from local fishermen who wanted to sell to eager consumers who can’t always get to the dock to pick up fish: a pescatarian version of community-supported agriculture (CSA). These days, Cape Ann Fresh Catch is considered to be the largest and oldest Community Supported Fisheries (CSF) in the U.S. “We work directly with seven day boat fishermen from Gloucester,” said Marshall, “and occasionally we buy ssfrom trip boats.” Marshall has built close relationships with local fishermen, including Paul Vitale, who worked with the producers of the 2021 Sundance award winning film CODA, about a largely deaf fishing family in Gloucester, to show them the ropes and inform the production about what life is like as a working fisherman. Vitale’s work supplying Marshall and Cape Ann Fresh Catch’s CSF with fresh fish is a lot more straightforward than working with producers and filmmakers. “[The fishermen] call me on their way in. I take what I can, and the rest goes to auction,” said Marshall. “They tell me the sell price at auction, but I give them 50 cents more.”

PHOTOS ( Left) In July 2023, a lobsterman unloads while boats docked in Gloucester harbor. Donna Marshall, left, was the original manager of Cape Ann Fresh Catch before helping her daughter Melissa to take over.

FROM MOTHER TO DAUGHTER When Cape Ann Fresh Catch’s CSF business started almost 15 years ago, Melissa’s mom, Donna Marshall, was in charge. At first, she distributed whole fish, but gradually the business model evolved into supplying cut fillets, which are done off site. Over time, Donna – who herself grew up in a fishing family and came of age working alongside aunts and others in their family fish market, Captain Noble’s, in Salem Massachusetts – decided it was time to step back a bit and let the next generation take the reins. In January 2020, when Donna, who is now 65, asked Melissa if she would take over, Melissa was running her own business and living overseas in China. She had only been back from China for two weeks when she agreed to it. “When I took it over in covid times, we had 10-12 drop sites, and were doing about 150 pounds a week. Now, we do 800 pounds of fish a week, and 30 drop sites, thanks to covid. It’s weird to say it like that. But [the model] was great for fishermen at that time — because they couldn’t find restaurants to sell fish to.” Melissa Marshall is more than comfortable in her role of owner and boss. “I like being thrown into the fire,” she said. “Stress brings out the best in me.” These days, Cape Ann Fresh Catch has about 4,500 total CSF customers, half of whom are active throughout the year in the eight to 10 week seasons. Marshall employs dozens local workers from Rockport, Gloucester and surrounding areas, to help run the business. They also sell at area farmer’s markets. They typically offer about 10 local species, some which may be new for CSF members. NA T I O NA L F I S HE R M A N M A G A Z I NE · F A L L 20 23

PHOTO Tessa Browne manages Cape Ann Lobstermen, overseeing two 30,000-pound tanks and a small retail counter for customers.

translate. I haven’t stopped since then!” Sanfilippo laughs. Many people say they are embracing a culture that Sanfilippo and GFWA started cultivating years ago and continue to see it as the guide to the evolution and success of Gloucester’s fishing industry into the future. Marshall’s own business would not have started without the GFWA. On the same day that Gus Contrino was picking up salmon parts, Sarah Curothers – who lives almost an hour away in Lexington Mass. – pulled up to the loading area to pick up her share. “I’ve been a customer since 2002 because I really want to support a Gloucester business,” said Curothers. “And I’ve figured out how to cook it all!” It is customers like Curothers who make it all work, said Marshall. “When people get our fish, they don’t want any other because it was swimming 24 hours before it gets into their hands.”

show nicely and is good at adapting and learning new things – especially when small businesses can be stressful at times.” Marshall adds that while being a small business has advantages, seemingly “small” things – such as stormy June weather preventing the boats from going out or an employee’s car breaking down – can cause challenges and ripple effects.

EVOLUTION OF A BUSINESS: FROM CSF TO SMOKEHOUSE

Thankfully, others have paved the way – and Melissa Marshall is acutely aware of the local role models she can turn to. This includes not only her mom, Donna, but also Angela Sanfilippo, the current President of Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association (GFW). “Angela is the biggest advocate for fishing in Gloucester,” said Melissa Marshall.

The newest division of Cape Ann Fresh Catch is the Twin Light Smokehouse, which makes smoked salmon and mussel spreads and fish lines. “The reason we opened the smokehouse was we wanted a zero-waste program,” said Marshall. “When we buy local fish whole, we take any unused parts and smoke it.” Any fish not smoked gets donated to local Gloucester organizations like Open Door, a non-profit that provides food and services. The packaging on the Smoked Salmon Spread and other products have the words “WOMEN OWNED” on the side of the container. Nowadays, Marshall said, the smokehouse side of the business has grown to be larger than the CSF side of the business. “You don’t find it often; there just aren’t a lot of women. Melissa runs the

A LONG LEGACY OF WOMEN IN FISHERIES: THE GLOUCESTER FISHERMEN’S WIVES ASSOCIATION

Sanfilippo, now in her 70s, is the de facto matriarch of Gloucester’s fishing community. While she was not there at the formation of GFWA, Sanfillipo has been long active in the organization for 47 years now and comes from a fishing family. “In 1977, they called me because I’m bilingual and speak English and Italian. And, at that time, the fishing industry around here was 99 percent Italian American. They were about to meet with the government, and because I speak both languages, they called me to

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CAPE ANN LOBSTERMEN’S TESSA BROWNE If you leave Marshall’s Cape Ann Fresh Catch and navigate around winding roads that ring Gloucester’s harbor for five minutes, you arrive in the South Channel of the Harbor and to Cape Ann Lobstermen, which is owned by Tessa Browne. A typical day at Cape Ann Lobstermen involves lobster being unloaded directly from the boats, onto the wharf, and then into her 5,000 square foot building, with two 30,000-pound lobster tanks. Browne said her company “tries to move about 20,000 live pounds of locally caught lobster a day.” The focus is on wholesale lobster and cutting fish. To get into Browne’s on-site office, you have to pass her office door, which has a painting of a woman with a bun of dark hair and red rubber overalls–a symbol of quiet strength amid the hustle and bustle of the business. When covid first hit, Browne had 60,000 pounds of lobster on hand, with nowhere to go. But she thought fast and resolved what could have been a catastrophic loss, with a Facebook Marketplace post offering deeply discounted prices. She managed to sell it all in three days. “They’re all now our regular customers,” said Browne. In many ways, covid has been the single biggest challenge her company has faced so far. Of course, other challenges, like the rules around the protection of whales,

(on the F/V Moon Dancer), and now, six years later, Browne manages about 68 employees and buys from about 100 boats in the North Shore, working with both draggers and dayboats. At first, Browne said, the impulse behind starting her business was to help bolster the boat prices paid to fishermen in the harbor. But it was a transition to get accepted and gain trust.

offshore wind, and access to harbor space, are part of the bigger picture. Browne is 37 years old and, like Melissa Marshall, seems to thrive in the fastpaced and often grueling schedule demanded by an industry that never really sleeps. “We can go from 4 am to 11 am – it ever really ends.” Brown’s first foray into business did not start with fish or lobster, but flowers. Her family’s wholesale flower business allowed her to learn firsthand about supply chains, management, and coordinating on deadlines. Later, she earned a degree in biology and set off on the path of becoming a cancer researcher before deciding, “it’s not for me.” She later earned an MBA. But Browne and her husband Ryan had always wanted to sell lobster. So, in 2017, they started things slowly, buying lobster from just three boats. Now, Ryan is a full time lobsterman

“The boats liked me,” said Browne, “but the wholesalers would threaten me. No one talked to me for three years, but I [started this business] to help the boats, and give them a better price and support. The boats trusted me in the beginning and they’re pretty loyal when you sell year after year.” She says there are other buyers in the harbor, but she and maybe one other are the only woman-owned lobster buyers she is aware of. Jackie Odell and Northeast Seafood Coalition Jackie Odell has been the executive director of the nonprofit Northeast Seafood Coalition (NSC) for 20 years. Odell’s office is in Gloucester, but NSC represents commercial fishing entities throughout the Northeast. She works on political and policy issues affecting their interests as participants in the groundfish fishery and Sector program in the Northeast multispecies groundfish fishery. “There’s a lot of women, in all different

capacities: running business, involved in nonprofits, or fisheries training, management, biology, policy, marketing, purchasing, and the buying and selling of fresh fish. We’re all trying [and] care about supporting the local fisheries.”

CONFRONTING CHALLENGES Among Odell, Sanfilippo, Browne, Donna, and Melissa Marshall, there is a strong network of support and mutual admiration – even when it can be hard for them to find time to get together physically. Odell said, “I’m in the same building as Donna and Melissa [Marshall] and Angela, but we barely see each other because we’re all so focused on our job, and it’s a lot. It’s unfortunate. In policy time, no one sees me!” The women are acutely aware of the larger challenges their industry faces, as well. At Cape Ann Fresh Catch, the pressures local fishing fleets and businesses face include everything from international big boats, to whale protections, to wind development, to leaders that may favor development over working waterfronts. But, for Marshall, the bigger fear is when the local fishermen she works with “are not making as much money as they deserve” due to the cost of fuel, the prices they get at auction, and may feel like the only way out is to sell their permits. Odell also cited the impact of data collection on the groundfish stock assessment process and the cost to operate businesses being huge challenges. “All the supplies like gas and products… are more expensive.” We have issues with our markets and not enough public awareness of fresh, healthy fish. Our markets just aren’t providing a consistent price to our boats for their catch.

PHOTOS With expertise and dedication, Tessa Browne manages the operations of Cape Ann Lobstermen effectively. The ‘Man at the Wheel’ sculpture on Fishermen’s Memorial commemorates the Gloucester fleet’s sailing era. NA T I O NA L F I S HE R M A N M A G A Z I NE · F A L L 20 23

BOATBUILDING

UNDER WRAPS Creating energy with imagery brings a different kind of excitement to Bristol Bay BY PAUL MOLYNEAUX

hen Derick Burns took the vinyl-wrapped gillnetter, Killer, to Bristol Bay in the summer of 2021, he didn’t know what to expect.

“I got a lot of comments. I felt like I was like in a movie,” says Burns. “Boats coming by, and people were taking pictures.” The Killer had been wrapped in a printed vinyl covering that made it look like a giant salmon emblazoned with the FPT logo – a novel way to promote FPT engines in the absence of trade shows during the pandemic. The pandemic may be over, but the idea of wrapping boats has stuck, and Burns is taking another wrapped boat—the Battleship—to Bristol Bay for the 2023 season. The concept for the Battleship wrap came from Justin Roeser at MSHS. Tom Aliotti built the boat in Bellingham, Washington, and Troy Dorn, who did the wrap install on the Killer, also did the install on the Battleship. “The idea is kind of apocalyptic,” says Roeser. “The survival of the fittest, and the boat is supposed to look like it’s made it through a war.” Roeser believes the new wrap will sell engines better than the first, and that’s good news for builder Tom Aliotti, who handles FPT sales on the West Coast. “The more we sell the better we can support them up in

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PHOTO Getting on step and making 40 mph, the Battleship undergoing sea trials near Bellingham, Wash. The next step is a barge ride to Nanek, and the run to Egegik. Brad A. Meier photo.

The idea is kind of apocalyptic, The survival of the fittest, and the boat is supposed to look like it’s made it through a war.” NA T I O NA L F I S HE R M A N M A G A Z I NE · F A L L 20 23 23

BOATBUILDING Alaska,” says Aliotti. “So far, between the ones I’ve put in my boats and the ones I’ve sold, I’ve got around 60 engines out there.” But for Aliotti, what’s under the wrap is what’s important. “We have tweaked the hull design,” he says. “But I can’t tell you how.” His signature hull design is under wraps in more ways than one. The rest is open for all to see—the wrap even has a picture of a hole in the side of

the boat, giving an imagined look at the two 530-hp FPT550 engines in the Battleship. “I think for power toweight ratio, and being problem-free, FPT is the best,” says Aliotti. “We haven’t had any major issues, and the performance is stellar.” The FPTs turn ZF305 gears at 1.5:1 that drive Doen jets. “The guts are tough,” Aliotti says of the Australian-made jets. “The Doen has a heavier duty impeller, wear rings,

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sleeves, shaft, which means a lot less maintenance annually.” Aliotti favors Pacific West refrigerated seawater – RSW – systems and put a hydraulic-powered 10-ton system in the Battleship. “The hold is divided into 13 sections that hold about 3,000 pounds each,” says Aliotti. “I have the RSW divided into four sections so they can chill down a little or a lot, depending.” The Battleship’s deck layout is pretty standard for an Aliotti boat. “The stern roller is Kinematic. We make our own drums, very heavy duty. The drive is from SeaMar—Seattle Marine.” Seattle Marine also put together the hydraulic system for the Battleship. “Jordan Brooks and I installed it.” While supply chain issues have delayed many builders, the season for sockeye in Bristol Bay lasts only a few weeks, and if a boat isn’t finished on schedule, it can cost the owner a year’s earnings. “All the boats are looking for the same things, so I planned in advance,” says Aliotti. “I ordered what we needed way ahead of time.” Components for the wheelhouse include a suite of electronics, with redundancy where it matters. “We have two Garmin GPSMAPs, with 12-inch displays, a 9-inch Garmin ECHOMAP, and a Garmin Fantom 18x radar,” says Aliotti. Other electronics include a Furuno SCX20 satellite compass, an a2004 Simrad autopilot, fusion stereo, and two Standard Horizon VHFs. “We put a Starlink satellite dish on,” says Aliotti. Crew comforts on the Battleship go with the motif. “It’s got a Norco refrigerator and freezer, and a stove,” says Aliotti. “We put a bathroom and a shower in one we built last year, but it cut down on space for the crew, so with the Battleship, we have an outside shower on deck with hot water. The bathroom is a bucket.

PHOTOS A pair of N67-550 FPT engines, with 530-hp each, will power the Battleship and drive the hydraulic and other systems. Brad A. Meier photo. In a strange blue light consistent with the edgy Battleship motif, a welder works on the new gillnetter at Aliotti Enterprises in Bellingham, Washington. Eric Benson photo.

ery, another period would start. It was wild, just go. I was living disconnected from time.”

HEADING NORTH When Justin Roeser dreamed up his mythology around the Battleship design, he envisioned a tough woman skipper. “She’s tough and street smart and knows how to catch fish and take care of her crew,” he says. The reality is not too far off. While the skipper is not a woman, most of the crew is.

The Battleship has four bunks down forward, but Burns doesn’t expect them to get much use. “Last year, we had fish on deck, the net full of fish piled up in the stern—it was the season of no sleep—by the time we finished a deliv-

The 2023 sockeye harvest came in at 38 million fish in late July, a good year, but far below the 60.1 million fish harvest of 2022. “I heard it was going to be a good season,” says Burns. “But I don’t get too worked up until I get there. Hopefully, we’ll pick the right spot and catch some fish.”

“I think we have a great crew,” says Captain Derick Burns. “I got a guy I know, and he’s bringing two women who I haven’t met yet, but they’re all experienced. I only have one greenhorn, a young woman whose been helping me. I’m really looking forward to getting up there, catching fish, having fun, and coming home fat and happy.” NA T I O NA L F I S HE R M A N M A G A Z I NE · F A L L 20 23

BOATBUILDING PHOTOS The Battleship in sea trials near Bellingham, Washington. Brad A. Meier photo. Derick Burns has been working for Tom Aliotti, building boats since 2006 and running them since 2016. Just the thought of taking the Battleship north with an experienced crew puts a smile on his face. Conor Costello photo.

Burns started fishing with Aliotti around 2006 and has been running boats for him for about six or seven years, he guesses. “I feel really fortunate to have been able to run these amazing boats,” Burns says. “I helped build the first one, and they’ve come a long way. Being fishermen building boats we know what changes we want and know how to do into the making of them.” For the sea trials, Burns went along for the ride. “Tom ran the boat. It was a tight area, and the FPT guy with there with all kinds of monitors hooked to the engines, and we had to keep bumping the speed up by 100 rpms. By the end we were just ripping close to 40 knots, and it was kind of choppy so we were bouncing.” Like Roeser and Aliotti, Burns is impressed with wrap. “Once it came out of the shop and into the water, you could see this beautiful green color in it that you couldn’t see before. It looks great.” On the practical side, Burns notes that the wrap protects the aluminum. “Usually aluminum boats start to get little white spots on them almost immediately, but with the wrap you don’t get that oxidation.” According to Burns the boat will head north Nenek, Alaska on a tender. “We’ll fly into Naknek and then run the boat down to Egegik, which is where we fish out of.” Between Roeser’s imagery of the Battleship and the mythology of its mostly women crew; the work Aliotti put into the design and construction; and Burns’s capable handling, the Battleship has a good chance of completing its mission. It will likely catch a lot of fish, sell some FPT engines, and spark people’s imaginations.

NATIONAL FISHER M A N M A GA Z I N E · FA LL 2 0 2 3

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FILLET KNIVES THAT ARE A CUT ABOVE Dexter Knives to Traditional Uluaqs: Craftsmanship and Innovation Meet in the World of Fish Cutting Tools BY PAUL MOLYNEAUX

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While proud of the newer designs, Abissi also knows that many customers are committed to the Dexter knives they grew up with. “That’s our traditional line,” he says. “The model 1376 is carbon steel with a beechwood handle; they’re still popular. We sell crazy amounts of them. We sell through all the marine supply stores like Hamilton Marine and LFS.” Abissi notes that all Dexter knives are made in the company’s facility in Southbridge. “Except for the plastic handles, those are made in Sturbridge.” Dexter knives have been around for more than 200 years, but older still is the uluaq, or ulu, used by the Yupik, Chukchi, Inupiat, and Inuit people of the Arctic.

illeting machines may cut most of the fish caught in America’s fishing industry. But there are more people than machines cutting fish, and they use knives. The knife is the connection point between the cutter’s intention and the fish; it is where the mind meets matter. The folks at Dexter-Russell Knives in Southbridge, Massachusetts, understand this as well as anyone. “After more than 200 years we ought to be,” says Dexter’s national sales manager, Carl Abissi. “I run the outdoors department,” says Abissi. “Our newest knife is the Dextreme. It has a double edge – a long cutting edge and then a scalloped edge

on top. So you can use the scalloped edge to cut through scales and collars and save the good edge for filleting.” Originally developed for red snapper fishermen, Abissi developed a 12-inch version of the Dextreme for tuna fishermen. “We spent a lot of time on the handle,” says Abissi. “We took videos of all the ways people hold a knife and analyzed them with an ergonomics consultant so that it was comfortable no matter which side of the blade you used.” Abissi notes that the shiny blades of the newer Sani-Safe knives are not stainless steel. “They are ‘stain-free’ steel. It’s still a carbon steel, but with some chromium added.”

Working on a project years ago, I took a case of Dexter knives to a Yupik Village to set up an experimental processing plant. Those knives never touched a fish, all the fish cutters brought their own uluaq. In prehistoric times Arctic people fashioned an uluaq from stone or iron cold-hammered from the Cape York meteorite in Greenland – which was traded halfway to Alaska. But for the Yupik of western Alaska the preferred material would have been slate, until steel arrived with the Europeans. Today, the preferred steel for uluat – Yupik for three or more uluaq – is cut from saw blades. “I like to get my uluat from Wilbur Church, at Classiculuag in Bethel,” says

PHOTOS (Left) Cutting a vermillion snapper with a Dexter model 1376, one of the company’s most popular traditional knives. Presenting a Dexter knife to then President Dwight “Ike” Eisenhower in the 1950s, when the company was already well over a century old. The new Dextreme line of knives with plastic handles, stain free steel, and a serrated top edge are popular with red snapper fishermen. A new version is aimed at the tuna market. Dexter photos NA T I O NA L F I S HE R M A N M A G A Z I NE · F A L L 20 23 29

FILLET KNIVES

Yupik crafter Nikki Corbett, many of whose uluat feature the little hole often found near the tip of the crosscut saws from which they were fashioned. “I started going to fish camp on the Kuskokwim with my Aunt Margaret when I was about 8 years old,” says Corbett. “Back then, the kings were so big I couldn’t cut them. I tried one and ruined it, so I was given the job of gutting the fish.”

PHOTOS Marie “Arnaq” Meade, cutting salmon with an uluaq, the traditional crescent shaped knife of the Yupik, Inupiat, Inuit, and Chukchi people of the Arctic. Nikki Corbett photo. Wilbur Church of Quinhagak shows off some of his uluat and his workshop. Church notes that archeological work being done at nearby Nunalleq has unearthed older uluat made of slate. WD Church photo.

In time, Corbett learned the skill of cutting salmon to dry and has shared it on her YouTube channel.

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“My Aunt Marie Meaee, Arnaq, is here with us now,” says Corbett, who lives in Soldatna. “We’re dipping fish on the Kasilof, and she is helping us cut fish to dry and can. She is really good at it.” Corbett cans her dry fish for easy storage. “It’s easy. I put it in the jar’s plain, and nothing added. I use a Presto canner, I’d like to get an All-American, but they’re so expensive.” Besides Classiculuaq, other makers of uluat include Maynard Linder of Homer, who wholesales through Fish Creek Company, other craftspeople, and higher production companies. Even Dexter offers an Ulu. “The ones made from old saws are the best,” says Corbett, who, like other knife users, appreciates the edge she can put on the high-carbon steel. Knife maker Wilbur Church of Quinhagak is so busy supplying local women he prefers not to comment for this story, but he describes many of his tricks on his classiculuaq Instagram page linked above, and lists his available uluat. Prices for his uluat range from around $175 to over $600, depending on the design and the material he uses for the handles, which can be anything from black walnut to caribou antler to oosik.

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NATIONAL FISHER M A N M A GA Z I N E · FA LL 2 0 2 3

In the world where steel meets fish, the state of the art might be the Taiwanese tuna sword – the sharpest knife in the world – used to section large tuna.

PHOTOS (Left) Nikki Corbett shows off some of the uluat she uses when putting up her family’s supply of salmon for the year. In the Yupik language, she has one uluaq, two uluak, and three or more uluat. Nikki Corbett photo. The tuna swords made by Yong Shin in Taiwan, begin as an old unused artillery shells. He cuts the shell into strips and forges the 27-inch blades. Tom Blodgett photo.

“It might not be the sharpest knife in the world, but it scares me,” says Tom Blodgett, owner of Jende Industries, a company that sells hand-forged tuna swords to customers all over the world. “They’re made by a local blacksmith here, Yong Shin,” Blodgett says from his home

near Taiwan’s Donggang Fish Market. “He’s a third-generation maker of tuna knives and swords. He supplies the tuna cutters at the market, and I sell what I can. Right now, I have orders backed up for three months. It’s just him and his son, so we’re a low-key company.” Yong Shin crafts tuna swords from repurposed artillery shell steel, flame-cut into strips, then forged over three days. The swords are adorned with a distinct five-dot pattern denoting steel type.

Sharpened, they effortlessly slice through tuna. Regular honing yields 5-10 years of use; sporadic use extends their life. Amid fish processing innovation, knives persist in their diverse forms, a testament to enduring craftsmanship.

NA T I O NA L F I S HE R M A N M A G A Z I NE · F A L L 20 23

PHOTO The Ocean Rover at Pier 91 in Seattle during the off season. Naust had only a few months to replace the existing hydraulic winch system with a complete electric system

during turning, and fishing in cross-current. “And we’re continuing to improve it,” she says. “A lot of boats may not have our winches, but they’ll still use our ATW. We’ve sold those more recently, and we are in talks to provide systems to other U.S. vessels, but I can’t say any more about that.”

GEAR SHIFTS

Naust Marine upgrades Ocean Rover with electric winch system Innovative Automatic Trawl Winch and Fiber-Optic Cable Technology Lead the Way in Fishing Industry Advancements

aust Marine finished the installation of its electric winches on the Ocean Rover, the last of the American Seafoods trawlers to have its deck gear refitted. “I believe that was our most recent project in the U.S.,” says Brittany Tassano, regional manager of Naust Marine in Poulsbo, Wash. “We replaced all the hydraulics with electric,” says Tassano. “The trawl winches, the auxiliary winches, the

BY PAUL MOLYNEAUX third wire, and we installed the cabinets.” The cabinet, Tassano explains, is the control center for the Naust automatic trawl winch system. “In the wheelhouse or on deck, they decide how they want the trawl to perform, and with the Automatic Trawl Winch – we call it the ATW – they can configure how far they want the let trawl wires out, how they want to control it when they’re turning, adjusting to depth, and things like that. The ATW does all that.”

NATIONAL FISHER M A N M A GA Z I N E · FA LL 2 0 2 3

Tassano notes that the ATW is the centerpiece of the Naust system. “Naust Marine started working on it around 1970 when it was a different company. Back then, it was very simple, the company only made the ATW, and it only controlled one winch,” she says. “Now it can control four winches and adjust to the vessel’s speed for easier control.” Tassano adds that the ATW can calculate the sea status and maintain the optimal opening of a net when it is being towed straight ahead,

“With our systems, you don’t have to shop around and source from different vendors,” Tassano says. “We provide the entire deck package. Our controls and cabinets are manufactured at our location in Iceland, and all our winches are manufactured at our location in Spain.” When the owners of the original company established Naust Marine in 1993, they began supplying winches, and since 2016 have manufactured their own winches, with production now in Vigo, Spain. For the Ocean Rover, Naust supplied and installed two trawl winches driven by 380kW DC motors; three third-wire (net sounder/ cable) winches have 37kw AC motors along with newly designed pneumatic band brakes on the drum, replacing the magnetic brakes; two net drum winches with 230KW AC motors. Naust also supplied Gilson and Capstan winches.

“Besides the Naust Automatic Trawl Winch (ATW) system, the winch control and system solutions delivered to Ocean Rover include the electrical spooling gear (ESG), the AutoGen power management system, and controls,” says Tassano. The AutoGen system draws power from the winches by turning the electric motors into generators when the wire is spooling out. Between the ATW system, oil heaters for the trawl winches, and other options, the Naust package can enable vessels to continue fishing effectively and efficiently in extreme conditions. Tassano points out that Naust continues to pioneer new technologies. “We are providing Permanent Magnet (PM) motors for the first time for one of our projects that is about to be contracted,” she says. “That’s all I can say for now. We will also soon share details of newly designed HMI [human machine interface] and ATW systems.” Of particular interest, as more fishermen utilize cameras and artificial intelligence, are Naust’s new winches designed for the fi-

ber-optic cable being developed by another Icelandic company, Hampidjan. “The fiber optic cable can deliver so much more data,” says Bjarni Gunnlaugsson, general manager of Naust. “Comparing what we have now for data flow to what we will have with fiber optic cable is like comparing your shower to the biggest waterfall that we have in Iceland. The problem is that it can break; it’s much thicker, so we need a winch that can handle it.” Hjörtur Erlendsson, CEO of Hampidjan, commented about the technology when accepting an award for best innovation at the Icelandic fisheries exhibition. “There is a lot of time involved in this development

because it is not a simple matter to design a fiber optic cable that can withstand extremely challenging conditions at sea where the cable is under high and variable loads,” Erlendsson said. “The fiber optic cable has been successfully tested, but conventional headline cable winches have been found not to be suitable for the fiber optic cable. We have therefore designed a new type of cable winding and are in collaboration with Naust Marine, who intends to fully design with us and build the first winch for testing in the coming winter.” According to Gunnlaugsson, Naust had a 10-vessel contract in Russia, including the Kapitan Sokolov (NF, August 2019), that has stalled due to sanctions and

lack of payment. “Between covid and the war, things have been difficult, but we are working on other projects,” says Gunnlaugsson. “We have an Icelandic vessel being built in Spain, a vessel for the PP Group in Holland – that one is being built in Turkey, and others. We’re mostly doing service work in the U.S., but like Russia, the U.S. fleet needs to be rebuilt.” Gunnlaugsson notes that the Jones Act prevents U.S. fleet owners from building overseas but that Naust is in dialogue with some of them, with hopes of outfitting their new vessels.

PHOTOS Naust supplied three 3rd wire winches to the Ocean Rover, each has a 37kw AC motor, along Naust’s newly designed pneumatic band brakes on the drum, replacing the magnetic brakes. One of two trawl winches driven by 380kW DC motors installed on the American Seafoods catcher processor, the Ocean Rover. The Naust Automatic Trawl Winch, includes remote controls as well as wheelhouse controls, enabling crew to run the winches from on deck. Naust photos.

NA T I O NA L F I S HE R M A N M A G A Z I NE · F A L L 20 23 33

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A new season calls for new gear. Do you have a new product we should review? Please let us know at www.nationalfisherman.com/about/contribute

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NATIONAL FISHER M A N M A GA Z I N E · FA LL 2 0 2 3

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45' 2004 DOUCETTE FISHING BOAT FOR SALE Located in Charlottetown , Prince Edward Island, the vessel is presently afloat. It features a 500 Cat engine with a 10-inch bow thruster, as well as cutters and a cage. Additional amenities include a diesel-powered bus heater, Time Zero and Hondex plotters, two VHF radios, and shore power capability. The boat boasts a top speed of 18.5 knots and a cruising range of 12 to 14 knots. Notably, recent upgrades within the past five years comprise new injectors, a turbocharger, cooler, HEUI pump, shaft, and cutless bearing. Price: $299,000 Contact: Joey 902-393-2220 now@eastcoastcourier.ca

45' 2017 PROVINCIAL MARINE Located in Prince Edward Island, Canada, this vessel has seen just 10 months of use, Caterpillar 8.7 engine (660 hp), 2612 hours. Twin Disc 5082 transmission, dual ram bronze/ stainless steel steering. 600-gallon fuel, 250-gallon water capacity. Espar diesel furnace, forced air heat. P&E quick turn deck hatch, custom radar mast. Furuno 295 sounder, Hondex plotter, 2 Icom VHF radios. Price: $425,000 Contact: David 902-388-1102 - Call before 9pm

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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.

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**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 and have a minimum 3 years of experience with this type of operation. This Full-Time position operates out of American Samoa and several other Western Pacific Ports and Requires experience and working knowledge of EMD and CAT engines, R717 Refrigeration / Freezing systems, Hydraulic Systems, etc. Please submit Resume and license info to PPFisheries@gmail.com

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Coast Guard Foundation ............................................35 Eartec ..................................................................................17 FPT Industrial ..................................................................24 Furuno USA ...................................................................CV4 Guy Cotten Inc .................................................................. 5 Highmark Marine Fabrication....................................31 Integrated Marine Systems Inc ................................. 1 International WorkBoat Show ..............................CV3 MAQ Sonar Co .................................................................30 Marine Hydraulic Engineering Co Inc .....................12 Naust Marine USA Inc..................................................25 Pacific Marine Expo ...................................................... 27 Platypus Marine ...............................................................4 Port of Port Townsend ................................................. 11 Port Townsend Shipwrights Co-Op.........................17 R W Fernstrum & Company ........................................ 5 NA T I O NA L F I S HE R M A N M A G A Z I NE · F A L L 20 23 39

CREWSHOTS

Send us your Crew Shots to Nationalfisherman.com/ submit-crew-shots or upload directly to our NEW mobile app! **Don’t forget to include IDs from left to right, the boat name, fishing location, gear type and fishery.

MONTAUK, NY

CAPE COD, MA

KODIAK, AK

ANACORTES, WA

SITKA, AK

Captain John Nolan holds newborn Cooper after a 10-day golden tilefish trip from Montauk, N.Y. Deckhands Andrew and Robert showcase the bounty.

Jose Guillen Jr, Jose Guillen Sr. and Mike Van Hoose have a big day of boat scalloping aboard the F/V Nemesis in Cape Cod, Mass.

Tanner crab season on F/V Anthem: Max Kobuk, Erik Nelson, Tony Pyrak, Zack Shogren, and Captain Sam Mutch (not pictured) spearhead a memorable and epic fishing campaign!

Kevin, Bob, and Aaron of FV Star Shadow excel in hauling Dungeness crab along the Oregon coast.

Shining in herring sequins, the F/V Alaskan Girl crew – Kendra Coonrad, Alexis Thompson, and Brannon Finney – achieves Sitka sac roe success.

40 NATIONAL FISHER M A N M A GA Z I N E · FA LL 2 0 2 3

It’s SHOW TIME NOV 29 - DEC 1, 2023 / NEW ORLE ANS Morial Convention Center, Halls B, C, D, E & F

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