Longline Fishing

NOAA Fisheries Seize 80 Tons of Albacore

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) Office for Law Enforcement (OLE) special agents have seized 80 short tons of albacore tuna, worth over $141,000 , from a Cambodian-flagged longline fishing vessel, the Long Man Yun #66 in Pago Pago, American Samoa, for allegedly violating U.S. fishing laws. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is an agency of the Commerce Department. On August 1, the Long Man Yun #66 was observed within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off American Samoa with significant amounts of fishing gear on its deck. The crew of the vessel was also observed handling the fishing gear on the vessel=s working deck. The seizure of the vessel=s catch occurred when the vessel arrived at dock on September 30. It is a violation of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act for a foreign fishing vessel to fail to stow its fishing gear below deck when it is transiting U.S. waters. The requirement to stow gear is intended to ensure that there is never a question as to whether a foreign fishing vessel observed transiting U.S. waters has been illegally fishing. The fishing vessel was spotted in the U.S. EEZ off of American Samoa by a NOAA OLE special agent flying aboard a U.S. Coast Guard C-130 aircraft on a standard fisheries patrol. The U.S. EEZ is a vast and remote expanse of water which often requires both ship and aircraft patrols to enforce U.S. fisheries laws.

Hawaii Fishermen Salvage Japanese Tsumami Fishing Skiff

The 20-by-6-foot skiff, covered in barnacles, was found floating northeast of Maui by the crew of the 'F/V Zephyr' who towed it in and cleaned it up. On the heels of Hawaii’s first confirmed report of Japan tsunami debris, NOAA and its partners are already examining the second confirmed item: a barnacled skiff which a fisherman found off the Hawaii coast—and which he wants to keep. Using the skiff’s registration number

Fisherman Fined for Violating Magnuson

A Florida fisherman was fined by an administrative law judge Tuesday, for illegal fishing within a secured area 120 miles south of Panama City, Fla. The violation occurred Dec. 17, 2002, when the crew of Coast Guard Cutter Stingray, homeported in Mobile, Ala., stopped and boarded the fishing vessel, The Shadow, for allegedly illegally fishing within the Madison-Swanson closed area. Jerry Eugene Key, operator of The Shadow, set approximately 2

35th Fish Expo Headed To Seattle

Fish Expo and WorkBoat Northwest Trade Show is slated to deliver its standard level of excellence in exhibitors and conference topics, bringing the most complete resources for commercial fishing to the Washington State Convention Center in Seattle, November 15-17. Leon E. Panetta, Pew Oceans Commission chairman, is invited to deliver the keynote address and field questions on fisheries and environmental issues. Dr. Rebecca Lent

Vizada and Nautical Equip 300 Fishing Vessels

Vizada, independent provider of mobile satellite services, has teamed up with its long-term service provider partner Nautical to provide the Inmarsat FleetBroadband service to more than 300 Spanish fishing vessels, enabling them to comply with new European Union (EU) regulations. The EU regulations came into effect on 1 July 2010 and require all fishing vessels of more than 24-metres (78-ft) to supply reports of catch, trans-shipments

Romanian CG Fires On Fishing Vessel

Romanian coastguard vessels opened fire on a Turkish boat fishing illegally in Romanian waters when it tried to ram them, Reuters reported. The private television station said the incident occurred when the Turkish vessel, fishing for turbot near the Romanian Black Sea coast, refused to respond to warnings radioed by two coastguard boats and tried to ram them. Fishing for turbot is illegal in May in Romania. No crew members were reported to be injured.

Kvichak Marine Will Build Two Marine Transport Vessels

Seattle, WA – Kvichak Marine Industries Inc. was recently awarded a contract by Puget Sound Energy to design and build one each 32’ and 38’ Marine Transport Vessels for PSE’s Baker River Hydroelectric Project.  The vessels will be used at a new downstream fish-passage facility PSE is constructing behind the utility’s Lower Baker Dam to further enhance fish populations in the Skagit-Baker watershed in northwest Washington.

Ship for Live Fish Transport Ordered from Rolls Royce

Rolls Royce to provide eco-friendly live fish transporter vessel for Norwegian shipowners Rolls-Royce has won its first order for a new ship developed specifically for transporting live fish. Norwegian ship owner Sølvtrans AS, the world’s largest transporter of live fish, is the first customer for this advanced, fuel efficient vessel. In order to transport live fish efficiently and in a healthy condition, customers require spacious

NOAA's Catch Shares Program Yields Gains

West Coast groundfish fleet sees higher revenue, lower bycatch in catch shares’ first year. West Coast commercial fishermen who trawl for whiting and other valuable groundfish saw their revenues and efficiency increase substantially over the last year under a new fishery management system known as catch shares, according to preliminary data from NOAA’s Fisheries Service. Gross revenues increased in 2011 compared to the five-year average for the West Coast groundfish fleet

Rarely Used Barge May Be Vessel in Navigation

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that a fish processing barge that is towed across navigable water twice a year can qualify as a "vessel in navigation" for certain purposes of the Jones Act. In the instant case, plaintiff incurred carpal tunnel syndrome while working as a fish processor on a fish processing barge. The trial court granted defendant owner's motion for summary judgment, ruling that the barge was not a vessel in navigation for purposes of the Jones Act