Goin' big
Longliners and trawlers take center stage at the nation's yards
By Michael Crowley
For the past few years, new boat construction for the West Coast and Alaska fisheries has been defined by gillnetters and 58-footers. But in the past year builders have seen a surge in the construction, rebuilding or extensive modifying of large boats for those fisheries. It's a case of upgrading older boats to make them more efficient and safer, sticking with proven designs, or in one case, jumping way ahead of the pack in terms of propulsion choices.
Strength in numbers
Sometimes we get so caught up in the politics of keeping people fishing that we forget to talk about the essence of it, what brings fishermen to the dock in the morning, whatever the weather, regardless of their aches and pains from the days or weeks before.
ATY Northeast
Maine tuna boat goes to Mass.;
41-foot lobster boat is finished
In early April, the Jessie-Lin had just returned from sea trials and was tied up to Atlantic Boat Co.'s dock in Brooklin, Maine. The 33-footer is a stretched out version of Atlantic Boat's Duffy 31 and was built as a rod-and-reel tuna boat for Dave Wilson of New Bedford, Mass. He will use the boat for commercial and recreational fishing, says Atlantic Boat's Nate Hopkins. Wilson, he says, wanted a "simple boat with a high level of finish and construction and wanted it to go fast."
Gulf/South Atlantic Yellowfin Tuna
Southeast Asia drives global price
as it rebounds from '09 recession low
Indicators remain mixed for yellowfin tuna in the Southeast and Gulf of Mexico, though market conditions have been improving generally since the recession bottomed out the ex-vessel price in 2009 and the 2010 Gulf of Mexico BP oil spill triggered a drop in demand.
Cape mystery
From U.S. Coast Guard reports
In the early hours of a mild spring day a lone fisherman headed out for a day of squid fishing off the south shore of Cape Cod in Massachusetts. His boat, a wooden 38-foot Novi-style stern trawler built in 1947, was designed as a shellfish dragger for sheltered local bays and sounds. The boat had a history of being cared for meticulously. She had undergone an extensive restoration about 10 years prior, but her size and work within the boundary line meant that she did not require a stability test.
Callifornia crabbing: Here's a fun video shot on the decks of the Majestik while catching Dungeness crab off the coast of northern California.
Over 500 lots of seafood processing equipment formerly owned by Adak Seafood will be sold at auction on Tuesday, June 18, starting at 10 a.m. Hawaiian-Aleutian Daylight Time at the Hilton Garden Inn in Anchorage Alaska.
The equipment is located in a recently updated 250,000 square foot state-of-the-art processing facility in Adak, Alaska. Farmington Hills, Mich.-based Hilco Industrial, which conducts 75 machinery and equipment auctions in a wide range of industries annually, will conduct the auction.
Adak Seafood opened originally as Ada Fisheries in Anchorage in 1986. The facility, updated in 2005, is located on the island of Adak, the southernmost city in Alaska near the western end of the Aleutian Islands. The facility processed cod primarily, as well as halibut, blackcod, crab and pollock, Hilco says.
Alaska fisherman and commercial fisheries activist Kevin Adams was elected chairman at the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute board of directors meeting on May 9 in Anchorage.
The governor-appointed board consists of seven members: five seafood processors and two industry representatives actively engaged in commercial fishing. Adams was appointed to fill a harvester seat by Gov. Frank Murkowski in 2004.
With 38 years of fishing experience in Bristol Bay, Adams has long been an active member in the Alaska fishing industry, ASMI says. He has worked for both the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation and the Bering Sea Fisherman's Association, and represents Alaska fishermen on numerous boards.
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