Columns – Fishermens News

What’s New at NIOSH: A Look at Current Research on Fishing Safety

By Devin Lucas, Samantha Case and Richie Evoy – National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health Introduction Commercial fishing is a dangerous job with many challenges and competing priorities. With limited time and resources, managing the various hazards to vessel and crew can be demanding. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has been helping fishermen identify and solve safety problems for over 30 years. This article gives a brief overview of current NIOSH research efforts aimed at helping the fishing industry protect its workforce and vessels from harm. Testing the Integrity of Immersion Suits to Determine Service Life Immersion suits with leaking seams can allow cold water to enter, diminishing the buoyancy and thermal protection needed in an ...

The California Salmon Plan

The “California Salmon Strategy for a Hotter, Drier Future” was released by California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Jan. 30. It lists six goals and 71 actions intended to build healthier, stronger salmon populations throughout the state in the face of climate change-induced drought and heat. Some of those actions are ongoing or in the pipeline. Many are aspirational. The strategy’s planning horizon is the next three years of Newsom’s term as governor and so it amounts to a salmon “to do” list for his administration, involving multiple agencies. It’s ambitious, but much needed. And in the face of likely climate change impacts, it’s also a forward-looking planning process that other states should emulate. First of all, we thank Gov. Newsom for having a salmon recovery strategy at all, and for...

From the Editor: Fishing Restrictions Bill

The future of commercial gillnet fishing and the catching of giant sea bass in California are now in doubt, following legislation proposed by a state Assembly member in February that would restrict certain types of fishing in state waters. Assembly Bill 2220 would do three things: completely ban commercial fishing for sea bass, eliminating current exceptions; ban the use of gill nets, also eliminating current exceptions, and mandate that commercial fishing vessels operating with a state permit carry an independent third-party observer onboard while operating within state fisheries. If passed and signed into law, the proposed legislation, which was drafted by Assemblyman Steve Bennett (D-Ventura), could have a sizable impact—financially and in other ways—on the state’s commercial fishing ...

An Introduction to the PCFFA’s New Executive Director

Growing up, I believed that most anything could be repaired with a needle of Dungeness crab pot wire and a roll of electrical tape. Both of these things lived in the junk drawer of my childhood home and in an accessible location everywhere I have lived since. Looking back, I realize that it was not the tools that held that power to make broken things work again, but the commercial fisherman with his resourceful, problem-solving mind and calloused, cracked hands wielding tools that got the job done. That commercial fisherman was my dad, and at times my grandfather, both of whom regularly entertained me and shared life lessons while weaving crab pots, splicing rope or tying salmon leaders. I was never interested in working on the boat; that was my brother’s passion (and still is). Still...

Fishing and Climate Change

If ocean temperatures keep steadily rising as they have been for some time due to climate change, then the U.S. fishing industry will have a big problem on its hands. This is according to experts who recently testified before a U.S. Senate committee on the issue of how climate change affects businesses that depend on the ocean and the creatures in it to sustain their livelihoods. During a 90-minute session titled “Warming Seas, Cooling Economy: How the Climate Crisis Threatens Ocean Industries” held Jan. 24 by the Senate Budget Committee, five people—a fishing guide, an economist, and three professors —testified on the effects that climate change have and could have. “The risks of a changing climate are, by far, the most limiting factor of my potential growth and success as an entrepren...

Life Raft Survival Kit Use

Years ago, a fishing vessel suddenly capsized and sank in the middle of the night. Only two crewmembers made it out into the frigid water. They reached their life raft and with great effort, despite the cold, climbed into it. The next morning, the raft was found, but the crew didn’t survive due to hypothermia. When rescuers located the raft the next day, they noticed that its survival kit, which contained two Thermal Protective Aids (TPAs), had never been opened. A TPA is an orange zippered mummy-shaped bivy sack that traps in heat. Unless you live close to a certified life raft re-packer, most owners don’t see the contents of the survival kit that comes with every U.S. Coast Guard or SOLAS-approved life raft. If you view the contents of the survival pack, some objects in the kit may...

From the Editor: ‘Ocean Justice’

As 2023 was coming to a close, the Biden administration announced an initiative that could over time, impact commercial fishing areas along the West Coast, Bering Sea and Pacific Islands, especially those that have been, or could be, regarded as overfished. The administration’s first of its kind “U.S. Ocean Justice Strategy” which is meant to “advance environmental justice for communities that rely on the ocean for economic, cultural, spiritual, recreational and food security purposes,” was officially unveiled during the United Nations’ annual Conference of Parties (COP28) in December. The strategy, according to the Biden administration, is motivated by the recognition that many communities—including those who live near the ocean, that depend on marine resources, or that are part of th...

Hope for Future Fisheries During Tough Times

These last few years have been terribly hard for West Coast commercial fisheries, without a doubt. Two of the once most profitable West Coast fisheries—salmon and Dungeness crab—are both now severely restricted. The 2023 salmon season was totally closed in California and much of Oregon, and another record-breaking salmon season closure is looming for at least California in 2024. These are back-to-back fisheries disasters. Yet in the midst of all these assaults on our fisheries, there is still cause for some optimism. Many of these threats to fisheries are being met head-on by our industry with some successes, which means hope for improved fisheries in upcoming years. This article highlights those efforts and successes. Salmon Habitat Restoration Klamath Dam Removals Scheduled for 20...

SOLAS & Visual Distress Signals

Visual Distress Signals (VDS) in the form of flares and orange smoke have been available for over 100 years. Although marine emergency signals via radios and satellite technology now provide worldwide coverage, a red flare on a dark night can still improve your odds of being seen and give a message of distress in an emergency. Consider this: about 15 years ago in New England, a woman woke up suddenly in the middle of the night. Unable to get back to sleep, she got up and looked out of her bedroom window, which had an expansive view of the sea and night sky. At that very moment, she saw a bright red meteor distress flare far out at sea arc through the night sky and fall slowly back to earth. She immediately called 911. Call it coincidence or divine intervention, a fishing crew was saved...

From the Editor: Happy Holidays

As you’re reading these words, it’s probably still late December, but because this issue carries a January cover date, allow me to be among the first to wish you a very Happy New Year. We here at Fishermen’s News hope that 2024 will be a very happy and prosperous year for you, as well as for your loved ones and colleagues. Here at the FN home base, we’ve been cooking up some special content to publish throughout the upcoming year, and I’d like to take a moment to tell you about it. Among the stories that we plan to publish in 2024 are: articles on new and planned boating supplies & equipment that are geared toward commercial fishermen; tips for getting commercial vessels in tip-top shape for the upcoming fishing season; an examination of the trends that companies are following regard...