Guest Column – Fishermens News

Great Balls of Fishy Fire Light

Some fish are attracted to light. We all know that. We’ve known that since people have been waving fire torches from wooden dugout canoes. It’s quite evident today, and it can be seen in all of those brightly lit up fishing vessels at night. Sure, those lights help keep the deckhands safe, but you can tell that many of those lights are specifically designed and aimed at bringing fish up closer to the surface. So, why not produce some special underwater lights for the seabed fishing industry? Well, a few companies have tried to do just that by selling lights for crab pots and lobster traps. Some of those products have provided mixed results due mostly to the quality of the products made. However, one company has managed to shed some light on the subject in a most positive way as far as ...

Guest Column: Doing More with Less

It would appear that “doing more with less” could be the unofficial motto for today’s society, especially regarding the workplace. Restaurants, offices, tech companies and many other businesses are feeling the squeeze of being short staffed and finding it hard to recruit and retain qualified long-term help. What does this mean for the employees who are in the workforce? It means doing more than your normal duties in your job description. While it is a fact that sometimes you just do what needs to be done to perform the task at hand, this extra effort is creating an environment for workers that leads to extra stress, longer hours, fatigue and eventually burnout. This does not create a healthy and sustainable model for businesses to succeed and thrive. The COVID-19 pandemic was har...

Understanding Today’s Economic Trends to Plan for the Future

Your daily newsfeed is likely filled with stories of rising prices at both the pump and the grocery store. Economists point to a number of reasons, from the injection of pandemic relief funds to supply-chain disruptions and shipping delays. Meanwhile, the conflict in Ukraine has added a new layer of uncertainty. Commercial fishing is not insulated from these national and global trends. While the maritime industry has largely moved past disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the effect of international sanctions on Russia and rising prices at home are just beginning to be felt. Understanding what’s happening and how it directly impacts the commercial maritime industry is critical to making sound financial decisions in these turbulent times. Looking Back on the Pandemic The commer...

The Loss of the Linda

I first started crab fishing in San Francisco in 1957. The next summer, I fished for salmon with my brother “Fooz” on the boat Garnet. It was a very poor salmon season, but we were able to keep food on the table for our families and put a little in the bank, too. I leased the boat Fairway for that crab season, then I bought the boat Linda, a 33-foot, San Francisco-made boat the next salmon season. It was an old wooden boat, but had a reputation as a good sea boat. It had a Lathrup Marine gas engine in it and ran well, but had a gear-driven 6 volt, 6 amp generator on it. That really does not put out enough for much more than keeping the engine running. And with an automatic pilot and running lights at nighttime, it was not enough. So come that crab season, I felt I could not go to San Fra...