From the Editor – Page 3 – Fishermens News

6Jul

By Mark Edward NeroNo Comments

From the Editor: Onboard AI

Could artificial intelligence soon play a substantial role when it comes to counting catch and bycatch onboard commercial fishing vessels? Well, it might not be right around the corner, but it’s something that appears to be on the horizon. A startup co-founded by three people -- two former University of British Columbia students and one from Dalhousie University -- is working on a monitoring system that uses video and artificial intelligence to better calculate catch and bycatch for commercial fishing boats. The startup, called OnDeck Fisheries AI, is the brainchild of former UBC students Alexander Dungate and Sepand Dyanatkar, along with ex-Dalhousie student Matthew Leighton. Alexander holds a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science + Biology from the University of British Colu...

1Jun

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Fishermen's News Online, From the Editor

From the Editor: ‘A Scallop Disco’

By Mark Edward Nero According to a recent article in the British newspaper The Guardian, a new and unorthodox fishing technique is not only effective when it comes to catching scallops, but could also help preserve fragile seafloors. And it involves use of disco-like LED lights to attract fish. The article, which was published May 18, says the discovery occurred when marine scientist Dr. Rob Enever and his team at Fishtek Marine, a southwest England-based fisheries consultancy, designed small underwater lights to help protect fish stocks by replacing the need to use fish to bait crab and lobster pots. “The lights were supposed to attract crabs into the pots. But quite unexpectedly, scallops, which can have up to 200 eyes, were more attracted to the LED lights, the article states. ...

From the Editor: Fishing Vessel Tracking

4May

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From the Editor: Fishing Vessel Tracking

Could there be more government regulations for fishing vessels on the horizon? At least one environmental group hopes so, and is even advocating for it. An analysis released in mid-April by the non-profit conservation organization Oceana has put a spotlight on America’s requirements for transparency of fishing vessels. Specifically, the study says the U.S. falls short of other countries’ requirements. This, according to Oceana, reinforces the need for the U.S. government to expand regulations and require more fishing vessels to use public tracking devices enabled by automatic identification system (AIS), which was originally developed to increase maritime safety, reduce vessel collisions, and enhance awareness of vessel locations at sea. Over time, however, AIS has also become a t...

9Mar

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From the Editor: Safety First

As anyone who’s worked on a fishing boat, or has spent a substantial amount of time around the commercial fishing industry knows, good safety practices are vital for a working vessel. It should come as no surprise to regular readers of this magazine that the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has long stated that commercial fishing is one of the most dangerous occupations in the U.S. “Many commercial fishing operations are characterized by hazardous working conditions, strenuous labor, long work hours and harsh weather,” a statement on NIOSH’s website declares. The institute maintains the Commercial Fishing Incident Database (CFID), a surveillance system for workplace fatalities in the commercial fishing industry in the United States. And data from the d...

5Jan

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From the Editor: Cook Inlet Fishing

A decision that was finalized by federal regulators a couple of months ago is likely to have very negative ramifications for anglers in Cook Inlet, and in my opinion, should be rescinded before it goes into effect during the upcoming salmon season. In November, a rule was finalized by NOAA Fisheries that prohibits commercial salmon fishing in the federal waters of Cook Inlet during the 2022 salmon season. The area, which is three nautical miles to 200 nautical miles off Alaska, is referred to as the Cook Inlet Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The State of Alaska would continue to manage Cook Inlet salmon fishery sectors within state waters, from the shoreline to three nautical miles out. The measure will be in place for the 2022 Cook Inlet EEZ commercial salmon fishery. It affects t...

1Dec

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From the Editor: OC Fishing Reopens

The commercial fishing industry in Southern California received some good news in late November when the state Department of Fish and Wildlife reopened an area that had been closed for nearly two months due to an oil spill off the coast of the Orange County city of Huntington Beach. The closure, which was officially lifted at midday on Nov. 30, began on Oct. 3. It prohibited the take of all fish and shellfish from Huntington Beach to Dana Point, including the shorelines and offshore areas and all bays. At the time of the closure, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) had determined that a threat to public health from consuming fish in the affected area was likely. On Oct. 5 and Oct. 7, the original closure area was expanded to include about 650 square miles ...

24Nov

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From the Editor: PME Recap

If you were fortunate enough to attend this year’s Pacific Marine Expo, I hope that you found the experience both productive and informative. Since it’s one of the largest and longest running commercial fishing and commercial marine trade shows on the West Coast, I had planned to be there on the first day of the show, Nov. 18, in Seattle. But then something happened. A few hours before my flight, I woke up with a horrible feeling in my midsection that turned out to be food poisoning. The day before, I ate something that I’d grabbed the back of the ‘fridge, and that something had an expiration date that had already passed a few days earlier. (No, it wasn’t fish.) So rather than get on a flight to Seattle and risk upsetting the boiling cauldron that my stomach had become, I stayed b...

10Nov

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From the Editor: Pacific Marine Expo

As you may know if you’re involved in the commercial fishing industry, one of the largest and longest running commercial fishing and commercial marine trade shows on the West Coast, Pacific Marine Expo, takes place Nov. 18-20 in Seattle. And this year, for the first time ever, Maritime Publishing will be in attendance. As a reminder, San Diego-based Maritime Publishing took ownership of Fishermen’s News as well as its sister publication, Pacific Maritime, several months ago. Maritime’s parent company is Training Resources Limited Maritime Institute, or TRLMI, a San Diego-based technical school that offers U.S. Coast Guard-approved courses for both professional and recreational mariners. Members of TRLMI staff will be manning Booth 220 during this year’s expo, and tagging along at the...

From the Editor: SoCal Commercial Fishing is in Crisis

6Oct

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From the Editor: SoCal Commercial Fishing is in Crisis

Before this summer, commercial fishing in Southern California was already at a disadvantage compared to other areas along the West Coast due to various factors. But the massive oil spill off the coast of Orange County in early October, in addition to an acute backlog of dozens of container ships anchored near the Long Beach and Los Angeles seaports, may be helping put the SoCal commercial fishing industry in a state of crisis. It truly doesn’t bode well for commercial fishing communities in Los Angeles and Orange counties if the fishing waters off the coast are soiled by thick globs of oil. Not to mention the fact that shipping lanes are so clogged that ultra-large container vessels have to drop anchor in and around those lanes several nautical miles before they arrive at their desti...

1May

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From the Editor

A new beginning…and a continuation. That’s what this issue of Fishermen’s News represents. First, it’s a new beginning because the magazine has changed ownership. As you may know, Philips Publishing has sold the magazine to San Diego-based Maritime Publishing. Maritime Publishing is a division of Training Resources Limited, the largest privately held provider of maritime training in the Western United States. The magazine’s new publisher is Dave Abrams, the CEO of Training Resources Maritime Institute. He’s a former U.S. Navy Surface Warfare Officer and a certified instructor with the National Safe Boating Council, as well as an authorized instructor for the USCG Auxiliary Boating Skills & Seamanship program. So why would Dave enter publishing? His interest arose out of a desire to ...