Saving Seafood

  • Home
  • News
    • Alerts
    • Conservation & Environment
    • Council Actions
    • Economic Impact
    • Enforcement
    • International & Trade
    • Law
    • Management & Regulation
    • Regulations
    • Nutrition
    • Opinion
    • Other News
    • Safety
    • Science
    • State and Local
  • News by Region
    • New England
    • Mid-Atlantic
    • South Atlantic
    • Gulf of Mexico
    • Pacific
    • North Pacific
    • Western Pacific
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • Fishing Terms Glossary

Prime Time: Alaska native community proposes co-managed marine sanctuary

December 21, 2021 โ€” Citing observable and worrisome marine ecosystem changes, the Unangaxฬ‚ (Aleut) community of St. Paul Island has proposed co-management with the federal government and the community of St. George Island of a new marine sanctuary around the Pribilof Islands of Alaska, โ€œencompassing 100 nm centroid boundaries around the two inhabited islands of St. Paul and St. George,โ€ according to an official nomination proposal that was released Monday, Dec. 20.

For now, the sanctuary would be named Alagฬ‚um Kanuuxฬ‚* (pronounced ahl-ah-GOOM ka-NOH), meaning Heart of the Ocean, and encompass nearly 53,000 square miles of waters, excluding a quarter-mile buffer zone around the St. George and St. Paul Harbors and all shoreside and submerged industrial facilities on both islands. The shoreward boundary would be the mean high tide line.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

 

Maine lobsterman denied bail in federal manslaughter case

April 4, 2017 โ€” A lobsterman from Cushing will remain jailed until his manslaughter trial despite an impassioned plea to have him released to the custody and supervision of his parents.

U.S. Magistrate Judge John Rich ruled Monday that Christopher Hutchinson, 28, should not be allowed bail since he already violated conditions when he used drugs and overdosed last month.

His parents, who sat in the courtroom during the hearing in Portland, cried as the judge read his decision. As Hutchinson left the courthouse in handcuffs, he turned to them and said, โ€œIโ€™ll be all right.โ€

Hutchinson is charged with seamanโ€™s manslaughter in connection with the Nov. 1, 2014, deaths of Tom Hammond, 27, of Rockland and Tyler Sawyer, 15, of St. George. Investigators believe Hutchinson was under the influence of alcohol and opioids when he sailed his lobster boat, No Limits, into a storm, sinking it. Hutchinson was rescued by Coast Guard officials, but his crewmen, Hammond and Sawyer, did not survive.

Hutchinson was arrested in December after a lengthy investigation and posted $10,000 bail three days later with conditions that he not use substances. He violated those conditions on March 14, when he overdosed on heroin and needed to be revived with the drug Narcan.

His attorney, Michael Turndorf, said Monday that his client should be released to his parents, who would monitor him constantly and ensure that he be treated for his addiction. His mother had even taken a leave of absence from her job as a nurse.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Halsey Frank, however, argued that he didnโ€™t think Hutchinson would be able to abide by any bail condition and the judge agreed, although he commended the parentsโ€™ commitment to their son.

โ€œThe court has no doubt they will do everything in their power,โ€ he said.

The Hutchinsons declined to speak with a reporter after the hearing.

Frank, in addition to his belief that Hutchinson could not abide by conditions that he not use drugs, told the judge he had concerns that the defendant was still operating a boat, potentially putting other crew members at risk.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

Second midcoast man accused in lobster boat sinking is sentenced

March 8, 2017 โ€” A St. George man was sentenced Thursday to two years in prison for sinking a competitorโ€™s lobster boat last summer.

Vincent Hilt, 22, pleaded guilty during a hearing in Knox County Unified Court to felony charges of aggravated criminal mischief and felony theft.

Hilt is the second person convicted in the Sept. 1 sinking of the 36-foot lobster boat Oracle owned by Joshua Hupper of St. George. In January, Devlin Meklin, 21, of Warren admitted to the same charges as Hilt and was sentenced to two years with all but three months suspended.

The case against Hiltโ€™s captain โ€“ Alan B. Norwood Jr., 47, of St. George โ€“ remains pending in court. Norwood has pleaded not guilty to aggravated criminal mischief for allegedly paying Hilt $500 to sink Hupperโ€™s boat.

Hilt and Meklin both have been ordered by the court to pay restitution of $16,267 to Hupper for costs he incurred. Assistant District Attorney Jeffrey Baroody said that damages totaled more than $100,000, but insurance paid for much of that loss.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

How the privatization of our oceans is sinking fishermen

November 28th, 2016 โ€” The town of St. George, off the Bering Sea near Alaska, was long home to some of the most robust pollock fishing in the country. But due to a fishing rights management scheme called โ€œcatch shares,โ€ the town has no rights to fish its own waters and regularly watches their former industry literally pass them by.

โ€œEvery year, the industry takes about $2 billion in gains out of this fish resource on the Bering Sea,โ€ St. George Mayor Pat Pletnikoff tells Lee van der Voo in โ€œThe Fish Market.โ€ โ€œNot one plug nickel sticks to St. George.โ€

Catch shares work by dividing our oceans just like any other physical property, creating theoretical property lines. Then the rights to fish different species in various sections are awarded to applicants โ€” which could be individuals or companies โ€” based on how much fish they catch over a certain period of time. These rights are given by eight fishery councils throughout the country, which also place restrictions on how much of any species can be fished.

While catch shares are credited with greater species management โ€” the US government found in 2007 that of 230 species of fish, 92 were going quickly extinct due to overfishing โ€” the catch-shares program has virtually privatized our oceans, destroying the livelihoods of many lifelong fishermen and other small businesses in the process.

Read the full story at The New York Post 

MAINE: Lobster processing plant shuttered, up for auction

May 13, 2016 โ€” ST. GEORGE, Maine โ€” A seafood processing plant that opened less than four years ago with the hope of bolstering the lobster industry is closed and up for auction.

Sea Hag Seafoodโ€™s plant and 7.5 acres of waterfront property at the mouth of Long Cove in Tenants Harbor will go up for auction on June 17.

Kyle Murdock opened the plant in September 2012 when he 23. The projectโ€™s financing included a nearly $1.7 million loan from Camden National Bank and a $400,000 grant through the Maine Department of Economic and Community Development.

The grant money was provided to the company after it created 23 jobs for low- and moderate-income workers and after it met the terms of the federal program, said Maine DECD spokesman Douglas Ray. The town of St. George had sponsored the grant application but the town will not be liable for any repayment because the jobs were created.

Read the full story at Bangor Daily News

Recent Headlines

  • Fishermen battling with changing oceans chart new course after Trumpโ€™s push to deregulate
  • ASMFC Approves Amendment 4 to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for Northern Shrimp
  • Trump to allow commercial fishing in New England marine monument
  • California and 17 other states sue Trump administration over wind energy projects
  • Alaska Sen. Sullivan pushes U.S. government to complete key stock surveys, fight illegal fishing amid possible NOAA funding cuts
  • US senator warns of warming, plastic threats to worldโ€™s oceans and fisheries
  • Younger consumers demanding more sustainable seafood products, European Commission data finds
  • Horseshoe Crab Board Approves Addendum IX Addendum Allows Multi-Year Specifications for Male-Only Harvest

Most Popular Topics

Alaska Aquaculture ASMFC Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission BOEM California China Climate change Coronavirus COVID-19 Donald Trump groundfish Gulf of Maine Gulf of Mexico Hawaii Illegal fishing IUU fishing Lobster Maine Massachusetts Mid-Atlantic National Marine Fisheries Service National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NEFMC New Bedford New England New England Fishery Management Council New Jersey New York NMFS NOAA NOAA Fisheries North Atlantic right whales North Carolina North Pacific offshore energy Offshore wind Pacific right whales Salmon South Atlantic Western Pacific Whales wind energy Wind Farms

Daily Updates & Alerts

Enter your email address to receive daily updates and alerts:
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Tweets by @savingseafood

Copyright ยฉ 2025 Saving Seafood ยท WordPress Web Design by Jessee Productions

Notifications