Crab Harvesting Cooperatives Part 1

Greetings Fishies!

One of the ways that the crab fishermen are dealing with the processor stranglehold is by forming cooperatives. There are boats that began with a large amount of quota share, and some purchased, leased or sold shares. Having been restricted (unlawfully most feel) to where and when the crab can be sold, and time and vessel constraints, the industry needed some help to make this mess work. Thus the crab co-op was born.

In a co-op the members pool all of their crab quota poundage, and different boats harvest different levels and areas.

Here are some of the government regulations:

A Crab Harvesting Cooperative IFQ Permit is an annual permit that authorizes the cooperative to harvest a defined annual amount of crab during a crab fishing year (July 1 through June 30). The amount of crab authorized by the permit is derived from the aggregate IFQ amounts that would otherwise have been issued to the members of the cooperative. Each cooperative will be issued a separate IFQ permit for each type of QS held by its members.

Formation of crab harvesting cooperatives:

The following requirements apply to the formation of crab harvesting cooperatives:

A crab harvesting cooperative is limited to QS holders that hold any amount of CPO, CVO, CPC, or CVC QS, and that NMFS has determined are eligible to receive crab IFQ.

Each crab harvesting cooperative must include at least four unique QS holding entities. A unique QS holding entity is a QS holder or group of affiliated QS holders that are not affiliated with any other QS holders or QS holding entities in the crab harvesting cooperative.

Membership in a crab harvesting cooperative is voluntary. No person may be required to join a crab harvesting cooperative, and no crab harvesting cooperative may be required to accept a member who the crab harvesting cooperative chooses not to accept.

A QS holder may join one crab harvesting cooperative per CR fishery.

Upon joining a crab harvesting cooperative for a CR fishery, NMFS will convert all of a QS holder's QS holdings for that CR fishery to crab harvesting cooperative IFQ, except that after June 30, 2008, a CVC QS holder that joins a crab harvesting cooperative may retain his or her Class B IFQ from use by the crab harvesting cooperative.

A crab harvesting cooperative must meet the following legal and organizational requirements before it is eligible to apply for a crab harvesting cooperative IFQ permit:

(i) Each crab harvesting cooperative must be formed as a partnership, corporation, or other legal business entity that is registered under the laws of one of the 50 states or the District of Columbia.

(ii) Each crab harvesting cooperative must appoint an individual as designated representative to act on the crab harvesting cooperative's behalf and serve as contact point for NMFS for questions regarding the operation of the crab harvesting cooperative. The designated representative may be a member of the crab harvesting cooperative or some other individual authorized by the crab harvesting cooperative to act on its behalf.

A crab harvesting cooperative IFQ permit is an annual permit issued to a crab harvesting cooperative that establishes an annual catch limit of crab that is based on the collective QS holdings of the members of the crab harvesting cooperative that have been contributed by the members. A crab harvesting cooperative IFQ permit will list the IFQ amount, by fishery, held by the crab harvesting cooperative and identify the members of the crab harvesting cooperative. Each crab harvesting cooperative will be issued a separate IFQ permit for each type of QS held by a member (or members) of the crab harvesting cooperative.

A completed application for an annual crab harvesting cooperative IFQ permit must be submitted annually by each crab harvesting cooperative and received by NMFS no later than August 1, together with the signed annual application for crab IFQ/IPQ permit forms of all the members of the crab harvesting cooperative.

A completed application also must contain the following information:

Enter the crab harvesting cooperative's legal name; type of business entity under which the crab harvesting cooperative is organized; state in which the crab harvesting cooperative is legally registered as a business entity; printed name of the crab harvesting cooperative's designated representative; the permanent business address, telephone number, facsimile number, and e-mail address (if available) of the crab harvesting cooperative or its designated representative; and the signature of the crab harvesting cooperative's designated representative and date signed.

Full name and NMFS Person ID of each member of the crab harvesting cooperative.

For the application to be considered complete, the following documents must be attached to the application:

the completed and signed annual application for crab IFQ/IPQ permit for all members of the crab harvesting cooperative, a copy of the business license issued by the state in which the crab harvesting cooperative is registered as a business entity, a copy of the articles of incorporation or partnership agreement of the crab harvesting cooperative, and a copy of the crab harvesting cooperative agreement signed by the members of the crab harvesting cooperative (if different from the articles of incorporation or partnership agreement of the crab harvesting cooperative).

Stay tuned for part 2!

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Where do YOU fit in?

Greetings Fishies!

With the sneak previews out, past season currently running and the new season set to debut April 3, this topic was suggested to me:

Fan (person)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

A fan or supporter is someone who has an intense, occasionally overwhelming liking of a sporting club, person, group of persons, company, product, work of art, idea, or trend. Fans of a particular thing constitute its fanbase or fandom. They may start a fan club, hold fan conventions, create fanzines, write fan mail, or engage in similar activities.

In a few cases, individual fans may become so obsessed with the objects of their infatuation that they become fanboys/fangirls. These fans engage in behaviors that are considered extreme or abnormal. This includes idolatry or other forms of worship, such as creating a personal shrine dedicated to the idol at one's home, and can sometimes extend to the point of the fans become stalkers.

Characteristics of a fan

There are certain common characteristics to be found in fans interested in different topics and that these characteristics influence the behaviors of those involved in fan behavior (Thorne&Bruner 2006).

Those common characteristics include (Thorne&Bruner 2006):

• internal involvement. Fans focus more of their time and resources intently on a specific area of interest than a non-fan would, and are not significantly concerned if non-fans (including family or friends) don't derive pleasure from the area of interest. Fans usually have a strong enough interest that small to major changes in their lifestyles are made to accommodate devotion to the focal object.
• desire for external involvement - are motivated to demonstrate their involvement with the area of interest through certain behaviors (attending conventions, posting online, etc.)
• wish to acquire - fans tend to express a strong desire to possess material objects related to the area of interest.
• desire for social interaction with other fans. This again may take many forms, from casual conversation, e-mail, chat rooms, and electronic mailing lists to regular face-to-face meetings such as fan club meetings and organized conventions.

There are several groups of fans that can be differentiated by the intensity level of their level of involvement or interest in the hobby (level of fanaticism) (Thorne&Bruner 2006).

The likelihood for a subject of interest to be elevated to the level of fandom appears to be dictated by its complexity. Complexity allows further involvement of fans for a longer period of time because of the time needed to work the subject of interest 'out.' It also contributes to a greater sense of belonging because of the mental effort invested in the subject.

Fan vs. fanatic

The difference between a fan and a fanatic is that while both have an overwhelming liking or interest in a given subject, behavior of a fanatic will be viewed as violating prevailing social norms, while that of a fan will not violate those norms (although is usually considered unusual). (Thorne&Bruner 2006)

Fixation may refer to the following:

• In human psychology, fixation refers to the state where an individual becomes obsessed with an attachment to another human, animal or inanimate object. A Freudian belief that, if during one of the psychosexual stages of development, a person did not receive appropriate gratification during a specific stage, or that a specific stage left a particularly strong impression, that person's personality would reflect that particular stage throughout their adult life.

Fanaticism is an emotion of being filled with excessive, uncritical zeal, particularly for an extreme religious or political cause, or with an obsessive enthusiasm for a pastime or hobby.

According to philosopher George Santayana, "Fanaticism consists in redoubling your effort when you have forgotten your aim"; according to Winston Churchill, "A fanatic is one who can't change his mind and won't change the subject".

The difference between a fan and a fanatic is that while both have an overwhelming liking or interest in a given subject, behaviour of a fanatic will be viewed as violating prevailing social norms, while that of a fan will not violate those norms (although is usually considered unusual).

A fanatic differs from a crank in that the latter term is typically associated with a position or opinion which is so far from the norm as to appear ludicrous and/or provably wrong, while the subject of the fanatic's obsession may well be "normal", with only the scale of involvement being abnormally disproportionate.

"Crank" is a pejorative term for a person who

1. holds some belief which the vast majority of his contemporaries would consider false,
2. clings to this belief in the face of all counterarguments or evidence presented to him.

The term implies that

1. a "cranky" belief is so wildly at variance with some commonly accepted truth as to be ludicrous,
2. arguing with the crank is useless, because he will invariably dismiss all evidence or arguments which contradict his cranky belief.

Common synonyms for "crank" include kook and crackpot. The crank differs from the fanatic in that the subject of the fanatic's obsession is not necessarily widely regarded as wrong, or a "fringe" belief.

Stay tuned!

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In Dutch, there’s no business like show business.

Hello Fishies!

In the latest issue of Pacific Fishing Magazine, there is an interesting article by Ann Touza. Ann is the former managing editor of the Dutch Harbor Fisherman. Here are some excerpts:

In Dutch, there’s no business like show business.

Deadliest Catch is one of the top shows in cable, says Doug Stanley, one of the producers and director of photography. “It’s a monster worldwide.”

The third season (or fourth if you count the three hour forerunner) begins this April and will kick off with highlights from the best episodes.

When asked how long the Discovery Channel plans on returning to film, Stanley says that is unknown. The number of viewers continues to increase, particularly the number of young male viewers.

“It is not about fishing, but about the people who fish,” Stanley said. “and they are very interesting and exceptional characters.”

The show has become so popular that “people are talking about them in small villages in the rainforests of Brazil,” Stanley said. He added that the show is also very popular with American soldiers in Iraq.

For viewers and fishermen alike the excitement continues, Stanley said. Every time a crab pot is pulled, “It’s kind of like pulling the handle on a slot machine; you never know what is going to come up.”

When asked how they decided which boats to film, Stanley says they are looking for “a variety and range of characters.”

“We want the viewers to care about the people,” adding that regulars like Sig Hansen get “horrendous amounts of fan mail.”

The Discovery Channel crew was expected to remain in the community for some months. “We are at the whim of the season and the vessels chosen.”

With the slow pace of this year’s opilio season, it may take some time to get what they need.

*********

The two hour highlight episode of Season 2 airs March 27.

Stay tuned!

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Finding Nemo at the Sushi Bar

Hello Fishies!

Forgive me for indulging my warped sense of humor.....


Stay tuned!

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The Alaska Fishermen's Fund

Hello Fishies!

Here is information regarding a little known program:

Established in 1951, the Fishermen's Fund provides for the treatment and care of Alaska licensed commercial fishermen who have been injured while fishing on shore or off shore in Alaska.

Benefits from the Fund are financed from revenue received from each resident and nonresident commercial fisherman's license and permit fee.

The Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development oversees administration of the program with the assistance of the Fishermen's Fund Advisory and Appeals Council.

The council is composed of the Commissioner or his designee, who serves as chairman, and five members appointed by the Governor.

Crewmembers with injury or illness directly connected to operations as a commercial fisherman must hold valid commercial fishing licenses or limited entry permits before the time of injury or illness to qualify for benefits. Note: Eligibility of a limited entry permit holder is based on the embossed date of the permit, not the date on which it was paid or when payment was received.

Onset of injury or illness must be onshore in Alaska or on Alaska waters.

Initial treatment must be received within 60 days after onset of injury or illness.

An application must be submitted within one (1) year after initial treatment.

Each treatment must be documented by a medical chart note and submitted.

For more information visit this site:

What is the Fishermen's Fund?

Stay tuned!

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Housekeeping Items

Hello Fishies!

Some “housekeeping” items needed attention.

Fishies – As in a school of fish. My aim is to help educate those of you who are not familiar with the intricacies of the commercial fishing industry. Additionally, the editors of the show have taken such insane license with the truth; some of you like to know what really is going on.

Stay tuned – Have a look at the Discovery Channel’s main page for the Deadliest Catch. The phrase is used repeatedly.

Contacting me – As some of you know, you may use the comments section of the blog to send me information. The private messages are “rejected” as that is the way that the Blogger site has it set up. Please don’t take that personally.

Anonymous – Some of the comments that I have allowed can give you a pretty good idea of just how hysterical some of the posters are. The threatening ones have been sent to the proper authorities, hence the need to register.

Now, about my identity. I have covered that in an earlier blog posting. My name would mean nothing to you, so stop with the rank speculation and finger pointing. Quit picking on people who have nothing to do with this and be aware that some of my contacts would refuse to speak to me if my identity were known. My business takes me from the Aleutian Chain to northern California. I have ongoing contact with fish buyers and processors, skippers and deck crews, vessel systems repairmen and machinery maintenance, the crews of fishing boats and canneries, boat unloaders, members of the media, lobbyists and barkeeps. Some just want more information to be out about the rest of the fishing world, others are tired of the bs. They are all a fount of information and I need to protect them.

Speaking of protection, I refuse to divulge any of the inside information that I have on the members of the television show. What I have posted about the show participants is based on their actions as it relates to the show and fishing. If you go back and read my earlier blog posts with a clear and unbiased eye you will see that.

The personal attacks and muckraking that goes on via forums and boards is reprehensible. Would you like some one else’s version of your life blatted out? Shame on those who attempt to demean the men and women of the show by airing possible dirty laundry, some are obviously jealous, others are unstable. But even more shame should be laid on the shoulders of those who own or moderate those boards for allowing it to happen.

Now back to our regular scheduled programming….

Stay tuned!

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Nautical Mile

Hello Fishies!

This may be more information than you ever wanted to know about a common term:

1 nautical mile = 1853 meters = 2000 yards = 6080 feet

Now for those of you with a math or science background:

From a Forum By Trevor Kenchington

Contrary to some earlier replies, a nautical mile is (or was) the length of a minute of latitude at the latitude in question, not at the equator. (Since the Earth isn't a perfect sphere, the length on the surface that is subtended by a degree or a minute of latitude decreases slightly towards the poles and the length of a nautical mile decreases with it.) The confusion may have arisen because a "geographic mile", a rarely used unit, is the length of a minute of _longitude_ on the equator. As someone has already noted, a nautical mile is approximately 6080 English feet and that is often useful as a working measurement. I noted above that the definition of "nautical mile" might no longer be the same because, around 25 years ago, it was admitted as a metric unit under the System Internationale (SI). Since the original designers of the metric system, back in about 1780, got their calculations wrong, distances in kilometres cannot readily be related to the spherical geometry used in navigation. [Maybe the idea was that one-kilometer should have been the distance subtended by one centigrade or 1/100 or 1/100 of a right angle, meaning that 10,000 km would have equaled 3,600 nautical miles, though that implies an unbelievably large error.] So, sometime in the 1970s, the committees, which control SI, were persuaded to accept the nautical mile as a valid unit. Unfortunately, they gave it the singularly silly abbreviation "M", which, in their unlimited wisdom, they knew nobody could confuse with "m" for metre. I have only seen that used once, by a Russian scientist, and it sure confused me!

While there are 3600 seconds in a degree, there are (of course!) 5400 minutes in a right angle. Thus, 10,000 km should be equal to 5400 nautical miles, if the former was defined correctly and the world was a perfect sphere. That makes 1.85185... (the three figures go on recurring into infinity), which suggests that the people who marked the metal bar to define the metre had their dimension very close indeed -- and did not make the substantial error that I suggested in my last.

The nautical mile was originally defined as one minute of angle of the Earth's meridian. Since the meter originally was defined as a 10.000.000 part of the distance from Equator to the pole, it follows that a nautical mile is 10000000/5400 = 1851,851851... meters.

Stay tuned!

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Nautical Terms

Hello Fishies!

There are many terms that you read and/or hear that you may not know the meaning of. I thought that the following might be of help to you:

Aft - Towards the stern or rear of the vessel.

Ahoy - A cry to draw attention.

Amidships or midships - In the middle portion of ship, along the line of the keel.

Anchor's aweigh - Said of an anchor when just clear of the bottom.

Astern - Toward the stern.

Bar - Large mass of sand or earth, formed by the wave action of the sea. They are primarily found at the entrances of rivers, and often make navigation extremely dangerous, but once inside the waters are usually calm.

Beam - The beam of a ship is its width at the widest point.

Booby - A type of bird that has little fear and therefore is particularly easy to catch, hence booby prize.

Buoy - A floating object of defined shape and color, which is anchored at a given position and serves as an aid to navigation. It also marks the location of certain gear used in commercial fishing.

Bow - The front of a ship.

Bridge - A structure above the weather deck, extending the full width of the vessel, which houses a command center.

Bulkhead - An upright wall within the hull of a ship.

Bunked - One's afflicted disposition after being talked to by a driveling idiot. (The way I feel after reading a lot of the internet postings about commercial fishing).

Cleat - A stationary device used to secure a rope aboard a vessel.

Coaming - The raised edge of a hatchway used to help keep out water.

Compass - Navigational instrument designed to show the direction of travel.

Decks - the structural part of the boat which forms the horizontal surfaces.

Draft - The depth of a ship's keel below the waterline.

Fathom - A unit of length equal to 6 feet. This roughly measures as the distance between a man's outstretched hands.

Fender - An air or foam filled bumper used in boating to keep boats from banging into docks or each other.

Flank - The maximum speed of a ship. Faster than "full speed".

Forecastle - A partial deck, above the upper deck and at the head of the vessel; traditionally the sailors' living quarters.

Founder - To fill with water and sink

Fore - Towards the bow or front of the vessel.

Freeboard - The height of a ship's hull (excluding superstructure) above the waterline. This usually varies from one part to another.

Gaff - A long hook with a sharp point to haul fish in.

Galley - the kitchen of the ship

Harbor - A harbor is a place where ships may shelter from the weather, anchor, or are stored. Harbors can be man-made or natural.

Head - The toilet or latrine of a vessel.

Heave - A vessel's up-and-down motion.

Hold - The lower part of the interior of a boat's hull, used as storage space, as for cargo.

Hull - The shell and framework of a vessel.

Icing - A serious hazard where cold temperatures combined with high wind speed result in spray blown off the sea freezing immediately on contact with the ship.

Keel - The central line of the hull, running from the bow to the stern. It is the foremost item in ship construction – as in “laying a keel”.

Keelhauling - Maritime punishment: to punish by dragging under the keel of a ship.

League - A unit of length, normally equal to three nautical miles.

Line - the correct nautical term for the majority of the cordage or "ropes" used on a vessel. A line will always have a more specific name, such as mizzen, topsail, or halyard, which describes its use.

List - The vessel's angle of lean or tilt to one side, in the direction called roll.

Radar - An electronic system designed to transmit radio signals and receive reflected images of those signals from a "target" in order to determine the bearing and distance to the "target".

Radar reflector - A special fixture fitted to a vessel or incorporated into the design of certain aids to navigation or fishing gear, to enhance their ability to reflect radar energy.

Reef - Rock or coral, often only revealed at low tide and shallow enough that a vessel will at least touch if not go aground.

Scuppers - An opening on the side rail that allows water to run off the deck.

Splice - To join lines (ropes, cables etc.) by unraveling their ends and then weaving them back together to form a continuous line.

Stern - The rear part of a ship.

Weigh anchor - To pull up the anchor preparatory to sailing.

Knot - a unit of speed, one knot = 6,076 feet per hour

Painter - a line tied to the bow of a small boat for the purpose of securing it to a dock or to the shore

Starboard - the right side of the boat

Port - the left side of the boat

Lazarette - spaces below the deck that are designed for storage

Stay tuned!

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Another Boat Dog!

Greetings Fishies!

Word has come my way that the TimeBandit now has a boat dog. I don’t have any of the details as to breed, name etc. I hope that Discovery will show this dog as well as Taz of the Maverick.

I want to clear something up that I posted a while back about the TB. Seems there was some confusion. The Hillstrand brothers sold almost all of their king crab quota. There was a rumor that they informed their crew via text message, and yet another rumor that they allowed the boys to get all the way up to the boat before they were told. Either way, the crew you knew will not be on the back deck.

Its my understanding that the TimeBandit's boat website was created and managed by Mike Fourtner. Since he appears to no longer be employed by the TB, that may be the reason you can no longer access the site.

The TB was slated to be a secondary boat in the television series for king crab as they had almost no king crab to catch. At the last minute they leased some quota. I do not know if this will bring them from secondary to main or not. Editing will tell…..

Stay tuned!

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Yahoo Buckaroo!

Hello Fishies!

Ok that title really belongs to Hiram, but after last night’s viewing of the National Geographic Channel’s Cowboys of the Sea, I just had to use that!

It was great fun to sit here with my fishermen friends and family exclaiming “Hey! There is the Triumph!” Or, “Look! Look! That is so-and-so!” Of course, given the company I keep, there was also a running commentary about the men, the boats and the fish cops.

Yes, it was most definitely patterned after the Deadliest Catch, but I can forgive that. What’s that line about mimicry being the sincerest form of flattery? It was a treat to see the Bristol Bay gillnet fishery finally televised. I know that those who live and work there were thrilled to see Naknek “put on the map”.

Oddly enough, the gill netters are made up mainly of school teachers and college students. While there are a few full time professional fishermen in the mix, it is an exception rather than the rule. The deck crew, or pickers or pullers as they are known, can be the place that those of you aspiring to become fishermen on the big boats can start.

Stay tuned!

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