Another night out under the lights. Here we have the F/V Seawave on the north end on Monteray Bay. The seiner is waiting for the light boat to build up squid and bring them to the surface. Sadly, it could be a long wait. Squid season has been a struggle this year with the warmer waters off the the California coast. Only time will time the outcome of this year's fishery. Good luck to all the other vampire fishermen out there. Best I can say, is that they are still coming. Of course, I thought there would be salmon in southeast Alaska this summer too!
The Alaskan salmon season is quickly approaching as boats prepare for the huge flood of pinks this year. The Madre Is looking good this year in Bellingham. I've always loved the name of the vessel. Loosely translated, it comes out to be the Mother Of All Destruction. At least, that's what I've heard over the years. Google translate pulls up “Sorowful Mother.” Either way it's a great name for a boat. Good luck to all the fishermen traveling north this season.
Here's another shot from Friday's unload of squid in Ventura, CA. You can see the rain clouds building in the distance. It actually dumped buckets of rain that afternoon.
Yes, that is the Pacific Pursuit! The name just changed this spring to the F/V Erin Carroll. This vessel is one of the nicer super seiners in the California fleet. The tophouse is completely surrounded in glass, offering some of the best wrap around visibility of any vessel. The rest of the boat is just as flawless and the drum seine smoothes out the entire operation. Local commercial fishermen are preparing their boats for the 2015 squid season which opened on April 1st. No squid deliveries have been made as of yet. However, last year's delivery was around the end of May. So, let's hope that squid is just around the corner.
I found some local Christmas cheer in the Fishermen's Terminal this season on a recent trip thru Ballard. Kudos to the M/V Maximo for going the distance on the Christmas spirit. Happy Holidays!
Every Christmas, Ventura Harbor lights up the local harbor with a fantastic parade of lights. Here's a shot of the squid seiner the Ocean Angel III before the big parade. It's a shame, I missed the event by one weekend. I've been so busy traveling and visiting friends for the holidays that I haven't had much internet time. Have yourself a Merry Christmas!
California lobster is in full effect on south coast. These spiny delights were discovered in Ventura Harbor during a recent offload. Sounds like 20 bucks a pound for these whoppers. #eatmoreseafood
The squid season is California is wrapping up after another banner year. This would the the 5th consecutive year that the entire quota of 118,000 tons has been caught early. Even with the El Niño trends, squid still seems to be thriving in the waters off of Caifornia. Here's a nice panorama shot as we were crusing off of Mugu Canyon.
