Captain Phil Harris Dies at 53

by admin on 02/11/2010

Captain Phil HarrisCaptain Phil Harris, one of the most famous Deadliest Catch captains died last Tuesday in Anchorage; he was 53. The captain of the Cornelia Marie had suffered a stroke on January 29 while aboard his boat and was admitted to an Anchorage hospital. He was in port on St. Paul Island and accompanied by his friend and business partner, Russ Herriot.

The Captain of the Deadliest Catch vessel has been traversing the perilous waters of the Bering Sea, illustrating to viewers the stress and danger involved with making a living in the commercial fishing industry. Deadliest Catch has become one of the top rated shows on television, and the loss of Captain Phil Harris has shook the television world as well as the lives of fans of Deadliest Catch. The hard edged Phil Harris and his husky, tattooed appearance is legendary in the world of Deadliest Catch; the Cornelia Marie is one of the four boats to be heavily featured on Deadliest Catch.

Along with the other heavily featured vessels on Deadliest Catch (The Northwestern captained by Sig Hansen, Wizard; Keith Colburn, and Time Bandit; Andy and Jonathan Hillstrand) the Cornelia Marie has become one of the most famous commercial fishing boats in the entire world. The vessel was involved in the rescue of a fellow ship by the name of Big Valley that sank in the first season drowning all but one of the crew. Captain Phil Harris joined the search for the missing sailors and caught the attention of Deadliest Catch producers.

His sons Jake and John, who work aboard the Cornelia Marie will carry on Phil Harris’ legacy as they will continue to be featured on the 6th season of Deadliest catch. Philip Harris was born on Dec. 21, 1956. His father was a fisherman, and Phil first worked on fishing boats when he was 7. Described by friends and crew members as ‘earthly and excitable’ the Deadliest Catch captain became one of the icons of the show. Entertaining; compelling; and professional, Captain Phil Harris will be missed in the world of Deadliest Catch.

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New York Enters Great Lakes Carp Fight

by admin on 01/04/2010

Asian CarpThe New York Attorney General has joined Michigan in the fight against Asian carp and for the safety of the Great Lakes. Andrew Cuomo says he’ll file a brief in U.S. Supreme Court on Monday to support Michigan’s request to sever a century-old Chicago canal that connects Lake Michigan and the Mississippi River water basin.

Many of Chicago’s neighbors including Indiana, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Ohio support the closing of the canal for the sake of the ecosystem and Michigan fishing. The Asian carp, which can grow to be 100 pounds can consume a great deal of Great Lakes plankton, the base of the ecosystem. Indiana Attorney General Greg Zoeller issued a brief to the Supreme Court in support of the lawsuit issued by Michigan attorney general Mike Cox.

“The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago have failed to halt the invasion of the Asian carp that threatens the freshwater ecosystem supporting one of the greatest fishing bodies of water on earth; and so legal action is unfortunately necessary,” Zoeller told the Northwest Indiana Times.

Last month, Metropolitan Water Reclamation District spokeswoman Jill Horist called the lawsuit “unfortunate,” and said it won’t bring a solution any sooner.

Horist claims that even if the locks to the canal were closed, that there are plenty of ways for the Asian carp as well as DNA to get through to the great lakes. Asian carp and silver carp which were brought over from Asia have been migrating north for the last few years and have recently been found in waterways that share access with the Great Lakes. The species reaching the Great Lakes could potentially devastate the ecosystem and ruin the business of Michigan fishing.

Officials poisoned a section of the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal in early December  to prevent the carp from getting closer to Lake Michigan while an electrical barrier was taken down for maintenance.

The Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago has said that closing the canal would not prevent the carp from migrating.

The future Michigan fishing and other Great Lakes fishing may be put in jeopardy, and what is becoming the biggest story this season for fishing continues to rage on.

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Michigan Sues to Keep Asian Carp out of Great Lakes

December 28, 2009

In what has become the biggest story and threat to Michigan fishing, the Asian carp invasion has caused the state of Michigan to take legal measures against Illinois. The case will be taken to the Supreme Court to potentially re-reverse the flow of the river to prevent the Asian carp from invading the Great Lakes. [...]

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Asian Carp not the Only Problem for Michigan Fishing

December 14, 2009

Fishing expeditions along the Chicago Sanitary and Ship Canal and the Calumet Sag Channel this month netted exactly one Asian carp, the voracious invasive fish officials fear could devastate the Great Lakes’ $7 billion commercial fishing industry. A $3 million dollar operation in a state already plagued by economic downturn has people wondering, but officials [...]

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Deep Freeze Means Michigan Ice Fishing

December 10, 2009

With recent highs in the 20′s it’s officially frozen in the state of Michigan. The DNR has closed open water fishing in various areas around the state, and ice fishing season might be coming up soon. Shallow lakes have started to freeze over however there is no safe ice to report. This would be a [...]

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Asian Carp Threaten Lake Michigan

November 30, 2009

DNA from an Asian Carp was found just seven miles from Lake Michigan and has conservationists, scientists, and federal officials on the offensive. The discovery means that the animal has gotten past the electric barriers constructed in hopes of keeping them out of Lake Michigan and could threaten the entire ecosystem of the great lake. [...]

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Agreement Reached for Walleye on Mullet Lake

November 19, 2009

The Michigan Department of Natural Resources and the five tribes in the 2007 Inland Consent Decree reached a resolution on Thursday to prevent the elimination of walleye fishing on Mullett Lake in (holla at) Cheboygan. The previous debate was for the lake to be catch and release only due to quotas for take home fish [...]

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DOW to Clean up Midwest Site

November 6, 2009

The world headquarters to Dow has a river running right next to it, and on that they have an annual “All Things Walleye” fishing tournament. Signs warn anglers not to eat the fish, which are contaminated with cancer-causing dioxins that the company dumped into the Tittabawassee River for most of the last century. Yet tournament [...]

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DNR nabs men fishing with gill net in Lake Mich.

November 4, 2009

ESCANABA, Mich. – State conservation officers say they caught three men fishing with an illegal gill net in Lake Michigan’s Big Bay de Noc. The men were spotted early Monday in Delta county and eventually caught with a ridiculous amount of fish caught illegally. Officers confiscated the 1,200-foot net, a boat and other gear. They [...]

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Reasons to Fear for Michigan Lakes

November 2, 2009

Thanks to oversea liners dumping contaminated ballast water into the great lakes, there are now 185 non-native species of creatures living in them. Those familiar with the current state of the Great Lakes and the surrounding lakes know that zebra muscles are the worst species that was brought from foreign liners. The creatures are now [...]

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