Three crab fishermen died after their vessel capsized on Jan. 8, the Coast Guard confirmed on Wednesday.
The men were identified as James Lacy, 48, of Toms River, New Jersey; Joshua Porter, 50, of Toledo, Oregon; and Stephen Biernacki, 50, of Barnegat Township, New Jersey.
Their vessel was slammed by huge waves and ultimately capsized on Tuesday night in Newport, Oregon as it headed to Yaquina Bay.
The men’s boat, the 42-foot Mary B II, “capsized without warning, tossing two of the fishermen overboard into the stormy Pacific Ocean with reported waves of 14 to 16 feet with occasional waves of 20 feet,” the Coast Guard said in a statement.
The men had requested a Coast Guard escort across the bay, so when the boat capsized a Coast Guard boat, the 52-foot Motor Life Boat Victory, was nearby.
“The Victory’s crew immediately began searching for the fishermen, and called for more support leading to another boat crew launching aboard a 47-foot MLB and an aircrew aboard an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter from Air Facility Newport arriving on scene,” the Coast Guard stated.
The first fisherman was found in the water at 11:30 p.m., about 90 minutes after the boat capsized. Another fisherman washed ashore; both were rushed to the hospital but were declared dead.
The third fisherman was spotted within the hull of the vessel but rescuers weren’t able to extract him until Wednesday morning.
The Mary B II had been crabbing for three days before attempting to return to port with their catch. The Coast Guard is investigating what led to the capsizing.
Concerns
After news of the death emerged, it was revealed that Porter expressed concern that the other two men on board were inexperienced.
“Josh had spoken to some people on Friday that this would be his last trip on the boat and as of the 12th he had a new job lined up,” Celeste Paranto, a friend of Porter’s, told The Oregonian.
“He told friends that the crew was inexperienced. Those were his words. It’s very sad. Because he was a responsible person he went out on the trip and never returned home. I’m really having a hard time with it.”
Biernacki and Lacy, according to Taunette Dixon, president of the Newport Fishermen’s Wives group.
Thomas Molloy, Yaquina Bay Coast Guard commanding officer, said that the boat capsized after crew seemingly making a mistake.
“We got close to the entrance. I began calling and telling them they were lining up too far north—we call them the dumping grounds. Most fishermen here know to avoid them,” he said.
“The boat did not come starboard in time and was swamped. A wave washed right over the top of the pilot house. The boat was washed around the North Jetty and onto the beach.”
String of Deaths
The town of Newport has seen its share of deaths from the sea over the years.
The small town hosts a granite memorial at Yaquina Bay etched with more than 100 names of local fishermen lost at sea over the past century, reported the Associated Press.
“It happens frequently enough that we actually have funds that help families during this time. We fundraise all year long, and we try to help them as much as we can,” Dixon said. Her nonprofit supports families who lost breadwinners to the waves.
Tim Novotny, spokesman for Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission, said that the crabbing season was delayed more than a month because the crabs were too small in early December, when the season typically begins.
That prompted fishermen to work harder and longer when the season finally started.
“When they did get out, some of them had to stay out a little longer because of the weather. The difficulty is once you’re out at sea, they can handle a lot of conditions,” he said. “But the trouble is trying to get back across those bars.”
According to the AP, the danger of crossing the bar, an area near the coast where a river meets the sea, was so treacherous that it was the premise of a spin-off of the reality television show “The Deadliest Catch.”
“The fishermen and their families know all too well, unfortunately, that that danger is real. They accept the challenge because they love what they do,” Novotny said. “It’s part of who they are and what they do.”
