Category: Jan ’15

FISH SAFE: Reducing risk – Icing by the numbers

Jan. 27, it will be eight years since the 76′ trawler Lady of Grace sank off Nantucket with her crew of four.  It is a tragedy that is still easily recalled and deeply felt by those in the port of New Bedford. Following a yearlong investigation, the Coast Guard concluded that the primary cause of …

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Landmark Lutcavage-led study shows western Atlantic bluefin mature earlier than assumed

GLOUCESTER, MA – Years of work by Molly Lutcavage, director of the Large Pelagics Research Center (LPRC) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst Gloucester Marine Research Station, on western Atlantic bluefin spawning age – a key factor in determining stock status – has finally come to fruition. With her former doctorial student Gilad Heinisch of …

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EDITORIAL – A heartfelt thank you for your support of CFN

As the year draws to a close, it seems natural to take time to consider what we’ve accomplished, the challenges on the horizon, and the people who have helped us rise above life’s difficulties to become the best we can be. And that’s what we here at CFN want to do now:  reflect, assess, and …

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Lobstermen still able to fish traps in groundfish closed areas

NEWPORT, RI – New and very severe measures to protect Gulf of Maine cod under Framework Adjustment 53 to the groundfish plan will not apply to lobstermen, who may continue to set and haul traps in groundfish closed areas. However, the issue of cod bycatch in lobster gear and the question of whether or not …

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New ‘cod protection’ closures may give fleet access to other groundfish in April

[metaslider id=5779] NEWPORT, RI – It’s far from a done deal, but if the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) approves the New England Fishery Management Council’s newly developed set of “Gulf of Maine Cod Protection Closures” as part of Framework Adjustment 53 to the groundfish plan, sector fishermen may have access to inshore areas during …

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The hard reality: GOM cod ACL may be too low for some sectors to survive

NEWPORT, RI – On Nov. 18, the New England Fishery Management Council approved a 386-metric-ton (mt) acceptable biological catch (ABC) for Gulf of Maine cod for 2015 – a figure so low that many fear it may irreversibly cripple at least part of the commercial groundfish fleet. The ABC was part of Framework Adjustment 53 …

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Col. Joe Fessenden to retire after 40 years with Maine Marine Patrol

[metaslider id=5794] HALLOWELL, ME – Col. Joe Fessenden, chief of the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) Bureau of Marine Patrol, will be stepping down from his top-command post on Jan. 9, making way for Maj. Jon Cornish, the bureau’s current deputy chief, to take over in a smooth transition that has been over a …

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LMR – Lobster industry deals with weather, holidays

The December lobster market was all about finding the odd relatively calm day when boats could get out to haul.  When they did, most did well, whether in Canada or New England. But with the year-end holidays fast approaching, and, with them, consumers, both domestic and overseas, with healthy appetites for lobsters, the number of …

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NOAA NAVIGATOR – Jan 2015

Insert to the January 2015 Commercial Fisheries News (Click Page to Download)

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