Category: August ’16

Editorial – Changing of the guard at New England council

Effective the end of this month, Pat Fiorelli, who has been the public affairs officer for the New England Fishery Management Council for nearly three decades, is leaving to begin a new chapter in her life, retirement. Stepping into her shoes is former Commercial Fisheries News Associate Editor Janice M. Plante, who has been working …

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Athearn Marine: 70 years of serving fishermen

  by Brian Robbins FAIRHAVEN, MA – It’s a few minutes before 8 am and things are quiet on Union Wharf in Fairhaven, Massachusetts.  Oh, there are sounds in the air – someone grinding a weld; a maul pounding on something substantial; a forklift being jockeyed around; a big diesel rumbling as a scalloper backs …

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Efforts to manage herring quota create bait crisis;

Maine DMR takes emergency action, explains why If you walked down any dock or into any diner where fishermen gather, you already know that the talk in early July was all about bait.  More specifically the potential lack of it and the impact on bait prices. On July 8, Meredith Mendelson, Maine Dept. of Marine …

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Mid-Atlantic council set to take final action on forage fish omnibus amendment

DOVER, DE – In August, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council is on schedule to adopt preferred alternatives for an Unmanaged Forage Fish Omnibus Amendment, the first on the East Coast, and only the second in the nation. The effort stems from the Mid-Atlantic council’s 2014-2018 strategic plan’s ecosystem planning component. The goal of the Unmanaged …

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off course – The vindication of the Wild, Wild West

  LAMOINE, ME – Violence is not the answer. But there really isn’t a better word to describe what happens when the twin turbos on the massive 12-cylinder Isotta Fraschini diesel tucked into the 28’ Wild, Wild West spool up and all hell breaks loose: it’s controlled violence, but violence nonetheless. But even while the …

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Gloucester celebrates its 86th Annual St. Peter’s Fiesta

GLOUCESTER, MA – On the last weekend in June thousands of people thronged America’s oldest fishing port for the city’s annual St. Peter’s Fiesta. The celebration honors Peter, the patron saint of fishermen, and the fishing way of life that has shaped Gloucester for nearly 400 years. On Sunday Jun. 26, following an outdoor mass, …

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