Category: March ’13

FISH SAFE – Prevent flooding: Keep an eye on your hatches

Filed under FISH SAFE, March '13, Safety

by Ann Backus – On Feb. 4, the 47′ Capt R M Chace began flooding off Chatham, MA. This story had a good ending. All four crewmembers donned survival suits and were rescued by personnel from the local Coast Guard station. The boat was dewatered and towed to port, the catch was offloaded, and the …

Guest Column – Fishermen safety Can’t beat training; attend courses – by J.J. Bartlett

Filed under Guest Column, March '13

With changes in Massachusetts and federal laws making health insurance more available to all, the Fishing Partnership Health Plan has changed its focus and its name. Now called Fishing Partnership Support Services (FPSS), our mission is to support the health and well-being of fishing families through a network of FPSS Navigators, people who are part …

Fishermen, scientists expand search for young-of-year SNE lobsters

Filed under Lobster, March '13

NARRAGANSETT, RI – Twenty one years after the first suction survey sampling in Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay of post-larval lobster settlers, known as young-of-year (YOY), Rick Wahle returned in 2011 and 2012 to resample the bay’s Southern New England nursery grounds. Despite including additional sites recommended by industry, the results were disappointing. “It was rather …

ME scallopers question area closures

Filed under March '13, Scallop

HALLOWELL, ME – Roughly 45 fishermen crowded into a room here on Feb. 12 for a meeting of the Maine Department of Marine Resource’s (DMR) Scallop Advisory Council to voice their opinions on whether or not additional restrictions were necessary for the remainder of this year’s scallop season. Maine’s 2012-2013 scallop season is offering fishermen …

Shrimp 2013: Low landings discourage fleet

Filed under March '13, Shrimp

WEST BOOTHBAY HARBOR, ME – As the month of February was drawing to a close, shrimp fishermen in Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts were still plugging along, trying to salvage what they could from the extremely slow-going and disappointing 2013 season. Shrimp were hard to come by in general, and storm after storm kept boats …

SNE/MA winter flounder: A 2013 ‘bright spot’

Filed under Fish, March '13

PORTSMOUTH, NH – Framework Adjustment 50 to the federal groundfish plan contains a new, industry-supported approach for dealing with Southern New England/Mid-Atlantic (SNE/MA) winter flounder. On Jan. 30, the New England Fishery Management Council unanimously approved four motions related to this stock. First, it adopted a new 10-year rebuilding program. Second, it endorsed an acceptable …

Cod quotas slashed to ‘unviable’ levels

Filed under Fish, March '13

PORTSMOUTH, NH – The groundfish industry has suffered through far more than its fair share of turbulent chapters over the past two decades – everything from the painful introduction of limited entry in Amendment 5 to the loss of friends who couldn’t see their way through the fleet’s steady downsizing, to the almost anarchy-like uprising …

NOAA Fisheries Navigator – March 2013

Filed under March '13, NOAA Fisheries Navigator

Insert to the March 2013 Commercial Fisheries News Contents: More Opportunities to Sustainably Harvest Swordfish Promosed Increased Quota Allows for a Directed Butterfish Fishery Collaborative Survey to Gather Black Sea Bass Assessment Data Networks Work to Cut Squid Fishery Bycatch Harbor Porpoise Closure Reminder Maine Forum Workshop: Avoiding Gear Conflicts in Newly Reopened Areas Cash …