December 2014

Dec-14 cover


New Boat: Jessica Laura

Builder: Wesmac Custom Boats, Surry, ME Finisher: SW Boatworks, Lamoine, ME Owner: Jim Poole, Vinalhaven, ME   Dimensions: 46'x14'6"x4'11" Fishery: Lobster Hull: Solid fiberglass Top: Molded unit; foam cored Power: C18 ...


It’s a reality now: Gulf of Maine cod under emergency restrictions

GLOUCESTER, MA – Everyone knew it was coming, but the official Nov. 10 announcement of emergency closures and trip limits to further protect Gulf of Maine cod still hit people with hurricane force.  The details were just so severe. The day the ...


Raised gillnets could help fishermen avoid cod

The details were news, but the impact had been expected for months now.  On Nov. 10, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Regional Administrator John Bullard announced in-season actions to reduce fishing pressure on Gulf of Maine cod that in...


Wind, waves sink Miss Sambvca: A harrowing account of the rescue

GLOUCESTER, MA – On the evening of October 19, Tyler McLaughlin of the National Geographic Channel’s hit television series “Wicked Tuna” and his mate, Stephen Field, were fishing for bluefin tuna about 10 miles east of Gloucester on McLaughli...


H&H Marine keeps building ’em bigger and bigger

Thirty years or so of saying ‘Why not?’ STEUBEN, M...


EDITORIAL – Whale rule change shows that cooperation works

On Nov. 6, barely four months after announcing the latest adjustment to the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) published a proposed rule to change the Massachusetts Restricted Area closure start dat...


ICCAT adopts higher quotas for western, eastern bluefin tuna

GENOA, ITALY – The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) concluded its annual meeting here on Nov. 17 and adopted, with overwhelming support, increases in both the western and eastern Atlantic bluefin tuna quotas. ...


SAFE-BOAT SMART-BOAT: Update on fishing vessel safety requirements

On Dec. 20, 2012, President Obama signed the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2012 (CGMTA).  This law made some significant changes to the US Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010 (CGAA), which established safety and equipment requirem...


Lutcavage team to use ‘hexacopter’ drones to survey bluefin tuna

GLOUCESTER, MA – Back in 1993, Molly Lutcavage, then a scientist at the New England Aquarium, launched one of the region’s first cooperative research programs, working with fishermen and spotter pilots to photograph Atlantic bluefin tuna schools ...


ASMFC moves forward with Jonah crab plan

MYSTIC, CT – If Jonah crabs are one thing and rock crabs are another, then what’s a sand crab or a grass crab or, especially in Maine, a peekytoe crab? Rhode Island fisherman Brian ...


Shrimping moratorium continues for 2015 season

PORTLAND, ME – Despite calls from industry for a 500-metric-ton (mt) research program or, alternatively, a very short shrimp season to at least provide a limited amount of product for consumers, things didn’t turn out that way, to no one’s real...



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