Commercial Fisheries News is the Northeast’s commercial fishing industry newspaper. Published monthly, CFN provides the latest waterfront news along with coverage of the state and federal rules and regulations affecting the harvest of all the region’s major species. Regular features include lobster and fish market reports, a safety column, new boats, the enforcement report, and the popular and effective Classifieds.

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FISH-SAFE: The mayday distress call – Where it originated, when to use it, and when not to

Before the mayday distress call existed, that is before the radio as we know it was in use, telegraph operators used the Morse Code signal — three dots, three dashes, three dots — to communicate distress.  The sound of the tapped dots and dashes are often expressed as dih, dih, dih, dah, dah, dah, dih, …

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NOAA Fisheries Navigator December 2020

EXCLUSIVE 4-Page Insert from the DECEMBER 2020 edition of Commercial Fisheries News > Click page below to download .pdf file (2mb) <

NOAA Fisheries Navigator October 2020

EXCLUSIVE 4-Page Insert from the OCTOBER 2020 edition of Commercial Fisheries News > Click page below to download .pdf file (2mb) <

NOAA Fisheries Navigator August 2020

EXCLUSIVE 4-Page Insert from the AUGUST 2020 edition of Commercial Fisheries News > Click page below to download .pdf file (2mb) <

FISH SAFE: Pandemic stress is real, but fishermen finding ways  to cope, survive, push forward through COVID-19

We can always count on the fact that the full moon of August, the Sturgeon Moon, will give way to the full moon of September, the Corn Moon. It happens every year with astronomical consistency in the heavens. But here in 2020, on earth versus the heavens, any consistency we expected in past years – …

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FISH-SAFE: Vessel incidents and economic impact – Any relationship?

The fishing industry, as we all know, was hit hard beginning this past March when the COVID-19 pandemic really took hold in the US. While federal and state governments identified and designated fishing as an “essential industry” – one that could remain open while others had to shut down – the supply chains associated with fishing …

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NOAA Fisheries Navigator June 2020

EXCLUSIVE 4-Page Insert from the JUNE 2020 edition of Commercial Fisheries News > Click page below to download .pdf file (2mb) <

FISH-SAFE: Fishing industry during COVID-19: Essential, but paralyzed?

What do you do when your industry is categorized “essential” — along with agriculture, pharmacies, grocery stores, manufacturing, and hospitals — but your supply chain is disrupted? You adapt.  Something that fishermen here are good at, though no one has ever seen anything quite like this. On Mar. 15, Gov. Janet Mills of Maine declared …

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NOAA Fisheries Navigator April 2020

EXCLUSIVE 4-Page Insert from the APRIL 2020 edition of Commercial Fisheries News > Click page below to download .pdf file (2mb) <

FISH-SAFE: A review of 2019 casualties from the Coast Guard database 

When we reflect back on the past year in the region’s commercial fishing industry, we first remember those whom we lost. It was a difficult year. There are eight families and numerous friends who lost fishermen from our area in 2019.  These folks have endured difficult changes in their lives and have had to make …

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