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Butterfish plentiful: Mid-Atlantic council green lights 22,530-mt directed fishery
FREEHOLD, NJ – At its June 10-12 meeting, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council approved specifications for the butterfish fishery that will increase allowable landings by more than 500% for the 2015-2017 fishing years and allow for the re-establishment of a substantial directed fishery. The specifications, which were in line with those recommended by the council’s …
Kelly S latest scalloper to join Starvish fleet
NEW BEDFORD, MA – Launched last year, the Kelly S is life-long fisherman Ray Starvish’s sixth new boat and likely the last he will personally commission for his fleet. The 95-footer is identical to Starvish’s Defiant, which was launched in 2002. Why the new-build now? Starvish explained that there were three reasons: He knew his …
Pioneering yellowtail video surveys show promise for more accurate fish counts
Building on more than a decade of experience conducting video surveys for Atlantic sea scallops, researchers at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) are now bringing this innovative survey technique to a new frontier. Since the spring of 2013, with considerable help from industry, the SMAST team has …
Lobster stock ‘indicators’ provide preview
ALEXANDRIA, VA – Scientists conducting the 2014 “benchmark” stock assessment for American lobsters have given the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) a “preview” of the general condition of the resource based on a set of telltale stock “indicators.” The assessment itself, which involves computer models and a thorough analysis of landings, survey, biological, environmental, …
Arthur Hancock, 78, still loves the challenge
FALL RIVER, MA – Arthur Hancock owns four Buick Roadmaster station wagons. He’s owned 10 of them over the years, but currently only has four in his possession – some of them for parts. We’re rolling through the streets of Fall River in one of them, the nearly 18-foot-long wagon cruising like a big-bellied trawler …
GUEST COLUMN – Reject distractions; fix catch shares now
by Brett Tolley Three years ago, I sat among a group of fishermen testifying before the New England Fishery Management Council that the new catch share program was not working and needed to be fixed. The fleet was consolidating, access was becoming unaffordable to owner-operators, and inshore fishing areas were coming under increased pressure. Several …
SAFE-BOAT SMART-BOAT: Abandoning ship-Surviving aboard the raft
Wrapping up this three-part series on abandoning ship, let’s focus on surviving aboard the life raft. Immediately after abandoning ship and gaining shelter in the life raft, survivors are likely to be cold, wet, exhausted and suffering from varying degrees of shock. Mental and/or physical let down leading to collapse is possible at this stage. …
BOEM readies to auction wind leases in huge WEA off Martha’s Vineyard
NEW BEDFORD, MA – About 30 people attended a June 24 public meeting convened by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to get an update on leasing plans and environmental reports for what is now the largest offshore wind energy area (WEA) in federal waters. BOEM issued a proposed sale notice on June 17, …
Vertical line rule: MA lobstermen lose big
GLOUCESTER, MA – The latest adjustment to the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (ALWTRP), published by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on June 27, includes significant new requirements that will affect many people in the lobster, fish pot, and gillnet fisheries in the Northeast and down the Atlantic coast. The so-called “vertical line …
EDITORIAL – It’s your future: Prepare for habitat hearings
Just when you thought things couldn’t get more complicated, they have. The New England Fishery Management Council is gearing up for public hearings on proposed Omnibus Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) Amendment 2. Once finalized, this massive amendment will apply to all fisheries under the council’s jurisdiction and potentially will change the very landscape of fishing …
BOATS of the YEAR 2024
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