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 Caterpillar (1,000 hp @ 2300 rpm) w/2:1 ZF 500A marine gear; Billings Diesel & Marine Service Prop: 32″x36.5″x4 Shaft: 2-1/2″ AQ-22; R.E. Thomas Marine …
Category: December ’14
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 news became public, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) first held a press …
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 include time and area closures and trip limits that will be effective from now until at least …
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 McLaughlin’s boat Pin Wheel. Filming of the show was over for the season, so the two men …
H&H Marine keeps building ’em bigger and bigger
Thirty years or so of saying ‘Why not?’ STEUBEN, ME – “Man, that’s a big boat.” Not a very insightful statement, for sure, but it’s the first thing that came out of my mouth when I looked down into one of the hulls being finished at H&H Marine Inc. “Seventeen feet six inches wide by …
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 date from Jan. 1 to Feb. 1. The speed with which this important modification came about is a …
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. At press time, neither the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) nor ICCAT had issued details about the meeting. …
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 requirements for commercial fishing vessels. The requirements in both laws build upon the standards established in the …
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 from the air to get a sense of how many of the big fish actually were out there. …
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? Widespread local differences in nomenclature and confusion over what to call the Northeast region’s two major species of Cancer crabs led the Atlantic States Marine …
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