Category: 2016

FISH SAFE: A November to-do list

Get boat, gear, and house in order Spending less time on the water now that the sun goes down early? If you don’t follow the lobsters out to their offshore hideouts in the winter months, or get ready to head south for warmer weather, you probably have developed a number of tasks that you like …

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New England council makes progress on Deep Sea Corals Omnibus Amendment

Danvers, MA – As of the Sept. 20-22 New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) meeting, two of the major delays to progress on the Deep Sea Corals Omnibus Amendment have been resolved, allowing the Plan Development Team (PDT) to move forward on the draft environmental assessment.  Deep sea corals are slow-growing, fragile deep water animals …

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NOAA Fisheries Navigator – November 2016

EXCLUSIVE 4-Page Insert from the November 2016 edition of Commercial Fisheries News NOTE TO READERS — There is a significant error in the Windowpane Accountability Measures article on page 2 of this month’s PRINT version of the Navigator.  It says “…therefore scallop vessels cannot use dredge gear in the area west of 71 [deg] W. longitude for …

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Product News: Friendship Trap’s GorillaWood runners

FRIENDSHIP, ME – Friendship Trap Company (FTC) refers to its new GorillaWood trap runners as being made from “the toughest species in the jungle.” FTC did extensive research to find the best junglewood to use in tough marine environments – and the result bears the GorillaWood name. Its high silica content makes it naturally resistant …

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Product News: N-Viro scallop dredge

PEMBROKE, ME – Now available in the US, N-Viro Dredge is a Scottish-born and patented product that harvests scallops from the seabed using spring tines rather than cutting bars. These tines allow non-targeted species or juvenile stocks to pass under the dredge and not end up in the bag or belly to be crushed or …

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Product News: ProtectPak recyclable packaging

GARDNER, MA – An interesting innovation in seafood packaging is now available: fluted polypropylene boxes manufactured by ProtectPak. These boxes were developed by longtime packaging people in response to both shippers and seafood end users.  Both groups were disappointed by the lack of innovation in available packaging and the fact that nearly all of the …

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Product News: Guy Cotten foul weather gear joins fight against breast cancer

NEW BEDFORD, MA – Guy Cotten USA has recently signed a marketing agreement with the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF) to help promote the fight against breast cancer.  Guy Cotten will donate 5% of US sales of their popular rain gear, fleece wear, and boots to BCRF. The company will also create a whole new …

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A much needed revolution in fishery stock assessment

Dr. Kevin Stokesbury is about to turn the world of fishery stock surveys on its head. Fishermen have long maintained the NMFS stock assessment for Atlantic cod is out of touch with reality.  Commercial boats fishing for healthy stocks such as pollock and haddock are finding codfish so plentiful they can’t keep them out of …

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Wheel-Watch: Rest in peace, Bigger Dirls

 The loft of 56-year-old Jonesport lobsterman Stevie Carver’s house is chock full of happy memories and good vibes. The walls and ceilings are adorned with treasures – each with their own story: old oars; buoys; a gaft here; running lights there … and so many pictures – from faded black and whites (soul makes up …

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Therese Sauvageau: Half a century a lobsterwoman

A conversation with Therese Sauvageau, lobsterwoman of Beverly, MA, and delegate to the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) board of directors, on her fifty years of lobstering. –Editor   BEVERLY, MA – “Everything was just simpler then,” says Therese Sauvageau, who started her career as a ten-year-old hanging out at the docks. “And less expensive, too.  …

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