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Editorial
June 2008
Stellwagen fishing under attack once again
Early in May, after years of meetings, the advisory council of the Gerry E. Studds Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary released its draft management plan, laying out a policy framework for taking action over the next five years to further fulfill the mission of the sanctuary. ...continued
May 2008
Support fishermen’s health insurance bills
Right now, the fishing industry is in an extraordinary position to secure high-quality, affordable health insurance for fishing families across the nation. To make this happen, everyone involved in fishing and shoreside support businesses needs to ask their congressional representatives to co-sponsor or at least support the “Commercial Fishing Industry Health Care Coverage Act of 2008.” ...continued
April 2008
High fuel costs pose greatest threat yet
Commercial fishermen in the Northeast have proved to be incredibly resilient over the years as they have continuously adapted to ever-changing management demands. But the skyrocketing price of fuel poses a new and different kind of threat, and it is urgent that the region’s congressional delegation, state lawmakers, and fishery managers take stock of its growing affect on their constituents. ...continued
March 2008
Stability: Know the limits of your boat
The loss of the 75' New Bedford scalloper Northern Edge and five of her six crewmen on Dec. 20, 2004 was the trigger for a dramatic change in thinking about safety. The terrifying story told by sole survivor Pedro Furtado motivated fishermen from all over the region to take part in hands-on safety training sessions. ...continued
February 2008
NMFS needs to fix, not muddle EFP process
The Dec. 21 publication of a National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) proposed rule laying out new requirements for scientific research and issuing exempted fishing permits (EFPs) raises questions about the future of cooperative research. ...continued
January 2008
Hogarth improved NMFS during tough tenure
After six years at the helm, Bill Hogarth is stepping down as the head of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). In January, he will become the interim dean of the College of Marine Science at the University of South Florida. ...continued
December 2007
Disaster: NMFS needs to take another look
On Oct. 22, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) declared that there was “no fishery disaster in the Northeast for groundfishermen.” That must have come as news to the hundreds of fishermen who are bound so tightly by area closures, reduced quotas, and days-at-sea cuts that it’s becoming difficult – if not impossible – for them to leave the dock. ...continued
November 2007
DAM action threat a shocking wake-up call
The Oct. 5 publication of the feared final rule amending the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan (ALWTRP) was suddenly eclipsed on Oct. 12 by the announcement that three northern right whales had been spotted 30 nautical miles southeast of Machias, ME. ...continued
October 2007
Aquaculture: Let’s try to keep an open mind
Mention fish farming in a room full of commercial fishermen and you are bound to set off a few tempers.
Most fishermen view aquaculture warily as a potential and unwanted competitor for both market and bottom. And many of us have heard stories of the damage improperly managed large-scale aquaculture operations can do to fish habitat and wild populations. ...continued
September 2007
CFN enforcement report: Why it’s here
Based on reader feedback, one of the most widely read sections of Commercial Fisheries News is the enforcement report. And based on experience, we know that the enforcement report can both help and sometimes hurt fishermen, depending on the circumstances. So, we want our readers to know what goes into the report and why we publish it. ...continued
August 2007
IFQ, sector decisions affect all fishermen
It is not possible to overstate the significance of the decisions made at the June meeting of the New England Fishery Management Council. ...continued
July 2007
Subsidies vote puts blame where it belongs
The US Congress recently got a good education on the impact of foreign government fishing subsidies, which drive the true – and barely regulated – industrial fishing operations that have caused so much destruction in the world’s oceans. ...continued
June 2007
Amd. 16 a chance to fix groundfish discards
The June meeting of the New England Fishery Management Council is one that industry people have been both preparing for and dreading. This is when the council is expected to begin making important decisions on Amendment 16, the next phase of groundfish management. ...continued
May 2007
Strahan case against lobsterman is serious
When self-appointed “citizen prosecutor” Max Strahan sued a law-abiding Plymouth, MA lobsterman for $1.1 million dollars back in February following a whale entanglement, it seemed like such an outrageous act that we and others hoped the federal district court would move quickly to throw the case out. ...continued
April 2007
Northeast Consortium merits full funding
The Northeast Consortium, a pioneer in the cooperative fisheries research movement that is today being adopted around the county, is on the verge of having to shut down due to a lack of federal funding. It is a situation that Congress can and should reverse. ...continued
March 2007
New forum aims to help find rope that works
When it comes to making tough choices, the best source of advice is usually someone who’s been there. That’s the idea behind a new Internet forum CFN is launching early in March to encourage lobstermen to talk among themselves about rope. ...continued
February 2007
CFN: Who we are and why we’re here
The start of the New Year is traditionally a time for reflection, self-examination, and resolutions. We’ve been doing some of that here at Commercial Fisheries News, thinking about who we are, what we want to be, and about you, our readers, contributors, and advertisers, who we consider to be part of our team. ...continued
January 2007
MSA bill: There’s some good with the bad
Congress managed to pull off the last-minute passage of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) reauthorization bill in mid-December through several stunning acts of compromise on the part of some very hard-nosed lawmakers. As a result, we wound up with legislation that may not be as good as we wished, but it’s not as bad as it could have been either. ...continued
December 2006
Get ideas in now for groundfish Amendment 16
Like it or not, it’s underway. The New England Fishery Management Council has started the scoping process for Amendment 16 to the groundfish plan. ...continued
November 2006
Cooperation puts us in the driver’s seat
As individuals or organizations, when we make a decision to speak out on a fisheries issue, we can do it in one of two ways – destructively or constructively. ...continued
October 2006
Outreach the best way to ensure compliance
Compliance with harbor porpoise protection measures is down, which could be bad news for the porpoise and potentially terrible news for fishermen. ...continued
September 2006
One era ends, another begins for CFN
Astute readers may have noticed that this issue marks the beginning of Volume 34 for Commercial Fisheries News, meaning we are now into our 34th year of publishing this newspaper. ...continued
August 2006
Buyout talk triggers groundfish reality check
Groundfish fishermen who attended the 10 meetings held in late June and July to discuss an industry-funded buyout proposal came face to face with some harsh realities about the future of their fishery. ...continued
July 2006
Nelson Beideman: Leadership at its best
These aren’t the easiest times for commercial fishermen. Fuel and gear costs are rising. Waterfront access is harder to come by. Some fleets are downsizing. And fishing practices are under relentless scrutiny from environmental groups. ...continued
June 2006
New lobster reference points are good news
On May 8, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s American Lobster Management Board approved Addendum VIII to Amendment 3 of the interstate lobster plan. ...continued
May 2006
Pombo, Frank understand fishermen’s concerns
Two key congressmen came to New Bedford on April 25 to hear what New England’s commercial fishing industry had to say about the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA). ...continued
April 2006
Community helps ready us for challenges
The word community has a dual meaning. It can be the place where people live, but it also can be a group of often diverse individuals who agree to work together toward the same goal. And in that context, community can be a powerful thing. ...continued
March 2006
MA ocean bill gets a lot of things right
Over the last year, Massachusetts lawmakers have tackled the tremendous challenge of writing legislation to guide the creation of a comprehensive ocean management strategy to deal with inshore development. ...continued
February 2006
Safety drills: Conduct one before every trip
At the end of its report on the sinking of the Northern Edge, the Coast Guard offered a lengthy list of recommendations, which basically entailed having the agency acquire authority to force commercial fishermen to take more steps to save their own lives. ...continued
January 2006
How does NMFS help US fishermen at ICCAT?
After more than 20 years of strangling restrictions, US commercial swordfish and bluefin fishermen may rightly be wondering what – if anything – has been accomplished. ...continued
December 2005
Thanks for the memories: Mac McKinley retires
Back in 1973, when this newspaper was called Maine Commercial Fisheries, we got the idea that readers would appreciate some editorial humor to balance the typically serious and weighty words of our editorial page. ...continued
November 2005
Keep an eye on Magnuson-Stevens Act process
After years of simmering, the heat’s been kicked up under Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act reauthorization. Failure to keep a close eye on the process could result in the industry getting burned. ...continued
October 2005
Hurricane relief: Fishermen help fishermen
Repeated video footage of destroyed buildings and crowds of displaced people can be numbing after a few weeks. Surely by now, we may think, the survivors must be getting the help they need. But there’s nothing like cell phone conversations with a couple of fishermen from little coastal towns in Louisiana to bring home the true magnitude of the cataclysm that has struck the Gulf Coast. ...continued
September 2005
Working waterfront measures need your vote
Maine’s commercial fishing industry is hanging on by a thread. This time, the threat isn’t overfishing or heavy-handed fisheries regulations. It is the loss of access to the water by working fishermen, a consequence of soaring waterfront real estate values....continued
August 2005
Our new web site: What it is, and isn’t
The process of gathering the news hasn’t really changed very much over the three decades that we have been publishing Commercial Fisheries News. ...continued
July 2005
Cooperative research is good for industry
Cooperative research took some pretty stiff punches at a late May meeting of New Hampshire fishermen. Listening to their passionate complaints, it’s not hard to understand why they were so upset. But it’s important to put those complaints in the proper context. ...continued
June 2005
Lobster Area 2 continues effort control struggle
Lobster co-management is never easy but lobstermen’s charge to create a new effort control plan acceptable both to Area 2 stakeholders and managers has got to rank among the most difficult tasks ever undertaken by industry. ...continued
May 2005
Common sense prevails in Amd. 13 decision
At long last, a federal court judge has clearly stated that the Magnuson-Stevens Act requires federal fishery managers to achieve “a delicate balance” to end overfishing, rebuild fish stocks, and allow fishermen to continue to fish on healthy stocks. ...continued
March 2005
Safety dialogue offers chance for real change
A boat goes down and men die. Usually, there’s a period of anguished mourning and then, except for family members, things pretty much return to business as usual. But not this time. ...continued
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