National Fisherman articles from March 2009

National Fisherman archives from March 2009

March 2009: this month's highlights.(The hail)
March 1, 2009... The late Hunter S. Thompson once gloomily observed that mankind had sunk to the point where "sex was death and rain was poison." More recently, we achieved a depth--from our perspective, if not the crustacean-loving public's--where lobsters...

Sustainability: our way of life.(VIEWS from Alaska)
March 1, 2009... The word sustainability is a lot like the word change. Both are buzzwords for big political or social movements. They're used so often we've lost sight of what they mean. Today, there are more than 30 organizations around the world that...

Safety must be first.(Editor's log)
March 1, 2009... The loss of the Gloucester, Mass., dragger Patriot in early January with two aboard gets at what is wrong with fishing in the age of regulation. And that is this: When it comes to fishery management, the government is driven by two primal...

Fishing back when.(NF classics)
March 1, 2009... 50 YEARS AGO Capt. Ralph Wooster (left) of Camden, Maine, has his left hand on the throttle, his right hand on the wheel and his left foot on the winch brake as shipmate Herbert Berry picks up the first basket of scallops in Penobscot Bay....

Great-grandson of British Columbia boatbuilder writes Wahl family history.(Fo'c'sle library)
March 1, 2009... Legacy in Wood The Wahl Family Boat Builders By Ryan Wahl Harbour Publishing, 2008 Hardcover, 222 pp., $32.95 www.harbourpublishing.com [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It's not every day you get to hold a museum exhibit in...

Safety course handbook enables skippers, deckhands to know the drill.(Fo'c'sle library)(The Nautical Road: The Commercial Fisherman's Drill Conductor's Course - A Course Designed to Save Your Life at Sea)(Book review)
March 1, 2009... The Nautical Road The Commercial Fisherman's Drill Conductor's Course--A Course Designed to Save Your Life at Sea By Captain Herman Dorrance Publishing, 2008 Hardcover, 110 pp., $18 www.dorrancebookstore.com...

All hands on the stacked deck!(From Another Perspective)(individual fishing quotas)
March 1, 2009... The latest in the Chicken Little litany of the supposed problems with our oceans is a report by an Environmental Defense "working group" titled Oceans Of Abundance. The group, co-chaired by Bruce Babbitt, secretary of the interior under...

Gillnetta.(Dock talk)(Poem)
March 1, 2009... Gillnetta Heavy lids open, focus on the clock. Got less than thirty minutes to meet the crew at the dock. Windows are encrusted with ice and snow, gotta add extra layers, they're expecting a blow. The mind is willing,...

Stalling out risk.(Consequences)
March 1, 2009... In a profession that is repeatedly deemed the deadliest in the country, fishermen are constantly weighing risk factors and asking themselves if working conditions are normal (safe), pose an unnecessary risk, or are unusual but necessary....

TACs have their limits.(From the town landing)
March 1, 2009... TACs--limits on total allowable catch--are coming to the New England groundfish fishery. With much prodding from NMFS, the New England Fishery Management Council is taking the painful steps necessary to comply with recent amendments to the...

Obama's opportunity: a collaborative approach.(Washington lookout)(Barack Obama)
March 1, 2009... The change in administrations offers an opportunity for improved industry/government relations. To say the least, the policy coming from the highest levels of the Bush administration has not been exactly welcoming, with its unilateral...

Lesson learned from Katmai losses.(Mail buoy)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2009... Oct. 22, 2008, the 93-foot Katmai was lost off of the Aleutian Islands, along with seven of the 11 crew. While the Coast Guard has not completed their accident review, one fact is beyond dispute. Newer life rafts are better at saving lives than...

Industry standards a good start for reforming politics.(Mail buoy)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2009... My husband and I are commercial trollers in Alaska. I just read the article by Don DeMaria entitled "Let's hold politicians to industry standards" (Mail Buoy, NF Feb. '09, p. 8). I love it! I want to audit their checkbooks, too (personal and...

Scratching out fisheries from a kiosk at Cabela's?(Mail buoy)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2009... Recently, I visited a Cabela's store in Lacey, Wash., only to find in the center of the store a booth for the Coastal Conservation Association. This group is committed to eliminating various non-tribal fisheries on the West Coast, including...

Fed's saltwater registry encroaches on Maine rights.(Mail buoy)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2009... The Maine media gang of "news reporters," apparently with little else to write during the recent holidays, rushed to judgment on an old story (1993) that Maine saltwater anglers will need a license to fish starting in 2010. Not so fast....

Cap'n Sane says ...(Mail buoy)
March 1, 2009... We had, an emergency meetin' last night up at Amos store. It seems that with the price of lobsters gone t'hell, Shorty Gage n'his cousin from Friendship, Slats Farnum, decided t'open the S&S Gourmet Seafood Restaurant. They got the gourmet name...

Florida's historic Mayport should stay a fishing port.(Mail buoy)(Letter to the editor)
March 1, 2009... Plans for a cruise ship in Mayport, Fla., don't have to be a done deal, as Jacksonville Port Authority spokeswoman Nancy Rubin may see it. There is no 20-year commitment, no public access to the river, just four dead manatees, one cut in half...

Ahh ... a real fishery!(In search of the simple life)
March 1, 2009... I got an e-mail from Captain Hollywood this morning. I can see his position from where I sit at my computer, a red pushpin in the middle of the Bering Sea on my wall map. "Weather is calmer now... some big ass waves yesterday, ears...

Two lost in unexplained sinking of Bay State trawler: remote fire alarm signaled trouble; Coast Guard is investigating its own slow response.(ATLANTIC)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] An early morning catastrophe on Saturday, Jan. 3, sank the Gloucester, Mass., dragger Patriot about 15 miles southeast of that port. The incident took the lives of the vessel's 36-year-old captain and co-owner,...

Gentrification, budget cuts confront Gloucester, Mass.: residents fear for their storied waterfront.(ATLANTIC)
March 1, 2009... A Proposal to redevelop an old factory site in Gloucester's fort area has longtime residents worried that it would gentrify their working-class neighborhood and the harbor front. Despite the economic downturn, the picture got more...

Maryland watermen hope the future holds jobs, crabs: governor seeks to provide 'sensible path'.(ATLANTIC)(Martin O'Malley)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... After a controversial year of catches, resources, and regulatory issues, Maryland watermen are bracing for the next round of regulation changes. But few will deny something must be done to sustain this important traditional Maryland fishery....

Alaska pollock producers land catch in local schools: two school districts work with MSC-certified fleet to promote youth fish consumption.(ALASKA and PACIFIC)
March 1, 2009... While it would seem that at least a sliver of the Bering Sea's vast crop of pollock would wind up on the menus of Alaska's school lunchrooms, the lean, protein-rich fillets have been slow to catch on with kids. In an effort to sway taste...

False Pass, Alaska.(HOME PORT: Where we live)
March 1, 2009... False Pass is on the north side of Unimak Island and the south side of Isanotski Strait at the tip of the Alaska Peninsula. The population is 46 in winter, but it more than doubles with the arrival of transient boats for the summer's salmon...

San Francisco's wetlands project stirs muddy debate: accelerated plan saves cash, disrupts water.(ALASKA and PACIFIC)
March 1, 2009... The U.S. Amay Corps of Engineers and the California Coastal Conservancy have proposed an accelerated plan to rebuild 2,600 acres of wetlands in north San Francisco Bay at a cost reduction of potentially $300 million. The project involves...

NOAA nominee Lubchenco indicates Obama policy shift: Oregon marine scientist is outspoken on science of overfishing, climate change, pollution.(NATION/WORLD)
March 1, 2009... Science and environmental advocacy groups say nominating Oregon State University marine scientist Jane Lubchenco to head the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration signals that President Barack Obama's administration is taking a...

Pacific marine monument closes island fishing areas: Bush shuts down 195,000 square miles.(NATION/WORLD)
March 1, 2009... As he prepared to leave office in January, President Bush established three monument areas in U.S. Pacific territories. The Marianas, Rose Atoll, and Pacific Remote Islands marine national monuments occupy 195,000 square miles, including almost...

International Harvester: Marblehead, Mass. lobster boat.(BOAT OF THE MONTH)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] Not long after he signed a contract for his new boat in the mid-1980s, Jay Michaud was taken aback by a conversation he overheard on the VHF. "Someone was saying, 'Ya know what's killing this industry is all...

Martin Fisher: Madeira Beach, Fla.(SNAPSHOT: WHO WE ARE)
March 1, 2009... Martin Fisher claims one criterion above all others when he takes a position on fishery policy questions. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] His guiding principle is, "Our grandchildren's grandchildren have the opportunity to be commercial...

Inshore species recovering from Gulf Coast dead zone: one of the worst recorded red tide outbreaks affected some fish populations for years.(GULF/SOUTH ATLANTIC)
March 1, 2009... Several inshore species have come back in abundance four years after the beginning of one of the worst-ever red tide outbreaks on Florida's central Gulf Coast. Robert H. McMichael Jr., a scientist at Florida's Fish and Wildlife Research...

Fishermen: don't expand Civil War wreck sanctuary: area off N.C. protects ironclad Monitor.(GULF/SOUTH ATLANTIC)
March 1, 2009... Fishermen and divers are urging federal officials to hold the course and not expand the boundaries of the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, a 1-mile area surrounding the wreck of the Civil War ironclad off Cape Hatteras. "I'm more than...

BBQ Blackcod: Jim Ponts Fort Bragg, Calif.(GALLEY WATCH: AT-SEA CUISINE)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... Most of the blackcod caught on the U.S. West Coast is sold to Japan, Korea and China. Here in the States blackcod is usually eaten as a smoked product. Jim Ponts, a longtime blackcod longliner in Fort Bragg, Calif., thinks this is too bad, as...

Gulf of Mexico.(COUNCIL UPDATES: News from the regional management councils)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... NMFS has completed a referendum to determine if commercial grouper and tilefish fishermen approve of a proposed grouper and tilefish individual fishing quota program for the Gulf of Mexico. Of 301 ballots distributed, 273 (90 percent) were...

North Pacific.(COUNCIL UPDATES: News from the regional management councils)(North Pacific Fishery Management Council)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... The North Pacific Fishery Management Council heard testimony from fishermen and others in December as part of a three-year review of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands crab fishery rationalization plan. The one-time derby fishery has been...

Mid-Atlantic.(COUNCIL UPDATES: News from the regional management councils)(Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... Dr. Brian Rothschild, who chairs the Science and Statistical Committee of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, has been named Man of the Year by the New Bedford, Mass., Standard-Times. The newspaper cited Rothschild for his "efforts...

New England.(COUNCIL UPDATES: News from the regional management councils)(New England Fishery Management Council)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... The New England Fishery Management Council has identified its research priorities and data needs for the years 2009-2013. These include: * stock assessments; * surveys; * monitoring fishery performance and sampling; *...

Pacific.(COUNCIL UPDATES: News from the regional management councils)(Groundfish Allocation Committee)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... The Groundfish Allocation Committee will meet Jan. 27-29 in Portland, Ore., to discuss: * allocation of future harvests of selected groundfish species and stock complexes to limited entry trawl sectors and other sectors of the West Coast...

South Atlantic.(COUNCIL UPDATES: News from the regional management councils)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... NMFS is seeking public comment on Amendment 16 to the fishery management plan for the snapper-grouper fishery. New measures would include: * management reference points and interim allocations for gag and vermilion snapper; * a...

Western Pacific.(COUNCIL UPDATES: News from the regional management councils)
March 1, 2009... President Bush in early January designated three new areas in the Pacific as Marine National Monuments. They represent the largest areas of ocean or ocean seabed set aside as marine protected areas in the world. The first is the Marianas...

Harvesters approve IFQs in hopes for year-round fishing, higher catch totals.(GULF/SOUTH ATLANTIC: GROUPER)(individual fishing quota)
March 1, 2009... Demand for flesh Gulf of Mexico grouper has historically been durable, and domestic production is--at best--relatively small. Consequently, there is hope the grouper market may weather the storm of the continuing international economic crisis,...

U.S. consumers finding a real appetite for calamari, to the delight of the fleet.(NORTHEAST: SQUID)(demand for squids)
March 1, 2009... Loligo squid could be one of a few bright spots in the 2009 seafood economy. With an established foothold now in the nation's restaurants as a budget treat, it still brings $1.00 to $1.50 a pound to boats landing good-sized longfin. "For...

Big sets at Sitka, coupled with prices, lift hopes for the coming roe season.(NORTH PACIFIC: HERRING)
March 1, 2009... Last year will be remembered in the archives of Alaska's herring fisheries for its big sets and big money at Sitka. The record harvest and ex-vessel prices like the fleet hasn't seen since the 1990s mark the nexus of strong biological factors...

West Coast trollers fear another year of poor returns will erode market share.(PACIFIC: SALMON)
March 1, 2009... Salmon? What salmon? Most California, Oregon and Washington fishermen are relying on federal disaster relief checks cut late in 2008, as chinook fishing was, for the most part, completely closed along the West Coast last year. The only...

Island out of time: Tangier, Va., watermen share a storied past and an uncertain future.(Virginia Marine Resources Commission)(Cover story)
March 1, 2009... Most of the 550 people who live on Virginia's Tangier Island share one of a few last names and have family roots stretching back at least a century. Their thick brogue is commonly called Elizabethan, but it is more likely a remnant of the...

Market makers: Plucky Nova Scotians fight to get more for their lobster.(Upper crustaceans)
March 1, 2009... A month prior to the opening of the season in Lobster Fishing Areas 33 and 34 along the southwest coast of Nova Scotia, it seemed the entire population was expressing concern about the price lobster would fetch. Recognized as Canada's most...

Simple pleasures: in an excerpt from his book, "Catching the Ebb," veteran Cook Inlet netter Bert Bender reflects on the notion of work.(The fishing life)(Excerpt)
March 1, 2009... Catching the Ebb: Drift-fishing for a Life in Cook Inlet By Bert Bender Drawings by Tony Angell Oregon State University Press, 2008 Softcover, 336 pp. $22.95 [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] In early July of 1967 1 pulled...

Handy rigs: neat stuff that'll make you think, 'someone's been reading my mind'.(Boats & Gear: Fishing equipment)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] It was pretty hard to have a long conversation with Marco Global's Mike Dunn in December. That's because just about every 30 seconds the voice mail on his cell phone would go off. "It's a busy time," he noted. "Look...

Wooden good 'uns: Peter Kass boats are nice to look at--and rugged.(Boats & Gear: Boatbuilding)
March 1, 2009... One of the hardest things about spending time around a new wooden boat from John's Bay Boat Co. in South Bristol, Maine, is fighting the urge to peel off your boots as soon as you swing in over the rail; it's just too damn pretty. But make...

Outboard power comes back; new 50-footer is fuel efficient.(NORTHEAST)
March 1, 2009... With operating costs on the rise, two Canadian boatbuilding companies have come up with fiberglass hulls designed to help fishermen operate more efficiently. One is relatively small at 30' x 10' 2" from Millennium Marine in Escuminac, New...

Winter adds to boatyard work; rebuilding an Alaska gillnetter.(WEST)
March 1, 2009... At the start of January, the Hansen Boat Co. in Everett, Wash., was closing in on completing a long maintenance project to the 58-foot Odin out of Petersburg, Alaska. Besides having to deal with the normal things that accompany any job as it...

Va. brothers build a 30-footer; railway still tends ex-buy boat.(SOUTH)
March 1, 2009... The Virginia Legislature in 1894 had the state's oyster grounds surveyed and divided into public and private grounds. This legalized private oyster growing in Virginia waters and established the oyster planters. Oyster planters leased...

Gearing up to hybrid technology: ZF's new transmission operates off batteries or a genset.(Product roundup)
March 1, 2009... People who think only engine manufacturers are capable of coming up with a hybrid alternative to powering a boat should check out ZF Marine's technological answer for efficient powering in low-speed situations. ZF's newest product was...

Pull anchor with ease: big-time maintenance and safety features on winches won't yank your chain.(Product roundup)
March 1, 2009... If you have a boat between 20 and 50 feet long and are tired of the anchor winch's unreliable or feeble line pull, or even if you don't have a winch and are just tired of pulling the anchor by hand, you might take a look at the new line of...

Green Lubrication Solutions has an environmentally friendly product designed to provide significant reductions in fuel and maintenance costs.(At a glance)(Motorsilk Marine Engine Oil Additive)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] GREEN LUBRICATION SOLUTIONS has an environmentally friendly product designed to provide significant reductions in fuel and maintenance costs. MOTORSILK MARINE ENGINE OIL ADDITIVE is made with synthetic oils and...

Shakespeare Electronic Products has a new antenna for users of Orbcomm's satellite communications data service.(At a glance)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SHAKESPEARE ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS has a new antenna for users of Orbcomm's satellite communications data service. The 5253-ORB low-profile antenna is 36 inches high and optimized for Orbcomm's 137- to 150-MHz band....

VTE's new 200 series lug and ring terminal insulators prevent shocks and accidental short-circuits.(At a glance)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] VTE's new 200 SERIES LUG AND RING TERMINAL INSULATORS prevent shocks and accidental short-circuits. They are ideal for high-energy connections, such as inverters, starters and chargers. The insulators are made from...

Imtra's latest LED light is the portland bicolor powerled.(At a glance)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] IMTRA's latest LED light is the PORTLAND BICOLOR POWERLED. The light has a full-brightness white light and a secondary light of low-power red or blue, which makes it ideal for use in a navigation station. With the...

ValvTect's answer to the fuel problems boat owners have with ethanol-based gasoline is the ethanol gasoline treatment.(At a glance)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] VALVTECT's answer to the fuel problems boat owners have with ethanol-based gasoline is the ETHANOL GASOLINE TREATMENT. Ethanol gasoline can destabilize, plugging fuel filters and preventing starting. The ethanol...

Simrad has a new generation of the integrated helm solution, the GB40.(At a glance)(Brief article)
March 1, 2009... [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] SIMRAD has a new generation of the integrated helm solution, the GB40. It features a navcomputer loaded with Jeppesen Marine Max Pro charts, with 2-D and 3-D chart views, dynamic current predictions and photos of...

Bulletin board.(Calendar)
March 1, 2009... March 15-17 International Boston Seafood Show/Seafood Processing America Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, Boston * www.bostonseafood.com The International Boston Seafood Show, co-located with Seafood Processing America, is North...

Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen's Association.(ON THE MOVE)
March 1, 2009... The North Chatham, Mass.-based CAPE COD COMMERCIAL HOOK FISHERMEN'S ASSOCIATION has named SUSAN L. NICKERSON as the group's executive director. Nickerson, a Cape Cod environmentalist and non-profit leader, took over in January for Paul Parker,...

ACR Electronics.(ON THE MOVE)
March 1, 2009... At the beginning of the year, PAUL FRANK retired as president of ACR ELECTRONICS and JOSEPH A. MENTZ took over as general manager of the company. Mentz conies to ACR from Senior Consulting, where he served as a senior consultant. "I am proud to...

The National Marine Electronics Association honored outstanding marine electronics products and companies in San Diego, Calif., at its annual convention late last year.(COMPANY NEWS)
March 1, 2009... The NATIONAL MARINE ELECTRONICS ASSOCIATION honored outstanding marine electronics products and companies in San Diego, Calif., at its annual convention late last year. The INDUSTRY AWARDS went to Furuno for its NavNet DFF1 (fishfinding),...

Cape lookout Bight, N.C.(Last set)
March 1, 2009... "Little" Dan Yeomans of Harker's Island, N.C., hauls a net for spot on a clear fall day in the company of pelicans. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]