Who REALLY Catches The Fish?

Who REALLY Catches The Fish?

Photo by John McMurray Anyone who pays attention to salt water fisheries matters knows that a coalition of anglers’ rights groups and fishing tackle and boatbuilding trade associations are trying to weaken the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens). The effort is rooted in their assertion that Magnuson-Stevens, with its prohibitions on overfishing, its […]

If You Fish, You’re A Victim

If You Fish, You’re A Victim

Photo: Boats in Gloucester harbor By now, everyone who follows the trials and tribulations of New England’s fisheries has heard of “The Codfather,” Carlos Rafael, who recently pled guilty to falsifying landings records for hundreds of thousands of pounds of fish that was illegally harvested by Rafael’s vessels, fish that included some of the northeast’s […]

Who Will “Access” Salt Water Fisheries?

Who Will “Access” Salt Water Fisheries?

Top Photo by John McMurray. The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens) has been a success. Even its critics admit that. In 2000, 72 fish stocks were subject to overfishing; today, that number is down to 30. During the same period, the number of overfished stocks was reduced from 92 to 38. Since 2000, […]

The Myth Of The Cornucopia

The Myth Of The Cornucopia

Illustration: Zeus with Amalthea and nymph The ancient Greeks told a story, which may have originated more than 2,500 years ago, of the infant Zeus, who was destined to be King of the Gods. Hidden from his father, Chronos, who planned to devour him, Zeus survived by drinking the milk of the she-goat Amalthea. Yet […]

When Fisheries Managers Fail

When Fisheries Managers Fail

Photo: Atlantic Cod, by Joachim S. Mueller It’s the middle of summer. Forty years ago, I would have been fishing for cod southeast of Rhode Island. That might catch some people by surprise, because they think of cod as a cold-water species that only appears off New York and southern New England during the dead […]