I grew up in the southwest corner of New England’s coast, where fog was hardly unknown. I learned how to operate a boat in pea soup conditions when I was still a boy. Running a boat in the fog can be an eerie, disorienting experience. You are surrounded by soggy gray walls that display a […]
By now, most fishermen have heard the most recent fish tale out of Puget Sound, the escapement of who knows how many Atlantic salmon into the “wild” waters in our own backyard. Of course this isn’t the first time such a mishap has happened, and it won’t be the last time either. Frankly, I’m a […]
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 […]
Photo: Guide Chris Vertopoulos (left) and client Jim Lorenz with a wild-released Sandy River steelhead from April 10, 2017 As a steward and consumer of recreational fisheries resources, of course I am going to advocate for a recreational priority, and not just for the economics of a fragile resource. Recreational fishing often has a lighter […]
Draft Amendment 3 to the Interstate Management Plan for Atlantic Menhaden Finally Offers a Way to Protect “The Most Important Fish in the Sea” In nature, you cannot do just one thing, as Walter Youngquist puts it, because everything is connected to everything else. That’s why you can’t fish for Atlantic menhaden without impacting the […]
Photo: Boatyard in Toledo, Oregon Since its inception, the Marine Fish Conservation Network has advocated on behalf of fishing communities. Working waterfronts are a vital part of the coastal ecosystem: commercial docks, provisioners, small-boat marinas and boatyards, charter operators, day boats, tackle shops, wholesale and retail fish markets, processing plants, restaurants, aquaria, ecotourism, and a […]
Photo: Striped bass w/menhaden, by John McMurray. Fisheries management is based on a single-species approach. Stock assessments are done, annual catch limits (ACLs) are applied, and we know how many fish can be taken from the resource, leaving enough to produce a stable population for years to come. The single-species approach is effective in many […]
Steve Brustein of Portland, ME with a 23″ summer flounder (fluke) caught last month north of the Jamestown Bridge in Narragansett Bay, RI. It’s nine months into a 48-month presidency, and the fish are losing their voice. With all that is going on in our country it seems odd to talk about the plight of […]
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