Tag Archives: Chris Roebuck

A unique educational experience, designed for fishermen, by fishermen

The Marine Resource Education Program (MREP) offers fishermen, and others with a stake in healthy fisheries, an opportunity to learn the basics of fisheries science and how the fishery management process works. It provides an inside look at the fisheries science and management processes, demystifies the acronyms and vocabulary, and equips fishermen with the tools to engage in shaping regulatory action and participating in collaborative science. MREP is offering two upcoming workshops that are organized and moderated by members of the local fishing community: >click here to read< 09:11

Northeast Trawl Advisory Panel Members Witness Bigelow Survey Operations

roebuck_hopper_smThree members of the Northeast Trawl Advisory Panel (NTAP), a new member of the New England Fishery Management Council and several of their colleagues made a day trip on the NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow October 11 to observe bottom trawl operations on the vessel, which is in the midst of the autumn bottom trawl survey. “The idea was to allow NTAP members to see how we operate under real survey conditions” said Rob Johnston, chief of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s (NEFSC) Ecosystems Surveys Branch. The group boarded the Bigelow early Tuesday morning, the first day of Leg 3 of the fall survey, at the Newport Naval Station in Rhode Island and headed offshore just south of Rhode Island Sound.,,  “The trip on the Bigelow was very informative and answered many of the questions I had about the trawl mensuration system,” said Chris Roebuck, a fisherman from Pt. Judith, RI and a NTAP member. “The trip confirmed my belief that the survey is not at fault for the mismatches between what we see on the water and what comes out as an end result in management. Rather the interpretation of what that survey information means and how it is incorporated into management is to blame. The trip also made me realize that there are many more obstacles to overcome in our transition to industry vessels supplementing the Bigelow survey.” Read the story here 20:31

Who knew? Rhode Island is King of squid; More pounds are brought to shore than any other seafood

seafreeze vesselsSquid is to Rhode Island what lobster is to Maine; cod is to Massachusetts. “Fifteen years ago, you didn’t see calamari on the menu,” says Glenn Goodwin, co-owner of Seafreeze in North Kingstown, a seafood freezing facility. “Now you see it everywhere. It was a low-cost item that was plentiful. It took some time for people to try it.” Read more here 14:02