Tag Archives: management plan

Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary management plan open for comment through April 10

Comments can be made online, by mail or in person at public scoping meetings.  The 90-minute public scoping meetings all start at 6:30 p.m. The first is March 11 at the New England Aquarium, Harborside Learning Lab, 1 Central Wharf, in Boston. The second is March 12 at Maritime Gloucester, 23 Harbor Loop in Gloucester, and the third is March 18 at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Admiral’s Hall, 101 Academy Dr. in Buzzards Bay. Comments can be made online at regulations.gov and searching for docket number NOAA-NOS-2020-0003. You can also submit comments by mail to NOAA Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, 175 Edward Foster Road, Scituate MA 02066, Attn: Management Plan Revision. more, >click to read< 13:33

Willapa gillnetters losing grip

willapa gillnettersIt’s been a tough two years for gillnetters on Willapa Bay. Battered by increasing costs, stifled by stricter regulation and furious over fewer fishing days, commercial gillnetters have been gritting their teeth since 2015 when a new management plan was instituted by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. As some in the industry were forced to sell their boats and find new work, others remain steadfast and galvanized in their resolve in calling for change in what they say has been mismanagement by WDFW officials in Olympia. Over the past three years, the commercial gillnetting industry on Willapa Bay has gone through a gauntlet of highs and lows. Record catches were celebrated during 2014 only to be followed by the devastating 2015 season that was largely stifled under new regulation. Read the story here 08:56