Tag Archives: Massachusetts lobsterman Steve Holler

Massachusetts fishermen feeling the pinch of lower lobster prices, rising fuel costs

“What we’re seeing this year is astronomical fuel prices, very high bait prices, scarcity of bait, and we’re seeing a starting price that was actually coming off a high high this winter to something that is a little bit lower than expected,” said Nick Muto, a commercial fisherman out of Chatham.  “As fishermen, we don’t get to control the price of our lobsters,” said Steve Holler, a commercial fisherman out of Boston. “We’re at the mercy of the dealers.” “I have zero confidence in our administration,” Muto said. “Given the political climate right now, I see this getting much worse before it gets better. This situation that we have in the country right now will cause a lot of fishermen to go out of business, and that’s tragic really.” Photos, >click to read< 18:30

Researchers Try To Build A Better Life Jacket To Keep Lobstermen Alive

Early on a July morning, Massachusetts lobsterman Steve Holler and his sternman Frank Lenardis haul lobster traps out of Boston Harbor over the edge of Holler’s boat, the November Gale, and dump the catch into a holding tray. “It’s a dance between me and him,” Holler says. “Him getting that done, me getting this done, because with his strength, his weight, he’ll knock me right on my rear end. He’s done it a few times.” This particular morning in July, everything goes smoothly. But Holler remembers one day in February when a routine haul went very wrong,,, >click to read<16:13