Tag Archives: Rick Beal
PFD’s: Fishing is a deadly business, but many fishermen won’t wear life preservers
One rogue wave or false step, an ankle caught in a line, is all it takes to cast a fisherman overboard. But those risks have never been enough to convince Rick Beal that it’s worth wearing a life preserver. Even though he has never learned how to swim. Commercial fishing ranks among the most dangerous professions, but fishermen — fiercely independent and resistant to regulations — have long shunned life preservers, often dismissing the flotation devices as inconvenient and constraining. click here to read the story 14:46 
Gloucester Fishermen to council: Trust in data needed
One by one, the Gloucester fishermen settled in front of the microphone for those with something to say to the New England Fishery Management Council and, one by one, they delivered their thoughts. Some of the remarks, such as those from Tom Orrell of Yankee Fleet and Paul Vitale, captain of the Angela & Rose, were short and to the point. Orell wanted to know why the for-hire boats faced so many restrictions in the Gulf of Maine and Vitale simply wants more fish quota. Now. Joe Orlando of the Santo Pio talked science and cod, while longtime fishermen Al Cottone and Rick Beal (powerful comment) adopted more philosophical tones, speaking to the council on the need for a two-lane channel of trust and truth. click here to read the story 20:59
Letter to the Editor: Fishermen deserve the chance to earn a living – Rick Beal, Gloucester Ma.
I’m writing because I’m tired of the misinformation I hear and read in coffee shops, on websites and in newspapers. Even our local newspaper had an online ad from the PEW Foundation saying we destroy the ocean floor. Most but not all
that is false. The vast majority of the ocean bottom we fish is sand and mud and while it is true that our nets disturb this bottom, it is also true that currents erase our footprint. continued
