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:
The Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management Workshop offers an in-depth discussion on data inputs, management strategies, and what Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management may mean for fishermen in the future. It will be held from February 26-28 in New Bedford, MA.

Questions? Contact Chris Roebuck (Commercial Fisherman) at (401) 741-1831 or Libby Etrie at (978) 491-1848.

The Recreational Fisheries Workshop covers the basics of fisheries science and management with a special focus on topics of interest to the recreational fishing community. It will be held from March 20-22 in Hanover, MD.

Questions? Contact moderators Dave Sikorski (Mid-Atlantic) at (443) 621-9186 or Rick Bellavance (New England) at (401) 741- 5648.

For both workshops, lodging, meals and travel expenses are covered for participants who complete the entire program, and who are not otherwise funded to attend. You can apply for these workshops with the Gulf of Maine Research Institute.

For general questions about the program, contact Alexa Dayton, Gulf of Maine Research Institute, at 207-228-1645.

Ocean Resource Privatization

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The New England groundfish debacle (Part III): who or what is at fault? Nils E. Stolpe/FishNet

It took me a while to decide how to most accurately describe the situation that has been visited upon the New England fishing communities that are and since colonial times have been dependent on the groundfish fisheries.

NILS STOLPE: The New England groundfish debacle (Part IV): Is cutting back harvest really the answer?

While it’s a fact that’s hardly ever acknowledged, the assumption in fisheries management is that if the population of a stock of fish isn’t at some arbitrary level, it’s because of too much fishing. Hence the term “overfished.” Hence the mandated knee jerk reaction of the fisheries managers to not enough fish; cut back on fishing. What of other factors? They don’t count. It’s all about fishing, because fishing is all that the managers can control; it’s their Maslow’s Hammer. When it comes to the oceans it seems as if it’s about all that the industry connected mega-foundations that support the anti-fishing ENGOs with hundreds of millions of dollars a year in “donations” are interested in controlling. Read the article here

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