This is too cool! With simple tools and a big field, fishermen mend purse seine to harvest baitfish

June 28, 2025 Featured, New England

There is camaraderie in the air early one May morning in a field off Knight Way in West Harpswell as Mark Cota, Larry and Avery Anderson, and Alan Auclair patiently crisscross a purse seine, a type of fishing net, looking for holes to mend. Between the four, they have more than 100 years of experience in commercial fishing. Stretched out, the net would cover nearly four football fields. And despite the march of technology, their tools are simple netting needles, knives and twine. With practiced finesse, their hands rhythmically find holes, lace the strands together and move on to the next. As far back as history can be traced, fishing has been a core part of Harpswell’s fabric.11 Photos, links, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:40

a big field, Alan Auclair, Avery Anderson, by Rhode Island fishermen, camaraderie in the air, commercial fishing, cover nearly four football fields, Fishermen, invented in 1826, Larry Anderson, maine, Mark Cota, mending holes, mending purse seine, mending twine, pogies in Massachusetts, purse seine fishing, to harvest baitfish, West Harpswell

Leave a ReplyCancel reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Ocean Resource Privatization

Articles Posted by Date
July 2025

M T W T F S S

1 2 3 4 5 6

7 8 9 10 11 12 13

14 15 16 17 18 19 20

21 22 23 24 25 26 27

28 29 30 31

« Jun

July 2025
M	T	W	T	F	S	S
	1	2	3	4	5	6
7	8	9	10	11	12	13
14	15	16	17	18	19	20
21	22	23	24	25	26	27
28	29	30	31

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

Recent Posts
- The Religion of Wokeism. A Fisherman by Any Other Name: Terminology in New Law Sparks Debate
  
  A new law regarding ships’ crews that went into effect at the beginning of the month is sparking considerable debate throughout Iceland, but not because of Read More »
- As anniversary nears, reports on deadly F/V Orin C sinking unfinished
  
  Saturday will mark the one-year anniversary of the sinking of the Orin C and the death of Gloucester fisherman David “Heavy D” Sutherland, but the final Read More »
- NEFMC votes to set a future target of 100% monitoring coverage on sector based groundfish vessels
  
  The council, deliberating online via webinar on Amendment 23, overwhelmingly approved the motion for its preferred alternative of 100% coverage level for sector vessels in the Read More »
- Big Wave Surfing and Commercial Fishing with Matt Becker
  
  The talented crew over at 805 Beer have been releasing these high-quality mini-docs for a while now — spotlighting different occupations, exploring fringe cultures, and generally Read More »
- North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for September 26, 2016
  
  Click here to read the Weekly Update, to read all the updates, Click here 19:18 Read More »
- Net Effect: The fight over flounder
  
  David Sneed is executive director of the, the main group representing recreational fishermen. He says commercial fishermen have blocked attempts to reduce the use of gill Read More »
- Toxic ‘red tide’ in Chile prompts protests and investigation of salmon farming
  
  An algal bloom ‘of biblical proportions’ has led to protests and health emergency as concerns raised over dumping of rotting salmon in ocean. Chilean authorities are Read More »
- Canada-U.S. delegates meet in B.C. to discuss halibut ‘wastage’ in Bering Sea
  
  You might say it’s a story about the fish that didn’t get away. Fishermen in the Bering Sea off the coast of Alaska are tossing back Read More »
- Offshore Wind Industry Wiping Out Crucial Fish Breeding Grounds & Fishermen’s Livelihoods
  
  Britain’s trawlermen are tough, but not invincible. Giant industrial wind turbines and their associated infrastructure have already wrecked once productive fishing grounds, with more under threat. The Read More »
- P.E.I. snow crab fishery faces deep cuts in catches as U.S. tariffs loom
  
  P.E.I. snow crab fishers are facing a big cut in how much they can catch in 2025, with the federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans recommending Read More »
- Plan to Restore Mass., R.I., Shores Damaged in 2003 Oil Spill OK’d
  
  Shellfishing areas will be restored and recreational activities will be enhanced under the second round of remediation projects to clean up the Massachusetts and Rhode Island Read More »
- Clearwater Seafoods buys Scottish crabber as part of bid to expand in Europe
  
  Seafood giant Clearwater Seafoods is beefing up its presence in Europe by buying a crab fishing boat and licence and is casting its eye on other Read More »
- 8 Types of Scallops – What to Know About Them and Ways to Cook
  
  While they are no longer regarded as rich man’s food, they are still pretty pricey. And this is primarily due to the supply-and-demand concept. More importantly, Read More »
- Alaska Court of Appeals reinstates fishing charges against ex-lawmaker, two others, forth pleads out.
  
  ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Alaska Court of Appeals on Friday reinstated charges against a former state senator and others for violating conditions of their subsistence fishing Read More »
- Nordic Hosting Public Zoom Meeting Wednesday taking questions, Study Results for Land-Based Fish Farm
  
  Nordic is currently preparing its permit applications for a land-based aquaculture facility on the Samoa Peninsula in Humboldt County and has recently submitted the discharge permit Read More »
- Ten pirates get 12 years in prison for kidnapping 18 crewmen from the F/V Hailufeng II
  
  A court in Lagos sentenced 10 men to 12 years in prison on Friday for kidnapping the crew of a Chinese-flagged merchant vessel last year, the Read More »
- DFO undertaking major hiring wave for enforcement officers
  
  The Department of Fisheries and Oceans is looking to hire more enforcement officers in departments all across Canada. In a hiring notice posted on Friday DFO Read More »
- DFO responds to Ryan Cleary’s allegations of a ‘backroom’ plan
  
  The interim executive director of Seaward Enterprises Association of Newfoundland and Labrador accused the Department of Fisheries and Oceans of orchestrating a “backroom” plan to rebuild Read More »
- UPDATED – Seine F/V Elohim capsizes, F/V Infinite Grace plucks the surviver’s from the water
  
  VALDEZ, Alaska – The Coast Guard says a 45-foot fishing vessel capsized in Alaska’s Port Valdez and all four crewmembers have been rescued with no injuries. Read More »
- Bering Sea Crab harvests set: Kings still in decline, snow and Tanner see bump
  
  Commercial fishermen will be allowed to harvest a total of 45 million pounds of snow crab from the Bering Sea waters this year, with 4.5 million Read More »
- Group calls on President Obama to dramatically expand NW Islands Marine Monument
  
  A group of roughly 20 Native Hawaiians, local fishermen, scientists and conservationists rallied Thursday morning at Kewalo Marine Laboratory, armed with a 43,000-signature (Pew) petition urging Read More »
- Grand Bank Fire Department called to a fishing vessel fire
  
  The Southern Gazette has learned that members of the Grand Bank Volunteer Fire Department are currently working to extinguish a fire onboard a fishing vessel docked Read More »
- State of Massachusetts Pulls the Plug on Joe’s Lobster Mart
  
  Joseph Vaudo, the owner of Joe’s Lobster Mart in Sandwich, must “immediately cease and desist all wholesale and retail seafood operations, including all interstate shipment of Read More »
- “Red Listed” – Louisiana unhappy with California group’s ‘avoid’ shrimp label
  
  “The socioeconomic impacts to our shrimpers from this designation has the potential to cripple families and coastal communities who have endured repeated disasters, including Hurricanes Katrina, Read More »
- Local Dungeness crab fishermen oppose new fish and wildlife regulations
  
  The regulations are a product of concerns surrounding how often whales and other endangered species are getting caught in the ropes used to fish crabs. The Read More »