Mightier Than the Swordfish: Nova Scotia’s Harpoon Fishermen

June 23, 2018 Canada

A hundred miles off the coast of Nova Scotia, fishermen are in offseason mode. If it were wintertime, they’d be hauling lobster in closer to shore. But now, in July, they’re far from the familiar topography of Shag Harbor. They’re on the lookout for swordfish, and they’re using a deadly tool rarely seen in Western waters anymore: harpoons.,, He’s looking for one thing: a fin as it “nicks” the surface. The swordfish’s crescent-shaped dorsal fin is distinct from that of a sunfish or dolphin, but more easily confused with a shark’s. If the fin seems worth pursuing, the captain steps on the gas, and the harpooner prepares to “stick” the fish. Video, >click to read<09:04

Harpoon Fishermen, Nova Scotia, swordfish

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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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