Daily Archives: September 21, 2019
Eel fishing on Lough Neagh is dying out. Husband and wife team helping to keep tradition alive
As Anne Marie McStocker pulls in the draft net she pauses every now and again to remove tiny fish that have become entangled in it, and throws them back into the lough.The boat is rocking over a place known as the Foot of the Hole, the deepest part of Lough Neagh, and one of the best places for fishing. As the stones weighing down the net start clinking on to the deck, her husband, Gary McErlain, moves from his station at the other pulley and lifts the draft net into the boat. Inside, a dozen eels are wriggling. Not a great catch. He empties them into a barrel and McStocker goes back to the rether – the local word for the tiller – and moves on to another location, to start the process all over again. Photos, >click to read< 20:50
Offshore wind energy looks more promising for Oregon
“There will be some impacts to fishing grounds, some good, some bad, and some unknown,” he said. (where’s the good?) “But at the end of the day, the issue is: some people can’t fish where they want to or have historically fished.”(where’s the good?) Any offshore wind farm on this stretch of the Pacific will essentially act as a marine reserve, because commercial and recreational fishing will likely be limited in the area. >click to read< 18:19
A renowned boatbuilder reimagines a piece of Maine history.
This summer, not long after Rockport Marine owner Taylor Allen presided over the launch of the William Underwood, a 78-year-old sardine carrier he spent 12 years painstakingly restoring, a landlubbing interviewer suggested to him that chatting with wooden-boat fanatics can feel like talking to collectors of ancient Egyptian pottery — the experts’ aesthetic is often lost on those outside the subculture. “I think the word you’re looking for is cult,” Allen offered. Photos, >click to read< 15:40
Coho harvests still coming from gillnet fishery
Coho harvests in Prince William Sound rose to 497,000 fish this week as drift gillnetters in the Coghill district made dozens of deliveries, and the Sound’s overall preliminary wild salmon deliveries hit 55.8 million fish. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Cordova office opened the Coghill District for an 84-hour driftnet fishing period on Sept. 17 in the wake of a 60-hour period that opened on Sept. 12, while the purse seine fisheries remained closed. >click to read< 14:51
Senator Collins proposes changes to Federal reforms to support Maine lobster industry, protect whales
“Over the last several months, we have had a number of conversations with lobstermen, the scientific community, environmentalists, and state regulators,” Sen. Collins and the members wrote in their letter. “The message has been undeniably clear: these whales require increased protections in order to ensure the viability of the species — and that focusing all of our risk reduction efforts on Maine’s lobster fishery will not get us there.” >click to read<11:44
New Jersey fishermen to donate bycatch to NJ food bank
A new partnership between New Jersey fishermen and a local food bank will mean that some of New Jersey’s hungry residents will have plenty to eat.
For decades, a large portion of the fish caught by commercial fishermen in the United States has gone to waste.,,, But a new program launched in New Jersey Friday means that some of this wasted fish will be donated to Fulfill, the food bank of Monmouth and Ocean counties. “That fish gets turned over to the people in Monmouth and Ocean counties who need it the most. And there are a lot of them,” says former Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, the CEO of Fulfill. >Video, click to read< 10:14
Trawler runs aground in Rarotonga
Efforts are underway to refloat a fishing boat lodged on a reef at Rarotonga. The boat became wrecked on the reef just offshore the Rutaki area on the main island on Friday, the Cook Islands News reported. On Saturday afternoon work with a ship and heavy machinery was underway to get the vessel off the reef. It could be seen from the nearby Rarotongan Beach Resort. Photos, video, >click to read< 09:27
Fishermen brace for cuts to striped bass fishing
East End fishermen are speaking out against proposed cuts that could reduce the harvest of striped bass,,, The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which regulates fishing in coastal states from Maine to North Carolina,,, Commercial fishermen must adhere to strict limits on striped bass. Capt. Mark Phillips of the Illusion in Greenport, for example, was issued tags for 219 stripers this year, according to his wife, Mary Bess.,,, Congressman Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) is an outspoken critic of the proposed cuts. >click to read< 08:42
