Tag Archives: Bruce Fernald
Cranberry Isles Fishermen’s Co-op celebrates 40 years
In 1978, Bruce Fernald and Dave Thomas went to consult with an attorney about starting a fishermen’s cooperative and left the attorney’s office with a contract. “We had a purchase and sale agreement and away we went,” said Thomas. They were purchasing an existing lobster buying business, one that had been operated by Lee Ham for nearly two decades. Ham put the dock up for sale just as Thomas, Fernald and other fishermen from the island were contemplating creating a member-owned cooperative. The co-op began with about 25 members, Thomas said, and the first couple of years of the operation were bumpy. >click to read<11:35
Maine lobster landings, price draw concern
Fishermen have reported catching far fewer lobsters this season than last year’s record-setting numbers. But the scarcity does not seem to have translated into much upward pressure on prices. While harvesters and dealers hold boat price information close to the vest, unofficial reports indicate that boat prices have actually dropped to $2.50 per pound or worse.,, Islesford lobsterman Bruce Fernald, part of the Cranberry Isles Fishermen’s Co-Op, said his catch is down about 20 percent this year. click here to read the story 09:19
Tiny American town Little Cranberry Island, Maine is staking its future on Chinese foodies
The long journey from this remote island of free-spirited fishermen to the most populous country in the world began, as it does most mornings, at just about sunrise. Bruce Fernald, a sixth-generation fisherman, loaded his 38-foot fiberglass boat with half a ton of bait and set out in search of Maine’s famed crustacean: the lobster. One by one, Fernald checked the 800 traps he had placed along 30 square miles at the bottom of the Gulf of Maine. He quickly hauled each wire cage onto his boat, reached a gloved hand inside and plucked out the lobster lurking within. The young ones, the breeders and the crusty old ones were thrown back into the water. The rest were dropped into a saltwater tank to keep them alive and energetic on their 7,000-mile trip to China. Read the story here 20:45
Right whales: Public comments range from ‘save the whales’ to ‘save the fishermen’
Samuel Sautaux posted his comment from Lentigny, Switzerland, located north of the Alps. His comment is among about 171,208 received from individuals who live near and far from the right whales’ cruising grounds and posted an opinion on the latest federal effort to protect the species on the public comment page overseen by NOAA. These comments are now being processed,,, Some of the comments are quite succinct, as was Sautaux’s. Others are more elaborate – including one from an author who signs as a 69-year-old, sixth generation lobsterman from Maine who says the proposal amounts to a “death sentence” on the industry. >click to read< 07:16
Share this post