Tag Archives: Capt. Tim Rider

Ocean Industrialization: Fishing regulators fear wind turbines could threaten spawning area for Atlantic cod

It is the largest offshore HAPC designation in the region. Yet a main concern is cod spawning grounds in a smaller region within the designation, just east of Block Island. That area, known as Cox Ledge, overlaps with some 250 square miles currently leased to developers Ørsted and Eversource for their joint wind energy project: South Fork Wind. It is one of only two offshore wind projects that have completed the federal permitting process. “We are really going about the wind farm development very quickly,” said Kevin Stokesbury, a fisheries science professor at UMass Dartmouth, who studies cod in the Gulf of Maine. “It’s going to be quite a dramatic change to the ecosystem out there.” “We’ve all made sacrifices so cod can recover,” said Capt. Tim Rider, who fishes for groundfish and scallops. “Now they’re going to put a wind farm there,” he said of the cod spawning grounds. “How about they put it somewhere that might not be as intrusive.” >click to read< 11:05

Fight of Seacoast fishermen depicted in ‘Last Man Fishing’ documentary

A year-round jig fisherman, catching with rods and reels up to 60 miles offshore, Tim Rider is now a documentary film star.,, He’s described by film producers as a “renegade,” whose “dream of supporting his family as a fisherman is met with numerous challenges.” The filmmakers say Last Man Fishing calls “to question the ethics of the seafood industry and its impact on small scale fishing across the United States.,, The documentary, by filmmaker/director JD Schuyler, goes deep into the politics of fishing, in Rider’s case, his opposition to so-called catch shares mandate. Photo’s >click to read<  22:26

New England Fishmongers say catch shares are driving them out of business

If things can’t turn around for Capt. Tim Rider, the owner of New England Fishmongers, he and his business partner will be out of business at the end of this month.,,, Beto,,, The biggest economic hurdle for Rider, who still uses a rod and reel to bring in most of his fish, is catch shares. That’s when part of a share of a species of fish is allocated to individual fishermen or groups. In most cases, fishermen or groups can buy or sell or lease shares. “Someone owns the rights to the fish and can sell the rights to the highest bidder,” >click to read< 18:40

Catching fish is the easy part, Quota system? Not so much

The Finlander is a 36-foot Northern Bay and one of two vessels operated by New England Fishmongers. On a good day, Finlander’s crew will haul in 1,000 to 2,000 pounds of fish, according to Capt. Tim Rider.,,, However, because Rider’s multi-species commercial fishing permit only allows him the ability to catch 103 pounds of cod a year, a quota the Finlander crew can hit in less than a day of fishing, Rider said he is forced to lease additional quota from other fisheries, many of whom are not actively fishing. Since cod quota is leased at between $3.25 and $3.50 per pound, Mondays big catch is virtually a wash.,,, Due to the quota system, Rider says he pays more than half of New England Fishmongers’ annual income to lease quota. >click to read<07:51

Caught today, on your plate tomorrow

It is 1:36 a.m. Friday, Sept. 8 and the crew of the small fishing boat F/V Finlander, a 36-foot Northern Bay, leaves the protection of the channel and ventures into the open Atlantic Ocean. The pilot house of the Finlander is dark, illuminated only by a sole Global Positioning System (GPS) display screen showing navigational information and an eastward course plot. The boat begins to pitch as sea swells grow larger and cross winds increase. “Today is going to be a rough one.” says Capt. Tim Rider, a Dover native and owner of the Finlander. “The wind is coming from a different direction than the swells, it’s going to bounce us all over. It’s going to get rougher the farther out we go, but I think we can handle it.” click here to read the story 08:15