Tag Archives: fisherman Terry Alexander
Stock Assessments Benefit from Rockhopper Trawl Efficiency Study
A collaborative study conducted aboard a Rhode Island-based commercial trawler from 2015 to 2017 is bearing fruit. It was led by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center and commercial fishermen interested in how catches of the same species varied depending on the type of trawl net used. Since 2019, stock assessment scientists have used the results from this Northeast Trawl Advisory Panel study in multiple stock assessments to ensure sustainable fisheries for several flounder species as well as monkfish and red hake. Specifically, the results help produce more accurate estimates of abundance which can increase the confidence in catch advice for some species. “Cooperative research is essential to obtain accurate assessments and catch advice in our nation’s fisheries,” said Chris Roebuck, former Northeast Trawl Advisory Panel member, commercial fisherman and participant in the experiment. “This research is an excellent example of collaboration between scientists and fishermen. It provided solid efficiency numbers for each targeted species,” he said. “The information produced was clearly the best available science and has the potential to ultimately influence catch advice for every species evaluated.” Photos, lots of links, more, >>click to read<< 12:29
Mega Cut: Haddock, a staple Atlantic fish, is in decline off New England, regulators say
A recent scientific assessment found that the Gulf of Maine haddock stock declined unexpectedly, and that meant the catch quotas for the fish were unsustainably high, federal fishing managers said. “We seem to find plenty, but they can’t,” said Terry Alexander, a Maine-based fisher who targets haddock and other species. “It’s a disaster is what it is. A total, complete disaster.” The fishery management council mandated the 84% reduction in catch quotas for the current fishing year, which started May 1. The change applies to fishers who harvest haddock from the Gulf of Maine, a body of water off Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. Fishers also harvest from Georges Bank, a fishing ground to the east where quotas were also reduced for this year, including adjoining areas overseen by Canadian officials who issued their own major cuts. >click to read< 08:02
Fishing plan can rebuild long lost cod stock by 2033
Most of the cod now sold in the U.S. comes from overseas because many American fishermen avoid the fish-and-chips staple altogether. But the regulatory New England Fishery Management Council has approved a new strategy that it said has a 70% chance of rebuilding the stock by 2033. The proposal, which is awaiting final approval from NOAA, would use 10 years of low catch limits to try to rebuild the cod population in the Gulf of Maine. But some fishermen are unconvinced cod are ever coming back. Fishermen have grown used to choking quotas on cod catch and have moved on to other species, said Terry Alexander, a longtime fisherman from Harpswell, Maine, who targets haddock and monkfish these days. “I would like to have my codfish back, for sure. We could make some money on them. But that’s never going to happen,” >click to read< 16:02
