Tag Archives: Gloucester fisherman Al Cottone

Fishermen: Haddock limits to lead to shutdown

In two tows during a fishing trip in March, Gloucester fisherman Joe Orlando caught what could have been almost his entire allocation for Gulf of Maine haddock under catch limits proposed for fishing year 2023, which begins May 1. Orlando harvested 7,000 pounds in those two tows, about a half day’s worth of fishing, Jackie Odell, executive director of the Northeast Seafood Coalition pointed out to members of the New England Fishery Management Council, NOAA Fisheries and others in an email. His allocation for the upcoming fishing year is expected to be 8,000 pounds. >click to read< 07:57

Fishermen not feeling the effects of ‘marked decrease’ in Atlantic cod population

What started as a research presentation on rising ocean temperatures and decreasing cod supply by NOAA quickly turned into a revealing conversation about how scientists and their data often do not reflect fishermen’s experiences. Findings by a working group of researchers indicated that the lifecycle of the species is being influenced by the environment, specifically rising ocean temperatures, which have changed the fish’s spawning behavior and their predator-prey relationships. Fishermen did question is whether these facts are having the same implications that the researchers believe. Al Cottone, a Gloucester fisherman, says he feels cod are in different areas, and that he has noticed a change in the tides, too. >click to read< 10:56

NOAA calls for monitors on all groundfish trips, calls for Public Comments on proposal

The draft amendment to set at-sea monitoring coverages aboard all Northeast groundfish vessels has led an adventurous existence in the three years the New England Fishery Management Council has dedicated to developing the contentious measure. There was last year’s partial shutdown of the federal government that delayed the rule-setting process. The council, in March 2018, also chose to tap the brakes on the development of the measure known as Amendment 23, >click to read< 20:28

Fishermen to managers: Our voices are ignored

The New England Fishery Management Council sent its program review roadshow to Gloucester on Tuesday night to gather opinions on the council’s performance and the fishery managers were not spared the lash. The comments delivered Tuesday night at the sparsely attended meeting at the state Division of Marine Fisheries Annisquam Station facility certainly were not new, at least not to anyone who has spent any time speaking with local fishermen about life under the regulatory gaze of the council. They revolved around a strong belief among local fishermen that management decisions affecting the fishery are made well before the council convenes its public meetings and the scientific data and on-the-water-expertise of local fishermen are ignored or demeaned when it comes to forming policy. click here to read the story 21:37

Summertime means whiting in Ipswich Bay

whitingIn early July, (Heather Atwood) spoke to Gloucester fisherman Al Cottone, executive director of Gloucester Fisheries Commission, at the Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives offices after his fourth day of fishing for whiting. A strapping, dark-haired, 50-year-old, Cottone confessed he was beat. He’s not used to the unrelenting action that fishing for whiting demands anymore. Cottone has been fishing since he was 17, and has never had any other kind of work. But his ground fish quota this year, allocated by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, was pared down to almost nothing: This means two things: Cottone cannot catch enough fish to make a living, unless he begins leasing quota from other fishermen, which has added costs. (Cottone says that many fishermen are so fed up, or they are just leasing their allocated quota to the few fishermen left, and finding other work.) It also means Cottone is out of shape; he just hasn’t had enough fishing practice recently. But Cottone loves fishing for whiting. Read the story here 10:58