Tag Archives: Lobsterman David Casoni
$2M to give more ocean information to fishers, scientists. ‘It will make a difference.’
A $2 million dollar grant aimed at beefing up collaboration between commercial fishermen and scientists was announced in late October at an event in Sandwich. The money will put 450 more sensors on commercial fishing equipment and data monitors on 150 more commercial fishing vessels. David Casoni has been fishing for 50 years. His lobster boat, Margaret M, is docked at Sandwich Marina. He has hundreds of lobster traps in Cape Cod Bay. He’s placed most of them based on historic knowledge. “We’re trying to catch an animal that has virtually no brain and it’s outsmarting us,” he said. “We know it reacts to food, pheromones, and somewhat to temperature, but it’s not consistent.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:03
Lobstermen and Scientists See a Fishery in Flux
While overall the fishery seems stable, some lobstermen are seeing changes that have them worried about its future. Scientists are looking into what role the changing climate may be playing in those changes, but they don’t have definitive answers. “It’s horrible,” said Mike Rego, a lobsterman and owner of the F/V Miss Lilly who operates out of Provincetown. “Last year was the worst year I ever had.” Dana Pazolt, another Provincetown lobsterman who owns the F/V Black Sheep, said that the last four years have been slim for lobsters around the Outer Cape. “You’ve got to hunt for them,” he said. “I can’t tell you why that is.” The surface waters of the Gulf of Maine are warming at a rate of about one degree per decade, faster than 99 percent of the world’s oceans, according to the Gulf of Maine Research Institute. Meanwhile, in other areas, warming has already had an effect — it played a major role in causing the collapse of the lobster fishery in Long Island Sound in 1999. more, >>CICK TO READ<< 21:20
Testing ropeless fishing gear
A test of ropeless fishing gear could protect the livelihoods of lobster fishermen and lives of North Atlantic right whales. Industry is totally against this, Lobsterman David Casoni announced from his Margaret M fishing boat tied up at the dock of the Sandwich Marina, Gear manufacturer Marco Flagg had stepped aboard holding his cylinder attached to a mesh bag filled with rope and floats. But, Casoni said, the states 1200 commercial lobstermen could be interested in the equipment under certain conditions. >click to read<08:54
