Tag Archives: New England lobstering industry
Keeping It Simple on the Water, Hauling Traps and Filling Pots
“Things were much simpler in the ‘50s or ‘60s out here,” Mr. Iacono said as he piloted Freedom, the 35-foot lobster boat he has been sailing for 42 years, past the modest working boats and glossy pleasure yachts on the way toward Vineyard Sound. The lobstering industry has changed dramatically since Mr. Iacono first began hauling traps and filling pots, and so has the technology. “When I started, we had wooden traps,” Mr. Iacono said as he hauled out a wire trap off the coast of Aquinnah, two writhing lobsters inside. “They were made of oak and they would always be so heavy because the wood would soak up the seawater.” Now, Mr. Iacono’s boat is decked out with radar, GPS and a fish finder that uses sonar to map the ocean floor and help lobstermen decide where to drop their traps. How did they manage before the tech? Photos, >click to read< 09:00
Northeast lobster fishery observer coverage has fallen off dramatically
The number of scheduled observer trips aboard Cape Ann lobster boats and others throughout Massachusetts have fallen off dramatically since the contentious Gloucester meeting last month where NOAA outlined plans to increase observer coverage for the Northeast lobster fishery. The June 4 meeting at NOAA’s regional headquarters in the Blackburn Industrial Park provided the first glimpse of the rabid opposition among lobstermen to expanding the Northeast Fisheries Observer Program throughout the and as far down the East Coast as Maryland. Read the rest here 13:07
