Tag Archives: policy makers

How Newfoundland is grappling with the return of cod fishing

Tony Cobb is seated at his usual table at the Chester Fried Superstop, a roadside gas station and convenience store that serves some of the best fish and chips on Fogo Island.,, His ritual is interrupted every few bites by the coverall-clad fishermen who approach the table after paying for their gas. In baymen’s accents and with hands held chest high, they tell Mr. Cobb, whose new fish business offers the best price for top-quality northern cod in Newfoundland, about the huge, gleaming fish they’ve been catching. The late fall yields the best cod of the year, from “foxy” reddish ones to black-backed hulks. These are not fish tales, and Mr. Cobb is happy to banter. But when the fishermen turn away, his eyes darken: His mind has wandered out of the diner and into the bleak murk of fishery politics. click here to read the story 14:06

New calendar check could be needed for shrimp seasons

This year’s brown shrimp season is in full swing, with boats small and large trawling and skimming the bayous, lakes and canals of Louisiana’s central coast since 6 a.m. Monday. Early reports were somewhat encouraging, but there are indications that policy-makers will need to consider more flexibility when charting seasons to come. “If we have another warm February or March we will be giving everybody a heads up,” said Jeffrey Marx, the biologist who manages the shrimp program for the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries. “It is pretty much a year-to-year thing.” click here to read the story 16:07