Tag Archives: some leaving the industry
‘I make nothing’: Local fishers weigh leaving the industry as inflation drives up costs
Troy Pack, the captain of the Itasca, a Hawaiʻi-based longline fishing boat, had a different outlook on his job just a few years ago. “I loved being a captain. I loved my job. I love fishing, but it’s like I was making good money and it was worth it. It was worth being away from my family and worth being away and being out at sea for 25 days a month,” Pack said. After a recent fishing trip, the Itasca was docked at Oʻahu’s Pier 38. On one afternoon, Pack, some of his crew and Peter Webster, who owns the Itasca, were taking a break aboard the vessel before heading out on another fishing trip. There, Pack said he’s been rethinking his career. After 20 years of fishing, he said he couldn’t live on the pay anymore. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:09
‘I’m not going to hang around:’ Some Maine lobstermen decide to quit over new regulations
Some lobstermen have decided the paperwork, and more harsh future regulations, aren’t worth it. Bill Coppersmith’s lobster boat is named the “Billy and Andy.” He stopped lobstering the day new reporting requirements started. “Forty-three years of doing it, I took the last of my gear out of the water on New Year’s Day. And I said, ‘That’s probably it,'” Coppersmith said. “It’s come to be too restrictive to go. It creates more work. And I can’t create any more revenue because of the restrictions they’re putting on here.” Lobstermen are also now required to keep a tracking device on board so the Atlantic States Commission can track their movements in the Gulf of Maine. Coppersmith says that’s an invasion of privacy. Video, more, >>click to read<< 06:26
