Tag Archives: “the graying of the fleet.”
Roger Wood Asks, Is Commercial Fishing Heading for Extinction?
Can New Hampshire’s dwindling commercial fishing industry be revived or is the enterprise headed for extinction? Fishermen in the ground fish business are retiring. So far, there is no clear path to replace them with younger people. A new federally funded program is intended to address that. In this podcast, Roger Wood talks with a newly retired fisherman, David Goethel from Hampton and the director of a new federally funded program intended to help young people continue the trade. >click to listen, and read< 08:48
Finding crew: Industry leaders search for the next generation of fishermen
John Corbin remembers tent cities in Alaska in the 1980s during the booming king crab seasons. The commercial fisherman said upward of 50 guys a day would walk the docks looking for work. Those days are gone.,, Across the industry, businesses have struggled to attract new employees. Clatsop County seafood processors say they need to hire more people, but can’t seem to get anyone through the door.,, Fishing remains a highly lucrative career, the industry argues. At the same time, regulations and demographic shifts in coastal communities have changed what is and isn’t possible for young fishermen. click here to read the story 11:18
Study examines decline in young, rural fishermen
In 1980, the city of Dillingham boasted more than 150 fishing permit holders in the community. Today, that number has dropped to less than 80, and while the number of fishermen in rural southwest Alaska has declined, the age of those who continue to fish has risen by almost a decade. A collaborative research project hopes to understand this trend, which has been dubbed The project, called “Alaska’s Next Generation of Fishermen,” hopes to find practical solutions that can rejuvenate an aging fishing industry. Read the rest here 18:36
