macojoe
03-23-2004, 10:57 AM
Cape Cod Times
By DOUG FRASER
STAFF WRITER
CHATHAM - Mike Abdow has been fishing for one species or another since 1959, when he was 5 years old. For the past 17 or 18 years he has been a commercial fisherman working out of Chatham, catching a seasonal mix of cod, bluefin tuna, dogfish and striped bass out of a 32-foot boat.
While he didn't catch Atlantic herring, he's seen plenty of fish eating them. His fear now is that a burgeoning commercial fishery for herring is wiping out inshore populations and driving important fish far offshore in search of food. This may be especially crucial for cod on Georges Bank, which are having a hard time rebuilding from historic low population levels.
"If you want to raise them, you got to give them something to eat. You can't take away the herring," Abdow said. In his own experience, he said he doesn't see the big herring schools five or more miles long he used to see.
The culprit may be large vessels 140 to 150 feet long that pair up to tow a 180-foot wide net between them. The method is very efficient at catching schooling fish like herring.
The New England Fishery Management Council, a combination of fishermen, environmentalists, state and federal fishing officials, is meeting today to work on regulations they hope will address the impact of inshore herring fishing as well as cap the number of people allowed to participate in the fishery.
Overall, the Atlantic herring population is robust. It has recovered from heavy foreign fishing in the '60s and '70s to levels six times higher than were seen in 1968.
The Atlantic herring fishery stretches from Canada to the mid-Atlantic states. While it is divided into four management areas, it is Area 1A, which runs from the Canadian border to Cape Cod, and out to 50 miles, where the bulk of the fish are caught. That is also prime grounds for the most valuable commercial species like cod, haddock, and bluefin tuna.
Observers sought
Local fishermen are concerned that the efficient power of the larger herring boats may be catching not only herring but those other species. Last month, a contingent of 17 Cape fishermen traveled to Washington, D.C., to knock on doors in the House and Senate to advocate observer coverage on these herring vessels.
Independent, federally trained observers ride on fishing vessels and document what is caught and what is thrown back as unwanted or illegal.
"Most of the time, they fish clean, but when they don't they have a huge bycatch," said Peter Baker of the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen's Association.
Baker spearheaded the trip to Washington, and he said herring generally spend the night near the surface, where they can be caught without bringing up large amounts of cod, and other bottom-feeding groundfish. But problems occur during the day when the herring like to head for the bottom and fishermen tow their big nets down among other fish populations.
While Baker's group didn't get the 100 percent observer coverage on all of the larger herring vessels they were lobbying for, he was somewhat pleased when National Marine Fisheries Service executive director William Hogarth announced three weeks ago that his agency was spending nearly $500,000 to cover 15 to 20 percent of herring trips with observers.
"They don't spend a half-million dollars unless they suspect something is wrong," Baker said.
Widespread concern
It's not just Cape fishermen that are worried.
Glenn Robbins has been purse seining for herring for over 40 years out of Rockland, Maine, and other ports, selling the fish to coastal canneries. When he locates a school, Robbins drops a small boat, holding one end of a large net, off the stern of his 88-foot boat. The larger vessel then attempts to corral the entire school by circling around until it winds up back at the smaller boat. The crew then pulls the net tight up against the mother ship and hydraulically pumps fish into its fish holds.
It's an old-fashioned way to catch fish that's less efficient than pair trawling or even single trawls. There's also just a handful of them left, he says.
"It used to be a year-round fishery. Now typically, it's April to November. A larger pair of trawlers can clean out 1A pretty fast," he said.
"Without being checked, this fishery is going down the tubes," he said.
Mary Beth Tooley represents 30 vessels from purse seiners to pair trawlers as executive director of the East Coast Pelagic Association. She said some of the bigger boats do go offshore, but that you have to catch a lot of herring to make a profit and even larger vessels worry about carrying too much in rough weather.
"We don't know the answer yet to localized depletion," said Lori Steele, a New England council fishery analyst. "A lot of people are really concerned and the council will do its best to acknowledge the importance of (herring) as a forage species."
The New England Fishery Management Council is scheduled to address herring issues at 10:30 a.m. today at Tavern on the Harbor in Gloucester.
(Published: March 23, 2004)
By DOUG FRASER
STAFF WRITER
CHATHAM - Mike Abdow has been fishing for one species or another since 1959, when he was 5 years old. For the past 17 or 18 years he has been a commercial fisherman working out of Chatham, catching a seasonal mix of cod, bluefin tuna, dogfish and striped bass out of a 32-foot boat.
While he didn't catch Atlantic herring, he's seen plenty of fish eating them. His fear now is that a burgeoning commercial fishery for herring is wiping out inshore populations and driving important fish far offshore in search of food. This may be especially crucial for cod on Georges Bank, which are having a hard time rebuilding from historic low population levels.
"If you want to raise them, you got to give them something to eat. You can't take away the herring," Abdow said. In his own experience, he said he doesn't see the big herring schools five or more miles long he used to see.
The culprit may be large vessels 140 to 150 feet long that pair up to tow a 180-foot wide net between them. The method is very efficient at catching schooling fish like herring.
The New England Fishery Management Council, a combination of fishermen, environmentalists, state and federal fishing officials, is meeting today to work on regulations they hope will address the impact of inshore herring fishing as well as cap the number of people allowed to participate in the fishery.
Overall, the Atlantic herring population is robust. It has recovered from heavy foreign fishing in the '60s and '70s to levels six times higher than were seen in 1968.
The Atlantic herring fishery stretches from Canada to the mid-Atlantic states. While it is divided into four management areas, it is Area 1A, which runs from the Canadian border to Cape Cod, and out to 50 miles, where the bulk of the fish are caught. That is also prime grounds for the most valuable commercial species like cod, haddock, and bluefin tuna.
Observers sought
Local fishermen are concerned that the efficient power of the larger herring boats may be catching not only herring but those other species. Last month, a contingent of 17 Cape fishermen traveled to Washington, D.C., to knock on doors in the House and Senate to advocate observer coverage on these herring vessels.
Independent, federally trained observers ride on fishing vessels and document what is caught and what is thrown back as unwanted or illegal.
"Most of the time, they fish clean, but when they don't they have a huge bycatch," said Peter Baker of the Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen's Association.
Baker spearheaded the trip to Washington, and he said herring generally spend the night near the surface, where they can be caught without bringing up large amounts of cod, and other bottom-feeding groundfish. But problems occur during the day when the herring like to head for the bottom and fishermen tow their big nets down among other fish populations.
While Baker's group didn't get the 100 percent observer coverage on all of the larger herring vessels they were lobbying for, he was somewhat pleased when National Marine Fisheries Service executive director William Hogarth announced three weeks ago that his agency was spending nearly $500,000 to cover 15 to 20 percent of herring trips with observers.
"They don't spend a half-million dollars unless they suspect something is wrong," Baker said.
Widespread concern
It's not just Cape fishermen that are worried.
Glenn Robbins has been purse seining for herring for over 40 years out of Rockland, Maine, and other ports, selling the fish to coastal canneries. When he locates a school, Robbins drops a small boat, holding one end of a large net, off the stern of his 88-foot boat. The larger vessel then attempts to corral the entire school by circling around until it winds up back at the smaller boat. The crew then pulls the net tight up against the mother ship and hydraulically pumps fish into its fish holds.
It's an old-fashioned way to catch fish that's less efficient than pair trawling or even single trawls. There's also just a handful of them left, he says.
"It used to be a year-round fishery. Now typically, it's April to November. A larger pair of trawlers can clean out 1A pretty fast," he said.
"Without being checked, this fishery is going down the tubes," he said.
Mary Beth Tooley represents 30 vessels from purse seiners to pair trawlers as executive director of the East Coast Pelagic Association. She said some of the bigger boats do go offshore, but that you have to catch a lot of herring to make a profit and even larger vessels worry about carrying too much in rough weather.
"We don't know the answer yet to localized depletion," said Lori Steele, a New England council fishery analyst. "A lot of people are really concerned and the council will do its best to acknowledge the importance of (herring) as a forage species."
The New England Fishery Management Council is scheduled to address herring issues at 10:30 a.m. today at Tavern on the Harbor in Gloucester.
(Published: March 23, 2004)