I've been filming these ships since December -- that's right, just when a lot of the fish are moving out of the bay, these 140' to 150' boats are scooping them up with the Atlantic herring they are targeting.

These photos were taken January 8, 2012. These ships were working the waters off Narragansett and they were around 1,000 feet off the shoreline. Each boat can take up to 800,000 pounds of herring -- and who knows how much bycatch -- they sometimes dump the catch in New Bedford and then run back to continue fishing.

Drive the coast and you'll see just how many boats are working our shoreline -- with little value to the local economy. You wonder where the river herring are? Want to bet there are no observers on board?

This is insane!

Why is this being allowed? Who regulates these boats? Who do we call?

country of Origin?

country of Origin?

New Bedford.

http://www.striped-bass.com/Stripertalk/stripertalk/67821-maine-herring-boats-off-narragansett.html

Spring/early summer I showed Nebe where these sit all year.

The Retriever is from New Jersey.

BasicPatrick, Is the Honest Bycatch roadshow going to be at the fishing shows this year. What's the latest with their efforts?

The Retriever is from New Jersey.

And it sat at Fish Island in New Bedford all of last year.

Home port means little.

This is where all the herring/mackerel is going: http://www.norpel.com/

Could look on the bright side - apparantly a robust local population of herring and macks which is a very good sign. And these comm fishermen are still employed.

DZ

Could look on the bright side - apparantly a robust local population of herring and macks which is a very good sign. And these comm fishermen are still employed.

DZ
It's tough to even humor looking at any positives when there are so many major down sides to indiscriminate fishing methods.

It's like telling the Brazilians, "Yeah, I know your rainforests are being completely clear-cut and the entire ecosystem is being destroyed forever, but at least those loggers are getting a paycheck." This is exactly what is occurring in the seas right off our local shores - an entire oceanic ecosystem is being destroyed so that a couple people can get a paycheck.

Johnny - I was just making an observation. I'm assuming that if the fishing is occurring its probably legal and herring/mackeral quotas haven't been met? It's probably a good time of year to harvest these species as gamefish by-catch is probably very low. If what they're doing is illegal then by all means shut them down.

DZ

DZ
This is one of the few times I disagree with you. Yes, what they are doing is legal and that's the problem. I've been to the meetings and every time we push for more observer coverage (I believe it's 5% or less now) or mounting cameras on the ships they claim it's too expensive and they can't afford to pay for it. It's all bull#^&#^&#^&#^&, I was at the meeting in Newport in 2010 and left there sick to my stomach.

We have (perhaps had) a growing inshore cod fishery that could have produced shore fishing for cod once again. It was common to catch cod from shore from mid-November to April in spots like Brenton Point, Beavertail and especially Charlestown. These nets and the constant pressure so close to shore is going to destroy yet another fishery...not to mention what they are doing to the all important base of the food chain.

Interesting viewpoint Mike and I respect your opinion. But it's in the middle of the winter! Would you rather the dragger crews use hook and line with sabiki rigs? What about all the hook and line guys catching loads of mackeral and herring the past few weeks of the piers and bridges in Rhody - should they be told to stop fishing because they're depleting the bait? I'm usually the last one to condone commercial fishing but I see nothing wrong with this at this time of season.

DZ

Interesting viewpoint Mike and I respect your opinion. But it's in the middle of the winter! Would you rather the dragger crews use hook and line with sabiki rigs? What about all the hook and line guys catching loads of mackeral and herring the past few weeks of the piers and bridges in Rhody - should they be told to stop fishing because they're depleting the bait? I'm usually the last one to condone commercial fishing but I see nothing wrong with this at this time of season.

DZ

Set horsepower and landing limits. Keep it open to more local boats, the guys doing day trips and such. Keep it away from the pair trawlers landing 600K lbs every 36hr....

RIROCKHOUND, You're right on the money. Restrict the horsepower, time and territory closures that make sense, keep the fish for the local fleet whenever possible and stop the squeeze on the little guy.

DZ, the impact of even a pretty savvy angler such as this one, doesn't add up to a hill of beans, even if there were 500,000 anglers doing this it wouldn't equal what one MWPT does...and there is a fleet of them doing it day after day after day.

there have been as many as 14 boats working at one time. i couldn't begin to guestimate how many tons have been harvested, but it's gotta be way up there. perhaps they wouldn't do as well with sabuki rigs, but at least there would be some bait left for future generations.
if we keep on taking without thinking of the future, we have none.

Time to bring whale wars to RI fire up the aluminum boats boys and lets get em:rocketem::horse::fence:
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what a shame. ^ what he said might work. :uhuh:

Set horsepower and landing limits. Keep it open to more local boats, the guys doing day trips and such. Keep it away from the pair trawlers landing 600K lbs every 36hr....


Exactly.

Just an observation, you really should get involved in fisheries mgmt -you always seem to see right through the BS and are spot on with these things (even when we don't agree).

And it sat at Fish Island in New Bedford all of last year.

Home port means little.

This is where all the herring/mackerel is going: HOME (http://www.norpel.com/)

I thought Norpel went out of business

couple years ago john r had the numbers of herring caught and estimated bi catch of alot of dead stripers following the herring.would be interested to see the numbers now.

I thought Norpel went out of business

Still there on Fish Is with pair trawlers sitting along side.

Exactly.

Just an observation, you really should get involved in fisheries mgmt -you always seem to see right through the BS and are spot on with these things (even when we don't agree).

RIMFC Tautog advisor panael (alternate to Rockhound Sr). I try to go to the public meetings at Corless when I can, but I have enough to do as a half-assed geologist...

There were 10 boats out there this morning 4 were pair trawling.

Utter disgrace and lack of respect for the fishery.

I have seen similar tactics with the same boats targeting squid. One time I counted 22 boats in what appeared to be a square mile (or two)

All I can say is that I have given up hope with all the dept of fisheries. They are a lost cause and do not understand the issues. Screw these jobs for fishermen, there are only a few of them anyway, the fish are far more important than a few jobs for meth'ed out fishermen.

Pretty sure there's a spot open on the NEFMC - I'm sure the wife would appreciate if we nominated you...

Dented bucket has a new blog about it
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Pretty sure there's a spot open on the NEFMC - I'm sure the wife would appreciate if we nominated you...

Do that, and I'd be come pro-pair trawling out of spite :smash::biglaugh::biglaugh:

Johnny - I was just making an observation. I'm assuming that if the fishing is occurring its probably legal and herring/mackeral quotas haven't been met? It's probably a good time of year to harvest these species as gamefish by-catch is probably very low. If what they're doing is illegal then by all means shut them down.

DZ
Granted just hearsay from the Tuna section but... 5 giant BFT caught in the herring nets off of RI. Illegal to keep so the tuna must be discarded.

Still think this is a good time of year for indiscriminate fishing methods because "by-catch is probably very low"?

There's always going to be some bycatch. I just assume let them fish in the winter months to reduce it. Much better than having them dragging the same areas in October/November.

It sounds like most guys here just don't want anyone dragging at any place any time. A small time dragger could just as well caught the same tuna and they would still have to be discarded.

Attached are a few NOAA docs to give some background on the herring fishery. Appears the fleet in now working on the 2012 quota. Seems the full 2011 quota was not reached.

You would think that if the quota was not reached last year, there might be a problem.
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It sounds like most guys here just don't want anyone dragging at any place any time. A small time dragger could just as well caught the same tuna and they would still have to be discarded.

Pretty much my opinion of dragging. You eliminate dragging and you resolve a number of ecological issues. Not only is by-catch a major issue, it seems pretty common knowledge that they have no regard for sustainability, bottom trawlers completely destroy habitat that could harbor juvenile fish and there is literally no accountability.

To re-emphasize my earlier analogy, dragging is no different than the companies that clear-cut rainforests, doing whatever they can to make money without regard for the lasting effects on fish stocks or the overall ecological consequences. A few small groups will eventually completely ruin the seas for the rest of us.

A few small groups will eventually completely ruin the seas for the rest of us.

I wouldn't exactly call them a "small group".

Just an FYI:

Pair Trawling in Rhode Island waters: is it worth it? | The Dented Bucket (http://www.thedentedbucket.com/?p=914)

And for some good news...

North Carolina is about to open the trawling season for stripers.

Each boat can keep about 100 fish per day.

And they take the 100 largest ones, even if it means making many tows and shoveling dead ones over the side by the 1000s.

Sickening!

And for some good news...

North Carolina is about to open the trawling season for stripers.

Each boat can keep about 100 fish per day.

And they take the 100 largest ones, even if it means making many tows and shoveling dead ones over the side by the 1000s.

Sickening!

Just like High grading for fluke in the Sound.

I wish someone would start a fund to finance private boat owners to anchor in mass in the ares the pair trawlers are fishing to make it impossible for the trawlers to get to the schooling fish. There seem to be enough people who care and I am sure they could generate plenty of support/dollars.

I wonder if a kayak challenging them would make the news and perhaps garner support from the general public to end the carnage, maybe I should take one for the team and get out there after the winds settle.

This nothing new and yes you should all be outraged. This is the fleet I have spend 13 years fighting. Twenty plus are currently working the back side of Cape Cod and Gansett/Block Island Sound.

MSBA, The Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen's Association, a couple of Tuna Groups that are now ABTA formed CHOIR many years ago to fight this fight and we still are at it today. We have been winnigna s their operations are far more restricted then they were when we began but the fight is far from over.

"Dock Talk" in the last few days is that a pair of Mid Water Trawl Boats (should be called super draggers or mid water draggers) possibly owned by the company Sea Freeze (NJ/some operations in RI?) got 5 300-500 lb Blue Fin on one day this week and on the second day got 3 more. I just got a call that maybe 4 more on a third day.

There is also a dock rumor that an observer was on board. FYI...observers just write down what they are allowed to see and sample, they do not enforce or point out violations, they are not law enforcement and have a very tough job as it is.

The dock talk rumor is that the crew cut one tuna up to eat. In my eyes better than wasting the fish but also clearly that is the only illegal part of what is going on in RI State Waters.

If I lived in RI I would be calling the state and demanding that this fishery be pushed outside the 3 mile line. Most states have a 90 foot state waters limit.

Herring and mackerel fishing is not bad when done by smaller boats with captains tied to the resource and contributing to the local community. These local operators can coexist with our shared resources.

Industrial Pair Trawling should not be allowed near our waters. We need to save local fishermen. Take the minimum wage low income industrial sweat shop factory jobs being filled by god knows whom back to the countries from whence they came. I want traditional New England Fishermen and our natural resources protected.

Mike....Honest By Catch will be at RISAA and MSBA.


The Battle against these boats is coming to a head this Spring. Ammendment 5 to the Herring Plan is goign to Public Hearing sometime mid Feb and will continue to March. We must overwhelm the public hearings. We WANT

1. 100% monitoring (if gov't wont pay then industry should)

2.Restrictions on dumping

3. Weigh all fish landed

4. Closed Area Monitoring fishery wide.

5. Some By Catch protection

Honest By Catch urges all to attend the public hearings and send in comments. We will be advising when and how once the info is released.

Also in April Honest By CAtch will run 1 bus from Cape Cod and 1 Bus from RI to the final decision meeting on AM 5 in CT.

IF we show up we will win. If we do not we will not.

Please respond this Spring when we ask for help.

90 foot state waters limit ? wtf

Peter...Most States do not allow commercial fishing vesssels over 90 foot to fish in state waters. RI does allow these 140-165 on average monster trawlers. Its like dragging a gill net...everything dies and nothing escapes for tomorrow.

I sent an email Wednesday to the Dir of RIDEM, Janet Coit, asking her to read John Lee's blog: The Dented Bucket (http://www.thedentedbucket.com) on what is going on with the pair trawlers.

No surprise: NO RESPONSE!:fury:

I wonder if there is any damage other than the reduction of stocks that could be attributed directly or indirectly to commercial trawling. For instance mass beach stranding of dolphins or whales. Could there be a connection that hasn't yet been discovered or considered? If commercial vessels are in the vicinity of these strandings could it be assumed that they may actually be the cause? Maybe the sounds of the nets, the fish in the nets or even the sonar being used. I'm just grasping at straws trying to find some way to end the slaughter and damage caused by dragger's and trawlers.

Nature saw fit to produce a mass of herring in this particular area... for a natural purpose and balance. Two giant boats scooping them up in one day definitely doesn't seem to fit into the natural balance, and it devoid of any common sense to assume that nature can keep bouncing back at the same rate we strip the ocean of fish...

there are a new pair of VERY good size boats working right now off conant.
haven't seen this pair in the 5 + weeks i've been watching......

They will stick around until every last speck of herring is gone, and then move on to the next area or state to repeat...

They are out there right now. You can see them from the Newport bridge
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Just an FYI:

Pair Trawling in Rhode Island waters: is it worth it? | The Dented Bucket (http://www.thedentedbucket.com/?p=914)

Require reading!