Maine Herring boats off of Narragansett
 

This Bugs me big time. I am sure there are millions of river herring mixed with sea herring out there and from what I can tell they are catching tons of them... They've been here for about a week. THere are two big boats that scout around and when they find a school they converge on it and pair trawl. :(

Looks like the same boats I saw out on SWC area on 11/30!

Complete bull.........

No one likes herring pair trawlers. I've heard regular draggermen bash the big herring boats. One problem has to do with control. The entire New England and mid-Atlantic herring industry is controlled by a handful of people. I bet no more than six big catcher boats are in it. The small owner-operator herring boats can't compete because of market control.

It goes way beyond bycatch issues. There are a bunch of small Point Judith trawlers, with sea herring permits--that are tied to the dock right now because they can't "get into" the herring market.

sad. I wonder how many cod and pollock are being scooped up in those schools???

100% observer coverage would at least remove some of the mystery.

At least they're not from Jersey...

Why is that? Do they smell worse?
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Chris is lonely and the Maine guy's don't put out when they come ashore.

On a serious note, this is a real issues, I think HonestBycatch has been fighting this with some minor inroads, but it does go along with what goose said about the other fisheries not liking this fishery....

How close are they allowed? Looks like they are moored there. Nebe throw some glassware at them.

oh no.. that one that was in close was tr#^&#^&#^&#^&#^& up and down the shore

Not much in the way of regulation. If they have the license, they can do it.
At least its not a northern european boat or some other country.
Couple of years ago had some in the Branford River from NY. Called the DEP and there was no law to keep out of the river system. This may have been berfore the ban on river herring.
This is a shame.

ARE you kiddding mE!!!!!
 

I don't see any pair trawling going on.........Those boats could be entering New Bedford harbour for all we see............:smash:

Ok bud. Whatever.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

This is where you're river herring are going, period.

No amount of of conservation at the runs could possibly make up for the by-catch from these things.

And when you here about the miles of dead stripers each year off chatham - these are your culprits, not the regular day-draggers.

Right. Those boats are expensive. good thing the limits justify the cost of owning the boats. :smash:

These are 200ft fishing machines. This is not ArcBait getting 100,000lbs of pogies (in a closely monitored fishery) this is 100% different and not a local fishery. How many of these herring are staying in the US?

Definitely paired up. I took this shot yesterday. Both of these guys are from New Bedford.

Yep, they sit on the west side of the plant on Fish Island all year till the Herring are here.

IIRC it all gets shipped offshore.

from what i have learned they have found a loop hole by hireing a guy who holds licenses in RI and pay him a share- So what they are doing is legal- pair trawling is legal too...

they will probably wipe out 1/2 of gilbert stewart herring runs fish.. :smash::smash::smash:

Drill baby drill. To hell with river herring.

Here ya go - a chance to voice your concerns locally!

DZ

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE, DECEMBER 9, 2010
CONTACT, TINA BERGER, 703/842-0740

ASMFC Atlantic Herring Section to Meet January 7, 2011


The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's Atlantic Herring Section will meet from 10:00 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. on January 7, 2011, at the Sheraton Providence Airport Hotel, 1850 Post Road, Warwick Rhode Island. This Section will review and consider approval of Draft Addendum IV for Public Comment. Draft Addendum IV proposes to allow small mesh bottom trawl and small purse seine vessels an additional landing day or two per week on 'days out' of the fishery. The additional landing days are intended to allow smaller day-boats an equal amount of fishing days as larger vessels that fish for several days prior to landing. In addition to including management options, Draft Addendum IV will address the potential impact to river herring stocks. If approved, Draft Addendum IV will be released for public comment in mid-January. The Section will take final action at the ASMFC Winter Meeting the week of March 21, 2011. Meeting materials will be posted on the Commission website athttp://www.asmfc.org/meetings.htm as they become available.


For more information, please contact Christopher Vonderweidt, Atlantic Herring FMP Coordinator, at cvonderweidt@asmfc.org.



*************************
Tina Berger
Public Affairs Specialist
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission 1050 N. Highland St., Suite 200 A-N Arlington, VA 22201-2196
(p) 703.842.0740
(f) 703.842.0741
tberger@asmfc.org
Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission

ASMFC Vision: Healthy, self-sustaining populations for all Atlantic coast fish species or successful restoration well in progress by the year 2015.

Maybe you can post a couple of pics of comm. boats with fishing gear over the side and actually fishing!!!!!!!!!!OK bud.Whatever

^^^It appears that the posted pic has a net in the water as seen from my mobile phone screen but could be something else

You must be the one kidding us. Well, fuel prices aren't that bad. They must be out on a pleasure cruise, no?

Can't wait for the day regulators do everyone a service shut these guys down.

You can't honestly think that these boats aren't fishing do you????

Good grief.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Do you guys think we could get a coalition of clubs/organizations to join together and make a sustained two year effort to ban Pair Trawling or Mid water trawling as a whole?

I know there are enviro orgs that would jump on board for a fight like this.

The issue is could we sustain the pressure to do it or would the obviou starting momentum die after an "internet minute".

I'm seriously asking for opinions.

While it's a noble effort, I seriously doubt it would ever be banned outright... Too much $$ involved, and there are some big players who are in that game.

Pushing for 100% coverage, and a ban on certain practices like tripping bags at sea... That's a more realistic target, and one that would solve much of the bycatch issues... Or at least provide hard data, rather than anecdotal evidence.

Pat most people just want to bitch. damn few will pick up a pen or phone nd fewer still will go into a politicians office to make a point. Ron

After a phone call to someone who works where the boats are kept, yes, they are infact fishing where nebeben posted.

Go away, please, thanks.

O.K. sure
 

ya......you just happened to know who to call with regards to the boats in the pic...........O.K. Mr. photoshop..........Sorry....Am I bursting your little anti-commercial Fishing hate bubble???? If it makes you feel any better thats americans working the decks of those boats......unlike the brazilians your paying to blow the leaves off your lawn.........:)

Photoshop? Are you implying that this is all a fabrication??

These boats are wiping out all of the food that larger fish eat, and they are crushing the river herring populations.

I don't know what your agenda is, but you are doing a good job of making yourself look foolish.

Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Every day I go to work I have to go by a set of rules and laws so that what I do doesn't adversely affect those around me and the rest of the public. I've worked on a gill netter and a trawler when I was young an dumb.The name of the game is to catch as many sellable fish as possible. What isn't sellable just goes back in dead unless you run across a foreign vessel that will give you a few bucks for what you can't take to shore.That is called by-catch. It can be controled but isn't because it will cost them profit.Most net boats kill a n amount of by-catch that at times rivals what they bring home to sell. There is where the problem lies.You can bitch ,rant and rave all you want about the comercials rights an so on but they do it ,it;s not controled and will continue to do it till what they;re fishing for is depleted so far that it's no longer worth fishing for then they'll go on to another species and do it again.Waste is waste. Wheather we catch a large striper and release it or take it home is only a very small part of the problem. BY-CATCH . If it isn't fixed soon there won't be much to worry about catching.At least those boats are out there in the day. Oh that's right no one else is on the water now to watch what they do with the by-catch. Ron

Anti-commercial? Hah. Right. Nice try.

And sorry, no brazilians here, just mexicans.

And you're quite behind the times, lots of mexicans on the boats now.

The landscape guys on most of our jobsites are Portuguese or Guatamalen.So much for the Brazillian theory.

I would hope so but I don't know if it can be done. I'm not sure the different groups cans stop bitching together enough to get on the same page.

Oh, everyone has a same page for others to get on and if everybody would just do that, everything would be just fine.

I don't know if we can get Clupea Forever on the same page as the Lobstahmen.

But I would love to see it happen.

Of course, some people are either in denial or just want to see others silk undies wad up.

Set up a special forum with password and have someone other then you hand pick those that will fight the cause and not each other.
Posted from my iPhone/Mobile device

Interesting thought but I think we here are a tiny, tiny piece of what needs to be put together, like less than 1% of the group needed to do what Patrick thinks. So if we here all (most) got on the same page, and worked with 200 other clubs, forums, organizations, etc...

I just typed this up.. Everyone is free to use this and send it to where ever you think it will help the most.

Also, if there are any errors, let me know and i will change or add to this...



Via Facsimile (INSERT FAX NUMBER)
NAME
ADDRESS
Re: Pair-Trawling for Atlantic Herring
Dear __________________:

I am writing to voice my strong opposition to the current fishing techniques used the the Atlantic Herring pair-trawling industry. There is strong evidence that the large Corporate boats are so efficient at catching these fish that they are dumping hundreds of thousands of dead or close to death Cod, Pollack, Haddock, River herring, striped bass, scup and shad, not to mention seals, and porpoises. back into the water after they haul their nets. What makes Pair Fishing so devastating is that 2 large boats find a school of fish and completely engulf the school with one net, thus capturing everything in that school, which consists of the atlantic herring and all of the predators who eat herring. The nets are raised, everything is dumped on the deck and any species that can not be sold is kicked overboard- everything that goes overboard is called ‘By-catch”
Myself and other people who are concerned about this technique are not opposed to the commercial take of Atlantic Herring, but are extremely opposed to this pair trawling technique. Smaller commercial draggers have smaller nets and can be more selective on how they approach a school of fish and the by-catch issues are much smaller. Furthermore, the ratio of fish landed per crew man is much smaller on a normal sized commercial dragger, so more jobs could be created if pair trawling could be made illegal.
I am not sure if you are aware of the current assessment of the North American River Herring, but over the past decade we have watched as their numbers that are counted at local herring runs drop by considerable numbers. We are at a point now were possession has been made illegal for these fish to allow them to recover. Their numbers have not been recovering and one of the major reasons for this is that River Herring school with Atlantic Herring in the winter before they migrate to the rivers in the spring. These giant Pair Trawling operations no not have the ability to scan all of the herring on the decks and throw back the river herring. As a result, millions of protected River Herring are being packaged and sold as Atlantic Sea Herring.
In closing, I urge you to take action against this incessant waste of our natural resources. Please act to eliminate pair trawling from state waters and to please help protect the local river herring and other species that are being killed in this wasteful manner.
Very truly yours,
#^&
NAME
ADDRESs
TELEPHONE NUMBER

You hit the nail on the head Larry.