the current fisherman mag..

[ZuluHotel]

Ed B---hope you don't mind, but I've posted a personal response here, to clear the rapidly clouding waters

Hi Ed,

I don't want to talk out of school, but when I initially received that photo, it was in an e-mail that identified the specifics of that tow as having taken place outside the Nantucket Lightship, and bore a caption to the effect of "5000 pound tow. 100 pound trip limit. What a waste." Then, it went on to mention that that it took one of his boats three tows to land a VA limit.

I do believe that those fish were, in fact, subsequently landed in Virginia, where the trip limit was 12,000 pounds. This is a fairly common practice for boats that have the correct state landings permits.

Mr. Avila, against whom I have nothing, was initially trying to prove a point. I admire his courage for trying to make that point, namely that under trip limits, there's huge potential for waste. Now that this issue has caused an uproar, I suspect he's back-peddling a bit, maybe casting a slightly different light on the photo. I've called him countless times, but have not been able to get direct comments from him. Given the feedback he must be getting from guys in the industry, I can't say I would blame him.

We will be addressing this topic in next week's conservation watch.

I do not believe that the photo is in fact a "smoking gun" for fluke waste, but I would in no way change a word I said about the failure of management. Major problem with this piece was that 100-percent of people saw the photo, 10-percent read the article. A lot of the commercial drum-beating on some forums is based largely on hearsay. My point stands. This stuff happens constantly--I've heard about it from draggerman friends of mine for more than a decade. If Mr. Avila's vessel lacked a VA landing permit--many draggers DO NOT hold such permits--those fish would have been run over the side.

Any draggerman worth his salt knows this goes on, when a groundfish boat hits an unexpected pop of cod when the trip limit's down, but who would want to publicly admit that? I have numerous sources in the commercial industry, and in fact spent some time in various commercial fisheries (including gillnetting, where I saw this problem firsthand and repeatedly) and have heard most of them lament this situation for the last 10 years. I'm not surprised, though, that no dragger owner or captain is coming forward with the smoking gun.

I will clarify details on the photo, but I will not budge on my argument. When draggermen start paying attention to the Fisherman, I rest assured that I've struck a nerve, that, as the saying goes, "the truth hurts."

Thanks for your response, and stay tuned.

Best,

Zach Harvey