MASS Commercial Fishing

[MrHunters]

this may be a dumb question... but i am very unfamiliar with commerc fishing. once caught, who do you sell to? or do you have to have that all lined up before you even head out.

[clambelly]

you may sell to any dealer that is licensed with the state of massachusetts to buy striped bass. most wholesale fish markets hold permits to buy all species of fish landed in the state, but some have federal permits that allow them to buy from boats with federal multi-species permits.

[Back Beach]

Originally Posted by Professor Moriarty

August 15th 2000. Full Moon, rain and NE wind blew for a few days prior and went into a NW wind after. Lasted a good week but the first few days were the best. I did not make the best of it but know a few who did. Never seen so many boats in such a small area. Anything from canoes to sportfishers. The guys that were there the first few days did 40 fish no problem, some caught all they could before they sunk their boat, went in for more bait and to sell and went out again, then it turned into a free for all. P.

That's the one I'm thinking of. Free for all is a good description.

[sokinwet]

Just a correction on the permit requirements. An individual permit does not restrict you to shore. You can either have a boat permit that allows all on board to fish or all each individual on board must have their own permit. Only 1 limit per boat regardless of the # of permit holders on board.

[redlite]

I think a memo goes out to all fish after their numbers get decimated the 1st week. Season always opens with a gang buster, then fizzles There are fish, just not in the normal spots that poeple have always been accoustomed to them being in.
As far as licensces go, get a little burned that where we were the past week, majority of boats are from RI. Why is it that RI and CT residents are allowed to come and fish and take my regulated fishery where as I can't go and commercially take theirs?

Gas prices are definately having a BIG impact on pretty much everybodies budget and gameplan. Not only that but so many guys out there having fuel/ engine problems from the "improved" more expensive gas.

From what I gather being primarily a surf guy and from talking with tuna and cod guys, the fish are just staying off shore in the EEZ zones (Stellwagon) until they get the memo that it is safe to return to near shore waters because the seals have all been disposed of.

I am junk.

[Skitterpop]

Originally Posted by redlite

I think a memo goes out to all fish after their numbers get decimated the 1st week. Season always opens with a gang buster, then fizzles There are fish, just not in the normal spots that poeple have always been accoustomed to them being in.
As far as licensces go, get a little burned that where we were the past week, majority of boats are from RI. Why is it that RI and CT residents are allowed to come and fish and take my regulated fishery where as I can't go and commercially take theirs?

Gas prices are definately having a BIG impact on pretty much everybodies budget and gameplan. Not only that but so many guys out there having fuel/ engine problems from the "improved" more expensive gas.

From what I gather being primarily a surf guy and from talking with tuna and cod guys, the fish are just staying off shore in the EEZ zones (Stellwagon) until they get the memo that it is safe to return to near shore waters because the seals have all been disposed of.

I am junk.

Huu Yah

[Swimmer]

$1.75 a pound for bass might have something to do with the lack of comm. guys out there

[Grapenuts]

Originally Posted by Swimmer

$1.75 a pound for bass might have something to do with the lack of comm. guys out there

Would you say this might be because the market is flooded??...I know now that the hoger's are farming their bed's and dragger's are bring in 1000's of lb's of hog's a day,,they went from $.25 each to $.13 each.....keep the catch at a much lower daily amount an that will keep the price up.......folks can only eat just so much seafood in a given time frame.........seen it happen to tuna....monday the buyer's were paying say 50.00 a lb. ..come friday it was down to 3.00...fisherman flooded the market.

[Karl F]

Saw a fish slip the other day @2.50 a pound......market varies, I guess...prolly like everything else, gotta shop it around.

[clambelly]

Originally Posted by Grapenuts

Would you say this might be because the market is flooded??...I know now that the hoger's are farming their bed's and dragger's are bring in 1000's of lb's of hog's a day,,they went from $.25 each to $.13 each.....keep the catch at a much lower daily amount an that will keep the price up.......folks can only eat just so much seafood in a given time frame.........seen it happen to tuna....monday the buyer's were paying say 50.00 a lb. ..come friday it was down to 3.00...fisherman flooded the market.

necks were going for .25 each???
please tell me your lying.

don't get me started on the quahog market.

[Grapenuts]

WAS..market hit bottom...a glut has made them worth almost nothing now because the boats and farm's have brought in so many,,the market has no where to go with them......I just came from a fish market..bass $13.99 lb....bluefish $6.99..steamers $4.00...One thing fisherman will never do is get together and put a min. on what they bring in to controll price's...the price drops down,,they bring in more to keep their earning's the same as when they were getting good prices with less product.

[Mike P]

Originally Posted by inTHERAPY

Up to nearly 250,000. The number reported is definetly behind, well behind actual landings/sales. I think MA is probably a week behind in inputting data. At the time of 93,000 I knew 4 guys who totalled more than 10,000. I do not think they accounted for 10% of the catch!

As of July 26, the reported landings were up to 358,053 lbs. About 31% of the quota.

[clambelly]

FYI...

As of today, August 2

571,791lbs.
50.1 % of the quota harvested.

[JHABS]

That would be behind Last Years, I'd say the pounds are Down.

[Slipknot]

571,791 lbs so far
that is halfway there.

I bet the updates are slow and behind.

maybe they landings are behind last years, but lots of stuff factors in as to why.
I hope we are all not killing too many of the larger breeding bass.


I was at that free for all in August of 2000, great fishing that day among the 200 boats on that ledge. We got our 2 fish and got the heck out of there not long afterwards.

[clambelly]

slip, that number is updated as of today.
and with the 34" size, big breeders are pretty much all they get.

[Mike P]

It's been tough going for the Wareham/Mattapoiset/Fairhaven guys this week. Best I've heard so far was one guy with 15 fish yesterday.

Another guy ran all over CC Bay today and only marked a few fish that he couldn't get to hit. Said no evidence of bait in the places he tried.

[capesams]

talked to a naba this mornin...he said he's been everywhere offshore[chatham] in the rips..water temp.67 way to warm...said some guys are spending 12 hours for two fish....even he's giving up and he's one of the better comm. guy's.

[Karl F]

Originally Posted by capesams

talked to a naba this mornin...he said he's been everywhere offshore[chatham] in the rips..water temp.67 way to warm...said some guys are spending 12 hours for two fish....even he's giving up and he's one of the better comm. guy's.

He shoulda gone this AM.. saw a cooler fulla fish this AM that was on a boat that went out in the (trap line) slop this AM.. 7 over 48 inches, plus a few others... on the way to mkt. now...
a weather Front can make allll the difference

[capesams]

he was way out where he always does well...there at 4 this morin...so he must have splashed at 3am....refuses to fish inshore.

[clambelly]

Originally Posted by Karl F

He shoulda gone this AM.. saw a cooler fulla fish this AM that was on a boat that went out in the (trap line) slop this AM.. 7 over 48 inches, plus a few others... on the way to mkt. now...
a weather Front can make allll the difference

nice haul, but i don't think he's selling them today.

[Mike P]

Originally Posted by clambelly

nice haul, but i don't think he's selling them today.

Or tomorrow. Sunday he can sell 5. If I were him, I'd just eat the other two, because they'll be crap by Tuesday.

[ProfessorM]

Must be the black market Karl. Fri. is a non sell day.

[capesams]

well! he didn't which market...could be one of them places all those people go to eat dinner...back door market.

[Karl F]

he didn't say where they was going, just that they was spoke for..
one of my typical carpenter/fishermen/painter/plumber/electrician/landscaper make a buck anyolway custumers... we do have two chinese joints in town too....

[capesams]

we do have two chinese joints in town too....[/QUOTE]

I wonder if they'll buy a seal or two

[kennebecstriper]

Man,
What the ----? Why would anybody take 10,000lbs in a year. I guess the reasoning is that it is legal. I just can't understand depleteing a resource that has shown time and again that if you limit the catch the fishing improves.
I know science is behind the quota, well guess what the scientists work for the government of MASSACHUSETS!!!! the same state that gave you the big dig and Ted *^%)#dy oops no politics.
I am the farthest thing from a tree hugger(or kelp hugger in this case) but darn the commercial harvest hurts us guys who fish for the love of it.
I remember a post from last year where a lot of the names I see in this post were ranting about a bunch of asians taking shorts...well the commercial fisheries hurts the stock a whole lot worse.
For the record I am not asian and do keep 1-5 fish per season. So do each of my buddies and that allows me to eat striper most of the season.
O.K. now I'll take the flaming.

Tight line for the rec. guys

[Mike P]

The Mass quota is 1.1 million pounds. With a 34" minimum limit. All of those fish have spawned at least once. Unlike the 22" slot fish some folks are allowed to keep. The entire coast-wide quota for commercials is about 6 million pounds. Recreational mortality is estimated at 28 million pounds. That's a 4.5:1 ratio of dead fish in favor of recs. You could also focus some of your anger at the recs in the Proud to be a Gamefish State of New Jersey who killed more 30#plus fish in a 6 week stretch from June until mid July than will hit the markets in Mass all commercial season. You don't hear the Mass and RI guys complaining about not getting a chance to catch those fish that never made it past NJ, do you?

The biomass of striped bass in the North Atlantic is estimated at 40-50 million fish. Maybe 50,000 to 60,000 fish are killed commercially in Mass before the quota is met. Plus, the season in Mass doesn't open until the week after JUly 4th. Those fish off the Elizabeths, the Vineyard and Nantucket, and off the backside, aren't making the trek to Maine after that date. They're resident fish, not migratory by that point. So, the Mass commercial season has little, if any, effect on your fishing.

[Back Beach]

Originally Posted by kennebecstriper

Man,
What the ----? Why would anybody take 10,000lbs in a year. I guess the reasoning is that it is legal. I just can't understand depleteing a resource that has shown time and again that if you limit the catch the fishing improves.
I know science is behind the quota, well guess what the scientists work for the government of MASSACHUSETS!!!! the same state that gave you the big dig and Ted *^%)#dy oops no politics.
I am the farthest thing from a tree hugger(or kelp hugger in this case) but darn the commercial harvest hurts us guys who fish for the love of it.
I remember a post from last year where a lot of the names I see in this post were ranting about a bunch of asians taking shorts...well the commercial fisheries hurts the stock a whole lot worse.
For the record I am not asian and do keep 1-5 fish per season. So do each of my buddies and that allows me to eat striper most of the season.
O.K. now I'll take the flaming.

Tight line for the rec. guys

Go hump a black bear.

[kennebecstriper]

Originally Posted by Mike P

The Mass quota is 1.1 million pounds. With a 34" minimum limit. All of those fish have spawned at least once. Unlike the 22" slot fish some folks are allowed to keep. The entire coast-wide quota for commercials is about 6 million pounds. Recreational mortality is estimated at 28 million pounds. That's a 4.5:1 ratio of dead fish in favor of recs. You could also focus some of your anger at the recs in the Proud to be a Gamefish State of New Jersey who killed more 30#plus fish in a 6 week stretch from June until mid July than will hit the markets in Mass all commercial season. You don't hear the Mass and RI guys complaining about not getting a chance to catch those fish that never made it past NJ, do you?

The biomass of striped bass in the North Atlantic is estimated at 40-50 million fish. Maybe 50,000 to 60,000 fish are killed commercially in Mass before the quota is met. Plus, the season in Mass doesn't open until the week after JUly 4th. Those fish off the Elizabeths, the Vineyard and Nantucket, and off the backside, aren't making the trek to Maine after that date. They're resident fish, not migratory by that point. So, the Mass commercial season has little, if any, effect on your fishing.

Gotta say I may stand corrected on this one. Thanks for not going over the top with your response. I had just seen catch rates improve in years past after tight regulations have been put in place. I guess that my thinking on the comm. fishery may be flawed.