Local Officials go to bat for Cape Fishermen
We thank the Cape & Islands state legislative delegation for their continued leadership. A special thanks goes out to Representative Sarah Peake and Senator Dan Wolf who work hard for local fishermen and recently hand delivered a letter to Governor Baker asking him to take care of all active groundfish fishermen when he distributes the last remaining groundfish disaster money...
Wrong to bankrupt fishermen over monitors
IN RESPONSE to recent Boston Globe stories on politicians wanting federal money to pay for fishing observers and the unfair burden it would be on struggling fishermen to pay for them: For centuries, Massachusetts’ fishermen have played a vital role in our coastal economy, providing our families with food and our communities with revenue. The last decade, in particular, has again demonstrated the grit and perseverance of this historic industry, with changes in regulations, decreasing stocks, and rising fuel costs...
Cape fishermen say federal money needed for monitors
By Doug Fraser CHATHAM – Federal fisheries regulators want fishermen to pay to have somebody watch what they catch and what they throw back. And, while Gov. Charlie Baker told federal officials last week that they should foot the bill, local fishermen are hoping the state will reconsider and use its share of federal disaster money to pay for the observers required on commercial fishing trips...
Ensuring a Shellfish Future
Fishermen’s Alliance leads group to purchase one of the country’s most important shellfish hatcheries, the Aquacultural Research Corporation. Cape Cod’s coastal economy relies on shellfish for recreational and commercial shellfishing and the tourism and seafood industries. On Cape Cod, commercial shellfish aquaculture is valued at $12.5 million annually...
Group of Local Nonprofits and Investors Purchase ARC Hatchery
Richard Kraus explains the processes inside the hatchery. DENNIS – The Aquacultural Research Corporation has transferred its hatchery business to new ownership and management. A group of investors led by the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance made the $3 million deal to ensure the future of the hatchery in Dennis. ARC will now be led by CEO Rob Doane, who joined ARC in December of 2014...
Longtime hatchery changes hands
By Christine Legere Richard Kraus, one of three longtime owners of Aquacultural Research Corp. in Dennis, shows the workings of the shellfish hatchery in April in anticipation of a sale that was finalized Monday. MERRILY CASSIDY/ CAPE COD TIMES FILE DENNIS — A shellfish hatchery that has operated at the mouth of Chase Garden Creek for more than 50 years changed ownership Monday, and by Tuesday work was already well underway to empty old equipment out of the ramshackle hatchery building so it can be replaced in coming months with a new facility...
Lobster To Go
By Patrick Whittle Lobsterman Scott Beede returns an undersized lobster while fishing off Mount Desert, Maine. In Southern New England, stocks are in deep decline, but conditions are much better off Maine. PORTLAND, Maine — The lobster population has crashed to the lowest levels on record in southern New England while climbing to heights never before seen in the cold waters off Maine and other northern reaches — a geographic shift that scientists attribute in large part to the warming of the ocean...
How do I cook dogfish?
Trying out a new recipe can be difficult, even daunting for the most experienced chef. One of the things we work toward at the Fishermen's Alliance is to educate and encourage people to try a new seafood species in their every day meals. Learn more about spiny dogfish in this informational piece. We have partnered up with well-known chefs to bring you some options for preparing the seafood caught straight from the Cape Cod waters...
Prepared right, dogfish shark can be a tasty alternative to Cape cod
Cod lovers who want to eat locally sourced seafood may want to expand their palates. Cod has slipped almost entirely out of reach for local fishermen over the last decade as stocks have declined due to overfishing and environmental changes and quotas have been reduced to near nothing, business writer Lorelei Stevens notes in a July 26 story about fish supplies on the Cape...
Cape Cod Fishermen Sell Permits in Effort to Keep Business Viable
BARNSTABLE – The decline of groundfish is causing many fisherman to sell their permits and the Nature Conservancy is partnering with local fishermen’s organizations to acquire them in an effort to keep them local. Tenacious II’s Eric Hesse, of West Barnstable, recently sold two groundfish permits to the conservancy. “The Nature Conservancy has bought the permits as a way to ensure that they won’t migrate towards a large institutional-type buyer who might eventually own an inordinate share of the fishery,” Hesse said...
There's no cod from Cape Cod in local markets
By Lorelai Stevens EASTHAM – Step out of the hot, sunny day into the cool, fresh-smelling interior of Mac’s Seafood in Eastham and you’ll find a showcase full of glistening fish and shellfish nestled in a thick bed of ice chips. Bluefish, summer flounder, cod and striped bass fillets, bluefin tuna, halibut and swordfish steaks, monkfish tails, bright pink slabs of salmon, shucked Atlantic sea scallops and whole squid, plus clams, oysters and mussels in their shells...
Old men on their sea
By Patricia Harris and David Lyon GLOBE CORRESPONDENTS CHATHAM — From the vantage of the visitors’ balcony above Chatham Fish Pier, Fred Bennett scans the harbor with a practiced eye and begins to tick off the early season fleet. “There’s one scalloper, two lobstermen, two boats waiting for dogfish, one longliner, one handliner,” he says...
