So you think you know what ‘groundfish’ means?
A straightforward word like “groundfish” should have a straightforward definition. But in the complicated world of fisheries management, even defining “groundfish” can get downright confusing. Are groundfish those fish that spend their lives swimming along the bottom? That would make sense, but when it comes to fishing regulations, the answer to that would be, Yes and no...
Conch fishing in the Sound
When Ronnie Braun was a young fisherman captaining the Peggy B, he used to cruise by buoys strung in a line, and they weren’t marking lobster traps. He always wondered what they were, but since he was catching thousands of pounds of cod a day, he didn’t think much of it. “I thought those days would never end,” Braun said. But they did...
Scientist studies how to keep leatherbacks moving like foul balls; outside the lines
When Kara Dodge, a scientist at the New England Aquarium, began doing leatherback sea turtle research more than a dozen years ago, she turned to local fishermen for help. “We didn’t have a lot of money so we were relying on them for access and one of the very first people who helped us get out to an entangled leatherback was Mark Leach,” Dodge remembered...
Fisheries and conservation go hand in hand
Logan Jones, 7 years old, and his brother Caleb, 5, were having the time of their lives raking up clams in a big sand box. “I guess we’ll have to get a family shellfish permit,” their grandmother laughed as her grandsons kept Dennis Morris, from the Brewster Natural Resources and Shellfish Department, busy re-burying shells. The Joneses were not the only ones looking for a family permit to dig shellfish...
Why we call it Stellwagen Bank
Once upon a time there was a man named Henry Stellwagen. Actually, we know when that time was, the mid-1800s, and we know that Henry served in the United States Navy and rose to the rank of lieutenant commander. But that’s not why his name is still spoken by many people who fish, whale watch, or just like being on the water. The reason we pause to wonder about good old Henry Stellwagen is that a swath of nearby water is named after him; Stellwagen Bank...
Alumni revisited: Catching up with Ben
Former Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance policy analyst Ben Martens first fell in love with fisheries work when he was employed by a small non-profit in Boston, but he credits his time with the Fishermen’s Alliance as inspiration for his current job. Martens is back on the Maine coast, where he once pursued environmental studies at Bowdoin College, now serving as Executive Director of Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association...
Remembering days on the back of the boat
“It hasn’t always been this way.” Fishermen say that a lot, and they mean it in a sad or nostalgic way. I have my own nostalgia but it’s a little different. My biggest changes have come because I no longer have time to work on the water, even part-time. These days I work rooms, phones, and meetings, trying to do my best navigating political currents to keep this small-boat fleet alive...
A life-long lobsterman also works hard on ways to avoid whales
Rob Martin was five miles out on his boat, Resolve, lobstering with his crew, and made a call on his way back to port. Martin wasn’t calling his buyer. He was joining a conference call for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team, of which he is a member. Martin intended to just listen, but they started talking about gear modifications, which he knows a good deal about...
Lobstermen navigate more than fishing grounds to stay on the water
Seasonal gear bans to protect North Atlantic Right Whales in Cape Cod Bay and surrounding waters usually end May 1, but this year lobstermen in the Bay were off the water until May 10 because the highly endangered mammal was still seen in Cape Cod Bay. More than a month later, June 16, several lobstermen were off the water again, but this time not by state edict...
Growing shellfish and their champions
Nancy Goward stood in a room dwarfed by clear tanks filled with water of varying earth-tone colors at A.R.C. Hatchery. “This whole entire room is just food,” said Goward, an algae supervisor at the shellfish facility. About half a dozen children, clipboards pressed against their chests, watched as she lifted a heavy tire up off the concrete floor...
