We can't get a realistic stock sampling with a net ill-fitted to an over-powered and over-sized vessel which was not intended for fishing, but more for deep ocean research (read oil, gas, and minerals).  The Bigelow is too big to tow a net in 60.39ft and shallower.  This is the depth, to the shoreline, that holds a great concentration of young fish (and inshore Cod—-at certain times).  This extremely important area needs to be accurately and constantly sampled.  Does building and maintaining vessels such as the O/R/V Bigelow constitute effective and intelligent government agency use of funding from taxpayer dollars?

The net comes up plugged with fish when small mesh stock survey nets are fished by a fisherman on a right sized fishing vessel with proper gear, used correctly, and in the right places at the right time—-it's called co-operative research as done by Capt. Jimmy Rhule, for instance, of the Fishing Vessel Darana R. for the Northeast Area Monitoring and Assessment Program, Virginia Institute of Marine Science.  (This program and co-operative programs like it must scramble for support and are typically patchwork funded at the last-minute while NOAA uses millions of research dollars to push their bogus catch shares program.)

Perhaps we'll get Prof. Rosenberg to foot the bill for fishermen observers and some co-operative research from his observer and "research" company, MRAG (he could probably use a write-off about now—there's a lot of observing and govt. researching going on these days, and he's always been a champion of science in defense of fish stocks—-he'll surely contribute).  EDF and Oceana might want to kick in as well?  We might even put in for a Pew Grant?  Maybe we'll be awarded a few million. 

Read the complete letter from The Gloucester Times