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Pair Trawling in Rhode Island waters: is it worth it? |
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The pair-trawl fleet’s here, been here since early December. Many of the
boats—about six total—hail from Maine and Massachusetts. These are big
vessels. That’s what has drawn the attention. You come to the shore
expecting to see an idyllic scene: a lone lobsterboat working pots close
to the rocky shore, or a wooden Stonington-rigged dragger towing for
whiting, a small spiral of smoke rising from its stack.
But a 200-foot trawler towing a massive net with another 200-foot trawler? That may be too much free enterprise for most people to watch—more so when a middle school student with a fair wind could hit the wheelhouse windows with a baseball. They work in teams. They search for fish. When a school is located they set the net and tow. Right now a hot spot has been off River Ledge, the mouth of Narrow River. The water here is 40 feet deep. They set in a tow down the length of the Town Beach, down the Narragansett shore, passing by First Rock, Indian Rock and the Brothers. Fishing doesn’t get any more state-waters than this. Any closer would be amphibious invasion. The question is: Should the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) care about protecting state fisheries? If the answer were yes then it might be wise to boot the pair fleet outside of three miles. Read the complete story from The Dented Bucket
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MELISSA WOOD, NATIONAL FISHERMEN: Meting out the meager
May 22, 2012 - Listening to the New England Council's Groundfish Advisory Panel talk about how that industry is going to pay for monitoring costs is kind of like trying to figure out how to pay your bills when you've just lost your job. Though monitoring is important keeping costs down is critical. As Panel Member Gary Libby pointed out, "If we had 100 percent monitoring we probably wouldn't have an industry."
