SEABROOK, N.H. — December 28, 2014 — In mid-December, Les Eastman sent out one of his fishing charter party boat full of tourists who were in the region to fish in New Hampshire’s ocean waters. But unless federal fishing regulations change soon, this coastal New England recreational tradition might not continue.
“When I looked out in the parking lot, most of the cars had license plates from New York and New Jersey,” Eastman said. “That means they stayed in local hotels, ate at local restaurants, shopped, got gas. Those are all tourist dollars that will be lost if we can’t take people out fishing in the party boats because of these closures.”
Eastman’s comments relate to the emergency measures imposed by federal fishing authorities that closed inshore fishing sectors in the Gulf of Maine to any type of cod fishing — recreational and commercial.
Hampton-Seabrook harbor is busy every spring, summer and fall with the many charter fishing boat businesses that bring amateur fishermen to the area. They present an opportunity for those without vessels to head out to sea to try their hands at landing New England cold water species such as cod, haddock and pollack, along with bass, bluefish and mackerel.
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