NEW BEDFORD — What might happen when 130 fishing boats, all towing gear, converge in thick fog on the same 20- by 25-mile patch of ocean at the same time? Answer: collisions.
There were a number of incidents on Georges Bank this week when the opening of an area that had been off limits to scallopers triggered a fishing frenzy among the fleet.
"It was crazy out there, trying to stay out of the other boats," said Ronnie Schrader, captain of the Generation, which came home Friday. "When you get four or five boats inside of a quarter mile, you have to figure out what everyone is doing before you even set out your drag. You don't want to catch the other guy's wire."
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