December 16, 2013 — Gloucester fisherman Sam Novello has assembled a second proposal to expand fishing for whiting off the Massachusetts-New Hampshire coast for the approximately one dozen Cape Ann boats that pursue whiting — predominantly silver hake — to mitigate the withering cuts in the allowable catch limits for cod and other groundfish.
Novello has approached the New England Fisheries Management Council about opening the small mesh whiting fishing area that spans part of Ipswich Bay up to the New Hampshire coast — also known as small mesh area 1 — two weeks earlier to take advantage of the species’ new migratory patterns.
”The whiting are showing up sooner and in heavier numbers in this area,” Novello said. “I think the area is clean and there’s a lot of whiting in there, and we’re missing the boat.”
Currently, small mesh area 1 is open for fishing from July 15 to Nov. 15. Novello would like to open the season on July 1 instead.