A draft reauthorization of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, circulated for comment by a California congresswoman, contains anti-fishing language that would bar commercial trawling in the nation's 14 sanctuaries — including Stellwagen Bank where the vast majority of groundfish landed in Gloucester are caught.
Stellwagen or Middle Bank, as the cod rich waters were known in the 17th and 18th centuries and still are today in the fishing world, accounts for the vast majority of the volume landed by the inshore day boat fleet.
Of that, roughly 60 percent, fishermen have estimated, is landed using trawl gear, a fast-developing technology with a hard-to-shake, bad reputation. Recent innovations include the Ruhle Eliminator Trawl, so-called for its ability to funnel out of the net unwanted species.
Read the complete story from The Gloucester Daily Times.