February 25, 2022 — Maine lawmakers are considering new controls for an important bait fishing industry in the state.
Maine’s catch of menhaden has swelled in recent years. That is partly because they’re used as bait for lobster traps. Herring, another popular bait fish, hasn’t been as available recently because of tighter fishing quotas.
Read the full story at the Associated Press
March 6, 2017 — The Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Commission announced a Declaration of Emergency to open the commercial season for the harvest of bait menhaden starting Wednesday, March 15, 2017.
The actions on this declaration by the LWFC comes after request from the bait menhaden industry.
The commercial season for the harvest of bait menhaden typically opens on November 1 and runs through November 30 with a 3,000 metric ton quota. In the event that quota is not harvested during the normal November season, the bait season may resume April 1 of the following year.
September 12, 2016 — Menhaden may have a bit of an identity problem. Most of the Northeast refers to them as “bunker.” But around Massachusetts they’re often known as “pogies.” Whatever you decide to call them, they’re great bait this time of year for fishing big stripers.
Menhaden are a member of the herring family. They migrate into our waters seasonally, arriving from the south each spring. They grow out to a couple of pounds and about a foot long. They’re schooling fish, typically swimming in big schools.
In this week’s Fishing News, Kevin Blinkoff, of On The Water magazine, talks about snagging pogies and using them to fish bigger striped bass in Boston Harbor.
July 25, 2016 — Gloucester is Massachusetts’ No. 1 lobster port when it comes to landings, with Rockport in the No. 3 spot.
And when it comes to bait to catch the shellfish, local lobstermen usually use herring.
But the Massachusetts herring fishery will be restricted in an attempt to mitigate a shortage of the bait fish that threatens the lobster fishery.
So, lobstermen are looking further afield to tempt lobsters’ palates and into their traps.
Gerry O’Neill, who owns the two 141-foot mid-water trawlers Challenger and Endeavour, says while fresh herring may be in shorter supply on Cape Ann than in the past, he has frozen fish ready to go at Cape Seafoods on the Jodrey State Fish Pier.
Joey Ciaramitaro of Capt. Joe & Sons, a lobster dealer on East Main Street, says many of the lobstermen who sell their catch to his company are already using alternative baits.
“They’re using cowhides and stuff,” he said.
July 7, 2016 — Usually a Maine lobsterman can choose to either fish or cut bait, but as the result of a herring shortage, neither may be an option for awhile. Local lobster co-op managers say fishermen may have to pay more for imported frozen bait from New Brunswick until the herring spawning season ends and stocks return to normal levels off the Georges Bank. In the meantime, new state harvest restrictions for herring fishermen also may be implemented.
Inside the lobstermen’s co-op in Corea, a small Down East fishing village, the phone is ringing off the hook. Some are lobster dealers contacting co-op manager Warren Polk about prices, but more want to know about the availability of bait. And in Corea, Polk is doing a little bit better than others in that department.
“I got a load of frozen bait in this morning out of Canada,” Polk said.
Maine lobstermen prefer the herring that is caught in the Gulf of Maine and from the Georges Bank off Massachusetts. But herring fishermen are not catching the small silver-colored fish in significant numbers. The herring fishery is limited to a little more than 19,000 metric tons through the harvest season that ends in September.
Maine fishermen who fish closer to shore are concerned that some of their larger out-of-state competitors may come here and deplete the local resource if they can’t find the herring they need off the Georges Bank.
Read and listen to the full story at Maine Public Broadcasting
June 24, 2016 — FISHING CREEK, Md. — Life is about to possibly get easier for menhaden fisherman in Maryland. Menhaden, a popular bait fish, are regulated by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, or ASMFC. Several years ago, an ASMFC report indicated that the menhaden stock was being overfished. However, a report that came out a year ago showed that the fishery was in fact strong. The ASMFC is now undoing some of the regulations it passed to protect the species.
It has been years since the ASMFC said that menhaden over fishing was occurring. One lawsuit and several years later, watermen are still feeling the effects of the regulations put in place to protect the species.
“When they cut us 20 percent, some of our buyers went to alternative bait like razor clams and the price of bait went up. They went somewhere else so it has really hurt our industry. We can’t sell as much as we were before,” said Boo Powley, a fifth generation waterman.
December 21, 2015 — Two years ago over Christmas dinner, Maine tuna fisherman Rink Varian aired a favorite gripe: The tuna he caught vastly preferred live bait fish, but he almost never had enough of the little critters on hand. What if someone built a device that could re-animate dead bait fish into effective lures?
Varian’s musings fell on deaf ears season after season, but this time he snagged a partner. Engineer Matthew Borowski, Varian’s family friend, decided to team up with the fisherman build such a device.
This month, a version of the tool Varian dreamed up is finally on sale. It’s called ‘Zombait’ and looks like a giant crayon with a tail. Place it in the mouth of a thawed-out bait fish, toss it in water, and voila, the wriggling electronics inside the fish create the illusion that it’s come alive.
Along the way, Varian and Borowski reeled in Boston project designer Jessy Cusack to join the project and started a company in Medford — Magurobotics — to manufacture the device and sell to recreational and commercial fishermen.
Read the full story at The Boston Globe
October 30, 2015 — Fishery regulators are shutting down herring fishing in the inshore Gulf of Maine because fishermen are approaching their catch limit for the important bait fish.
The National Marine Fisheries Service projects more than 90 percent of the catch quota for the area will be harvested by Monday.
Read the full story at Portland Press Herald