Saving Seafood

‘The Long Haul’ looks at the future of Cape Cod fishing

August 23, 2015 — PROVINCETOWN, MA — Eight years ago, Pedro Verde, captain of the dragger F/V Blue Ocean, stood on MacMillan Pier and blasted scientists and fisheries regulators for allowing him to fish only 52 days the previous year. He was talking to Sean Corcoran, a reporter at public radio station WCAI who was investigating the decline of the Provincetown dragger fishery.

“We catch tons and tons of the dogfish here,” Verde told Corcoran. “So the guys close up the dogfish for 17 years. Endangered species. The guys don’t even know what they are talking about.”

Eight years later, the dogfish fishery is not just open but is booming, and it is a sustainable local species of whitefish, though you will be unlikely to find it in many local markets or on local tables.

The complex issues surrounding the decline of the Cape Cod fishing industry, the tensions between fishermen and regulators, changing people’s attitudes about which fish they want to eat, and the future of fishing here were the subjects of a gathering at the Provincetown Public Library last week. Corcoran, now news director at WCAI, and Heather Goldstone, the station’s science editor, presented some of the findings of a series of reports broadcast over the last two years.

Read the full story at the Provincetown Banner

There’s no cod from Cape Cod in local markets

August 1, 2015 — EASTHAM, MA —  Step out of the hot, sunny day into the cool, fresh-smelling interior of Mac’s Seafood in Eastham and you’ll find a showcase full of glistening fish and shellfish nestled in a thick bed of ice chips.

Bluefish, summer flounder, cod and striped bass fillets, bluefin tuna, halibut and swordfish steaks, monkfish tails, bright pink slabs of salmon, shucked Atlantic sea scallops and whole squid, plus clams, oysters and mussels in their shells. There are plenty of choices.

But company co-owner Alex Hay doesn’t hesitate to say that his customers won’t find Cape Cod codfish in his fish market – or in any other fish market in the area.

Cod has slipped almost entirely out of reach for local fishermen over the last decade as stocks have contracted due to overfishing and environmental changes and quotas have been reduced to near nothing.

Read the full story at The Washington Times

Massachusetts boat captains face charges for alleged clam harvesting violations

July 28, 2015 — PROVINCETOWN, Mass. — Reports to the state environmental police about illegal dredging for surf clams off Herring Cove Beach has resulted in criminal charges pending against two boat captains.

Matthews Collins, 29, of New Bedford will be arraigned Wednesday in Orleans District Court on a charge of violating state law for allegedly harvesting surf clams on the F/V Aimee Marie on March 24 shoreward of what is called the 12-foot depth contour line, according to the report of Massachusetts Environmental Police Lt. Robert Akin. The police seized 36 bushels of surf clams, with an estimated value of $666.

Under state law, dredging for surf clams is prohibited from Nov. 1 to April 30 within an area shoreward of the 12-foot depth contour, as measured at mean low water, south of Point Allerton in Hull to the Rhode Island border including Cape Cod and the Islands.

Collins is also charged with failing to properly display the boat’s identification number. The 1974 commercial fishing vessel is owned by Patricio Palacios, according to Akin’s report. The vessel typically works out of Provincetown, Provincetown Harbormaster Rex McKinsey said.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Great White Sharks Are Swarming Cape Cod and It’s the Government’s Fault

June 20, 2015 — CAPE COD, Mass. — 40 years ago, Jaws terrified beach-goers from swimming too far from the shore. Now, in real life, great white sharks are filling the waters off Cape Cod.

Forty years ago this month, Jaws, Peter Benchley’s best-selling toothy fish tale, was made into an iconic movie that helped usher in a new era of blockbuster films. Set in a fictional New England town, it told the tale of a bloodthirsty great white shark that developed a taste for humans and a penchant for gory mischief. Filmed primarily on Martha’s Vineyard, off the coast of Cape Cod, the irony was that while sharks such as the porbeagle, thresher, tiger, and mako were abundant, great whites were relatively a rare encounter.Fast-forward forty years, and that is no longer the case. Great whites are now in abundance in the waters around Cape Cod. These regular seasonal visitors have reached the point of tourist attraction, drawing throngs to the Cape’s sandy beaches in hopes of a glimpse of one of the toothy beasts. Even with an uptick in attacks—several have been reported in recent years—the community vibe is more welcoming than menacing.

“If anything I’ve noticed, among the business community of the town of Chatham, which is the epicenter of white shark activity, they’ve embraced these animals as a way to make money and draw people to the town,” says Dr. Greg Skomal, a senior biologist with the Massachusetts Marine Fisheries department, leading expert on these apex predators, and essentially the New England great white guru. “Virtually every shop on Main Street is selling some kind of shark trinket or shirt, you name it. I think it’s been a positive response, one of people trying to embrace these animals.”

Read the full story at The Daily Beast 

 

http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dfg/dmf/contact-information/skomal-dr-greg.html

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2014/09/04/year-the-shark-all-the-local-sightings-and-attacks/5NuvvxKTPe09pVxS4M0JbO/story.html

http://www.livescience.com/27338-great-white-sharks.html