Newburyport Archives - Saving Seafood

Fishermen’s group offering safety training next week

April 19, 2019 — The water can be a dangerous place to make a living, but a fishermen’s group is a sponsoring a special free, three-day round of safety training next week in Gloucester and Newburyport that could make it less so for participants.

The nonprofit Fishing Partnership Support Services is offering the free hands-on sessions:

Wednesday, April 24: Safety and survival training, U.S. Coast Guard Station, 65 Water St., Newburyport, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Thursday, April 25: Safety and survival training, U.S. Coast Guard Station, 17 Harbor Loop, Gloucester, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.; drill conductor training, U.S. Coast Guard Station, Newburyport, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Friday, April 26: Drill conductor training, U.S. Coast Guard Station Gloucester, 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.

As a prerequisite for drill conductor training, fishermen need to have taken the safety and survival training within the previous year.

Read the full story at Gloucester Daily Times

Fishermen Team Up With Scientists To Make A More Selective Net

December 14th, 2016 — Some New England fishermen are pinning their hopes on a new kind of trawl net being used in the Gulf of Maine, one that scoops up abundant flatfish such as flounder and sole while avoiding species such as cod, which are in severe decline.

For centuries, cod were plentiful and a prime target for the Gulf of Maine fleet. But in recent years, catch quotas have been drastically reduced as the number of cod of reproductive age have dropped perilously low.

For many boats, that turned the formerly prized groundfish into unwanted bycatch. And for fishermen, it can be tough to avoid cod while trying to catch other fish. The stakes are high.

“Say tomorrow I go out, have a 10,000 set of cod and I only have 4,000 pounds of quota, essentially your sector manager — the person that oversees this — would shut me down,” says Jim Ford, whose trawler is based in Newburyport, Mass.

Not only that, Ford would be forced to “lease” cod quota allowances from other fishermen to cover his overage. The cost of such leases, he says, can quickly outweigh the value of the cod that’s inadvertently caught.

“And I would pay a ridiculous price. And then you’re shut down, you can’t even go fishing,” he says.

But instead of joining the growing number of New England fishermen hanging up their nets, Ford has worked to modify the nets themselves. This summer he joined a net-maker and scientists at Portland’s Gulf of Maine Research Institute to design a trawl net that targets profitable species while avoiding cod.

Read the full story from NPR at WLRH

New Net Aims to Help Maine Fishermen Land Fewer Cod

December 9th, 2016 — Some fishermen are pinning their hopes on a new kind of trawl net at use in the Gulf of Maine, designed to scoop up abundant flatfish such as flounder and sole while avoiding species such as cod, which regulators say are in severe decline.

For centuries, cod were plentiful and a prime target for the Gulf of Maine fleet. But in recent years catch quotas have been drastically reduced as the number of cod of reproductive age dropped perilously low, according to regulators.

For many boats, that turned the formerly prized groundfish into unwanted bycatch.

But, for fishermen, it can be tough to avoid cod while trying to catch other fish. And the stakes are high.

“And I would pay a ridiculous price. And then you’re shut down, you can’t even go fishing,” he says.

Read the full story at Maine Public Radio

MASSACHUSETTS: Bird’s eye view: Scientist visits students, talks researching oceans with drones

November 28, 2016 — “Using Drones and Robotic Boats to Study Coastlines.” What kid wouldn’t be interested in this? Newburyport public school students were enthralled when Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution research scientist Dr. Peter Traykovski visited their classrooms.

A pioneer in using drones for mapping and data collection in order to increase understanding of how coastal processes work, Traykovski showed students how hobby grade robotics have the potential to revolutionize studying and monitoring coastal processes with examples and pictures from aerial imaging drones and robotic boats.

Traykovski has used off the shelf drones and software to produce 3-D profiles of eroding beaches on Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard.

“The exciting part for us was the drone work he has been doing,” said Elizabeth Kinzly, PreK-8 STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) coordinator for the Newburyport Public Schools. “Even our youngest kid is totally motivated when you talk about drones.”

Traykovski was invited to Newburyport by Storm Surge, a group of citizens from Amesbury, Newburyport, Ipswich, Rowley, Merrimac, Salisbury, Newbury, and West Newbury concerned with the impacts of sea level rise, extreme weather events and other effects of long-term climate change in the Greater Newburyport area. He made a presentation at City Hall on Nov. 2 and visited the schools the following day.

“Our purpose is to provide awareness and foster preparedness,” said Sheila Taintor, one of the founders of Storm Surge in 2013. “Our purpose is not action, but education. We have had a speaker series since 2013, and Peter Traykovski was our most recent speaker. We sponsored his visit, but he received no stipend. I’m always amazed how generous scientists are with their time.”

Read the full story at Wicked Local Newburyport

Four rescued miles off Plum Island

May 23, 2016 — NEWBURYPORT, Mass. — Four fishermen were rescued roughly 28 miles off Plum Island on Saturday afternoon after their 25-foot Wellfleet capsized.

The boat was righted by a TowBoat U.S. crew and brought back to its port of origin in Rye, N.H. No one was injured, according to a U.S. Coast Guard official.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times