Mind you I said FISHING and not FISH…..
I’m sitting here listening to “talk radio” on our local “news” station WKTK. The lead news story this AM? The story about the great white sharks that were tagged off Monomoy last year. There’s a lot going on with fisheries management that is newsworthy, like – Senior NOAA enforcement agent Jones shredding documents and NOAA chief Lubchenco’s visit to Gloucester and the US supporting CITES listing for tuna. Nothing about any of these from our local “news” station…..This is Cape Cod and we do have a lot of fishermen here, so I would think WXTK would think news about fishing would be something they’d feature more often and prominently.
This seems to be a reflection of the public’s apparent apathy towards fishing and fishermen as opposed to how they feel about fish.
I wrote the station a note just now asking why they thought the sharks were more newsworthy? I’m betting I won’t get a response. I’ll be sure to let you know if I do.
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I understand some of your frustration as a hook fisherman,perhaps you could buy a dragger and join us,there’s many for sale.
I do remember some of the serious hook fishermen back in the eighties that helped massachussetts get it’s quota,there numbers have increased ten fold or more,our permit numbers have dropped.
If not for the five to ten thousand pounds our dragger and other draggers each landed weekly May thru October, what would your fishery be like?A very short season to say the least.
Today many hook fishermen benifit from the quota draggermen established why complain?
I don’t want to buy a dragger Phil, but thanks. I have fluke landings before there was a fluke permit. I agree that there are waaay too many hook permits, I wrote Phil Coates a letter about this a long time ago. Unlike most of the other hookers, I actually earn my living doing this and have for twenty years, so I think I deserve equal access.
Not to poke fun, but I think you mis-spoke when you asked –
First off, at 300#/day on fluke, that’s only 1500#.s a week, but to answer your question, if there were no dragger landings, the price would go through the roof and the season would be longer.
As far as I know, the quota we have now is not based on the old landings but on more recent landing?
Why would I want a dragger? I can catch 300 #’s of fluke a day (I used to) and use a fifth the fuel. No dockage, no gear to maintain, no wondering if the boat is OK at night, etc…….