News

There were a few cars that pulled into the Stage Harbor parking lot to watch people in bright red suits run through drills on land and at sea. The group, attendees of the Fishermen Training program, quickly put on the red survival suits – in under a minute. They then practiced jumping into the water, flipping over a life raft, hopping in, finding the secure knife and pretending to cut the line – if it was more dangerous to stay attached to the boat than rely on it for rescuers to see...

As Congress slowly plows ahead on reauthorizing the key piece of legislation that regulates the American fishery -- the Magnuson Stevens Act, MSA – I was invited to testify before the Water, Oceans, and Wildlife Subcommittee of the House Committee on Natural Resources on November 16. This subcommittee is where hard details are getting hammered out...

Read the October issue of Small Boats. Big Ideas! Read about why the county's dredge program works and what it needs to succeed, fishing superstitions, why fishermen need to be in Washington, D.C. and more!

Leverman Corey Fleming was running controls on the Cod Fish II, and after he carved out each linear section he stuck his arm out the window and pointed. That was crew member Zach Tivey’s cue to maneuver his skiff and shift forward one of the 250-pound anchors so the dredge could move up to clear the next section of channel. “Crabbing ahead. It’s very meticulous,” said Ken Cirillo, the administrator of Barnstable County’s dredging program, standing on the gleaming white and blue dredge on a warm October day...

Fishing groups from every coast, representing virtually every size and gear, gathered in early fall to talk about what matters to them: science, accountability and stewardship, core tenets championed by Seafood Harvesters of America Days later the Biden administration made a decision that seemed to sidestep an open, data-driven decision-making process for fisheries management, returning the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts to protected status...

Captain Eric Hesse has spent a lot of time writing letters advocating for a sustainable bluefin tuna fishery as well as putting legwork into developing new markets for the fish he has harpooned for more than a quarter of a century. But now there is another problem on the horizon, not regulations or lack of demand: crew. “My sons have fished with me for the last decade and they are moving on...

Lobsterman Rob Martin was out with a crewman years ago when the fellow tried to gaff a sea gull that landed on the boat. Martin told him to cut it out. Not only was it illegal, it was bad luck. Moments later, the stern man was gone. “He went flying out the back of the boat,” said Martin, who added an “I told you so” after fishing him out of the water...

High winds and bad weather can keep commercial boats off the water, which can wreak havoc on business plans and the food supply chain. That same bad weather can cause permanent problems if the ways to the sea are blocked by shoaling sand. Living in fishing communities it is imperative we protect access to the ocean, which is threatened by Mother Nature, climate change, and sometimes by an onerous permitting process...

My brother was in town for a visit and when we sat down at the kitchen table for a cup of coffee he asked me how things are going. I gave him the usual superficial stuff until he stopped me and said he meant it in a deeper way: What’s going on for people in the fishing industry? Not the day to day, nuts and bolts I mentioned by rote: What’s the big-picture, broad-stroke look? After a long sip, I found myself answering with a surprising little ditty that popped up seemingly out of nowhere...

Read the September issue of Small Boats. Big Ideas! Read about Jared Auerbach and Red's Best working to revolutionize the fish business, Senator Edward Markey visiting the Chatham Fish Pier, Women's Worlk on shore and at sea captured in photos our board of directors and more!

Jared Auerbach sails into a meeting room and plunks down in a chair with his back to a view of the Boston Fish Pier. He just finished making a video, which Auerbach, owner and chief executive officer of Red’s Best, explains is all about the glory of the skate species and why people should eat it. “It’s very affordable and versatile. It’s served at the fanciest restaurants in New York and France,” Auerbach continues, adding that people should be cooking it at home as well...

The waters around Cape Cod are home to many types of birds that most non-fishing people will never see. Known as “pelagics,” they spend their entire lives at sea, returning to land only to nest and raise their young. One of the most numerous is the Great Shearwater, a brown-and-white bird with a four-foot wingspan, often seen gliding a few feet above the waves in search of food...