Linchpin Being Lynched?
by Laurie Schreiber
|
Maine fishermen once again came out quite solid for Alternative 7 for Amendment 1 to the Atlantic Herring Fishery Management Plan.
Fishermen have been making their views known this month at a series of meetings held by the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC), from Maine to New Jersey.
Alternative 7 won a broad assortment of interests, including herring, tuna and lobster fishermen, and environmentalists.
“Of the seven alternatives that have been made available for us to choose from, we believe Alternative 7 is the most rational and the best for the long-term health of the herring resource,” said Zack Klyver, naturalist with the Bar Harbor Whale Watch Co. and an experienced endangered species observer. “We believe that Alternative 7 is the best alternative for the long-term maintenance of vibrant coastal communities, diverse working waterfronts and a healthy ecosystem.”
“Atlantic herring is a critical building block of New England’s ocean ecosystem and fisheries,” said Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) senior attorney Roger Fleming. “However, herring is being stripped from our near-shore waters, causing problems for fishermen, whales and the fishing and nature-based tourism industries that rely on a healthy herring supply.”
|
Many blame the increasing numbers of mid-water single and pair trawl boats for dominating the fishery, particularly in 1A, by scooping up the resource in a fraction of the time purse seiners and fixed-gear methods take. Mid-water trawlers drag huge nets behind the boat, sometimes in pairs, with two boats towing a net between them. Photo: Bar Harbor Whale Watch Co. |
|
|
|
|
Maine Maritime Academy
by Mike Crowe
|
Maine has long been known for fishermen, sea captains and merchant mariners. In the days of sail, a high percentage of American captains were from Maine. Many of their wooden ships were Maine-built. Today enormous high-tech steel ships around the world very often still have captains from Maine at the helm. Many of those captains, their officers and engineers were trained at the Maine Maritime Academy in Castine.
Few people on the Maine coast have not heard of the Maine Maritime Academy, but its president and former Chairman of the International Association of Maritime Universities, Leonard Tyler has said, “More people in other parts of the world know the Maine Maritime Academy as a world class institution. Few in Maine, however, know of the gem they have here on the coast in this academy.”
continue
|
| The 500' training ship State of Maine at the waterfront campus of the Maine Maririme Academy in Castine. To the right is the tug Pentagoet, the training vessel for the tug and barge operations program. Photo: Maine Maritime Academy |
|
|
|
|
|
  
|
|
