My View of Life on the Dock
“While Marciano has one eye on the future of the industry, his real attention associated with what he’s doing in the present, and he mentioned that being part of Wicked Tuna has been an opportunity of a lifetime.”
Carli Stewart. Dave Marciano tells us what’s in store for the Wicked Tuna Season Finale, National Fisherman interview 6/23/2023
Wicked Tuna Season 12 finale airs tonight
Read the full interview here
I’ve been at the dock for 42 years. a long time. I’ve seen probably 6 blue lobsters in my time here but none as blue as the one brought in today and released.
I saw them on the way home last night, and this morning the same.
Winter I season commercial fishing includes sea scallops. High winds and dropped temperatures bring the boats back.
2012 article Maine sea scallop landings
2013 Boston Globe John Dyer article Scallops giving New Bedford fishermen a welcome break Eastern Fisheries shipping fleet etc out of New Bedford
NOAA Atlantic Sea Scallop regulations 2016 interactive map
Cold out there!! and so complicated !
Exemption. Vessels permitted by the National Marine Fisheries Service to commercially harvest and land Atlantic sea scallops may possess and land more than the state possession and daily landing limits provided: a. The vessel transits directly through the waters under the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth for the purpose of landing sea scallops; b. The vessel makes no stops unless otherwise directed by the Massachusetts Environmental Police for the purpose of boarding and inspection; c. The dredge gear is out of the water and properly stowed on board; and d. The vessel, crew, gear and catch is otherwise in compliance with the applicable federal regulations.
Sea Scallop Februry 27 2017 state memo
Ma managed quotas and landings
Landed by Captain Geno Mondello Aboard the F/V Western Edge
For people that make their living based on how rough the seas will be I can tell you that an incredible amount of forecasts that have to do with sun and temperature mean diddly. It’s all about the wind- direction and speed.
www.windyty.com gives you just that in an interactive map which changes as you click along the timeline. check for yourself and bookmark it!
This was filmed in 2010 and it’s only gotten worse. What he predicted back in 2010 is about 10 times worse 4 years later.
As I type this a fisherman just left my office. He is 52 years old and has fished his whole life. He is a stern man meaning he has no stake in what the owner of the boat may receive when he sells out his commercial fishing permits. He has only seen it get worse and worse and was telling me he has absolutely no idea what he could do for a living since all he knows is fishing. It’s sad and it is despicable what they did when they instituted Catch Shares and privatized the ocean and fish. Before Catch Shares there were hundreds of small boats with stern men who could go out and catch 800 lbs of cod under the “Days at Sea” program. They could fish every day and because there was an 800 pound limit there were no 20-40,000 lb trips of fish on the auction to decimate the price. What was on the Fish Auction for fish was made up of lots of small boats 800 lb trips of quality day boat fish. So you had hundreds of boats with hundreds of captains and hundreds more of stern men making a good living while barely impacting the fish stocks. Boats were being repaired, boats were buying fuel, families were being fed. Now we have probably 80% less.
Just years later the hyper-consolidation of Catch Shares which we all knew was the inevitable result when you privatize a natural resource has decimated our fleet and the number of fishermen left standing while they most have either sold out or are trying to.
Back in 2009 I started to collect the stories and add them to a thread on Cape Ann Online as sort of a journal and record for those who might have said they didn’t see this coming. There are three pages of articles from fishermen and about how it was and has decimated our working port and independent fishermen.
Click here for the list of articles (3 pages worth)
Thank you Ron for this treasured gift of An Island No More!!!
Yesterday on our front porch my husband found a wonderful surprise package, not long a mystery from where it came with a lovely inscription from the author himself, Ron Gilson. An Island No More ~ The Gloucester I Knew is a deeply personal and fascinating account of Gloucester’s working waterfront and its people, with hundreds of black and white photographs. I was immediately transported to Gloucester during the Great Depression and haven’t been able to put down the book. An Island No More is available from Amazon or by contacting the author at P.O. Box 557, Gloucester, MA 01930.To read more about Ron Gilson and An Island No More see the following GMG posts:
Jim Rohan Makes A Statement In This Video-
Kathy Chapman writes-
The beautiful lines of Phyllis A’s hull will only be visible for a few weeks at the Gloucester Marine Railways. Work on her is being funded by a 2011 Community Preservation Act grant from the residents of Gloucester.
From the Phyllis A. Marine Association: By focusing on the gill-netting industry, we highlight a time in Gloucester’s history that is not currently well covered. The Phyllis A. was fished by the same Gloucester family for 75 years. Many people working in Gloucester’s fishing industry today, at some point, fished off the Phyllis A.
Photos © Kathy Chapman 2012
click photo for larger version.
Apparently commercial fishing in Rome is alive and well. In my opinion you can tell how well the boats are doing by how well they are maintained. These boats are all in good shape and devoid (mostly) of rust so they must be doing alright.
Click below to see the photos
As always click the photo for the full sized view
I dig the reflections especially the red on the wet herring vats in the right hand part of the picture which are reflections of the port side red navigation light on the F/V Endevour.
Click the video below to meet Dave Marciano the fisherman EVERYONE is rooting for!
Also check out Dave’s Boat Website-http://fvhardmerchandise.com/
(Don’t Call It Three Lanterns)
My buddy Tina Greel (who I still can’t wrap my mind around as being a grandmother) is part of the team that will be reopening and expanding the former Three Lantern Ship Supply store at 7 Parker Street. Look for the interview tomorrow!
Ed Rioux wanted us to Share this video with our readers-
Ed writes-
i am now 81 dont think i know you – may know family members from the old days
my dad fished out o gloucester late 30s 40s 50s italian fleet seiners draggers would like very much to talk to you about this– we are releasing a dvd ( a 8mm movie converted to a dvd- taken in 1944 of the dragger Curlew fishing at the banks) probably sadly we wont see fishing like this again – history for sure
Good Morning Gloucester 