WelcomeMessage in a bottle…Summer 1997. I walked into the Old Harbor Fish Co. to meet with Dale Tripp, Tom Luce, Mark Leach, Jim O’Connell, Ted Ligenza, Fred Bennett, and the rest of the CCCHFA leadership. They told me that there was a lot less fish around and that it was time to start putting the fish first, to protect fish habitats, and to stop the senseless waste of fish as bycatch.These guys were salt of the earth, and they pointed to charts and told me fantastic stories about tremendous cod trips from years before. Just months earlier their organization had sued the federal government in the hopes of putting fish back in the ocean and protecting fishing communities. And they were ready to offer me my first job. Soon John Pappalardo found his way to my grandmother’s basement and we discussed with excitement what it could be like to work for the fishing fleet in Chatham. Attendance at meetings in Gloucester, Portland, and New Bedford confirmed that the mainstream industry considered us radicals. Many thought we were crazy and that our ideas would never work, despite the fact that better fisheries management was creating good jobs in places like Alaska. That was almost ten years ago, and I often theorize about how we would have reacted if someone had told us that we would fight for a decade before the mainstream fishing industry in New England was ready to make the changes that we had talked about during the first meetings at the Old Harbor Fish Co. We set out on a course to pioneer solutions, but expended many years building consensus that a problem existed. It is finally accepted that management is failing for the fish, and it is failing for the fishermen. After a decade of hard work and tough times, CCCHFA is poised to deliver the solutions we discussed in 1997. We have been afforded an opportunity to lead New England fisheries into an era of change, reform, and betterment. I hope that you share my enthusiasm, support, and pride in our efforts to improve our oceans, maritime traditions, and coastal way of life. Smooth Seas, Paul Parker Executive Director Protecting a resource, a tradition, and a way of life. CCCHFA ~ 210-E Orleans Road, North Chatham, MA 02650 508-945-2432 ~ ~ 508-945-0981 (fax) |
Today's CatchGet your copy today! The perfect beach read: three centuries of fishing in Chatham Help Hook the Cure Striped Bass Derby! August 23, 2008, Benefits Parkinson disease research. HAVE YOU CAUGHT A TAGGED HADDOCK OR COD? Report the tagged fish and receive a prize!
If you catch a haddock or cod with a tag:
Fish length Spawning condition Date and time Location Water depth and temperature Gear used Fate of fish (released or landed)
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