Prehistoric fishermen and hi-tech tuna

Two items in the news this week had me thinking about tuna and technology, which we've been using a long time to catch and now protect this favorite fish.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) in Turkey agreed to replace a paper system with an electronic one for tracking catches of bluefin tuna. The Commission hopes that the updated system will cut down on illegal fishing of bluefin, which has been a big problem in the Mediterranean. The Pew Environmental Group reported that 140 percent more Mediterranean bluefin tuna entered the market than was declared last year, a problem they blame partly on the previous paper-tracking system's susceptibility to abuse.

Also in the news this week was a report in Science magazine that archeologists had found remains of fish bones, which include tuna, that date back 42,000 years in East Timor. What's especially important about the discovery is that it is the first evidence of the sophisticated maritime skills that are required to catch tuna, which are both fast-moving and live in deep water.

Fish hooks 11,000 years old have also been found in East Timor. While not the oldest ever found (other hooks have been found that date back 16,000 and 23,000 years), these are the most intact and show that ancient fishermen used the classic bait-and-hook method, which at that time must have been on the cutting edge.

Giving thanks

Break out the stretchy pants. It’s that time of year when we get together with family and friends, devour some turkey and pumpkin pie, watch some football, take a turkey-induced nap, and watch more football. It’s also a time when we take a moment and give thanks for all the good in our lives.

I know I feel fortunate to have good friends and family, an awesome fiancée, a roof over my head, clothes on my back, a well-stocked kitchen and a great job. That I also own some sweet guitars and amplifiers is gravy (but I’m thankful that I have them).

I’m also thankful for the people who work in the commercial fishing industry. That point was reinforced after attending Pacific Marine Expo in Seattle last week.

You can’t help but feel good about the fishing industry after you go to PME. The CenturyLink Field Event Center was filled with visitors and exhibitors were busy every day, all day. That alone is energizing.

But wait, there’s more! We had the pleasure of holding our first ever Boats & Gear awards. We honored Oregon boatbuilder Fred Wahl for enhancing the design of the traditional 58-foot fishing boat to meet the needs of Dungeness crabbers, salmon harvesters and Bering Sea P-cod fishermen; the venerable wooden halibut schooner Tordenskjold, still fishing a century after she was launched; and CDC/NIOSH injury epidemiologist Jennifer Lincoln and her colleagues with the Commercial Fishing Safety Research Program in Anchorage, Alaska, for their dedication to fishing vessel safety. They’re worthy award winners, indeed.

You could (and should) say the same about our 2011 Highliner Award winners, whom we recognized at the Highliner dinner at the Palisade restaurant. Bill Webber Jr. of Cordova, Alaska, Larry Collins of San Francisco and Dan Falvey of Sitka, Alaska all possess passion, and innovative spirit and the willingness to go above and beyond the call of duty for the greater good of the industry.

But my favorite thing about the dinner is listening to past Highliner Award winners share their thoughts about their industry and the people in it. They welcomed the 2011 class into the fold, encouraged to see younger fishermen being honored. They truly want young people to have the same opportunities to fish that they’ve had and realize how crucial their participation is to the industry’s future.

Most importantly, they believe in this industry. For all the problems and obstacles fishermen face, they love fishing, love the fishing life.

There are many things I’m thankful for this Thanksgiving, and one of them is that I have the opportunity to be around fishermen like the NF Highliners. Happy Thanksgiving, everybody!

How'd you get here?

Though some people grow up in fishing families and communities, there are others whose arrival to the profession is anything but a straight line.

Nick Rahaim, for instance, graduated from a second-tier university with a double major, but he wasn't able to earn enough as a newspaper reporter to pay down his student loan debt of $100,000. His story is probably familiar to many of the young people in the Occupy Wall Street movement, who are in debt and un- or under-employed. Nick's solution was to head north to Alaska to fish for Dungeness crab and salmon.

At first, it was not so much the work, but the people that bothered him the most. He writes about the "gnomish" Captain Ron who shoots a seal from the boat, explaining that it had to go because it preyed on salmon. Others were mostly just an affront to his politically correct sensibilities. He left fishing and tried to get a job in finance but was turned down because of his poor credit history. So Nick came back to fishing and was surprised by what he discovered, that he loved it:

"Within a few weeks back on the boat I realized something had changed. I began taking great pleasure in the work of the body. I had found myself as the person on the boat with the most fishing experience and was given the title 'deck boss.' I was learning what I needed to know to be a career fisherman and I wanted to fish more. It’s said by many that commercial fishing gets into your blood; once you start you can’t stop."

So how about you? How did you get into fishing and when did you realize that it was in the blood?

Read Nick's story here.

Countdown to Pacific Marine Expo

OK, driver’s license, check. Boarding pass, check. Hotel confirmation number, check. Laptop and carry-on bag, check — oh, hi! Sorry, just running down my travel checklist as I prepare to head to Seattle tomorrow for Pacific Marine Expo at the CenturyLink Field Event Center, Nov. 17–19.
 
You are going, right? I mean it’s only the West Coast’s largest commercial marine trade show, presented by National Fisherman and our sister publication, WorkBoat magazine. Where else can you find such a comprehensive display of gear, services, suppliers and new products, plus a slate of timely, interesting and informative conference sessions?

Then there’s the schedule of special offerings such as the Author’s Corner and Bookstore, the daily demonstration of handcrafted model working vessels, and the annual Fisherman of the Year contest.  We’ll celebrate our 2011 Highliner Award winners, Bill Webber Jr. of Cordova, Alaska, Dan Falvey of Sitka, Alaska, and Larry Collins, of San Francisco for their extraordinary contributions to the commercial fishing industry. And there’s a new addition, Boatyard Day, in which, NF and WorkBoat celebrate the boatbuilding industry with a series of special events.

Whew! I’m exhausted just thinking about it. No doubt at the end of the day, you’ll want to relax with your friends during Happy Hour in the Beer Garden. And football fans, if you need an extra reason to enjoy a refreshing beverage or two, how about the chance each day to win tickets to the Sunday, Nov. 27 Seattle Seahawks-Washington Redskins game? Did I mention winning tickets will be drawn by a Seahawks cheerleader who’ll be available for autographs?

Just remember to take a few minutes to visit the NF booth at the show and say hi to your humble magazine editors. Now, did I pack the Airborne in my carry-on?

The burden of being menhaden

It’s not easy being you, is it, menhaden? You’re a tiny fish, minding your own business as you swim around in the ocean and the next thing you know books are being written about you and you’re deemed “the most important fish in the sea.”

Yup. You, little menhaden, are a Big Fish On Campus. And so many seem to depend upon you. Labeled a forage fish, you are deemed highly important to the survival of other finfish, like striped bass, and birds like ospreys, brown pelicans and bald eagles. A story in the Bangor (Maine) Daily News this week stated, “Without menhaden, environmentalists say, the Atlantic Ocean and Chesapeake Bay ecosystems would come crashing down."

Wow. No pressure there, little fella.

Humans don’t have the same desire or need to snack on you. But that doesn’t mean they leave you alone. They prize little ole you and your omega-3 fish oils. Sure, it keeps them healthy, but those oils aren’t keeping you living longer, are they? They also use you to feed livestock and farm-raised fish, and fishermen use you as bait.

On the other hand, it appears lots of people want to keep your population numbers high. Some 91,000 letters about you were sent to the Atlantic States Marine Commission prior to its vote this week on how best to manage you. The commission voted 14-3 to cut the menhaden harvest for 2013 from 183,000 metric tons a year to 174,000 metric tons.

Does that news hearten you, menhaden? It pleased environmentalists (though probably not the folks at Omega Protein who have long fished Chesapeake Bay for you). Others aren’t as sure you need quite as much protection. Check out the forthcoming January 2012 issue of National Fisherman, in which “Washington Lookout” columnists David Frulla and Shaun Gehan question the need to micromanage menhaden stocks.

Fo'c'sle library (a classic)

Tales about shipwrecks may not be very comforting as onboard reading, but if you like maritime adventure, the many stories by Edward Rowe Snow (1902-1982) are worth checking out. His collection of at least 17 books (that's how many my local library has) includes tales of pirates, shipwrecks, daring rescues, castaways and sometimes unexplainable mysteries.

Some of these stories are a bit of legend and lore, like the ghosts of sailors' widows forever gazing to sea watching for a husband who will never return. One story in Astounding Tales of the Sea tells of a sailor who jumped overboard after being driven mad by cruel treatment from his captain (it was around 1850). As the crew attempted to put down a boat to rescue the man, they saw a giant albatross swoop down into the waves. When they got the lifeboat down into the water they were astonished to see that the man was holding onto the bird's two legs, keeping him alive in time to be rescued.

The author is on-hand for the action in some of the more recent stories, personally searching for missing ships and diving to explore shipwrecks with his pretty wife. For 40 years Rowe was also known as the "Flying Santa" for flying a small plane to drop down Christmas gifts to lighthouse keepers and their families along the New England Coast.

For more about Edward Rowe Snow, check your local library or look for his books on Amazon, which has recently published "centennial editions" as well as used copies of older editions.